The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

I read somewhere if you add a package of instant pudding to your cookie dough, it makes your cookies very chewy. So, I did it and I have amazing cookies--all the time. I usually add vanilla to my chocolate chip cookies, but you can try butterscotch in oatmeal cookies, chocolate in chocolate cookies, etc. This recipe is just the basic Toll House recipe but kicked up a notch with the pudding.

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. butter flavored Crisco
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1-2 t. vanilla
1 pkg. (4 serving) vanilla pudding
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 1/4 c. flour
Chocolate Chips

Cream butter, crisco, and sugars. Beat in eggs, vanilla, and pudding mix. Add soda and salt. Mix in four. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 9-13 minutes (don't know how long really, just watch them).

American Lasagna

Here is another Lasagna recipe. This is the classic Lasagna style recipe and is so good. I often make this for company and serve with a green salad and garlic bread. I have used this recipe for years and it always tastes good.

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
12 dry lasagna noodles
2 eggs, beaten
1 pint part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef, onion and garlic; drain fat. Mix in basil, oregano, brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Simmer for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add lasagna noodles, and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, or until al dente; drain. Lay noodles flat on towels, and blot dry.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, Parmesan cheese, parsley and 1 teaspoon salt.
4. Layer 1/3 of the lasagna noodles in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Cover noodles with 1/2 ricotta mixture, 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over the top.
5. Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Lasagna

Here Jenn, I'll try to balance your sweets with meals (not that I don't mind the sweets). A friend fixed this for me after I had the latest baby. It's so different from the regular lasagna, but it's really good too. I didn't put the ham in either, but I think it would really be good in it.

1 c. Chopped Onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1/2 lb. Mushrooms
1/2 c. Butter (I just use enough to sauté--1/2 c.
seems a bit extreme)
3 c. Diced/Cooked Chicken
1/4 c. Ham (optional--I've actually never added it,
but if you want)
16 oz. Diced Tomatoes (fresh or canned)
1/2 c. Chicken Broth
2 T. Minced Parsley
1 tsp. Dry Oregano
1 tsp. Dry Basil
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
10 oz. Lasagna Noodles
3 c. Shredded Mozzarella
1/2 c. Parmesan Cheese

-Boil lasagna noodles according to package directions.
Strain, rinse and set aside.
-Combine cheeses in a bowl.
-Sauté onion, garlic & mushrooms in butter.
-Stir in all the rest of ingredients except cheese and
noodles.
-Bring mixture to boil--cover and let simmer for 2
minutes.
-Layer filling with noodles in 13"x9" pan. Top with
cheese (I sometimes add cheese throughout the layers).
-Bake @ 350° for 20-25 min.

Chewy Caramel

I have this problem...all I can seem to cook lately are treats. So, here is another one.


1 cup butter or margarine
1 pound light brown sugar
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup light corn syrup
1 pinch salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, brown sugar, sweetened condensed milk, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Heat to between 234 and 240 degrees F (112 to 116 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball that flattens when removed from the water and placed on a flat surface. Cook for 2 minutes at that temperature. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla.
Meanwhile, butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. When the caramel is ready, pour into the buttered pan. Allow to cool completely at room temperature. Remove from the pan and cut into squares using scissors. Wrap individual pieces in waxed paper or cellophane.

Meatballs in Cream Sauce

Again, this is a little more involved, but they are really good meatballs. Serve them over mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles. Mashed potatoes are my favorite.


1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 c. milk
2 T. Ketchup
3. T. A-1 Sauce
3/4 c. quick cooking oats
1/4 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c, minced fresh parsley
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1-1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
3 T. all purpose flour

Cream Sauce
2 T. butter or margarine
2 T. all purpose flour
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. chicken bouillion granules/powder
1/2 t. Montreal Chicken Seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste
1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
2/3 c. whipping cream
2 T. minced fresh parsley

In a bowl, combine the first nine ingredients. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 1-1/2 in. balls. Roll in flour, shaking off excess. Place in a greased 15 x 10 x 1 baking pans about 1 inch apart. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs; bake 12-15 minutes more or until the meat is no longer pink. Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour, thyme, bouillion, chicken seasoning, salt and pepper until smooth. Gradually add broth and cream; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Drain meatballs on paper towels; transfer to a serving dish. Top meatballs with sauce; sprinkle with parsley. Serves about 6.

Italian Wedding Soup

I decided to post some favorite recipes (without a picture) just because they're my favorite. This soup takes a little more effort because of the chicken, but you can replace it with an equal amount of ground beef (or you could try ground chicken too).

1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, excess fat removed
2 eggs
1/2 dry Italian seasoned bread crumbs
2 T. grated Parmesan cheese
1 t. dried basil
1 t. onion powder
pepper, to taste
11-1/2 c. chicken broth (maybe more if you use too much pasta)
5 c. chopped spinach
1-3/4 c. acini de pepe pasta
2/3 finely chopped carrot

In a stock pot heat about 1 Tbsp. olive oil and brown chicken thighs (they don't need to be cooked all the way you just need to get them firmer to grind). In a food processor, chop chicken into fine pieces. In a medium bowl, combine ground beef, chopped chicken, eggs, bread crumbs, cheese, basil, onion powder and pepper. Combine well. Set aside.

In the same stock pot used to brown chicken, heat broth to boiling. Drop meatballs by teaspoon size balls (1/2 teaspoon for smaller meatballs). Add spinach, acini de pepe pasta, and chopped carrot. Return to boil then reduce heat to medium. Cook at slow boil for 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Stir gently, as to not squash meatballs and prevent sticking.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

It must be this time of the year, but I just can't stay away from pumpkin recipes. And who can resist when you add in chocolate chips. I used my mini loaf pans making 8 mini bread loaves and I cooked them for about 35 minutes.

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (but I always add a little more)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 1 pound size coffee cans, or three 9x5 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill cans 1/2 to 3/4 full.
Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from cans or pans.

Chicken Vegetable Alfredo Soup

This is really easy and really good too. It comes from Pampered Chef. Serve with the Crispy Bread Bowls.

1 c. chopped broccoli
1/2 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 c diced red pepper
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 (14 oz.) can chicken broth
2 c. diced chicken, cooked
1 T. snipped basil
1 jar (16 oz.) Alfredo sauce
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese, opt.

Chop carrots, broccoli, and onion (Pampered Chef's food chopper does this really well). Dice red pepper. Place broccoli, carrots, onion, pepper, and garlic in 3 qt. sauce pan. Add broth; bring to a boil. Cover; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Meanwhile dice chicken and snip basil. Set aside. Add chicken and Alfredo sauce to broth; simmer 5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat stir in basil. If desired, ladle into bread bowls; sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Crispy Bread Bowls

2 pkgs. refrigerated pizza crust
small amount of oil
grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove dough from pkgs; cut each loaf in half. Place dough cut side down on large round stone (or cookie sheet). Press lightly to form 4-1/2 in rounds.

Brush dough with oil; sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake 21-23 minutes or until deep golden brown.

To serve, slice off top of each bread round; carefully remove centers to for bowls. Place on plates; ladle soup into bowls.

Chocolate Chocolate Cookies

CAUTION: These cookies are only for those who LOVE chocolate. They are way chocolaty and must be accompanied by a big glass of milk, but oh so delicious!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Melt 1 cup of chocolate chips over low heat. Cream butter and sugar. Add melted chocolate chips and vanilla; beat in eggs; add flour mixture and remaining chocolate chips.
Wrap in plastic and freeze until firm (about 20 minutes).
Make small balls (1 inch); roll in confectioners' sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Cool on wire rack.

Yummy Ham

My sister-in-law Jo made this ham for Thanksgiving and it was so good.

One bone in ham shank (not cooked)
Put ham in roaster and cover with a 2-litre bottle of 7-up
Put in oven at 250 form 11 hours
Take out of oven and cover with brown sugar and put back in oven for one more hour.
Total cooking time: 12 hours.

When you take the ham out of the oven it just falls apart and is so tender and sweet. I wish I had a picture, it would make you want it right now.

Red Skinned Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

These potatoes are so good, I could eat them all the time.

1 1/4 lbs. red skinned potatoes, washed and quartered
2 1/2-3 cups water (you might need to add a little more depending on the size of the potatoes)
3 cubes chicken bouillon
7 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 cup cream cheese
1/2 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Place potatoes in large pan. Add water and bouillon and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the pan and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain liquid, reserving a little, and then mash the potatoes. Add roasted garlic and the cream cheese in while mashing. Gradually add extra liquid from pan to potatoes to get as fluffy as you like and then sprinkle the parsley on top.

Roasted Garlic: Slice the end of a garlic bulb off. Place on tinfoil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap garlic clove in the tinfoil and place in the oven at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until garlic is soft. When done press garlic cloves out and add to potatoes. You can buy jars of roasted garlic in the store, but they just aren't the same compared to the fresh ones.

Sautéed Pork Tenderloin Medallions with Port, Dried Cherries and Rosemary

Shawn loves Pork Tenderloin and this is a great way to make it with a lot of flavor. I like to make this and serve it with my red skinned roasted garlic mashed potatoes (I'll post that recipe later).

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
olive oil
2 cloves fresh pressed garlic
1 lb. pork tenderloin trimmed and cut into 1-inch slices. Pound each slice 3/4 inch thick. (I put plastic wrap on counter and then put in pork. Put another piece of plastic wrap on top and then I use my meat mallet, but you can use anything heavy to pound it flat. Tenderloin is a very tender meat so it doesn't take much to get it pounded flat.)
1/3 cup port-I usually substitute apple juice
1/2 cup dried cherries
2/3 cup water mixed with 1 tsp. chicken soup base (this is kind of like bouillon, but a paste that you keep in the fridge)
2 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves
1/2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix salt, garlic powder, and pepper together. Sprinkle over both sides of the pork medallions. Put a little olive oil in large skillet over medium high. Add garlic to pan and brown slightly before adding medallions to pan. Working in batch's of no more than six medallions to avoid crowding, sear the pork without moving them until browned on one side about 80 seconds. Turn and sear the other side about 80 seconds or until pork is firm to touch. Transfer to a plate.

Set the now empty skillet used to cook the pork over medium high heat and add port/apple juice and cherries to pan. Cook scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spatula to loosen any browned bits until the liquid in the pan reduces to about 2 Tablespoons (about 2-3 minutes). Increase the heat slightly and add chicken broth, rosemary and any meat juices from the plate. Stir often until sauce is the consistency of maple syrup. Add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste.

Reduce the heat to medium and return pork to pan, turning the meat to coat. Simmer to heat the pork through, about 3 minutes. Transfer pork to serving plate and spoon sauce over meat. Serve immediately.

Each 4 oz. cooked portion of tenderloin with sauce has approximately 200 calories, 7.4 grams total fat.

Pumpkin Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 C. quick oats
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/4. tsp. nutmeg
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 egg
2 Tbsp. oil
1/2 C. mini chocolate chips (optional - but I always like adding)

Frosting:powdered sugar and orange juice (no/low pulp)

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, oats and spices. In a separate bowl mix pumpkin, egg and oil. Pour pumpkin mix into dry mix; add chocolate chips. Mix until just moistened. Drop onto lightly sprayed cookie sheets, large spoonfuls. Slightly flatten with spoon (they don't really spread, more like puff up). Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins. For frosting, mix with a mini rubber spatula sugar and orange juice until it gets to a frosting consistency. Make sure to use a tiny bit of orange juice at a time and add a little more as needed. Spread over cooled cookies.

Flank Steak

This is a yummy recipe for flank steak. I often have flank steak on hand for Asian meals and stirfry's so this is a different yummy way to cook it.

1 large flank steak

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp. ginger

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup white vinegar

3/4 cup honey.

Mix all ingredients together, except steak, for marinade. Score meat on both sides so that the marinade can really get into the meat. Marinate beef for a minimum of eight hours. Cook on medium high for 12-15 minutes of a grill pan. I love my cast iron grill pan because it gives a good natural cooked on the grill smokey flavor, but use whatever you have. Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting so the juices redistribute and then slice across the grain.

Cafe Rio Chicken, Rice and Dressing

This recipe is a little different from one I have used in the past, but I like it a little better. I use either the shredded pork or the chicken from this recipe.

Rice
3 cups water
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon
4 teaspoons garlic-minced
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 can green chiles (or equivalent fresh)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 onion-chopped
3 cups rice
Blend cilantro, green chiles and onion together in a food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all the ingredients. Simmer covered for 30 minutes and then stir and serve.

Dressing
1 buttermilk ranch dressing packet (make as per recipe)
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 clove garlic
juice of 1 lime
1 jalapeno
Use the food processor to blend all the ingredients well. Refrigerate.

Chicken
1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
3 cloves garlic-minced
5 lbs. chicken breasts
Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours. Shred meat and cook one additional hour.