Holiday Cream Cheese Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter, softened

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer set at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add flour gradually, beating continually until blended. Roll dough 1/8-inch thick on a floured surface. Cut with cookie cutters. Arrange on ungreased baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Decorate as desired. Yield: 4-6 dozen.

Pasta Casserole

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 green onion stems chopped
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 cans tomato soup
4 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
grated cheese for the topping
noodles of your choice (8 oz.)

Directions:
In a large skillet, fry the ground beef, breaking it up and browning it. Add the garlic salt, salt, sugar, green onions, and pepper. Simmer a few minutes. Add the two cans of tomato soup and simmer a few more minutes. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and the sour cream. Cook the noodles until just tender.

In a 9 X 13 pan, layer the meat sauce, noodles, and cream cheese/sour cream sauce. Repeat and then top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for one hour.

Note: This recipe did not tell you to cover with foil, but I wish I had! The top layer got a little hard and was a little chewy. I will cover to bake next time. otherwise, it was really good! Interesting flavor.

Creamy White Chili

This is so yummy! I think this is my favorite "chili" recipe now. It's got a bit of a kick, so if you don't like that, you might want to only add 1 can of the green chilis. I can't wait to make it again!

Ingredients:
1 T. oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 onion, chopped
14-oz can chicken broth
2 15-1/2 oz. cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
2 4 oz. cans chopped green chilies
1-1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. dried oregano
8-oz container sour cream
1/2 pt. whipping cream
10-oz. pkg. corn chips
8-oz. bag shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; add chicken and onion. Saute until chicken is cooked through; set aside. Combine broth, beans, chiles and seasonings in a large soup pot over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Add chicken mixture; reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add sour cream and whipping cream; mix well. Top with corn chips and cheese.

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients:
1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Cookies, finely crushed, divided
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
2 pkg. (8 squares each) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

Directions:
MIX 3 cups of the cookie crumbs and the cream cheese until well blended. Shape into 1-inch balls. (I placed them in the freezer to harden them so that they would not get too mushy once you put them in the chocolate and this was a huge help!)

DIP balls in melted chocolate (I would melt only a few bars of chocolate at a time); place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. (Any leftover melted chocolate can be stored in tightly covered container at room temperature and saved for another use.) Sprinkle truffle tops with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour or until firm. Store any leftover truffles in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Outcome: This was an easy recipe and they were good! I used reduced-fat cream cheese and they came out just fine. I also got away with only using 1 pkg. of chocolate! It made about 50 truffles, too. For a twist, I might use the Mint Oreos next time. I think that would make them even more fabulous!

Mexican Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes, with peel
4 Tablespoons butter
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cups salsa
1 cup chopped peppers (red, green or yellow) (optional)
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
Cilantro (optional)

Directions:
Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces and place in greased casserole dish. Melt butter and stir in taco seasoning. Pour over the potatoes and stir to coat well. Bake uncovered at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes. Stir; bake 10 minutes longer.

Brown and crumble beef; add onion and cook until soft, then drain. Stir in salsa and chopped peppers; pour over potatoes. Top with grated cheese. And bake uncovered for 10 more minutes. garnish with chopped cilantro, if desired.

We really liked this and will definitely make it again! Very easy!

Crockpot Maple Dijon Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken pieces (frozen breast tenderloins worked well!)
1 cup chicken broth
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. thyme

Directions:
Put the chicken into the bottom of your crockpot and toss it with the thyme, maple syrup, and Dijon mustard. Peel and slice the sweet potato, and add to the pot. Add the onion and garlic. (Note: If you don't want your onion to have a crunch, put it at the bottom of the crockpot; otherwise on top of the chicken is fine.) Pour in the chicken broth. Add the bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5. This is done when the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables reach desired tenderness.

Outcome: This was not one of Ken's favorites (nor mine) but I liked it and would make it again. It was just missing a little something. We added salt & pepper at the end, but I would add a little more mustard maybe too? Not quite sure yet. I served it over brown rice.

Aunt Barbara's Chocolate Cake

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. instant pudding
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. strong coffee
10 oz. sour cream
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all but chips for 5 minutes in mixer. Add chips last. Bake in tube pan for approx. 65 minutes.

This is sooooo good! It doesn't even need icing, and icing is usually my favorite part of a cake!

Waikiki Meatballs

This is a pretty sweet tasting dish. Just FYI. :)

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
2/3 c. cracker crumbs (I used bread crumbs)
1/3 c. minced onion
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. salt

Mix all together and shape into balls. Brown in frying pan or bake in oven.

In saucepan over medium heat:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. vinegar
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 c. milk
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 can pineapple tidbits, juice only (save the pineapple for later)

Stir constantly until thickens. Add the pineapple and pour over the meatballs and stir. Serve over rice. If you like lots of sauce, double it!