Spare Thyme
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes
Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients:
Makes 30 cupcakes
1 pkg. oreos (42 cookies - 30 whole, 12 coarsely chopped)
2 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
1 cup sour cream
A pinch of salt
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.
2. With an electric mixer on medium high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined. Beat in vanilla.
3. Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in sour cream and salt. Fold in chopped cookies by hand.
4. Divide batter evenly among cookie-lined cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake, rotating pan halfway through, until filling is set, about 28 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours (or up to overnight). Remove from tins just before serving.
Tips: If you aren't sure whether the cheesecakes have set, jiggle the muffin tins a bit to see whether the cheesecake mixture moves or is solid. These are highly addictive, make sure you're ready to feed a crowd!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Meatless Monday and the Importance of Planning
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Meatless Monday!
A recent viewing of the documentary Forks Over Knives inspired me to try and trim down the meat in my diet. The premise of Forks Over Knives is that many of America's health problems (heart disease, diabetes, cancer) are linked to the high levels of meat and processed foods in our diets. The film advocates a whole foods, plant based diet and follows several people who are combatting weight and health issues. There are some pretty intense stats in the film, including that there is a monumental disparity in cancer rates among the United States and many Asian countries where a plant based diet with less meat based protein is prevalent.
So, I am going to try and do a Meatless Monday every week. I certainly don’t mind eating vegetarian – I was meat-free for a year or so in high school (although I don't think I did it in the most healthful way). I am hoping that devoting one day a week to a meatless diet will help me come up with new recipes and healthier meatless alternatives that will result in permanent changes in my diet.
I’m also going to strive to share my meals on Meatless Monday on the blog, which I hope will have the dual effect of getting me to update more frequently and to stick to the meatlessness.
Forks Over Knives is on instant play on Netflix - I recommend that you check it out!
In the future I think I need to work on incorporating some more beans and other proteins to keep me feeling full, but I will say I felt pretty good about how I ate yesterday.
For today’s inaugural Meatless Monday I had:
For lunch: Salad with onions, campari tomatoes, cucumbers and fat free Italian dressing
and Green Giant frozen cauliflower in cheese sauce. Ok, there are some preservatives in the
cauliflower with cheese sauce but the whole box is 150 calories and it's a good substitute
for mac and cheese if you're in a comfort food mood.
I went to zumba after my classes were over for the day and I was pretty hungry when I got home,
and, admittedly I was a little bummed that my dinner wouldn't include any meat.
However, this whole wheat linguine with zucchini and onions was totally delish. I boiled the
pasta until it was al dente while I sauteed some zucchini, garlic and onions. I mixed the veggies
and pasta with tomato sauce, cubed up a bit of fresh mozzarella, grated some fresh parmesean over the top and baked the pasta in a 350 degree oven for about six minutes.
What are some of your favorite meatless meals? Do you think there is too much of a focus on incorporating meats into every meal?
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Friday, August 12, 2011
My Weird Talent
Colorado, caprese and elusive roaming donkeys
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
My current loves
First on the list was "Bossypants" by Tina Fey. I'm a huge fan of "30 Rock" and of TIna Feyin general. This book definitely did not disappoint. It's witty, hilarious, sentimental, insightful and everything else one would expect from the fabulous Ms .Fey. It was a quick read and I was truly disappointed when I finished.
I know Chelsea Handler is a bit polarizing - people seem to either love her or hate her. I fall into the former category and have been meaning to check out this book. I decided to read it after "Bossypants" because I was craving more female humor. It's written in the style of "Are You There God It's Me Margaret" - kind of a coming-of-age style but the subject matter includes men, drinking and family issues, among others. If you like Chelsea and aren't too easily offended (which you probably aren't if you like Chelsea), I highly recommend this.
I have been meaning to read some David Sedaris for quite awhile and I definitely see myself reading more of his stuff in the future. "Me Talk Pretty One Day" is a collection of essays on varying subjects, from Sedaris' childhood speech impediment to his trials growing up gay in North Carolina to his difficulty learning French during long visits to France with his partner. The essays vary in tone and make for an interesting read.
I just got done reading this yesterday and I could hardly put it down in the few days that it took me to read it. I guess it falls into the "chick-lit" category, but if this is chick-lit then I'm definitely a fan.The movie came out recently but I have been hearing about this book for a little while and decided to read it. The book follows Rachel, a young lawyer who has an affair with her longtime best friend Darcy's fiance. The books explores the complexities of female relationships and actually has you rooting for Rachel. I found the characters and situations extremely relatable and II'm sure many other women would too.
I'm really looking forward to the ongoing liquidation sale at Borders. If you have one near by you need to go! They are fully shutting down and liquidating all their merchandise (sad, I know - but cheap books are awesome!).
2. Pinterest: The BEST new thing on the web. I'm totally obsessed with this site. If you like fashion, art, interior design or cooking (though this is hardly an exhaustive list) check out the site and start pinning. Oh, and add me :)
4. This American Life: This is a radio program that is available from the link I listed and as a podcast or download from iTunes. The basic premise is that each show has a theme and there are between one and four different stories, anecdotes etc. on that theme. Some are informative, some are funny, some are sad. Scroll through the options and find something that sounds interesting to you. They're great to listen to in the kitchen while you're making dinner or on a long car trip. A few of my personal favorites: "Switched at Birth';" "Very Tough Love;" "Father's Day;" and "#1 Party School." This stuff makes me understand why people loved radio so much many years ago and makes me wish that good radio programming were more prominent.