Ana's Peanut butter/banana cheesecake

3 cups of cookie crumbs.  (I used Marias, Mexican cookies.  1 roll=1 cup)
1 1/2 stick of butter. (not margarine)
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 bricks of cream cheese
3 eggs  separated or not, however you wish.
1 can sweet condensed milk
I suggest you add about half cup sugar, mine didn't come out too sweet.
It was ok, I don't like too much sugar, but it could use a bit more sweetness.

I used 2 ripe plantains.  I suggest one more.
Butter for frying them, a
2 tsp corn starch
1/2 cup brown sugar
a hand-full of chocolate chips (I used white ones)
a squirt of vanilla

Bake at 375 degrees for about an hour.  check at 45 minutes.
I used a 9 inch spring form pan.

Do I need to explain the cookie crumb situation?  You know what to do with those..

You should have left the cream cheese and butter out at room temp for a while (You don't want them hard).  If you are like me, you forgot to leave them out, cheat.  Put the butter in the microwave for a few seconds to soften.  (common sense, I know)
Now mix all cheesecake ingredients, then use beater until they are all smoothed out.
There shouldn't be lumps.

Pour mix into the prepared pan with the crumbs.  Put foil around the outside edges of the pan, and place on a cookie sheet and then into the preheated oven.

Have something to eat; once you smell it baking, you will be hangry.

Once you had a snack, slice the plantains and fry carefully in the butter, flip them individually so they don't break, do not crowd them in the pan!  Plantains do not like crowding.  I had to fry them in groups, placing all done plantains in a container on the side.  Once all done, put a dab of butter in the pan, lower the heat.  Add brown sugar and about half cup water, mix well.  Mix the corn starch with about 1/4 cup water, and mix carefully in the brown sugar so it doesn't clump.  Clumps are for cat litter, not for food.  Add vanilla, and melt in the chocolate chips in mixing constantly.   You don't want to scorch at the bottom.  Once it is all creamy, add plantains and simmer on low heat for a bit.  Let them cool.

Taste plantains to make sure they are good..  add water as needed to make it just right, they may be too thick.  Taste another plantain..  Just in case.  Leave them on the stove, so they cool only a bit.

When the cheesecake comes out, let it cool a bit.  then top with the plantains cover loosely with foil and place in the fridge.

Pina colada cheesecake

I just had a craving for something like this. 

Crust:

about 2 cups of crushed Nilla wafers
6 tsp of margarine, melted
1 cup flaked coconut
(I put the dry coconut in the blender, I rather have smaller pieces)

Filling:

3 packages (8oz ea) of cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 coconut flavored coffee creamer (I used Almond joy flavor)
       *If you don't have any you can use coconut cream, or
        a can of sweetened condensed mils and coconut extract.
2 tbsp of rum  (or a tsp of rum extract)
3 eggs

Topping:

1 large can of crushed pineapple (20 oz)
3 tbsp corn starch
3/4 cup of brown sugar (or to your taste)
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Take out a 9" spring form pan.  Take long strips of foil and fold in half to surround pan with.  Make sure it is wrapped around the pan securely covering the sides and about 1/2 inch or an inch underneath.

In a small bowl combine cookie crumbs, margarine and coconut.  Press onto the bottom of the spring form pan and about 1/2 inch of the sides. 

Place in 325 degree oven for about 8 minutes until lightly browned.  Take it out when done and st aside to cool.

While the crust is in the oven, in a large bowl, place the cream cheese, eggs, creamed, sugar.  Mix until it looks kind of even smooth.  It doesn't have to be perfect, I had a few tiny lumps in there.

Pour into pan and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour 30 minutes.  Check at that time.  mine took almost 2 hours.  to check the cheesecake, the top should be light golden in color.  and when you shake it gently, it shouldn't look shaky and watery in the center. 
Once you take out the cheesecake, use a wet butter knife to gently go around the edges, and let the cake cool.

While it cools, put the pineapple in a pot, with juice and all don't strain it.  Put it on the stove on low to medium heat.  Add the corn starch before it heats up.  mix in the brown sugar and vanilla.  Stir constantly until boiling.  Boil for about one or 2 minutes while stirring to prevent lumps.  Taste to make sure you like how sweet it is or adjust sugar.

Let it cool a bit.  Once it is warm, pour onto the cooling cheesecake.  Let the whole thing cool.   When cold put in the refrigerator. 

NOTE:
You are not supposed to spray the pan with Pam.  I should have, the sides got stuck to the pan a bit, so it looks crumbly.  It will taste good anyway, but if you want to make sure it looks smoother than this, spray, spray away!

Pozole my way

For this pozole I use beef, I don't like the way it smells when you use pork. 
Pick a roast that shreds easy for this.


One beef roast  (chuck roast shreds well)
1 onion
about one tsp of crushed garlic
1 Large can of hominy
beef bouillon or for a healthier choice, beef stock
bay leaves
cumin
salt and pepper to taste


dried chillies.
2 chilies anchos
2 chilies pasilla
2 chilies de arbol

*If you want to short cut, use chili powder and cayenne pepper to taste.  Add a little, let it rest, then taste to see if you want to add more.
*If using the dried chillies, boil about 2 cups of water and soak them for a few minutes.  When soft, blend in blender.  The strain into the boiling pozole.




Garnish:
shredded cabbage (or lettuce if you don't like cabbage)
finely chopped fresh onion
lime


Tostadas or corn chips to go with it.


Boil roast with salt to taste until roast is cooked.  Shred the meat, toss the water it was boiled in, set the shredded meat aside.
 
Open can of hominy, drain it and rinse it.  Place it in a big pot, add the beef stock, (one or two liters)  add some water so the hominy is covered in water, give it space to boil.
Add salt, and chopped onion, garlic to taste, cumin, 3 or 4 bay leaves.
add the chili mixture, the meat and boil for a good while on low heat.

After about 45 minutes to an hour add salt and pepper to taste, check the spices, make sure you have enough cumin in it, remove the bay leaves (if you don't want them floating in your food LOL).


Adjust the chili by adding some powdered chili or cayenne pepper as necessary.  Powdered chili is milder, cayenne pepper is hotter.


After boiling on low heat for about an hour, let it sit and soak.  reheat again when ready to eat it.  It will taste better later when it is being reheated, because the spices will have had time to soak in.

But there is nothing that says you can't have a bowl as soon as it's done to "taste". (wink wink)


Serve in a bowl, top with shredded cabbage (or lettuce) and top with a little finely chopped onion, (some people add thin sliced radish as well) and sprinkle some lime on it.


It is great with tostadas or corn chips. 

Variation of everything cookies

I started with a glass of gin and Seven-Up, drink to get warmed up.   Wine or wine coolers work as well. 




Gather all ingredients:


1  1/2  Cups of margarine
1  1/4  Cups of sugar
1  3/4  Cups of brown sugar
2           Eggs
1           Tbsp vanilla
2           Tbsp  baking soda
1/2       Cup chopped marachino cherries
1            Cup shredded sweetened coconut
1            Chocolate chips
nuts     (I don't count as one)




First let the margarine sit on the counter or microwave all of it on a plate for 10 seconds to soften. 
Turn on some fun music, make it loud and fun.


Mix and if possible whisk in the sugar until kind of fluffy.  Then add eggs and vanilla, and whisk some more, work those arm msucles!
After that, sift in the flour little by little along with the baking soda.  If you can get someone to help, sift the more the merrier.


 Mom's recipe calls for chocolate chips and walnuts.  But since I am allergic to walnuts, I found out that honey roasted peanuts worked great.


I have used variations of the nuts and chocolate chips, you can make your own. 


White chocolate chips, no nuts.  (I thought macademias would work well) 


milk chocolate and honey roasted peanuts.


dark chocolate and pecans


Bake in oven at 350 degrees until golden brown.  (a few minutes)

Here is a video of me baking the cookies!!  Feel free to have a good laugh, I did.