Cheesecake Pumpkin Cups

The crust of this cheesecake pumpkin cups is a shortbread cookie and the icing is a caramel liquor mixed with heavy whipping cream, powder sugar, and cream cheese.  The day before making the cakes I roasted a small halved pumpkin for an hour, but you can used canned pumpkin if you prefer.

Shortbread cookie crust

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/8 cup of sugar

1/8 cup brown sugar

(Add more flour if you can not form a ball)

Pumpkin cheesecake filling

3 packages of cream cheese at room temperature.

1 cup of pureed pumpkin

3 eggs

1/4 cup sour cream

1 and 1/2 cups of sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 Tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup of chocolate chips

Pumpkin cheesecake topping

1 package of cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup of caramel liqueur alcohol

1 16 oz box of heavy whipping cream

4 cups of powdered sugar

Combine all the ingredients to make shortbread, use a cupcake pan and liners and press a one inch roll into the bottom of the liner so that each roll  of dough is thin at the bottom and crawls up the sides some.  Add the pumpkin cheesecake filling to each cup and bake at 375 degrees for 45 mins.  Peal the liners off when cakes are warm to avoid them from sticking and add the topping when the cakes are cooled. Sprinkle with pumpkin spice seasoning.

These cakes reheat nicely so they may be served warm even after being place into refrigerator.  The best way to reheat is in the oven cause the topping forms a s'more like crust. 

Pico de gallo

2 pounds of tomatoes diced
10 cloves of minced garlic
One large white onion
One fresh jalapeno minced
One cup fresh cilantro minced
One Tablespoon of tajin seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Fuzzy’s Taco

On Saturdays Fuzzy's Taco has 2 dollar margaritas, the food was fabulous and generous in size. I know this will become a go to spot. The service was quick and everyone was friendly. A five star was just not enough of a rating for me. If you are ever in town make sure to make this place on the list of places to go in Fort Myers.

Bracado Dip

1 head of broccoli
4 asparagus spears
2 avocados
2 tomatillos
12 snap peas
2 cups of milk
1 pint of heavy whipping cream
1 whole onion
1 green pepper

1/2 bulb of garlic
Tablespoon salt
Tablespoon of Italian seasonings
1/2 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon parsley

In processor blend broccoli, asparagus, avacados,tomatillos, and snap peas with 2 cups of milk until smooth.
Chop onion, green pepper, and garlic and add to mixture in a large sauce pan along with other seasonings. Boil with heavy whipping cream until onions are soft. Add one cup of mixed shredded cheese. Serve warm with grilled cheese or your favorite tortillas chips.

My favorite birthday treat

I love that my daughter knows how to make brownies without using a ready-made box.  She enjoys being in the kitchen and has been watching and learning to cook ever since she was a small child.  She baked me my favorite snack on my birthday and I ate way to many of them. 😋

She even added candles for me.

My beautiful Chef to be

Cottontails

Cottontail's Dough

1 cup warm milk

2 Tablespoons butter

4 Tablespoons of vegetable shortening

2 1/4 teaspoons (one package) active dry yeast

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons of granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of pepper

1/4 cup of diced dill weed

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough

1 cup of mashed potatoes

2 quarts oil, for frying

Melt butter and shortening in milk in a small saucepan, remove from heat and add yeast.  In large bowl mix all ingredients but the flour.  Add yeast mixture to bowl and stir.  Slowly add flour to form dough.  Set in warm area and let rise for an hour.  Roll dough 1/8 inch thick and use a large cup to cut circles to place filling in.

Cottontail’s Easter Mix

Cut one large piece of precooked ham, 1/2 of a green apple, one slice of pineapple into small cubes.  Use 1/4th cup of honey and 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar loosely packed to mix  Add 1/3 cup of sliced almonds and 1/4th cup of frozen corn and stir.  Place mix into cut circles and seal shut .  You can either form balls, fold, or use another circle to seal the mix inside.  Fry at a low temp with good frying oil until golden brown.  Sprinkle with paprika.

Chili Bread

Bread inspired by Vicky and Consuelo cause of their love of hot spicy foods. My awesome co-workers at Wyndam Gardens.

Dissolve on pack of yeast in ¼ cup of really hot water and set aside.

With a food processor blend

• One large pasta tomato
• ¼ cup of beer
• 1 red Thai sun hot pepper
• 1 green Thai sun hot pepper
• 6 dried red chili peppers

In a large bowl combine

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ½ cup of white sugar
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp of ghost pepper sauce
• ¼ cup of red pepper flakes
• ½ cup of almonds
• ⅛ cup of sunflower (no shell) seeds
• Yeast and water mix
• Add processor mix to bowl and blend together.

Set in warm area for 30 mins.

Butter and flour bread pan and cook at 350 degrees until thin knife
comes out clean from center of bread.

Bumbo Crumb Cupcakes

Cupcake Batter

3 ½ cups flour

2 cups sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup milk

½ cup vegetable oil

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

½ cup of coke

½ cup of rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients

Together first, add the wet ingredients and blend until

Smooth.  Scoop batter into cupcake pan lined with

Cupcake liners.  Cook for 25 mins.

Crumbs

1 ¼ cup of flour

⅓ cup packed brown sugar

⅓ cup of sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

¼ tsp salt

¼ cup of unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon of water

½ cup of rum

½ cup of shredded coconut

When cupcakes are almost all the way cooked (20 mins),

remove from oven and top with crumb mix. Place

back in oven and continue to cook 5-10 mins or until golden

brown and toothpick comes out clean from the

center of the cakes.

Filling

½ cup of salted room temperature butter

½ cup of shortening

½ cup of coke

½ cup of rum

5 cups of powdered sugar

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

When cakes are completely cool,use a long thin pastry

Tip and piping bag to push down into the top of cakes to fill them.

Veggie Citrus Glaze Stir fry

• 2 teaspoons fresh garlic
• 1/4 cup fresh cut chives
• 2 Tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 head of broccoli cut
• 2 peeled and sliced carrots
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 1 diced onion
• 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup of almonds

Mix liquids in a bowl with whisk. Cook 2 cups of rice and set aside. Saute garlic, nutmeg, almonds, and chives over medium heat in medium pan with 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil. Start sauteing the vegetables in separate skillet with 1 Tablespoon of sesame oil and cook until desired tenderness. Once garlic mix starts to brown add citrus mix to the pan and slowly add sugar while stirring. When dissolved reduce heat and simmer 3 to 5 minutes until it thickens. Add glaze to veggie mix, stir, and then add rice to mix. 

Cream Cheese Yogurt Bread

This bread is superb for dipping into soups or chili.

5 Cups of flour

1 egg

2 packages of yeast

2 Tablespoons of butter

4 oz of chopped cream cheese

1 Tablespoon of basil

1 Tablespoon of salt

2 cups of plain yogurt

½ of cup of honey

In small bowl mix the yeast with warm

melted butter.  In large bowl mix all other ingredients

adding butter and yeast last.  Sough will be sticky.

Let dough rise for an hour in a warm area.  

Butter and flour a bread pan and cook bread at 350

degrees for 40 minutes or until golden brown

Floridian Citrus Rolls

Dough

One package of yeast

1 teaspoon of lime zest

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

1 teaspoon of orange zest

1 teaspoon of tangerine zest

½ cup of hot milk

½ cup of hot water

½ cup of sugar

¼ cup of melted butter

2 Tablespoons of shortening

1 egg

3 ½ cups of flour

Filling

1 Cup melted unsalted butter

1 ½ cup sugar

4 Tablespoons of cinnamon

4 Tablespoons of brown sugar

1 cup of coconut

1 cup of sliced almonds

Glaze

Squeeze juice from one half of the lime, lemon orange and

tangerine

One banana blended

3 cups of powdered sugar (add more to desired thickness)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dissolve the yeast inside hot water let sit for a couple of minutes.  Next add egg, sugar, butter, shortening, and milk to the yeast mixture.  Add flour plus the zest and knead the dough. Let rise for 1 hour. After dough rises, roll out flat in a rectangular shape 15 x 9 inches.  Take filling mix and spread out evenly across whole sheet of dough. Roll dough and slice one inch slices. Place on greased baking pan and bake for 40 minutes and 350 degrees or until golden brown.  Once down top with glaze.

Boiled Peanuts

We made our own boiled peanuts in a slow cooker with a vegetable soup base, garlic, onion, and chili oil. Gone in two days, so we made some more 😉😁.

Tim Laplant's favorite family dish

Mary Laplant, Tim's mother made pasties from scratch a few times a year. Tim enjoys the memories of how he would feast on these after a long day of hunting, that's if his mom wasn't out hunting with them. 😁The whole family enjoys the warmth of the dish along with all the pleasant memories they created together making them.

Buffalo Bread

1 cup of white flour

1 cup of white corn meal

⅔ cup of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

3 ½ teaspoon of baking powder

1 egg

½ cup of milk ½ cup of pureed tomatillo

¼ cup of hot chili oil

⅓ cup of corona

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter and flour a 9 inch round cake pan,
we used our angel food cake pan.  Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.
Add half the batter into pan and spread evenly.  Add broccoli pieces and
cover with remaining batter. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until
a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Top with favorite cheese after cooking
is complete, return to oven to let the cheese melt. We made some
hollandaise sauce to pour over top and added our remaining broccoli
pieces when placing our bread on plates.

Grandma's Good Luck Sauerkraut

Grandma always said, "have a bite on New Years Day, so good luck will always stay."  Never liked sauerkraut as a kid, but now that I am older, I can eat it more than once a year, Lol. 

• One head of cabbage chopped
• One half cup of apple cider vinegar
• One cup of malt vinegar
• One cup of water
• 1 Tablespoon of dry mustard
• 3 Tablespoons of sugar
• 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
• Pound of pork
• One tablespoon of Italian seasoning
• One tablespoon of pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon of salt 

Place in Crock-pot and slow cook until meat is tender.