White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

To Make Crust:

In a small bowl mix together:
2 cups Graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup sugar
7 tablespoons melted butter

Press mixture onto bottom and half way up sides of a 9 inch springform pan.

To Make Filling:

Mix together until creamy:
4 -8oz packages cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add 4 eggs & mix until blended.

Stir in 6oz melted white baking chocolate

Pour into Graham cracker crust.

Warm 1/2 cup seedless red raspberry preserves in microwave -you just need them to melt a little. You do not want them to get hot -just warm enough to be a thick liquid. Dot the top of the cheesecake with spoonfuls of preserves. Cut through top of cheesecake to marbleize.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Turn the oven off but do not open it. Let cheesecake sit in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool COMPLETELY on counter. Then refrigerate.

**No mater what I do this cheesecake ALWAYS cracks where the raspberries are swirled in. The faster it cools the deeper the cracks. That is why I turn off the oven & let it cool in there & then on the counter before it ends up in the fridge.

Lemon Bars

Mix together:
2 cup Flour
1 cup Butter
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Press into greased 9x13 pan and bake 20 minutes at 350

Beat together:
4 Eggs
2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Lemon Juice

Pour over hot crust and bake 20-25 minutes more. (It puffs while baking)

Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cool.

Pistachio Pudding Bars

Mix and press into a greased 9x13 pan:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup softened butter
2 tablespoons sugar

Bake crust at 350 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Whip and spread over crust:
8 oz soft cream cheese
8 oz Cool Whip -thawed
1 cup powdered sugar

Beat for 2 minutes (or till thick)
2 packages instant pistachio pudding
2 1/2 cups milk

Then pour pistachio mixture over cream cheese layer.

Spread Cool Whip on top of Pistachio layer.

Keep refrigerated.

Waikiki Meatballs

Sauce:
3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
20 oz can Crushed Pineapple (drained but KEEP THE SYRUP!)
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

Mix the cornstarch and the brown sugar together so there are no lumps of cornstarch. Stir in the juice that was drained off the pineapple, vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook over Medium/high heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens & boils. Boil 1 minute more (Sauce will get darker). Stir in the Pineapple. Then add meatballs and cook till heated through. Serve over rice.

**I normally use store bought pre-cooked Swedish meatballs to go in the sauce. I either pop the meatballs in the broiler to heat them before I add them to the sauce or let them simmer in the sauce to heat up. If you want to go fully homemade here is the meatball recipe that came with the sauce recipe:

Meatballs
1 1/2 pounds Ground Beef
2/3 Cup Oat Meal
1/3 cup minced onions
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup milk

Mix oat meal, onions, egg, salt, ginger, and milk well. Add ground beef and mix till thoroughly blended. Shape in to balls. Broil until fully cooked.

Oatmeal Rasin Cookies

1 cup raisins
1 cup water
Simmer raisins and water for 15 minutes (until raisins are plump). Drain & save 1/2 cup of the liquid (add water if necessary).

Cream together:
3/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar

Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup "raisin liquid" (from above)

In a separate bowl combine:
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well. Then add:
raisins (the ones you cooked)
2 cups oatmeal

Drop by the tablespoonful on cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. -Do not over bake. They are an extremely soft cookie! You need to let them cool before you take them off the cookie sheet (It is easier to bake them on parchment so you can slide the parchment off the cookie sheet with the cookies on it and let it cool on the counter while you reload the cookie sheet) For storage you need to put wax paper or parchment between the layers of cookies in an airtight container.

Cream Cheese Brownies

Melt together over low heat:
2 -4oz packages of Bakers German Sweet Chocolate
6 Tablespoons Butter

Let cool

Bowl 1:
Cream together:
6 oz cream cheese
4 Tablespoons butter

Add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until fluffy

Blend in :
2 Eggs
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Teaspoon Vanilla

Bowl 2:
Beat 4 eggs until they are light colored
Slowly add 1 1/2 cup sugar and beat until thickened

Add:
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Flour
Melted Chocolate mixture (from above)
2 Teaspoons Vanilla
1/2 Teaspoon Almond Extract


Spread 1/2 of the Chocolate batter in greased 9x13 pan. Top with Cream Cheese mixture, Then the rest of the Chocolate batter. Zig Zag through with a knife.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Powdered Hot Cocoa Mix

1-64 oz box Nonfat Dry Milk (makes 20 quarts)
1 -22 oz can powdered coffee creamer
1 -2 pound bag powdered sugar
70 oz powdered Nesquik (give or take a few oz)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and store in tightly sealed containers.

Add 1/3 -1/2 cup cocoa mix to 8oz hot water for Cocoa.

**Most mugs hold more than 8oz so measure if you do not want watery hot cocoa! (or just add more mix if your cocoa is not strong enough for you!)

**This recipe makes a TON! (a little more than 2 gallons of powdered mix) I know some people that have carefully washed the crisper drawer from their refrigerator to have something large enough to mix it in! The recipe is the size it is because, aside of the Nesquik, you use the entire package of each ingredient. And with the Nesquik, I buy what ever cans I can find that add up to around 70 oz and use the entire cans as well. If you try and make a smaller batch there is a lot of work in weighing out the ingredients!

**This also makes a reasonable mess to mix. Think powdered sugar mushroom cloud. It is not a bad idea to mix it outside! :)

I know this sounds like a lot of trouble but I promise it makes REALLY yummy hot cocoa! And, when put in fun containers makes nice gifts too!