Toffee Cheesecake

Gingersnap crust:

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 1 1/2 cups ground gingersnap cookies (about 7 1/4 ounces)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

Cheesecake:

• 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
• 5 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel topping

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

• 4 1.4-ounce English toffee candy bars (such as Heath or Skor), chopped

For gingersnap crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom of 9-inch springform pan with 2 1/2-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Stir ground cookies, butter, and sugar in medium bowl until moist clumps form. Press cookie mixture firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Wrap outside of pan with 3 layers of heavy-duty foil. Bake crust until firm and beginning to darken, about 14 minutes. Cool crust. Maintain oven temperature.

For cheesecake:
Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in butter, then eggs, 1 at a time, until just blended. Beat in vanilla. Pour batter over crust in pan. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake cake uncovered until filling is puffed around edges and moves slightly in center when pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove pan from water; remove foil. Place hot cheesecake uncovered in refrigerator overnight.

For caramel topping:
Stir sugar, water, and lemon juice in large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until mixture turns deep amber, occasionally swirling pan and brushing down sides with wet pastry brush, about 9 minutes. Add cream (mixture will bubble). Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until reduced to 1 1/4 cups, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Chill until thickened but still pourable, about 15 minutes.

Spoon caramel over top of cake just to edges (do not allow caramel to drip down sides). Garnish top edges with chopped English toffee. Chill at least 2 hours and up to 6 hours.

OVERALL: Okay so, No I did not make the caramel topping, instead I added about 1/2 cup of chopped toffee candy. It turned out really good. It was not as smooth as I wanted, probably because I forgot to add the butter (oops), but my friend who I gave it too as a birthday cake enjoyed it. Next time I would add more toffee to the cheesecake and probably just buy some caramel to melt and pour on top... But it was very good.

Also, no pictures because I fail, so the photo is the stock photo from the original recipe.

Restaurant Watch: Designer Greens

So the really cute thing about this place is the "design your own salad" option. I really enjoy this option since I am a bit of a picky eater. But for $4.99 you can get a half salad (which is a lot).

I ordered a Waldorf Salad - spring mix letuce, granny smith apples, gala apples, candied pecans, and goat cheese with a dijon balsamic dressing. It was FABULOUS!

I am going here again whenever I crave a salad, which is more often than you think...

My favorite Visitor :P

So my Fiance was in town this week, which meant some cooking in, eating out, and forgetting meals because we're busy catching up.

Monday night we made Jerked Chicken and Cucumber Salsa. It was alright, the Salsa was the best part for me. I have no pictures but I wanted to share this awesome recipe...

Mango Salsa:

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 1 mango, diced
• 1 English cucumber, diced
• 2 green onions, diced

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, lime juice, hot sauce, and ginger. Mix thoroughly and add the remaining ingredients. Toss and refrigerate for 1 hour.

5-Minute Slim Down Meals

Found Here by Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief

BODY-SLIMMING BREAKFASTS
RICOTTA WRAP (350 calories): 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp nonfat ricotta, 2 tbsp slivered almonds, 1/2 cup berries and 2 tsp honey in 1 whole-grain wrap such as Flatout multigrain flatbread

YOGURT CRUNCH (350 calories): 5 oz plain yogurt, 4 walnut halves, 3 tbsp All-Bran, 1/4 cup granola and 3/4 cup cubed melon

BACON, EGG AND CHEESE MUFFIN (500 calories): Scramble 1 large egg in 1 tsp margarine and place on a toasted whole-grain English muffin spread with 1 tsp margarine. Top with 1 slice cooked turkey bacon and 2 tbsp shredded reduced-fat cheddar. Serve with 3/4 cup berries, 1/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt and 12 oz skim latte. Try this blogger's tips to cut the cooking time.

LEAN AND LUSCIOUS LUNCHES
SHRIMP SALAD (400 calories): 10 cooked shrimp, 1/3 avocado, sliced, 1 tbsp slivered almonds, 2 tbsp each diced red onion and carrot, 1 tbsp prepared sesame dressing, tossed with 2 cups greens; 3 whole-grain crispbreads

TANGY TURKEY PITA (550 calories): 3 oz turkey breast, 5 olives, 3 tbsp feta, 2 tbsp each diced cucumber and tomato, 6 spinach leaves, 1 tbsp olive oil and 2 tsp balsamic vinegar in 1 whole-wheat pita; 1 large orange

PEAR ‘WICH (650 calories): 3 tbsp almond butter, 1/2 large pear, sliced, 1/8 tsp cinnamon on 2 slices whole-wheat bread. Serve with the other half of the pear.

DELICIOUS, TRIM-DOWN DINNERS
FISH AND FRIES (400 calories): 4 oz cod rubbed with 1 tsp olive oil, seared (2 to
3 minutes per side); 12 Alexia Sweet Potato Fries, baked as directed on package; 1 1/2 cups sliced cabbage tossed with 2 tbsp reduced-fat dressing

CHICKPEA PASTA (550 calories): 1/3 cup chopped onion, 2 cups chopped zucchini, 1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped, and 1/2 cup chickpeas sautéed in 1 tbsp olive oil. Mix with 1 cup cooked ziti, 2 tbsp Parmesan.

CHICKEN PILAF (600 calories): 3/4 cup cubed, cooked, skinless chicken mixed with 1 1/2 cups cooked Near East Whole Grain Wheat Pilaf drizzled with 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 cup steamed cauliflower with 1 tbsp lemon juice and 2 tbsp fresh parsley

SATISFYING SNACKS
Turkey and cheese roll-up (100 calories): 1 oz sliced turkey breast, 1 oz sliced reduced-fat cheddar rolled up

Chocolate milk with nuts (150 calories): 1 cup light chocolate soymilk, 13 pistachios

Orange spritzer and almonds (150 calories): 8 oz orange juice mixed with 4 oz sparkling water; 7 almonds

~~~~~~~~

For the record, I would really only eat like 2 things on here. Chocolate Milk with nuts? No freaking way.

New Show Addiction

So I've been watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern as my mind numbing weekending from my week of exams.

Damn this show is interesting, but I would never in my life eat anything featured on this show.

Teryaki Pork

• Pork Shoulder
• teryaki marinade
• 2 tsbp Worcestershire sauce
  
• paprika
• cumin
• salt & pepper
• half diced red onion
• 2 chopped scallions

1. Rub pork with Paprika, cumin, salt, pepper.
2. Put in crock pot. Add Teryaki until pork is coated.
3. add onions, Worcestershire sauce, scallion.
4. Low for 8-9 hrs

Overall: YUMMY! No pictures because I was lazy, but I was REALLY suprised because I was just throwing stuff together. lol... I'll revisit once I make again.

Frozen Pizza's

Every college student stacks up on frozen pizza. It's a necessity when you have a late night exam (as I'm writing this at 10:41 pm after a grueling physics exam) and you don't feel like cooking. Through my college experience, I have always had mini pizza in my freezer. Some hits, some misses.

You should note that I'm rating these pizza based on how well they microwave & how good they taste.

My Personal Favorite pizza is DiGorno Pizza's.

I love the traditional crust. It's a thick delicious pizza crust. One of the best things is that you can microwave and it's ACTUALLY decent pizza. The crust is crispy yet still fluffy. Also comes in Garlic Crust (greasy, not very good) and Thin crust (I'm not a thin crust girl)

Sadly, these are expensive. Normally about $3.50-$4.00 and SOMETIMES will go on sale for like 2 for $6.



Celesta Pizza

So I just picked up this brand to try something new. I always see it in our freezer from one my my roommates. Honestly, I probably won't by again. There is no where near enough cheese (I counted like 8 shredded mozzarella bits disbursed across the 8 inch pizza). The sauce had a bit of a peppery taste and overall did not cook well in the microwave.

The good news? 3 for $5!



Stouffer's French Bread Pizza

I stocked up on these when I was in my dorm with my mini fridge, because they are individually packaged and don't take up a lot of room. They are alright. I mostly cooked them in the oven because I don't remember if there were microwave instruction or if the microwaved pizza was crap. But the bread gets hard & crispy throughout. It feels like you are eating stale bread with pizza toppings.

These are expensive as well, running about $4. They are occasionally on sale here.


Red Barron Singles

Alright. Good thing is they have lots of cheese. They microwave alright. Although you should eat fast because after a while the cheese gets kinda gross.

I haven't bought these in a while I think because for the size and amount you get it's cheaper to just get another pizza.