Chocolate Shortbread Bars

Our cute aunt Lynn made this delicious treat for Thanksgiving years ago and we have been enjoying the recipe a myriad of times since. Because it is Lynn's recipe, we loving call these "Lynn's Cookies." Now, you all don't have the pleasure of knowing our sweet aunt Lynn, so I made up a new more descriptive name for them. They really are one of my absolute favorite treats. Buttery shortbread taste and a mix of chocolate make for a treat you will be craving too!
(Sorry again for no picture...they always seem to get eaten before I remember to get a picture! I'll try to remember next time I make them, which will probably not be too long from now!)

1 C (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 C flour
1/2 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 + 1 1/2 cups milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips (according taste preference- I use the 1/2 cup semi-sweet mixed with the canned milk, another 1/2 cup semi-sweet and 1 cup Guittard milk chocolate chips for the topping)
14 oz. can sweet and condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 C chopped nuts (walnuts), optional
With a handmixer, beat butter until creamy. Add flour, sugar, salt and mix to crumbly (mix on low for just a few second and then can use knives to "cut" the mixture until you have pea size clumps). Gently measure 2 cups "pea size" mix and press into the bottom or a 9 x 13 glass pan, so it forms a crust. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until light golden brown on edges. While baking, put 1/2 cup chocolate chips and canned milk in a saucepan and stir until melted and blended. Turn off heat and add vanilla. Spread over hot crust. Mix 1 1/2 c chocolate chips, remaining "pea mix," and walnuts with a fork. Sprinkle on top and bake at 350 for an additional 25-30 minutes. Cool before cutting. Enjoy! I like to cut mine into only about 1-1 1/2 inch bars because they are so rich! Besides, you don't feel as bad when you take two!

Olive Garden Alfredo Pasta

My friend Janet made this for a group of friends she had over. She said that she has been trying all different Alfredo recipes and likes this one best! (It's actually from the website Top Secret Recipes.) This sauce was absolutely delicious! She served it sort of "pasta bar" style with all kinds of delectable things to choose from, chicken pieces, broccoli, artichoke hearts and other yummy toppings. Then spoon over this fabulously CREAMY, FAST and EASY sauce! She shared the secret of this recipe that makes it her favorite and makes it so creamy...the GREEN CAN of Parmesan cheese! Hey, I can do the no grating thing, and no guilt because it does make the best sauce- no lumps!

When I serve it, I usually put bite size chicken pieces in the sauce and serve it with cooked broccoli. Serving it on the plate order is noodles, broccoli, then sauce with chicken in it. It is my family's new favorite. My kids even now like it better than spaghetti sauce...but then again, they have good taste! Another thing I like about this recipe is that it's completely from my freezer and pantry! I use evaporated milk instead of cream, minced garlic in a jar (a fabulous new treasure I found at Costco!), you can use frozen broccoli (although fresh is my favorite, bagged fresh from Costco again), and the rest you can figure out! This is delicious served with these breadsticks.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 teaspoon minced in a jar-can also use granular but not as good)

2 cups heavy cream (or evaporated milk)

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

pinch salt

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (the Kraft green can kind!)

12 ounces fettuccine pasta (or your choice of pasta)

Toppings of choice (optional)

Can also top with fresh grated Parmesan

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add garlic and let cook a minute. Add cream/evaporated milk, pepper and salt, and bring mixture to a simmer. Turn the heat down if the mixture reaches a rapid boil, you just want a simmer. Add the cheese, and continue to simmer sauce 8 minutes or until thick, stirring occasionally. You can start the broccoli and the noodles just before the sauce and they will be done about the same time. (If you don't have cooked chicken pieces, start 2 small or l large chicken breasts boiling first, when cooked, drain well, cut up and can add to the sauce when thick or serve separately.)

New and Improved Peanut Butter Blossoms

I will tell you this right now...I am a sucker for peanut butter and chocolate! Anytime I have a choice of dessert, it usually involves both of those yummy and fattening ingredients! But if you're going to have a treat, you might as well ENJOY IT!!! You will definately enjoy these! I like this recipe because it uses butter and the recipe on the back of the Hershey's kiss bags have you use shortening, which is too much solid fat for me. (O.k., I know I just said I don't mind fattening, but atleast it makes me FEEL like I'm trying to be a little healthier!)
I made these at Valentine's and used Hershey's "extra creamy" milk chocolate hearts and they were sooo delicious! I also found they were easier to eat than with kisses on them, so look for them at Valentine's Day time!





1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar (plus additional to roll dough in)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Hershey's kisses (or hearts!)
Soften butter or bring to room temperature and cream with sugars. Add egg, vanilla, and peanut butter (don't forget my sister's hint and put plastic wrap in the measuring cup first to make life much easier!) Add dry ingredients. Roll into just over 1 inch balls and roll in a bowl with the extra sugar until barely covered and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes at 375 degrees. (The edges of the cookies will be just beginning to crack, if the middle is cracking, you've baked them too long!) As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press the kiss or heart on the center. Let them cool until the chocolate has cooled through the soft phase (it takes a while, although we always get impatient and stick them in the fridge to finish cooling after a while because they look too good!) Enjoy!

Note: The original recipe tells you to cook them 8 minutes, put kisses on, then to cook for a couple more minutes. You can try that too if you find that the kiss falls off the cookies too much!

Favorite Breadsticks

My family LOVES these, but I think what makes this my favorite breadstick recipe is that they are something that I can make even if the"What's for dinner?" question doesn't come to mind until 5:00Pm! They only take about an hour and by 6:00PM I can have warm breadsticks to go with my favorite soup or pasta recipe or whatever! This recipe is a combination of two similar recipes from two very reliable sources, so I adopted it as my own! Thanks Kristen and Melanie! If you want to see a picture, click here!

HELPFUL HINT: So before I start the recipe, I have to share something I was taught that has been priceless when it comes to bread making! In all of the recipes that use yeast, it says to combine yeast with "warm water." What in the world does that mean? The word "warm" means different things to different people! To my mom's dishwater-ravaged hands "warm" water burns mine! So a very skilled bread-and-roll-master friend of mine (she's over 70...oh how we need to learn from the wiser generation) says that you need to turn on the tap and let the water run over the inside of your wrist (the same place where you would shake a baby's bottle of milk to test it.) If it feels too hot to give it to a baby to drink, you will kill the yeast. If it feels too cold to give to a baby, it won't effectively activate the yeast. (For you thermometer happy people...it's about 110 degrees.) So there you have it! The definition of "warm water!" Thanks Kathryn!

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Butter for pan (4-8 Tablespoons depending on how gooey you want to make them!)

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Add sugar and let it sit and bubble for a few minutes. Add the flour and salt. Knead for 3 minutes (adding a little more flour if needed.) Let dough rest for 10 minutes. Melt butter and pour on a cookie sheet. Roll dough on a floured surface, about the size of the cookie sheet. Cut rolled dough to desired width ( I sometimes cut mine in half length-wise as well to make make more and make them easier to work with.) Return dough to the original shape on the cookie sheet by rolling each piece in the butter on the pan and twisting the dough or laying it flat. Sprinkle with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and parsley (or whatever.) Let rise about 15-30 minutes. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until golden. These come out puffy and soft, but if you want them thin and crunchy, use dough to roll out enough to fill 1 1/2 cookie sheets. Enjoy!

Cheese Soup

Soup is by far my favorite comfort food! This soup is one I have made for many years and is always a favorite. My sister-in-law Allison shared this recipe with me and I am so grateful! Yummy, creamy, feel-good, home cookin'!
The soup in this picture has been served with my favorite and fast breadstick recipe! If you want to see the recipe, click here!

8-10 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 tsp salt

Put these ingredients in a pot and cover with enough water to cover veggies well. Boil until veggies are tender. (Before the next step, I like to drain out some of the water and save it just in case I have been overzealous on the veggie cutting and end up with too much water. You can always add some of the water in again if it needs thinning.)

Ten minutes before serving add:

2 cups chopped broccoli (I use just the flowers)

16 oz. Cheese Whiz or Velveeta

1 can Cream of Celery Soup

Salt and pepper to taste

Just a note: I am actually a real cheese soup connoisseur and contrary to what you might believe, Cheese Whiz and Velveeta actually make a better soup. I have tried grated cheese and it just isn't as creamy, so don't be afraid to use it! This is a no fail, simple, fast recipe...and now it's even faster thanks to my new Food Processor I got for Christmas! Thanks so much Santa's helpers!!!