Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

from the lovely Jan Russell's blog, thanks Jan!

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel (I can't be bothered with this)
1/3 cup orange juice
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup Nestle white chocolate chips
1 cup Sunsweet dried cranberries (snipped)

Heat oven to 375
Beat butter with electric mixer at high speed for 1 minute
Add powdered sugar and baking soda - beat until combined
Beat in orange peel, orange juice, and vanilla
Beat in flour and oatmeal
Add white chocolate chips and cranberries

Drop by teaspoon full onto ungreased cookie sheet and bake for ten minutes or until the edges lightly browned.

Makes about 42 cookies.

One Bowl Brownies

stole these from mykitchencafe.com, made them for book club, have been craving them ever since. love that satiny finish!

Easiest Brownies in the World

1 12-ounce bag chocolate chips (use the kind you prefer)
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate chips. Stir constantly and remove from heat when chips are fully melted. In the same pot, blend in the sugar. Then add eggs, blending fully one at a time. Add flour and beat until air bubbles form in the batter. Pour into a greased 9 X 13-inch pan (this recipe works great doubled and poured into a large 11 X 17-inch rimmed baking sheet). Bake for 20 minutes. Turn heat down to 325 degrees and bake for 10 more minutes.

My mom's cheesecake

this is the most basic, fantastic cheesecake recipe EVER. you can add fresh fruit or drizzle with chocolate to serve, but it can be enjoyed plain as well. its a staple at our house.

graham cracker pie shell

2 8oz cream cheeses, softened (i'll say it here, i only use philadelphia brand for this)
2 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

blend all 4 ingredients together until very smooth, possibly 2-3 minutes depending on how powerful your hand mixer is. pour into pie crust, bake at 375 for 15-17 minutes. remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. make the following sour cream topping:

1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
mix well, spread carefully over warm cheesecake

put back in the oven at 425 for 10-12 minutes. serves 6-8. cool overnight or at least 8 hours before serving.

*a note. there are some graham cracker pie shells that say "extra large" or "larger serving" or something to that effect. if you use this shell, increase ingredients by 1/3, so you will be using 3 cream cheeses, 3 eggs, 1 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. bake for full 17-19 minutes, do not brown. increase topping to 2 cups sour cream, 3 tsp sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla. bake 15 minutes at 425.

Mississippi Mud

a Travis favorite, he used to make this frequently when we were first married

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
1 package graham crackers, broken up into very fine pieces, not quite a powder yet though

melt butter in a 9x13 while oven is preheating. once melted, remove from oven and add sugar and graham cracker pieces. set aside to cool slightly while preparing other ingredients.

1 3.4oz butterscotch cook and serve pudding
1 5.9oz chocolate cook and serve pudding
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 medium tub cool whip

make pudding according to package directions, set aside. mix 1/2 cool whip and all of cream cheese together. spread over the graham cracker crust. layer chocolate pudding, then butterscotch. top with remaining cool whip. chill in refrigerator at least several hours, serve straight from the chilled fridge, this is not good at room temperature. enjoy!

Chicken Ole

this is from Staci's kitchen and our family loves it. Who doesn't like velveeta and fritos?

3 purple onions, chopped
3 bell peppers, chopped (i usually use 2 red, one green)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cans rotel brand tomatoes and chilies
1lb velveeta cheese, cut into chunks
1lb cheddar cheese, grated
6 cups cooked, chopped chicken
1 pint sour cream
1 (3oz) pimentos (optional)
3 cups cooked rice
1 bag small fritos (not so great with the "king size" fritos)

cook onions, peppers, garlic in oil. add rotel tomatoes and chilies (not drained) and bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer until thick, about 15-20 minutes. add the cheeses and heat slowly until cheese is melted. add chicken, sour cream and pimentos, heat through DO NOT BOIL.
serve over a bed of rice and fritos. ole!
ps- i half this recipe a lot of times because it makes so much. leftovers are better heated over the stove than in the microwave becaue the cheese gets all rubbery in the micro.

Mom's lasagna

Even though I know "real" lasagna uses ricotta cheese and italian sausage, I have to admit to liking cottage cheese and ground beef lasagna much better. call me crazy.

simmer the following together:
1 lb lean ground beef
2 tsp italian spices
2 tsp minced garlic (add as much or as little as you like depending on your family's taste buds)
4 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
fresh mushrooms and olives (optional)

have ready to assemble:
12 cooked lasagna noodles
4 cups grated cheese mix (i use a combo of mozerella and parmesan or asiago, its usually 75% mozerella though)
1 24oz lowfat cottage cheese

in a 9x13 pan layer as follows:
4 noodles
1/3 cottage cheese
1/3 sauce
1/3 grated cheese
repeat until last layer, use the grated cheese THEN the meat sauce otherwise cheese will burn.

cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for one hour or until bubbles. this makes a very FULL 9x13 so i usually put my 9x13 on a cookie sheet to catch the spillover while baking.

Acapulco Delight

i've also heard this called "mexican lasgna" or "mexican casserole" because its a layered dish. my mom used to make all the time when i was growing up, and i loved it then and now my family loves it too. its definitely not fancy, but i like to add fresh salsa to mine and my husband likes to add tapatio, (its in the condiment aisle, a little spicey.)

1-2 lbs ground beef (i have made it with 1lb and i like more beef so i use closer to 2lbs)
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 7oz can diced green chiles

mix together and cook until beef is no longer pink, drain fat and set aside
(optional, can add onions and fresh green pepper while cooking the beef)

assemble the following ingredients before its time to layer:

12 corn tortillas
2-3 cups grated cheddar cheese (i like to throw in some monterey jack if i have it)
1 lrg can refried beans
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup sliced black olives

layer as follows in a greased 9x13 pan:
1) 4 tortillas
2)1/2 meat mix
3)1/2 cheese
4)4 tortillas
5)can of beans
6)2/3 sour cream
7)green onions and olives
8)4 tortillas
9)remaining cheese
10) remaining beef
bake 350 20-30 minutes or until bubbly, top with sour cream before serving.
ps- the meat goes on last so the cheese doesn't burn, make sure you have enough beef to cover the cheese