My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting

I consider myself somewhat of an expert on frosting. In my younger days, I used to eat it out of a can pretty often. Then, I started baking and discovered the GIGANTIC difference between homemade and store bought. I won't touch the can stuff now and even find myself weary of buying cakes. I rather make the icing myself!

Cream cheese frosting has long been my favorite.. I think because its the first choice of most of my favorite cakes! Red velvet, Carrot, Banana, Italian Cream Cake, etc! Whatever the cake, cream cheese frosting is something every cook needs in her repertoire. This is my go-to recipe that I've made numerous times and it is ALWAYS  a hit.

I use this recipe from Annie's Eats so you should go on over there, read it, and make it immediately!

Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

These cheesecakes are a great Valentine's treat, my valentine(s) sure loved them last year! I mean, they're sweet AND red.  Bella loves anything with strawberries. I love cheesecake more than I love most.. things, but at most restaurants its filled with a ton of fat and sugar. Which is fine because it's DESSERT, but what isn't fine is the giant serving sizes that make you up waste your entire day's calories on one item (I'm looking at YOU, cheesecake factory!). These cakes are super sweet yet contain no sugar (I used Baking Splenda) and are cupcake sized so you get to enjoy your treat while still watching portions. Some people are really opposed to using fake sugar (Aspartame) but my valentine who is also a chemist assures me I would have to eat a LOT more Splenda to see any negative effects. I know that I don't normally listen to his scientific ramblings but this one benefits me :) I've also made these cheesecakes with non-fat cream cheese and while they tasted pretty good, the consistency was just terrible. So don't make my mistakes, okay? Learn from me.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. Cream Cheese. (You could use half low-fat cheese here and still be okay)
• 1 C. Splenda for Baking + 1/2 C. for topping. Note: you could use regular sugar here if you so desire, just know the calories will be higher.
• 2 Eggs
• 12 Vanilla Wafers
• 2 Cups Fresh Strawberries
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 Tbs. Orange Juice
• Dash of Salt

To Make Topping:

1. Cut strawberries into bite-size pieces. 

2. Coat with 1/2 C. Baking Splenda (you may not use all of the splenda).

3. Mix 2 tbs. orange juice and 1 tsp. vanilla into strawberry mixture. Add dash of salt.

4. Cover, refrigerate for at least an hour.

To Make Cheesecakes:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place a muffin cup into each of 12 muffin tins and put a vanilla wafer (flat side down) in each.

3. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add in 1 C. baking splenda and 1 tsp. vanilla extract, beating well. Add in eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

4. Spoon into muffin tins. Bake for about 20 minutes.

5. Let cool completely then put in refrigerator for at least an hour.

(note: my cakes were cracked after baking but after putting them in the fridge, they sort of welded back together. Plus, once you put the strawberries on top, you can't tell. stupid high altitude)

Before serving, spoon strawberry topping on the cakes and enjoy! Or give them away as presents so you don't eat them all, which has been my strategy :)

Baked Sweet Potatoe Fries

Do you want to hear something gross? When I was younger (like 12-ish) I used to get the extra large fries from McDonalds (Think an extra large soft drink cup filled with fries) and a large milkshake and call it lunch. Isn't that awful? I didn't realize at the time that was like 6000 calories but to be honest I probably didn't care. Oh, young/fast metabolism. Come back to me. Anyways, I still LOVE fries and splurge occasionally  However, these sweet potato fries easily fill that craving and are the perfect side dish for sandwiches/burgers/etc. Because some things just NEED  a side of fries and no salad can substitute that. So here's my go-to recipe for fry emergencies.

1. Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.

2. Peel one large sweet potato and chop into (somewhat) equal strips. I have a horrible time trying to make the strips equal. Sigh.

3. Coat with sea salt and 1 tbsp. EVOO. You can experiment with different seasonings here, like rosemary or chili powder or pepper. I prefer the classic way, though. Because some things are fine the way they are, okay?

4. Place on a cooking sheet and spread out so that the fries aren't overlapping.

It's pretty embarrassing when you state not to let the fries overlap and then you post a picture where some fries are in fact overlapping. Just try to get past it.

5. Bake about 10 minutes (or until soft)

6. Broil on low for 2-3 minutes or until crispy. Be careful they don't burn!

7. Enjoy! This made about 3 servings.

Nutritional information: 100 calories, 4g fat.