Chocolate and cheesecake and brownies...OH MY!

Okay...like every women...I love chocolate and cheesecake and I like it even better when they are together. As much as I love making these from scratch, sometime I take a short cut and use brownie mix in a box. And besides, I think these are so pretty!

Cheesecake Brownies

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup butter

2 eggs

2/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan. Combine cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Set aside. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Turn the heat off and set a heatproof mixing bowl over the water. In the mixing bowl, combine butter with the remaining cup of chocolate chips; stir until just melted and blended together. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 eggs, then sift together flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into chocolate until evenly blended. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the chocolate layer. Top with remaining chocolate mixture (this doesn't need to completely cover the cream cheese layer). Using a knife, swirl the top chocolate layer into the cream cheese to make a marble pattern. Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until top is crinkled and edges pull away from sides of the pan. Cool thoroughly. Cut into 12 to 16 squares.

My Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Nothing beats oatmeal raisin cookies in my book. These have just the right amount of spice. The secret is the ground cloves. Feel free to use a little less to suit your own taste. I have also made these and added white chocolate chips. Still so good!

My Favorite Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup butter flavored shortening
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, butter flavored shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until light and golden. Do not overbake. Let them cool for 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheets to cool completely. Store in airtight container. Make sure you get some, because they don't last long!

Cream Cheese Squares

Everyone loves these. They are sweet enough with just the right amount of cinnamon and sugar. It is the kind of dessert recipe that you can just whip up in no time and they are so so so easy! I have used both Philiadelphia brand cream cheese and store-brand cream cheese for these and they both taste the same but I have noticed that Philiadelphia cream cheese blends more smoothly.

Cream Cheese Squares

2 - 8 ounce cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
2 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9" x 13" pan. Press one can of the crescent rolls into the bottom of the prepared pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1 cup of sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Spread over the crescent layer. Unroll the second can of crescent rolls and lay them on top of the cream cheese layer. Do not press down. Pour the melted margarine over the entire pan. Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over the top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in oven, or until the top is crisp and golden.

Pan Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Shallots

When I make this, my entire house smells so good. Roasting whole garlic and shallot cloves along with the chicken give this dish its extraordinary flavor, but it’s the pan juices mixed with cream that really make this dish so wonderful.

Pan Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Shallots

4 boneless chicken thighs, with skin
1 pound rigatoni pasta
12 whole garlic cloves
8 whole shallots
¾ cup white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken, skin side up with shallots and garlic in an oven-proof skillet. Pour over wine and drizzle chicken skin with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast chicken until cooked through and skin is crisp and golden, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken, garlic and shallots. Transfer pan to stove top and bring pan juices to a simmer over medium high heat. Snip off the tops of the garlic and shallots with kitchen sheers and squeeze out the soft centers into the pan. Add cream and stir constantly until heated through, about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile cook pasta until al dente in a pot of salted boiling water. Drain. Add pasta to skillet and toss well to coat. Place pasta into 4 serving dishes. Cut each chicken thigh crosswise in 3 pieces. Top each plate of pasta with chicken, shallots and garlic.

Notes - You can also use boneless chicken breasts instead of the chicken thighs or a combination of both.

Legal Seafood's Double Stuffed Baked Shrimp

One of my favorite restaurants is Legal Seafood. Billy and I first ate there while we were in Boston. It was phenomenal. We were so excited to find out that there was one located near us in New Jersey. I absolutely love their stuffed shrimp. I order it every time we go. So I figured, why not get the recipe?

Legal Seafood's Double Stuffed Baked Shrimp

16 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 – 4 ounce package Ritz Crackers
4 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup chopped scallions, both white and green parts
½ cup diced celery
2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 to 2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/8 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 large egg, beaten
8 ounces backfin crabmeat, picked over for shells and cartilage
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the crackers in a plastic bag and crumble with a rolling pin. Put them in a large mixing and set aside. In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat and cook the scallions, celery and garlic for 5 minutes or cooked through but still slightly translucent. Toss with the crackers. Stir in the wine, Old Bay, lemon juice, parsley and crabmeat. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in the egg.Place the shrimp in a large buttered cookie sheet. Cover each shrimp with about 3 tablespoons of the crabmeat. Dot the crabmeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bake for 15 minutes or until the shrimp and crabmeat are cooked through. Serve immediately.

Notes - You can also use this the stuffing to make crab cakes. Add chopped red peppers to taste. Form into cakes, dust with flour and saute in olive oil or butter until cooked through.

** Recipes comes from Legal Seafood**

The recipe God's are shining down on me!

I love the website AllRecipes.com. It is filled with recipes from it's members. I have submitted a few recipes in the past but none were ever considered for publication on their website. Well, after posting the recipe for my Spicy Smoky Macaroni and Cheese with Turkey Bacon on my blog on AllRecipes.com, some of the other members told me to try and submit the recipe. So I reluctantly did, not thinking that anything would come out of it and it would remain in "recipe limbo" like all of the other recipes I submitted and what do you know......................they accepted it! It is being edited for publication. I am too excited for words!

Spicy Smoky Macaroni & Cheese with Turkey Bacon

This is my favorite macaroni and cheese recipe. You can adjust the amounts of paprika, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper to suit your tastes. I like spicy food so the recipe as it is written is spicy.

Spicy Smoky Macaroni & Cheese with Turkey Bacon

1 lb. medium shell pasta
10 slices turkey bacon or bacon
1 - 16-oz. package Velveeta cheese product, cubed
3/4 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. half & half
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. plus 1/8 tsp. smoked paprika

Cook shells according to package. Drain well and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, cook the turkey bacon in the microwave until crispy. Allow to cool slightly, then crumble; set aside. In the same pot as the pasta, add the half & half, heavy cream and cubed Velveeta and cook over medium low heat stirring constantly until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Remove from heat. Add cayenne pepper, paprika and smoked paprika to the cheese sauce and blend well. Add the turkey bacon and mix. Add the shells back to the pot and stir to combine the shells with the cheese sauce.

Enjoy!!!

Introducing....

Hi..my name is Arge. I am 32 years old and I live in New Jersey with my husband and our boxer Ginger. We have a betta fish named Fred. The people at the pet store said he would only live about 3 to 4 months. That was back in October of 2006. I am happy to report that Fred is still swimming strong in his bowl. We have dubbed him "The fish that will not die". Not that I wish death on my fish or anything...I just think the story is kinda funny.My husband and I were married on New Year's Eve of 2006 on the Jersey Shore. The wedding was a 3 day event. We totally lucked out with the weather...it was 63 degrees on our wedding day. It truly was a fairytale wedding and a dream come true. My husband is a volunteer firefighter. It is true what they say...the fire department becomes your second family. I am the vice president of the department's Ladies Auxiliary. I love it. We are now in the process of putting together a fundraiser cookbook. We have collected about 400 recipes..something I thought we would never do. I have a huge crush on Brian Urlacher...linebacker for the Chicago Bears. I always told my husband that if Brian were to knock on our door..I might have to run away with him....until I realized that Arge Urlacher sounds funny. I am totally addicted to the Star Wars trilogy. My husband and our friends make fun of me all the time. I love 90's rock music. My current favorite song is " Love Remains the Same" by Gavin Rossdale. If you haven't heard it...check it out. It is a great song. I do not watch much TV but there are a few shows that I love...24 (Jack Bauer ROCKS!), Smallville (all girl's love a superhero), SVU, Fringe, House and Heroes. I love photography. I have an eBay store where I sell crafts and things that I make. I obviously love cooking. My brother and I got that from my dad. I love creating recipes as well as trying new ones that I think sound interesting. My lastest creation is Spicy Smoky Macaroni and Cheese with Turkey Bacon. Well..that is me in a nutshell.