Chocolate Delight

You will need:

Crust:
3 C finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
½ C white sugar
¾ C {1 ½ sticks} melted butter
½ t cinnamon {heaping tsp}

Filling:
1 {8 ounce} package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold milk
1 (12 ounce) tub whipped topping, thawed, divided or heavy whipped cream {recipe
below}
3 1/4 cups cold milk
2 pkg. (4 serving size) Jello Chocolate Instant Pudding
1 dark chocolate candy bar for garnish

Crush graham crackers. I put them in a ziplock and rolled over with my rolling pin.

Mix graham cracker crumbs with 1/2 c. sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter.

Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes. Cool completely.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk in medium bowl well blended. Stir in 1 & 1/4
cups of the whipped topping.

Spread over cooled crust.

Mix pudding and milk according to package.

Spread over cream cheese layer. Let stand about 5 minutes or until thickened.

Top with remaining whipped topping. Garnish with chocolate shavings.

Serve and enjoy!

Yum!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
• 4 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 1 (6 ounce) package strawberry flavored gelatin
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen strawberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together the pretzels, 4 1/2 tablespoons sugar and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Bake for 10 minutes, or lightly toasted. Set aside to cool completely.
2. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Spread evenly over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the gelatin mix and boiling water. Mix in frozen strawberries, and stir until thawed. Pour over cream cheese mixture in pan. Refrigerate until completely chilled, at least 1 hour.

Butterscotch Oatmeal Cookies

You will need:

• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking or regular rolled oats, uncooked
• 1-3/4 cups (11-oz. pkg.) Butterscotch Chips

Heat oven to 375°F. Beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended.

Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in separate bowl.

Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended.

Stir in oats

Stir in butterscotch chips.

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Serve with ice cold milk. :)

Homemade Cream Cheese Icing

I promise you want to make this! I don't have the best pictures for this, but I am telling you I could eat this with a spoon. Even my hubby, who hates icing LOVES this one. Try it!

You will need:

2 lbs of confectioners powder sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) of butter, softened
2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
2 tsp. of vanilla extract

(This yields enough icing for 48 cupcakes. You can cut it half if you need a smaller amount or triple for more.)

First, cream together cream cheese and softened butter with a mixer. Add vanilla extract. Slowly add powdered sugar, until mixed to desired consistency.

It is SOOOO good.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

You will need:

1 egg

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
* note this does not make a very big batch, so you might want to double it.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C)
2. Combine ingredients.
   

3. Drop by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Use a fork to press down cookie and make traditional peanut butter cookie marks. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until done. Let cool on cookie rack.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 chicken breasts, boiled and cut into bite size pieces
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can rotel
1-2 cups cheddar cheese
Package of corn tortillas (small)

Tear the tortillas into small pieces and line the bottom of a pan. Mix together the soups, rotel and chicken and pour on top. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Herb and Garlic Lemon Chicken with Green Beans and Roasted New Potatoes

I adapted this great recipe from Kelly's Recipes.

You will need:

6 tablespoons olive oil (I drizzled until I thought it was enough.)
2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced (I used an Herb & Garlic Lemon marinade instead)
4 cloves garlic (I did not use any garlic.)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 lb green beans (I used 1 can of French style green beans.)
8 small red potatoes, quartered
4 chicken breasts (I had chicken tenders, so I used 6.)

1. Wash and slice potatoes. (I always zap mine in the microwave after cutting them for about 2-3 minutes because they are never cooked enough for me in the oven.)

2. Place green beans in casserole dish.

3. Place chicken on top of green beans.

4. Pour marinade over chicken. Place potatoes around the side of the dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Bake in oven at 450 for 40 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Broil for a few minutes to get potatoes crisp. Enjoy!

No Bake Pumpkin Pie

You will need:

Graham Crackers (Cinnamon or Plain)
1 Can of Pumpkin Pie Filling
Whipped Topping
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar

Add sugar and cinnamon to pumpkin pie filling and microwave 1-2 minutes.
While filling is in the microwave, crumble up about 2 graham crackers per serving.

Layer warm pumpkin pie filling on top of crumbled graham crackers.

Top with whipped topping.

Enjoy!!!

Spinach and Cheese Quiche

You will need:

One 12-ounce can evaporated skimmed milk
1/3 cup low-fat cottage cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
3 egg whites
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
One 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
Plain Pie Crust, baked and cooled (I highly suggest a deep dish crust.)

1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, cottage cheese, Parmesan, eggs, egg whites, salt and pepper.

3. Place the pie plate on a jelly-roll pan; spread the spinach over the pie crust, then pour the filling over the spinach.

4. Bake 15 minutes; reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and bake until the filling is set, 20 minutes longer.

5. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.