This cheesecake is fantastic. I could stop right there and just move on, cause really, nothing else needs to be said about it. When I made this, 5 different people had some. There were 5 different moans of pleasure, and 5 sets of eyeballs rolled back into heads. Yes, it’s good. And it was so, so easy. I found the recipe in my Simple and Delicious Magazine, and it totally paid for the entire price of the subscription. But that’s just my opinion (and the opinions of the 5 people I gave this to).

You’ll need: 2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, 1 12 oz. jar of maraschino cherries, mini chocolate chips, 2 eggs, sugar, and a chocolate pie crust.

First, drain your jar of cherries, reserving 2 teaspoons of the juice.

Quarter the cherries, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, put the two packages of softened cream cheese.

Pour in 1/2 cup of sugar.

Add two teaspoons of the cherry juice you reserved in the first step. I may or may not have sneaked a teeny bit extra.

Go ahead and beat those three ingredients together.

Next, add two eggs

and beat them in until just combined.

Add in your quartered cherries

and 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips.

Stir them in.

Then you need a chocolate pie crust. I suppose you could make your own, but why? (Oooh, did you hear that? It’s the sound of the foodie community screeching to a halt.)

Pour the cheesecake mixture into the chocolate crust. It will be very full!

Finally, bake it at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack.

And I can’t believe I didn’t get a picture of a slice of the cheesecake. I must have been too busy shoving it in my face. If you can, make it a day ahead of time, so the cheesecake has enough time to rest. This was REALLY good, but since I only made a few hours in advance, I think it could have been much better. But it was my very first cheesecake that didn’t come out of a box stamped Jello, so live and learn!

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake
Simple and Delicious magazine

1 jar (12 oz) maraschino cherries
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1 chocolate cookie crust (9 inches)

Drain maraschino cherries, reserving 2 teaspoons juice. Cut cherries into quarters, set aside. In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and reserved cherry juice. Add eggs; beat until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips and reserved cherries.
Pour into crust, crust will be full. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack.

Back in January, I posted a recipe for taco soup, which I called Take One. It was alright, but didn’t quite have the taste I was looking for. So the search continued. Today, I bring you Take Two, which also happens to be the Final Take for me. I can’t say definitively that I’ll never try or post another taco soup recipe, but for now, this one was exactly what I was looking for.

Or it was the second time, when I bought the right tomatoes, and not the ones with the Italian seasoning. Italian seasoning and taco seasoning just don’t play well together. In any case, I found this recipe on the Crockpot 365 blog, which is AWESOME if you have never been there.

You’ll need: 1 lb ground beef, 1 packet taco seasoning, 1 packet ranch dressing dry mix, 2 cans kidney beans, 2 cans pinto beans, 2 cans corn, 1 can tomatoes with green chilies, 1 large can of diced tomatoes. Optional: cheese and sour cream.

Brown your ground beef, drain, and add to your crock pot.

Pour in your packet of taco seasoning.

Followed by the packet of ranch dressing mix.

Drain and rinse two cans of kidney beans, and add those to the crock pot.

Same with the pinto beans– drain and rinse, then add to the pot!

Add in 2 cans of whole kernel corn, this time without draining.

Add one can of tomatoes with green chilies, without draining.

Finally, add your large can of diced tomatoes, also without draining.

Give it a good stir, put the lid on and cook on low for 8-10 hours. This smelled absolutely amazing while it was cooking! I could hardly leave it alone in the kitchen!

When it was finally done, I dished it into a bowl.

And topped it with some cheese and sour cream. This was exactly what I was going for. I felt like this recipe hit all the points that left me disappointed in the last taco soup. It’s probably more of a chili that’s taco flavored than the other one was. Either way, I was happy with the results!

Taco Soup
From Crockpot 365

2 cans kidney beans
2 cans pinto beans
2 cans corn
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes and chiles
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 lb ground beef
cheese and sour cream

Brown meat, add to crockpot. Sprinkle the seasoning packets on top of the meat. Drain and rinse the beans and add. Add the cans of corn and tomatoes without draining.

Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours. Serve with cheese and sour cream, if desired.

This is another recipe out of my long-neglected Betty Crocker cookbook. I have absolutely no complaints about this soup, and I’ve actually made it three separate times now, so I figured it was time I actually write about it! It’s easy to make, and it heats up really well. It takes about 3 hours in my slow cooker.

You’ll need 16 oz. of hashbrown potatoes, 1 can whole kernel corn, 1 can creamed corn, 1 can evaporated milk, 8 slices bacon, onion, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce.

Put your potatoes in the slow cooker. The recipe calls for 16 ounces, thawed. I could only find 32 ounce bags, so I eyeballed about half the bag, and I’m too impatient to wait for them to thaw. It turned out fine.

Add in one can of whole kernel corn, undrained.

And one can of creamed corn. This would be why they call it “double-corn” because I’m sure that wasn’t completely obvious already.

Pour in one 12 oz. can of evaporated milk.

Toss in some diced onion. I think the recipe calls for a medium onion, or 1/2 cup. I had some already diced left over from another meal, so I just dumped in a handful. I’m not too big on onions, so I sure wasn’t going to be crying if I didn’t get enough in there.

1/2 teaspoon of salt…

1/4 teaspoon pepper…

And 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce.

Give it a quick stir together, and go ahead and get it cooking. My bacon wasn’t done cooking yet (I was baking it in the oven) but I wanted to get the soup started so I put the lid on and turned the slow cooker on high.

When my bacon was cooked and crumbled, I went ahead and added it in. Adding the bacon near the beginning of the cooking process will help distribute the flavor. Adding it in near the end will help retain crispy bacon bits. I add mine at the beginning because I figure by the third time I reheat it, all the bacon’s going to mushy anyways!!

Let it cook for 3-4 hours on high.

It heats up wonderfully, so this has been a great meal to make one night, and take to work for lunch during the week! Since it only takes 3 or so hours for me, it’s one crock pot meal that I’ll tackle on a weeknight. (I’m uncomfortable cooking in the crock pot when I’m going to be gone for more than an hour, even though I realize that’s the big draw to slow cooker recipes for most people!)

Potato and Double Corn Chowder

1 bag (16 oz.) frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed (4 cups)
1 can (15.25 oz.) whole kernel corn, undrained
1 can (14.75 oz.) cream-style corn
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
8 slices bacon, crisply cooked and crumbled (1/2 cup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In 3.5-6 qt slow cooker, mix all ingredients. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6-8 hours (or high heat setting for 3-4 hours) to develop flavors. Sprinkle each serving with parsley, if desired.