No-Bake Cookie Cheesecake

This recipe is so easy and is always a favorite around the dinner table. We even used this recipe to make the Groom’s Cake for my daughter’s wedding. This is almost always requested for special dinners like Thanksgiving as well.

It can be changed to use any cookie you like, or you can use graham crackers for a more traditional cheesecake.

**Special thanks to my son-in-law @moments2lifephotography for the amazing cover photo!

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Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies

Mr. Awesome has gotten hooked on the cream cheese cookies from a certain sandwich chain. We tried a ‘copy-cat’ recipe, but it had so many crazy and hard-to-find ingredients that I decided to try tweaking our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe to make something close to what he was craving. After a few tries, we definitely have a winner!

I call them ‘Eema’s Vanishing Cream Cheese Cookies’ for a couple of reasons. First, I became a grandma last year and we decided that I will be called ‘Eema’ by the littles… so cute and precious to hear that! Secondly, these cookies tend to vanish before your eyes, so you’ve got to be quick to grab one when they have cooled down enough to eat. They are so GOOD! I’m so excited to share this recipe with everyone I know!

You could probably use any dried or freeze-dried fruit as long as it wasn’t hard, like dried bananas. I don’t think fresh fruit would work unless you ‘dry’ it in the oven for a bit before using it… You can probably research how to dehydrate fruit in the oven for some ideas on how to do this.

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Mini Garden Makeover and Fall Reset

How are you doing? I’m praying all is well… everyone here is good. We’ve really enjoyed having a week of reflecting on our blessings, and eating outside was a hit with the weather being just right. We will definitely be observing Sukkot in the future and plan to make a few small changes in the future.

This week, we are taking a breather from school for ‘Life Skills’ as the gardens need a little attention and revamping. I’ve had a vision for part of the garden, and we’ve been working on making it a reality. We haven’t had to buy any materials as we have been repurposing some things that we already had on hand. I am contemplating the purchase of some fencing for the garden, but seeing it come together makes me second-guess that idea.

You may remember the Pallet Gate project that we did a bit ago… this is another baby step towards the goal! We put together a small raised bed just enough to allow the guys an edge to weed eat and maybe save my chives… lol.

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Homemade Pizzelle Cannoli

We wanted to make this in honor of Christopher Columbus Day, which we happened to celebrate a little early, as it fell during the Biblical Feast of Sukkot this year. I think they looked pretty good, and everyone agreed that this will need to go on REPEAT for the dessert schedule!

This is not the traditional way to make Cannoli, however, this is the easiest way for me to get them made during busy days here. We found that we can use our Pizzelle recipe to make the shells… gotta work quick to roll them up, but it isn’t too bad other than your fingertips get a little warm. Having a cannoli roller works well, but is not completely necessary… we use a turkey baster to roll some of them, and it worked just as good!

NOTE: You definitely do not want to fill them too early. I chose to fill them before we served dinner, and they were still crunchy after we ate, but some of them were a little soggy the next day. We did put some in the freezer, and the kids really liked them!

Don’t worry if you don’t have a Pizzelle Maker or forms… you can turn this filling into dip, and eat it with some graham crackers, or fresh fruit!

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Biblical Feasts: Celebrating Sukkot as a Christian

Please note that I am NOT an expert on the BIBLE or on any of the BIBLICAL FEASTS, but I know others are feeling led to celebrate the FEASTS as we are, so I am just sharing what we have been learning. This post, like many of my posts, is a helpful reminder for myself and a place to put links that I might otherwise forget about.

Who should celebrate the Seven Biblical Feasts?

Well, that is a debate among many, and I have been doing TONS of research. During that research, I read somewhere that we are not commanded to celebrate them, but we are invited to celebrate them as Jesus did. How would you feel if you had invited someone to celebrate with you and they didn’t show up?

First and foremost, I would say that you need to pray and see if GOD is leading you to celebrate… you should pray about any big changes in direction before heading down a path that life may be leading you down.

Holy Days vs. Holidays

I have read some theories that Thanksgiving may have actually been based on the Sukkot Celebrations… it lasted three days while Sukkot lasts for seven, so there may be some truth to this. They both occur around harvest time, and Thanksgiving was a harvest celebration when it first started. The Pilgrims were well versed in the Bible and Hebrew, so they may have adopted this celebration as a time to remember all they had been through.

Why celebrate Sukkot?

Secondly, you should do your own research about Sukkot. Find out the who, the what, the when, the where. the why, and the how… all of it! Then you can decide if and how you want to celebrate it. You can start by reading through Leviticus 23.

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