No Bake Animal Cookie Cheesecake Recipe

Wow, I am so impressed with how these taste! The cheesecake filling is tangy and just the right amount of sweet! And, the crust is sort of unexpected and really yummy. The cookies are a perfect replacement for normal graham crackers you would normally use. 

INGREDIENTS – NO BAKE CHEESECAKE

·       1 packages Stauffer’s Animal Cookies

·       11 tablespoons (1 3/8 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

·       ½ or 1 tablespoons sugar

·       2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature (make sure it’s not too cold or your mixer will not be happy!)

·       1 14-ounce can (1 1/4 cups) sweetened condensed milk

·       1/4 cup lemon juice

·       1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·       4-5 jars

Hot glue your ribbons to the jars. This adds such a cute touch! Coordinate any event or holiday!

The cookies after they have been in a food processor to make the crust.

After mixing the melted butter with the cookies, spread the mixture into the jars and level.

Mix up your filling and carefully spoon the filling into each jar.

I added a cookie to the top of each one, they're adorable!

DIRECTIONS

1.    Attach ribbon to outside of jars with hot glue

2.   Place animal cookies into food processor and process until they are fine crumbs

3.   Pour crumbs into a medium bowl; stir in sugar. Add melted butter, and stir until well combined.

4.   Place a few spoonfulls of crumb mixture into each jar, pat down with spoon, and let chill in freezer while you make the filling.

5.    For the filling: Using an electric mixer set at medium-high speed, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the condensed milk a little at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.

6.   Remove jars from freezer, and fill almost to the top with filling. Smooth out tops for best look. Top with one animal cookie each! Chill and serve! 

For this recipe, I adapted the Martha Stewart Recipe, found here.

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Raspberry Mint Spritzer With Lemon

I found this adorable kitchen towel recently, that just screamed "SUMMER". I loved the little graphic on it so much, I created a new, summer drink recipe around it. 

INGREDIENTS

2 - 24 oz. Mason Jars (and Ice)

Cran Raspberry Juice

Sprite or Sprite Zero

Vodka (optional)

Handful of Mint Sprigs, 2 Lemons, Fresh Raspberries, and Short Skewers For Garnish

INSTRUCTIONS

Optionally, fill each jar with 1-2 shots of vodka. Fill jars with ice 1/2 -3/4 of the way full. Fill the rest of the jar with half cran-raspberry juice, then top with Sprite. 

To Garnish - Poke skewers through 3 raspberries, set on top of glass. Slice lemons, and put them onto your jars. Top with fresh mint, and serve. Mix the mint into the drink for a bit of extra freshness! Enjoy.

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Check Out These Top Instagram Accounts

I absolutely love what some people and companies are doing on their Instagram accounts these days! Some people just have a nack for making all their images all look so incredibly cohesive, and I am still trying to figure it out! 

@juleytl

I just love her sense of style, and it looks like she has an amazing home, which is the perfect backdrop for lots of her photos. Her website, upperlyne.com, is also stunning, and a wonderful source of inspiration for me! She's based in NOLA, which would be a dream for any fashion blogger, because of all the amazing locations you could shoot photos. 

@sugarandcharm

Next, we have Sugar and Charm, She is absolutely incredible, and I am beyond smitten with her website, www.sugarandcharm.com. She features all sorts of recipes and bright, beautiful photos, and amazing DIY projects. 

Stay tuned, I will post more awesome Instagram Accounts soon! 

CHECK ME OUT!

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How To Make Blooming Candies

I had so much fun creating this project! I was inspired by summer, and all the pretty flowers that are blooming right now! For this recipe, I used silicone brownie molds, so I could fill them with tons of candy. I also used Blue and Vibrant Green Candy Melts. My filler candies were Sixlets, found here. See the list of ingredients below...and have FUN! You can make these in just about any color combo, for special events, holidays, and sporting events. 

HERE'S HOW YOU MAKE THEM...

You only need a few simple ingredients! Some Sixlets Candies, candy melts, and a candy mould.  

INGREDIENTS (Click Names To Buy)

Vibrant Green Candy Melts - Blue Candy Melts - Filler Candies - Wilton Paintbrushes, Candy/Brownie Molds

1.) Melt your candy melts in 2 separate containers, either in the microwave or in a double boiler method, which I did. I found that using a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, which held one package of candy melts worked great! Fill a small saucepan with 2-3 inches of water, and pour your melts into the measuring cup. Insert cup into water, heat water over medium of high heat and stir melts frequently until smooth. (See photo below for tips)...

Texture Test (above) - The blue one looks right, but NOT the green one! If your melts form more of a paste than a smooth and satiny texture, try again. 

MY BIGGEST TIP WOULD BE...USE A PAINTBRUSH!!!

2.) Using a paintbrush to spread the candy molds was a priceless tip! The brush gives you way more control than a knife or spoon. This step took a while, but was definitely fun. I searched around just about every craft store for these brushes, and finally found them at JoAnns! I originally searched for cheap kids' paintbrushes, and found nothing. Luckily I persisted :) 

3.) See how I spread the blue candy melts into the molds with a paintbrush, and am about to spread the green candies next. I added about double this amount (that you see in green) to fill the mold at first. After you fill the molds, pop the candies into the freezer for about 5 minutes. 

4.) Now, fill the candy shells with Candies, almost to the very top. 

5.) Add a dollop of candy melts on top of your fillers candies, and use the paintbrush to smooth the dollop out, and to create a seal, so the candies stay inside the melts. Throw them back into the freezer, and wait about 30 minutes (or longer), so that everything hardens and seals. 

These are so cute!!!

6.) Here is what it looked like after I smoothed the last part of the candy melts over the molds, to close in the Sixlets. Use your brush to make a pretty swirl pattern on the candies if you wish. 

7.) Here is what your (almost finished) candies will look like after being in the freezer overnight. You don't have to leave them in this long (2 hours will do), but after all the work I did on this project, I was more than happy to leave these babies in the freezer overnight, and enjoy them the next day :)

8.) Using a pair of rubber or cotton gloves, carefully peel the mold away from your Blooming Candies. The gloves help prevent finger prints all over your candies. Aren't they adorable? The next photo shows how you open them...

Now you can reveal your surprise candy inside! Just use a sharp kitchen knife, and (very carefully), cut into the candy as if you are cutting a slice of cake. 

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Summer Fun!

I recently tried White Cheddar Skinny Pop, and Hubert's Raspberry Lemonade and I am in love!! They're actually a good combo for summer! I would definitely take this to the park or beach for a summer picnic. The flowers are from my new, favorite place near Carbondale, Chautauqua Bend Flower Farm. 

I also love this blanket by Domain, it's super soft and perfect for summer. I grabbed this bag from Sole Society a while back, and it has held up really great.

Those sandals, though! My favorite part of all of this is the Sam Edelman Studded Asbury Sandals. They're comfortable, very chic, and look amazing with everything I have paired them with so far. 

This popcorn is addicting! 

What are your summer picnic essentials? 

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Fun Berry Recipes - Food and Drink Ideas

The berries have been abundant this year, and I am so inspired by all of these amazing recipes I found that shows you how to incorporate berries into just about anything! From water or spirits, to sorbets, cakes, and other desserts, berries will make your tastebuds happy all summer long! Click the images to learn more about any of these recipes below, and enjoy! 

Blackberry and Sage Infused Water by Evermine

Blueberry Slab Pie 

Blackberry Lemon Cake 

Blackberry Basil Whiskey Smash

Honey, Stone Fruit, and Blackberry Tartlette 

Raspberry Lemonade 

Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberry Infused Vodka 

Blueberry - Pecan Galette 

Raspberry Sorbet 

Flourless Chocolate Almond Cake with Berries On Top 

Raspberry Dessert 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are inspired to create something tasty with berries today!

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AZ Sunshine Lemonade

Earlier this year, we visited my parents in Cave Creek, AZ. It was a great time of year to visit, as the days were only mildly HOT and the nights were somewhat cool enough to wear lightweight pants or a long sleeve tee. The other great thing about being there in early Spring, was that their lemon tree was in full production mode, and even had a few blossoms still on it. I wish we could have taken home boxes of their organic lemons, so we could enjoy them at home, but they really only stay good for a few days after they are picked. So, we made as much lemonade as we could handle until our teeth hurt! We had a pitcher a day addiction going on!

INREDIENTS:

1 Part Lemon Juice (We used about 7-8 lemons for this)

3-4 Parts Water

1 Part Sugar (You can make a simple syrup at first if you want, although we didn't)

HOW TO:

We picked 7-8 lemons straight off the tree, cut them in half, and used an electric juicer to get as much juice out of them as we could. We then added the lemon juice to a pitcher, added the water, and sugar, and stirred. If you wind up making a simple syrup first, this is supposed to reduce the sugar from sinking to the bottom. Taste a bit to see if it is sweet or tart enough for your liking. Fill your glasses with ice, and pour the AZ Sunshine Lemonade on top! Enjoy!

I never grew up around fruit trees, and I love them! They do attract lots of bees, because of the little lemon blooms, but my step-mom made us a fresh batch of lemonade almost every day we were there! She has an electric juicer, which really does make things much easier for this whole process. Since we drank her super fresh lemonade, nothing from a bottle has tasted anywhere near as good. It all seems so bland, not tart, and loaded with more sugar than humanly possible. 

I like my lemonade a little bit sweet, and a little bit tart. Feel free to add more sugar if this is way too tart, but I do hope you enjoy the way we make our fresh squeezed AZ Lemonade! 

My little girls always helps me with my photos, poolside preferred! 

Healthy Jar Salad Recipe - Black Beans & Greens With Creamy Chipotle Dressing

I have been helping to promote the Mira Fitness Tracker Bracelet on Pinterest recently, which is a really cool product. It's a more  and I found this awesome recipe on their blog. I decided to create a graphic explaining the tasty recipe, and you can find it on Pinterest here. I love creating graphics for these brands! If you need some cute graphics made, just let me know! 

Below, you can see the Mira Fitness Tracker Bracelet - it's much cuter than the traditional FitBits. 

Patriotic Recipes

I created a few recipes - inspired by Red, White, and Blue! 

Check out this super-tasty, super-easy Patriotic Popcorn Recipe Here.

Red, White, and Blue French Toast Recipe - find it here. 

These treats are fun for summer parties. Find them here.

Super Easy 2-Ingredient Ice Box Cake

Yum! This no-bake cake turned out so well! My grandma used to make this for me every time I visited. She didn't cook or bake very often, but I remember when she made this, and her famous meatballs, and they were both some of my favorites EVER! 

I always loved it and finally made some myself. This cake is great to make on a warmer day, because you don't even have to turn on the oven. It only requires 2 ingredients, Chocolate Wafers, and Cool Whip, so that's an added bonus as well! Check out my food blog, Bisque This! for this recipe and lots more! 

It's super simple! Grab a loaf tin and your 2 simple ingredients. First, spread 2-3 Tbsp of Cool Whip on the bottom of the tin evenly. Then, add a layer of chocolate wafers. They fit perfectly with 2 across. At the short side of the tin, a whole cookie wouldn't fit, so I added some cookies that were already broken in half.

Keep layering the Cool Whip and Chocolate Wafers until you are out of ingredients. I liked when the layers of Cool Whip were thicker, but whatever you wind up doing will be great! I also crushed up some of the broken cookies (in my fingers) and lightly sprinkled them on top of the cake for a bit of added cuteness! 

Pop the "cake" into the fridge or freezer, and let it combine over night. Voila! You have an incredibly easy, no-bake Cookies and Cream Ice Box Cake! I initially let this sit in the fridge overnight, but froze it to take photos of it. I tried it both ways, and liked it frozen a lot better. 

Tater Tot Horseshoe Sandwiches

Horseshoe Sandwiches originated in my hometown, Springfield, IL. They're awesome - It's like a burger and fries, topped in homemade cheese sauce. Click Here for the full recipe on Bisque This! 

Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple Rings

I have a real treat for you! The perfect mid-afternoon snack to eat on a snowy Sunday... Bacon-Wrapped Pineapple Rings! They taste super good and are actually fun to create. It took a little bit of time, but they were easy none the less. 

WHAT YOU NEED:

* 4 - 5 Pineapple Rings (We bought a fresh pineapple that was packaged near the fruit coolers, and cut them into super thick slices). A Can of pineapple also works. 

* 10 slices (1 Package) of Thinly Sliced Bacon (I like Applegate Organic)

* Toothpicks or short skewer sticks.

* Metal Baking Rack - place into baking dish

*Shallow 9x13 Baking Dish

INSTRUCTIONS:

* Preheat oven to 350 Degrees. Open the package of bacon, and prepare/cut/or drain your pineapples. Set out a decent amount of toothpicks into a shallow dish so they are easy to use.

*To construct: Set one pineapple ring onto a cutting board or clean surface. Take the first slice of bacon, begin to wrap it around the pineapple, and continue with 1-2 more pieces of bacon per ring. Secure with toothpicks. Now, place each Bacon Pineapple Ring onto the Baking Rack.

* Bake for 15-20 minutes, on the top rack of the oven. You may need up to ten minutes more, depending on your oven. Make sure you do not burn them, and enjoy!

Bisque This!

I have been working on a little side project, a food blog called Bisque This! Stop on over to learn about all sorts of fun recipes + restaurant reviews!