Still Full from Thanksgiving

So it has been forever since I updated this. My New Year's Resolution (and hopefully starting before the new year) is to update this blog more often. It has just taken so long to get used to it, plus I want to write something that will actually be worth reading! I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was great. Mine was fantastic, and think I am still full from it :)

Thursday Alex and I ate with his family in Topeka and his Grandma's retirement home. It was nice to see his family and then see my family that night. We went to Wichita for dinner. The spread was quite amazing. My mom always seems to outdo herself and I live it. She made two desserts I was very impressed with. They are below, along with recipes if you are as intrigued as I was!

1. Sopapilla Cheesecake (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans crescent roll dough
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

• Directions

  1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
  2. Beat the cream cheese with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape the each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough.
  3. Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Stir the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar together with the cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle over the cheesecake along with the almonds.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 45 minutes. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares
  
  
  
  

INGREDIENTS

2. Ritz Cracker (Surprise) Pie (from Cakespy.com)

Pastry for two-crust 9-inch pie
36 RITZ Crackers, coarsely broken (about 1 3/4 cups crumbs) --we used the mini cheese-filled sandwich crackers
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grated peel of one lemon
2 tablespoons margarine or butter

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Roll out half the pastry and line a 9-inch pie plate. Place

cracker crumbs in prepared crust; set aside.

2. Heat water, sugar and cream of tartar to a boil in saucepan
over high heat; simmer for 15 minutes. Add lemon juice and peel;
cool.

3. Pour syrup over cracker crumbs. Dot with margarine or butter;
sprinkle with cinnamon. Roll out remaining pastry; place over pie.
Trim, seal and flute edges. Slit top crust to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake at 425 F for 30 to 35 minutes or until crust is crisp
and golden. Cool completely.

Saturday Alex and I went to a wedding for his good friend from undergrad and it was fun to hang out with a lot of his friends we never get to see anymore. Sunday morning my mom made homemade doughnuts which she has never made before. I guess my grandma used to make them Keota, IA, where my mom grew up and her recipe was pretty famous. Needless to say, I came back to Lawrence with all this food that is going to do damage to my waistline.

Alex's birthday is Friday and he is turning the big 25. This is also his last week of law school classes ever, so it is a big week, with tons to celebrate! Oh, and Ginsy got a friend :) My roommate got a half beagle/half daschund mix, 7months old and so cute. I think that is all for now.

Until next time,

Peace, love and curls.

Jacque