Mini Sopapilla Cheesecake Pockets!

Happy Star Wars Day!  May the 4th be with you.

I've never been a Star Wars fan exactly, but my husband and son are fanatics!  In fact, my son is wearing Star Wars apparel from head to toe today.  I let them indulge today and quote the movies all they want without eye rolls, or nagging them to quit.

So, my mom has made Sopapilla Cheesecake for as long as I can remember.  It's her go to dessert whenever someone asks her to bring a dish.  Everyone I know loves the sweet, cinnamon-y, cheesecake flavor with the flaky crust.  Which brings me to today's dessert.  I was looking through my refrigerator for something sweet to satisfy my children's sweet tooth, and I noticed I had crescent rolls. Once I found all the other ingredients I would need, I knew it was ON!

MINI SOPAPILLA CHEESECAKE POCKETS

Here are the ingredients you'll need to collect:
2 Crescent Rolls tubes
4 tbsp.Sugar
1 8oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Make sure it's nice and creamy!  I won't tattle on anyone if you taste test a little :)

2.  Unroll and separate your crescent rolls.  Using a tablespoon, put a dollop of cream cheesy goodness on the top part of each crescent roll.

3. Fold the corners of the crescent just over the cream cheese mixture to hold it in while baking.  Then, loosely, roll it into a crescent roll pocket.

4.  Once you've got your crescent rolls on a baking sheet, add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon (or more than a pinch if you're like me) to the tops of each roll.

5.  Bake at 375* for 11-13 minutes.  My oven is finicky, so I usually bake a minute longer than suggested.

My kids and husband devoured these within 5 minutes!  When they were finished, my daughter asked me where I got the recipe.... I told her I came up with something with what I had in the fridge.  She told me, "well, I REALLY hope you wrote down what you did so you can do it again soon!"  I'd call that SUCCESS!!!

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Mini Sopapilla Cheesecake Pockets:
2 Crescent Rolls tubes
4 tbsp.Sugar
1 8oz. Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375*.
2. Cream together sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, and cinnamon
3. Unroll and separate crescent rolls from packaging. Place 1 tbsp. size amount of cream cheese mixture onto each crescent roll.  Loosely, folding in top corners, roll up the crescent roll.
4. Sprinkle desired amount of additional sugar and cinnamon over the tops of the rolls.
5. Bake for 11-13 minutes.  Serve, and enjoy!

The Best Grilled Ranch Zucchini

I LOVE Zucchini!  I haven't found very many zucchini recipes I don't like!  I even grow my own zucchini in my backyard, and my husband likes it too! Everything is wonderful in my zucchini loving world. The only problem is... my children do not like zucchini.

As I mentioned, I do grow my own zucchini, and when my plant is in full steam, we pretty much end up with enough to have a zucchini dish on a daily basis.  My Pinterest account has a ton of recipes to help me use it all in different ways (even though my son refuses to like any of them - my daughter will eat some).  Our favorite way to enjoy all the zucchini is to grill it!

Grilled Ranch Zucchini

For this recipe, you'll need:
2-4 medium zucchini (depending on how many you have dining with you)
Olive Oil Spray
Minced Garlic
Dry Ranch Dressing packet

1. Some people like to use a vegetable peeler on their zucchini, but I prefer to leave it on.  You will need to rinse off your zucchini, then cut off the tops and bottoms.  Cut your zucchini long ways as close to 1/8" thick as possible.  In my family, only 3 of us will be eating the zucchini, so I used 3.  You'll have to adjust how many you use to how many will be enjoying the meal with you.

2. Unroll your aluminum foil to about 18".  Fold up the edges a couple of times to make a tray.  It doesn't have to be a perfect tray, just good enough to hold your veggies.  Spray down the foil with the olive oil spray to prevent the zucchini from sticking.

3.  Lay out the zucchini slices on the tray in a single layer.

4. Spray the tops of the zucchini with more olive oil.  Then sprinkle just 1 heaping tablespoon over the tops, making sure each slice has an ample amount of seasoning.  Then, sprinkle the minced garlic over the tops.  And now,  they are ready for the grill!

5.  My husband does my grilling for me.  He enjoys it, and I'm not that good at being around all the smoke.  He uses a charcoal grill, but if using a gas grill, they should cook on medium/high heat.  He let's them cook about 4-5 minutes on one side, flips them over and cook another 3-4 minutes.  Don't they look absolutely delish!!!!

Once you pull them off the grill, put them on a serving dish.  My family likes to dip them in ranch dressing, but I like to eat them straight off the grill!!  :)

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Recipe for GRILLED RANCH ZUCCHINI

-aluminum foil
-2-4 medium sized zucchini (my family of 3 requires 3 zucchini)
-1 tbsp. of dry ranch dressing packet
-1 tsp. minced garlic
-olive oil spray

1. Rinse zucchini, and cut off ends.  Slice the zucchini long ways to around 1/8" thick.

2. Using the aluminum foil, create a tray to use on the grill.

3. Spray the olive oil on the foil to prevent sticking.

4. Lay the zucchini on the tray in a single layer, and spray the tops with more olive oil.

5. Sprinkle the dry ranch and minced garlic over the tops of the zucchini.

6. Place zucchini tray on grill (medium/high heat).  Grill for 4-5 minutes, flip them over and continue grilling for 4 more minutes.

7. Remove from grill, put zucchini on serving plate.  Enjoy with friends and loved ones!

Grilled Parmesan Asparagus

I didn't grow up having experienced asparagus.  I asked my mom the other day why that is, and she said, "because your dad isn't a fan."  Isn't it funny how families eat that way? If mom or dad doesn't care for it, you grow up not knowing if you like it or not.

I recently joined a group of folks who are trying to "eat clean" and exercise more.  My idea of eating clean didn't start off too well, mostly due to the fact that I'm just NOT a vegetable person.  I was challenged to try more veggies on this challenge, or try cooking them different ways until I found something I liked.

I came across many different Asparagus recipes on Pinterest, and I played with a few until I came up with a recipe my family enjoys.  My husband LOVES when I come home with asparagus now, because that means he's going to be firing up the grill soon! :)

So, (drum-roll please....) here is the recipe for:
GRILLED PARMESAN ASPARAGUS

Mmmmmm..... Ready for my plate!!!

All you need for this recipe is:
aluminum foil
1 lb. fresh asparagus
1 tbsp. coconut oil (or any oil you prefer)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tbsp minced garlic

1.  Rinse off the asparagus, then cut off the tough bottoms.  I cut a little more than necessary, only because I didn't cut off enough ONE time, and nearly ruined my self forever on liking this wonderful veggie!

2. Make a tray/pan out of aluminum foil.  My foil tray is about 18" long.  Just roll out a little more foil than you think you need, and fold up the edges a couple of times to form a lip on the ends. Take your 1 tbsp. of coconut oil and spread it around (using the back of a spoon) to coat the foil and keep the asparagus from sticking to it.

3. Try to lay out the asparagus so that it's mostly just one layer.  They will cook faster and more even that way.  Top them by sprinkling the Parmesan and minced garlic.

4. Grill time! My husband cooks on a charcoal grill, so he has to really watch them cook.  If we were using a gas grill, I'd say cook them on medium heat!  He turns the asparagus over after about 3-4 minutes, then cooks another 3 minutes.  He's so good at grilling -- working on bonus points. :)

Looks delicious, right!?!  Right before serving, I add a little more Parmesan.

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FULL RECIPE for GRILLED PARMESAN ASPARAGUS

-aluminum foil
-1 lb. fresh asparagus
-1tbsp. coconut oil
-1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (plus a little before serving)
-1tbsp. minced garlic

1. Rinse and cut hard bottoms off asparagus
2. Make a tray out of aluminum foil to place on the grill
3. Use coconut oil to coat the foil to prevent asparagus from sticking.
4. Lay out asparagus in single layer on foil.
5. Sprinkle Parmesan and minced garlic on asparagus
6. Grill 3-4 minutes, then flip asparagus over.  Grill another 3 minutes.
7. Remove from grill and place on serving dish.  Sprinkle desired amount of extra Parmesan on top.  Serve and enjoy!