Banana Bread

I used to use another banana bread recipe until my sister in law Maria shared this one with me.  It is super moist and always delicious!  I just love how it tastes.  My favorite thing about this recipe is that it freezes VERY well.  I like to cut the loaf into fourths and wrap them individually in foil then put them all in a freezer bag.  Then when I am feeling in the mood for some of this delicious bread, I take it out of the freezer and let it defrost...and we have the perfect amount to eat for my husband and I.  I feel it actually tastes better after it freezes because it seems even more moist.  Delicious!  Thanks Maria!

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) Butter, softened
1 1/4 cups Sugar
2 Eggs
4 tablespoons Sour Cream
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups (about 3ish) ripe Bananas, mashed

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5 bread loaf pan.

Beat together your butter and sugar. Then add your eggs one at a time and mix well. Add your sour cream, vanilla, and bananas. Mix well. Add in your baking soda and flour. Mix until fully incorporated. Make sure to scrap your bowl to make sure all the ingredients were fully mixed.

Pour your mixture into your prepared loaf pan. Bake in your heated oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Cool your banana bread on a cooling wrack. Wrap your bread in plastic wrap overnight to bring out the moisture in the bread.

Scone Sandwiches

I absolutely LOVE these scone sandwiches.  You can make the sandwich however you want, and it still tastes great!  This is one of my favorite meals, and it is just a sandwich!

Ingredients
For the dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons Yeast
1 1/2 cups Warm Water
1 tablespoon of Butter, melted
1 tablespoon of Sugar
4 cups AP Flour
1 teaspoon Salt

For the sandwich:
Toppings of choice.  Recommendations are:  Ham, Turkey, Bacon, Cheese, Avocado, Lettuce, Pickles, Onions, Mayo, Mustard

For the frying:
Oil

Directions
Mix the yeast with the warm water and let it sit for five minutes.

Combine the flour and salt in a separate bowl.  Add the butter and sugar to the yeast/water mixture and then slowly add in the flour/salt mixture.  Knead for two minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.  Rise in a covered, greased bowl for one hour or until dough is doubled in size.

After dough has risen, punch it down, and on a floured surface, roll it out into a 1/4-inch thick rectangle.  Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut out rectangles measuring about 4 1/2 x 6 inches.

Heat up about 2 inches of oil in a pan to 375 degrees.  Fry one rectangle of dough at a time in the oil for a couple minutes on each side, or until browned. The dough should puff when it hits the oil, but if it starts puffing a lot, poke it with a fork to prevent it from puffing even more.

Once they cool enough, cut them in half and make them into sandwiches.

Yields 6 scones.

Sesame Chicken

If you like asian food, but do not like it spicy, then this is just the recipe for you.  The sauce is sweet and served with toasted sesame seeds.  Simple, yet delicious. 

Ingredients
3 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 tablespoon Sesame Seeds, toasted

For the Marinade:
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Sherry Cooking Wine
3 drops Sesame Oil
2 tablespoons Flour
2 tablespoons Cornstarch
2 tablespoons Water
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Vegetable Oil

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup Water
1 cup Chicken Broth
1/8 cup White Vinegar
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1 cup Sugar
2 tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 tablespoons Sesame Oil
1 teaspoon Chili Paste
1 Garlic Clove, minced

For the Frying:
Peanut Oil

Directions
Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes.

Mix together all of the sauce ingredients. Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously.  If it gets too thick, feel free to thin it down to the desired thickness with some water. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm while you are deep-frying the chicken.

In a medium skillet, heat up about a inch or so of oil to 350 degrees.  Add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time, and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and then place chicken in warm oven (130 degrees) while you continue frying. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken. Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil.

Place the chicken on a platter and pour some of the sauce over it. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve the Sesame Chicken with rice and the remaining sauce.

Italian Dipping Oil

This dipping oil is just to die for. There is so much flavor in this oil and is the perfect side to go with your pasta. This recipe does make a lot, so you can bottle up the extra and save it for next time!

Ingredients
1 cup Olive Oil
2/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Basil, dried
1 tablespoon Oregano, dried
1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground

Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Serve with italian bread to dip in.

Put the remaining dipping oil in a bottle and store in the fridge.

Herb Flank Steak

My sister in law Maria made this last night. She had purchased it at a place called "Dream Dinners" so she did not have the recipe for it. I was determined to make a recipe for it. I gave it a shot, and was pretty impressed with the outcome. I did not have the time to marinate it as long as I would have liked, but the flavor was still out of this world...

Ingredients
Flank Steak

For the Marinade:
1/3 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/3 cup Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 cup Worchestershire Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Black Pepper

For the Herb Rub:
2 teaspoons dried Basil
1 teaspoons dried Thyme
2 teaspoons dried Rosemary
2 teaspoons dried Oregano
1 teaspoon Fennel Seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon Ground Coriander
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
2 tablespoons Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons Black Pepper
3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Directions
Whisk together your marinade. Place the marinade in a large bag along with the meat. Marinate in the fridge overnight.

Mix all of the herb rub together in a bowl. Once it is all fully mixed, rub it completely over the steak on both sides.

Grill the meat until fully cooked. Cut against the grain in 1/4 slices.

Cajun Chicken Pasta

I love this pasta. It has such good flavor and is delicious with bread sticks. I love dipping my bread sticks into the sauce. YUM....it is just good. This will easily serve 4, so feel free to half the recipe if you are only feeding 2.

Ingredients
1 pound Penne Noodles
1 Red Pepper, sliced
2 Chicken Breasts
1/2 cube Butter
Flour
16 ounces Heavy Whipping Cream
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1-2 teaspoon Salt
Pepper
3 teaspoons Cajun Seasoning
Milk

Directions
Slice your red peppers and set aside. Put your chicken breast in a sandwich bag with a little oil. Also, pour in some of your favorite seasonings. I personally like to add some cajun seasonings, basil, parsley, and peppercorn...but feel free to season it with whatever you like.

Boil a pot of water with a little amount of oil. The oil keeps the noodles from sticking. Boil your pasta by following the directions on the back of the package. While your noodles are boiling, grill your chicken (or cook on stove). When the noodles are done, drain the water. When your chicken is done, slice it into thin strips.

Get out a large sauce pan. Start making your rue. To make a rue you melt your butter and add the flour to thicken it. I normally use about 4 tablespoons of flour per 1/2 cube of butter. Your rue is important because this is your thickening agent for your sauce. If you do not do this step then your sauce will not thicken up. Add in your whipping cream and make sure to continually keep stirring. The sauce will burn if you don't stir continually. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens. Add in a generous handfull of shredded Parmesan cheese. (At this point if your sauce is a little too thick, then just add milk until you get to your desired thickness) Add a little bit of pepper and then add your salt. The key to good sauce is a LOT of salt. Try a little bit of the sauce and add more salt if needed. Once you like the flavor, add in the Canjun Seasoning.

Add your peppers, chicken, and noodles into the sauce pan. Stir everything around over the heat until everything mixes fully and your peppers become fully heated.

Serve immediately.

General Tso Chicken

This is by far my favorite Chinese dish. It is so delicious and so flavorful. It also smells so good! It is a bit spicy, so if you don't like spicy, just cut down some of the Cayenne Pepper. This dish just tastes so good, you will fall in love! This will serve about 6 or so people, so make sure to cut the recipe in half if you are not serving that many people!

Ingredients
2.5 pounds boneless skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into chunks
1 cup Green Onions, sliced
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

Oil, for frying

For the Cornstarch Slurry:
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 Egg, beaten
3/4 cup Cornstarch

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup Water
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh Garlic, minced
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1/4 cup White Vinegar
1/4 cup cooking Sherry Wine
14 1/2 ounces Chicken Broth (a can)

Directions
Place sauce ingredients in a large bowl. Mix them together with a wisk.

In a skillet heat up about an inch or so of oil to 350 degrees. Also, turn on the oven to 250 degrees.

Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange but trust me it works. It will be very thick almost paste like. Add the chicken pieces in the bowl. Mix everything together to coat well. Using a fork remove one chicken piece at a time and set it in the hot oil. Continue, and work quickly while getting about 10 or so pieces of chicken in the hot oil. You do not want to do too many, because you want all of the pieces to cook evenly. Cook them for a few minutes until they turn golden brown.

Remove the chicken pieces from the oil and place them in a oven safe dish. Place them into the oven to stay warm while you continue cooking more chicken. Replace this until all of the chicken is fried.

In a separate wok or large skillet heat up a small amount of oil. Add green onions and cayenne pepper, and stir fry about 30 seconds. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and cayenne pepper, cook until thick, stirring constantly. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.

Dump the chicken into the sauce in the wok, and stir until the sauce fully coats the chicken. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.

Serve over rice.

Beef & Bean Chimichanga

You can't even imagine how delicious this is. It is such a quick meal, is so filling, and tastes amazing. How much better can it get? You can top it with whatever you want, but you can see what my favorite is!

Ingredients
1 pound Ground Beef
3/4 cup Onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups Corn
2 cups Taco Sauce (just use your favorite, I recommend the taco bell restaurant sauce that is sold in grocery stores)
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 (16 ounce) can Refried Beans
Flour Tortillas (12 inch)
Cheese, grated

Directions
Start heating up about 2 inches of oil in a pan.

In another pan, brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drain the excess grease, and add the onion, and corn. Cook for about 5 more minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir in the taco sauce, and season with chili powder, garlic salt and cumin, stirring until blended. Cook until heated through, then remove from heat, and set aside.

Heat a tortilla in the microwave for about 10-15 seconds so that it will be pliable for folding. Open the can of beans, and spread a layer of beans onto the center of the tortilla. Spoon the beef mixture down the center, and then top with as much shredded cheese as you like. Roll up the tortilla, and place them seam-side down into your hot oil once it reaches 350 degrees. Once it turns golden brown, flip it to the other side. When all sides become golden brown, take it out of the oil and top with your favorite toppings. Suggestions are sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, cheese, etc.

Angel Food Cake

Who doesn't love angel food cake? I think it is one of the best desserts out there when you top it with whipping cream and fresh strawberries. This recipe is so easy, and tastes so delicious. I am craving some right now! :)

Ingredients
1 cup Cake Flour
1 1/2 cups White Sugar
12 Egg Whites
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1/2 teaspoon Salt

Special Equipment
Angel Food Cake pan (see here)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Be sure that your 10 inch tube pan is clean and dry. Any amount of oil or residue could deflate the egg whites.

Sift together the flour, and 3/4 cup of the sugar, set aside. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites along with the vanilla, cream of tartar and salt, to medium stiff peaks. (It will take a few minutes of electric beating to get to that point. Everything will be white and look like whipping cream, and when you touch it with the back of a spoon and hurry and take it out, it should leave peaks without falling back down) Gradually add the remaining sugar while continuing to whip to stiff peaks. When the egg white mixture has reached its maximum volume, fold in the sifted ingredients gradually, one third at a time. Do not overmix.

Put the batter into the non-greased pan.

Bake for about 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake springs back when touched. Turn the tube pan upside down on top of a cooling rack, to prevent decompression while cooling. When cool, run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a plate.

Beef Empanadas

My husband lived in Argentina for 2 years and loved the food there. His favorite thing to eat from there are Beef Empanadas. They are actually really good, we have made them quite a few times! They have a nice crunchy, yet flaky crust. You can really fill them with anything, however, this is his absolute favorite:

Ingredients
For the dough:
2 1/4 cups AP Flour
3/4 teaspoons Salt
1/4 cup Shortening
1/2 cup + 1/8 cups Water

For the filling:
1 pound Ground Beef
3 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
2 Potatoes (medium size), cubed
2/3 cup onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
1 1/4 teaspoons Cumin
1/2 cup Corn

Oil (for frying)

Special Equipment

Dough Press (see here) Also sold at Bed, Bath & Beyond

Directions
In your food processor, put in your flour and salt. Mix together. Then put in your shortening in clumps into the flour mixture. Pulse the food processor until everything fully mixes. It will be coarse crumbs. Through the shoot, pour in your water (a little bit at a time) while it is mixing in your food processor. Once the dough forms into a ball, take it out and knead it by hand for just a minute. Roll it into a ball and flatten it slightly. Cover with saran wrap and put in the fridge for an hour.

While the dough is chilling, start boiling 2 pots of water. Peel your potatoes. Then cube them. You want them in small (and I mean small) cubes. I cut mine to about 1/4 inch cubes. Put them into one of the pots of boiling water. You only need to cook them for maybe 5-10 minutes. Until the are a little soft, but do not fall apart.

While the potatoes are cooking, boil your eggs until cooked. Peel of the shell and dice up your eggs to small pieces.

Dice up your onions. Place them in a large skillet over medium heat. With the onions inside the pan, brown up your ground beef and season with the salt, pepper, and cumin. Once browned, mix in your corn, eggs, and potatoes.

Place your empanadas in the fridge to cool to room temperature.

Take about 1 1/2 inch balls of dough and roll them flat into a circle. You want to roll it almost paper thin. Just about the thinest you can get it without it falling apart. Do this for the remaining dough.

Place your dough flat on the open dough press (I used the second smallest size in the dough press set). Place some filling inside the center of the dough and press it shut the the press. Press very hard and rip off the excess dough. Do this with your remaining dough.

Heat some oil in a pan about 2 inches deep to 365 degress. Fry your empanadas until brown.

You can either eat them plain or dip them in something. I like ranch!

Snickerdoodles

Sorry, I bought a different kind of butter, and it made the cookies melt flat. So, it may not be the best picture for the cookies, but they still turned out great!

Ingredients
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1/2 cup Shortening
1 1/2 cups White Sugar
2 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 3/4 cups AP Flour
2 teaspoons Cream of Tartar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt
2 tablespoons White Sugar
2 teaspoons Cinnamon

Directions
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together your butter, shortening, and sugar. Scrape down bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each one. Add vanilla. Scrape down bowl.

In a separate bowl mix together your flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients with your wet ingredients. Mix fully.

Shape your dough into balls. In a small bowl, mix together your remaining sugar and cinnamon. Roll your balls of cookie dough into the cinnamon sugar. Place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Make sure to take them out of the oven when they are still VERY soft.

Let them cool on a cooling rack.

Potato Wedges

Potato wedges are a nice side dish to just about anything. Pair them with hot dogs, hamburgers, mexican food, or anything you can think of!

Ingredients
4 medium Russet Potatoes
1 cup AP Flour
2 teaspoons Garlic Salt
2 teaspoons Seasoning Salt
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
2 large Eggs, lightly beaten

Directions
Wash your potatoes well. Slice them in half length wise, and then each half into 3 wedges; giving you 6 wedges per potato. Dry each potato wedge. Set aside.

Pour your eggs into a bowl and lightly beat them. In a second bowl combine your flour and all of your seasonings.

Dip one of your potato wedges into the bowl with the egg mixture. Then stick the egg covered wedge into the bowl with your dry ingredients. Coat fully with flour mixture. Place in a 9x13 dish. Continue with remaining wedges.

Place the dish with the potato wedges in the fridge for 30 minutes.

In a large pan, heat up some oil deep enough for frying to 350 degrees (not any higher). Stick your potato wedges in the hot oil and fry them until they are golden and are soft inside. You do not want a hard inside to the potato wedge.

Take the wedges out of the oil and place them on a plate. Sprinkle with some salt and serve.

Mongolian Beef

Whenever I go to PF Changs, this is the dish I always get. It is so delicious. The sauce is so tasty and tastes amazing over some nice white rice.

Ingredients
2 pounds Flank Steak
4 teaspoons Vegetable Oil
2 teaspoons Ground Ginger
2 tablespoons Garlic, minced
1 cup Soy Sauce
1 cup Water
1 cup Brown Sugar (packed)
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
Vegetable Oil (for frying)
1/2 cup Cornstarch
3 large Green Onions

Directions
Make the sauce by heating 4 tsp. vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium/low heat. Don’t get the oil too hot. Add ginger and garlic to the pan and quickly add the soy sauce and water before the garlic scorches. Dissolve the brown sugar and tablespoon of cornstarch in the sauce, then raise the heat to medium and boil the sauce until it thickens a little bit. Remove sauce from heat.

Slice the flank steak against the grain into 1/4 inch slices. Tilt the blade of your knife at about a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak so you get wider cuts. Dip the steak pieces into cornstarch to apply a very thin dusting to both sides of each piece of beef. Let the beef sit about 10 min. so the cornstarch sticks. As the beef sits, heat up 1 c. oil in a wok (or skillet). Heat the oil over medium heat until its hot, but not smoking. Add the beef to the oil and saute for just 2 minutes, or until beef just begins to darken on the edges. Stir the meat around a little bit so that it cooks evenly.

After a few minutes, use a large slotted spoon to take the meat out and onto paper towels, then pour most of the oil out of the skillet. Put the pan back over the heat, dump the meat back into it and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce, cook for 1 minute while stirring and add green onions. Cook for 1 more minute. Now at this point you can either remove the beef with a slotted spoon or tongs and discard the sauce (this is what P.F. Chang's does) OR thicken the sauce with a cornstarch-water mixture to desired thickness and serve it over rice with the beef.

Texas Cheese Fries

This is such a simple yummy appetizer, and it is super easy! There is really no cooking involved...it's great! We had these tonight with chili cheese dogs, and it was a nice quick dinner.

Ingredients
French Fries
Cheese
Bacon Bits
Jalapenos
Ranch Dressing

Directions
Cook your french fries. Once they are cooked fully, put them on a oven safe plate or oven safe dish. Top them with cheese and bacon. Place them in the oven until the cheese is fully melted. Top with cold jalapeno slices.

Serve with a side or ranch dressing for dipping the fries in.

Carne Asada Tacos

These tacos are so delicious. The flavor of the meat is just out of this world. With homemade tacos shells, this meat is perfect with a little lettuce, cheese, guacamole, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. Delicious...

Ingredients
For the meat:
2 pounds Carne Asada (If you can't find carne asada at your store, look for skirt steak. If you can't find skirt steak, get flank steak and ask them to cut the meat about 3/8 inch thickness)
1 Lime, juiced
1 Lemon, juiced
1 Orange, juiced
1 tablespoons Chili Powder
1 tablespoon Oregano Leaves
2 tablespoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Coriander
5 cloves Garlic, coarsley chopped
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 Jalapenos, sliced thin
1/2 medium Onion, sliced thin
2/3 cup Water

For the tacos:
Corn Tortillas
Lettuce
Lime, wedges
Cheese
Cilantro
Guacamole

Directions
In a bowl, combine the juice of the lime, lemon, and orange. Add the soy sauce and water. Then add the chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, and garlic. Whisk all together well. Then add the jalapenos and onion slices. Pour it all into a large ziploc bag and add the carne asada. Massage the marinade into the meat. Stick the bag with the meat in the marinade in the fridge. Marinate overnight.

While the carne asada is grilling, start heating up some oil on the stove top. Once the oil is hot, stick a corn tortilla in it. Once it starts to get pliable in the oil, flip it to the other side of the tortilla. Fold it in half and using the spatula, hold up one of the sides while one side of the taco cooks. Once it is crisp (before browning) flip it to the other side of the taco and cook until crisp. Continue with the remaining tortillas for however many tacos you want.

When the carne asada is finished grilling, cut it into thin strips. Place them inside your homemade taco shells. Squeeze some lime juice over the meat in your shells and top with some lettuce, cheese, guacamole, and cilantro.

Crinkle Cookies

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago on NieNie's recipe blog. They looked so YUMMY. I saved the recipe and went about my day. Then Angie posted it on her recipe blog and I said, "Alright, I am going to make these NOW!" So I did, and I am so glad! They are soooo yummy. They are rich and gooey and delicious. Thank you Stephanie for posting it...you are beautiful!

Ingredients
2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Vegetable Oil
3/4 cup Hershey's Cocoa Powder
4 Eggs
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 1/3 cups All-Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Powdered Sugar

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Add the cocoa and blend well. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Scrape the bowl.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the cocoa mixture blending well. Scrap bowl again.

Cover and chill at least 6 hours.

Heat the oven to 350.

Shape dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until done.

Remove from the cookie sheet and cool on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen.

Chocolate Covered Pretzels

This simple, easy recipe is so delicious. It is amazing how it changes the flavor so much when you add such a small amount of shortening to the chocolate. When you dip them in just plain chocolate, they taste very heavy. The shortening makes them so light tasting. Try it out...they are addicting!

Ingredients
8 ounces Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 tablespoons Shortening
Pretzels

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the chocolate chips and shortening. Heat in the microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Stir it before each 30 second increments.

Once melted, dip the pretzels in the chocolate. Take the pretzels out with a fork or skewer and drip off the excess chocolate. Place them on a parchment covered cookie sheet.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to harden the chocolate.

Chocolate Cheesecake

If you love cheesecake, then you will love this chocolate cheesecake! We had some friends over for dinner the other night and made this for dessert. They said this chocolate cheesecake was right up there with the cheesecake factory. Pretty cool eh?

Ingredients
For the Cheesecake base:
1 1/3 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 stick Butter
1 tablespoon Cocoa

For the Cheesecake filling:
6 ounces Bittersweet or Semisweet chocolate, chopped small
2 1/2 cups Cream Cheese
3/4 cup Sugar
1 tablespoon Cornstarch
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Sugar
3 large Eggs
3 large Egg Yolks
2/3 cup Sour Cream
1/2 teaspoon Cocoa, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

For the Sauce:
3 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Corn Syrup

Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the base, process the graham crackers to make rough crumbs and then add the butter and cocoa. Process again until it makes damp, clumping crumbs and then tip them into the pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan to make an even base and put into the freezer while you make the filling.

Put a pot of water on to boil.

Melt the chocolate either in a microwave or double boiler, and set aside to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, add the cornstarch, vanilla, and the teaspoon of sugar. Mix the ingredients together well and mash up any small clumps that occur.

Beat the cream cheese to soften it, then add the sugar and cornstarch mixture, beating again to combine. Beat in the whole eggs and then the yolks, and the sour cream. Finally add the cocoa dissolved in hot water and melted chocolate and mix to a smooth batter.

Take the springform tin out of the freezer and line the outside of the tin with a good layer of cling wrap, and then another layer of strong foil over that. This will protect it from the water bath.

Sit the springform tin in a roasting pan and pour in the cheesecake filling. Fill the roasting pan with just boiled water to come about half way up the cake tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the cheesecake should be set, but the underneath should still have a wobble to it.

Peel away the foil and cling film wrapping and sit the cheesecake in its tin on a rack to cool. Put in the refrigerator once it is no longer hot, and leave to set, covered with plastic overnight. Let it lose its chill before unspringing the cheesecake to serve.

To make the chocolate sauce: very gently melt the chopped chocolate, cream and syrup. When the chocolate has nearly melted, take off the heat and whisk it to a smooth sauce. Let it cool a little, and pour it over the chocolate cheesecake on its serving plate.

Mexican Rice

Mexican food is my absolute favorite food ever! You can't serve Mexican food without some rice. I love this rice. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Ingredients
3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 cup uncooked Long-grain Rice
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Taco Seasoning
1/4 cup White Onion, chopped
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce
2 cups Chicken Broth
2 oz Water
Cilantro, chopped

Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and add rice. Cook, stirring constantly, until it just starts to brown. On top of the rice, sprinkle with salt, cumin, and taco seasoning.

Stir in onions and cook until they become clear. Stir in tomato sauce, chicken broth, and water; bring to a boil. Add your chopped cilantro. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Tater Tot Casserole

This is Allen's favorite dish ever. It is so simple and easy, anyone can make it. How bad can this casserole be with potatoes, corn, chicken, and cheese? It isn't. It is really good, especially since it is so easy to make.

Ingredients
1 bag Tator Tots
1 cup Corn
2 Chicken Breasts
1 cup Cheese
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
Milk
Salt&Pepper

Directions
Dice your chicken and cook fully. Season to taste.

In a large bowl mix together your tator tots, corn, diced chicken, cheese, and soup. Add a little bit of milk (not much) and salt and pepper. Mix well and pour into a greased pan.

Bake at 350 uncovered for about an hour.