Best Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars

Every year Trinity Episcopal Church in Moorestown, NJ hosts their popular Blueberry Festival. Members in the congregation share in baking homemade desserts to be served. Admission includes enjoying desserts, fresh blueberries, of course, vanilla ice cream, BBQ foods, tossed salad with berries and blueberry vinaigrette; lemonade and games, music and fun activities for children and families. 

This year I decided to bake off some Blueberry Crumble Cheesecake Bars. I selected a recipe from Delish.com to try. Funny thing is that I never got to taste them! It was a favorite and they went fast!

I followed the Delish recipe for the most part with only a few changes. We didn't have a 9x9 baking dish so I used a 7x11 baking dish. I omitted the extra sugar and salt in the graham cracker crust as from baking graham crusts in the past, the graham crackers have enough flavor and taste without it. Below is my take on this recipe. 

Ingredients

Crust:

• Cooking spray
• 15 graham crackers
• 1 large egg, separated
• 5 tblsp melted butter (I melt butter in small cast iron skillet on low heat. Save the skillet or whatever you use to melt the butter, for the next batch of melted butter in the streusel.)

Filling:

• 2 pkg cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and any stems removed 
• 1/4 cup of your favorite blueberry jam 

Streusel topping

• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 5 tblsp melted butter
• 3 tblsp brown sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt 

Putting it all together

Preheat oven to 325 deg F

Crust: 

1. Spray your baking dish and line it with parchment allowing for 2 inch overhang on two opposite sides.
2. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor. Add the egg white and mix until blended. 
3. Blend in the melted butter. 
4. Spread evenly in your baking dish and firmly press. I use a stainless steel measuring cup to tamp the crumbs down. Set aside.

Filling 

1. In your mixing bowl (I used our kitchen-aide mixer) using the whisk attachment; mix the cream cheese until light and fluffy; about 1-2 minutes on medium speed. 
2. Add the sugar, mix again. 
3. Add in the egg, mix again
4. Finally, add in the yolk and vanilla and blend together. You may need to stop a few times to scrape down the sides to combine everything well. 
5. Spread evenly over the top of the crust layer. I used a rubber spatula first to scoop it out of the mixing bowl then spread it out using an icing spatula. It reminded me of spreading cream cheese frosting on carrot cake!
6. Set aside. 

1. In a separate bowl add the blueberries; using a potato masher, gently mash everything leaving some visible berry chunks. 
2. Stir in the jam. 
3. Set aside and make the streusel topping.

Streusel topping

1. I washed out our mixing bowl and used it again for the streusel topping. 
2. Add the flour, brown sugar and salt. Whisk until blended. 
3. Whisk in the melted butter, lemon zest blending until desired texture. It should have somewhat of a chunky texture; don't over mix.

Final steps

1. Spread the blueberry mixture over top of the cheesecake layer. 
2. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the top.
3. Bake for 30 minutes, check it to see if the crumb top is golden, if not, bake another 5 min check again; repeat until satisfied with how it looks. Mine took about 40 minutes in our oven. The center will be slightly jiggly and will firm up when cools. 
4. Allow to cool, then refrigerate until cold at least 2 hours. 
5. Lift it all out of the baking dish onto a cutting board and cut into small square bars. 

Enjoy! 

Photos and blog post Copyright (C) Wind. All rights reserved. 

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Lentils

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Lentils

Serves 2-4 

Ingredients

2-4 Bell Peppers- we used 2 red 

1 cup green lentils

bell pepper tops, chopped

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1 cup cooked quinoa 

shredded cheese

olive oil

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

pinch salt & pepper

chopped parsley or cilantro - optional

This recipe was inspired by our Dome air fryer cookbook. We kept the stuffed peppers vegetarian, but you could combine lentils with cooked ground turkey or beef; we combined the lentils with cooked quinoa. It was really delicious and good enough for company. We will make this again for sure! 

This is a GardenCuizine freestyle recipe, meaning the amount of quinoa, lentils and chopped veggies and spices that you add is up to you; use whatever amount that you want or have available.

• Lentils are a sustainable food, meaning they are environment and climate-friendly.
• Lentils are affordable: only 15 to 30 cents per serving!
• Lentils are a nutritious source of protein.

Putting it all together

1. Prep the peppers: rinse the peppers and cut off the tops; remove the stem, chop the rest. Scoop out the seeds; set aside.
2. Cook the lentils: rinse them first in a handheld strainer; put in a pot with 3 cups of water add a few bay leaves. I used 4 bay leaves since we have so many dried bay leaves from our potted bay laurel tree. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook until tender, but not overcooked soft; about 15 minutes. Remove cover, take off the heat and set aside.
3. Cook quinoa: you don't need much; we used leftovers since it stores well in the refrigerator. No set amount, just enough to combine with your lentils; about 1 cup.
4. Sauté the filling: add small amount of olive oil to your skillet and sauté the onion until lightly brown and transparent, stir in the garlic and seasonings of your choice. Harry used smoked paprika, ground cumin, salt and pepper. 
5. Stir in the chopped tomatoes; using a slotted spoon add a spoons of cooked lentils. Add some quinoa; combine everything together then fill your peppers.
6. Top with shredded cheese. Note if your peppers are tall they may not fit in an air fryer. We had to cut off the top third of our peppers after they were filled! Topped with cheese and it worked!
7. Cook: bake or roast at 375 deg. in preheated air fryer 12-15 minutes or until the peppers are tender and the cheese is golden brown. 
8. Serve warm with a sprinkle of fresh parsley or cilantro. 

Enjoy!

Related Links

Climate-friendly Lentils

Lentil Recipes, Health and Nutrition

Blog post and photo Copyright(C) Wind. All rights reserved.