natalieavon:

What do you think this is? A delicious mug of sweet, sweet hot chocolate with whipped cream and cinnamon? That WOULD be good, but this is even better.

It’s cheesecake. Easy to make in individual servings and ready in just a few hours. Click the link for step-by-step instructions with pictures.

I like this because it’s a just-for-one recipe. I have a hard time justifying baking a whole pie or batch of brownies, knowing that I will eat half in the first day. This cheesecake is a lesson in portion control, 101.

Microwave Mug Cheesecake

2 ounces low fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons egg white, slightly beaten (egg whites in a carton work fine)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch (prevents liquid from forming)

For “mix ins”, add 1 tablespoon mini chocolate chips, or swirl in (not stir) 1 tablespoon jam of choice.

Graham Cracker Topping

1 tablespoon crushed graham crackers
1/2 teaspoon melted unsalted butter

Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together in a small bowl. Sprinkle on top of mug
cheesecake.

What to do with 100 old magazines

We had about 100 old magazines laying around our apartment. These have all been accumulated in the last year.

Zach saves them “in case he ever reads them again.” I save them for the recipes inside. Since we have all the extra space in our current apartment, I never minded keeping them in the office. But we’re not moving them.

To save the recipes but dispose of the magazines (don’t worry; I recycled) I tore out every recipe, put them in page protectors and put them in binders. To save money, I tried last year just using a three hole punch, but the pages don’t stay in, and I found I never opened the binder — and therefore never used it — because it was too hard to keep in order.

So this time around I did it right. I finished it about a week ago and so far use the books a ton. We’ll see if it sticks. But it took a ton of time, and I spent more than I wanted to on the page protectors. At first I thought I’d only need 100 (about $7 at Target). No. Try 500.

I had one binder lying around the house, and Zach picked up the other (giant) one at work because they didn’t want it anymore.

Since cooking is my only really hobby, and I’m an organizational nut, I’m glad I did it this way. Not sure if it would be worth the time and effort for most people.

Audrie’s recipes, volumes 1 and 2:

Cleaning out the pantry

We’re 51 days from the move, and I’ve decided to try to slowly start cleaning out our pantry and freezer. Sure, stuff in the pantry can be moved, but we don’t have the money for a rental truck, so space is money.

I had a can of chickpeas in my pantry. The only thing I could think of to do with them is figure out how to make hummus. Turns out, I already had all of the ingredients.

The chickpeas were leftover from a horrible recipe I once tried. I bought two cans, needing only one but figuring I’d make it again someday. Normally if I don’t like a recipe, I figure out what can be changed and try again. Not bothering with this one.

This took all of five minutes, maybe. You just put a can of chickpeas, a clove of garlic (I just use a spoonful of the stuff from the jar), 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of cumin into a blender or food processor. I also added some sesame oil. Then you blend it and sprinkle paprika on top!

We even have some pita chips and celery to eat with it. Yay for cooking without having to shop.

Pretty sure this recipe is from Real Simple.