Pre Thanksgiving Layered Turtle Cheesecake

Thanksgiving really has a different meaning when your married. It means now you have to bring food. This year for some reason I'm really looking forward to the Smith Family Thanksgiving. So I'm really excited to BAKE! This is what I'm planning on bringing: Caroline's pasta salad, frozen sweet corn and a dessert. Now what should I bring for dessert......always a tough choice hmm cheesecake? It's always upseting to work really hard on a REAL cheesecake and only a couple people take a piece and then someone makes a fake one and it's gone in 10 min! So I'm going out on a limb and making this very time consuming Layered Turtle Cheesecake. I did a test run because I've never really mastered the cheesecake and here is the end result. I'm really proud of myself that it looks good! Now mom and dad will be my guinea pigs to see if it taste good. Here are some pictures so you can drool.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

6 T. cold butter

Filling:

4 pkg. cream cheese, softened, 8 oz. each

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 1 t. flour, divided

2 T. heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, melted and cooled

1/4 cup caramel ice cream topping

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Ganache:

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

2 T. chopped pecans

Optional garnish: pecan halves and additional caramel ice cream topping

Directions:

Place greased 9 inch springform pan on a double thickness of foil (about 18 inches square). Securely wrap foil around pan. In small bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar and pecans; cut in butter until crumbly. Press onto bottom of prepared pan. Place pan on baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 12 to 15 minutes or until set. Cool on wire rack. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugars until smooth. Beat in 1/4 cup flour, cream and vanilla. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Remove 1 cup batter to small bowl; stir in melted chocolate until blended. Spread over crust. Combine caramel topping and remaining flour; stir in pecans. Drop by tablespoonfuls over chocolate batter. Top with remaining batter. Place pan in large baking pan. Add 1 inch of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 325 for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. For ganache, place chips in small bowl. In small pan, bring cream just to a boil. Pour over chips; whisk until smooth. Cool slightly, stirring occasionally. Spread over cheesecake. Sprinkle with chopped pecans. Refrigerate until set. Garnish with pecans halves and additional caramel topping if desired. Serves 12

I'm a super model.......DUH

This isn't a very good picture becaue it was taken on my phone and Tana wouldn't stop bouncing up and down! But until the parents of this poor little lion cub decide to document her life I thought I would step in for now. Mom and I went shopping on Saturday so we stopped by the Willis joint to see the kiddo's in their halloween costumes before they left. So I rang the door bell and said Trick or Treat (because I was really wanting some GOOD candy which they were holding back for themselves) and Jason commented that I had a very scary costume on.....humm good one. So later I told him if anything I was a super model for halloween. I saw no humor in my comment but some did. There are more pictures out there somewhere so you'll just have to wait.

South Dakota wedding!

So my cousin Matt got married this weekend in Brandon, South Dakota it was a great wedding and reception. My favorite part of the day was when Iowa State beat Nebraska! I love it when we all get  together, there is never a dull moment with the Klaassen fam. I could write so much more about the weekend but the only people that read this blog were there so no use going on and on :).

Wicked Review.......

Well I don't know how to rate this musical probably a 9 but it's the only one I've ever been to hahaha. Was it well worth my $75 bucks (really it cost me so much more but that's another story)? Lets just say I probably won't be going to another one for a very long time. I have nothing bad to say at all costumes, singers, plot it was all great. I'm just a movie kind of gal. I purchased "The Proposal" also last week and I loved it! If you said hey let's go see Wicked again for free or go to a random movie for free I'd probably pick the movie everytime. Oh and there are some high rollers at the theater! I felt great when someone reminded me I had mud all over the back of my pant leg from getting out of the car when we were headed back to the car after the musical..........ugh! I knew it too but I was letting it dry so it would be easier to wipe off.........well I forgot. Let's just say it was very memorable and I'll always remember the time(s) I went to Wicked.

FINALLY the day is here!

So have been waiting for this day ever since I heard it was coming to the Des Moines Civic Center which was like May 2007!! So I had a chance to take a class in college where the only thing I had to do to get the credit was to load up on a bus with a bunch of theater nerds and go see Wicked in Chicago......I'm not a musical kind of person so that was a factor and even though it seemed all expenses paid, OH I WAS PAYING for it just in the form of credit dollars. So I've had to wait four years to get the opportunity again. Oh and I'm sorry if i didn't ask you if you wanted to go with me. The people that I asked either A didn't know what it was B turned up there nose as soon as I said the word musical and C the price of the tickets scared them away!

 Get your farm fresh eggs right here at the Latcham Farm for only a $1.00 a Dozen. Give us a call!

IOWA STATE vs IOWA

For some reason the Iowa vs Iowa State game is never televised on a channel that's on my Dish Network Bronze 100+ pack. Call Chad cheap but that's the way it is.....So I'm going to be cheering with good'ol MOM! We'll be grillin and makin salsa!