Ann's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is a favorite recipe for sure given to me by John's sister Ann.  WARNING: Make these and you'll be hooked.


1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/4-2 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
12-16 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter with sugar and vanilla. Add eggs and mix just until combined. In a separate bowl, sift dry ingredients together. Add to the mixer and combine well. Add chocolate chips.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown on top. The inside may still seem a bit underdone. Let them sit on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes. Enjoy!





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Verna's Baked Beans

These are my mother-in-law's beans and are somewhat of a legend in John's family. They are amazing. I used to be a Bush's baked bean kind of girl but now I have seen the light (and matured a bit) and I would rather have these than any. They are savory, bold, and sweet-but not like a dessert-sweet.  I was surprised to see that Verna's and Pioneer Woman's recipes are almost identical.


2 large (28 oz or so) cans pork & beans, drain about 1/2 the liquid
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 T worcestershire sauce
1 cup ketchup
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 lb bacon, cooked & crumbled

In a crockpot or large pot, combine all ingredients. Simmer. Enjoy.

Picture borrowed from here until I take one of my own.





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Oreo Surprise

I have come back to the land of the living. Blogging has not been in the cards for me these last few months. But I'm back and determined to try some new recipes...including some gluten free! This recipe is from my friend Tanya. Thanks for sharing, Tanya! This is definitely a keeper. I actually haven't made it yet. Caroline has made it a couple of times and it is a huge hit. There was one change we made. Instead of using one large box of instant chocolate pudding, we used one small vanilla & one small chocolate.

Ingredients:

1 lg pkg crushed Oreos
1 stick butter, melted
1 lg container cool whip
1 lg box instant chocolate pudding
1 1/2  c powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese

Directions:

Crush up whole Oreos in a ziploc bag (use rolling pin or whatever). Combine crushed Oreos & butter to make a crust & spread it in a 13x9 pan.  Reserve 1/4 c. Oreos for the top.  Put into fridge.  Mix pudding according to pkg.  Layer onto Oreo crust.  Combine sugar & cream cheese.  Soften in cool whip once it is combined, saving some for a top layer.  Put mixture onto pudding.  Top w/remaining cool whip & sprinkle with the 1/4 cup Oreos.  Eat and enjoy or refrigerate!

Hashbrown Casserole

We first had this on Christmas morning. It was made by John's sister Ann...thanks for the recipe, Ann! We have since made it for some special occasions-like Conference weekend or something like that. My kids eat it really well and it is the perfect recipe because it is simple but delicioso! One tip Ann gave was this:
If you have a deep casserole dish I do a casserole and a half to fill it.  But if your dish is not that deep, just a regular cake size pan, this original recipe is enough.
Ingredients:

24 oz hashbrown bag-thawed

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

1 cup diced pre-cooked ham

1/8 cup chopped green onion

3 beaten eggs

1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 cream

1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

Stir butter through the thawed hashbrowns and place in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. 

Mix together the second group of ingredients and place on top of cooked hashbrowns

and stir somewhat through. 

Whip together third group of ingredients and pour over entire casserole.  Bake at

375 for 35-40 minutes until knife in the center comes out clean.  

Cadbury Egg Chocolate Cookies

My friend Holly shared this recipe with me. Thanks a lot Holly!  As if I needed more baked good recipes! I love the Reese's chocolate cookie recipe which is very similar to this plus Cadbury mini eggs happen to be one of my favorite things...I really couldn't go wrong here.



Adapted from a recipe here.

Ingredients:

1 C butter
1 C brown sugar
1 C white sugar
2 Eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 1/2 C flour
6T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 10 oz bag Cadbury Mini-Eggs*

1/2 bag Reese's peanut butter chips





Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. On the original recipe they crushed up the Cadbury Eggs. I did not. I threw them into my mixer and many ended up whole but some broke up into pieces. They were perfect.

Cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar. Add in eggs one at at a time and the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture to combine and then mix in the candies.

Drop onto a cookie sheet and cook for about 8-10 minutes.  Allow to sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before removing. Remove to a cooling rack.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

Here's another recipe from Pioneer Woman that I decided to try out. I am a sucker for pasta dishes and the lemon & basil idea intrigued me.  I pretty much followed the recipe, although I believe I was a bit short on the basil and I, of course, threw in extra cream. It was fairly quick and easy and ended up being flavorful and different. I especially think this would appeal to people who have a particular affinity for all things lemon. Very fresh-tasting with a bit of a tang. 

For the chicken breasts, I followed PW's advice for the marinade:

Olive oil
Juice of four lemons

Dijon

A tiny bit of honey

A dash of salt

Mine marinaded for about 4 hours. Grill them. Set them aside and keep them warm. (Oh and maybe don't overgrill them and completely dry them out like I did.)

 

Ingredients:

4 whole Grilled Chicken Breasts, Sliced

1 pound Pasta, Cooked Until Al Dente

½ sticks Butter

3 whole Lemons, Juiced

¾ cups Heavy Cream

¼ cups Half-and-half

1-½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese (or Romano)

Salt And Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste

20 whole Basil Leaves, Chopped

Instructions:

Cook pasta, reserving 1 cup of hot pasta water when you drain. Set pasta aside in a colander.

In the same pot, melt butter over medium heat. Squeeze in the juice of 3 to 4 lemons. Whisk together. Pour in cream and half-and-heat. Whisk until hot. Dump in cheese and most of basil and whisk until melted. Add salt and pepper. Check consistency, adding some of the hot pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed.

Pour pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl. Sprinkle remaining basil all over the top, then add sliced chicken breasts. Serve immediately!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

This recipe is straight from the classic Lion House Cookbook. My friend brought these to me when I had Henry. They are absolutely delicious and simple to make too. I am thinking they'd make a great New Year's Eve finger food (toothpick food) too!

1 to 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
Few grains pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients; mix well. Form into about 12 balls, each about 2 inches in diameter (I used a medium sized cookie scoop). Place in casserole dish. Cover with sauce*. Bake at 350 degrees F. for about 30 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings, 2 large meatballs each.

*Sauce: (I double the sauce so there is extra to pour over rice).

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
1/4 cup barbeque sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Combine ingredients and blend thoroughly. Heat and pour over meatballs.

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Who doesn't like a shortbread cookie? This was my first attempt at making them and they were divine. This recipe is from Ina Garten of the Barefoot Contessa.

Ingredients:

3/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 to 7 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are just combined. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and salt, then add them to the butter-and-sugar mixture. Mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a surface dusted with flour and shape into a flat disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut with desired cookie cutter. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges just barely begin to be golden brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Yields 20 cookies.

When the cookies are cool, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put 3 ounces of the chocolate in a glass bowl and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. (Don't trust your microwave timer; time it with your watch.) Stir with a wooden spoon. Continue to heat and stir in 30-second increments until the chocolate is just melted. Add the remaining chocolate and allow it to sit at room temperature, stirring often, until it's completely smooth. Stir vigorously until the chocolate is smooth and slightly cooled; stirring makes it glossier.

Drizzle 1/2 of each cookie with just enough chocolate to coat it. (I dipped half of mine in the chocolate and they set up within minutes).

Homemade Frozen Ice Cream Custard

Thanks, Pioneer Woman for another great recipe!  Vanilla Bean Homemade Ice Cream. This was dense and rich and creamy. It ended up tasting to me more like frozen custard. I absolutely loved it. John prefers his more icey kind of homemade ice cream. I'll have to post that one sometime too.  Voila...

Ingredients:

2 tsp. vanilla extract (I used the potent kind from Mexico and it was SUPER for this)

3 cups Half-and-half

2 cups Sugar

9  Large Egg Yolks

3 cups Heavy Cream

Instructions:

Heat half-and-half and 2 cups sugar in a saucepan over low heat, adding vanilla “caviar” to the mixture. (You can also drop in the scraped vanilla bean, just to extract all the flavor. Make sure to discard the bean before moving to the next step.) Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated.

Beat egg yolks by hand or with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and light and fluffy. Temper (I am so fascinated by the concept of tempering and I think there's probably a parable in there somewhere) the egg yolks by slowly drizzling 1 1/2 cups of hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer (I did not drain it but I did lick out the pot and it was unREAL), then pour into a bowl with the heavy cream. Stir to combine.

Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. My ice cream froze quite nicely in the ice cream maker after only about 30 minutes. Constantly keep adding ice and salt though. You will be able to actually hear the ice cream maker slow down, indicating the thickening. Place container in freezer to harden for at least eight hours.

Serve with something chocolate. I chose this. And another time we made this with it. Whoa. Enjoy!

Homemade Salsa

Anybody still have any garden tomatoes rolling in? This recipe is for salsa for canning. I have done this two years in a row and we love it. This was modified from this recipe that Jenny posted on Apron Girls.

Ingredients:

20 large or 40 small tomatoes
5-6 bell peppers
5 onions 6 garlic cloves
4-5 jalapenos
2 T. cilantro
1 1/2 t. cumin
1 C. white vinegar
1/3 C. sugar
4 T. salt
12 oz. tomato paste 

Directions:

Wash your tomatoes. (I love romas personally.) Blanch them by plunging them into boiling water for about 30 seconds. Then dip them in cold water and drain. Cut out the cores and remove the skins. Use a blender or food processor to chop the ingredients. Chop the tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions individually and put in a large stock pot. Quarter the bell peppers and onions before putting in your blender/food processor. I chop everything pretty finely because that is what WE like. Puree the garlic, jalapenos, and cilantro together and add to the pot. Stir in everything else EXCEPT the tomato paste. The tomato paste will be added after boiling the salsa. (I didn't use the tomato paste this time because I liked the consistency of my salsa already). Bring salsa to a boil and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste and mix in really well. Fill pint jars leaving about 1 inch head space. Cover with lid and ring. Process in a water bath or steam canner for 30 minutes.

Spinach & Mushroom Pot Roast

We love having pot roast and mashed potatoes and gravy on Sundays. I got the idea for the spinach & mushroom from The Domestic Art Cookbook (Vol. II).  I normally make a more traditional pot roast but it was nice to try something new. My kids were less than enthused about the spinach in it. But John & I loved it. Next time I wouldn't throw the carrots in, because we like to steam them and candy them with some butter and sugar. I think this pot roast would especially be good for a special occasion because it is more colorful and pretty.

Ingredients:

3 lb. beef roast

1 small onion, sliced

1 packet dry onion soup mix

4-6 cups water (enough so that the roast is 1/2 submerged)

2 cloves minced garlic

2 bay leaves

1 box frozen chopped spinach or

2-3 cups fresh spinach

2-3 cups sliced mushrooms

Directions:

Combine onion, soup mix, garlic, bay leaves, and water, mix. Place roast in crock pot. Cook on high 5-7 hours. (I like to start it the night before on low, especially if it is frozen, and then turn it to high 4 hours before we eat). Add spinach & mushrooms and cook until vegetables are tender (around 1 hour). Mix 1 cup of drippings with 1 packet brown gravy mix (substitute 4 T cornstarch if needed). 

Wonderful with mashed potatoes.

Pico de Gallo

I got this simple & classic pico de gallo recipe from none other than Pioneer Woman. It is delicioso and I could eat it for breakfast. In fact, it would be awesome on an omelet.  Or on most anything. The first time I made it, I used the food processor. Oops. Don't do that. Chopping by hand is essential. And I chop super small cause I don't like big chunks of things. Of course we ate it with chips but we also used it as a dressing for the enchiladas I made that night.

Ingredients:

5 whole Plum (roma) Tomatoes  (I used roma!)
½ whole Large (or 1 Small) Onion (I used some yellow sweet onion but mostly red onion)
3 whole Jalapeno Peppers
Cilantro
Lime Juice
Salt To Taste
 
Directions:

Chop jalapenos, tomatoes and onion (I love using some red and some sweet onion)  into a very small dice. (Leave seeds in your jalapenos for a hotter pico). Adjust amount of jalapenos to your preferred temperature. Next, chop up a nice-sized bunch of cilantro. Remove stems as best as you can. Place all of these ingredients together in a bowl. Stir.

Squeeze the juice of half of one lime into the bowl. Add salt to taste and stir again. Serve. I assume this will only stay good a few hours, but I really don't know for sure cause as soon as I make it, it is gone.

White Chicken Enchiladas

This picture does not do these justice. I absolutely LOVE the flavor of these chicken enchiladas. And I love that it uses corn tortillas. Another trusty recipe, though slightly adapted, from Pioneer Woman. At the end of making this you will have a lot of dirty dishes, but I think you'll find that this dish is a hit with your whole family! The jalapeno & green chiles are so subtle that my kids don't even notice them or pick them out!

Ingredients:

2 1/2-ish cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken

2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken (remember to do this! that broth is awesome)
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
appx. 12 whole Corn Tortillas
1 whole Large Onion, Diced
1-2whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced (PW calls for 4 cans...I can't imagine, but if you REALLY love green chilies, then go for it.)
1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2-3/4 cup Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
2-½ cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Cilantro, Chopped

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds, just to soften (don't let them get crispy.) Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain. Yes, this adds another step but it really isn't that big of a deal.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside. (I could literally just eat this mixture for dinner. It is so good.)
In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in the rest of the chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. My tortillas seem to fall apart and not look pretty, but it doesn't matter. (In fact, this whole recipe could be assembled in an enchilada casserole fashion-alternating the chicken mixture with cheese and tortillas with the sauce on top.)

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you’d like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.
(We served pico de gallo on top. Yum.)

Penne with Zucchini Pistou & Chicken

Pistou: n. A sauce made of garlic, basil, olive oil, and often Parmesan, used on pasta or in soups and stews.

Pistou is to the French what pesto is to Italians. Yum. How can you go wrong with those ingredients plus a bit of heavy cream? You can't. I adapted a recipe I found here and came up with a delicious & different pasta dish for my family. It was wonderful...plus I got to use some of the zucchini(s) that have been sitting on my counter for far too long. 
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 chicken breasts, sliced
3 cups (1/4-inch-thick) slices small zucchini
1 cup packed basil leaves
3/4 cup shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup chopped Vidalia or other sweet onion (about 1small)
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
8 ounces uncooked penne pasta (I used about 10-12 oz)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender and golden. Remove from pan; cool.

Place 1/3 of cooked zucchini, basil leaves, 1/4 cup cheese and garlic in a food processor (or blender); process until finely chopped. (Keep mixture in processor.)

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sliced chicken until nearly done. Add onion to pan; sauté 10 minutes or until golden. Add remaining cooked zucchini.

Meanwhile, throw some water & salt in a large pot, and bring to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup cooking liquid.
Add reserved liquid to basil mixture; combine until smooth. Add basil mixture to pasta. Everything is now in the pan except the cream & remaining salt, pepper & cheese.) Add cream, remaining salt, and pepper; stir. Top with remaining cheese. Serve.

Yolanda's Famous Chicken

I got this recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  I don't know who Yolanda is, but judging from this recipe...I think I'd like her.  This was absolutely wonderful.  We served it with lemon wedge, as the recipe recommended.  Then we had vegetables and mashed potatoes.  The chicken with a hint of lemon was perfect.  But it would also be delicious with gravy or barbecue sauce.  My family absolutely loved them.  The recipe states that you can use pre-crumbed bread crumbs.  I think this would be quicker and okay, but using the actual bread slices leaves you with some yummy big and small crumbs. 

Directly from the magazine:

The family serves these crispy sautéed chicken breasts with lemon wedges only (no sauce). Because they're so flavorful, a spritz of citrus is all they need. You can easily double the recipe to accommodate a larger group—crisp two breast halves at a time in a skillet (or four at a time in two skillets), then finish cooking the whole batch in the oven.

Ingredients:

2 (1 1/2-ounce) bread slices
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon 2% reduced-fat milk
1 large egg
Cooking spray
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
4 lemon wedges

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.  Tear bread into pieces. Place bread in a food processor; pulse until breadcrumbs measure about 1 3/4 cups.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound chicken to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.

Place flour in a shallow dish. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, and next 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a second shallow dish. Combine milk and egg in a third shallow dish, stirring with a whisk.

Working with 1 breast half at a time, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Dip into egg mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to coat evenly on both sides. Place chicken on a large plate. Repeat procedure with remaining breast halves, flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumb mixture; refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray; add 2 teaspoons olive oil, swirling to coat. Add 2 breast halves to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Place on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 teaspoons olive oil and remaining breast halves.

Bake at 375° for 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165°. Serve with lemon wedges.  Delicioso!

*By the way...I used this same recipe to bread some tilapia (fish) and it was also very tasty.

Simple Tomato Sauce with Onion & Butter

I plucked this recipe from Smitten Kitchen about a year ago and have planned to make it ever since.  So with yummy summer tomatoes just right around the corner, I thought it the perfect time to give it a try.  It was simple and fresh and delicious.  I think the secret is its simplicity...there aren't spices that are overpowering the essence of the tomato flavor.  On our second trip to Italy, John & I ate (with Spencer & Kristi) at a little restaurant  in Rome (located on a side street with a direct shot at the Coliseum).  I had a simple pasta with tomato sauce.  There weren't lots of spices or other things complicating the dish.  Just pasta with tomato sauce.  It was incredible.  This sauce is the closest thing I have ever found to that.  I literally could not stop eating this. 

Ingredients:

28 ounces (800 grams) whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)*
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Directions:

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Taste of Home Congo Squares (Cookie Bars)

My mom had a Congo Square recipe that we had growing up.  Those were delicious and very basic.  So this recipe is a twist on my mom's and the Taste of Home bars.  The saucepan technique seemed to make them have even more brown sugary goodness. 

Ingredients:


2/3 cup shortening (I used butter of course)
2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

In a saucepan, melt shortening (or butter) over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar. Cool.  I didn't cool mine enough and so when I stirred in the cholocate/peanut butter chips they melted slightly. Next time I would completely cool the mixture.  Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add gradually with eggs to shortening mixture. Stir in the vanilla, chips and nuts (batter will be very stiff).

Spread into a greased and floured 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out with no LIQUID (it can have some moist CRUMBS though).  Cut into squares while warm. Yield: about 48 bars.

Lisa's Potato Salad

7 lbs potatoes (appx. 20 medium-sized potatoes...although i love red potatoes the best, i usually don't have those and use whatever potato i have.  adjust quantity according to potato size)

24 eggs

3 cups miracle whip

2 cups mayonnaise

salt & pepper

In large pot, place eggs in pot of cold water in a single layer and make sure there is 1-2 inches of water above the eggs.  Bring to boil.  Boil for one minute.  Turn off heat, but keep covered for about 12 minutes.  (At this point I usually forget about the eggs, and they end up boiling for about 10 minutes...and it works too!)  Take pot off, and let cold water run into pot OR remove eggs with slotted spoon into ice water.    Gently tap the eggs on a hard surface to crack the shell.  Gently remove the membrane and shell.  Sometimes a batch will end up slipping off easily and other times they are tough for me.  (If anyone has any tips about shell removal, please comment!)  As I remove the shells, I am barely running some cool water to rinse off any shell bits.  Obviously the egg will be a little wet.  To minimize sliminess I then place them in a bowl with some folded paper towels in the bottom to soak up the water.  Meanwhile, the potatoes are boiling on the stove...

Peel potatoes.  Slice them up into nice, bite-size squarish pieces.  Make sure you don't cut them too small or during the boiling process they will just disintegrate.  When I have all of the potatoes sliced up, I give them one more good rinse to rinse off some of the emerging starch (just because it bugs me).  Bring them to a boil.  Boil until fork-tender.  Immediately remove from heat and drain.  (Occasionally I will accidentally overcook the pieces and they are headed towards mashed-potato-hood.  If you do this and have a few hours or even overnight, simply put them in a bowl in the refrigerator and they will re-solidify a bit.) 

Cut up eggs by hand into a large bowl.  I like to try to keep them similar in size to the potatoes.  Add Salt & Pepper.  Pour in potato pieces.  Add some more salt & pepper along with the mayonnaise and miracle whip.  Stir it all together (during this stirring process, some of the soft potato will flake off into the mixture and make it all the more creamy and perfect.  Salt & pepper again to taste.  Serve!

Sweet Corn Salsa

I first tasted this amazing salsa many years ago when my neighbor Louise brought some over for our family.  She had made dinner for her son's football team and, lucky for us, the crazy boys had hardly touched it!  It immediately became a favorite and is a hit no matter where I take it.   Most of the time when I make this salsa, I just toss in stuff until I reach the desired taste & ratios.

3-4 green onions, chopped finely
4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 16 oz bag of super sweet white corn, thawed (I do think that corn cut right off the cob would make it even better!)
4 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 avocados, diced
Wishbone Italian Salad Dressing (I used about 3/4 of the bottle)
1 1/2 tsp kosher or coarse salt

Prepare all ingredients.  Toss together all ingredients except tomatoes & avocado.  When everything is combined nicely and you have reached your desired moistness, add in tomatoes & avocado.  Gently toss one more time.  Serve immediately with chip of choice!

Rice Crispy Treats A.K.A. SCOTCHAROOS

There is a running joke in our family about rice crispy treats.  To most of the in-laws (sons & daughters-in-law), these aren't rice crispy treats... the marshmallow kind is. So they love those ones and love when they are brought to potlucks.  But we were raised on this rice crispy treat recipe, topped with semi-sweet chocolate.   (I call the marshmallow kind 'White Trash Rice Crispy Treats'...but secretly I have developed a taste for those too.  Shhh...don't tell John).  So anyway!  I always double this recipe and put it in a 9x13 pan.  It makes a good sized batch and they are nice & thick.  My Mom always used to make the doubled recipe in a large jelly roll pan.  This makes them thinner but they go much further.  Since I am including the Scotcharoo version, I should mention that the first time I was ever introduced  to those was when Kristi's mom made some and I ended up trying them.  Wow.  I fell in love and they are actually the kind I prefer above all other Rice Crispy Treats.  And now after that saga, on to the recipe...

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup peanut butter

6 cups rice crispies

1 cup (ish) chocolate chips

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Bring the sugar & corn syrup to a nice boil.  Remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter and then rice crispies.  Spread into sprayed pan of your choice.  Press down with buttery hands.  Melt chocolate chips (and butterscotch chips if desired).  Spread on top.  Refrigerate until set up.  Yum.