Pumpkin Cheesecake

In my attempts to become more domestic I tried out a new recipe and it turned out great! Justin came in this past weekend to visit (for those of you who dont know, he got a job in Dallas and Ill join him when my job finishes) and I wanted to eat yummy food all weekend so I made red beans and rice and pumpkin cheesecake. This recipe tastes very pumpkiny so if you dont like pumpkin pie, you probably wont like this. But for the rest of you, its delicious! The recipe came from the infamous Paula Dean so I knew it couldnt be bad. Easy and yummy...this coming from someone who always manages to butcher easy recipes. I wish you happy baking!

Ingredients: 
graham cracker crust (this recipe fills 2 store bought graham cracker crusts)

3 packages of cream cheese (8 ounce bars)- ROOM TEMP
1 can pumpkin
3 eggs + 1 egg yolk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
2 Tbs. flour
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-BEAT cream cheese until smooth (use mixer).
-ADD pumpkin, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar, spices, flour, and vanilla
-BEAT together until smooth- higher speeds gets rid of lumps
COOK for 1 hour; let sit for 15 minutes, THEN refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Oh the fun we'll have!

With this being my first post on our blog I feel it necessary to update everyone on what is going on with the Smiths. Justin recently began a job in Dallas working as a Customer Support Specialist for a company that deals with software for home-health nurses. This is very exciting since it means a consistent paycheck however, he had to begin February 7th, leaving me in Abilene alone. It is best for me to finish out the school year (my part-time teaching gig) which ends the first week of May. I will then join him in Dallas and I am sooo excited for that day to come! It has been tough but we have gotten to visit each other and that has been something to get me through the weeks.

 While Justin is working hard bringing home the bacon, I have continued to regularly meet with my quilting gals. We meet every Monday to work on our quilting project and I thoroughly enjoy the girl time. I am working on finishing my 3rd quilt and am expecting the 2nd one back all quilted and finished. I cant wait to see what it looks like all done! I will be sure to post pictures of my completed projects as soon as they are ready.

 On one last note, I just have to mention our sweet puppy dog, Dixie. As silly as it is she is a huge part of our lives...I know, I know, we are those weird dog people. But let me first say that I had to make the cross-over when we got married. Dogs are for one purpose only, to protect their owners and bark at intruders. That was until we got Dixie doodle. She is a sweet companion and I just had to share a bit about her.

And in honor of our first post, here is a picture of our little family.