Bye Bye Berries

This little, 6 inch cheesecake is the perfect size for a small gathering, but it was surprisingly hard to find a recipe with portions I needed for my new pan, so I made one myself!

Lining with parchment paper is an important step!

By not opening the oven, and filling the pan up just enough, I got a perfect, crack free surface!

But I overfilled the second one, and the top of it cracked from boiling over, so be careful!

 But regardless of the blemishes, it really was immensely delicious! 

 

If you want, you can put some raspberry near the edge halfway through pouring batter, for stronger berry flavor. I changed up this recipe a little to write mine.

Lean Lasagnas

I was craving lasagna, but I've been trying my damnedest to avoid pasta, and bread, so I decided to rework the mini lasagnas I made a while ago!! Here's my recipe:

Preheat oven to 350

               2 cups fat free cottage cheese
               1 pound 94% lean ground turkey
               1 can crushed tomatoes
               1 tablespoon reduced fat butter spread
               1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
               Salt, Pepper, Basil, Oregano to taste
               Banyan Brand Wonton Wrappers (this brand is fat free)

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan then add and bring the can of crushed tomatoes to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes with whatever amount of spices you would like.
2. Brown the meat, drain the juice, then add your tomato sauce!
3. Simmer meat with sauce for 5 minutes
4. Line a cupcake pan with two wontons for the bottom layer, then add a bit of meat sauce.
5. Top the meat with cottage cheese, then a sprinkle of Parmesan, leaving room for another layer.
6. Add one more wonton wrapper, pressing it down around the edges.
7. Add meat and the cheeses on more time, or as many layers as you think you can fit, and pop these bad boys in the oven for 10-15 minutes!!

I Plan on Writing an Epic Poem about this Gorgeous Pie

Strawberry Raspberry Rhubarb mini pies!

Normally I would just give you a link to the recipe, but I couldn't find any that included all the ingredients that I think make a fabulous pie, so this time, I will write you my special recipe!

            After making two batches of this pie dough, cut the dough into circles and chill it! Pie crust is so much easier to work with when it is slightly chilled. Cut out any shape you like for the tops, but if you do lattices, I recommend you make them separately on a flat surface, then also use your cookie cutter to cut out the perfect tops from that.   

 Ingredients: 

3 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb

3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1 cup sliced strawberries

6 tablespoons butter, cubed

2 tablespoons vanilla 

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup quick cook tapioca

1/4 teaspoon salt

            In a bowl, mix together the sugar, tapioca, salt and cinnamon. Add your rhubarb, then blend in a food processor or blender until the rhubarb is finely chopped. Strain only part of the mixture, allowing some juice to stay in the filling. Add the raspberries and the sliced strawberries, stirring and slightly mashing with a spoon, then let stand for 20 minutes. 

             Then just fill the pie shells with your filling, pinch the top crusts to the bottom ones, preheat the oven to 425f, and cook for 20-25 minutes.   

Eh Voila!