Menu Monday + Cheesecake Recipe

Everyone is gone, the mounds of laundry have been chipped down to little hills, the boys' bedrooms are all back to normal and I have a minute to get my menus done for this week. It should be a nice quiet week before the holiday activities begin. My home is decorated, all but some stocking stuffers have been bought and wrapped. I think this will be a good week to get out the Christmas cards...maybe.
Monday: Breakfast - waffles
Snack - nachos
Dinner - Stuffed chicken breasts (a good way to use up all of that leftover dressing) green bean casserole
Dessert - cheesecake (recipe at the bottom)

Tuesday: Breakfast - oatmeal
Snack - yogurt
Dinner - Shepherd's Pie (yup! using up those mashed potatoes!)

Wednesday: Breakfast - German Pancakes
Snack -Vanilla Milkshakes (my kids are going to love me today!) Dinner - Cabbage Rolls
Dessert - Chocolate Chip Cookies

Thursday: Breakfast - Eggs & Toast
Snack - Nachos (we have tons of leftover chips and nacho sauce)
Dinner - Deluxe Sour Cream Chicken

Friday: Breakfast - Pancakes
Snack - popcorn
Dinner - Hot Dogs & buns, fruit coctail
Dessert - Sour Cream Cookies w/ Browned Butter Frosting

Saturday: Breakfast - Cereal
Lunch - leftovers
Dinner - Spaghetti, salad & garlic toast

Sunday: Dinner - Hamburger Stew
Dessert - Banana Cream Pie

To Die For Cheesecake: 3 pounds cream cheese (that is 6 8 oz packages)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbls lemon juice
Crust: 1 1/2 cups ground graham crackers (I use whatever I have on hand: graham crackers, animal crackers, vanilla wafers, store bought crispy cookies, etc)
1/2 cup crushed nuts (again, almost any kind works: pecans, hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds)
1 stick butter, melted
Combine crust ingredients and pat into a large springform pan. Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove from oven to cool a bit while you make the filling. Turn down the oven to 300 degrees. For filling, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

Scrape down any that gets to high up the bowl. Add vanilla and eggs and beat. (I like to add the eggs one at a time and then scrape down the bowl). Add the lemon juice and beat for a few minutes until nice and fluffy. Pour into the waiting springform pan.
Fill another pan (I use a 9X13) with water and place on the bottom shelf of the oven. Put the cheesecake on the top shelf.
Bake for 75 minutes. Let cool for a while on the counter and then refrigerate overnight or at least 5 hours. Serve with fruit or caramel or chocolate or plain. Make sure to keep the leftovers in the fridge. For more menu fun, head over to Organized Junkie.