Double Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Kathleen sent me this recipe.

1 ½ cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 cups uncooked quick oats
6 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
Combine sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla
Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Add oats and chocolate chips. Dough will be very stiff. Add up to ¼ cup water if needed (I didn’t). Form tablespoon-size balls and place on prepared cookie sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake 10 – 12 minutes (I baked 10).

Makes 4 dozen.

Tips from our test kitchen: This batter can be refrigerated for an hour to firm it up before baking (I didn’t). An additional cup of chocolate chips and ½ cup of chopped walnuts are also good in this soft and chewy cookie.

Nutritional facts per cookie: 100 calories, 5g fat, 2g protein, 13g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, 65mg sodium.

Shephard's Pie

I got this recipe from my friend Sierra. It's way good.

1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 onion
1-2 cups veggies (carrots, corn, peas, green beans)
1 1/2-2 lbs potatoes (3 large ones)
8 T butter
1/2 cup ceef broth
1 t Worchestershire sauce
salt, pepper, other seasonings (I like to use garlic salt)

1 Peel and quarter potatoes, boil in salted water until tender (about 20 minutes)
2 While potatoes are cooking, melt 4 T butter in a larger frying pan
3 Saute onions in butter until tender over medium heat (10 min). If you are adding veggies, add them according to cook time. Put any carrots in with onions. Add corn or peas either at the end of cooking the onions or after the meat is initially cooked.
4 Add ground beef and saute until no longer pink. Add salt and pepper. Add worchestershire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook uncovered over low heat for 10 minutes, adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist.
5 Mash potatoes in bowl with remainder of butter, season to taste.
6 Place beef and veggies in a baking dish. Distribute mashed potatoes over top. Rough up with a fork to make peaks that will brown nicely.
7 Cook in 400 degree oven until bubbling and brown (about 25-30 min). Broil for last couple minutes if necessary to brown.
Enjoy!

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 small can diced green chilies

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans refried beans

1 can corn or 1 c. frozen corn

1 can chicken

Combine all ingredients and cook in crock pot on low 6-8 hours.

To serve, top with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, lime juice, cilantro, if desired.

Enchilada Soup

2 cans Enchilada sauce (I use old El Paso because it's a little spicier than La Victoria- the hotter the better!)
1 can Cream of Chicken soup (if you like it a little thicker- Jared does- use one more can)
3 cans chicken broth
1 large can chicken
1/2 cup crushed tortilla chips
Heat and serve with sour cream, cheese, and more tortilla chips!

(This is also very easy to do in the crockpot, which Mom does a lot)

Cheesecake Brownies

1 pkg Brownie Mix

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Make brownies as directed on box, pour into 9 x 13 inch pan.

Beat cream cheese until smooth, mix in sugar until blended. Add egg and vanilla. Pour mixture over brownies and cut through with knife to make swirling effect.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Key Lime Pie

If you like tangy,Key Lime Pie, like they serve at the Blonde Giraffe in Key West , (One trip we spent $75 there eating just pie), you'll like this. And it, seriously, couldn't be easier to make. I have my brother-in-law, Phil, to thank for this great recipe! One 9" graham craker pie shell
One 14 oz. can sweetened condesnsed milk
3 egg yolks (whites not used)
1/2 cup Nellie &Joes Key West Lime Juice (Find it by the lemon juice at Smith's, Target, Lees)

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour into shell and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating. Just before serving, top with whipping cream and garnish with lime slices.

Maple Blondies

If you've ver had these at Applebees you know how delish they are.

3/4 c. butter, softened

2 c. brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Mix together, put into 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 min.

Sauce: 1 c. maple syrup

2 Tbs. butter

1/4 evaporated milk

Bring syrup and butter to boil. Cook for 3 min. Remove from heat and stir in milk.

To serve: pour sauce over blondie and ice cream, top with chopped pecans.