I'll Never Bake A Cheesecake Again!

In the past I've always 'baked' cheesecake.   I had  never considered another method before.  Yesterday, at the grocery store, Beebo decided that she wanted MommyO to make her a Cherry Cheesecake for her birthday even though that wasn't really what I had planned on. I knew I had most of the ingredients already on hand, but I decided to Google a recipe on my phone just to make sure of what I needed. Gathering up the ingredients in store, I realized that making a traditionally 'baked' cheesecake meant spending almost $15 JUST on cream cheese. I looked up the next recipe down Google's list, titled 'Unbaked' cheesecake and saw that it called for only one pack of cream cheese and some heavy cream (and NO baking!). Being a bit of a cheap-skate lazy, I decided to try the 'Unbaked' cheesecake version to see if it was any good.

Guess what??

It was so easy to make (about 30 minutes total!) and it was super tasty too! I worried the cheesecake may lack a certain richness, but boy was I wrong. I'm pretty sure if I gave you a slice of traditionally baked (3 pkgs of cream cheese) versus the lighter, unbaked version (1 pkg of cream cheese), you would not be able to tell the difference. (Except you would feel a difference of about $10 in your wallet!) I will not go back... it's Unbaked Cheesecake from now on!

The Best Unbaked Cherry Cheesecake EVER!
courtesy of allrecipes.com

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup margarine, softened (butter works too!)

1/4 cup sugar

Filling

1 (8oz) package cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup heavy cream, whipped

1 (12.5 ounce) can cherry pie filling (or any other fruit topping of your choice)

Directions

1. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, margarine, and sugar in a bowl until well mixed yet crumbly. Press into a pie plate, going up the sides as much as possible.

2. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl until smooth and spreadable. Whisk whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until smooth. Pour cream cheese into prepared crust. Smooth the top with a spatula and refrigerate until firm, about 2 to 3 hours. Spread the cherry pie filling over the top, and refrigerate until serving.

Yummy!

I never thought my child would request Cherry Cheesecake this early on in life for her 6th birthday. But I'm pleased she has such great taste!

Casa Guadelajara ~ Old Town, San Diego CA

The expression may imply that I am a wee terrified...

but it certainly was not because I was afraid of the food!

(I was a little afraid I may not finish it all---

though I did, the next day for lunch!)

Casa Guadelajara

Old Town, San Diego CA

Fresh Mexican food, reasonable prices,

with true flare!

Mariachi band and all!

The hubby and I each had a drink (Bowl of Margarita and a Corona Cerveza) and dinner for 4 was still less than $55.00 USD. The kids meals had options of beans, rice and fruit and were reasonably priced at $5.99.

When I knew I was going to San Diego I asked my very reliable Facebook peeps for restaurant suggestions and all led me to this restaurant. I have no reason not to recommend it to you.

Sans children, I would have sat on the heated patio and enjoyed the starry night. A lovely Friday night out---

Casa Guadelajara.

Fresh, tasty Mexican foods

in an authentic setting.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Oh the Things One Sees While Driving...

It's a dog...

It's a cat...

No, it's 3 Parrots!

To say I did not stare long would be lying.

I blatantly starred at these folks for a really long time!

But I mean, really, who drives around with 3 parrots and does not expect to be gawked at??

Los Angeles, California - March 2012.

*Peek Thru Our Window is in no way poking fun at these folks. We were truly intrigued. The parrots sat so comfortably and were obvious pros at road tripping. Beebo loved every minute of it as she is a huge parrot lover!*

Another fine display of birds in which Beebo fell in love:

The Enchanted Tiki Room- Disneyland, California

Another Food Confession

I have professed my love for Ketchup Chip via Ode. I have also professed my insane love of Pepperoncinis by the jar on this blog. In the grande scheme of things, I do not overeat much of anything. If I could choose chocolate or salty chips, CHIPS would win hands down every time. But lately, I seem to want to consume massive amounts of Sour Keys (a.k.a- Sour Soothers) and no matter how much they torture my tongue and cheeks, I keep scarfing them back. Best plan at the moment is to not have them in my possession... apparently, I lack all self control around these sour treats.

I know they are not good for me. Yep, I do. I know that too much sugar will rot my teeth or end up as padding on the hips.

But they are soooooo good!

What crazy food can you not get enough of??

Beach Play ~ San Diego, California

After days and days of walking around Universal Studios, Disneyland and Sea World, it has been really nice to just sit back and enjoy the sun and sand of San Diego. Some of us have been really excited to watch the hot surfers in action build sand castles (it's a nice change from building snow castles...) and search for sea shells.

Others have been excited to throw around the frisbee and to teach the kids frisbee awesomeness...

Relaxing is oh so good. Too bad our sunny vacation will soon come to an end; however, we have made oodles of family memories together sharing in many new experiences. Very thankful to have had this time together.

Wordless Wednesday~ Mouse Magic

Walt with his creation Mickey Mouse and

Sleeping Beauty's castle in the background.

Disneyland, California.

More about our Disneyland adventure still to come!

Universal Studios, California

On Friday we spent the day touring Universal Studios in California. We had so much fun experiencing movie magic for the day. Studio tours complete with earthquake simulations and one heck of a 360-degree King Kong bashing! Plus, it's always fun to get your picture taken with movie and television stars...

Heck, The Simpsons have been around for most of our lives. DaddyO needed to get his picture taken with Homer.

The kids would not get their pictures taken with anything in a costume, so I made sure not to let Shrek and Fiona get away without a picture.

And Beebo was absolutely ecstatic when Beetlejuice walked by (she likes her bugs as much as he does)... she HAD to get her picture taken with him. He also hocked a  loogied in her hat-- doesn't get much better than that!

Have you had a Universal experience??

What movie/tv stars did you get to meet??