Oatmeal Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick cooking oats
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter or margarine, 1/2 cup peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3. Drop by teaspoons onto greased baking sheet, and press each mound down with a fork to form 1/4 inch thick cookies. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown.
4. To Make Filling: Cream 3 tablespoons butter or margarine with the confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the cream. Spread filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches.

Apple Bread

Apple Bread

2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp soda
2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
3 c flour
1 1/2 c oil
1 can apple pie filling, chopped

Mix all together. Use pastry brush to grease 3 loaf pans with very soft butter (the more butter the better) and use granulated sugar to coat instead of flour (the more sugar the better). Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Let cool and wrap with plastic.

Pomegranate Dip

Amazing Pomegranate Dip

1 small pomegranate
1 tomato, chopped
2 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped
1 avocado, chopped
¼ tsp. coriander
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. salt

Serve with Fritos.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

Mexican Chicken Casserole

This is great because the recipe uses lower-fat options, but I've included my own personal preferences in parentheses.

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth (I just use 1 bullion cube dissolved in a cup of boiling water)
2 (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles, divided
1 3/4 lb skinned, boned chicken breasts
2 tsp olive oil
1 c chopped onion
1 c evaporated skim milk (I use good old 1%)
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I was out of this so I just left it out and added more cream cheese)
1/4 c tub-style light cream cheese (I use about 4 oz of regular cream cheese)
1 (10 oz) can enchilada sauce
12 (6-in) corn tortillas (I usually only have small flour tortillas on hand, so that's what I use - I only needed about 6)
cooking spray
1/2 c shredded reduced-fat extra sharp cheddar cheese (regular cheddar for us)
1 ounce tortilla chips, crushed - about 6 chips (6?! I crushed a good handful of leftover Cafe Rio chips - YUM)

Combine broth and 1 can of chiles in a large skillet; bring to a boil. Add chicken; reduce heat, and simmer 15 min or until chicken is done, turning chicken once. Remove chicken from cooking liquid, reserving liquid; cool chicken. Shred meat with two forks and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add 1 can of chiles and onion; saute 3 min or until soft. Add reserved cooking liquid, milk, Jack and cream cheese, and enchilada sauce; stir well. Stir in shredded chicken; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Place 4 tortillas in the bottom of a 2-quart casserole coated with cooking spray. Spoon 2 cups chicken mixture over tortillas. Repeat layers twice, ending with chicken mixture. (I used a 9" glass cake pan and layered 1 tortilla with the chicken mixture until the chicken was gone, or til I reached the top of the pan.) Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and chips. Bake at 350 for 30 min or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 10 min before serving.

Ginger Cream Cookies

Ginger Creams

1 c shortening
1 c brown sugar
3/4 c molasses
3/4 c hot water
2 tsp soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
4 c flour

Mix ingredients til well combined. Batter will be very sticky. Bake in oven set to 350 for 10-15 minutes (check after 10 minutes) on a well-greased cookie sheet. Once cool, frost and dip in finely chopped nuts, if desired.

Frosting:
2 c powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp vanilla or orange flavoring or lemon juice

(Cream cheese frosting is another excellent option)

Spinach & Feta Pasta

Spinach & Feta Pasta

1 box of Penne pasta (whole wheat pasta works great as an option)
olive oil
Italian seasoning
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
3 cups fresh spinach
1 onion, finely choped
5 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
a big handful of fresh mushrooms, chopped
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
salt & pepper to taste
Note: I add about 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tbsp sugar, and about 1/2 c half & half (add only after pan has been removed from the heat), and I only used about 3 cloves of garlic.

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add pasta. Cook according to package directions. In the meantime, heat some olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms and cook until tender (add Italian seasoning if you want). Add spinach and cook until wilted. Add tomatoes, heat through, add drained pasta and crumbled feta. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve; you can crumble extra feta on top if you feel like it. This is very similar to the Penne Rosa at Noodles & Co.

Broccoli Salad

2 heads broccoli, cut up into small pieces
1 head Romaine lettuce, shredded
3 green onions, chopped
handful sunflower seeds (without shell)
handful bacon bits (hard kind)

Dressing:
1/2 C. mayo (not Miracle Whip)
1/4 C. sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar

Mix everything together.

Asparagus & Feta Pasta Salad

Tomato basil feta cheese, crumbled
Penne or Rotini pasta
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 bunch asparagus, steamed & cut up
salt & pepper to taste

Dressing:
1/4 C. balsamic vinegar
3/4 C. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. red onion, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. sour cream
juice of a lime

Toss salad ingredients together in large bowl. Mix dressing gently into salad.

Grilled BBQ Chicken Wraps

1 lb. chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. Zesty Italian Dressing
1/2 C. BBQ sauce, divided
4 large tortillas (this is really good with the spinach tortillas)
1 C. cheese
1 tomato, chopped
chopped cilantro
onion-chopped

Brush chicken with dressing. Cook on grill. Brush with BBQ sauce for last few minutes. Slice chicken. Spoon a little BBQ sauce into each tortilla and spread around. Top with chicken, cheese, tomoatoes, onions, and cilantro. Roll up burrito style. Grill on BBQ for a couple minutes. Serves 4.

Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken

1 lb. chicken breasts, cut up into bite size pieces
2 Tbsp. (1/2 of a 1 1/4 oz pkg.) Taco Seasoning Mix
2 Tbsp. flour
green pepper, chopped
red pepper, chopped
1 C. frozen corn
1 1/2 C. salsa
cheese
rice

Toss chicken with seasoning and flour in slow cooker. Stir in vegetables and salsa. Cover. Cook on Low 6-8 hours or on High 3-4 hours. Stir. Top with cheese. Serve over rice.

We like this in tortillas. We put the rice in the tortillas with the chicken mixture.

Spicy Cajun Chicken Pasta

1/2 stick butter
1 chicken bouillon dissolved in 1 cup boiling water
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
salt
1/2 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 chicken breasts, cut up into small pieces
1/4 tsp. white pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 12 oz. box fettucine
6 mushrooms, sliced

Melt 2 tbsp. butter in large skillet. Saute the peppers, onion, & garlic in butter for 8 to 10 minutes. As veggies are cooking, prepare medium pan over high heat with olive oil. When pan is hot, add chicken and cook, stirring for 5 to 7 minutes or until chicken shows no pink. When veggies are soft, add the chicken to the pan. Add the tomatoes, mushrooms, chicken bouillon, and all spices. Continue to simmer 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta and drain. Add remaining butter to pasta. Toss the pasta with chicken mix.

Spinach Dip

10 oz. frozen chopped spinach (Put in pan of water on stove until thawed and strain)
16 oz. sour cream
1 C. mayo
1 pkg. Knorr vegetable dip
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts (chopped up very fine)
3 green onions chopped up

Mix together. Dip cut up french bread in this.

Zucchini Bread (Very Good and Moist!)

3 C. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 tsps. cinnamon
3 eggs
1 C. vegetable oil
2 1/2 C. sugar
3 tsp. vanilla
2 C. grated zucchini

Grease and flour 2 8x4 inch pans. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a bowl. Add sifted ingredients to creamed mixture and beat well. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-60 minutes. Bread is done when toothpick comes out clean.

I love to make this in the summer time when I have fresh zucchini from the garden! Yum!

Broccoli & Cauliflower Salad

2 heads broccoli-cut into small pieces
1 head cauliflower-cut into small pieces
small purple onion-chopped
1/3 C. bacon bits (soft kind)
1/2 C. sunflower seeds (without shells)
1/2 C. raisins
1 C. grape tomatoes

Dressing: (make 1 1/2 times; so add 1/2 to each ingredient)
1 C. mayo
1/3 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. red vinegar

Mix & pour over salad.

Easy and healthy Chicken!

Dont pass this recipe up! Its so incredibly easy that even I can do it.....trust me, that says a lot, if I can pull a recipe together. My family loved this and its healthy at the same time!
Im a total eye-baller....but this recipe doesnt really call for many measurements. Im sure it has a way to measure to the "t" but just eye ball it like I do and measure accordingly to the size of your family! Enjoy!

Yogurt Chicken

Chicken Breast thawed but do not cook or boil.
Have one bowl full of (about 4 cups) Fat free plain yogurt and then have another bowl
full of CRUSHED Ritz crackers. (I just put 2 packages of Ritz Crackers in a zip lock baggie and crushed them into
very tiny peices. You can also crush them with a rolling pin)
Dip uncooked chicken into the bowl of FAT FREE plain Yogurt then......
Dip chicken into the bowl of crumbled Ritz Crackers (SOOO YUMMY!)
Place all of your chicken on a baking sheet and then melt about 1/4 cup of butter.
Drizzle that butter on top of the chicken and let the ritz cracker soak it up for a
bit.....
place in the oven on 350-400 depending on how your oven works and let bake for 45mins.
This meal is soooo good, and really, the butter on top makes it sooooo dang yummy!
Hope you and your family enjoy it as much as we did. There is a sauce for dipping, but
I havent done that part of the recipe yet :)
THANKS JILL for letting me into the blog :)

Banana Bread or Muffins

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening or butter
3 mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda (dissolved in 1/2 cup of hot water)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
* 1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Cream sugar and butter (or shortening). Add bananas and egg. Add dry ingredients separatley, then mix with batter and add water. Add nuts.

*Add hot water if batter is stiff.

Bake at 375 degrees for 1/2 hour for muffins. 40-45 min. for loaves.

Homemade Oreos

1 Box Devil Food Cake Mix (without pudding)
3/4 Cup Shortening
2 Eggs

Mix dough throughly- will be thick. Roll into round walnut size balls.

Bake at 350 degress on ungreased cookie sheet for 7-8 min.

Allow to cool then frost with vanilla frosting and sandwitch the cookies together.

Enjoy!

Fajitas

1 lb. chicken or steak (Cut into small pieces)
1 or 2 bell peppers (whatever colors you like)(chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)
Lawry's Fajita seasoning
Tortillas

Cook chicken or steak in skillet and add bell peppers and onion. Cook until meat is no longer pink and veggies are tender. Add fajita seasoning and 1/4 C. water. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for a couple minutes. Spoon into tortillas and garnish with cheese.

7 Layer Salad

1 large head of chopped romaine lettuce (Spinach is also yummy)
1 cucumber sliced
1 tomato diced
1/2 red onion finely diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 lb bacon fried and chopped
8 oz (or more) Shredded cheddar cheese
Mayonnaise

Use a large serving bowl(big enough to toss the salad in), and begin by seasoning the bowl itself with olive oil and garlic salt. Then layer in the following order:

lettuce
cucumber
tomato
onion
spread mayo on top (enough to cover, but don't go crazy or it will be soggy)
peas
bacon (let it cool first)
Cheese

Prep the night before and keep it in the fridge overnight, but I can't wait that long. Seriously, it's that good! It tastes great either way! Makes for a pretty presentation in a glass bowl. Toss right before serving.