This week's treat- best EVER New York style Cheesecake

This is one of my favorite cheesecake's. Not only does it taste AMAZING! But it's easy to make. The main part of the cheesecake has only 4 ingredients.  The secret to a cheesecake NOT cracking is to not over beat the eggs once you add them.  Remember when you take out a cheesecake it should be golden brown on the top but still QUITE jiggly in the center.  Your going to be nervous that it's still raw, but trust me it's JUST RIGHT!  For cooling down the cake I turn off the oven and open the door ajar and let it cool in there so as not to change the temperature too drastically.

Best EVER Cheesecake
Crust
1 1/4 C Vanilla wafer crumbs or crushed graham crackers
1 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 C ground almonds, walnuts or pecans (optional)
Toss lightly with fork until well blended. Press firmly into the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan. Bake at 375 on the bottom rack until crisp and golden, abut 15 min. Let cool. Reduce oven to 300 and place baking dish full of hot water on the bottom rack to create moisture.
Cake
3 lbs Cream cheese softened
1 1/2 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 whole large eggs (at room temp)
2 large egg yolks (at room temp)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (optional- I don't use it myself)
Beat cheese sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on med until light and fluffy, about 30-60 sec. Scrape the bowl, beat 45 sec more. Lightly whisk the eggs and yolks together and add to cream cheese mixture with the lemon juice. Mix on low speed until they are incorporated and the batter is velvety, about 30 sec, scrape the bowl and mix 10 sec more (mix as little as possible, or just fold in by hand.).
Pour filling over crust, bake on the center rack at 300 until golden, about 1 1/4 hours. Cool cake in pan, then refrigerate overnight or top with sour cream topping first.
Topping (optional)
1 1/2 C sour cream
2 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla
Mix and spread over the top of the cake return it to oven for 5 min.  Then cool completely and refrigerate.

This week for Dinner- White chicken chili

I grew up on my mothers ground beef chili and loved it.  But a few years ago at a church chili cook-off I tasted this amazing chili!  It's perfect for me, it has great flavor, some wonderful spices, but not too hot and is creamy, which I'm always partial too.  Lucky for me my husband and 3 oldest also like spicy food.  Only my youngest doesn't like all the spicy food.  My poor in laws!  They are so kind and generous I'm not sure if they like spicy food or not, they wouldn't never tell me.  I guess the fact that my Mother in law had some the next day for left overs means she liked it. 

Anyway I've been making this chili for 4 years now and it's one of my absolute favorites. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

White Chili
2 lbs white beans rinsed
12 C chicken broth
2 tsp chicken bouillon
4 onions chopped
2 Tbsp Wesson or Mazola oil
14 cloves garlic minced
14 oz diced green chilies
8 tsp ground cumin
4 tsp dried oregano
4 tsp cayenne pepper
8 C diced chicken sauteed 
2 C sour cream
6 C shredded Monterey jack cheese
Combine beans broth and chicken bouillon in large pot. Simmer covered for 2 hours. Sauté onions in oil till golden. Add onions, garlic, green chilies, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and chicken to bean mixture. Simmer another 30 mins. Add sour cream and jack cheese just before serving, heat until cheese melts (do not boil)

Who you gonna call?

One of the boys in my son's 1st grade class had a birthday party today.  I was lucky enough to get to make his birthday cake!  He requested the Ghost Busters logo.

I stayed up WAY to late working on this one, but it was SOO much fun to make.  First stacked the cakes, then I started carving away, a little at a time.  Piecing together the three different fondant colors was tricky.  Especially since I didn't realize until 2 am that I was almost completely out of white fondant!  I barely had enough to cover the ghost!  But it all worked out.  And I hand painted the lines and details on the cake.  I am really pleased with how this one turned out.  The had hanging out the side reaching forward. I wish I had a better side and top shot.  But when I was taking these pictures at 6 am I wasn't thinking too clearly!  

101 in 1001

So I saw this post about setting 101 goals in 1001 days, she just started.  It was inspired by this post which is from a woman who just finished!  It was really fun to see what both of these women chose, especially what the second woman did and didn't accomplish.  I really LOVE this!  I've spent the last few days getting my list whittled down to only 101 things!  Harder than you think.  Knowing we'll be poor college students takes certain goals or interests out easily.  And knowing I have 2 and 3/4 years allows me to set some goals I wouldn't be able to with a shorter window of time!  I grew up setting goals and I think it's a great way to really get stuff done.  So I'll be posting on my various blogs (depending on if they are personal, crafty or food) when I complete them.   In fact I already have a few in the works (the curtains for the bunk beds).  This list if full of stuff I've wanted to do for years, weeks or even just days.  I putting them out here in the blogshere to hold myself accountable.  Some are not hard but time consuming and some are hard, I think I found a good mix of stuff I might have gotten done without this list and others I'm really trying to challenge myself with.  So without further ado...  My 101 goals to complete in 1001 days.

1. start etsy store
2. create line of molds for cakes and cupcakes for store
3. get my food license when we move within 90 days
4. get my business license when we move within 90 days
5. get the new cricut cake
6. triple the amount of wonky cakes for my gallery of cakes
7. get a website for cakes
8. make 6 wedding cakes in one year
9. pay off pre phd student loans
10. pay off van
11. sell Houston home
12. support the family at least one month completely by the end of the second year
13. sell vacation ownership
14. up our life insurance
15. make chore chart
16. create savings account for kids
17. get piano
18. put kids in piano lessons (at least older 2)
19. put younger kids in something, like gymnastics
20. create and stick to a tight monthly budget
21. potty train P and S
22. train the pig
23. get S's middle name changed legally
24. video at least 4 family events a year
25. go on a date with my husband once a month for a year
26. go on a parent child date once a month (each child gets 3 a year)
27. get Bill's wedding ring fixed
28. take a family vacation every year
29. go camping once a year
30. take kids waterskiing
31. have Thursday game nights every week for 6 months
32. do FHE WELL 50 out of 52 weeks
33. have family prayer once a day for a year
34. visit the temple once a month for 12 months
35. read scriptures every day for 4 months
36. hang pictures within a month of moving
37. get family proclamation or something else fun in vinyl
38. create display or shadow box for blessing outfits
39. raise master bed (so pig can fit underneath
40. learn Japanese (conversational)
41. exercise in some way 3 times a week for 4 months
42. update food blog twice a week for a year
43. update craft blog twice a week for a year
44. read each book I've bought, or buy
45. throw 2 adult parties every year (not THAT kind)
46. start a garden
47. can some kind of food 4 times a year
48. learn to make tamales
49. start an iron chef dinner group
50. make my own yogurt, don't buy any for a month
51. make my own cream cheese at least twice
52. take photography class
53. make and print blurb book for 2007
54. make and print blurb book for 2008
55. make and print blurb book for 2009
56. make and print blurb book for 2010
57. make and print blurb book for 2011
58. make and print blurb book for 2013
59. start blurb books for pre-blog years
60. make baptism slideshow for J
61. make baptism slideshow for p
62. scan all negatives (7 albums)
63. master photoshop
64. update large multi picture frame yearly
65. make silhouette art of some kind of the kids
66. learn to create scrapbooking papers and kits
67. make moveable growth chart
68. create picture frame, dry erase calendar
69. make seasonal wreaths
70. use Dremel for cherry blossom art of some kind
71. etch some kind of glass
72. learn to use a pottery wheel
73. learn some glass blowing
74. buy a jig saw and make something
75. finish crochet turtle for Chelsea
76. make crochet fruit
77. make crochet princess dolls
78. make crochet tool set
79. finish B's crochet swirl skirt and make one for S
80. learn to knit, make one full project
81. knit a full sweater
82. make a petti skirt
83. sew window treatments
84. make curtains for kids bunk beds
85. make skirt for myself
86. make seasonal placemats
87. paint extra large sumi-e canvas
88. paint master bedroom in new house
89. paint kids room(s) in new house
90. paint a wall with magnetic paint
91. paint a wall with chalkboard paint
92. make my first quilt
93. finish JAP cross stitch
94. make nativity candles
95. make stocking holders
96. make Christmas wreath
97. finish Christmas cross stitch stocking
98. make stocking for everyone
99. make tree skirt
100. make a Christmas quilt
101. make homemade Christmas gifts for sisters and parents

So October 24th 2012 here I come! 

This week for dinner- Gyoza's

So I decided to start a new weekly post. "This week for dinner", what do you think?  I think I'll also start a weekly treat/dessert of some kind.  We'll see if I can keep it up with my new goals, 4 kids, etc...  We live with my in laws this year and my sweet mother in law cooks on Monday and Wednesdays and then there is always at least one left over night so I only get to make dinner 3 or 4 nights a week.  So that cut's down the recipes I can post.  There are repeats often simply because I have some picky children.  Anyway...  Tonight!

Gyoza.  I fell in LOVE with these when we were living in Japan.  They are a bit time consuming simply because of the filling and folding and stuff.  But they are SO worth it.  I'd like to actually get a couple of other filling recipes, anyone have anything other than pork?  These are classic and a great recipe!

So above is uncooked, I use premade gyoza wrappers.  There is probably a way to make them, but I don't know what it is.  But they are cheap and easy to use so I'm at the "why bother" stage with that.

Gyoza
4 leaves of cabbage
½ bunch Chinese chives (or green onions)
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp potato starch
5 ½ oz ground pork
1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp water
20 round Gyoza wrappers
Oil
Boil cabbage and let cool, then chop fine. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Cut chives and garlic, combine with cabbage, mix in potato starch. Combine pork, soy sauce, sesame oil and water. Add cabbage mixture. Place a tsp of filling in the center of each wrapper. Moisten half way around the edge of wrapper, fold over edge to make half moon shape.

Heat pan, add oil and lower temp. Add Gyoza, cook until bottom golden brown

Add hot water to pan to half submerge the Gyoza, cover the pan. Turn heat to high and steam until most water evaporates.

Remove lid, lower heat and cook until the pan is dry.



Dipping sauce
2 Tbsp Soy sauce
2 Tbsp rice vinegar
a few drops hot chili oil

To make the presentation pretty flip them over when you serve them so the pretty cooked bottom shows!  I like to use chopsticks of course, but feel free to do your best with anything else!