Ghetto Key Lime Cheesecake

I found this recipe on the internet, back when the internet wasn't full of fancy websites, and I wasn't a food snob. I made it often because it was pretty easy and Ross loved it. I thought about it recently and actually found the recipe (wrinkled and all) in a notebook I put together back then of recipes I printed from the internet or got out of magazines. I made it and Ross still loves it.

No Bake Key Lime Cheesecake

Filling

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

12 oz. cool whip

1 c. fresh lime juice

Crust (recipe from the back of the box)

1 1/4 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/4 c. sugar

5 Tbl. melted butter

1. For the crust: Mix crust ingredients in a small bowl. Dump crumbs into a 9 inch pie pan and spread them out--pressing them down with the back of a spoon. Chill crust 10 minutes before filling.

2. For the filling: First juice the limes. I actually juiced key limes because I didn't find the key lime juice bottled at the store.

3. Combine the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and whipped topping in a large bowl.

4. Stir in the lime juice until well blended.

5. Immediately pour filling into graham cracker crust.

6. Chill 2 hours or over night.

7. Nom. Nom. Nom.

Okay, the second photo shows two different cans of sweetened condensed milk. If you let the stuff sit on the shelf for a few years it darkens and thickens up. Yummy. But I let the one on the right sit too long (exp. 2001) and it smelled a little cheesy, so I used a brand new can.

A special shout out to Carole A. Resnick who submitted this recipe to that website oh so long ago.

The Dreaded Wrinkle Wall

My mom and I are totally skeeved out by a naked mattress. What is a naked mattress? It is a mattress without a mattress pad. Even with sheets on it--it is a naked mattress. Our mattress pad was getting really worn out, and I started looking for a replacement. It was a little difficult to find one in my price range, and one that didn't have sides made out of papery material. I found one at Costco and threw it in the cart as soon as I saw it had stretchy sides.

The mattress pad fits our mattress, in fact it isn't tight at all. It is actually slippery and loose because the sides are so stretchy. This causes the dreaded wrinkle wall. In the middle of the night when I roll over to snuggle with Ross the mattress pad slides and bunches up to form a wall. I feel like I need some long suspenders or something to go on the backside of the mattress to hold the pad tight. Ross put some binder clips on the sides, but I think they have all popped off already. I'm not sure what to do about the wall. I just find it so annoying!

Double Feature at the Drive-In

The drive-in theater opened last week, and we missed it. Ross really wanted to go this week, so we did. I was a little worried that we'd get cold, but it was fine. I wore a couple layers of cashmere, my snow boots, and had a blanket for my legs. We took my car, which is definitely the better car for the drive in. I have heated seats for the cold and the top goes down for the summer. We managed to fog up the windows something severe--especially Ross.

The home made chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich was a totally different experience this time. The concessions area wasn't 120 degrees and the ice cream was still solid when we got back to the car. The place wasn't very crowded at all, and the lines weren't long for snacks or the bathrooms. The drive-in is definitely different in the Spring.

Rango was fun. I was worried that it was going to turn all green-preachy, but it didn't. Ross was bothered that the female lead had hair because lizards don't have hair.

I wasn't excited about seeing The Adjustment Bureau. I thought it was going to be like one of the the Bourne movies where he is being chased the whole time. It wasn't. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it. I found Matt Damon very attractive in this movie. The acting was good, even if the story was a bit predictable.

In Loving Memory?

Okay, what the heck is with the epitaphs on the back windshield of people's cars? I'm seeing it more and more lately.

In Loving Memory

So and So

19whatever-20whatever

Blah Blah Blah

Really? I saw two on one pick up truck rear window today. It just boggles my mind. How does a decal on the back of your SUV honor the dead? The In Loving Memory part is really what gets me. What is In Loving Memory--the car?--the decal? I just don't get it.

Dyed with Catnip?

I bought some new black pants today. I showed them to Ross and then thew them over the arm of the couch. Then I caught Bailey doing this:



Sorry it's so dark, but I think you get the idea.

Longwood Gardens

On Thursday we went to Longwood Gardens with my parents. My favorite thing was the smell of the grapefruit blossoms. Ross's favorite thing was the view as you walk into the conservatory. My dad's favorite thing was blue daisies. I'm not sure what my mom's favorite thing was. She had trouble deciding. Here's just a few photos. We had a great time.

Green Smoothie

I saw a recipe for a green smoothie in a magazine yesterday and thought I'd give it a try because I had all the ingredients at home. As Ross said recently--I've never met a recipe I really liked. I made changes. I'm really surprised at how much I like the smoothie.

Green Smoothie

1 1/2 c. soy milk (we always have vanilla soy milk in the house)

1/2 c. orange juice (I had mango orange Nantucket nectar, so that's what I used)

1 c. loosely packed spinach

1/2 banana

1/2 c. cucumber

1 piece finely minced candied ginger

1 Tbl. flax meal

Throw all ingredients into the blender and puree until smooth. Much yummier than it looks--really.