Texas Beef Stew

Tonight I was trying another new recipe and decided to post after making it. It turned out okay, but I probably won't make it again. The spices were not my favorites, but after reading, you might want to try it. I'm just not a huge fan of a lot of cilantro.

1 # lean boneless bottom round roast, trimmed and cut into 1" chunks (I used venison)
1 t salt
1/2 black pepper
2 large white onions, chopped
4 large carrots, cut into 1" pieces
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper, chopped (wear gloves to prevent irritation)
1 T ground cumin
1 T ground coriander
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
2 earns corn
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro
1 T red-wine vinegar

Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Spray a Dutch oven with Pam. Sear beef, in batches, over medium-high heat until browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer each batch to a plate.

Add next 6 ingredients and cook until golden. Stir in beef, tomatoes and bay leaf. Bring to boil. Simmer, covered,until beef is tender, 1 1/2 hours.

Cut 1 ear of corn crosswise into 1" pieces. Remove the kernels from the remaining cob. Add all the corn to the stew and cook 10 minutes. Stir in cilantro and vinegar. Discard bay leaf.

Yield: 4 servings at 7 PointsPlus each.

Note: As I have mentioned before, I do NOT like spicey foods. Because of this, I omitted the jalapeno. Still didn't like it, but it might be what was "needed" to give the stew more flavor. All I could taste was the cilantro.

Semisweet Espresso Cheesecake

2 c crushed reduced-fat Oreos (about 20 cookies)
2 T butter, melted
3 pkg (8 oz EACH) reduced-fat cream cheese
1 pkg (8 oz) fat-free cream cheese
1 c sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 T coffee liqueur
2 T instant espresso powder
1 t vanilla extract
2 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Place a 9" springform pan coated with Pam on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18" square). Securely wrap foil around pan.

In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into the bottom of prepared pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheeses and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in coffee liqueur, espresso powder and vanilla. Remove 1 1/4 c batter to a small bowl; stir in chocolate until well blended.

Pour plain batter over crust. Drop chocolate batter by tablespoons over plain batter. Cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1: of hot water to larger pan.

Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.

Yield: 16 servings at 8 PointsPlus each.

This is to die for! Definitely will NOT be baking this again unless we have company because it's going to be hard to not keep going back for leftovers.