Just call me Martha Stewart

Wow, yesterday was a big day for my list! I don't know where to start. Well, I guess I'll start with the ones that I'm 99% sure you don't care about. I took my vitamin all 7 days in the past week! And, I went to the gym 4 days. Oh, and I did give Josh a massage at least 3 days. Probably more. Yay.

So, now onto the ones that are more interesting to write about.

First, #42: Bake something from scratch. This probably the most exciting one! I am completely knocking #42 off of the list. That's not to say, however, that I won't bake something else from scratch in the next few years. Yesterday, I made a brownie cheesecake from scratch. And it was awesome. There were 4 parts to this cheesecake, and I'm happy to say that every.single.part turned out. I got this recipe from this blog: http://lepetitpierogi.blogspot.com/search/label/Cheesecake , who got it from someone else's blog, who probably got it from someone else's blog, etc..

The first part of the recipe involved making brownies from scratch. I could've just stopped there as far as baking something from scratch, as I've always just made brownies from the box. But I decided that if I was going to do this, I was going to do this big.

Here's the brownie recipe:
Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*F. Greatse 13x9 pan.
Microwave chocolate and butter in large microwaveable bowl on high 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Stir in sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour and salt; mix well. Spread into prepared pan.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out pretty clean.
Cool the brownies, and then cut them into 3/4 to 1 inch squares for use in the cheesecake. You will only need 2 cups of the brownie squares for the cheesecake, so you will have to decide what you want to do with the rest of the brownies. :)

Here's a picture of the brownies that I had left AFTER I cut out the ones needed for the cheesecake.

Next, I made the oreo crumb crust. I doubled this recipe, because I like a lot of crust. However, I felt that was even toooo much crust, so I suggest just making it as the recipe says.

I do also have to give a big THANKS to Josh, for scooping all of the middles out of the Oreos, and then crushing them to use for the crust. :)

Crumb crust:
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (or 5 ounces) finely ground Oreos (or another chocolate cookie)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Dirctions:
Stir together ingredients and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the side of a buttered 10" springform pan. Fill right away with the cheesecake, or chill for up to 2 hours.

My picture-taking abilities aren't that great, but here's a picture of my crust in the pan:


Now, for the cheesecake:

Ingredients:
3 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Make crumb crust as directed above for 10-inch cheesecake.

Preheat oven to 350*F.
Beat together cream cheese and sugar with an elecctric mixer until fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Fold brownie cubes in very gently and pour mixture in prepared pan. Put the springform pan on a baking sheet, to catch drips, and bake for 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken.

Here's a picture of my cheesecake:


And, finally, the Ganache Glaze:

Ingredients:
3 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:
Place finely chopped chocolate in a medium sized mixing bowl. Scald the butter and the cream together in a saucepan (or in the microwave 1 min.). Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely melted. Whisk in vanilla and then whisk in powdered sugar until smooth. Spread over the cheesecake while ganache is still warm.

Chill the cheesecake until ready to serve.

And, here are some final pictures of my cheesecake. I will say, it was DELICIOUS. And let me just say that if I can make this recipe, anyone can! It was easy. Just a little time-consuming.

Now, let's move on to #38: Make a new recipe every month. After a lot of searching, I decided to make Cheese Chicken Crescent Supper.

I was a little nervous about it while making it, but it turned out to be VERY GOOD! Everyone who ate it, liked it.

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken, cut into small cubes (I used 2 chicken breasts, cut up)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (separated)
1 10.5 oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup milk
1 8 oz. can Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*F. Grease a 13x9 pan. In a large bowl, mix the chicken and 1 cup of the cheese, and the salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat the condensed soup, milk, and 1/2 cup of the cheese. Heat over medium heat until cheese melts and sauce simmers.

Spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom of the pan. Reserve the remaining sauce. Open the crescent rolls, separate into individual triangles. Place 2 tbsp. of the chicken mixture on a triangle, and roll it up into a crescent shape with the chicken mixture inside. Place on top of sauce in the pan. Repeat, and line up all of your crescents in the pan about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese over the top.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crescents are puffy and lightly browned. Serve with remaining sauce, and enjoy!

I don't have any of my own pictures, because by the time I took it out of the oven, we were hungry and just wanted to eat it. But here's a picture from the recipe I took it from: (and I'm happy to say, mine actually looked like it was supposed to!)






And, now, you ask, who at all of this wonderful food? Not just Josh and me! I then completed #45: Have another couple over for dinner. My best friend, Marisa, and her husband, Tim, came over to enjoy this food. It was nice to have company, since it doesn't happen very often! I didn't take any pictures of us, but here is a picture of Marisa and Tim on their wedding day this past September. (not the best picture, but it was all I had of the two of them!)


And because I hung out with Marisa last night, #12 has been done this month. (Although, I do hope to hang out with her more!)

See, I told you it was a big night. Oh, and I can't forget, Josh and I read through a little of Acts Ch. 9 last night. (#1: Read the Bible with Josh once a week). We're currently studying the Book of Acts for our 20-somethings Group at church. We usually read the part for the week separately, but we've been trying to do it together lately. We're hoping to read through more of it tonight, so I'll have to let you know what comes from that!