Chocolatey Chocolate Cheesecake - with more chocolate on top

I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate. I know, I know, it's crazy. I'm more of a fruity dessert eater. But I'm also not selfish, and know I have to please the masses sometimes.
I was in search of a knock your socks off chocolate dessert for Easter Brunch at Mikey's parents house (yes, I still have to try to impress them, and what am I going to impress them with besides my cooking?!). I called up the best dessert resource I have - MA - and asked her to send over some options.  My first choice was a chocolate raspberry cheesecake, but Mikey didn't like it. My second choice was chosen mostly because the crust was still graham cracker. Usually the chocolate cheesecakes use an Oreo-type crust. But hello - the whole draw to the cheesecake for me is the graham cracker crust! The cheesecake was a hit. Mike's dad asked "did you make this  yourself?" which I always take as the biggest compliment. It wasn't over-the-top rich, it was perfect. It did however, have enough caffeine in it to keep me up all night. It was worth it. I'd do it again. One of the guests decided it was the perfect breakfast cheesecake, which I had to agree with. But I've always loved cheesecake for breakfast. 
The secret to this one is the almond extract in the cake.  I also doubled the topping because you can never have too much frosting. 
The recipe was super easy to make. The one suggestion I have is to make sure the cream cheese is really soft when you start. My batter was a little lumpy, which made the cake look a little marbled when it was finished.
The original recipe came from Taste of Home: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chocolate-Cheesecake-2?refurl=&_mid=455702&_rid=455702.1264567647.31784

 

Tuna Salad

These days we all are trying to eat much healthier, low calories, low fat blah blah blah. It is getting old, but I was craving a tuna sandwich and obviously mayo is not ok at this point. I have had non mayo tuna sandwiches before so I decided today was the day I would make up my own healthy tuna salad concoction. It turned out very good so I thought I would share it with you. I highly recommend serving it in a whole wheat pita with some spring mix lettuce or over a salad.

Ingredients:

1 large can of sold white tuna in water, drained

1/2 can of garbanzo beans, drained

1/2 white onion, small diced

1/2 red bell pepper, small diced

the zest of one whole lemon

a small bunch of parsley minced

2 table spoons of olive oil

the juice of one whole lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir and TA-DA!!!!!!! Enjoy :)

In Search Of...

I need some new recipes.
I'm bored of the regulars. 
Help a sister out. 
Suggestions? 
Links? 
We all talk about cooking healthy and eating healthy, but all I ever want to cook is cheesy goodness or something with bread. 
Speaking of bread - La Brea Bakery makes frozen loaves now - you can buy them at the grocery store. I had a demi-loaf last night. 10 minutes in the oven and it was the best loaf of faux-fresh baked bread I've ever had. 

The Leftover Lunch

I volunteered to host the Superbowl Party this year, and as usual, there was WAY too much food.

So of course we brought it all in to work today for a Leftover Lunch.

On the menu:

Veggie Plate with Ranch Dressing

Teriyaki Meatball Sliders (on Hawaiian Rolls)

Barefoot Contessa's Goat Cheese and Pine Nut Elephant Ears (YUM!)

Grandpa's Baked Beans with Sliced Beer Brats

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Crackers & Chips

Teeny Weeny Cheese Puffs

Brie Cheese

Onion Dip

Caramel Fudge Brownies
Texas Sheet Cake
I highly recommend the Elephant Ears. Peggy saw them on the Barefoot Contessa show the same night I found them in her cookbook. I was SO EXCITED when she brought them over. They are absolutely amazing and delicious and apparently easy to make. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/savory-palmiers-recipe/index.html
I decided not to do the traditional chili for the game, because I made it for the conference finals and I'm no one-trick-pony. Instead I pulled out an old family recipe for my Grandpa's baked beans. I kid you not, he made these once a week.
They are the simplest thing - I wouldn't even call it a recipe. Mix together one medium can of kidney beans, white beans, green beans (yes, the canned kind you ate as a kid), and one larger can of baked beans. Add 1/2 cup of katsup, 2 Tbsp of mustard, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 a chopped onion and 1/2 a chopped green pepper. Bake at 350 for an hour.  Patrick was nice enough to marinate about 20 bratwursts in beer and somethin delicious so we threw those on the grill last night. I sliced up the leftovers today and tossed them in with the beans. Delicious!
Erika's meatball sliders were AMAZING. And apparently cooked in the microwave. E - please share your recipe here...
Jorgie made brownies and threw some caramel on top. I always love when she makes dessert. She pre-cuts everything so the portions are tiny. It's perfect, and never makes me feel like a fat pig...until I eat 6 pieces - because they're so small!
I thought I was full yesterday, and imagined I wouldn't eat much for awhile.
And then I had a piece of the chocolate/cinnamony Texas sheet cake for breakfast and realized I had fully recovered and was ready for the Leftover Lunch!
There were too many recipes to post them all in this post, but please let me know if you want any of them and we'll post them separately.

Red Beans and Rice

I've been craving and experimenting with all types of chilis lately. Not chiles, like the hot green veggies, but chilis, like bean soups. So naturally, Red Beans and Rice came to mind. My favorite Red Beans and Rice concoction in Los Angeles is from the Cajun place at the Original Farmer's Market, btw.
SO, I consulted with our resident New Orleans expert (Thad) and of course Emeril, and came up with the following recipe. Foodnetwork.com has Emeril's recipe here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/red-beans-and-rice-recipe2/index.html

White Fish with Mango Salsa

Fresh and healthy is what I am going for with my meals this week, so I thought I would cook up some fish with mango salsa. So easy and very satisfying as you get a combination of sweet and savory. It takes just a few ingredients to make this meal and once you take your first bite you will feel like you are on a tropical vacation! Serve with steamed brown rice and a side of avocado.

Lentil Soup

I feel terrible that I have not written on our site for a long time, but the truth is I have not been cooking as much at home and have now begun doing more cooking. I think it might be the weather or the fact that I am trying to diet. Whatever the reason may be, I made lentil soup! I made the recipe up as I went along and it turned out DELICIOUS! Despite the picture, it is tasty. I recommend to be served with a side of cornbread. Perfect for a rainy, cold, winter day!

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

It's been awhile since we've updated ATE; and for that I apologize. We've all been busy getting back into the swing of things with the New Year, and of course the football playoffs.
Our most devoted follower and honorary member of ATE, Thaddeus Foucher had a birthday last week. We celebrated in true ATE fashion, with a delicious lunch in the office.
Peggy made her soon-to-be-famous and now requested salad with every kind of vegetable imaginable (hold the beets if Amy's eating it). She discovered her new favorite salad dressing: Trader Joe's "Trader Giotto's Balsamic Vinaigrette" and has perfected Stefanie's cornbread crouton recipe. Peggy's smart enough to always make extra croutons for snacking on... they are truly DELICIOUS!

Along with Peggy's salad we had my Chicken Enchilada Casserole. I call it a cassarole only because I'm too lazy to stuff and roll the tortillas like a traditional enchilada dish. By cubing the tortillas and mixing everything together, you save time and I think everything tastes the same. *Funny little side note* I've had only men complain that the casserole is not as tasty as the hand rolled enchiladas. The women don't seem to notice a difference. I'm thinkin it's because the women can appreciate the time I save... just sayin.