Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

It seems everyone likes Red Velvet cake, but you should see them go for Red Velvet Cheesecake brownies!!!  I love moist, fudgy brownies like these. Later on I promise to blog about my great Red Velvet Cake recipe that is super moist with a surprising taste addition that makes it so much better than most cakes.

I made these brownies from another blog for a potluck football party, but the original recipe only made an 8x8 pan... which really, really isn't enough for a crowd.  If you are going to go to the trouble of making some scrumptious dessert to share, you really need more than 16 brownies!  Also,  the cheesecake topping recipe made entirely too much for an 8x8 pan, but it's perfect for a 9x13 pan.  I actually threw away some of the cheesecake topping when I first made this... I was just kind of DONE with little dabs of perfectly "good" cheesecake filling in my fridge.

Of course, you could access the original recipe here and make a small batch for your family. Thank you to Sweet Peas Kitchen for the original recipe, it was enthusiastically recieved with major thumbs up from my football taste testers!

About 24-35 brownies
1- 9x13 pan
Ingredients:

1 cup butter

4-oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2-3 teaspoons red food coloring

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping:

8-oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/3 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment, or spray with nonstick spray.

In a small, heatproof bowl, melt butter and chocolate together. Stir until combined and very smooth. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and red food coloring. Add chocolate mixture and stir until smooth. Add flour and salt and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.

Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer.

To prepare cheesecake mixture, beat cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract in a medium bowl until smooth. Distribute the cheesecake mixture in even dollops over batter in the pan. Swirl in with a knife or spatula.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until brownies and cheesecake are set. A knife inserted into the cheesecake mixture should come out clean and the edges will be lightly browned.

Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack before lifting out the parchment paper to remove the brownies.

Here's some more brownie recipes that I have loved...
Brownies topped with Pretzels & Toffee
Merlot Dark Chocolate Brownies

Lazy Girl Salsa Chicken (Crock Pot)

Ok, so I'm back at work.  I remember this, you get home tired and late... what the heck are we going to EAT?  Oh yeah, I'm feeling it... but woo hoo, I did the crockpot this morning!

I kept seeing this on "Pinterest" as people kept tagging it... like crazy.
Okay, so I'm game, I looked at it.
Except it had Cream of Chicken soup in it.
Ick, I hate that stuff.
So I came up with a version I like better, with out all that crap canned soup. Maybe I haven't mentioned that I HATE canned soup yet???  Hard to believe I haven't.... I think canned soup is awful and I kind of like to talk about that!

This is a great, comforting and satisfying dish that is mostly healthy too! This recipe includes things I usually have on hand, so maybe you do too.  I meant to add a can of black beans to this, but totally forgot... I think it would be good, but either way, this is delicious.

(Not shown Canned Black Beans, Flour & garlic powder)

Serves about 6-8
Ingredients:
1 cup onion, chopped
1 minced jalapeno (optional)
4 chicken breasts, cut into 1-2" chunks
1 cup salsa
1 cup water
1-2 canned chipotle peppers (optional)
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)

1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese 
1/4 cup cilantro
Chopped green onions 

Cut up the onion and the jalapeno, and put into your crockpot.

NOTE:
If I never shown you how I cut jalapenos, I should do it now. This makes it an easy way to avoid the seeds and membrane and to mostly protect your hands.
Lay the pepper on its side, using a knife, cut one side off from the stem to the tip. Turn the pepper and cut on the other sides, avoiding the middle section of seeds.  You should have 4-5 pieces when you are done.  Getting rid of the middle is easy, just use the stem to throw away!

Cut the chicken into large pieces, I got about 7 chunks per chicken breast.

In a blender, I added the flour, water, chipotle peppers and salsa and gave it a quick blend to incorporate the flour equally. Pour over chicken, jalapenos and onions in the crockpot and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours, or on medium for 7-8 hours.

When ready to eat, stir in sour cream, cheese, green onions and cilantro. Serve over brown rice, or quinoa, with more shredded cheese, diced tomatoes and chopped cilantro or green onions, if desired.

I really do love my crockpot, here's some other great recipes to make your life a little easier!
Chicken White Bean Chili
Korean Pulled Pork Tacos!
Ranchero Shredded Pork
Simple BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich or Sliders
Pork Chili Verde