Grandpa Tyler's Cheese Pie

This is a companion post to my Grandma Eileen's Cheesecake recipe. While on the phone with my mom discussing the cheesecake I also asked for my Grandpa's Cheese pie recipe. I wasn't sure which one I wanted to attempt both have a similar flavor, the cheese pie is less sweet though. This recipe is a quick and easy recipe, no need for baking!

Grandpa's Cheese Pie

1 ready to use graham cracker pie crust
8 oz cream cheese
1/3 -1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 - 8 oz tub of Cool Whip*

Set cream cheese out to soften (30 mins). Whip with sugar, add sour cream and Cool Whip. Pour into graham cracker crust. Enjoy!

Dairy free notes
You could substitute the cream cheese and sour cream with dairy free brands. Cool Whip used to be a product that was safe for me but a few years ago they changed the formula to compete with another brand who claimed to be "real dairy".  I know a few generic brands still use the old formula, it's been a while since I've looked though. And I'm sure natural food stores have an alternative, again I just haven't had the need to look. Guess now I do! * I was not paid by Cool Whip to post this recipe

Grandma Tyler's Cheesecake

My Grandmother loved cooking shows and had an amazing collection of recipes. The best of the recipes then were called "her" recipes; she now had a personal ownership over them even if they weren't her original creations. This is the cheesecake I grew up eating. In 2003 I discovered I was allergic to dairy and haven't had a bite since. But today, in honor of Easter I decided to attempt Grandma's cheesecake using dairy free ingredients. I also cut the recipe in half because one 9 x 13 pan of cheesecake is too tempting and I'd have to eat half of it all by myself. First I will post the original recipe, to the original scale (for those who can have regular dairy products).

Grandma's Cheesecake
Prep time 15 min
Cooking time 1 hour (longer if dairy free)
Serves 24 small/12 large pieces
Preheat oven to 300 F

Graham Cracker Crust
1 1/2 cup Graham Crackers crumbs
3 T butter or margarine

Combine and press into a 9 x 13 pan.

Filling
3 - 8 oz packages of Cream Cheese
5 eggs
1 cup sugar

Set the cream cheese out at room temperature until softened (30 min, maybe). Beat cream cheese in mixer until smooth. Add sugar. In a separate bowl beat eggs until yokes are separated, add to cream cheese and sugar.

Bake at 300 F for 50 minutes. The center should not be soupy. I usually test this by shaking the pan a little to see if the center wiggles.
Let the filling cool for 10 minutes.

Topping
2 cups sour cream
6 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix well, pour over filling. You may need to spread it to cover the filling. Bake 300 F for 10 minutes. Again watch, if it's still soupy add a few more minutes.

Below are the pictures of my dairy free, scaled to half the recipe cheesecake. To make the dairy free recipe I followed the posted recipe using dairy free cream cheese and dairy free sour cream.  Happy Easter!

A few notes regarding my experience when using dairy free products in this recipe:
1) It took much longer to cook both the first and second layer. The first layer took almost 25 extra minutes. I don't know if it was due to my oven or if it was because I was using dairy free. Just keep any eye on the texture, it shouldn't be soupy.
2) There is a taste difference between dairy free and regular dairy cheesecake. Dairy free tends to be sweeter and you don't get that classic cream cheese flavor.
3) I used Trader Joe's cream cheese and Tofutti's sour cream. I was not paid by either of these companies to post this recipe, these products are what I had on hand.

Gram's Chicken Noodle Soup

3-4 chicken breast bone-in skin-on (more of the good stuff that helps fight colds)
2 tsp salt
2 bay leaves
1-2 stalks of celery cut into pieces
1 onion cut into thick slices
2-3 small carrots, peeled and slices into rounds
3 packages of Herb-Ox chicken bouillon
Noodles of you choice (I prefer Reames noodles, found in the freezer section)

Wash and pat dry the chicken.
Put in large pot, cover with water. Add salt, bay leaves, celery and onion. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Remove chicken and let cool, just enough to keep from scaulding your fingers. Cut chicken into small pieces, discard the bones and skin. Strain broth then return chicken to broth. Add carrots (I also add more celery, cut into thin slices), noodles and Herb-ox chicken bouillon. Cook until noodles are done and carrots are soft.

Heather's Crockpot Quick Cooking variation

I find that chicken noodle soup is a good meal to make the day after I've made a whole chicken in the crockpot.

Make your chicken in the crockpot, follow the recipe here: http://meetthemercers.blogspot.com/2012/02/whole-chicken-in-crockpot.html

Strain and save the juices for the next day's soup. Place leftover chicken in the fridge overnight. The next day, bring a pot of water to a boil and add the chicken bouillon. Finish de-boning the chicken. Once the water is boiling, add in chicken, carrots, celery, bay leaves and noodles. Cook until carrots and celery are tender and the noodles are cooked.

Mimi's Dumplings

Boil salted water in a large pot

3 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups of milk

Mix together until an oatmeal consistency. Scoop a small portion on a plate. Dip your spoon in the water and scrape mixture into the water by 1/2 spoonfuls. The dumplings will begin to float when they are done.

To add additional flavor to the dumplings, add bouillon to the water before bringing it to a boil.

Gravy:
1 cup water
2 tsp bouillon
- Bring to a boil and add flour by the tbsp over heat until thickened.