Cappuccino Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake (bars, mini or full fledge 9 inch)

Once upon a time, I had thin(ish) thighs.

Once upon a time, I fell in love with cheesecake.

Once upon a time, I learned I could wear yoga pants instead of jeans…

Who’s ready to make cheesecake???!

Alright, I forget what night it was this week, maybe Tuesday? But Handsome was off being security at a basketball game and that left me all alone with my new love, Green Apple Stand Mixer by Kitchen Aid.  Green Apple and I have quite the fling going on. It’s of course, all give and all take type of relationship, but Green Apple doesn’t mind that I’m using him for my greedy purposes.

Note*** It should be duely noted that while making this recipe, a few things went wrong, in which I turned to my cooking soul mate, Lo, for guidance and soothing words

Note**This recipe will make enough for a 9×13 pan, a 9in spring form or do like me and cut the recipe in half and it’ll make 3 mini spring form pans worth**

What Ya’ll Need:

- 24 oreo cookies (and the will power not to even sneak one…I didn’t have will power…and I put peanut butter on mine…Lord have mercy on my soul and cellulite dimples)

- 3 TBS melted butter

-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon (I forgot this and it still tasted fabulous!)

-1 TBS instant coffee, I bought whatever was cheapest and on sale at Target and cannot even remember the name!

-1/4 cup boiling water

-4 8oz. packages cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 less fat Philadelphia)

- 1 cup sugar

-1 cup sour cream (I used Light Daisy sour cream)

-4 eggs, room temp

-2 squares Bakers semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

What Ya’ll Need To Do:

(I will give directions as if you are doing the 9×13 or 9in. spring form)

1. Butter your dish of choice with softened butter, really good.

2. In a food processor, place 12 oreos and pulse until they turn into fine crumbs. Transfer those to a bowl, and repeat with the second batch of 12 oreos–if you do it all at once, it’ll leave large chunks of oreo that you will be forces to eat because your processor just can’t get to em’!

3. After your oreos have been processed into fine crumbs, add the 3 TBS melted butter and pulse until they form medium to large clumps. You can check the consistency by A. turning off the processor (had to say it, sorry!) B. Taking off the lid and C. Taking some mixture in your hand and squeezing it. If it stays together, you’re good to go!

4. Press the cookie mixture into the bottom of your pan. If you’re using a spring form, you’ll want the crust to go up the sides of the pan to keep the cheesecake mixture from sticking.

5. Take your 1/4 cup boiling water and put it in a small bowl. Add cinnamon and instant coffee and stir until dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.

6. In your kitchen aid mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add the coffee and sour cream, blend until well incorporated.

STORY TIME: It was at this step in the recipe, when I went to go grab my sugar and realized that I only had 1 TBS of white sugar. As in, not a whole cup. As in, like what do I do? As in, I don’t know my neighbors well enough to ask them for some. As in, I have Lo on speed dial.

So I text Lo really quick, (remember I’m making 1/4 of the recipe) “Um, I need 1/4 c. white sugar and all I have is one TBS. Can I substitute powdered?” Lo: “What else ya got?” Me:”Powdered, light brown, dark brown and Equal packets leftover from the wedding. Please Lord, do not make me use Equal” Lo:”You can substitute the light brown because the quantity is so little, if you use powdered, the starch will give it a weird texture” Me:”You are my cooking soul mate. Please never leave me!”

7. Next, add eggs, one at a time until each is mixed in perfectly.

8. Reserve 1 cup of the cream cheese mixture!

9. Pour the remaining coffee cream cheese batter over your oreo crust and shake the pan a little to get the air pockets out.

10. With the reserved one cup of cream cheese mixture: Add melted chocolate and stir until fully combined.

11. Drop chocolate later by 1 TBS-fulls into “dots” (think dots on a domino). After you have your domino effect, take the tip of a knife and swirl the mixtures together to create a marble effect.

12. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until the center is almost set.

13. Cool on a wire rack and then transfer to fridge overnight (or a minimum of at least 4 hours!)

14. RESIST the urge to consume the whole thing immediately. Trust me, it’ll be even more fabulous after it’s mellowed in the fridge over night!

15. Serve with coffee while watching the fitness channel.

16. Enjoy!

Back To Me.

I guess you could say life has been a little bit rough for me the past few months. Everywhere I turn, there is not a moment to be peaceful. Everywhere I turn, there is a component or a situation that produces an abnormal amount of stress. Everywhere I turn, I’m faced with the choice of what to do, how to navigate a new situation and finally, where to turn for my advice.

I know life isn’t going to settle down anytime soon and the thought of that makes me deeply worried and casts a grim outlook that projects for the months ahead. I could sit here and ponder about life, wonder what I could do to make it better, wonder how I could rearrange my schedule more to get more blogging in, exercise in, traveling to see family, getting back to my kitchen and passion for cooking, finding a new place to live and a million other things I now have on my plate but realistically, I’ve turned to one thing for advice: Proverbs 19:21.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”.

When I was in high school, I was shy. I didn’t speak up much and I certainly did almost everything my father asked of me. I was well liked in high school, I wasn’t popular but the popular kids asked for my advice, invited me to their parties and said hello to me in the hallways. I was well-liked by my teachers, though I wasn’t the best student I gave feedback and added what my English teacher said, “A certain mysterious element” to discussions. I liked that Elizabeth.

When I went to college, I realized that this is the time in my life I became bitter, a bit too sarcastic and at times, very rash. In college, especially at my public school, you were taught to have radical view points, make your point heard and to pretty much do anything except die trying. In college, I watched myself go through a couple of stages I wish I could take back, navigate very differently and tweek situations I knew I probably shouldn’t have been in (no, I never did anything crazy like you’re thinking!).  In college, I was liked by a select group of people who held the same view point as I did, the same characteristics and finally, what I thought at the time, were my same values.

Now that I’m older and battling different struggles and finding that I’m not going to be liked by everyone, it’s easier to see why I kind of cock my head to one side and wonder, “Why do these people think this of me?” Because I’m not the me I once was. I’m not shy anymore, I have opinions. I’m not quiet anymore, I can be quite loud. I’m not afraid to speak up for my faith, because I know what’s right. I’m not afraid of work, I’ve never been. I’m not afraid to be little bit weird, everyone is.

But lastly, I am struggling to be who I think I should be. This brings me back to Proverbs 19:21. 

I think I know who I should be, what I should and how to go about doing it, but really, I have no clue which is what’s causing all this anxiety and angst and bitterness. Luckily, I’m trying to prayerfully meditate on this verse and realize that this entire time I’ve been writing my life in pen, God was being sneaky and made sure I was writing in erasable ink.

In the fabulous words of a awesome gift I received from my cousin Kaytie, “Live your life…ON PURPOSE” and I’ll remember that God gave us free will to a point, then comes his plan and our faith.

Love always, Elizabeth

Confessions: A Life Update.

It’s Saturday. It’s freezing cold outside. And my coffee mug won’t stay warmer longer than five minutes. 

I’m also having a difficult time finding words to say what I want to say because I’m just so exhausted. All the time. Maybe bullet points would help?

Ah, the lazy writers way…

• So much better.
• Health: My health is fair. Really, my only complaint is the my upper arms giggle like jello and my inner thighs look nothing like Giselle’s, but then again, whose do? On a more serious note, my doctor’s office called out of the blue and said, “We’d like to move your appointment from March 28th up to early March, would that be alright?” Uhm, yes, that would be alright! 1. Because I hate going to see my endocrinologist because he’s so dry and his eyebrows look like the Whomping Willow and it’s very distracting and 2. he is the man who tells me when my next MRI needs to be which will then turn the men in my life into hysterical heaps of worrying messiness. So, stay tuned for the next MRI in my life.
• Work: Um, next question please.
• Work: Oh okay, I see we aren’t going to avoid this one. Work is good. Work is work. Work is having the GM call you up and (excuse my language for there is no other way to describe the conversation that was thrust upon me last week…) b***h you out only for you to whip out your psychology/counseling training and talk them down to a much more logical and rational level to then say, ” I understand that you are frustrated at this situation, and I can hear you becoming angry. (As she is raising her voice telling me I made a “serious” mistake but telling me at the same time she is not angry…mhmmm) but seeing as we are all working towards a common goal I want you to know that this was not a personal attack on your office and that the documentation was indeed, incorrect. Now, if you think I have made a mistake, why don’t we have a conference call with my supervisor later on today?” –How the story ends: her branch liaison sent in the wrong documentation. I was in fact, 100% correct. My supervisor then apologized to me for having to deal with that. And all was made right in the medical billing world…for 5 minutes until the crisis came up.
• Handsome’s Work: Um…Handsome is awesome. Handsome did not get a pink slip this week (his meeting is next week but we are 97% he is staying). I love Handsome. Handsome’s co-workers all got pink slips this week. I feel the need to bake them brownies and baby them and tell them everything will be okay. I feel the need to also bake my hubby brownies as he now has to redo the department all over for the third year in a row. I feel the need that we may need to stock extra strength Advil in the car, bathroom, kitchen, his office, his classroom, his wood shop and he should probably start carrying a “murse” (man-purse) to keep some in there too. Wish him luck ladies and gentlemen.
• Condo: We are painting the condo today. Because our landlord has never painted the condo before. Because we moved in and didn’t realize that it was just chalky primer on the walls. We are no painting our walls a nice shade of Sand Cove. Gosh I hope it turns out pretty. Oh, and our landlord is paying us to paint the place…as in half off our rent. Which is nice since no one told us you couldn’t lump in your new car taxes in your auto loan check.
• New Car: I now drive a 2011 Kia Sportage. Yes please. I love. 
• New Car Presents: My brother sent me a present in the mail this week. Guess what it was!? A bummer sticker that says, “I drive like a Cullen”. Too freakin’ cute. For those of you who don’t know what a “Cullen” is, it’s the family of vampires in the tween hit saga series, Twilight. I think I’ll have to name my car Edward now. 
• Old Cars: I’ve named every car I’ve ever had. My first car was a 1990 Mercury Villager mini van. Hot. Stuff. I loved that van. His name was “Loser Cruiser”. He was an awesome car. You could fit everything in it, including the entire contents of my dorm room. Next came my 2000 Ford Taurus. What a beauty. My dad graciously gave him to me my Junior year of college so I could commute to my sign language courses a few towns over from the college. The taurus was named, Leonard Floyd. Interesting story, Leonard got his name from the obituaries. I picked out two men whose lives were quite interesting and thus, named my car after them. I remember telling my family how I came up with the name…I’m not sure if they thought it was genius or to sign me up for therapy. Either way, Leonard is by far the favorite name I’ve picked out yet.
• Decorating: Still haven’t. 
• Vacations: Going to Florida in March to visit my Grammy and Pop-pop. Currently, Pop is not doing well and I’ve been a hot mess all week. Hopefully things will turn around. Other than that, we cancelled our California trip because my employers will not let me leave during Month End. Not too happy about that. I was planning on stalking Ryan Gosling while there and seeing if Taylor Swift would let me into her home but apparently that is not on the agenda anymore.

I think that’s enough for now. More to come when my brain can work properly and my coffee can stay warm longer than a few micro seconds!

Friday Favorites: Baby Costumes.

I understand that this is a Friday Favorites post on a Saturday morning and in a few days I’ll explain why I was late! Sorry!

So today, I picked baby Halloween Costumes because they are just so darn cute. I have Pinterest board labeled, “Baby Style: No Mom, I’m not Pregnant”, 1. so my mother would know she’s not going to be a Nana anytime soon from this womb and 2. so I have a archive of how I will thoroughly embarrass our children one day. 

This last one is my all time favorite. If anyone find this costume, please, for the love of all cuteness, tell me so I can acquire it!

Friday Favorites: Fashion I’m Loving.

Hey, who noticed that Friday Favorites just didn’t happen last week??

….(crickets)….

Oh, me neither. Forget what I just said!

This week is fashion favorites, pulled from none other than Pinterest itself! Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Thursday Giggle.

I saw this on Pinterest and just about pee’d my skirt laughing so hard…so naturally, I just had to share!

 

Friday Favorites.

I’ve decided to encourage myself to post weekly and in order to that I thought it’d be fun if I pulled my favorite things from Pinterest that week and showed you what gave me some inspiration, good ideas and a good laugh.

This week, are my Friday Favorite Black & White photographs!

Enjoy!

10 Random Thoughts

1. Pinterest has consumed my life. For those of you who do not know about pinterest, please do not cry. Instead, go to pinterest.com and sign up…but BEWARE…it causes mass amounts of daydreaming and longing for all things pretty and inspiring. Last night, I spent 2 1/2 hours on pinterest researching what I want our future home to look like. Then it dawned on me that my little yellow house will never come true because…it’s not located on the east coast, it does not have a rolling acres for my husband to have the excuse to buy a riding lawn mower and finally, we hate the layout of the first floor. Oh well.

2. I’m deeply in love with kitchens.

3. My mom and I have had a few serious conversations about the role of the wife salary. I’m currently struggling with picking between School Counseling as a career and getting my masters in Business to progress further within my current company. It’s not shock or unknown knowledge that the only people in a academic setting that make decent dough are the administrators. So then I’m faced with the choice: Masters of Business to better provide for my family or School Couseling to do what I love and to help kids where I once was and to have time to travel?

Money or Happiness?

Oprah can answer this for us…because she’s just simply fabulous like that.

And then I need to put on my big girl panties and realize this:

And finally I need to listen to my brother Matt and…

I think we all know which career I need to pick…

4. I miss my Nana. Now, let’s do a little background history on me. My Mom (Deborah), passed away when I was 9 years old. My Dad, a year and one month later married who I now call Mom, Carol. I now have three lovely sets of grandparents, all whom are still alive and well. Yes, I feel extremely blessed! Now, I’m BFF’s with my Dad’s mom, Lynda. We do coffee about twice a month on Saturday mornings and I tell her every little detail about my life down to the type of hairs that my eye shadow brush is made with. We’re just…tight. My Grammy, Dorothy, just turned 90 years old and I’m dragging my butt down to Sarasota, FL so I can spend some time with her and read her the comics or the “funnies” as she calls them. But my Nana, well, I’ve always wanted to know my Nana better. I’ve always wanted to be able to hop in the car and just show up like I do with with my other two grandmothers. So that’s why I’ve made it a new years promise, not resolution but promise, that I will make my way to see her and Baggie. I’m thinking it’ll have to be a late summer, early fall trip though because of all the hallibaloo that life has thrown at Handsome and I.

5. I love this dress:

6. I was blessed with good taste but cursed with expensive taste: Hello Kate Spade weekender bag…

7. We all know that I’m a food addict, you can tell by my thighs… But lately, I’ve been so blah from work, that I just haven’t had the urge to cook or bake, or much less clean up after I’ve destroyed the kitchen. But then I was on pinterest (shock…) and found the recipe to my favorite soup, Zuppa Toscana, which Olive Garden makes fabulously and I’ve been reborn…

8. I have to pay the bills today. I’m actually, kinda excited about it. Why, you ask? Because then this will tell me if I can spring for the real parmesan cheese or if Kraft will forever be my cellmate.

9. Living Magazine by Martha Stewart I high recommend to all women above the age of 3. It’s fabulous. 

10. Why doesn’t feeling like a tub of goo be motivation enough to workout? Oh that’s right, I have a kitchen aid mixer now and I see this little darling in my near future…

Well, I think that should make you wondering about my sanity enough for a while!

(All photos of course, were pulled from my Pinterest account…)

 

 

Camp “The Tent Is As Big As Our Living Room”.

Handsome got a tent for Christmas. He got other things but the thing that seemed to amuse him the most was his new tent. You see, we’ve been camping a few times together and each time, he comes home wanting a new tent. Why you ask? Because he doesn’t like laying down to put his pants on. He hates that my tent leaks. And he hates the fact that our luggage doesn’t fit in the tent. In fact, the only thing that fit in my little two person tent was the air mattress.

So alas, Merry Christmas Handsome.

 

 

New Year Promises.

I promise to stop procrastinating. I promise to be a better wife, sister and friend. I promise to push myself within my job to move up. I promise to make solid changes in my lifestyle. I promise to learn how to dance. I promise to be more responsible. I promise to write my plan in pencil and know that God is in control. I promise to make myself learn that “to get in shape” doesn’t mean a certain weight or pant size, but to be heart healthy. I promise to take care of my husband and to show him he’s a good man. I promise to give back to the church. I promise to save more than I spend. I promise to write my family and call on a regular basis. I promise I will take that trip with my cousin Kaytie to see our Nana and have a craft weekend. I promise I will wait to get a dog until we own a house. I promise to never wear a dress as short as I did on NYE 2011. I promise to give that dress away to someone with nicer legs. I promise I will decorate my home. I promise I will make a home I proud of. I promise I will not watch Harry Potter more than once a week. I promise to take my husband on secret adventures. I promise to push my husband outside his comfort levels and teach him to be spontaneous. I promise to clean up after myself. I promise to do more loads of laundry. I promise I will do everything within my power to make sure my brothers have a good time visiting our mom’s parents in Florida. I promise to give my husband back massages and not complain about it. I promise to be kind to every person I encounter, because I know they are also fighting this hard battle called life. I promise to make new friends and not be shy. I promise I will not let money rule my life any more. I promise I will read books, not just about fairy tales and wizards but about politics and history. I promise to educate myself. I promise to make a decision about graduate school. I promise to kiss my husband every day. I promise to buy a new blow dryer so I don’t end up in a crying, blithering mess on the floor each time I have to blow dry my hair. I promise not to go out into the cold air with wet hair. I promise I’ll get a new blow dryer with the next paycheck. I promise I won’t become completely obsessed with clothes and trends. I promise to know that God is always in control. I promise I will get rid of the glass top side table, because I never dust it. I promise I will flea market, bargain hunt and DIY until my home is something my husband and I can be proud of. I promise to push myself both physically and mentally. I promise to finally go hiking at Starved Rock. I promise to pack picnics and wine. I promise to sit still some Saturday mornings and let Handsome sleep in. I promise to try new recipes and even to try seafood (Lord, I hope I’m not allergic to shellfish…) I promise to re-learn how to sew. I promise not to be scared of what the future holds. I promise I will be the strongest I’ve ever been. I promise to be a woman my mother would be proud of. I promise to be the daughter that my mom deserves. I promise to not give up on my dreams because obstacles may stand in the way. I promise to travel and to laugh. I promise to get lost and not get frustrated. I promise to have fun city dates and I promise to do the things I love. I promise to be myself and be outgoing. I promise to take up painting again, because it frees my mind. I promise to see my Grandparents as much as possible. I promise to run. I promise I’ll finally learn yoga and stick with it. I promise not to do crazy diets. I promise I’ll use caution when necessary. I promise not to let pinterest consume my every waking hour. I promise to keep Handsome healthy. I promise to join a small group at our new church. I promise to dream and be carefree. I promise to make something of myself. I promise all this, because I know I can.

I promise.