No-bake Cheesecake

I love cheesecake. It's by far my favorite dessert and I can't recall coming across a flavor that I didn't like. Up until now my favorite homemade cheesecake was always the kind you make with sweetened condensed milk. This recipe was just as easy, but wasn't quite as sweet or lemony. Don't get me wrong, I still love the original recipe, but this one is a nice change of pace. Next time I make this one, I will add a splash of vanilla extract.

(I apologize for my lack of photos. I'm terrible about photographing my recipes!)

1 graham cracker pie crust
2- 8oz bricks of cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar*
3 tbsp lemon juice*
1/2 cup sour cream*
Strawberries, cherries or your favorite cheesecake topping (optional)

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Stir in sour cream and mix well. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Garnish with strawberries, cherries or your favorite cheesecake topping.

* I tasted the filling and added about 3 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice because the sour cream was a little strong. You can also substitute 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped, in lieu of the sour cream for a sweeter flavor.

Weekly Menu: May 16-22

Sunday- Out to a friends house for dinner

Monday- BLT sandwiches, cold pasta salad, ambrosia

Tuesday- Oven fried chicken tenders, leftover salads

Wednesday- Breakfast for dinner, likely strawberry waffles and bacon

Thursday- Something with shrimp (looking for ideas!)

Friday- Pizza. Not sure about homemade or takeout yet.

Saturday- Out to dinner

Weekly menu: May 9-15

Sunday- steaks with sauteed mushrooms and onions, grilled corn on the cob, grilled potatoes with onions and green peppers (A Mothers Day feast prepared solely by Gary. It was fabulous!)

Monday- hot dogs and mac and cheese

Tuesday- chicken parmesan with spaghetti

Wednesday- hamburgers, oven fries, green beans

Thursday- french toast with strawberries, sausage links

Friday- steaks, oven roasted potatoes, brussels sprouts

Saturday- out to dinner

A weekly menu... why?

I try to plan my menus weekly. It helps keep me on budget, it saves me time all week not having to worry about what to make for dinner and overall lets me stress out about other things besides what we're going to eat. I almost always make enough for leftovers to either freeze and have as another meal, or to have for lunch the next day, so if it seems like I make a lot of food it's because I sometimes do. I can also get my grocery shopping done much faster, and with less wandering, if I plan my menu, make my list and get in and out of the store. I don't spend nearly the amount of money on snacks and junk as I did before.

For my menu inspiration I generally ask (or nag, whatever) Gary and Justin for what sounds good to them, I look at recipe websites, my cookbooks and family recipes, and my weekly Kroger ad. I also plan around what coupons I have. For a stretch I was obsessed with coupons. You'd really be surprised how much money you can save (and how many things you can get for free) when you clip coupons. Although I've let my coupon clipping fall to the wayside lately, when I can get myself organized and back on track I'll start up again. I really miss having a drawer full of Pillsbury rolls and biscuits at my disposal.

I've also learned along the way to buy meat when it's on sale. If chicken or roast is on sale, I'll grab an extra package. Same goes with meat that is marked down because it's getting close to the sell by date. As long as you can use or freeze it right away, it can save you a lot of money. Buying meat like this comes in handy on the weeks when the sales aren't so great. If I find a great recipe for a chicken dish and it's not on sale that week, I can just pull some out of my freezer stash.

Sometimes things happen. I do occasionally stray from my menu. That's where having a deep freezer comes in handy. I'll reuse my fresh ingredients in another dish, or move my menu back by a day and we're good to go. I did learn my lesson a few years ago. Gary and I hadn't lived in Texas that long and we were fond of shopping at Costco (this was also before kids and I realized that buying in bulk from Costco isn't always cheaper). We weren't really used to having so much space in general, much less an entire freezer full of room. So over time we built up quite the stockpile of frozen meat, veggies, and ready to heat meals. Then it happened. Our first hurricane. Ike came barreling through southeast Texas and although we escaped without damage to us our our house, we lost power. Let me tell you how sad I was when we realized that we were going to lose everything in our freezer. All total we lost somewhere around $500 worth of food. I learned my lesson though, and I don't keep our freezer nearly as stocked as I used to.

So anyway, those are the virtues of planning a weekly menu. My virtues, anyway. Hopefully someone else can benefit from my information. =)

Taco Soup

This recipe was given to me by my dear and lovely sister in law Kristen. How I have lived 30 some odd years without it, or even knowing about it, I do not know. It encompasses all of my favorite things: easy, few dishes, freezes and warms well, adaptable to different tastes and it's DELICIOUS. Think: tacos in a bowl. Feel free to make changes as you see fit. I've changed up the types of beans, the amount of taco seasoning, you can do ground chicken or turkey (or shredded even) instead of the ground beef etc. The adaptations to your tastes are endless.

Taco Soup

2 lbs ground beef, browned, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, liquid included
1 can pinto beans, liquid included
1 can black beans, liquid included
2 cans corn, liquid included
2 packets of taco seasoning (I use a bit more, probably 2 1/4 packets)
2 packets of dry ranch dressing mix
1 large can of diced tomatoes (optional)

In large skillet brown, drain and rinse ground beef. (I always rinse my ground beef. It sounds gross, but really does get rid of quite a bit of the fat).

In a large stock pot add all canned ingredients, including the juices. (You can also rinse the beans and add water, but you lose some of the flavor) Mix in taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix. Add ground beef and heat through.

Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, guacamole or your favorite taco toppings.

Oven Roasted Dill Potatoes

This is one of our most favorite ways to prepare potatoes. It's relatively easy to prepare, easy to adjust quantity and it's easy to modify to your individual taste. We've also cooked these on the grill (prepared the same way) in a grill basket or on some foil if you don't have one. It's also important to note that I've never measured out the ingredients. I throw the potatoes in the bag and eyeball the spices.

6-8 lg potatoes. cut in half and then quarters to make small wedges
2 tbsp dried dill
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In large freezer bag toss all ingredients together to coat potatoes well. Line a large baking sheet with foil and brush with oil or spray generously with cooking spray. Arrange potatoes in single layer on baking sheet. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.