Friday Food Craft: Individual No Bake Cheesecakes!

I told you the mason jars would be making an appearance! This is a great way to make individualized desserts to take to a picnic, pot luck, or pack in a lunch. Even more no fuss: a no bake dessert! The glass jars certainly may go in an oven to bake (and I've seen many clever recipes online for pies, etc.) but I decided a no bake dessert was the way to go this time.



You will need:

1 sleeve graham crackers (about 5 ounces)
4 Tablespoons butter (melted)
2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup heavy whipping cream
16 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1/2-3/4 cup sugar (depending how sweet you like your desserts)
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon

To make the crust you will need to smash up your graham crackers (other crackers or cookies may be substituted if you have something else on hand). I used my trusty old rolling pin and placed my crackers in a sealed bag and smacked/rolled them to smithereens. If you prefer, you may use a food processor. Once I have my crumbs, I mix in 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar to evenly distribute it. Then, mix in your melted butter with a fork (or pulse it in with your food processor).

Once you have your crust, spoon it into your containers. While I used tiny mason jars (4oz. jars) you could also use a pie plate or any other container you like for your cheesecake. Gently pat your crust into the bottom of your container.

To make the filling, start by whipping 1 cup of heavy cream into whipped cream (like you would top a sundae with). You could try substituting an already whipped topping, but I like the results better with real whipped cream. Once you have your whipped cream, add in your cream cheese and sugar. Last, but certainly not least, add in the zest and juice of one lemon. I found an exceptionally large lemon, so I used all of the zest but only about 3/4 of the juice. Again, you may add this to suit your taste. If you prefer, lime juice would also be lovely in this.

Spoon your filling over your crust and smooth out with a spoon or spatula. Cover and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight (the jars come in handy here as each one has it's own built in, air tight, cover). Serve as is, or with your favorite fruit topping (okay, okay or chocolate/caramel, etc.). Enjoy!

Magical Mason Jars

Portland has finally gotten a small taste or two of Spring this year, and with that I have my renewed love of gardening and putting everything into a mason jar. They aren't just for preserves to me, once Spring and Summer hit, I want all of my drinks, gifts, desserts(spoiler alert for Friday Food Craft!) and more to be packed in a mason jar.

As you can see, I like to doll them up on occasion and using scrapbook paper on the lid inserts is a great easy way to start your own love for mason jar decorating. I also like to make sticker labels, use a ribbon tie, etc. This is one you can really personalize and go nuts with, and the containers are reusable so you and your friends can pass them around forever if you want!

For the lids you see here, all I did was trace around the circle insert for my lids, cut out the circle inside the lines (you don't want it to end up bigger than the insert). The best part of this is your circle doesn't need to be absolutely perfect around the edges because your jar ring will cover the edges when you close the jar. If you don't have scrap booking paper, or another colored paper, scraps of fabric would also be lovely.

I will be sharing a few more Spring inspired crafts this week and next! What are some of your favorite Spring time crafts?

Friday Food Craft: Eggs in a Basket

I know it has been awhile, but I couldn't leave you all without a Friday Food Craft, especially before Easter. Sadly, I returned from my trip to Wisconsin with a horrible head cold and have spent most of my week in bed. More crafty goodness will be coming your way next week, I am feeling quite a bit better today.

Now for the food! This is a great take on "eggs in a basket" that is super easy and would make a great Easter breakfast, or part of a larger brunch. It is baked in the oven, so you don't need to babysit it the whole time and doesn't require any turning. I decided to try it with some left over dinner rolls, I'm always trying to use up everything in the kitchen before it goes bad.

You will need:

Dinner rolls (one for each person)
eggs (same number as dinner rolls)
salt and pepper to taste
cheese (I used both a goat cheese and a small sprinkling of grana padano, any cheese you like will do)

*optional additions: tomatoes, peppers, fresh herbs, hot sauce, etc.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Next, slice the tops off of your dinner rolls. I cut off about the top 1/3 of my dinner roll, to leave ample space for an egg in the bottom. Set the tops aside and hollow out the bottoms of your "bread bowls" enough to hold one egg (you can leave a little extra bread because some of your egg will soak into it and you don't want a skimpy bowl).

Place your egg bowls onto a baking sheet. Now comes the fun: add your seasonings and toppings to taste. This is great because each person can choose their own toppings to make a special breakfast without a lot of fuss. Also, if you have some people who prefer scrambled eggs, they could scramble theirs before pouring it into the bread bowl.

Bake your eggs for 20-25 minutes, and then place your roll tops onto the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes so they crisp up a bit.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Place the tops back onto each roll and enjoy this delicious breakfast sandwich!

This is a great way to change up the classic eggs in a basket, which generally uses a slice of bread with a hole cut into it. Topping choices are really limitless so you could do this every week and still be having a slightly different breakfast each time. :) I also like that it is baked in the oven so while my sandwiches are baking, I can be making a fruit salad or some hash browns to go with and not risk burning my eggs. Enjoy!