Chocolate Cheesecake

Mmm Mmmm Mmmm my amazing chocolate cheesecake with chocolate chip cookie crust! This was a hit at Thanksgiving last year so I HAD to make it again! Be sure to cut VERY small slices as this dessert is SUPER rich.

~Ok so I forgot to take a "before" picture, so here is the "after".

Ingredients:

1 pkg of chocolate chip cookie dough

2 pkgs(8 oz each) of cream cheese, softened

1 cup of sugar

4 packets(1 oz each) of unsweetened chocolate squares

2 pkgs(8 oz each) of cool whip, thawed

~you will need a springform pan for this dessert~

Directions:

~Preheat over to 350 degrees-then grease a 9 inch springform pan

~Press cookie dough into the bottom of springform pan and bake for about 15 minutes. Let cookie cool completely.

~Combine cream cheese, sugar, and chocolate squares in large mixing bowl until well blended.

~Add cool whip and stir until just blended.

~Spoon mixture over cookie and smooth top.

~Cover and refridgerate for 3-4 hours, or overnight.

~Remove sides of pan.

Peanut Butter Pie

So I lost my wonderful peanut butter pie recipe I had made from last year's Thanksgiving, and had to search for a new recipe. I have to say, it was a little runny, it didn't hold together very well. I'm posting the recipe anyway, maybe someone else can figure out how to adjust it so that it stays together better-I'm thinking less cool whip.



INGREDIENTS:

1 baked pie crust, or use graham cracker crust, 9-inch
-I bought the chocolate pre-made pie crust
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup milk
8 ounces whipped topping
chocolate shavings, optional

PREPARATION:
In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in confectioners' sugar and peanut butter. Slowly add milk, beating until smooth. Fold in whipped topping; pour into crust. Freeze for 1 hour.

Mashed Potatoes

So for Thanksgiving lunch Ruth asked me to make mashed potatoes this year. I was VERY excited! I found a recipe that looked good online, then changed it up just a bit. David and I drink skim milk, and I wasn't sure that was going to get me the creamy potatoes I wanted so I added buttermilk as well.

Here's the recipe, originally from allrecipes.com, then adapted by me:

INGREDIENTS
6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed -or one for each person
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3/4 teaspoon salt -then add more to taste

1/2 cup buttermilk-if you used skim milk
dash of pepper

DIRECTIONS
Place potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil; cook for 20-25 minutes or until very tender. Drain well. Add milk, butter, salt, buttermilk, and pepper; mash until light and fluffy.

Thanksgiving Break Yet?

I'm really looking forward to the week of Thanksgiving...one glorious week off. One week of catching up on laundry, house cleaning, grading papers, and hopefully MORE SLEEP. Although Seajay hasn't caught on to the concept of sleeping in past 6am on the weekends. Switch gets it, but Seajay can't seem to figure out why we are still in bed past 6 on Saturday and Sunday-and thanks to her we usually aren't. SHE thinks it's more important to get up and pee, than for her mommy to get a few extra hours of sleep. So I take her out, then go back to sleep. Have your cake and eat it too!

Both doggies are VERY bad on the leash-so we are trying the Halti. It's a head collar that attaches to a leash. Basically it leads them around by their face, so if they are pulling (which they are SO bad about doing) then it pulls their head. These halti's are supposed to work miracles-but the dogs don't like wearing them. We are s l o w l y desensitizing them to the halti's so they don't mind wearing them as much....it's a labor of love and a work in progress.

Almost the Weekend

This week has gone on forever! I just want it to be the weekend so I can play with my babies. Switch and Seajay are inseperable. They wrestle in the apartment, chase each other at the dog park, and are always in each others business-sounds like real sisters eh? Most nights Switch even gets into Seajay's crate when it's time for bed. Awwww. Seajay is a great sister for Switch. We are so blessed to have found such a perfect match!

Oh Not Good!

Well we had pretty bad winds and rain last night, not to mention the temperature dropped about 25 degrees. We woke up this morning to no electricity, which makes it really hard to get ready for work. On top of that Seajay was crying on and off last night, which was strange because she had a perfect first night here, so I was extra tired. So no electricity, freezing cold wind and rain outside, and doggies who decided they didn't want to go potty outside in the freezing cold, but that instead, our carpet was the perfect place to go to the bathroom-yup BOTH OF THEM. Luckily (I guess) they decided to go on the carpet AFTER the lights came back on-hey at least I could see in order to clean up the pee right? Oh well, we still love them both times infinity, and I got to work unshowered but on time. Just another day in paradise. :0)

Adding to our family!

We have ADOPTED a 4 legged sister for our beagle Switch! Seajay is a female, one year old beagle/jack russell terrier mix who we adopted from a rescue in Austin. Special thanks to Forgotten Friends-Mix Breed Rescue. http://www.mixbreedrescue.com/