5 Minute 4 Ingredient No Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients:
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 8 ounce tub of cool whip
1/3 cup of lemon or lime juice
1 8 ounce package of cream cheese.

Instructions:

Most important part of this recipe, is to leave the cream cheese out for a couple hours at room temperature. The cream cheese will become soft and smooth. The importance of this is to create a smooth texture. Not doing so, will create horrible lumps of cream cheese that will ruin the flavor of this pie.

After your cream cheese is softened enough, I like to see if it will spread easily with a plastic spatula. In a mixing bowl, mix all before mentioned ingredients. Please note: the lemon/lime juice must come last. The reaction of the citrus juice will start to harden your mixture almost immediately.

On the low speed of you hand mixer, blend well. Around 2 minutes of so is plenty, just make sure all ingredients are incorporated. Immediately pour mixture into a waiting graham crust ( (I like to use a vanilla wafer crust instead of graham and I used an 8” cake pan. Recipe below.) ) or for those of us that can't have the gluten, I opt for muffin cups. Refrigerate for an hour to and hour and a half and viola.

Vanilla Wafer Crust
24-30 vanilla wafers depending on pan size
3 Tablespoons melted butter
Mix both ingredients until it sticks together. Punch onto sides of cake pan to resemble a crust.

Add-ons-Make it your own!

To make this recipe your own, there are several things you can add.

Oreo cookie crust. Incorporate a few of the cookies in to the batter, smashed of course. Top with a few whole or halved cookies as well.

Fresh strawberries, with or without glaze. I like to cut the strawberries up in to quarters and place in a zip-lock bag. Gently whacking the bag of berries on the counter a few times to start releasing the juices. A half an hour later, you have a no fuss, no extra sugar strawberry topping and glaze. Although a little vanilla in bag wouldn't hurt anything.

Key lime juice instead of regular. This will give you a tart cheesecake, more like a key lime bar if you lessen the cool whip content. About half is needed for recipe, although the more that is used, the lighter and fluffier the taste and texture will be

New way to serve potatoes, love it!!

Just mash potatoes plain with butter or you can add yummy ingredients like cooked bacon, cheese, parsley, green onion, garlic, etc. Stuff in to a greased muffin tin, run a fork along the top and brush with melted butter or olive oil. Bake at 375 degrees or until tops are crispy and golden.

Yes we still need carbs in our diet even when we are trying to lose weight so this is a great way to stick with portion control!!!

Also remember there are varying sizes in muffin pans so you can choose the serving size!! Using mini muffin tins you can turn this into a healthy alternative to chips or wedges too. You still get the soft potato centre with the crunch on the outside without all the fat!!!!

Make your own Ranch, Dry Onion Soup Mix and Taco Seasoning and store in small mason jars....This is soooo much HEALTHIER than those you buy at the store!! They contain a TON of stuff that is not good for you!!

Taco Seasoning:
1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon sea salt
Put ingredients into a jar and shake.

Dry Onion Soup Mix:
2/3 cup dried, minced onion
3 teaspoons parsley flakes
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a jar, then give the jar a good shake. I’d recommend shaking the jar to mix the ingredients well before each use.
Use 4 tablespoons in a recipe in place of 1 packet of onion soup mix. Store this in a dry, cool place.

Ranch:
5 tablespoons dried minced onions
7 teaspoons parsley flakes
4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix together and store in an air tight container.
For dressing: Mix 2 tablespoons dry mix with 1 cup mayonnaise and 1 cup buttermilk or sour cream.
For dip: Mix 2 tablespoons dry mix with 2 cups sour cream.
Mix up a few hours before serving, so the flavors all blend.

Mini Tortilla Pizzas Quick and easy
Ingredients
3-4 Whole wheat wraps
1 (15 oz) Can pizza sauce
3/4 cup Shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
48 Mini turkey pepperonis (or 12 whole turkey pepperonis each cut into 4 even pieces)
1 tsp Basil/oregano mix or Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
Pinch Sweetener (sugar/stevia/splenda)
Pinch Black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 12 count muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.
Start by laying each tortilla out individually on a flat surface, and use an empty can, cup, or cookie cutter to cut 3-4 medium circles out of each wrap. I used the empty pizza sauce can, which worked well! Press firmly enough, using a rocking motion, until it cuts through the wrap.
Press each wrap circle into muffin tin using your fingers.

Note: it doesn’t have to cover the entire side of the tin, it should just fit snuggly!
Meanwhile, pour pizza sauce, parmesan cheese, and the spices into a medium sized bowl. Stir until everything is well combined.
Drop about 1-2 tbs of sauce in each wrap, this really varies according to how much sauce you like!
Divide mozzarella cheese evenly over each mini pizza.
Place 4 mini pepperoni’s on top of each pizza.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and lightly browned.
Wait for pizzas to cool, and remove from muffin tin using a fork or knife. Pizza’s should pop out with ease!
Serve warm and enjoy!

Grilled Balsamic Flank Steak
serves 4 ( 5 points)
Ingredients
¼ c. balsamic vinegar
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. dark brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lb. flank steak
salt and pepper

Combine first four ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Add steak, turn to coat; marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature. Grill until desired doneness. Let stand, covered loosely with foil for 10 minutes, before cutting in thin strips against the grain.

Sloppy Joe Squares
What you'll need:
1 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef (I say go with 93% or ground turkey)
1 can (15.5 oz) sloppy joe sauce
2 cans (12 oz each) crescent dinner rolls (fat free or reduced)
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (8 oz) (reduced or fat free)
1 tablespoon sesame seed
What you need to do:
1) Heat oven to 350°F.
2) In 10-inch skillet, cook beef over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked; drain.
3) Stir in sauce. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.
4) Unroll 1 can of the dough; place in ungreased 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish. Press in bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of dish.
5) Spread beef mixture over dough; sprinkle with cheese. Unroll second can of dough; place over cheese.
6) Sprinkle with sesame seed.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and dough is golden brown. Cut into squares to serve.
Makes 8 servings

Cracker Barrel Copycat Hashbrown Casserole recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs frozen hash browns
1/2 cup butter
1 (10 1/4 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (separated into 1 1/2 cups and 1/2 cup portions)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F
Spray an 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Mix all the ingredients above, except for the 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
Add mixture to the baking dish
Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown

EASY HAM AND CHEESE BISCUITS
Ingredients

1/2 lb sliced deli ham
2 cups shredded cheese
2 tubes refrigerator biscuits (such as Grands)

Instructions

Flatten each biscuit until it's slightly larger than the bottom of a coffee mug. You can do this with your fingers or use an actual straight-sided coffee mug to roll them out.
Place approximately 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese in the middle of the dough circle.
Top the cheese with about 1 tablespoon of ham, or approximately one slice folded up.
Carefully bring up the sides of the dough around the filling and pinch them together to create a ball, enclosing the filling inside.
Place the ball, seam side down, on a greased tinfoil-lined baking sheet. Repeat with rest of biscuits and filling, placing the balls together on the baking sheet, with sides touching slightly.
Sprinkle lightly with cheese.
Bake at 350 for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. Do not over bake.

Cheesy Scalloped Potato Casserole.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer (found in the coffee aisle)
3 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons butter, melted (1 minute in the microwave does the trick)
6 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons dried minced onion
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon paprika
6-8 large potatoes, peeled and sliced very thin
1 pound diced cooked ham
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large sauce pan, off the heat combine powdered non-dairy creamer with water. Whisk until well combined.
Turn the heat on to medium heat and stir in butter and flour. Whisk vigorously to incorporate flour.
Add in dried minced onion, salt, pepper, and paprika. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens up a bit. Remove from heat. Stir in ham.
Spray a 9×13 inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Arrange half of the potatoes in the casserole dish. Pour half the sauce over the top of the potatoes. Add the remaining potatoes, and the rest of the sauce.
Top with cheese.
Cover the casserole with foil and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is all gooey and the potatoes are fork tender.
Remove the casserole from the oven and allow it to cool for about 20 minutes before serving. If you eat it right away, the sauce will be watery. Be patient and allow it to cool!

This thread sure make a body hungry!

I know! My partner just headed out to get us a milkshake from Cookout!

Good...now I don't feel so guilty about my ice cream!