Oreo Crusted Cheesecake with Pecan Praline Sauce

I promised this recipe would be coming and since people are looking for holiday baking ideas, now is as good as ever! 

This was the very 1st cheesecake recipe I learned and it always turns out great! I typically make it for special occasions since it presents so nicely and serves a crowd well! 

This is a melt in your mouth, wonderfully rich cheesecake!

Yields: 12-16 servings

This will seem like a lot of ingredients but it really isn't that hard to make such a delicious cheesecake!

You will need:

• 1-2 rows of Oreo cookies, de-stuffed (to total 2 cups of crushed cookie)
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1.5lbs (aka three 8oz boxes) cream cheese @ room temp. (I use 1/3 less fat Neufchatel Cheese)
• 3 cups of white sugar, divided
• 3 eggs
•  1/2 heavy cream
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, hot
• 1/4 cup milk, hot
• 2 tablespoons butter
• pinch of salt
• 1.5 cups pecan pieces
• Wooden spoon & rubber spatula recommended
• 10 Inch Springform Pan

Cheesecake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. De-stuff 1 row of Oreo cookies from the package. Blend/crush up the chocolate cookie part. The stuffing is free for eating at this point!
3. Combine the ground cookies and melted butter in a mixing bowl and mix well.
4. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 10" springform pan. 
5. In a food processor (I use a blender), puree the cream cheese until smooth. 
6. Add 1 cup of sugar and blend until smooth. 
7. With machine running, add the eggs one at a time. Add the cream, flour, salt, & 1tsp of vanilla
8. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and then continue to blend until smooth. 
9. Pour the batter over the crust
10. Bake for 1 hour or until the center is firm (sometimes mine will crack on the top but don't worry, you can't see it with the topping

Pecan Praline Sauce:

1. While cheesecake is cooling, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups of sugar, corn syrup, and lemon juice
2. With a wooden spoon, stir until the sugar dissolves.
3. Continue to cook until the sugar is bubbling and golden brown (about 10 minutes)
4. Remove pan from heat and slowly stir in the hot cream (it will bubble and steam)
5. Continue to stir until the mixture comes together (2 minutes)
6. Add the butter and slowy add the milk in a thin stream and continue to stir
7. Add the remaining vanilla, salt and pecan pieces
8. Remove from heat and pour over the cheesecake

Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled before serving. Store any remaining cheesecake in the fridge.

Enjoy!

*Recipe adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Preschool Followers: November

If you are looking for a November lesson plan, it just didn't get done yet. I have a list of excuses but that is life. I will make a November lesson and get it posted some time this week. So it will be an abbreviated month.

Take this time to catch up on any material or just have some fun with crafts.

**UPDATE: sick kiddo with croup. I'm not sure it's happening this month, sorry!

Halloween 2013

I can't believe Halloween has already come and gone! The girls sure did have a blast this year!!! We had our 2nd annual Halloween party with close friends. Everyone pitched in an item for dinner and we ate a delicious meal before changing into costumes and hitting the street for candy!

It was so fun to have all 3 of our girls old enough to be able to Trick-or-Treat independently. Scarlett had no hesitation going up to each door and waiting for candy. She was so sweet and used her manners at every house: "thank you" and "bye"! For not even being 2 years old yet, I was thoroughly impressed!

It was such a fun, relaxed evening with friends and couldn't have asked for better weather!! We hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween as well!

One Year Later

I have reached the one year mark since deciding to make a lifestyle change and lose weight. It is crazy to go back and look where I was just a year ago but also rewarding to see where I am today!

October 2012 

October 2013

Here is what I have been doing since my last weight loss post:
1. I no longer count calories but I do continue to eat a high protein/fiber diet.
2. I have completely stopped drinking diet soda and strictly drink water & my morning coffee.
3. I am running several times a week, usually twice a week but I want to be going 3x/week.

If you missed my Learn to Like Running post, click here!

Pumpkin Patch 2013

This morning we took the girls to the same pumpkin patch we have been since we moved here. We got there at opening (9am) and were the only ones there...score! The girls played hide and go seek behind the pumpkins, got stickers, and then picked out our pumpkins for this year :)

Where's Scarlett?

I'm Gonna Get You!

Emma's 3 Year Growth Stats

Yikes, I am falling behind again!!

Emma had her 3 year well visit on October 4th and she is perfect! No shots this time - yay!

The pediatrician was super shocked at Emma's growth. She came in and said "has anyone told you Emma is really tall for her age?"

She grew 4.5 inches this past year!!

Height: 40in ("HIGH" >97%! She's off the charts according the pediatrician)
Weight: 32lbs (63% she was 60% last year at 27lbs)

Which means her BMI (body mass index) fell to only 6%!

I told Emma she was going to be tall like Daddy :) The first thing Emma says to him when we get home is "I'm going to be tall like you!" It was so cute how proud she was!

Learning Sight Words

We are making progress on sight words with Reese! Here is a video of sight words A-C (she also knows "cat" and I'm shocked that wasn't a card included in this set).


If you follow along, you know that we are doing a letter each week. The basic alphabet for Emma (age 3) and sight words for each letter for Reese (age 4.5). We did sight words for the letter A in 1 week & sight words for the letter B in the 2nd week. We took 2 weeks off for birthday celebrations and started back this week with letter C sight words. I have her keep reviewing the previous words for repetition.

Sometimes I ask her to close her eyes and spell the word out loud. This is a much harder concept but she does great! I want to start getting her to spell/write the colors without these cards (since these cards are written in color of the word - meaning blue is written in all blue). I want to make sure she is really learning the word and not just looking at the color of it.

I have posted the link to these flashcards in both my September and October lesson plans. They are under the "Monthly" heading under sight words flashcards.

For easy access I am reposting the link here! These are free downloads after signing up for a free membership to the website.

I did cut these out and then laminate them. To see how I prepare their school work, I've blogged it here!

Way to go Reese!!! You are doing awesome!