Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies

½ C shortening
1 C sugar
1 egg
½ C milk
1 tsp vanilla

1 ¾ C flour
½ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
½ C (or a little less) cocoa
½ C nuts (optional)

Mix together shortening, sugar, egg, milk and vanilla. Add the remaining dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. Cut large marshmallows in half. During last 2 minutes place marshmallow halves on top of each cookie and finish baking. Frost.

Frosting:
2-3 TBS butter
2 C powdered sugar mixed with ¼ C cocoa
Mix together with 1 tsp vanilla and dash of salt .
Add milk until desired consistency is reached.

Butterscotch Pumpkin Cake

My neighbor brought this to us after my twins were born, and I'm pretty sure I ate half of the cake myself. I don't have a picture, but trust me, this cake is yummy!

1 bag butterscotch morsels, divided
2 c. flour
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside. Stir together pumpkin, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl with a wire whisk; set aside. Microwave 1 c. butterscotch morsels on high for one minute; stir until melted. (Continue to microwave in 15-second intervals if necessary.) Add melted morsels to pumpkin mixture and stir until smooth. Stir in flour mixture. Spoon into greased bundt pan; bake at 350* for 40 - 45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes; remove cake from pan and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with butterscotch sauce.

Butterscotch Sauce:

1/3 c. evaporated milk

Remaining butterscotch morsels

Heat evaporated milk over medium-high heat just to boiling; remove from heat. Add morsels; stir until smooth. Return to heat and bring mixture just to boiling, stirring constantly. Cool to room temperature; stir before serving.

Cookie Cake

I don't know what this is really called; "Cookie Cake" is what my daughter calls it. All I know is that these cookie bars are SO. GOOD. My husband and I almost came to blows over who got the last one! (Sorry I don't have a picture.)

1 pkg. (18 oz.) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough*
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg

Spread 1/2 of the cookie dough on the bottom of a greased 9" pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar, and egg until smooth; pour over cookie dough. Top with remaining cookie dough and bake at 350* for 35 - 40 minutes or until middle layer is set. Slice into bars; store leftovers in refrigerator.

*I actually used my own chocolate chip cookie recipe instead of the prepared cookie dough

Teriyaki Chicken

Got this off of my friend Kelsey's blog. Both Doug and my mom (she was out here visiting) LOVED it.

Teriyaki Chicken

2-3 lbs cut up chicken
1 can evaporated milk
Wash and dry chicken. Place in shallow container. Cover with evaporated milk for 1 hour. (I didn't have it in the whole hour). Drain and then coat with flour. Brown in oil and drain. Place in large shallow baking pan, marinate in teriyaki sauce for 45 minutes turning once. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with rice and veggies.

Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 c soy sauce
1/2 c water
1 c sugar
1 T pineapple juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 ts. ground ginger

DELISH DELISH DELISH!!

Malibu Melt Wraps

This is a recipe I tried from the thisweekfordinner blog.

It was so easy and yummy we had it two night in a row

Grilled or Breaded Chicken

(I'll either buy some Tyson chicken strips or just grill some chicken breasts)
Swiss
Avocado
Romaine
Tomato
Honey Mustard

This is a wrap that they have at Tacone restaurants... I'm planning on using hot/warm chicken, heating the tortilla/warp on the stove and melting the swiss cheese on the wrap. Toss the romaine lettuce in the honey mustard, put it all together like a burrito.

(Adrienne Note)
I like to make this honey mustard recipe:
(from allrecipes.com)

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
  In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, and lemon juice. Store covered in the refrigerator.
  

Three-Cheese Stuffed Manicotti

This is a Healthy Choice recipe that I've had for a while, and it's not half bad. I think the only reason I don't make it more is because of the (small amount of) effort it takes to stuff the noodles. (sorry about the bad lighting -- I really need lessons from Steph or someone.)





8 Manicotti shells (cook, rinse and let stand in warm water)
1 3/4 c. pasta sauce
1 (10 oz) pkg chopped spinach -- defrosted and well-drained
1 c low-fat ricotta
2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1 T shredded parmesan
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 c shredded mozarella

Put 3/4 c. sauce in 12x8 baking dish. Combine spinach, first 2 cheeses, egg, garlic and stuff 1/4 c mixture into each shell. Pour rest of sauce over the top and bake, covered on 400 for 15-20 min. Sprinkle with mozarella and bake uncovered 'til melted.

Chewy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are my new favorite cookies -- I know they are nothing special, but I've been on a subconcious search for a good recipe for probably years now. Whenever I need a good oatmeal cookie I try random recipes from my books and they always turn out not the way I'd hoped. Well these fulfilled my every hope -- and even though I AM a firm believer in raisins in my oatmeal cookies -- I'm loving the chocolate lately. Can't claim it though -- I got it off of Allrecipes. There were suggesteions for modifications and I followed them and they turned out great!

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (i used almost 1/2 c. more)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (i used a whole teaspoon)
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts (not for me!)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.