M&M Cookies

Source

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups all purpose flor
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 - 1 1/2 cups M&Ms

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars together. Add egg and vanilla, mixing to combine. Add flour, pudding mix, baking soda, and salt, stirring to combine. Add M&Ms, stirring to combine.
3. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

Notes: We had leftover M&Ms from Cohen's birthday cake, so I decided that this classic would be a fun treat to make with the kids and freeze for future lunches. I had also heard good things about pudding cookies, so I was excited to try it! We weren't disappointed! Yum! I doubled the recipe so that I could use a whole box of pudding. (There was a little extra, but I just dumped it all in.)

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Source: Inspired by these recipes I found on pinterest, and taking some ideas from my favorite tortilla soup recipe from my old neighbor Camilla, I mostly made this one up on my own (kinda fun!).

Ingredients:
~2 cups celery, diced (I used a bunch of odds and ends pieces I had in my fridge, but I'd guess probably 4-5 stalks should do ya)
~2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced (I got this from 4 medium carrots)
1 large onion, diced
1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 heaping cup cooked and shredded chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
2 (10.5 oz) cans cream o' chicken soup
2 (14 oz) cans chicken broth
2+ cups water (I used the leftover water that I cooked my chicken in - is that legal?)
ground black pepper and parsley, to taste
2 Tablespoons cornstarch + 3 Tablespoons cold water

Directions:
Heat the oil in a 5 quart soup pot.  Dump in the celery, carrots and onions and saute until the onion is translucent and the veggies start to soften.  Add the frozen peas and corn, cream o' soup, chicken broth and water.  Stir well to mix everything.  Season with pepper and dried parsley.  Simmer on low for at least a half hour (I had mine cooking for about an hour).  For the last ten minutes of simmering, add the cornstarch-water mixture and watch it magically thicken up nicely.

Notes:
I saw a couple Chicken Pot Pie Soup recipes floating around on pinterest recently and the idea just sort of stuck in my head.  I didn't think ahead today in time to make it in a crock pot like the recipes I found suggested, but this stove-top version worked out nicely for our needs.  (I think it would work out fine in a crock pot, too, and may use that idea in the future.)  I tweaked the recipes I found (I didn't add mixed frozen veggies since I didn't have them and I didn't add potatoes because that seemed kind of weird to me for a chicken pot pie dish) and was really pleased with the results.  We gobbled ours up tonight (even though it wasn't really a soup-weather sort of night) with some hot whole-wheat biscuits and it was quite the delicious meal.

Eggplant Zucchini Bolognese

Source: from my mom via an Elwood Family Cookbook (I don't know where she got it though)

Ingredients:
1 16 oz package penne pasta
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium zucchini, cut into1/4 inch slices
1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 28 oz can tomato puree
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning (I didn't have this, so I used a shake-shake-shake approach and just added some garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, marjoram, oregano and basil)
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook pasta according to package directions.  In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, zucchini, squash, onion, oil, garlic, salt and pepper.  Transfer to a large cookie pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain grease.  Stir in tomato puree, Italian seasoning and brown sugar.  Drain pasta; stir into tomato mixture and roasted vegetables.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Yield: 8 servings.

Notes:
I noticed this one in a cookbook my cousin compiled a few years ago.  I decided it sounded tasty, so on a whim I bought an eggplant at the store (along with zucchini and summer squash - someday I'll grow all three in a garden of my own, but today is not that day) and whipped this up for Sunday dinner last week.  It was flavorful and delicious and full of yummy vegetables.  Callie loves her noodles, so she was in heaven (especially since penne are more easily eaten by her as opposed to spaghetti noodles).  We all enjoyed this meal and I'll be keeping it around for the day when I can use my own home-grown veggies!

Brigham City Peach Cobbler

Source: The Essential Mormon Cookbook

Ingredients:
for the filling:
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch (I don't know why, but we had to double this and the sugar-cornstarch-water mixture never really got thick on the stove - we carried on and it all thickened up great in the cobbler, so I don't know what was up with that)
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches (ours didn't come from Brigham City, but they did come from Palisade, via the grocery store, so that's close for us Coloradans)
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon butter

for the topping:
1 cup flour
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup milk
Ice cream or whipped topping

Directions:
For filling, in a large saucepan combine brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add almond extract. Stir in peaches, lemon juice, and the 1 tablespoon butter; heat through and keep warm while preparing topping.

For topping, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a separate bowl combine egg and milk; add all at once to flour mixture, stirring just to moisten. Turn hot filling into a greased 1 1/2 or 2 quart casserole. Immediately spoon on topping in 6 mounds. Bake at 400 F for approximately 20 minutes. Makes 6 servings. This recipe also works well with 4 cups fresh raspberries or blackberries, or a combination of raspberries and peaches.

Notes:
Nothing beats Kim's Fruit Cobbler recipe, but I had heard rave reviews about this one from my family and had to give it a try.  Turns out it is mighty delicious, and actually quite similar to Kim's.  This one differs with the addition of almond extract (I liked it, but I think 1 teaspoon might have been a bit too much) and the batter is a little stickier.  Yummy stuff those peaches.  Even yummier baked up in a bubbly, warm cobbler.  Hooray for summer!

Banana Carrot Muffins

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe . . . always

Ingredients:
2 cups lightly measured flour (10 ounces) (if I would have had whole wheat flour ground before making these at 8:30 at night after Callie went to bed, I'd probably use it for half or more of the flour, but alas, I did not, so I used all unbleached all purpose in this batch)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I upped it up to a full teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 very ripe medium bananas)
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil)
1/4 cup no-sugar added applesauce
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup finely grated carrots (no need to peel beforehand) (mine was a heaping cup from about 3 medium carrots)
a healthy handful of raisins (this was my addition to the recipe, and I only added it to half my batch, but next time I won't leave 'em out)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or line ~18 muffin cups (I got 17 from my batch) with cooking spray or muffin liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

In a medium bowl or in a large liquid measure, whisk together the bananas, brown sugar, oil, applesauce, eggs and vanilla.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients along with the carrots (and raisins!). Fold the ingredients together with a rubber spatula until just combined. Don't overmix!

Divide the batter evenly (I always use my 2 Tablespoon measuring spoon which equals an 1/8 cup - it works perfectly for filling muffin tins, I've found) in the prepared pans and bake for ~15-20 minutes until a knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes:
September is here and these were the muffins I decided to make as my muffin of the month.  They were delicious, especially with the raisins.  A fun little variation on the typical banana bread muffin I usually make; I especially liked the colorful pop of orange from the carrot flecks.  Callie, as usual, totally devoured these little muffins.  And I loved them warm from the oven with a little (or medium-sized, let's be honest) dab of butter melting inside.  Yum!

Epicurean Chicken Pasta Salad

Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Ingredients:
for the Salad:
10 ounces (actually anywhere between 8-12 ounces) rotini pasta (I found that 3 ounces = 1 cup dry, so I used 4 cups dry)
2-3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces or shredded (I dropped this to about 1 cup shredded and didn't miss the extra)
1 large sweet-tart apple, cored, diced (Mel prefers Honey Crisp for this salad - I just used a Gala)
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, diced small (about 1 cup)
1 15 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained very well (I had a 20 ounce can and used about half of it)
1/2 cup red grapes, halved (my grapes were ginormous so I quartered them)
2/3 cup sliced almonds (I think I just used about 1/2 cup I think)

for the Honey Lime Dressing:
1/2 cup light or regular mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup light or regular sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of black pepper
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 tablespoon poppy seeds

Directions:
In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the pasta until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.  In a large bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together.

In another small or medium bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together.

Pour the dressing over the salad and stir gently to mix so that all the ingredients are evenly coated with the
dressing.

Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to an hour (the salad may dry out a bit if refrigerated for much longer - you can make extra dressing or reserve part of the dressing to stir in right before serving).  (I had leftovers for days and I didn't notice any drying effect, so I may make it a few hours in advance without any worries in the future if needed.)  I also felt like it needed just a touch more salt (maybe because I didn't salt my pasta water?) so I sprinkled some on my serving when eating.

Notes:
I saw this salad pop up on Mel's blog recently and thought it looked mighty tasty.  The honey-lime dressing really tickled my fancy.  So I whipped it up to serve as a side for a dinner of Marv 'n' Joes, courtesy of Mom's garden tomatoes.  That's a late-summer meal if I've ever had one!  Also interesting to note: this salad was the cause of Callie's very first documented temper tantrum.  She wanted MORE noodles and wasn't happy when I suggested she eat a bite of grape or chicken before I gave her more.