Chocolate Brownies

These are more of a cake like brownie (almost a texas sheet cake style)

2 cups sugar

2 sticks soft or melted butter

7 Tbsp cocoa

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp vanilla

**can add nuts if you want to, or sprinkle on the top of the brownie

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine ingredients in order mixing well after each addition. Put in a 9x13 pan and bake for 25 minutes.

FROSTING

2 cups powdered sugar

½ stick (4oz) cream cheese

1 stick butter soft or melted

4 Tbsp cocoa

Add Evaporated milk to make desired consistency

Spread over brownies while still hot from the oven for the smooth look.

Tortellini Spinach Bake in Creamy Lemon Sauce

Recipe by Our Best Bites

12 oz bag Barilla Cheese & Spinach Tortelini (find them in the dry pasta aisle)


4 oz bacon or pancetta, (about 4 strips bacon)*


3 cloves garlic, pressed in garlic press or finely minced


2 Tbs flour


2 C milk

3/4 tsp kosher salt


1/8 tsp black pepper


1 1/2 tsp dry basil


1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (1/2 tsp or more if you like spicy)


1 medium lemon


2 C loosely packed fresh spinach, roughly chopped


3/4 C grated mozzarella cheese, divided


3/4 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large stock pot with water and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook according to package instructions.

Place bacon in a medium sized skillet on the stove-top at medium-high heat. Cook until crisp. Remove bacon from pan with slotted spoon and set on paper towels to drain. Reserve two tablespoons bacon drippings in pan and discard the rest. Add garlic to pan and cook until fragrant and tender, about 1 minute. Add flour to pan and stir with a whisk for about 1 minute. Slowly add milk and continue to stir with whisk until smooth.

Add salt, pepper, basil, and red pepper flakes and bring sauce to a simmer.

While sauce is heating, use a microplane grater or a fine-holed cheese grater to zest lemon. Then cut lemon in half and remove juice. Add 2 teaspoons zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to sauce. Continue to stir until thickened, 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Drain tortellini and place back in stock pot. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the cooked bacon and add the rest to the pasta mixture. Add spinach, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Add sauce and gently stir to combine. Place pasta mixture in an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish and top with remaining 1/4 cup mozarella and 1/4 cup parmesan and also crumbled bacon.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until cheese on top is melted and pasta is bubbly throughout. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

* For a vegetarian meal, omit bacon.

Serves 4-6

Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup

5 potatoes diced with skins on

1 onion chopped

3/4 cup carrots shredded

2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli,if fresh cut in small bites

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can of chicken broth

16 oz. Velveeta cheese

1/2 cup half-n-half or milk

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground mustard

Cook chopped onion and carrots in can of chicken broth until tender. Cook potatoes in can of cream of chicken soup and 3 cans of water just until tender. Steam fresh broccoli just until barely tender.

Combine onions and carrots with potatoes and add broccoli. Add milk and Velveeta cheese. Add rest of seasonings. Done when cheese is melted.

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

{image from Amy's Finer Things}

1/2 cup butter or margarine-softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

40 mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Beat butter, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. In separate bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture. Roll into 1 inch balls. Place in greased mini muffin pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. When done, place peanut butter cup into cookie and press down. Let cool in pan before removing. Yields about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Lemon Ice Box Pie...

1 can sweetened condensed milk

6 oz. frozen lemonade

6 oz. cool whip

1 graham cracker pie crust

Mix well and pour into graham cracker crust. Chill in fridge for a few hours before serving.

I like to make strawberry danish dessert with sliced strawberries to serve over the top.

Lemon Jello Cake

1 lemon cake mix
1 small box lemon jello
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon rind
1 small box instant white chocolate jello pudding mix
1 1/2 cups milk
1 small tub cool whip

Make the cake according to the box directions. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Dissolve the lemon jello in the hot water. Add the lemon juice and rind. Poke holes in the warm cake with a large fork and pour the jello over the top of the cake. Put in the fridge for several hours.
Mix the white chocolate pudding with the milk until it starts to thicken. Fold in the cool whip and frost the cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Feta Dip

olive oil
1 block (8 oz) of feta cheese  (if you can buy the block, not the precrumbled -its sort of dry)
tomatoes (any kind)…I use about 3-4 Roma’s
1 bunch of green onions (I used 4 stalks)
1 baguette
Greek Seasoning (see pic below)
1 large platter


1. Wet the platter generously with olive oil. 2. Dice the green onions and tomatoes. 3. Throw them on the olive oil. 4. Crumble the feta cheese and throw that on the platter.  4. Sprinkle the Greek Seasoning on top.  (I use about 2-3 tsp.)  (I got at Albertsons) 4. Mix it gently all together…  5.  Until it looks like this.  5.  Slice the baguette.  A special word about the bread…it MAKES the dip.  I have found that the best bread is FRESH, bakery kind….the kind that comes in the long skinny paper bag.   You want it bite-sized and you want to cut it thin… 6.  …because this is how people will “dip”.  Or you can include a spoon if the people you hang around with are super polite and dainty.  I have never found that to be necessary.



 Pictures and recipe from: Clover Lane

Oreo Popcorn

1 C. White chocolate chips
Oreos
Popcorn (Either 1 bag popped or 1 batch in the air popper)

Directions: Make your popcorn, set aside. Take out a row of Oreos and crush them in a ziploc bag using your fingers (you could also use a rolling pin), set aside. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave on 50% power for 30 seconds and then in 15 second increments until all chips are melted. (Note: If you use too much heat the chips turn into dough...I, of course, didn't ruin half a bag by doing this...).

Place popcorn in a fairly large bowl, pour the melted white chocolate over the popcorn, add the crushed oreos, mix carefully until the popcorn and oreos are coated. You can then either leave it in the bowl or pour it out onto a cookie sheet for the chocolate to harden. Voila! You are done!

Slow Cooker Tomato Soup...

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 C finely diced celery
1 C finely diced carrots
1 C finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried basil
4 C chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 C flour
1 C Parmesan cheese
1/2 C butter
2 C half and half warmed
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, chicken broth, oregano, basil and bay leaf in crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours until veggies are soft. About an hour before serving make a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 mins. Slowly stin in 1 c hot soup. Add another 3 c and stir until smooth. Add back into the crock pot. Stir in Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for another hour until ready to serve.

If you don't want to do this soup in a crock pot you can just do it on the stove in a pot and it works great. I just followed the directions but I boiled it until the veggies were soft and then brought it to a boil and let it boil for a few minutes. I also added shredded chicken and some kidney beans. I put shredded white cheese on top and crusty bread. Enjoy!

**Emily's notes
I like to use an immersion blender before the roux step.  I like it smooth and creamy.

Green Chili Enchilada Casserole

This recipe makes to big batches, for some reason it does not taste the same if you try to half it. So make two batches and share one or freeze the other. This dish freezes nice.

Mix the following ingredients in a pan on medium heat. Heat enough to mix all ingredients well, but do not boil this cream mixture. (visually divide the above cream mixture into 4 equal parts)

1 large (26 oz) can cream of mushroom

1 large (26 oz) can cream of chicken

16 oz tub of sour cream

1 cup of milk

3 (7 oz) cans of green chiles (do not drain)

1 bunch of green onions diced

1 tablespoon of salt

1 tablespoon of pepper

Tear 2 bags of flour tortillas into bite size pieces (divide into 6 piles)

Shred 2 rotisserie chickens (1 for each pan)

you will also need 3 bags of shredded cheese (1 ½ per pan)(divide into 6 piles)

Layer in 2 foil pans the following

a layer of torn tortillas

a layer of cheese

a layer of mixture

a layer of torn tortillas

a layer of cheese

a layer of all of 1 rotisserie chicken

a layer of mixture

a layer of tortillas

a layer of cheese

Bake uncovered on 375 degrees for 35-50 minutes depending on how crunchy you like the top layer.

Freeze uncooked casserole, covered and then bake frozen on 375 degrees for an 75-90 minutes depending on how crunchy you like the top.

Tequila Lime Chicken

I'm going to marinate this tonight and try it tomorrow.

3 whole limes-juiced

5 cloves garlic-peeled

1 whole jalapeno, sliced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup cilantro

1/2 cup tequila (optional)

5 TBS. olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup monterey jack cheese, grated

pico de gallo

beans, pinto or black

mexican rice

sour cream

avocado

tortillas

Combine lime juice, garlic cloves, jalapeno, salt, cilantro and tequila (optional) in a food processor or blender. Pulse until combined. Turn on the blender and drizzle the olive oil in until it's all combined.

Slightly flatten chicken breasts with a mallet or the bottom of a heavy skillet. Place in a ziplock bag and pour in marinade. Seal bag and marinate for several hours or overnight (preferably).

When ready to cook, remove chicken from bag and place on grill. Cook until completely done. Toward the end of cooking, top with grated monterey cheese and allow to melt. Serve topped with pico de gallo, salsa along with beads mexican rice, sour cream, avocado and tortillas.

Broccoli, Chicken Bake

4 chicken breasts-cooked

2 lbs. fresh broccoli, well trimmed and cooked

1 can (10 ½ oz.) cream of chicken soup

½ cup milk

¼ cup mayo

¼ cup sour cream

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 tsp. lemon juice

½ cup bread crumbs or grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Simmer chicken in water with onion, carrot, salt and pepper until tender. In casserole dish, arrange cooked broccoli and chicken. Make a sauce by combining soup, milk, mayo and sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add cheese, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli to cover. Cover with parmesan cheese or bread crumbs if desired. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until bubbly.

Hawaiian Dream Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drain but save juice

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

8 oz. cool whip

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding

1 cup milk

shredded coconut

pecans (optional)

Mix cake according to directions, substituting water with pineapple juice. Pour into greased and flour cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Cool in pan. Mix softened cream cheese with pudding, milk and drained pineapple. Spread on cooled cake. Spread cool whip over top and sprinkle with coconut and pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chip Cookies

3 eggs

1 lb. margarine

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 cups brown sugar

Cream above ingredients together. Then add:

2 TBS. vanilla

6 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips

Add a little more flour at high altitude.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12-17 minutes.

Carmel Popcorn

Pop 1/2 bag of air pop popcorn

1 cup dark karo

2 2/3 cups brown sugar

1 can eagle brand condensed milk

1 cube butter

Bring sugar, karo and butter to boil. Add milk and cook to softball stage. Pour over popcorn and set on wax paper to cool.