Cheesecake Brownie Bites

What's better than fresh chewy brownie bites? Fresh chewy CHEESECAKE brownie bites. I found a variant of this recipe on Pinterest a few days ago, and upon discovering a near-expiration package of cream cheese in my refrigerator, decided that today was the day to give it a go. Prepackaged sweets were a childhood taboo in my household: I spent many elementary school lunches attempting to trade spiced granola and carrot sticks for Hostess brownie bites and Twinkies. In retrospect, my mother's military-strict nutrition standards were admirable; but despite my rigorously healthy upbringing, I still haven't quite overcome the spike in saliva upon passing the Hostess aisle in my local Publix.

As always, the solution evokes vibes of the 1950's-era antifeminism that I work so delicately to avoid: bake your own.

Well, hello, lovely.

Cheesecake Brownie Bites

Ingredients:

For the brownie batter:
4 large eggs
1¼ cups baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder, mixed with 2 teaspoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2¼ cups sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1½ cups all-purpose flour

For the cheesecake filling:
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 large egg yolk

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, baking cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso mixed with water, and vanilla until well combined.

3. Stir in the sugar and melted butter until well combined, then stir in the flour. (A firm rubber spatula works best.) Set brownie batter aside.

4. In a separate bowl, prepare the cheesecake filling by stirring together the cream cheese, sugar and egg yolk until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a pastry bag or plastic bag.

5. Grease a non-stick mini-muffin pan with cooking spray or butter and then spoon a tablespoon of brownie batter into the greased cups. Pipe a generous amount of cheesecake filling atop the brownie batter, and then top off each cup with an additional teaspoon of brownie batter. If desired, use a toothpick to mix the cheesecake filling with the brownie mix for a marble effect (as I have done.)

6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

7. Let the brownie bites cool for 10 minutes in the pan before eating.

Happy summer eating!

--Alyssa

Explosive Steak Tips With Buttery Noodles

This is absolutely hands down Handsome Boyfriend's favorite dish that I make. Yesterday he had a small fiesta in front of my refrigerator upon discovering a container of these in leftover form. When Handsome Boyfriend exults over leftovers, there are only two options: his parents are out of town and he is out of ramen, or it is a seriously excellent dish. (Hint: in this case it's the latter.)

The star player in this dish is the Pickapeppa sauce. It is moderately easy to find. Although Walmart does not usually carry it, it can be find at both BiLo and Publix stores.

I used roughly 1 lb of sirloin tips in this recipe, but any type of steak will work as long as it is sliced into cubes in order to soak up all the wonderful flavor in the sauce.

Sirloin Tips With Buttery Noodles

Ingredients:

1 lb sirloin steak tips

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup Pickapeppa sauce

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon garlic & herb seasoning (I use Old Bay brand)

Egg noodles

Directions:

1. Pan-sear sirloin steak tips in olive oil until browned and fragrant.

2. Add Worcestershire sauce, Pickapeppa sauce, soy sauce and garlic & herb seasoning to the pan and reduce heat to low.

3. Allow steak to simmer in the sauce while the egg noodles cook according to the package directions.

4. Butter cooked noodles. Serve sirloin tips and sauce over buttered noodles.

Happy summer eating, y'all.

--Alyssa

Bacon Wrapped Chipotle Chicken

Handsome Boyfriend LOVES bacon. He loves bacon so much that his last two Christmas presents have included bacon-flavored hot cocoa and chocolate-covered bacon candy, respectively (Cara's hometown of Paducah, KY is home to a surprising amount of touristy bacon paraphernalia.) This is a problem for a boy who is seriously dating a seriously kosher Jewish girl.

Star-spangled healthy appetizers.

I have discovered a wonderful compromise: turkey bacon. Today I decided to experiment with a bacon-inclusive appetizer for an approaching dock party, and this is what appeared: spiced sugar turkey-bacon covered chicken.

BAM.

I am not ashamed to admit that I ate every single one of these.

Happy eating, y'all.

Turkey Bacon Wrapped Chipotle Chicken

Ingredients

Two chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 slices turkey bacon, cut into thirds

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons chipotle seasoning

2 tablespoons honey

1/8 teaspoon cumin

pinch of salt

Directions

1. Combine sugar, chipotle seasoning, honey, cumin and salt in a large bag with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Coat chicken in mixture and marinate in refrigerator for at least two hours.
2. Wrap a baking sheet in aluminum foil. Place slices of chicken evenly on baking sheet. Wrap one piece of turkey bacon around each piece of chicken, securing it with a toothpick.
3. Pour the remainder of the sauce in the bag over the chicken.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is done and bacon is crispy.
   
   
   (Hint: I definitely recommend lining the baking sheet with aluminum foil to speed up the cleanup process. The sugary honey gets a little blackened in the oven.)
   
   
   --Alyssa