Cream Cheese Flan - Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Cream Cheese Flan from Kraftfoods.com

2 cups sugar, divided

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, cubed, softened (you can substitute 1/3rd less fat cream cheese)

5 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Dash salt

HEAT oven to 350°F.

COOK 1 cup sugar in small heavy saucepan on medium heat until sugar is melted and deep golden brown, stirring constantly. Pour into 9-inch round pan; tilt pan to evenly cover bottom with syrup. (You can also add a little water to the sugar when doing this step if you would rather start with a syrup consistency rather than dry sugar. The water cooks off in the caramelization process).

BLEND milk and cream cheese in blender until smooth. Add remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla and salt; blend just until smooth. Pour over syrup in pan. Place filled pan in larger pan; add enough hot water to larger pan to come halfway up side of smaller pan.

BAKE 50 min. to 1 hour or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Carefully remove flan from water. Cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled. Unmold onto plate just before serving.

*Check the recipe link for recipe variations.

Blueberry Sauce

Another winning recipe from Allrecipes.com.

Brian made this to go with pancakes yesterday and French toast today and it was delicious. He only used about half the sugar so try that and then sweeten to your liking. Also, we didn't have OJ so he swapped the orange juice and water amounts to use 1 C. water and whatever he could squeeze out of a fresh orange.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup orange juice
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the blueberries, 1/4 cup of water, orange juice, and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
2. In a cup or small bowl, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the blueberries so as not to mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon. Thin sauce with water if it is too thick for your liking.

Be forewarned though that your kids may end up looking like this:
Eliza is going through some squinty eye phase for pictures now. Still cute, but totally random.

Cheesecake-Topped Brownies

This is what I made for the pot luck Sunday. I thought I would post it, it's very easy to make and I thought it was good!

Cheesecake-Topped Brownies
Makes 3 to 3-1/2 dozen brownies

Prep Time 20 minutes

Bake Time 40 to 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1 (19.5- or 22-ounce, family size) package fudge brownie mix

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 (14-ounce) can EAGLE BRAND Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ready-to-spread chocolate frosting

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare brownie mix as package directs. Spread into well-greased 13X9-inch baking pan. (I lined the pan with foil, and it made it much easier to remove the brownies from the pan.)

2. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and cornstarch until fluffy.

3. Gradually beat in EAGLE BRAND, egg and vanilla until smooth. Pour cheesecake mixture evenly over brownie batter.

4. Bake 45 minutes or until top is lightly browned. Cool. Spread with frosting. Cut into bars.* Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

* These were even better the next day, cold. So make them the day before and serve cold! Yum!

Tip: I saw this in Family Circle. When lining a pan with foil, "place the pan upside down on counter and shape foil over outside. Flip pan over and tuck shaped piece inside."

I know that probably sounds silly but I used this tip when making these brownies and it actually made it a lot easier to line the pan with foil.

Chocolate-dipped Marshmallows

I'm sitting at the computer, trying to come up with my menu/grocery list for tomorrow.  Michon's post made me want to make desserts instead!  I saw this recipe in Real Simple and thought the kids would have fun making it.

12 marshmallows

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted

3 Tbsp toppings (such as chopped pistachios, shredded coconut, and crumbled graham crackers)

Dip half of each marshmallow in the melted chocolate, letting the excess drip off, then sprinkle with your desired toppings.  Serve immediately or chill until firm, about 20 minutes.

The marshmallow-chocolate-graham cracker combo is making me salivate.

Okay, back to business, grocery list.....

Chocolate-Glazed Cake Tower

Danielle, you said you were looking for ideas, I haven't tried this recipe, but it looks like a cute and easy idea for Valentine's Day. There's even a video of Rachael Ray making it. I would probably use milk chocolate instead of dark, but it depends on what you like.


Yields: 2 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (or any flavor you like)
10 slices store-bought pound cake (each about 1/2 inch thick)
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

Preparation:

1. Heat the jam slightly in the microwave so it's easily spreadable.
2. Using a cookie cutter of your favorite shape, punch a shape out from each slice of pound cake. 3. Slather one side of each slice with the jam.
4. Build the cutouts into a stack by layering five of pieces of cake on top of each other, ending with a bare piece of cake. Set the assembled cake stacks aside.
5. Place a small pot over medium heat with the cream. Bring up to a bubble and remove from the heat. Add the chocolate to the pot and stir to melt.
6. Set the cakes on a screen over a sheet pan and pour the chocolate glaze over the cakes to cover them completely (heads up – the excess will drip onto the tray below so you can just scoop it back up and use it again later). Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Cakes can be made up to 1 day ahead of time.)