Easy Kid Friendly Cookies

Want the easiest, most kid-friendly cookie recipe? It is fail proof and has very few ingredients. I am no chef, but these always seem to get rave reviews. They are what I seem to whip up in a pinch as well. People are always asking for the recipe and I just have to smile at how simple they really are.

Cake Mix Cookies

Combine:
1 cake mix (any kind works, chocolate is my favorite)
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
chocolate chips

Roll cookies into small balls; add chocolate chips to tops of cookies if desired. (Who wouldn't desire them??) Bake 10 -12 minutes at 350 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Tiramisu Bowl

3 c. cold milk
2 pkg. Jell-O vanilla instant pudding
48 Nilla wafers
1 c. fresh raspberries
1 pkg. cream cheese
1 tub Cool Whipped topping, thawed
1/2 c. brewed Maxwell House coffee, cooled (I used cooled hot cocoa)
2 squares Baker's Semi-sweet baking chocolate

1. Beat cream cheese with electric mixer until creamy.
2. Gradually beat in milk. Add dry pudding mixes.
3. Stir in 2 c. whipped topping.
4. Line bottom and sides of bowl with half wafers. Drizzle with half cocoa. Layer half of pudding mixture over wafers and top with half grated chocolate.
5. Repeat layers starting with wafers and cocoa.
6. Top with remaining whipped topping and raspberries.
7. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Enjoy =) Nathalie

Easy Tortellini Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

2 14oz. cans chicken or vegetable broth (I'm cheap and just use 3 1/2 c. water and 3 chicken bullion cubes)

9oz pkg. of tortellini (I buy frozen tortellini and just double the recipe or only use half the bag)

4oz. (or half of one tub) cream cheese w/chives and onions

11oz. can tomato soup

Snipped fresh chives (optional)

Instructions:

In medium sauce pan bring broth to a boil. Add tortellini: reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. In a bowl wisk 1/3 c. hot broth with cream cheese until smooth. Return all to sauce pan along with tomato soup. Heat through. Sprinkle with chives (or maybe mozzerella cheese) before serving. Makes 4 servings.

Note: This seems to be pretty high in sodium as I type it out. I imagine if you used low sodium chicken broth, low sodium tomato soup, and low fat cream cheese this would still taste divine. Oh! And if you decide to use vegetable broth you can even call this vegetarian! Not that I'm vegetarian....

Chrissy Parkinson

Italian Wedding Soup

(Recipe courtesy: Barefoot Contessa)
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
3/4 pound ground chicken (I used ground turkey)
1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed (I used turkey sausage)
2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
10 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine (I didn't add this.)
1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Kelly P.

Chicken & Sun-dried Tomato Pasta

This is suppose to be one of those recipes taken from Macaroni Grill. I don't know about that, but I do know this is a FAVORITE in our home! I make it every year for Valentines (cause it's kind of red).

Ingredients:

garlic, 2 cloves

butter 1-2 tsp

onion (optional)

chicken breast or tenders

sun-dried tomatoes 8.5 oz jar (I buy the julienne style with herbs)

heavy whipping cream (small container)

1 can chicken broth

basil

bow tie pasta

Melt butter (1-2 tsp.) in large skillet. Add 2 cloves minced garlic. Cook 30 seconds. Sautee cut chicken breast until browned. Add cut sun-dried tomatoes (the recipe calls for 3/4 c. but I dump in the whole jar...I drain off most of the oil). Add 3/4 cup chicken broth. Bring to a boil. The tomatoes will soften in about 10 min. Simmer uncovered for those 10 min. Add cream (all of it). Simmer over med. heat to thicken sauce. Sprinkle dried basil over the top. Pour over cooked bow tie pasta.

I always serve it with cabatta (sp) bread and olive oil with balsamic vinaigrette for dipping (with fresh crushed pepper on top).

Enjoy!

Rebecca Fluhman

Caramels and Canteens

Canteen (just a weird name for a loose meat burger)

1 lb ground beef (you can use turkey too) salt and pepper beef bouillon Ground the beef and season to your taste with the salt and pepper and bouillon, you can change this up and add chopped onion, peppers, garlic, make it your own.
Serve on hamburger buns, rolls, biscuits, hot dog buns, you name it. Add pickles, lettuce tomotoes, cheese, all your regular favorites for a hamburger!
These are so easy, simple and fast and you just need a few items, and my kids Love them. (warning, they can be a bit messy with kids!)

Caramels
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cup white Corn Syrup
1/2lb butter (1 cup)
1/2 can evaporated milk (6 oz.)
1 more can evaporated milk to pour in while boiling

Combine first 4 ingredients on medium heat to boiling, add full can of evaporated milk while boiling, drizzle it slowly so boiling doesn't stop.
Cook to solid ball 235. Add 1 tsp. vanilla. Pour into buttered dish and let cool, cut into squares and wrap eash piece with wax.

Just a few tips: this recipe takes patience, it takes about 20-30 minutes for it to reach solid ball stage, keep on medium heat or it will boil over, you don't have to stir it constantly but every couple of minutes so it doesn't burn, you can tell when it is done when the butter is seperated from the caramel, also by doing a cold water test, if you pour a little caramel into a bowl of cold water and it stays together and you can form it into a ball then it is done.
After you have poured it into a dish, put in the fridge for a couple hours or over night, then let it warm a little and then cut into pieces. You can also undercook this and use for caramel topping for desserts, cook for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Cheesy Mashed Potato Soup and French Bread

Cheesy Mashed Potato Soup

3 tsp. Chicken Bouillon
1 tsp. Salt
2 C. Water
3 Carrots
3 Stalks of Celery
3 Scallions

Bring water, salt and bouillon to a boil, add vegetables until soft.
Add:

2 C. Mashed Potatoes
1 - 2 C. Ham

Whisk 2 Tbs. of flour into 2 1/2 C. Milk and add to the soup when Potatoes are all incorporated.

Bring soup to a simmer then take off heat and add:

2 C. Grated Cheese

French Bread

1/2 C. Water
2 Tbs. Yeast
2 C. Hot Water
3 Tbs. Sugar
1 Tbs. Salt
1/3 C. Shortening
6 C. Flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large mixing bowl combine hot water, sugar, salt and shortening and allow to stand until lukewarm. Add yeast and 3 C. Flour. Beat until smooth and well blended. Add remaining flour to make a soft dough that can still be mixed with a spoon. Allow to rest 10 min. Stir batter down. Rest again. Repeat 5 times.

Form dough into balls for bread bowls or shape into 2 loafs. Let it rise for 30 min. Bake at 400 for 35 min. or until done.
Megan Murdoch

Wheat Berry Stir-Fry

This is a very healthy, and very delicious recipe:

WHEAT BERRY STIR-FRY
(double this recipe if you want to eat it all week)

4 C. Prepared Wheat Berries (chilled)(see below recipe for wheat berries)
2 T. Butter
2 t. Olive Oil
1/8 t. Pepper
1/8 t. Garlic salt
1/4 C. chopped onion
2 C. Chopped Mushrooms
3 Eggs
1 C. Broccoli cut
1 C. Sliced Carrots
1 C. Corn
1 C. Green Peas
1/2 C. Ham (I used chicken for a healthier protein, but you could also omit this for a veggie meal)
3 T. Soy Sauce

1. Heat olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high het.
2. Scramble eggs in small bowl, pour into hot oil, and sprinkle with pepper.
3. Cook eggs until they are firm enoug to flip- flip over and cook the other side.
4. Remove cooked eggs (large pancake shape about 1/4" thick) from pan and cut into 1/2" squares.
5. Saute mushrooms and onions with butter and garlic salt. Drain the liquid and set aside.
6. Heat vegetables in the preheated frying pan.
7. Add Chilled whea berries and mix ingredients together.
8. Combine the egg and mushroom/onion mix with the other ingredients in the pan.
9. Add your pre-cooked protein.
10. Drizle mixture evenly with soy sauce and stir in.
11. Season with salt, pepper and additional soy sauce if needed.

I got this recipe out of the book "Discover Wheat and Other Grains" by Cary Ruggles. The book has about fourteen other recipes, but tells you how to make the wheat berries in other ways, and how to also make creamy wheat berries, which have a cooked oatmeal consistency.

How to make "Wheat Berries":

4 C. White Hard Wheat
8 C. Water
1 t. Salt

Put all of these in a large pan (at least 5 qts).
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
Once you have reached a boil, place lid on pot, and simmer for 1 hour and 5 min. (or until the berries have a soft chewy consistency similar to brown rice. Some may be slightly cracked and open.)

This amount made me about 14 C. of wheat berries!

ENJOY
-Lindsay Kirby (smilelifeaway.blogspot.com)

Corn Bread

The best homemade corn bread I have tasted. Got it form my sister-in-law while in Utah.

Corn Bread

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. cornmeal
1 c. milk
1 can cream corn
1/2 c. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350* Cream together butter & sugar in a plastic bowl. Add eggs, mix in. Add rest of ingredients & mix. Pour into a greased 9x13 glass baking pan & bake for 40-45 min, or until golden brown. Serve with honey & butter. (recipe by Jenny Bates)

-Rebecca Fluhman