Playing Catch Up

I have been terrible about posting! We have had so much going on in our lives. Since January Jon has been working from our kitchen table 4 days a week and going to Park City the other day. Ranen and I LOVE having Jon home during the day. When he works from home he gets off work at about 3 PM but when he goes to Park City he doesn't get home until 5:30 PM usually. It's so nice to be able to still do things on weekdays when he works from home! Ranen is getting huge! He talks all the time, runs around like crazy, and is so independent! He would much rather play by himself and feed himself than let anyone else be involved. He's for sure a daddy's boy, but he's starting to want mommy time again. I have been going to college online for 2 terms now. I'm working for my BS in Early Childhood Development so that I can become a 1st grade teacher someday. That is the basic gist of our family's lives right now.

Lately I have been cooking more and more because we have been spending too much money on eating out and buying already made meals. I have begun to really love it. (I think Jon is too) Last night I cooked Pizza Monkey Bread for dinner and while that was in the oven I got started on a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake.

Pizza Monkey Bread

Not the greatest cell phone picture

                                                         
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 2 lbs pizza dough (I used pre made pizza dough I bought at Harmons, but you could certainly make your own if you have a recipe you like)
• 6 oz mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes (I used about 42 pieces)
• 48 slices of pepperoni or Canadian bacon
• 2-3 cups marinara sauce, warmed, for serving

Instructions

1. Heat garlic and butter over medium heat just until the garlic begins to brown. Remove from heat and let sit.
2. Lightly brush the inside of a bundt pan (or other oven-safe dish) with garlic butter.
3. Pull off large marble-sized balls of dough and flatten. Top with a slice of pepperoni and a cube of mozzarella.
4. Wrap the dough around the pepperoni and cheese, pinching well to seal.
5. Very lightly brush the pizza ball with garlic butter and place into the bundt pan (I dabbed the pizza balls on a butter-dipped silicon brush. Buttery hands make it hard to get the pizza balls to seal).
6. Repeat until all of the dough is used.
7. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400 degrees.
8. Bake for about 35 minutes, until the top is very brown.
9. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes.
10. Turn out onto a platter and serve with warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

Crust:
4 Tbsp butter, melted
2 1/2 C chocolate cookie crumbs (I used chocolate Teddy Grahams)

Filling:
4 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 C sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 C sour cream

Cookie Dough:
½ C butter, softened
½ C sugar
½ C packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 C mini chocolate chips (I've made this once with regular sized and once with mini, mini works much better)
An additional 1 C mini chocolate chips to fold into the batter 

Garnish:
Whipped cream
Mini chocolate chips, for sprinkling (I skipped this)

Insturctions

Cookie Dough: In a medium bowl, combine the butter and sugars for the cookie dough. Add the milk, vanilla and blend. Mix in the flour, salt and the chocolate chips. The dough will be fairly soft and sticky. Gently roll the dough into small balls and place them on a wax paper lined plate or baking sheet. Place them in the freezer to harden while making the rest of the cheesecake.

Crust: Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. In a medium bowl, combine the butter with the chocolate cookie crumbs. Press onto the bottom and about halfway up the sides of the pan.

Cheesecake Filling: Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, eggs and flour until smooth. Add the vanilla and sour cream and mix just until blended. Be careful not to over mix.

Pour half the batter into the crust. Gently stir in the cookie dough balls and the additional 1 cup mini chocolate chips into the remaining batter. Pour into the pan, spreading the batter to the sides of the pan and evening it out across the top. Bake the cheesecake at 325 degrees for one hour. Turn off the oven and prop the door open. Let the cake sit in the oven for an additional 30 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely. Refrigerate until chilled (over night preferably). To serve, cut into slices and top with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips.