Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies   

3/4 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor Shortening

11/4 cup brown sugar ~ packed  

2 tablespoons milk  

1 tablespoon vanilla extract  

1 egg  

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt  

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans ~ optional

Combine shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Beat in egg. Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Mix into shortening mixture until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.Drop by rounded measuring tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes for chewy cookies, or 11 to 13 minutes for crisp cookies. Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet on a cooling rack. Remove cookies to rack to cool completely

Berry Delight

Berry Delight 

35 Nilla Wafers ~ finely crushed

1/4 cup sugar

6 tablespoons butter or margarine ~ melted

1 package {8 ounce} cream cheese ~ softened

2 tablespoons cold milk

1{ 8 ounce} col whip ~ thawed and divided

4 cups fresh strawberries, halved

2 packages {3.4 ounce}Jell-O Vanilla Instant Pudding

3-1/2 cups cold milk

 

Mix wafer crumbs, sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate until ready to use. Beat cream cheese and 2 tablespoons milk in large bowl with whisk until well blended. Stir in half the cool whip; spread over wafer crust. Top with slices berries. Beat pudding mixes and 3-1/2 cups milk with whisk 2 minutes and refrigerate for a couple minutes. Then pour pudding over berries once thickened.Refrigerate for about 4 hours. Spread with remaining cool whipjust before serving. 

French Toast Souffle

French Toast Souffle 

1 bakery loaf of butter crusty bread ~ broken into bite sized pieces

8 ounces cream cheese ~ softened

8 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2/3 cup half and half cream

1 1/4 cups maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

 

Place bread cubes in a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan.In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in milk, half and half, 1/2 cup of the maple syrup, and vanilla until mixture is smooth.  Pour cream cheese mixture over the bread; cover, and refrigerate overnight. {Or you can refrigerate uncovered for about 5-6 hours}. Remove souffle from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.  Pour remaining 3/4 cup maple syrup over souffle, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. 

Stuffed Pepper Stew

Stuffed Pepper Stew 

3 cups cooked rice

1 lb ground beef

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1 cup finely diced onion

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 cans {14.5 oz each} petite diced tomatoes

1 3/4 cups tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth

salt and fresh pepper to taste

In a large pot or skillet brown ground meat on high heat and season with salt. Drain fat , and reduce heat to medium-low, then add in peppers, onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes on low heat till peppers are tender.  Then, add tomatoes, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Add cooked rice into stew mixture and serve immediately.

Parmesan & Garlic Noodles

Parmesan & Garlic Noodles 

1/2 pound linguine pasta
2 tablespoons salted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
 pepper, to taste
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan 

Bring large pot of water up to boil. Sprinkle in a generous amount of salt and stir in pasta. Place linguine back into hot pot and stir in butter, cream, garlic, salt, pepper and cheese until butter and cheese start to melt and create a sauce. Pour in some pasta water to get the sauce to the consistency you want. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. Top with cheese if desired.

Chicken Alfredo & Rice Casserole

 

Chicken Alfredo & Rice Casserole 

1 {10 ounce}Alfredo pasta sauce

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 cups cooked rice

2 cups cooked chicken ~ cubed or shredded 

1 cup frozen peas

1/3 cup chopped red sweet peppers

1/4 cup slivered almonds ~ optional 

1 tablespoon basil

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tablespoon butter ~ melted

In large bowl combine pasta sauce and milk. Stir in rice, chicken, peas, sweet peppers, nuts, and basil. Transfer to lightly greased baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees covered, 30 minutes. Uncover and stir. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter; sprinkle atop. Bake uncovered for an additional 20 to 25 minutes more or until heated through and crumbs are golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Mini Frozen Limeade Pies

We had these for our St. Patrick's Day treat. These are a good summer treat. I love lime, so these are my kind of  dessert. You can make these as is, or make one big pie in a normal pie pan. Either way, your friends, neighbors, family will love it. This is also the graham cracker crust I use anytime I need one. So yummy.

Mini Frozen Limeade Pies

Crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

4 tablespoons melted butter

Mix cracker crumbs and sugar together till well blended. Add in melted butter and mix till crumbs have "absorbed" the butter moisture. Line cupcake pan with liners and scoop about 1 1/2 tablespoons crumbs into each liner. Press crumbs down to form solid crust. Or press crumbs into a slightly greased pie pan and press down till solid crust is formed. 

Filling: 

1 {8 oz cream} cheese ~ softened

1 {14 oz} can sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup frozen limeade concentrate

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix cream cheese in mixer to "fluff" it. Very slowly add in sweetened condensed milk. Continue mixing till smooth. Add in limeade and lemon juice. Continue beating and you can also add in green food coloring to desired shade. Scoop about 1/8-1/4 cup of filling into cupcake liners over crumb crust. Smooth out limeade mixture and freeze for about 1 hour, or until firm. 

Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

In mixer bowl, whip cream till peaks/stiffens. Add in sugar slowly and then vanilla. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of whip cream over top of each cup, {or whole pie} just before serving.