Gingerbread Cheesecake

Written by on in Breakfast, Dessert, Dinner, Lunch, Snacks

What do you think – do those two words belong together?

I woke up a little late this morning, and since I had to take my brother to school, that meant breakfast would have to wait (since I like to sit and enjoy it rather than grab and go). I brought a mug of Coffee Cocoa to tide me over – yes, these mugs actually travel, too!

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My mom asked me to make a stop at the wonder that is Target to pick up some gift wrapping materials – and once I got there, I’m glad I had put breakfast on hold because I stumbled across a new goodie that just couldn’t be ignored. And I mean that literally because I actually TRIED to walk by it – but couldn’t resist! I decided to bring it home with me and feature it in my morning meal.

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What does it look like to you? Upon first glance, I would have guessed either peanut butter, caramel, yogurt or some kind of icing. But here’s where the title of my post comes in…

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Gingerbread Cheesecake?! How could I have passed that up this time of year? It’s very versatile, too – as you can see from the label, it would go great on graham crackers, pretzels or fruit. I intend to try one of each of those combinations 😉 But this morning, I used 1 tbsp. as a topping for plain Chobani Greek yogurt, pomegranate seeds and raspberries.

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It was delicious! My only complaint would be that the gingerbread flavor was a liiiiittle bit too strong for me – but that’s just me and ginger. I prefer a subtle presence, and I would have liked the cheesecake flavor to be the stronger of the two. No worries though, I still intend to use this in many ways! Once I finished this bowl, I made a second bowl of Kashi Go Lean with unsweetened original almond milk and a few more pom seeds.

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I spent the rest of my morning reading The Host, as usual. I think reading will be one of the most exciting things I do over break  – I’m such a socialite, no?! In all honesty, I actually don’t know ANYONE here besides my family because they moved here from Minnesota after I graduated from high school. I consider Minnesota my “true home” so that’s my excuse!

My mom called me around lunchtime and offered to bring home lunch from a great sandwich shop called Kashman’s Place. Being true to my “eating out” word, I went for the soup and salad 🙂 I did, however, opt for a creamy soup today – but it had veggies! The ultra-yummy Broccoli Cheddar.

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I also had the Greek salad, which came with the usual tomato, red pepper, kalamata olives, cucumber and feta – my absolute favorite salad combo!

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The meal also came with a couple of bagel chips – tasty! – and a pickle – salty!

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When my mom brought home lunch, she also brought me an even better treat!

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A gorgeous holiday card from the one and only Miss Gliding Calm! What a sweetheart! It was absolutely beautiful and the note inside was so sweet. Thanks, GC!!

So the card made my day, and then this next little goodie made it that much better. My mom brought home the most amazing gingersnap cookies and offered me one.

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It was the perfect amount of ginger. So perfect, in fact, that I proceeded to have three more! They are a bit smaller than this picture shows, so it was a right-sized afternoon snack.

I wasn’t hungry for a while after that. I went to the gym with my brother and did a cardio variety + arm workout that included:

  • 20 minutes step machine at level 12
  • 10 minutes treadmill alternating between 6.0 and 7.0 mph at 1.5% incline
  • 20 minutes elliptical in the same format as yesterday’s workout
  • Arm workout: bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, shoulder press and upright rows

It was a good one 🙂 My bro and I also did some abs and jumping jacks together at the end – it was part of his workout, and I couldn’t help but join in!

When we got back, I decided to try out one of the Arnold Bread samples I received yesterday. I used the heel of the Double Oat version to make an open-faced sandwich.

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I broiled the heel – which was so thick and hearty! – with 1 oz. of Boar’s Head ham and a slice of meunster cheese. The combination was great and this bread is WONDERFUL – there are actual pieces of oatmeal in there! If you see it in stores, you must give it a try! I will do a more thorough review in a future post.

On the side, I had more of the Lundberg Barbecue Rice Chips as well as some pretzel crisps from The Snack Factory.

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It was a carby, salty, savory meal that tickled my tastebuds 😉 Delicious!

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My nightcap was a melt-in-your-mouth chocolate-covered “s’mores” – which is basically a graham cracker, marshmallow and chocolate topping.

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We got them at Crate&Barrel – and you should, too!

I just want to give a big HELLO to all the new readers and commenters. I am so happy to “meet” you and hope that you will stick around! 🙂 Thanks for reading!

So I just watched Jim Carrey on Ellen and he proposed to Jenny McCarthy – well, sort of! It was actually just a way to introduce Ellen’s Christmas giveaway, but it got me wondering – if you’re married, how did he or she propose? And if you’re not married – what is the cutest proposal story you’ve ever heard? Just curious!!

Happy Thursday!

42 Comments

  1. love this post! and i love target, too.

    hmm, i think one of the “cuter” stories that i heard, was in hindsight, rather simple. in taiwan, proposals aren’t that big (at least they weren’t when my mom got engaged; the couples go shopping for rings together after their engagement, and it’s just a simple gold band. anyways, my dad had just returned to taiwan from the united states and was telling my mom about a story of when he almost got a parking ticket in college here. my dad said that he went to the parking office, and the lady there told him, “well, OK, because you’re so handsome, we’ll let you get off with this one.” my dad told my mom that, and my mom started teasing him, “oh.. well, did you think she was pretty?”
    my dad responded with, “i think my wife is the most beautiful woman in the world.”
    my mom kind of blinked, shocked. and then my dad asked, “would you like to be the most beautiful woman in the world?”

    i almost died when i heard that story, because now, my dad practically shies away from any sort of affection hehe.

  3. I love that brand of target… everything looks cute and healthy! 🙂
    I’ve never thought about that combo: ginger and cheesecake!? I have to try that! 😀

  4. My goodness that cream cheese spread looks decadent and yummy.

    I’ve never heard of those barbeque rice chips – where do you find them?

    • Robin ~ I found the rice chips at Costco! So good!

      Erica ~ That is so cute! I’m so glad there is now a Frank in your life so we can see pictures!! Such a cutie.

      sweetandnatural ~       Glad to know I’m not alone!

      ksgoodeats ~ I know exactly which commercial you’re talking about – and I laugh out loud every time I watch it, too!

  5. Ow- everything looks so good! Gingerbread cheesecake? ow la la. Love the Target! How Joshers proposed:

    He sent me off shopping with one of our friends all day. Meanwhile, he drove 4 hours to pick up the Frankster (I had wanted an english bulldog forever but had decided I was probably going to pickup a pound puppy instead because Franksters are expensive). So I get home and he has the bedroom door shut and he says…I have good new and I have bad news. The bad news is I got ketchup all over my shirt at lunch. The good news…and then I heard barking and I was like oh my gosh! So I open the bedroom door and inside is what looks like a giant ring box and inside the box was the Frankster! I was so thrilled that he had gotten me an english bulldog that it took me like 5 minutes to realize he was on his knee and that the dog had a ring around his neck! I will never forget that moment!

  7. SO MUCH FOOD PORN!!!!

    Cute card from dear Miss Gliding Calm!! 🙂

    **2 years ago in NYC, while ice-skating in Rockefeller Center, a guy stopped the girl he was skating with, got down on his knee, and proposed. EVERYONE skating/watching the skaters started cheering!! It was so magical.

  8. I saw that gengerbread cheescake sauce in Target on the weekend and somehow managed to walk by it! I think it might have had something to do with American money cash flow issues! I was on a strict budget!

    The smores looks delish! Wish we had Crate and Barrel here!!

    Have a great day!!

  9. wow everything looks SO good! Target really is the best (but most dangerous) place to shop—they have everything there and I’ve never left just with what I went in for, I ALWAYS find more goodies to try.

    That dessert looks like it’s to die for. I don’t know where a crate & barrel is around here but I’m going to look it up right now and hopefully plan a little trip!

  10. Oh.My.God – girl get out of here with that gingerbread cheesecake!! I may have to run to Tar-jhay right now to get some!

    Cute card from GC 🙂

    No engagement story from me but there’s this commercial playing here for a jewelry store where he takes his GF to all the places they had their firsts (first kiss, first date, etc) and asks her what she remembers about them. Well, they end up in some park and she’s like, “I don’t remember this place,” and he’s like, “YOU WILL!” But it’s SOOO CHEESEY I can’t take it seriously! Like the music and how dramatic they are – it cracks me up every time!

  12. Oh yum, Jenn, that breakfast looks seriously luscious 🙂

    Great workout! I love the quality bro time, now if I could only get mine to actually go to the gym, I’d be all set!

    I saw them on Ellen! I was confused by the whole thing, but I do think they are a cute couple. I love engagement stories I can’t wait to see what people have got to tell 🙂

  14. Must go to Target soon…very soon!

    My husband’s proposal was 100% Chris. No down-on-the knee, or “Heather will you marry me” on the scoreboard at a football game kind of romance. We had picked out a ring about a month before he actually asked, and we were keeping it at my house for insurance purposes. I know – torture not to try it on everyday! I think I only took it out of it’s box once. Anyway, after opening our Christmas gifts to each other the night before leaving to go spend Christmas with the future in-laws, Chris just leaned back and said, “So, you wanna get married?” I was so caught off guard because I had given up on him asking before the holiday. I figured he was saving it for New Year’s or my upcoming birthday. After I realized what had just come out of his mouth, I said something along the lines of “Yes, of course I’ll marry you.” Then I lunged forward…Chris thought I was moving in to give him a hug, but I was actually diving towards my engagement ring that was “hiding” in a drawer next to the couch 🙂

  15. the gingerbread cheesecake dip looks yummy…along with all the other food in this post! I LOVE Erica’s story above – will have to keep checking back to read others!

  16. anything cheesecake = amazing – i want that stuff!!! the cutest proposal i heard was my friend’s friend. she lives in nyc and is a business woman along with her now fiance. they had a 3yr anniversary dinner at this super fancy NEW hotel restaurant and at the end of the dinner she goes “i wonder what the rooms look like here” so he says to her “let’s check out the presidential suite just to see, why not?” and when they opened the door to the room the entire floor and bed was covered in rose petals and he got down on one knee and said he loved her and wanted to marry her

  17. I was just wondering, do you know how many people visit your blog (like how many page views per day?). I am always curious about such things! And I love your blog so I bet you get a lot!

  18. Thanks for the work out tips- i do similar intervals on the elliptical..but there’s this stupid broken one at my gym- so every time you switch to go backwards, all the info gets erased! GRr..

  19. Yum, that Gingerbread Cheesecake “stuff” sounds delicious. I might need to make a trip to Target to get some! 🙂

    My cute proposal story is my own! My hubby took me to Disneyland two days before my birthday in 2007, as my birthday gift…but he had other plans in mind. After we got off Indiana Jones, he told me that he wanted to get a caricature drawing done of us. I thought nothing of it and said okay. So, we sat down to have the drawing done and the girl took about an hour to draw it (I later realized that she wanted it to be really good)! Then as we were sitting there, a crowd started to gather around to watch her draw us. I kept saying to Jeremy, “What is with all these people? Don’t they want to go ride some rides instead of standing here watching us get drawn?!” Well, when she finally finished I got up and went to look at the picture, only to discover that it was a drawing of Jeremy down on his knee, with a ring, asking me to marry him, and I was drawn with a huge smile on my face and a empty thought bubble for my response. Before I knew it, he was really down on one knee, with a ring and the whole crowd that had formed applauded and cheered when I said “yes!” I was totally shocked and so excited! 🙂

  20. lots to comment about here! First I am so running out to get that dip!!! Second love alll the food! Third, the hubby perposed in an apple orhard in our home town, he knew it was my favorite place in the whole world. He had two of my bffs decorate a picnic table and trellis spelling? They had roses hanging down, frank sinatra playing, chocolate coverd strawberries, apple cider, it was amazing!!!! I said HECK YES!

  23. Wow, you food looks soo good, especially the soup and salad!

    My friend has a cute proposal story: Her fiance and her are major Brewer’s fans. He got both of their families to come to a game and then had the proposal put up on the big screen in the stadium.

  24. I’m the same way..breakfast is to be savored slowly! Love that mug too. Oh, and Target. AMAZING!

  27. The little picture beside the url pops up on yours too! I think it’s automatic, must be with the WordPress redesign or something. Sweeeet!

    I’m totally jealous of the gingerbread spread. I found my gingerbread syrup randomly at Winners (don’t know if you guys have that store around there?) but it was a little too strong for me as well! I like my ginger flavour a little more subtle too. It works well in oatmeal though. I’ll bet that spread would be awesome in oatmeal too. Mmm.

    I’m definitely drooling over those “smores”. WOW.

  28. Oh that dip sounds SO GOOD! Maybe you should thin it out with a tub of funfetti frosting. 🙂
    I love that you got your cute little picture on the top of the tab! It’s so cute!
    Nice nightcap. Again, could have used frosting (can you tell what I’m craving?!).
    We’d been together for six years when we finally decided to get married. It was either a) get married in Portland before moving to Texas for grad school, or b) try to plan a wedding during grad school. Ew! So I knew the exact day Rob was going to pick up the ring and everything. I told him not to propose (we’re not romantic) but to just give it to me. Well, turns out he got it a day early, so he brought it over to my parents’ house while I was cleaning their toilet (my college job – clean the condo once a week) and literally got down on one knee while I had my BARE HANDS in the toliet (I’m gross) with a clorox wipe! My mom and dad were home and they came and started clapping, and Rob tried to put the ring on my finger and I literally said, “What the F**&! Let me wash my hands!” It was so funny! Then we went out to dinner. 😉
    I hope Bob Diesel reads these comments for inspiration! 😀 Do people ask you when you’re getting married?

  30. Sara yours is so cute! Ah!

    Necessary background: For our 2-year anniversary of dating we went to Mackinac Island… in December. I was so excited to show him how gorgeous the island was and hadn’t really thought about the fact that it is like a ghost town in the winter. Anyway, when we had gone on this trip we were out for dinner and apparently were so happy-looking that our waitress asked us if we were on our honeymoon.

    Anyways, flash-forward to the middle of my spring semester abroad (in Argentina), Chris asked me if I wanted to go to Mackinac Island when I came home. Heck yes I wanted to, especially because it would be all pretty and populated and I love the island. So two days after I got back we drove up there, and after walking around all day we were just sitting on the shore catching up on life (5 month separation = lots to talk about) and talking about things we have wanted to do. He says “well, speaking of things I want to do, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time” and goes to pull the ring box out of his pocket. I’m freaking out and to make it better, the box is STUCK in his pocket. After 20 or so seconds he finally gets it out, gets down on both knees (rocky ground = no one knee proposal) and asks me to marry him. I say yes and hug him and put the ring on and we got ice cream and went to call our parents. Pretty much perfect, haha. 🙂

  33. those gingerbread cookies look yummy!
    and that gingerbread cheesecake spread sounds interesting, i might just have to pick some up when head over to target sometime soon!

  34. What a great Target find!

    I looove meunster cheese. 😀 I’ve never tried the BBQ rice chips, but I’ve liked some of the other flavors (plain and lime).

    I don’t really have any good engagement stories. I’ll try to think of one.

    • Thank you to everyone who shared their proposal story or one that they’ve heard! It was so fun to read – such a girly question, I know 🙂 But I loved it!

  38. New commenter here:) Thanks for all you do, I read the blog daily and love your takes on food/life etc-keep up the good work!
    Anyway my husband proposed in a different way. He planned a mini vacation for us and had me pack up all of my clothes for a weekend getaway. The morning of our trip I got a note on my apt door that said we weren’t going away but that he was sending me on a scavenger hunt through the city (we were not living together yet but both lived in Boston). He sent me, through little poems, to all of our favorite haunts in the city and had different friends of mine waiting. I got to hang out with all of my friends at separate locations, shopping, going to get ice cream, massages, lunch etc. Each friend had another poem for me that explained where to go next. The final friend’s poem told me to go buy a dress and meet him for dinner at the Four Seasons. He proposed on the stairs at the Four Seasons overlooking Boston common and it was the best day-until our wedding of course:) Thank goodness I had my bag packed for our mini getaway because we stayed at a B&B in Boston for the weekend. I couldn’t believe he pulled it all off!!

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