easy | Dragonflight Dreams

Recipe: No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

November 28, 2014 No Comments

This is a fall twist on one of my favorite easy desserts. I saw the pumpkin spice cream cheese in the grocery store and decided to do a pumpkin cheesecake instead of a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year. The boy approved. I love this recipe because it is so quick and easy and requires absolutely no baking. Take a gander:

No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients

2 8ox. packages of pumpkin & spice cream cheese*
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
Juice from 2 lemons (or two generous squeezes from the packaged lemon juice)
1 ready made graham cracker crust

*This works perfectly well with regular, non-flavored cream cheese, too – in fact, that’s the original recipe. I make it that way, and top with a can of cherry pie filling – equally yummy!

Directions

Leave cream cheese on counter to soften for ~30 minutes.
Mix together cream cheese, milk and lemon juice until well blended. I just do this by hand, no mixer necessary.
Pour into graham cracker crust.
Set in freezer for for a few hours, then enjoy! Store in refrigerator afterwards.

What’s your favorite throw-together easy recipe?

Recipes

Recipe: Easy Autumn Polenta Bake

October 27, 2014 2 Comments

I was telling my mom about this recipe, and she was like polenta-what? It’s an ingredient that isn’t super widely known unless you’re Italian, but is becoming more popular. Polenta is a cornmeal based substitute for pasta, rice or potatoes. It’s got a mild corn flavor, and is much more palatable than grits. This recipe is one of the most fail-proof ways to ease yourself in to using polenta in your cooking. It’s a simple chop-toss-and-bake, but is super tasty. The sausage and apples make it perfect for autumn, too.

Recipes

Recipe: Dump Cake

June 11, 2014 6 Comments

A few Christmases ago, my mom got me a new recipe box complete with a bunch of blank recipe cards. As an added bonus I got to go through her recipe box and my grandma’s to steal all of their best recipes. I came across one that I didn’t remember ever eating before, but the name intrigued me. Dump Cake. Don’t let the name throw you. It’s called this not because it’s trashy or garbage, but because it’s the easiest dessert you will ever make. You literally just dump the ingredients in the cake pan and bake. No beating, no […]

Recipes

Recipe: Chocolate Fudge

December 23, 2013 No Comments

This is one of my all-time favorite sweets around the holidays: sweet, decadent chocolate fudge. My mom has been making this around Christmas for as long as I can remember, and since I’ve lived down here in Texas I’ve taken on making it on my own. Surprisingly, it’s actually a simple recipe. I made a batch to take to Florida with us, and I think it only took -maybe- 15-20 minutes. And the deliciousness is so worth it. I suppose you could throw stuff on top as it cools, like candy cane bits or nuts or sprinkles. But just plain […]

Recipes

Recipe: Creamy Brown Sugar Dip

December 11, 2013 4 Comments

Here is a really tasty, sweet dip recipe that I got from my mom. It’s a great alternate to caramel or peanut butter for dipping apples in, but could be eaten with lots of other dippable things as well. We recently served this at a brunch (with apple slices), and it was a big hit. And it’s so easy to make! Literally just two ingredients mixed together. Creamy Brown Sugar Dip Ingredients 8oz. cream cheese, softened ½ c. brown sugar, packed With the pictures below, I’m making a double batch, so don’t be alarmed by the proportions. Directions Soften cream […]

Recipes

Recipe: BBQ Pulled Pork

August 30, 2013 6 Comments

I’ve already shared super easy slow cooker tacos, and today it’s time for another unbelievably easy dish. What kind of Texan would I be if I didn’t make something BBQ once in awhile? This BBQ pulled pork is quick to throw together and ridiculously moist. It’s easy to adjust to your own preferred spicy level, based on the BBQ sauce that you pick. And it warms up great as leftovers. Really, a win all around. 🙂 Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Ingredients 1 two-pound pork tenderloin 1 bottle/can of root beer (12oz.) 1 bottle of BBQ sauce (18oz.) Salt and […]

Recipes

Recipe: Easy White Fish Broil

July 22, 2013 No Comments

Prepare yourself for the easiest and tastiest fish recipe ever. It’s adapted from a recipe in one of the boy’s cookbooks (Esquire’s Eat Like a Man). We’ve made this twice so far, and thoroughly enjoyed it both times. It’s also a good excuse to use that oft neglected broiler drawer on your oven. Easy White Fish Broil Ingredients 2 skinless white fish fillets*, 6 oz. each 2 Tbsp. of butter, softened but not melted Fine sea salt Ground white pepper Herbes de Provence 2 Tbsp. olive oil 1/4 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice *We’ve used red snapper […]