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I was looking for an easy cookie recipe and found this one in my 2010 Taste of Home Annual Recipes book. Not only was it easy, but the cookies were delicious.
I always try to make my cookies and other sweets on the weekend so my daughter can take them to her Young Women. That way I'm not tempted to eat all of them. You know, I'm on a diet :-) Well, the Young Women loved them. Of course, they're just happy to have treats. But I know they really liked these because they wanted the recipe. So, here it is girls.
Gooey Chocolate Cookies
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (18 1/4 oz.) chocolate cake mix
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the cake mix and mix well (dough will be sticky). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Roll rounded tablespoonfuls of the dough into balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 - 11 minutes or until tops are cracked. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.
**You can replace the chocolate cake mix with a different flavor. I have a Lemon Supreme cake mix. I bet that would be delicious. I'm definitely going to try it. My 98 year old mother-in-law loves lemon anything. I think she will really enjoy these.
I know what you're thinking--GROSS! But have you ever tried Chopped Liver? Whenever the whole family gets together, my mom always makes chopped liver. It is so delicious. Honest! Even family members who hate liver, love my mom's chopped liver. I decided to try to make it this past Thanksgiving. Mom didn't really have a recipe, but she told me how to make it. I must admit it turned out scrumptious. Of course mom doctored it up a little when she arrived at my home for Thanksgiving dinner. She added a little more salt, a little more onion, sugar, etc. Whatever she did, it was the best chopped liver we have ever had. (Hope I've inherited "Mom's touch".)
Moma Toby's Chopped Liver
2-3 pounds chicken livers, rinsed well
2- 3 large onions, chopped
vegetable oil
8-10 hard boiled eggs
3 teaspoons sugar
3 or more teaspoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Boil rinsed livers in water. Add a little salt to the water and boil until livers get tender/soft and well done (about 45 minutes). Drain livers and rinse again. Clean grit from the middle (where it connects--Mom says you'll know when you see it).
Saute onions (Mom says lots of onions) in oil (about 1/4 cup) until onions are soft and clear. Add livers and saute some more. Mash livers with a fork when done.
(Poor mom, she never had food processors. But I mashed them with a fork, because I always do what "mom says"--usually.)
Add hard boiled eggs. (Mom says about 3 - 4 per pound of liver.) Mash together and add to liver mixture.
Add sugar. (Mom says about 1 teaspoon per pound of liver)
Add Mayo. (Mom says about 1 teaspoon or more per pound of liver.)
Add salt to taste.
Add more raw onion and mix well.
Mom says to go by taste and add more salt, onion, mayo, sugar, etc.
Serve with crackers--Mom says!
**Best if made a day or two before you serve--Mom says and she's right!
Well, I'm on a diet--AGAIN! So now is the time to try those Mexican recipes that I usually don't eat because I won't be eating any. I'm on a diet, REMEMBER!
My family LOVED this chicken enchilada casserole! So I had to have a little taste. BIG MISTAKE! You know how everything that you're not suppose to eat tastes so good when you're on a diet. Did I say I was on a diet? Oh well, I'll start my diet tomorrow--AGAIN!
Chicken Enchilada Casserole
6-8 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into cubes
2 cans (10 oz.) Mild Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
1 - 1 1/4 cups light sour cream
8 corn tortillas (6 inch), cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with Pam. Layer half of the chicken, enchilada sauce, sour cream, tortillas and cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes longer, until bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.
**If you have a small family and don't want to make a big casserole, this is an easy recipe to half.
Here is a recipe my friend, Susan, gave me after I raved about how delicious it was. I told her I wanted to put it on my blog, so here it is.
Susan's Charleston Chocolate Cake
Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
2 sticks butter
1 cup water
4 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, slightly beaten
Frosting:
1 stick butter
6 Tablespoons milk
4 Tablespoons cocoa
1 box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, sugar, salt and soda together and set aside.
- Melt butter in a saucepan;then add cocoa and water
- Remove from heat and pour over dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
- Add sour cream and eggs.
- Transfer to lightly greased and floured pan (15 x 10 x 2).
- Bake 25 minutes. Frost while warm, still in pan.
- For frosting, melt butter in saucepan and add milk and cocoa.
- Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Remove.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and nuts. ( i left nuts out and sprinkled them on top.) Beat with mixer.
**Susan made the cake in a 9 x 13 pan and baked it a little longer. This made it thicker and more fudgy (is that how you spell it?).
Here's a great side your family will enjoy. I first had this a year ago at Thanksgiving, but it is good anytime. I actually served it with my turkey chili. The family loved it smothered in the chili.
Cornbread Casserole
1 can cream style corn
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 package Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
In a bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish that has been buttered or sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! You're going to LOVE this easy side dish. It was in the July 2010 issue of Southern Living with the recipe for the Balsamic Garlic Chicken Breasts. It was really good, too. And it was so easy!
Orzo with Pesto
1 cup uncooked orzo pasta
1/4 cup refrigerated pesto (I used the packaged pesto mix to make the sauce. Or you can use Tricia's homemade pesto recipe.)
Grated Parmesan cheese
Cook orzo according to package directions, drain and put into a bowl. Add the 1/4 cup pesto and stir together. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.
I found this recipe in my July 2010 Southern Living magazine. It was sooooo good! Can't wait to make it again.
Balsamic Garlic Chicken Breasts
4 (6 oz.) skinned and boned chicken breasts ( I made 5)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
- Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper. (I also put garlic powder on the chicken.)
- Melt butter with oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken, and cook 6 - 7 minutes on each side or until done. (I cooked them longer, about 10 - 12 minutes on each side.) Remove chicken, and keep warm.
- Add chicken broth and next 4 ingredients to skillet, and cook 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet. Serve chicken with sauce. (After the broth cooked for 5 minutes, I put the chicken back in the skillet for about one minute on each side and let it cook in the sauce before I served it.)
This was really delicious. I enjoyed every bite!
I knew teaching 3rd grade Everyday Math would come in handy one day. Here are some easy conversions for perfect measures.
Liquid
1 tablespoon = 1/2 fluid ounce
1 cup = 1/2 pint = 8 fluid ounces
2 cups = 1 pint = 16 fluid ounces
2 pints = 1 quart = 32 fluid ounces
4 quarts (16 cups) = 1 gallon = 128 fluid ounces
Dry
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon
4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup
5 1/3 tablespoons = 1/3 cup
8 tablespoons = 1/2 cup
10 2/3 tablespoons = 2/3 cup
12 tablespoons = 3/4 cup
16 tablespoons = 1 cup
Don't you just hate when you're going to make something for dinner and you're missing an ingredient? Then it's a mad rush to the grocery store to pick up what you need and dinner is late. Not anymore! Here are some ingredient substitutions that may help:
If you don't have . . .
- 1 cup self rising flour, use 1 cup all purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped onion, use 2 tablespoons dried minced onion or 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder, use 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar plus 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, use 1 tablespoon cider vinegar or red wine vinegar plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk, use 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar plus enough milk to equal 1 cup (let stand 5 minutes before using) or 1 cup plain yogurt
- 2 cups tomato sauce, use 3/4 cup tomato paste plus 1 cup water
- 1 cup half-and-half or light cream, use 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine plus enough whole milk to make 1 cup
I'm always missing spices and seasonings too. So here are some substitutes, but be sure to use only half of what the recipe calls for. That way you can add more to suit your taste.
If you don't have. . .
- Ground allspice, use ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or cloves
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard, use 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- Paprika, use just a "titch" (got this word from Brandi) of cayenne pepper
- Ground cloves, use ground allspice, cinnamon or nutmeg
- Chili powder, use a dash of bottled hot pepper sauce plus equal measures of ground oregano and cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, use 2 to 3 drops of bottled hot pepper sauce
- Ground cumin, use chili powder
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, use 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, and 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, use 3/4 teaspoon dried sage and 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, use 1/2 teaspoon each of white pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, ground red pepper, paprika and ground black pepper
- Fresh herbs, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried herbs
Here's another one of our favorite "Brandi Recipes".
Brandi's Orzo Salad
8 oz. orzo , uncooked
1 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
small garlic clove
1/2 cup basil chopped (optional)
1/4 pound feta cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Cherry tomatoes and sliced black olives (however many you would like)
Cook orzo according to package. Rinse in colander to help cool pasta. Saute pine nuts in 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil. Drain on paper towel. Press garlic, mix with basil. Whisk vinegar and oil, salt and pepper. Stir all remaining ingredients in with cooked orzo.
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