Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cookies

I found this recipe on my friend, Jori's, blog today. She says these are SO GOOD! And I believe her!

2 sticks softened butter
¾ cup brown sugar
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¾ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 (6 oz) boxes Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites(I've seen these at Wal-Mart in the candy aisle)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla until well mixed. In a separate bowl sift the flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the chocolate chips and cookie dough bites until just combined.

With a cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until cooked to your liking. For a softer cookie, take out right at 9 minutes. Let cool on baking sheet for 3-5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Eclair Cake

Picture taken by Chef Holly

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 cups milk
1 (16 ounce) package graham cracker squares
1 (16 ounce) package prepared chocolate frosting

In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend the pudding mix, whipped
topping, and milk. Arrange a single layer of graham cracker
squares in the bottom of a 13x9 inch baking pan. Evenly
spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Top
with another layer of crackers and the remaining pudding
mixture. Top with a final layer of graham crackers. Spread
the frosting over the whole cake up to the edges of the pan.
Cover, and chill at least 4 hours before serving.
** Microwave frosting for a few seconds (this makes it easier to frost)

Pasta Lasagna

I tried this recipe from Allrecipes.com the other day. It was a delicious and easy variation of lasagna. I added a few sprinkles of Italian Seasoning between each layer for extra flavor.

1/2 pound penne pasta
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 (26 ounce) jar pasta sauce
1 (15 ounce) container ricotta cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 2 1/2 quart baking dish(or double recipe for a 13X9 pan). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook beef until brown; drain. Stir in pasta sauce; remove from heat. In a bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, Parmesan and beaten egg. Stir until well combined. In the prepared dish layer half the pasta, half the sauce and half the cheese mixture. Repeat. Top with remaining mozzarella.

Bake in preheated oven 35 to 40 minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Crepes

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. milk
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine

Put dry ingredients in bowl, stir in remaining ingredients. Beat
with a rotary beater until smooth. Heat a small amount of oil
in small frying pan, pour in safe cup. Put small amount of batter
in pan, tilt pan to cover (leave a small area uncovered to aid in
turning). Lightly brown both sided. You can roll crepes with
fruit, jam, or syrup. Be creative and enjoy!

Good Fortune Cookies

2 egg whites

1/3 C sugar

4 T melted butter, cooled.

1/2 C flour

1/4 t salt

1/2 t almond extract

1/2 t lemon extract

fortune strips (make your own little messages to put inside)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet thoroughly.

Whip the egg whites until light and foamy. Blend in sugar and

continue to beat to soft peaks. Pour in butter, flour, salt, and

extracts; mix well until combined. Drop a tablespoon full onto

the prepared cookie sheet. Using the back of a spoon, spread

batter into a very thin 3 inch round. Just bake 2 or 3 at a time,

they harden fast. Bake for about 5 to 8 minutes, until the edges

are a light golden brown. Remove the cookies with a spatula.

Lay a fortune strip in the lower middle of the cookie and

gingerly(they are hot!) fold in half to make a semi circle.

Bend the edges up toward each other to make a crescent.

Cool in a muffin tin to maintain shape until crisp. Repeat

with remaining batter.

Recipe from my blogging buddy Emily

Chili Verde

Pork chops or roast, cubed(5 to 7 chops or one 3 pound roast)
2 tsp. instant beef bouillon
1 to 2 cans chopped chilies
Garlic salt to taste
pepper to taste

Brown meat in pan. Add enough water to fill pan 1/2 full. Add beef
bouillon. Cook until meat is tender. Add chilies, garlic salt, and
pepper. Heat through. Thicken with flour. Serve over warmed
tortillas. I like to top mine with cheese and onions.

BYU Mint Brownies

1 c. margarine
1/2 c. cocoa
2 Tbsp. honey
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour
1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. chopped walnuts
12 oz. chocolate icing (Use your own icing recipe or purchase some chocolate frosting.


MINT ICING
5 Tbsp. margarine
dash of salt
3 Tbsp. milk
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
2 1/3 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring

Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs,
sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add nuts. Pour
batter into a greased 9-by-13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees
for 25 minutes. Cool. Prepare mint icing: Soften margarine.
Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth
and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix. Add milk
gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake
frosting. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies
in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove
from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Recipe and picture from BYU Magazine

Creamy Herbed Chicken Stew

Add the following ingredients to your large crockpot in this order:
4 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 stalks of celery, diced
4 Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and 1 t. thyme
Top with 3 c. chicken broth

Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours. In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add 2 c. snap pea pods and 1 c. cream.

Healthy Penne

I got the inspiration for this recipe from here:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/sicilian-penne-with-swordfish-and-eggplant-recipe/index.html
However, I don't cook with wine and I didn't want to purchase swordfish, so I altered it.

1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 pound whole wheat penne pasta
3 garlic cloaves, minced
1/2 tsp red chili flakes (this much was not hot at all, add more if you like it hot)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus 1/3 cup
Half a large or one small eggplant cut into bite size pieces
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Snow peas
Marinara sauce (My favorite is Emerils Homestyle Marinara)
Meatballs (Use your favorite recipe)
I mixed, 1/2 pound of ground beef with minced garlic, onion, salt and pepper and some Worcestershire sauce. It was good but I still need to experiment for better tasting meatballs.

I recommend roasting the tomatoes and eggplant in the oven, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Eggplant absorbs the oil super fast if you are going to do this in a pan and you will find yourself using way too much oil.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.

In a large skillet, heat oil. Add garlic, chili flakes and parsley. Add roasted tomatoes, eggplant, snow peas and meatballs. Stir and cover and let everything warm through until snow peas are tender. Add remaining parsley last few minutes of cooking.

Transfer to a large serving bowl and combine pasta with vegetable mixture.
I heat the marinara sauce and add a touch of half&half and pour over the pasta and finish off with a generous amount of Parmesan cheese. Toss everything together and serve.
This dish is full of flavor and so heart healthy.
I like to serve this with a good loaf of grain bread.

Makes 4-6 generous portions.

Cinnamon Rolls

These are to die for!!

Dough:
1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted and cooled
4 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tblsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt

If using INSTANT yeast:
In large bowl combine flour and yeast and set aside. In a mixer, combine sugar, salt, eggs, milk and melted butter. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet. If you do not have a mixer, do this by hand in a large bowl or on a clean counter. Knead the dough until smooth.
Let dough rise an hour (until it's doubled in size) covered with a damp towel. (Heat oven to 200 degrees, turn it off and place dough to rise in there.)

If using REGULAR yeast:
Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl and let sit 10 minutes. Then add sugar, melted butter, salt and eggs. Add flour and mix well. Knead dough until smooth. Follow above directions from here.

For the filling:
Mix all three ingredients together well.
Once dough is risen, roll out to a 16x21 inch rectangle (this doesn't have to be exact, if yours is bigger, even better!)
Spread the filling evenly all over dough, making sure the edges get it as well.
Roll it up.
Cut into 1 inch slices. My favorite way is to use unflavored floss. Simply place string under the dough, cross the string over the dough and pull tight. (Like if you were to tie the string around the dough, but without actually tying it.)
Place in a sprayed, GLASS baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 30-60 minutes.

Frosting:
Mix all ingredient together until smooth. I like to add 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of lemon juice for a fresher taste.

Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes. Let cool a few minutes before frosting.

Corn Chowder

I got this recipe from my blogging buddy Meichelle

2lbs potatoes-peeled and cubed
1 lb. bacon
1 onion chopped
1/2 c. flour
8 c. milk
Cube and a 1/2 of butter
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3 (15-oz.) cans creamed corn
1/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
Dash paprika

Boil potatoes in salted water until soft. Drain. Mash half of the
potatoes and set aside. Fry the bacon until very crisp. Crumble
the bacon and set aside. Fry the onion in the butter until
translucent and soft. Dump the cooked onions into a large
stock pot. Add the flour and heat until the mixture is bubbly
and the flour is well dissolved. Add the milk and bring to a boil
over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Once boiling add
the salt, pepper, bacon, corn and all the potatoes.
(If desired reserve some of the bacon for the garnish.)
Heat soup until hot. Serve with a dash of paprika,
a sprinkling of cheddar cheese and some crumbled bacon.

Baked Apple Oatmeal Breakfast

3 eggs
2/3 cup applesauce
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix together all ingredients. Place into a 9 x 13 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes. You can
also add a chopped apple and cinnamon.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

2 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast
2 (1 ounce) packages dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 cup water
8 oz. pepperoncini peppers (It comes in a 16 oz. jar and I use half. You can use more or less depending on how spicy you want it. 8 oz. is pretty spicy even!)
Hamburger buns or kaiser/deli rolls

Place the roast into a slow cooker and add Italian dressing mix. Pour in the water. Cover, and cook on High for 6 hours. During the last hour, shred the meat with two forks and add the peppers and as much of the juice as you like for additional flavor. If it does not shred easily, cook longer. Reserve liquid to dip sandwich in for extra flavor. Serve on buns and enjoy!

Happy New Year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I can't believe it is already 2009. Thanks for all those who added recipes last year. I'm looking forward to another great year of yummy recipes. So, keep the recipes coming.