Recipe>> Brownie Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

As I promised, here is the recipe for, in my opinion, one of the best cheesecakes ever. :)

Brownie Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

1 (9.8oz or 21.5 oz) package fudge brownie mix
3 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease bottom only of 9-inch springform pan.

2. Prepare brownie mix as directed for chewy brownies. Spread evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, or until set.

Note: The brownie always overbakes when we make this so this time we followed to instructions on the brownie box( in our case 350° F for glass and metal pans and 325° F for dark coated pans) so we baked it for 25 minutes at 325°F  and it worked out perfectly.

3. Meanwhile, in a larger mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk.

4. Add eggs and vanilla. Pour in prepared pan.

5. Pour into prepared pan. Reduce over temp to 300° F.

6. Bake 50 minutes or until center is set. To test for doneness, stick a clean butter knife in the center of the cheesecake. If the knife comes out clean, your cheesecake is done. Melted chocolate chips on your knife don't count. Only the cheesecake part counts. ;)

7. Cool.

9. Chill thoroughly. Remove side of springform pan.

10. Serve and enjoy.*


*Serving doesn't necessarily sharing. Although your friends and family would probably be happier with you if you share it with them. ;)

I didn't take very many pictures, but here are some pictures of the finished product. :)

Morgan

What is your favorite dessert or type of cheesecake to make?

Frostbitten Spring

So, here it is April, and it decided to snow again. But I guess I don't get to complain because snow in April is better than the snow we had in May last year. And I live in Iowa so I guess the weather will do whatever it feels like.

Anyway, snow makes for really cool pictures when it stays around long enough for you to snap some pictures of it. About an hour or two after these pictures were taken the snow was melting into a muddy mess in the mid-40's temperatures.

My goal was to maybe get some good snow pictures to be entered in our county fair and I think I succeeded in that. :)

Well, this has been a quick post, but I hope you enjoy it.

Morgan

Does you have any favorites?

4 Things I Have Learned From The Olympics

Since they end today, I thought I would write a post about some things I have learned during the Olympics. In no particular order:

1. The Opening Ceremony reminds me of scenes from the Hunger Games and Vladimir Putin reminds me of President Snow.
Did anyone else feel this way? I was thinking about the similarities and decided to see if anyone else felt the same way. Evidently they do.
And then there's this, which doesn't have anything to do with the opening ceremony and it's similarities, but is another similarity that I wouldn't have thought of.

2. If you are good enough at a sport, it will be entertaining for people to watch. 
I don't follow any olympic sports outside of the Olympics, but during the Games, I watch what happens to be on or record some things, like figure skating, and watch them later. I may not be into sports, but these athletes do a pretty good job of making their sports fun to watch.
You wouldn't think that figure skating would be that exciting to watch and that you can watch it while working on something else at the same time, but I tried this and the more exciting parts of the performance happen while I'm not really paying attention and they happen so fast that I miss them.

3. The athletes don't always win like they had planned, but they don't let that slow them down.
We may get discouraged when something doesn't go the way we had planned, but these athletes
have put much more into their sport and the Olympics than we have put into whatever we feel like we have failed at. They might not do as well as they had hoped, but they don't let that stop them; they get right back onto the hill or the rink or wherever it might be and keep working so that they can do better next time. I know, there are some athletes who are completely devastated because they won't be able to try and "redeem" themselves in the 2018 Olympics because they will be retiring, but for the most part, they get right back up and try again.

4. Ice skaters must lack the ability to become dizzy.  
I mean, how else can you spin that fast for that long and just stop and go back to your routine with our falling over after spinning like that?

Have you learned anything/noticed anything interesting about the Olympics?

Morgan

Roses are Red...

Yes, I know, that is a very cliche way to start a Valentines blog post, but the roses are VERY red, I mean look how red they look in these pictures. They are an even deeper and red than they appear here.

Dad bought Mom roses for Valentine's Day so of course I had to take them and photograph them. The cat even wanted to get in on the action. The only problem with her "helping" me is that she kept trying to run off with the greenery... :)
In the first picture of her above I had just taken the greenery back from her after she ran across the room with it. She just licked her lips and looked at me.

What did you do for Valentines Day?

Morgan