Pumpkin Cheesecake

For a work pot luck, I made an oh-so-delicious pumpkin cheesecake! It turned out beautiful! Here is the delicious recipe:

1 cup crushed ginger snaps

2 Tbl melted butter

3 8 oz pkgs cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp ground allspice

2 cups sour cream

3 Tbl sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350* F. Mix ginger snap crumbs with melted butter. Press evenly into springform pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven to 300* F. Beat cream cheese with 1 cup sugar and the salt. Add 3 of the eggs and the 2 tsp of vanilla and mix until well incorporated. Pour half the mix into the pan.

Stir in pumpkin, spices, and remaining egg into the rest of the batter. Spread over the regular cheesecake batter. Bake for 60 minutes or until set in the center.

During the last couple minutes of baking, beat together sour cream, remaining sugar and remaining vanilla. Once you remove the cheesecake from the over, spread this mixture over the baked cheesecake. Bake for 10 more minutes.

Lunch

Today for lunch I'm having homemade roasted vegetable soup, homemade whole wheat sunflower seed bread, and a diet pepsi. Ok, so a little unbalanced. But here are the delicious, delicious recipes!

Whole Wheat Sunflower Seed Bread:

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 tsp yeast

2 cups white flour

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp sea salt

2 Tbl Powdered milk

1/2 cup sunflower seeds, finely chopped

4 Tbl extra virgin olive oil

4 Tbl honey

Dissolve yeast in water and let sit for 5 minutes

In large bowl stir together white flour, whole wheat flour, salt, powdered milk, and sunflower seeds until completely incorporated. Add olive oil, honey and yeast water until dough forms. If it is too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time. If too dry, add water a tablespoon at a time.

Turn onto floured surface or use a kitchen aid mixer to knead for 2-3 minutes until dough springs back when touched. Shape dough into a loaf and place into a greased bread pan. Let bread rise for an hour in warm place until doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 375* F. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until bread sounds hollow when tapped and is golden brown. Cover the top with butter.

Roasted Vegetable Soup:

Serves 10

3 sweet potatoes

4 potatoes

1 lb carrots

3 red peppers

1 yellow pepper

1 stalk celery

6-8 cups beef broth (or any other broth or stock)

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Cut all vegetables into bite size pieces. Coat with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in 350* oven for about 45 minutes.

Puree 3/4 of the vegetables and thin out with the broth until a good consistency. Flavor with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the other vegetables and bring back up to a simmer.