Mini Cheesecakes in a jar with fruit sauces

Yep another wonderful idea thanks to Pinterest.  I put myself in charge of desserts for the Teacher Appreciation Lunch this week.

You can find the original post at The Italian Dish.

2 cups graham cracker crumbs (16 whole graham crackers, ground)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
4 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream (I used Fage Greek Yogurt thanks to my Bzz Agent Kit)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 1 lemon
24 4 oz mason jars

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.

Spray the mason jars with non-stick cooking spray, making sure to spray the bottoms so the crust doesn't stick.

 

Blend the graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons of sugar and melted butter in a bowl.  Place about 1 heaping tablespoon of the crumbs into each mason jar and tamp down to make the crust (I used a part of my apple corer).

 

In a large mixer bowl, mix the room temperature cream cheese with the 3/4 cup of sugar until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well.  Add the Greek yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest and mix until well incorporated. Fill each mason jar with about 1/3 cup of the filling, leaving room at the top for your topping.

 

Place the jars in a large roasting pan or two deep baking dishes.  Fill the pan with hot water halfway up the mason jars.  Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove jars with tongs and place on a wire rack to cool.

 

For the toppings I made a mango sauce, raspberry sauce and fresh blueberries.

 

For the Mango Sauce I did halve the recipe linked above.

 

6 oz. frozen cubed mango, thawed, or 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh mangoes, cubed
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons lime juice

 

Puree mango in food processor until smooth. With processor running, add all remaining sauce ingredients; process until smooth and well-blended. Serve cheesecake with sauce.

 

For the Raspberry Sauce

1 12 oz bag frozen unsweetened raspberries thawed in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp lemon juice

 

Once the berries have thawed force the juice from the berries by gently pressing them with the back of a wooden spoon.  Throw away the seeds.

 

Stir in the sugar and lemon juice.  Spoon the sauce over the cheesecakes.

 

 

 

By far the mango was chosen first and everyone raved about it.  I only took home one raspberry and two plain with blueberries.

Bzz Campaign - Cafe Escapes

I recently was chosen by Bzz Agent to try Cafe Escapes.  The bad thing was that my Keurig had died.  It was only three years old and we only used it a handful of months each year.  I had pleaded with customer service but they explained for $79.00 they would send me a new one.  Everyone that I knew with the same model also died but they got brand new ones for free.  I am not thrilled with their service.

So I asked a few neighbors if they had any Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons and sure enough I found a stack in my mailbox.

I bought the Keurig Mini for $79.00 and if it breaks I will not be purchasing another.

So back to the Cafe Escapes campaign.  The campaign had Chai Latte, Milk and Dark Chocolate Hot Cocoa, Café Mocha and the two newest Café Escapes^® flavors: Café Vanilla and Café Caramel.

Miss V tried the Cafe Mocha first and really enjoyed it.  It was chocolatey with just a hint of coffee.  We both tried the Cafe Vanilla which we both really loved!  It was creamy, sweet and just right for our tastes.

I tried both Cafe Caramel and well I just didn't like the flavor.  It was a little burnt tasting.

We have also tried out the Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate and hot Cocoa and we love them!  I did use a coupon and bought another box of the Cafe Mocha.  I really need to get another box of the Cafe Vanilla.

I would highly suggest that if you have a Keurig, try out all the flavors from Cafe Escapes!

My favorite:

Miss V's favorite with mini marshmallows

Kellogg's crunchy nut roasted nut

So the other day Miss V and I went grocery shopping and picked up a box of Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Roasted Nut O's with my coupon from Bzz Agent.

When I poured the cereal into the bowl, I snitched an O.  It was really good and kept eating them until half the bowl was gone.  I then added the milk and WOW I am really liking this cereal as much as the Crunchy Nut Flakes.  Again they are sweet but not overly sweet and you can definitely taste a nice roasted peanut flavor.  I know this may seem strange to some people, but Miss V likes to add cereal to her yogurt sometimes and I think the Crunchy Nut O's would be a good option for vanilla yogurt.

Some of the online coupon sites do have a coupon this week if you wanted to print one out and try it for yourself.

Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal

Yeah my Kellog's Crunchy Nut Cereal Bzz Kit came this weekend.  I first tried this cereal a few years ago. I found it at my local Sweetbay Supermarket.  Miss V loves it also!

We both love that it is sweet but not overly sweet.  It stays crunchy in milk unlike most flake style cereals.  I love the chopped peanuts on each and every flake.

The Bzz Kit also came with five $0.50 cent coupons.  I noticed that they also have a roasted nut version.  I am going to have to pick that up and try it.

Have you tried Kellogg's Crunchy Nut Cereal?  What did you think of it?

Hendrick's Gin Campaign

I am a faithful Bzz Agent.  I signed up a few years ago because I love trying new products and giving my feedback.  Most of the campaigns that I have been chosen for are Health & Beauty Aids.  I don't recall ever being chosen for a Food/Beverage campaign even though I am a Food Blogger.

Anway a few weeks ago I was invited to join the Hendrick's Gin Campaign.  I am not a gin drinker but thought it would be interesting to try something new.  I read up on Hendricks online and thought it sounds really intersting.

I received my Bzz Kit and opened it up. 

Inside the Bzz Kit was the Official Guide, four little recipe posters, a Cocktail Compendium and a metal thing and at first I did not see the rebate paper.  Later I found it stuck in the Cockatil Compedium.

 The first thing I noticed in the Bzz Guide was the "Tippling Topics".  The first topic is to procure a bottle for yourself then mail in your rebate as to hel recover any spent funds.  Hmm that sounded a bit odd to me.  I have used other sites to try adult beverages and was sent coupons to cover the cost of the beverages.

I finished reading through the Guide and the recipe posters. 

At that point, I figured out the metal object was a muddler.

I then started reading through the Cocktail Compendium.  It has some really intersting recipes and facts.  Then towards the back of the booklet, was the Rebate form stuck to one of the pages.

I am still having a hard time processing that there is a refund instead of an actual coupon.  Oh well, I will start looking online to see where I could purchase it.

I checked out our local liquor store.  And spotted online.  So let me get this straight...I am supposed to purchase a 750ml bottle for $30.99 + tax and sumbit a refund for $15.00? 

How does this work out in my favor?  This really irritated me.  You want me to try your product and review it, but I am out $15 - $16.

At this point I am a bit put out by this campaign and really do not plan on purchasing the Hendricks Gin.

If I have a change of heart or have an extra $30.00 + tax laying around, I may purchase it.

Unreal #41 Candy Coated Chocolates

I am a Bzz Agent and currently working on the Unreal Candy Campaign.  I have enjoyed the candy bars and next up are the Candy Coated Chocolates, aka Unreal #41.

First thing I noticed were the colors were definitely not artificial.  They more muted and that is fine with me.

I tried one and let it melt in my mouth.  It was slow to melt much like the "junked" brand.   Then the chocolate taste hit me by surprise.  It is NOT a sweet chocolate at all.  It definitely tasted like dark chocolate which I normally love.  I don't think I love these.  They left a bitter after taste in my mouth. 

You can find more information on Unreal #41 on their site.  Here is the list of ingredients
Milk Chocolate (chocolate, skim milk, cane sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, organic blue agave inulin, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), Cane Sugar, Calcium Carbonate, Colored with (beetroot juice, turmeric root extract, purple cabbage juice), Gum Arabic, Vanilla Extract, Carnauba Wax & Beeswax

Contains milk, soy. May contain tree nuts, peanuts, wheat.

  I am not thrilled with these.  I know I would not purchase these.

Unreal #5 Chocolate Caramel Nougat Bar

So the other day I blogged about being a Bzz Agent and trying new candy from Unreal. 

Today I tried the #5 which is Chocolate Caramel and Nougat bar.  Again I cleared my mind and didn't want to compare it to the "national brand". 

The first thing I noticed how fresh the chocolate tasted.  It is has a nice flavor and not that sickly sweet taste.  I also noticed how thick the nougat was.  I really like that.  It makes you feel like you are eating something not air. 

I am very impressed with this candy bar too.

If you want more information about Unreal #5, just take a peek at their site.

Here is the bars nutional information.

Ingredients:
Milk Chocolate (cane sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk powder, organic blue agave inulin, skim milk, soy lecithin, vanilla extract),Caramel (tapioca syrup, cane sugar, fructan (prebiotic fiber), organic palm kernel oil, whey, milk protein concentrate, organic cream, vanilla extract, salt, soy lecithin), Tapioca Syrup, Cane Sugar, Milk Protein Concentrate, Organic Palm Kernel Oil, Skim Milk Powder, Cocoa Powder, Salt, Hydrolyzed Milk Protein, Evaporated Cane Syrup, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract
Contains milk, soy. May contain peanuts, tree nuts, wheat.

Unreal # 8 (Chocolate, Caramel, Peanuts, and Nougat candy Bar)

I am a Bzz Agent and recently was picked for the Unreal Candy Campaign.  I really couldn't wait to get my coupons.

They finally came in the mail the other day and I had to look online to see where they were sold.  I saw they were sold at Walgreens and that was perfect because I need to pick up a few other things. 

The Unreal coupons were Buy One Get One so I picked up all the different kinds.

The first one we tried was the Chocolate, Caramel, Peanuts and Nougat candy bar.  The first thing I did was to have an open mind.  Yes these are the same ingredients at my favorite candy bar.  The first bite kind of shocked me in a good way.  It wasn't sticky sweet.  The chocolate tastes more like semisweet than milk chocolate. 

Overall it tasted pretty good!  I am pretty impressed with it.  Just don't compare it to the "other" well known candy bar, if you do you might be disappointed if you go in with the expectation that it is going to taste just like it.

If you want, here is the link to the nutritional information:  Unreal #8

 

Milk Chocolate (cane sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk powder, organic blue agave inulin, skim milk, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), Caramel (tapioca syrup, cane sugar, fructan (prebiotic fiber), organic palm kernel oil, whey, milk protein concentrate, organic cream, vanilla extract, salt, soy lecithin), Peanuts, Tapioca Syrup, Cane Sugar, Organic Palm Kernel Oil, Skim Milk, Peanut Flour, Salt, Hydrolyzed Milk Protein, Evaporated Cane Syrup, Soy Lecithin
Contains peanuts, milk, soy. May contain tree nuts, wheat.