Birthday Carrot Cheesecake

Ingredients:
***Cheesecake:***
16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon flour
3 eggs
***Carrot Cake:***
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 1/2 ounces can crushed pineapple, packed in juice, drained well, reserve juice
1 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
***Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:***
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon reserved pineapple juice


Directions:

In large bowl of electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in flour, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth. Set aside. Meanwhile prepare Carrot Cake.

Carrot Cake:

In large bowl, combine oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract; mix well. Stir in dry ingredients; mixing well. Stir in drained pineapple, carrots, coconut and walnuts.

Spread 1 1/2 c. carrot cake batter over bottom of greased 9- or 9 1/2" springform pan. Drop cream cheese batter over carrot cake batter by spoonfuls; top with large spoonfuls of remaining carrot cake batter. Repeat with remaining cream cheese batter, spreading evenly with a knife. Do not marble with a knife. Bake in preheated 350ºF oven for 50 to 65 minutes or until cake is set and cooked through. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate. When cake is cold, prepare Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting.

Pineapple Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a bowl of electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and reserved pineapple juice. Beat until smooth and of spreading consistency. Frost top of cheesecake. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours before serving.

This is what kind of Cake I made for D's 54th birthday! mmmmmm

The Dish that won his heart

Well, at least 32 years ago it got a proposal afterwards.

Beef Stroganoff

1 1/2 lb boneless beef sirloin steak
2 Tablespoons of Butter
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1 cup chopped or thinly sliced mushrroms.
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 cup sour cream
6 cups hot cooked medium egg noodles
1. Cut the beef with the grain into 2-inch strips, then cut the strips across the grain into 1/8-inch slices. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown. Add onion and mushrooms
2. Stir in soup, salt and pepper to taste. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender.
3. Stir in ketchup and sour cream until well blended. Serve over noodles.

Now a few notes; I used an all natural beef shoulder roast-no additives or hormones were fed to the blessed cattle that supplied the beef. It Tasted better than the regular beef quite frankly. I also used organic Ketchup. No High fructose corn syrup. I was quite pleased with the outcome. From now on I will be trying to post changes that we are making in our diet to avoid GMF's in our diet.

If you want an interesting video to watch, check out Food Inc. We watched it on Monday night and it has given us a new thought process in our everyday eating habits.