Cheesecake Cupcakes

Okay I know what you are thinking. What? Cheesecake cupcakes? Yes and I’m telling you that they are soooooo yummy.

I have been craving cheesecake for a while and I told the hubby this. We were throwing ideas back and forth of what types of cheesecake to make when he mentioned these. I had made these a long while ago and they were good. So I set out to search through my plethora of cookbooks to find the recipe. (One could not have too many cookbooks.)

The basis of the recipe comes from The Cake Mix Bible. I made a few tweaks and I must say these were even better than I remember.

Cheesecake Cupcakes
Crust:
1 package classic yellow cake mix or chocolate cake mix
1/4 cup of butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Top layer:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar

Fruit layer (optional):
2 cups fresh berries
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place foil or paper liners in 24 muffin cups.

For the crust, in a bowl combine the cake mix with the melted butter and mix until crumbly. You can use a mixer if you desire but I found it was just as easy to use a fork. Divide the mixture until the bottom of the muffin cups (approx 2 T each). Level the mixture but don’t press it down too much.

Now onto the cheesecake filling. Combine the cream cheese and the sugar at medium speed until the mixture is smooth. Now add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix well for about a minute. Spoon evenly over the crust mixture. Bake at 350 for 18 minutes or until set.

While the cheesecakes are baking, make the top layer. Combine the sour cream and sugar in a bowl. Spoon evenly over the cheesecakes and return back to the oven for 5 additional minutes. Cool completely.

The fruit topping is totally optional but I highly recommend it. For this one I used blackberries. I smashed the blackberries and then added the sugar. Spoon over the cheesecakes and serve cold.

Every one loved the individual cupcakes. The picture above shows the different layers. The crust tasted like almost like a graham cracker crust (the chocolate cake mix tastes like an oreo crust) and it has a nice crunch to it. The cheesecake was smooth and creamy. The sour cream added a nice tang to it and the blackberry sauce was just the crowning touch.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

So the other day as the husband and I brainstormed our grocery list the subject of stuffed bell peppers came up. They sounded good and we hadn’t had them in quite a while. I dig around looking for the recipe I used last time but try as I might I could not find it. So okay let’s wing it. I know the basic ingredients…bell peppers, ground meat, rice…

I have to say what I came up with was rather tasty.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
4-6 green bell peppers (can use any color but the husband prefers the green)
1 1/2 cup of cooked white rice
1 pound of hamburger (or any ground meat really)
1 small onion – diced
1 T minced garlic
1 t salt
1/4 t cracked black pepper
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t cumin
1/8 t nutmeg
1 1/2 t Worcestershire
8 oz no salt added tomato sauce
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I recommend applewood smoke Gruyere)

Cook your rice. Honestly, I cheat and use 5 minute rice. It’s easy.

While your rice is cooking, add the garlic, diced onions and hamburger in a skillet and cook until meat is done and onions is transparent. Drain the grease and return to the skillet. Add the spices, Worcestershire and tomato sauce. (Now don’t look at me strangely for the nutmeg. It’s actually quite tasty in savory dishes. Just remember that a little nutmeg can go a long way. And if you can…Fresh nutmeg is best.) Add the diced mushrooms and let simmer on low for about 5 minutes or so.

While that is simmering, prepare your bell peppers. I prefer to cut my bell peppers in half versus keeping it whole. You get a higher filling to bell pepper ratio. Make sure to cut off as much as the inner membranes as possible without damaging the outer shell.

Add the rice to the meat mixture and give it a good stir. Spoon the mixture into the prepared bell pepper shells and place on a cookie sheet. Put into a preheated 350 degree oven and back for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, pull out and add the shredded cheese if you want and put back into the over for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Serve with a salad and enjoy! They turned out so good!