White Chocolate Cheesecake

• one chocolate crust
• 4 (1 ounce) squares white chocolate

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

• 3/4 cup white sugar

• • 3 eggs

• • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Directions

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Wrap the outside of a 10 inch springform pan with foil. Grease the inside of the pan.
• Place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour in a mixing bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape bowl.
• Melt 4 ounces of the white chocolate. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix melted white chocolate into cream cheese mixture. Keeping electric mixer on low, slowly beat in the vanilla and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Blend well. Pour mixture into the prepared springform pan.
• Place cheesecake pan in a water bath filled with warm water. Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 50 to 60 minutes, or until center of the cheesecake is just firm. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Refrigerate until set before removing from pan.

Tomatillo-Ranch Salad Dressing

adapted from Our Best Bites

1 Cup Buttermilk

1 Cup Mayo

1 Pckg. Dry Buttermilk Ranch dressing mix

2 Tomatillos (husked)

2 Jalapenos

½ Bunch cilantro

Juice from ½ Fresh Lime

1 Clove Garlic

Puree all ingredients in blender for 30 seconds.  Refrigerate until chilled.

Christina's No-Curry-Paste Curry

1 can coconut milk
1 TBSP red curry powder
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin
salt to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Mix it all together and you have curry!

Christina's Sour Cream Dip with Tomatoes and Chiles

1 pint sour cream

1/2 tsp onion salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

2-4 large tomatoes, diced

1 can diced green chiles

Mix the sour cream with all the spices until well mixed. Stir in the tomatoes and chiles. Chill at least one hour before serving. Serve with tortilla chips.

Christina's Milk-Cooked Macaroni and Cheese

source unknown

1 lb macaroni noodles
4 cups milk (about 16 oz) , or more if needed
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus additional for final season later
generous dash of nutmeg
2 cups grated cheese, any one or combination
additional toppings: bacon bits, bread crumbs, chopped parsley, diced tomatoes (optional), red bell peppers, broccoli florets
black pepper to taste (optional)

1. Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.
2. In large sauce pan, add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and nutmeg.
3. On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mixture to a simmer, stirring the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop.
4. Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in the milk. Having your heat too high will evaporate the milk too quickly!
5. Continue to stir the mixture frequently so that macaroni will cook evenly and absorb milk evenly. If you don’t stir your mixture frequently, you will get a big clump of macaroni in the end! Stir, stir stir!
6. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed. If more milk is needed, additional 1/4 cup milk at a time for final cooking. Increase the heat if your macaroni doesn’t absorb fast enough. 
7. When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the  cheese evenly into the macaroni.
8. Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes. This rest period will allow macaroni to plump up and absorb any excess milk.
9. Take a final taste and add additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together.

Serve immediately.

Christina's Spiced Roasted Tomato Soup

adapted from 101 Cookbooks


56ish ounces fresh tomatoes (roughly 8 large)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, olive oil, or coconut oil
2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
3 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chile flakes (less if feeding it to kids)
1 14-ounce can coconut milk

To serve: any of the following that sound good to you - cooked brown rice, lemon wedges, toasted almond slices, pan-fried paneer, fresh thyme or oregano, oregano drizzle, a poached egg

Slice tomatoes in half, seed and place cut side down on baking sheet. Roast at 275 degrees for a few hours. Remove from oven.

In a large pot over medium heat melt the butter. Add the onions and salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions really soften up - 10 minutes or so. Not so much that they brown, just until they're completely tender and unstructured.

Stir in the curry powder, coriander, cumin, and chile flakes, and cook just until the spices are fragrant and toasty - stirring constantly at this point. Just 30 seconds or so. Stir in the tomatoes and 6 cups of water. Simmer for fifteen minutes or so, then puree with a hand blender until smooth. Add coconut milk.

We served this over brown rice with spinach. Yummy!

Christina's Sweet and Sour Chicken

adapted from $5 Dinners


1 lb chicken breast, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 diced green or red bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 (8 ounce) can pineapple chunks, with juice or fresh
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
frozen mixed veggies

1. In large skillet over medium high heat, brown the diced chicken pieces and onion in oil.
2. Add diced bell pepper and garlic and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. In small bowl, whisk together corn starch and soy sauce, then pour the mixture into skillet along with the pineapple chunks, pineapple juice, vinegar, brown sugar, and ginger. Stir together and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5-10 minutes, or until sauce reaches desired consistency/thickness. Stir in frozen veggies and heat through. Serve over hot rice.

Christina's Double Coconut Muffins

from Smitten Kitchen


1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup full fat Greek-style yogurt, at room temperature is best (or use coconut cream)
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature is best
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut, divided

Preheat oven to 375°F. Either grease 10 muffin cups with butter or coconut oil, or line them with papers.

In a small saucepan, warm your coconut oil just until it melts. It should still be on the cool side.

In a medium bowl, whisk together your flours, baking powder and salt. Stir 1/2 cup shredded coconut. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, sugar, coconut oil, yogurt and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until just combined. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups then sprinkle the top with remaining 1/4 cup coconut, about 1 to 2 teaspoons on each.

Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out batter-free, about 20 minutes. Transfer muffins to a rack and let cool.


You could make mango-coconut muffins by adding a cup or so of diced mango chunks to the batter; pina colada muffins would use the same volume of pineapple chunks. You could replace the yogurt with mashed banana or banana puree to make a banana-coconut muffin and if you’re into that whole lime-in-the-coconut thing, you could add a teaspoon of lime zest. Chocolate chips? (1 cup), Macadamia nuts? (1/2 to 3/4 cup, toasted and chopped). If adding a moist ingredient like mango or pineapple, reduce the amount of yogurt or coconut cream by 1/3.

Christina's Slow Cooker Yogurt

source unkown

8 cups milk (the more fatty the milk, the richer the yogurt will be)
1/2 already-made yogurt for starter

Put milk in crockpot. Turn on low for 2 1/2 hours. Let sit for 3 hours. Remove about 2 cups of milk from the crock pot and stir in the starter. Add it all back into the crockpot and cover with a lid. Wrap a large towel around the crockpot (helps it keep its warmth longer) and let sit overnight. In the morning, you'll have plain yogurt!

To make other flavors, add in sweetener/vanilla/fruit at the end or use as a base for savory sauces, etc.

Christina's Quinoa with Avocados, Beans and Corn

1 cup quinoa
1 cup frozen diced green or red bell pepper
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups cooked black beans
1/4 cup lime juice
2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (free from the garden)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, diced

In a large skillet, saute the green pepper, corn and black beans.

Once softened, add the lime juice and cilantro.

In a saucepan, cook the red quinoa as directed on the package.

Once cooked, mix the quinoa in with the sauteeing veggies.

Dice up an avocado.

Serve the avocado on top of the quinoa and veggies.

Christina's Breakfast Quinoa

2 cups almond milk, rice milk or water

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Zest from 1 orange (I didn't have one, so I used 1 TBSP orange concentrate)

1 cup quinoa

3 T honey

1/4 C pecans, walnuts or almonds

fresh or frozen fruit (optional)

yogurt, milk or cream (optional)

Bring liquid and quinoa and cinnamon (and orange) to a boil, then set heat to medium low for 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes. Add fresh berries. Top with nuts and honey, fruit and yogurt. Yummy!

Christina's Super Green Breakfast Smoothie

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup chia seed gel
2 cups loosely packed spinach
1 beet (root and leaves)
8 baby carrots (or one large carrot)
1 8 oz can pineapple in juice
1/3 cup raw cashews
2 frozen bananas
honey to taste
frozen blueberries to taste

Blend it all together!

Christina's Honey Whole Wheat Bread for Sandwiches

source unknown 

3 tablespoons yeast
4 cups really warm water
1/2-3/4 cup honey
8-10 cups whole grain wheat flour (freshly ground if possible)
1 TBSP kosher salt
2 TBSP vital wheat gluten (optional)
2 TBSP flax seed meal (optional)
2 TBSP wheat germ (optional)
butter

1. Grind wheat.
2. Add yeast, water, and honey then gently mix.
3. Let rest for 5 minutes until yeast foams.
4. Then add salt and everything else.

5.  Then add flour, I add a cup at a time until it pulls away from the side of the bowl. 
7. Knead for 4-6 minutes. This dough is really sticky and you are going to think that you need to add more flour, but you only want to add enough flour that the dough barley pulls away from the bowl.
8. Let dough rise for 15 minutes.
9. Butter the bread pans (I do 2 9x5 pans and 1 8 1/2x 4 2/12 inch pan) and your hands. Punch down the dough well.
10. Form into loafs and put into greased loaf pans. 
11. Let rise in pans for 30 minutes.
12. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.
14. Remove from pans after 10 minutes and let cool on a cooling rack.

Christina's Easy Mexi-Dip for Chips

1 8 oz block cream cheese
1 cup drained salsa
2 cups grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, divided.
1 14.5 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn, rinsed with the black beans and drained

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix the cream cheese, salsa and 1 1/2 cups grated cheese. Add black beans and corn. Spread in 9x9 baking pan. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake 15 minutes, then remove foil and bake 5 minutes more. Serve with tortilla chips.

Optional: I think the following things would be good in this dip, but I haven't tried them.

1 minced chipotle pepper
chopped cilantro
chopped bell pepper (red or green)
shredded chicken
chopped celery

Christina's Super Granola

from my mom

9 cups rolled oats--not quick oats or instant
1 cup chopped raw peanuts or almonds
1 cup hulled sunflower seeds or chopped pecans
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sesame seeds (or 1/4 each of chia and sesame)
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup coconut oil or olive oil--NOT extra virgin as you want the flavor to not be strong
1/2 cup honey
2 TBSP vanilla
2 TBSP molasses

Preheat oven to 275.

Mix all dry ingredients together. Whisk liquids together and add to dry ingredients. Mix until dry ingredients are coated, but not lumped together. Spread onto two cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir thoroughly. Bake for another 15 minutes and stir again. Bake another 15 minutes then allow to cool completely before storing.

After cooling, you can add up to 1 cup of All-Bran cereal (I don't do this since my children's digestive tracks don't handle it well) and any dry fruit you like.

Christina's Rice Milk

2 gallons water
2 cups organic, long-grain brown rice
pinch salt

Take 1 gallon of distilled water and bring to a boil. Then add rice and let simmer for 3 hours. It will be all mushy. Fill your blender half way with this rice goop and the other half with more distilled water and blend.When you are done you will have 2 gallons of rice milk. It is really bland. Add a pinch of salt if desired and you can sweeten or add vanilla if you want.

Christina's Whole Wheat Waffles

from my dad

4 eggs, separated
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil

Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form. Sift together dry ingredients. Beat together wet ingredients and add to dry. Gently fold in beaten egg whites. Make into waffles.

Christina's Italian Celebration Soup

from The Essential Mormon Cookbook

1/2 C butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 C flour
 2 (10 3/4 oz) cans chicken broth
1 C milk
1 C half-and-half
1 C white grape juice
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3/4 grated Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 C grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, melt butter. Briefly saute garlic, about one minute. Add flour and stir until blended. Add chicken broth and stir over medium heat until smooth. Gradually add milk, half-and-half and white grape juice. Stir in lemon juice, oregano and thyme. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a full boil. Cook about two more minutes or until well thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in grated Monterey Jack cheese and 1/4 C Parmesan cheese. Serve hot. Garnish individual servings with remaining Parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.

Christina's Honey Taffy

from The Essential Mormon Cookbook

2 C honey
1 C sugar
1 C cream

In heavy saucepan combine all ingredients. Cook over low heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking, stirriing as little as possible. When mixture reaches hard ball stage (260 degrees F), remove from heat and pour into a shallow, buttered 9x13 inch pan. Turn edges with a spatular to prevent candy from hardening. When just cool enough to handle, divide in about 6 lengths and pull candy using buttered fingertips. Continue pulling until light and fluffy. Twist into ropes of desired thickness and then cut with kitchen shears into bite-size pieces. Wrap each piece with wax paper.

Christina's Pumpkin Bread

from The Essential Mormon Cookbook

1/2 C butter
1 C sugar
2 eggs
3/4 C canned pumpkin
1 3/4 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp dry ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 C chocolate chips (optional)
3/4 C chopped pecans (optional)

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add pumpkin and mix. Set aside. Sift dry ingredients in a large bowl. Gradually add dry ingredients to creamy mixture. Beat until blended. Add chocolate chips and pecans if using.

Grease one bread pan (or four mini loaf pans). Bake at 350 F for 1 hour for large loaf or 35-40 minutes for mini loaves.