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Quick and Easy Cheesecake Souffles

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Quick and Easy Cheesecake Soufflés

This is a riff on a cheesecake pie recipe I have. I only had one brick of cream cheese, so I came up with these easy little soufflés instead. Yummy!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American, French
Keyword cheesecake, souffle
Prep Time 45 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 ramekins
Author misangela

Equipment

  • 4 Ramekins small 4oz size
  • 1 sheet pan with a lip to hold water, or use a casserole dish

Ingredients

  • 1 8oz cream cheese regular brick, not whipped or any of that
  • 2 Tbl sour cream heaping Tbl, regular not low fat
  • 2 Tbl key lime juice or reg lime, or lemon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 Tbl
  • 2 eggs, 1 whole, 1 yolk only
  • large crystal sugar at the end for crunch, optional

Instructions

  • This recipe actually only takes about 10 minutes to assemble, the first 35 minutes is to let the cream cheese and eggs come up to room temp. Or you can be like me, give it 15 mins and put up with small blobs of cream cheese in your soufflés. :D
  • Preheat oven to 350? and thoroughly spray ramekins with food release spray.
  • In a stand mixer (or hand mixer), blend together cream cheese, sour cream, citrus juice, vanilla and sugar until smooth, then add the eggs and beat for 2-3 mins on medium.
  • Fill ramekins to the lip (usually about 1/4" from top). This recipe was exactly 4 ramekins for me. My ramekins are about 4.5oz.
  • Put ramekins on sheet pan and put on oven rack. Add hot water to about 1/2" on sheet pan.
  • Bake for about 25 minutes or until they are set and just barely starting to brown around the edges. I tossed on some large crystal sugar at the end, just because I had it. Optional, but a nice little crunch.
  • Cool completely and refrigerate before serving. Or if you are like me and impatient, chuck one in the freezer for a few minutes, then devour it partially chilled. :D

Notes

I think I like these better than the original cheesecake pie recipe! The pie is in a graham cracker crust and I find that I like the filling more than the crust anyway. Perfect! 
This is a cross between cheesecake pie and key lime pie. I substituted key lime juice to get that flavour rather than lemon. It's good either way. 
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Indian Long Pepper Chicken

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Indian Long Pepper Chicken

I got a packet of Long Pepper for xmess, so I went on a search for recipes. I found an ancient recipe (h/t Indiaphile.info) and used it as a starting point. My recipe is significantly different, but still easy to make, homestyle and comforting. Long pepper is a delightful spice; it is lighter than black pepper and a bit floral. I highly recommend trying it! NOTE: you'll need to get it ground or have a spice grinder - the pods are VERY tough.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Keyword chicken, Indian long pepper, long pepper
Prep Time 2 hours
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 2 large, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1" cubes about 1#, sub chicken tenders
  • 2/3 cup whole milk yogurt or whole milk greek yogurt, DO NOT sub low fat here, it will be cooked at the end!
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground long pepper use a spice grinder or buy ground
  • 1 Tbl ginger paste found at Indian store, frozen at grocery or microplaned fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp garlic paste found at Indian store or paste up fresh garlic
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric optional, I like the colour and it adds a bit of earthiness
  • 2 Tbl ghee or sub butter
  • 10 whole long pepper optional, if you have the whole ones
  • 1 tsp whole mustard seeds black ones if you have them
  • 1 lime sub lemon
  • 2 Tbl whole milk yogurt or whole milk greek yogurt
  • 2 cups basmati rice, prepared or any rice you like, or use naan

Instructions

  • Combine yogurt, salt, long pepper, ginger, garlic and turmeric in a bowl big enough for the diced chicken. Stir chicken into marinade and hold in fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.
  • In a large skillet, melt the ghee or butter over med high and add mustard seeds and long pepper pods (if using). Let them sizzle a couple of minutes. Remove the pepper pods since they are hard to eat - or leave them if you like whole spices.
  • With tongs, take the chicken from the marinade and tap off as much marinade as you can, then put into the skillet. Set aside the remaining marinade. You should have one layer of chicken, if there's too much chicken, cook in batches to get a little colour.
  • The yogurt marinade will melt off the chicken and create a nice cooking sauce. Cook the chicken about 4 mins on each side. If the sauce gets too dry, reduce heat a little and add a bit of water to loosen it up.
  • When the chicken is cooked, turn down the heat to medium and add in the remaining marinade. Stir until marinade melts a bit.
  • Turn off heat and add another 2 heaping Tbl of fresh yogurt and the juice of half a lime. Check seasoning.
  • Serve over rice or with naan.

Notes

This recipe was a surprise! I really enjoyed the long pepper and yogurt. It is a very simple recipe w/out too many ingredients so you can really taste the delicate flavour of the long pepper. 
This type of Indian food is my preference. It's homey and warm, but not too heavily spiced. If you like homey Indian, try my dal and kadhi recipes, too! 
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Angela’s Red Chili

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Angela's Red Chili

This is my go-to chili recipe. It's fast and easy!
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine American
Keyword beef, beef chili, red chili
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 8 bowls
Author misangela

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground or minced beef
  • 1 small white onion, diced about 2/3 cup
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbl olive oil
  • 1 Tbl flour
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika or hot paprika if you like heat
  • 1 Tbl chili powder to taste
  • 1 tsp dry oregano optional
  • 1 can red enchilada sauce I like A La Orden brand
  • 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes I use the Garlic ones
  • 1 can black beans, drained
  • 1 Tbl agave optional
  • 2 Tbl ketchup for sweetness and deep tomato flavor
  • S/P to taste

Instructions

  • In a large pot, put EVOO, onions and garlic over med high heat.
  • When onions get soft, add meat and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add flour, cumin, paprika, chili powder and oregano. Add 1 tsp salt. Stir over heat to integrate the spices with the meat and cook out the flour, about 5-6 minutes until meat is about halfway cooked.
  • Add enchilada sauce, tomatoes and beans. Stir. Bring back to simmer over med low heat, partially covered.
  • Simmer for about 10 minutes, add agave and ketchup. Continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.
  • Taste to make sure the ketchup is cooked out and check S/P. Turn off heat.
  • Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, jalapenos or whatever you like!

Notes

This chili will freeze well. 
I like to make a deeply flavourful chili that people can make as spicy as they wish. I like pickled jalapenos in mine!
This is also great over tater tots or even pasta! 
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Angela’s Cabbage Pie

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Angela's Cabbage Pie

Just in time for St Patrick's day! I saw a random Irish chef on Chopped make something like this and it sounded deelish, so here's my version! It is rich and very satifying - as well as cheap to make! Éirinn go Brách!
Course Main Course, Side Dish
Cuisine Irish
Keyword cabbage, Irish Cheddar, potatoes, potatoes and cheese
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 6 Servings
Author misangela

Equipment

  • 1 medium casserole dish
  • 1 Large skillet
  • 1 2 qt saucepan

Ingredients

  • 1/2 head Green Cabbage, halved and sliced thinly about 4-5 cups
  • 1/2 Onion, halved and sliced thinly about 3/4 cup
  • 4 cloves Garlic, minced used several places
  • 1 small Carrot, julienned about 1/3 cup
  • 1/4 cup small diced pancetta optional, but great in this dish
  • 1 Tbl Apple cider or white wine vinegar red wine is fine too
  • 1/4 cup Fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 Scallions, thinly sliced on bias
  • 1 pack Instant potatoes, garlic flavour, as directed A small pack (2 cups) and I use half 1/2 1/2 rather than all water. OR make your own: about 2 cups very smoothly creamed potatoes.
  • 1 cup shredded Irish Cheddar cheese Spring for the real thing! Used in 3 places.
  • 5 Tbl butter used in cabbage, bechamel and potatoes
  • 1.5 cups Half and half used in potatoes and bechamel
  • 1.5 Tbl flour for bechamel
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Prep all the veg and assemble in bowls. This will save you time in the cook.
  • Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, melt 1 Tbl butter with pancetta, cook until pancetta gets a little crisp. Add onions, 1/2 the garlic, carrots and cabbage. Gently cook until cabbage is soft. Add S/P to taste. (If this gets too dry, add just a bit of water. Don't use too much heat, the veg should not brown.)
  • When veg is soft, check S/P, and add vinegar. Put them in the casserole and set aside.
  • In a 2 qt saucepan, put the water and half n half mixture for the potatoes over med hi heat - watch to prevent boilover. Add half the remaining garlic. (Idahoan packs call for 2 cups liquid.) SEE NOTES!!
  • In same skillet, over med heat, put another 2 Tbl butter and flour to make a roux. Stir for a couple of minutes then add half the scallions and parsley and the remaining garlic. Add about 2/3 cup of half n half to make a bechamel sauce. This should be fairly tight, but not like glue, use more half and half if needed. When bechamel has cooked for 2-3 minutes, add 1/3 of the Irish cheddar to create a mornay sauce. As soon as the cheese melts, kill the heat and add back in the cabbage and stir to incorporate the sauce. Check S/P. Put this mixture back into the casserole dish.
  • Water for potatoes should be at the boil - turn off and add a Tbl of butter and potato flakes, whisk. Add 1/3 Irish cheddar and remaining parsley and scallions. Adjust liquid to make a fairly stiff creamed potato.
  • If you want to be fancy, you can use a round tip and pipe the potatoes from a pastry bag - make sure they are loose enough! (star tip will clog with the veg). Otherwise, just spread on top of the cabbage mix in the casserole dish.
  • Finally, put the remaining Irish cheddar on top of potatoes and bake in oven for about 15 minutes. Then turn on broiler and broil until you see browned potatoes and cheese.
  • Serve and enjoy!

Notes

YES I use instant potatoes here. I tend to use them for any dish where they are a topping, such as Shepherd's Pie. I use the Idahoan small bag, which makes about 2 cups. I like the lightness of the instant, and they will pipe out a pastry bag nicely. In this particular recipe, since there is parsley and scallions, a star tip will not work, but a round tip will.  You can certainly make your own creamed potatoes here if you wish. 
Do get Irish cheddar. It has a nice sharp taste! 
This recipe makes about 3-4 cups, a small casserole. It will double just fine if you'd like a bigger casserole.  The only thing I'd not double is the butter. It will get super greasy with all the cheddar, so just use enough butter to get the veg cooked, and make the bechamel (1:1 butter to flour for bechamel). The bake time will be 20-25 mins for a large casserole.
The bake time is simply to warm up all the ingredients that have been sitting while you finish the dish. The important part is to broil the top for the browned bits. You can use a torch if you'd rather. 
This is not a pretty dish, but it is SO tasty! Perfect for a rainy night! Have a nice stout with it! 
 
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Carrot Ginger Soup

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Carrot Ginger Soup

This soup can be vegan or dairy - it is delicious either way! I make it with butter and coconut cream, but substitutions are listed. It is easy to make and is a lovely silky smooth soup. I've added other spices you can add for an even more flavourful soup in the notes!
Course Soup
Cuisine American, Asian, Indian
Keyword carrot, coconut cream, ginger, vegan soup, vegetarian soup
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 4 servings
Author misangela

Equipment

  • stick blender or counter blender

Ingredients

  • 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced or chunked
  • 1 med shallot, about 2 Tbl, minced sub onion
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbl Butter I use salted, always
  • 2 inch ginger, microplaned Sub 2 Tbl ginger paste
  • 2 tsp ginger, powdered optional, but supports the fresh
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme optional, but a classic with carrots
  • 1 small can coconut milk/cream (5.5oz) 1/3 large can (14oz)
  • 1 tsp brown sugar optional
  • salt to taste
  • water for cooking and adjusting thickness

Instructions

  • Put a medium saucepan over medium heat and add butter, shallot, garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. Cook 3-4 mins until shallot and garlic are soft.
  • Add carrots, ginger paste, ginger powder and thyme and cook a couple of minutes. Add water to just cover carrots. Bring to simmer.
  • Simmer with lid ajar until carrots are soft, adding water as needed to keep it at about halfway up carrots.
  • When carrots are soft, take off heat and blend with stick or counter blender until smooth. Add more water if needed.
  • Add coconut cream and blend. Add more water to achieve desired thickness. Check salt (it will need more) and add brown sugar if you feel it is needed. I did, my carrots were not particularly sweet.
  • Serve with crusty bread or naan.

Notes

To make vegan, sub oil for butter. 
This can be made with cream rather than coconut milk. 
Cilantro works well with this recipe! 
If you like Indian spices, this soup is delightful with curry or garam masala. 
If you want a more holiday flavour, add nutmeg and touch of cinnamon. 
Photo courtesy https://www.masalaherb.com/.