Cheesecake Topped Brownies

Yesterday was my friend's birthday. To continue my goal of learning to cook/bake, I decided to make him dessert. He likes cheesecake, but there was no way I was going to attempt that yet. I wanted to start off with a dessert that I'd have a chance of actually making well. As fate would have it, when I logged on to allrecipes.com, the featured recipe of the day was Cheesecake Topped Brownies. After browsing through the recipe, I decided it wasn't too difficult to make.


RECIPE

• - 1 (21.5 ounce) package brownie mix (I used Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Traditional Brownie Mix.)
• - 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened (I used original Philadelphia cream cheese.)
• - 2 tablespoons butter, softened (I used salted butter.)
• - 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• - 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• - 1 egg
• - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• - 1 (16 ounce) container prepared chocolate frosting (I used Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate.)

Thanks to a lot of moral support and instruction from him and two of our other friends, I completed my first dessert. Even though they helped me with some of the instructions, I mixed everything myself, so I'm counting this as a dessert I made alone haha. It was delicious! I will definitely make this again. Next time I'll make a peanut butter frosting. 

Proof I Made It (Or At Least Served It)

2 1/2 Meals With the Same Veggies

I decided to start with a very simple recipe. Rather than finding a recipe online, I made a staple in my diet. I love couscous because it only takes 5 minutes to cook, which suits me well because I'm not patient when it comes to making food, and I can't mess it up. My go-to recipe is veggies with couscous. I have tried many different veggies and never really liked what I made. This time, however, I was pleasantly surprised with my creation. It was delicious, if I do say so myself.

RECIPE

- Rice Select Couscous, Original (I added salt and butter as directed this time, which made it quite tasty.)

- Cucumbers

- Grape tomatoes

- Half an avocado (I LOVE avocados!)

- Feta cheese

- Raisins

- Dressing: Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar

* The first time I made the meal, I did not include the feta cheese or raisins, and it still tasted delicious. 

The Ingredients, Prior to Mixing and Adding Dressing

Everything Mixed Together

You may be wondering why the title of this post is called 2 1/2 meals with the same veggies. In addition to making the couscous with veggies, I made a dish with all of the same veggies without the couscous. This served as an appetizer, so I consider it 1/2 of a meal.

My second full meal included scrambled eggs. I love eggs and usually make them for lunch. Today I used the left over veggies from the previous dinners to make a delicious meal.

RECIPE

- Cucumbers

- Grape tomatoes

- Avocado

- Cheddar cheese

- 3 eggs

I'm not sure what I'll make next for dinner, but I want to get out of my box and not use my normal ingredients (veggies and couscous). Does anyone have suggestions for easy, inexpensive meals?

My New Blog

For those of you who have been following my blog, I have changed the title and design way too many times and have not posted very much. This is due to my lack of creativity and my serious indecisiveness. I have decided to finally make this blog into something useful for me and anyone who reads it. My resolution for the year is to focus on me. This includes finding a hobby that I am good at and will help tame my stress, eating healthy so I can stay energized for school, and finding an exercise plan. These tasks will be difficult because I seriously lack creativity and motivation. Over the course of writing this blog, I hope to gain creativity and motivation to make crafts, cook delicious meals, and exercise.

My favorite hobby is photography, but I don't have a fancy camera, so I need to find a new hobby. I am turning to Pinterest to help me find easy DIY crafts. I am a terrible cook, I hate spending money on food, and I never know what to make. I usually end up eating the same thing every day for each meal, with a few substitutions here and there. I'm turning to Pinterest and Real Simple (online and magazine) for simple, inexpensive meals. As for exercise, I am using the buddy system. My friend and I (and possibly a few other friends) will be taking fitness classes together. I also plan to seek help from a personal trainer to help me find weight lifting exercises and from Pinterest for quick exercises to do at home.

This blog is for people like me who lack creativity and motivation. I hope to provide readers with simple, inexpensive meals to make, crafts that anyone can do, and workout tips to keep you motivated. There will also be posts about quotes/songs I find inspirational, books I think are great, my journey through grad school, and a few random topics.

Please feel free to leave comments or questions on any and all blogs. I would love for it to be interactive. If you have tips for me about crafting, cooking, exercise, or anything else, I'd love to hear your suggestions. This blog is about finding what works for me, but I hope to help others along the way. Enjoy!

Obsession

I am officially obsessed with Pinterest! I am on it all the time. My top boards are "Quotes I Love!", "Cute Clothes!", "The Perfect Home!", and "Tasty Food!". Although constantly pinning is fun, I've decided to copy some of the things I've pinned. I compiled a list of my favorite smoothies and will pick a few appetizers and dinners that I want to make. I will buy ingredients for everything tomorrow. Stay tuned to see how the cooking goes. I am not a good cook, so I hope everything turns out tasty.

I also want to find a hobby that I can use as an escape when life is overwhelming. I really want to get back into photography, but I do not  have a fancy camera and can't afford one. Taking photos with a point and shoot is not the same. I am not good at painting or drawing, and I often get frustrated with crafts because I lack creativity and am a perfectionist. Does anyone have suggestions for a hobby?