Thanksgiving Recipe #4 - Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! I hope that you have all made your way back from your Thanksgiving-eve events and are now in the safety and comfort of your home, relaxing while your gracious mother/grandmother/savior-from-heaven prepares the regal feast that is Thanksgiving dinner.

If you need a VERY last minute dessert to bring to your relatives, I have got the one for you. This recipe will also be great at any upcoming Christmas parties, so keep it in your back pocket when looking for a quick, and easy idea!

You will need:

1 large log of Pillsbury Gingerbread sugar cookie dough (30 oz)
1 package of cream cheese
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
mini muffin pan
mini muffin liners
small ziploc bag or piping bag

Start out by preheating your oven to 350 and lining your mini muffin pan with the mini muffin liners.

Next take 2 tablespoons of dough and rolling it into a ball with your hands. Place the ball into the mini muffin liner. Continue this process until you have all of your liners filled.

Shout out to my assistant, Chef Alex! 

Next, taking the back end of a spoon handle, create indents in the gingerbread dough by gently pushing down in the center of each ball. Dipping your handle in flour helps keep the dough from sticking to the spoon.

In a small bowl, mix your cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. You may need to add a little more powdered sugar to get a good consistency. Letting your cream cheese come to room temperature makes mixing a lot easier! 

Put the cream cheese mixture into a piping bag or use a small ziploc baggie to create a homemade piping bag. Cut of the corner to create an opening.

Pipe the cream cheese mixture into the indents you made in the gingerbread dough. Be careful to not overfill, as the filling rises a bit in the oven. 

Bake your gingerbread cheesecake bites at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes before removing them from the pan. They will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven, but while they cool they will come together.

These things could not be easier to make and they are very tasty! I brought them to Friendsgiving and they were a hit! I also noticed that Pillsbury makes a peppermint cookie dough and I want to try to make a variation of these using a chocolate cheesecake filling and peppermint dough. I promise to follow up if I get a chance to do that!

I hope you all have a great day with family and friends! I am very thankful for all of the support this blog receives and it is so great to hear that you guys are trying out some of the recipes I post. I really enjoy cooking, baking and sharing my experiences with you all and I am truly looking forward to the future blog posts! 

Thanksgiving Recipe #3 - Homemade Stuffing!

Hey everyone! For my third Thanksgiving themed recipe, I will show you how we make stuffing on Thanksgiving at my house. We don't cheat when it comes to stuffing the turkey and it is so worth the extra time!

To stuff the turkey and have left overs, you will need:

4 loaves of bread
1 head of celery
1 large red onion
4 sticks of butter
2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons thyme

Begin by toasting up your bread and breaking it into small bite sized pieces.

Using a food processor, chop up your celery and onion.

In a pan, melt your butter and add in your celery and onion. Let this cook down for about 20-30 minutes.

Add your poultry seasoning and thyme and let cook for another 5 minutes.

Sprinkle some additional seasoning over your bread crumbs.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop out the onion, celery mixture from your pan. Use the moisture from the celery and onions to bring your stuffing together.  Start slow, and add more if your stuffing is too dry. Once you add too much butter - you can't really go back and fix it.

 

When stuffing your turkey, take your stuffing and gently pack it into the turkey. Put tin foil on any stuffing that is popping out so it doesn't burn, and cooke the turkey as directed.

If you have excess, bake at 250 degrees for 20 minutes.

 Serve with gravy and enjoy!! Look out for one last Thanksgiving themed post before the holidays! 

Thanksgiving Recipe #2 - Appetizer! Buffalo Chicken Crescent Ring

The next recipe you'll need for Thanksgiving is a crowd pleasing appetizer! Make this easy, buffalo chicken crescent ring before heading over to your relatives this year.

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked chicken (you can use fresh, canned or the pre-cooked bagged stuff)
Wing sauce to taste - approx. two tablespoons
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 pack of ranch dip mix
Chopped celery to taste
2 large (or 4 small) cans of crescent rolls

Mix your chicken, cream cheese, wing sauce, ranch dip mix, and celery in a bowl.

Lay your crescent rolls out in a circle on a creased baking sheet. Do not separate them into triangles, keep them in rectangle shapes.

Drop your mixture onto your crescent rolls to create a ring.

Carefully lift up the edges of your crescent rolls one by one and tuck them into the center to begin forming your ring shape. Pinch up any noticeable openings so the mixture doesn't spill out!

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until the crescent rolls are golden brown. Mine came out a little doughy still so make sure yours is cooked through.

Slice it up and serve with ranch or blue cheese dip! Enjoy!!

I forgot to take a picture when it was done cooking, and by the time I got Brendan to take one (a day later...), this is all that was left.... So I guess it was good!

Thanksgiving Recipe #1 - Fall Sangria

Start off your Thanksgiving right, with a fall inspired Sangria! You'll only need a few ingredients for this one - and you can use cheap wine since you're mixing! Enjoy!

Ingredients: (you can double this to make a full pitcher)
1 bottle pinot grigio
1.5 cups apple cider
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or to taste)
1/2 cup sugar
2 apples
1 pear
1 orange
Optional - 1/2 cup vanilla vodka - depending on your family?? ;)

Start off by chopping up your fruit and putting into your pitcher.

Mix the rest of your ingredients and chill for at least one hour before serving.

This could not be easier and its super impressive and tasty!

Announcement for November!

Happy Sunday Everyone! I won't be posting a blog tonight as I am traveling for work and do not have a kitchen at my disposal. I will be back next week though!

This will actually be the first time I am planning to do a THEMED MONTH! For the month of November I plan on giving you all some great ideas to bring to your Thanksgiving gathering this year. I will show you a spicy, crowd pleasing appetizer, a staple side, and an easy decadent dessert you can share with loved ones. 

Throughout the month, feel free to ask me questions about preparing Thanksgiving dishes! 

I hope you all have a great week! Thanks for checking in!