Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

So the kids have been sick, with a stomach virus, for the past two weeks. Again. Just when one gets over it, the next one gets it...such is life. So I haven't baked. At all. Because I've been cleaning. Alot. (wish I had stock in lysol)!

But I've missed you guys.  And I've missed blogging, and baking...and not cleaning vomit.  So I pulled this from my backlog of things baked but not yet posted...I found it at Cooking with Libby and decided to make it for the Easter spread. It. Was. A. HIT!! There was very little left, I literally got about 2 bites of it! Everyone raved about it, so it is definitely a keeper!  (I also love that it is so easy and has ingredients that I already have on hand)!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Brownies

You need:
1 (30 oz.) pkg. of chocolate chip cookie dough (I used Pillsbury)
2 (8 oz.) packages of Cream Cheese at room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cover the bottom of an ungreased 13x9 inch pyrex with half of the dough, forming a crust.

...I love to use this Pampered Chef tool for this, but if you don't have something like it, you can use a small rolling pin, spatula, or your hands to spread the dough evenly...

3. Bake for 10 minutes and it comes out looking like this:

4. While baking, beat the cream cheese, egg, sugar and vanilla in a bowl until well blended.

5. Take the crust out and spread the cream cheese mixture on top...being sure to cover the entire top. It will be ooey and gooey and may blend with the crust and this is ok :)

6. Take the other half of the cookie dough and crumble it on top of the cream cheese coating, being sure to cover it all.

7. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Linked to:

Semi-homemade

I am torn. The baker inside me yells "bad bad bad!" as I cut open the pack of refridgerated cookie dough, but the mommy fights back - "but it's fast, and easy, and cheap and all the work has already been done for me!" and so goes my morning. I have decided that semi-homemade is ok. The kids appreciate having dessert and I appreciate the cost and time saving aspects.

So, while I still believe that homemade is best, you can bet I took advantage of all the great sales, coupons and deals (at my Kroger store) this holiday season - I think I ended up with 8 cookie mixes, 8 pie doughs, and 8 rolls of cookie dough, and all of it was soooo cheap it was almost free! *To find out about great coupons, sales, and deals at your favorite stores, check out my favorite coupon webiste/discussion forum weusecoupons.com.*

And if you're still with me, I just tried a great semi-homemade cheescake brownie recipe (I am ashamed to admit I have NEVER made homemade brownies, I guess that will be a future recipe endeavor...)

PHILADELPHIA Marble Brownies

For brownies:
1 pkg. (19 to 21 oz.) brownie mix (13x9-inch pan size)

Ingredients on brownie package (eggs, oil, whatever)

For Cheesecake topping:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla

HEAT oven to 350ºF.

PREPARE brownie batter as directed on package; spread into greased 13x9-inch pan (pretend not to see the cracks caused by the leafs of my table)

BEAT cream cheese with mixer until creamy. Add sugar, egg and vanilla; mix well. Drop by tablespoonfuls over brownie batter



swirl with knife.



BAKE 35 to 40 min. or until cream cheese mixture is lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting to serve. Keep refrigerated.

Note to self: next time I make this I will swirl *less* because I think it will taste better if the cheesecake layer stands out some - I want wider ribbons of cheesecake :)

"You know you're having blogging withdrawls when..."

"You know you're having blogging withdrawls when..."

you look at other people's blogs and miss your own...

"You know you're having blogging withdrawls when..."

you immeadiately translate whatever life throws at you into a clever blog entry...and then don't enter it because you have no time...

"You know you're having blogging withdrawls when..."

you dream of recipes you'd like to test on your blog, and then open up a brownie mix to make dessert for the kids...

Soooo...yeah...that's where I've been the last several months....just busy with life. Lovin' my babies and watching them grow...they keep me busy! Blogging is pretty new to me, and honestly I have so much respect for those of you who are able to do it on a daily basis - my goal last year was "two or three posts a week..."and I couldn't even keep up with that! I seriously need time management advice from mommies with many kiddos and I am so not buying that "everybody gets the same 24 hours in a day," lol...it feels like the universe is robbing from my timecard and padding someone else's :P

Anywhooo...I actually tried this incredible recipe several months ago, and have been meaning to post about it, so here it is:

"TRIPLE VANILLA- BEAN BARS "

These are sinfully good...sooo rich and delicious...the icing is simple yet incredible for depth of flavor. I found these at Recipe Girl, please hop over there for the recipe!

Here's what I did:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 11×7-inch pan with Baker's Joy (or equivalent).

2. In a 2-quart saucepan, heat butter and baking chips over low heat.

3. Stir frequently, until melted and smooth (the mixture may appear curdled). Remove from heat; cool.

4. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well blended.


5. Spread evenly in pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes (or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Cool completely.

6. Prepare icing: In a medium bowl, mix all glaze ingredients until smooth and spreadable. Spread icing over bars. Cool completely before cutting.

7. Repeat 10 times (because they're THAT good).