Sopapilla Cheesecake

If you have never had sopapilla cheesecake you haven't really lived.  This is a staple at a lot of events around here at least.  It has some really simple ingredients, but it's about the best thing you can do with canned crescent rolls!

Sopapilla Cheesecake Pie

PRINT HERE

Ingredients:
2 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese (softened), 1 c. white sugar, 1 t. vanilla, 2 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent rolls, 3/4 c. white sugar, 1 t. ground cinnamon, 1/2 c. butter (room temp), 1/4 c. honey
Instructions:  
1. Heat over to 350.  Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
2.  Beat the cream cheese with 1 c. of sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
3.  Unroll a can of crescent roll dough and use a rolling pin to shape each piece in 9x13 inch rectangle.  Press the seems together.  Put 1 in the bottom of the pan.
4.  Evenly spread the cream cheese mix over the first crescent triangle.  Top with remaining piece of crescent dough.
5.  Crumble together sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  Dot the mix over the top of the top crescent roll.
6.  Bake for about 30 minutes (crescent dough should be puffed and golden brown).
7.  Drizzle with honey (I used about half the amount).  Cool completely.  Cut into 12 squares.

Valentine's Day Tag Banner

 I made this cute little banner with some clearance Jolee Cupid stickers I got for a buck, a few ribbon scraps (from Hobby Lobby Rolls), a piece of left over glitter paper and one sheet of scrapbook paper.

 I cut six 'tags' out of the paper, using one I had bought as my template.  I inked the edges, glued the ribbon to the bottom and just embellished away with little bits and pieces I had around my stash.

 I used my Cricut to cut out the word Love and glued them to the tag.  I added some hole reinforcers I had and strung it all together with some red twine.

 Not too shabby for two dollars worth of odds and ends.

Taqitos

These taquitos won't win any glamor shot awards, but they sure were tasty!  I made them along with a bunch of other appetizers for New Year's Eve, but I ddn't warm up the tortilas enough before I rolled them, thus the cracked sides, BUT instead of waiting to share the recipe, I thought I'd put it here, and net time I make some improvements to the 'look' I'll repost, but the taste was on point! 
This was a 2nd place 'speedy' recipe that was printed in this years State of Texas cookbook.

State Fair Chicken Taquitos

PRINT HERE

Ingredients:  2 c. shredded cooked chicken, 1 (1 oz) pkg taco seasoning mix, 2 c. shreddd cheddar cheese, 1 (10 oz) an Ro-Tel tomatoes (drained), 12+ corn tortillas, salsa for dipped (I also had sour cream and cheese sauce)

Instructions:

1.  Mix the chicken, taco mix, cheese, and Ro-Tel.  

2.  Warm tortials in the microwave 20 seconds at a time until they are soft and pliable (you can also do this on a skillet with vegetable spray). 

3.  Place 2 T of chicken mix on each tortila, roll tightly.  Secure with tooth pick, if necessary  

4.  Place on baking sheet, seam side down; bake at 375 10-12 minutes. Serve with salsa for dipping.

UnBEARably Easy Valentines Gift

I found some cute little bear containers at a store called Daiso a few months back (it's a Japanese dollar store-though everything is 1.50).  I bought them and thought it would be a fun mailing vessel for Valentine's Day.  My godchildren and all their siblings live in different states, so I try to make an impresion via the mail since visits are few and far between.  I searched for bear shaped chocolates, but didn't have a lot of success, but I finaly found some individual size gumy bears, Teddy Grahams, and small enough stuffed bears (at the Dollar Tree) to squeeze inside the jars wiht a note (I googled and found fre 'bear' related tags to print).  I'm going to put the address on the lid and the mailing label on the backside.  You'd be surpised what you can send through the mail!  Well, unless you deliver mail to my godchildren, then you know all sorts of strange things can be shipped via the mail.  For more mailing ideas, hit this link. 

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

Green beans are an adult flavor I took up, but I think having them 'cooked right' and not from a can probably did the trick. It's funny how your opinion of something can change when you have it served at it's finest.
I love roasted beans any way they can, but I especially loved this version via budgetsavvydiva that has you added Parmesan.  It's the perfect salty cheese.  They are calories worth added, and they reheated really well.

Parmesan Roasted Green Beans

Ingredients:  8 oz green beans, olive oil, salt, pepper, Parmesan Cheese
Instructions:
1.  Heat over to 400.
2.  Toss green beans (trimmed ends) with a small amount of oil, salt, and pepper (enough to cover).
3. Lay green beans on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with a good amount of cheese to top.
4.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until the beans are crisp outside and tender on the inside.

December Daily 2017

     OK, I just completed my very first December Daily.  It's big, and interactive with lots of pages, so I tried my hand at a video that didn't wobble.  I still need to work on lighting and focus, but....you get the idea. 
     I started reading about December Daily last year around Christmas.  The basic goal is to document each day of December (some people stop at Christmas, I did the whole month since my family didn't come into down until the 25th).  I tried to do it each night, though there were several times I waited and did a couple days at a time. 
     I think if I did it again, I would probably not feel guilty about waiting until after December to really get into it and complete/or even start.  I'd try to organize pictures and maybe even jot down daily stories and thoughts as the month rolls by, but.....just to ensure no time was taken from living in the moments....which I think is what a lot of folks do anyway, future me, you have permission to do December daily in July. 
     You can use the project life style photo inserts, which I did some.  This does make it a LOT quicker to scrapbook, as does the 6x8 size.  I did a combo of the plastic pockets and some pages of just scrapbook paper.  I also didn't pick a color scheme, but....eclectic is more my style and matching is something I appreciate in other albums, but not something I enjoy working on.  I bought several kits via Ali Edwards website Octoberish, which I loved, and then I lost my mind at every craft store and online site I could find in the United States of America, which basically means I have to scrapbook every December for myself and my 12 closest friends for the next 16 years to put a dent in my supply. 
     Something to look forward to...