Maker Monday: Steffie’s Burrichisagna

 

1 pound meat (shredded or cubed chicken, ground beef, shredded pork shoulder, etc.)

1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup

1 cup sour cream

1 package taco seasoning

1 can refried beans

1 to 2 8 oz. packages of Mexican Blend shredded cheese (Straight cheddar can get greasy)

1 package 10” flour tortillas

 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix cream of chicken soup, sour cream, and taco seasonings together. Set aside.

Spread a thin layer of refried beans on bottom of ungreased 9x13 baking dish (if you start with tortilla, it can sometimes burn or be very dry.) Next, put a layer of tortillas. We usually chop two tortillas in half and place the flat edges against the edges of the dish to form a solid layer. Place another thin layer of beans over top of tortilla layer. Now layer of sauce, then meat, then cheese. Repeat with tortilla, bean, sauce, meat cheese until dish is almost full. We usually get around four layers with cheese on top.

Cover lightly with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 5-10 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Garnish with favorite hot sauce, green onions, sour cream, etc.

** Sometimes we add drained black beans or corn or a bit of salsa for added flavor and texture.**

Maker Monday: For the Love of Southern Biscuits

 

I have been on a journey for fluffy, soft biscuits like I ate (and made) when I lived in Alabama for years now. I grew up making biscuits with my grandmother and mother on an almost weekly basis. I love home made biscuits. When I moved out on my own, I made them less often, but I still enjoyed having fresh biscuits for breakfast or supper occasionally. I move all over the southeast U.S. when I was in college, and there didn't seem to be any change in my baking abilities. I moved to Minnesota in 2005, and it's like I instantly lost my abilities to make decent biscuits. It is the weirdest thing I have ever experienced.

Over the past 15 years I have tried dozens of biscuit recipes. I have tried different milk fat contents of dairy products. I have tried all different kinds of locally available flour. I have even tried carbonating water and then added powdered buttermilk to it. Cold butter, warm butter, crisco, lard. All the kinds of fats. You name it, I've tried it. Every time, I got flat, dense, not at all fluffy or flaky biscuits. 

WTF?! I used to make good biscuits with easy. I was stumped as to what the deal was. I did a lot of research. I read a lot of blogs, cooking magazines, and cooking books to try and figure it out. I just happened along an article about White Lily flour that lit a bulb above my head. I had always made biscuits with White Lily before moving to Minnesota. I haven't been able to find it here. The While Lily flour sold in the South is made from a winter wheat that is a softer flour than the kinds sold here in the Midwest. It has more protein in the flour, and that makes a different for lift and mouth feel. Who knew? It wasn't just me forgetting how to make proper biscuits. I put it on my list to stock up on flour the next time I traveled home to visit family.

In the mean time, COVID-19 happened, and everyone was doing a lot more experimental baking than normal. I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole and happened upon a video of a woman making biscuits with yeast (here is the video). I had never seen anyone put yeast in biscuits, so I was interested in giving it a a try. These were based on a recipe called Angel Biscuits printed in Southern Living magazine in I believe the 50s. No special flour needed. I had to give them a try.

You proof the yeast to add to your dry biscuit ingredients and then left the dough proof for at least two hours. Other than that, the process is pretty much just like any other biscuit recipe. One batch made a standard cake pan of regular sized biscuits and another 8x8 baker of mini biscuits. They turned out so beautiful! Golden and buttery on the outside, fluffy and soft on the inside. 

They were a tiny bit more yeasty tasting than I want in a biscuit. We had let the dough proof overnight, so next time I will just do the minimum two hour poof to see if that makes a different in taste. Despite that one tiny opinional flaw, these have been the best biscuits we have baked in the last 15 years. Mission accomplished! They were perfect to pair with sausage gravy and scrambled eggs for breakfast.

If you've found this first recipe interesting, please look for another post coming soon on my re-do of my family's classic White Lily biscuits. I recently visited my mother and did a grocery delivery of some of my favorite regional items that I could bring home with me to Minnesota. One of those was a small stock of White Lily flour.

Maker Monday: Quarantine Cooking - Sourdough Bread

 If you have been reading my blog posts all along the way, you may remember I played around with beginning a sourdough starter a while back. I'm at it again. With the Covid-19 pandemic and the stay-at-home orders and hoarding of supplies, yeast is very hard to find. So, I decided to revive my sourdough starter and make some loaves of sourdough bread.

I will fully admit to going through several bread recipes and bread making techniques before I found one I liked. There were a few meh but edible loaves of bread and a couple of total fails. I am going to say that it was probably a combination of user error and our house being a bit too cold for the bread to rise properly. I do not think it was any fault of the recipe.

The recipe that did end up working without a hitch, was the How To Make Sourdough Bread from the Kitchn website. Be forewarned, making sourdough bread is at least an all day process, and most realistically a two day process for best flavor.

Two sourdough loaves ready to go in the fridge for a final rest (because I did not want to stay up another 4-5 hours to finish them that night). I started this around 1pm, and I did not anticipate just how long it would take before being ready to go in the oven. It's right there in the recipe, but I guess I got ahead of myself. It is quite an involved process of work the dough and wait, work the dough and wait again.

Baking is a true labor of love. I have utmost respect for those who bake every week for their families. If your mom, dad, spouse, SO, best friend, neighbor bakes for you, give them a hug and a thank you. It’s a multi day commitment. I now understand so much better why so many Southerners where I grew up have cornbread or biscuits on a daily basis and reserve the rolls and breads for more special occasions.

Baking sourdough is kind of interesting in comparison to other breads I have made. I got to bring out both of my cast iron dutch ovens (my kitchen one and my camping one) for this endeavor. The sourdough needs the initial build up of steam achieved from cooking in a very hot, lidded pot in order for the dough to rise up instead of out. You pre-heat both your oven and your pots to a high temperature, put the loaves in and keep the oven at that high temp for a short amount of time. Then you lower the temperature for the rest of the bake. I think attempting to cook my first loaf last week as more of a baguette style was why it failed. It didn't have that spike of high steamy heat to help it rise up, so it spread instead and ended up flat and dense. Don't freak out too much if you get some smoke too with this method. You line the dutch oven with parchment paper, and as the oven heats up the parchment paper will char and smoke. As soon as you put the pots in to pre-heat, I would suggest turning on your exhaust fan and possibly opening a window. It got very smoky, very quick.


The cooking process completed beautifully with no problems at all. Here is a picture of the sourdough loaves when they finished cooking. They are beautiful. Everything rose as it was supposed to.I wanted to immediately do a victory dance of happiness when I pulled them out of my dutch ovens.

We tasted a slice. Oh my gosh. It's so good. They were crispy and flavorful on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside with jut the right amount of tang. Just a little punch of the sourdough taste and smell. Now I want to make smaller versions of these to use as bread bowls for beer cheese soup.

In my vintage wooden breadbox, these lasted us about two weeks. The sliced bread made phenomenal tuna melts. We had quite a few lunches using them for sandwiches. They were good for just snacking on with a little bit of softened butter as well. 

If you are wondering what to do with all of your left over starter, King Arthur Flour has a great list of recipes that all use what is discarded when you feed your sourdough starter. Some recipes use a half cup to a cup of starter, and others use as little as a tablespoon. So many to choose from! Check out those recipes HERE. We have made the sourdough pancakes, and next we are going to try the crumpets. 

Maker Monday: Quarantine Cooking Pressure Cooker Loaded Potato Soup

 

Ingredients

8 medium Yukon Rose potatoes (red skins with yellow inside) peeled and chopped into medium sized pieices
8 cups of chicken broth
1/2 medium onion diced
2 to 3 carrots peeled and chopped
1 can Campbell's cheese soup
3 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing powder
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
Seasonings to taste (salt, black peppper, cayenne, paprika)

Reserved for Later Use

Approximately 4 medium Yukon Rose potatoes rough chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup Heavy Cream
Toppings: sour cream, green onions or chives, shredded cheese, bacon crumbles



Directions

Add everything but the cream, reserve potatoes, and toppings to the pressure cooker. Pressure cook on high for one hour. Natural release pressure for 10 minutes and then quick release. Puree with emulsion blender. Add a cup of heavy cream and stir.

Chop enough potatoes into breakfast potato sized pieces to top each person's soup with about a 1/4 cup of potatoes. Season lightly with salt and olive oil. Air fry at 400 degrees for 13 minutes tossing half way through. You can also pan fry or cook these potatoes in the conventional oven. Your choice. Time may vary per your cooking method. You want the outside of the potatoes golden and crisp.

Top bowl of soup with crispy potatoes, green onions, shredded cheese, and bacon crumbles.

Maker Monday: Home Cooking - Amana Colonies Sauerkraut Slaw Recipe

 

We first had this side dish when we were visiting The Colony Inn restaurant in the Amana Colonies in Iowa. It looks like sauerkraut with minced carrot in it, but it tastes more like a sweet coleslaw or vegetable relish. It's hard to describe.

Sadly, The Colony Inn has now closed its doors, but the Smokehouse and Meat store there in The Amana Colonies is still sharing print outs of the recipe for the sauerkraut slaw. Below I've included their original recipe as well as one I created using fresh ingredients rather than pre-prepared sauerkraut.

Amana Colonies Sauerkraut Salad from The Colony Inn (Original Recipe)

1 quart Amana Sauerkraut

1 cup Celery (diced)

1/2 cup Green Bell Pepper (diced)

1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper (diced)

1/2 cup Onion (diced)

1 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Salad Oil

Combine all ingredients. Chill several hours before serving.

If you prefer all fresh ingredients here is my take on the above recipe. I made a big batch of it a couple of summers ago, and I pressure canned the extra. It makes a fantastic pickled relish to go on hot dogs, tacos, or to accompany Indian dishes. It makes a refreshing Summer side all on its own anytime. You could switch out one of the pepper types for a jalapeno if you prefer a spicier mix. If you decide to pressure can your leftovers, I would suggest adding a bit of pickle crisp to the the mix to keep the vegetables slightly crunchy after canning.

Improvised Fresh Sauerkraut Slaw

3 cups water

1 tablespoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup vinegar

1 bag of fresh cabbage slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrot) or 1 small head of cabbage and 2 carrots (shredded)

1/2 cup diced celery

1⁄2onion, chopped (medium)

1⁄2 cup green bell pepper (diced)

1/2 cup red and orange sweet peppers (diced)

1⁄2 cup vegetable or olive oil

Mix slaw, celery, onion, and peppers together in a large bowl and set aside. 

Note: If you start with a whole cabbage and carrots, you may want to increase your amounts of liquids and seasonings to match depending on how much shredded vegetable they yield. You want enough mixture to evenly coat and pickle the vegetables. Keep in mind that it may look like a lot of vegetable at first, but the size will reduce as it sits overnight and the cabbage gives up some of its moisture.

Combine water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Pour contents of sauce pan over vegetables and stir. Let set overnight in the refrigerator before serving. Stir a few times as it chills to ensure proper coverage and pickling.

Maker Monday: Fast, Healthy, and Flavorful Breakfast Ideas - Protein Tubs

I saw the video below on Facebook showing how to use Greek yogurt and protein powder to make  breakfast bowls. I am not much on breakfast. I'm not awake enough most weekday mornings to appreciate a good breakfast, and if I am not going to have a good breakfast I'd rather skip it. And let's be honest, for a lot of us, the extra half hour of sleep we can exchange for the time it would take to prepare and eat breakfast is worth skipping the meal. I usually toss a protein bar or an apple or banana in my bag and head to work.


When I saw this video, I instantly thought it was a great idea. I have tried so many different brands and flavors of meal replacement shakes. Some of the pre-mixed ones are okay, but they are really expensive. The cost is lower if you just buy the powder and add your own liquid, but the consistency is just awful. No matter how thoroughly or long I mix the powder into the water or milk, it seems to be both watery and clump. The powder settles to the bottom so that occasionally you will get a big mushy clump of protein powder with barely flavored milk/water. It is not pleasant. I like the idea of an almost instant meal, but the texture inconsistencies get me every time.

So, when I saw that they mix the protein powder into plain Greek yogurt, I saw that this very well might solve my texture issue while helping me create a very fast, flavorful, healthy breakfast alternative. Last night I decided to put together a couple just to try. I already had some slim fast breakfast shake mix in my cupboard, and I picked up some fresh  yogurt on our grocery trip earlier in the day (I love plain yogurt on pretty much anything you would normally use sour cream or Miracle Whip).

Once the scoop of protein shake mix is added to a cup of Greek yogurt and mixed well, the yogurt has a very fluffy, whipped texture. It's almost like a dense chocolate mousse. I really like the extra tang that the yogurt adds to the flavor too. I have never liked any of the flavors of protein shakes other than chocolate for drinking, but I could see really enjoying vanilla, strawberry, or caramel as a yogurt/mousse flavor. I slice two to three strawberries to go with each serving and stored them in my Rubbermaid Takealong containers that have the removable trays to keep the fruit from getting soggy. I think I might try some almond slivers, granola, or maybe some dried fruit as mix-ins for some later in the week.

Maker Monday: Fast, Healthy, and Flavorful Breakfast Ideas - Nordic Stone Age Snack Bars

 

I really like the convenience of being able to grab a granola or protein bar, stash it in my purse, and go to work or to the park or wherever I am headed. Some are acceptable meal replacements, and some are very enjoyable snacks. Almost all of them have more sugar than I can for or are so dry and flavorless I might as well be eating cardboard. And so very many of them are peanut butter flavored. I like peanut butter a lot, but I do not care for peanut butter flavorings at all.

I have occasionally made my own granola, but I had never attempted to make my own snack bars. I saw a video cross my feed on Facebook describing a homemade bread loaf made from seeds and nuts. I watched the video (posted below) and thought it looked like a great idea for a lower sugar, flavorful alternative snack.




I did decide pretty quickly that I thought I would prefer this in a more easily portable bar or square format. So, instead of putting the whole mix in a loaf pan, I split it into two 8x8 stoneware dishes.

For my snack bars I included:

• 1/2 cup raw slivered almonds 
• 1 cup raw chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup brown flax seeds
• 1/2 cup golden flax seeds
• 1 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 1 Tbsp. clover honey
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 olive oil
• 5 eggs
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl and then half between two 8x8 lightly greased baking dishes. I cooked my bars at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. They turned out crisp along the edges and chewy in the middle. I cut one pan into small granola bar size, and I cut the other pan into small squares like I would brownies.

They are chewy and crunchy at the same time, very flavorful, and filling. Next time I might try adding a touch of cinnamon or ginger to the mix just to punch the flavor a bit. I think oats would also be a nice addition. The original recipe did not call for the dried fruits or honey, but I wanted a hint of sweetness without adding too  much. The dried fruits also add some varied texture to the bars as well. I packaged them up into snack bags and popped them in the breadbox so that they will be easy to snag in the mornings on our way to work.

Maker Monday: Kitchen Witchery : Steffie's Make Me Feel Better Chicken Soup

When I am feeling under the weather, my beautiful, awesome, wonderful wife will make me her homemade chicken soup.. I call it her "Make Me Feel Better Chicken Soup" because it always does make me feel better. The bonus is that it is super tasty too and full of things that are good for you. There's definitely some magic in its delicious broth.

Here's the Recipe:

2 large or 4 small chicken breasts grilled or pan seared and cubed
96 oz chicken or turkey broth (2 of the family size 48oz cartons)
1 1/2 cups chopped baby carrots
3 small yellow potatoes cubbed
1 cup frozen green peas
1-2 cups frozen mixed cauliflower/broccoli
1-2 cups button mushrooms chopped
1 cup corn drained
1 bundle diced green onions, sliced thin
3 cups tri-color rotini noodles or egg noodles
Spices and Herbs (to taste): 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp parsley, 1 tsp rosemary finely minced, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp basil, 1tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp black or white pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp chicken bouillon, 2 tbs lime juice.

Mix chicken, chicken broth, and all vegetables other than potatoes together in large pot and bring to boil. While it is coming to a boil place potatoes and 1/4 cup water in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 4 minutes on high. Add potatoes to pot.

Once mixture has come to a boil add in noodles and cook until tender. This is the time also to add in any herbs and spices that you would like.

Servings: 10-12

Maker Monday: Ode to the 1950s - Cheesy Surprise Hash Brown Casserole

 

Cheesy Surprise Hash Brown Casserole

Half a Bag of Ore-Ida Hash Browns, thawed (approximately 15 oz)

1 can cream of chicken soup (cream of mushroom works good too)

1 can cheese soup

1 can SPAM luncheon meat (the Bacon flavored one works the best)

1 small onion diced

½ cup sour cream

½ cup frozen peas

1 cup shredded cheese of your choice

2 cups crushed sour cream and onion chips

Spices to taste (salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic powder, Cheyenne pepper)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or spray a 9x11 casserole dish and set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine thawed hash browns, cream of chicken soup, cheese soup, sour cream, shredded cheese, and frozen peas together folding gently until fully combined. Add spices now as well keeping in mind you may not want to add much salt at all because of the SPAM and canned ingredients sodium content. If you stir, it has a tendency to break up the hash browns too much, and then they become mushy.

Open and cut up the loaf of SPAM into small cubes. Dice the onion. Very lightly coat your skillet with olive oil (or if you prefer a bit more spicy chili oil works great.) Fry the onions and SPAM on medium heat, flipping two to three times until meat is crispy and onions are just starting to caramelize.

Drain excess grease and then mix in the SPAM and onions with the rest of your ingredients. Move mixture into your prepared casserole dish and spread out evenly. Cover the top with your crushed potato chips.

Maker Monday: Jalapeno Corn in Cream Sauce

 Everyone here at some point in time has been served the horrible, gloopy awfulness that is creamed corn out of a can. That is not what this recipe is. It will look, taste, and feel nothing like what you can get from your neighborhood grocery store shelf.  Please don't run screaming before giving it a look and hopefully a try.

My wife and I recently went to a cooking class hosted by Cooks of Crocus Hill in Stillwater, MN (campuses also located in Eagan and St. Paul, MN). We went to their Dinner Club Series: Texas Steak interactive class/dinner. It was a lot of fun. If you are local and ever have a chance to attend one of their participation cooking seminars, please do! Thanks again to our friend Jenn for giving us a Crocus Hill gift certificate as a wedding present. Otherwise we would have never known anything about them. We followed that up with Grilled Spice-Rubbed Skirt Steak topped with Tomatillo and Serrano Chile Sauce, Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes, and Jalapeno Corn in Cream Sauce. As a finishing dessert course, we had Roasted Apple Bread Pudding topped with a Bourbon Caramel Sauce.

The whole meal was fantastic! We liked it so much we used all of the tomatillos we picked from our garden to make our own chile sauce to can, and we have also made the corn dish as well with a few tweaks to bump it up a notch for our spice level. I will include the corn recipe here, and I will be linking the other recipes to this post within the next day or so. Please check back if you are interested in those.

 

Jalapeno Corn in Cream Sauce

4 ears fresh sweet corn

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 teaspoon sugar

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cheyenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

Apply course ground salt and black pepper to taste

1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (optional)

Cut corn kernels off the ears and place kernels in mixing bowl (should yield about 2 cups of corn). Set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt two tablespoons salted butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and minced jalapeno and saute to soften. 

Add the reserved corn and cover with the heavy cream. Add in cheyenne pepper and paprika and stir thoroughly. Cook until corn is tender, but not soft (think al dente pasta). Cream will reduce slightly and the mixture will thicken. Finish with salt and black pepper. Depending on how much butter taste you enjoy with your corn, you may want to add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of unsalted butter at this point.

Maker Monday: Steffie's "No Ricotta Zesty Lasagna" Recipe

 

1 24 oz container of cottage cheese
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1 bag pizza blend shredded cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 lb ground beef
1/2 lb hot Italian sausage
1/2 medium sized onion diced
1 jar Newman's Own Sockarooni spaghetti sauce
1 jar Classico Organic Tomato, Herbs, and Spices spaghetti sauce
1 box lasagna noodles
Spices & Herbs (italian blend herbs, red pepper flakes, seasoned salt, Garlic Garlic, cheyenne pepper)




Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat water in large pot until boiling. Added a teaspoon salt along with 12-15 lasagna noodles (12 if you want fewer layers and 15 if you want more). Follow directions on box for cooking, but remember to stop a bit short of done because they will continue to cook in the oven. It is best to drain right away and pour in cold water over the noodles to stop  cooking and keep noodles from sticking together until time to layer ingredients.

Mix onion, beef, and sausage in a skillet and brown. Add full jar of Sockarooni and half of the Classico THS sauce to skillet and let simmer. Add in spices and herbs to taste.

In medium sized mixing bowl, mix half a container (12 oz) cottage cheese with Parmesan cheese and two eggs. Stir until thoroughly blended and set aside.

In a 9x11 oven safe pan, begin layering your ingredients. First layer should be meat sauce to prevent noodles from sticking. The sequence goes as follows: red sauce, noodles (3 or 4 across depending on your preference), cottage cheese mixture, noodles, red sauce and cheese, noodles and so on until your layers near the top. The top layer should be meat sauce topped with a layer of shredded cheese. Sprinkle on additional herbs and spices as desired.

Cook for 30 - 40 minutes until cheese on top is lightly browned.

Some other ideas for ingredients to include would be spicy pepperoni, switching out half of the beef for turkey, and swapping out sauces for whichever sauces you and your family like best.

Maker Monday: Three Sisters' Stew Recipe

 

 

This recipe is inspired by the traditional Native American "Three Sisters Stew / Soup." This stew came about naturally based on the three sisters companion growing techniques used by the eastern tribes such as the Iroquois and Cherokee. They often planted corn, pole beans, and squash together because they are mutually beneficial to each other. Click here for more info on how they benefit each other and reading material on other companion growing methods. They would have used what is readily available for the season, so given the current season, I chose to use late season corn, acorn squash and rutabaga, and kidney beans. If it were mid-summer, I would have used instead yellow summer squash and zucchini squash, fresh summer corn, and green beans.


Ingredients

10-12 cups of chicken broth
1 1/2 lb chicken
1 medium size rutabaga peeled and cubed
1 small acorn squash peeled and cubed
2 medium size red potatoes cubed
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 small onion diced
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
2 cups broccoli lightly chopped
1 cup fresh corn
2 can dark kidney beans drained and rinsed
Juice from 1 medium size lime
1 jalapeno diced (remove seeds and pith before dicing) 
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cheyenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1 tablespoon Italian spice blend
Salt and black pepper to taste

** During summer months, rutabaga and acorn squash can be substituted with yellow squash and zucchini squash. Sweet potato would also be another late summer to early fall option as well. For a little more richness to the broth, you can add a bit of milk as well.**


Set aside broccoli, chicken, salt, and black pepper. Combine all other ingredients and cook on medium heat, covered. While that begins to cook, brown chicken and then chop into bite-size pieces. When root vegetables are about half way cooked, add the chicken and broccoli to soup. Continue to cook until vegetables are tender. Salt and black pepper to taste.

Servings: 8-10

Maker Monday: Ode to the 1950's - Philadelphia Cream Cheese Polynesian Cheesecake

 

Semi-Homemade Philadelphia Cream Cheese Polynesian Cheesecake

8 oz package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese softened
1 package of Pillsbury pie crust from refrigerated section
1 jar maraschino cherries
9 oz crushed pineapple
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs. corn starch
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Butter
Pecans finely chopped and/or toasted coconut (optional)

Blend 1/3 cup sugar with 1 Tbs. corn starch and add 9 oz. can of crushed pineapple with juice. Chop about 10-12 maraschino cherries and add to mixture as well. Cook over medium heat until corn starch has been activated and sugar is melted. It should be thickened and clear. Set aside to cool.

While fruit  mixture is cooling, blend softened cream chease, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1 tsp. salt. Add two eggs, one at a time, and stir into mixture gently. Blend in 1/2 cup of milk and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Butter a 9 inch round pie pan put in one of the pre-made Pillsbury pie crusts. The butter is important because it will keep the pie crust from getting soggy. Perforate the crust multiple times with a fork to prevent bubbling during cooking. Pour in cooled Fruit mixture and spread evenly. Top with cream cheese mixture and sprinkle with pecan/toasted coconut (optional).

Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 and bake for an additional 40-50 minutes. Cool and enjoy!