It's no spork, but I'll take it!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! We've got a little time here between opening our gifts and when we need to leave for my folks' house, so I thought I'd pop on for a moment.

Was everyone happy with their presents? I know I was. We decided not to do anything big for each other, and just got things that we can both enjoy through the year--DVD's (I got the complete set of "From Dusk Till Dawn"!), books, etc. I got a rockin' cool black "Saw" (the movie) tank top in my stocking, and a new bird book (National Geographic) that will be a fine supplement to those I already have. I love my new mini-blender, too, and it will be great for making smoothies. (Yes, I love getting kitchen appliances.) Oh, and we did Christmas ornaments last night: I got a Lucy ornament, a Colts one, and a Studebaker one. Sweet! And I got a golfer S'mores one for Ken, and guess who is now accompanying Mr. Spock on his journey on our tree? That's right, James Tiberius Kirk. They're facing each other. "Christmas...the final frontier."

Oddly enough, one of my favorite gifts came in my stocking. It's a grapefruit knife and two grapefruit spoons. I've been on a grapefruit kick lately, and I can't tell you how often I've wished for a grapefruit spoon--usually while I was cleaning my glasses off after the grapefruit fought back. It may seem like a simple thing, but I think it shows great thoughtfulness on Ken's part.
Am I easy to please, or what? No bling for me...give me cutlery.

I made these Cheesecake Bars yesterday. Tasty! I'll give my modifications afterwards.

Cheesecake Bars

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make pastry: Cream together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the flour and nuts and stir until mixture becomes crumbly. Set aside 1/4 cup to use as a topping.

Press pastry mixture into 8-inch square, lightly greased pan and bake for 12-15 minutes. Let cool on rack.

To make filling: Beat together the white sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the egg, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla and mix well. Spread filling mixture over baked crust. Sprinkle reserved pastry mixture on as a topping.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cool on wire rack and refrigerate.

What I did different: I used pecans instead of walnuts, and in a stroke of genius, I added a couple of tablespoons of Amaretto to the filling mix. It gave it a great almond flavor. Hard to go wrong with Amaretto!

Off to my folks in a bit. Have a great night!