Citrus Almond Rice

I am addicted to cooking shows. All of them. But I especially LOVE Giada DeLaurentis and Paula Deen. I DVR Giada every single day and watch when the kids go to bed. She makes at least one recipe in every episode that I try to make at home. This is one of them. I saw this recipe on her show a few weeks ago, and she had me at "Toasted Almonds." Throw some citrus in there, and I'm hooked!

Her recipe calls for Basmati Rice, but I used what I had on hand. . .some good old Minute Rice. Also, her recipe calls for more olive oil (original recipe says 1/2 cup, but I just used 1/3), but this rice is plenty moist enough. Any more oil, and I'd think it was too oily. Maybe if I had used the Basmati Rice it would have needed the original amount, but I didn't use it in this.

Anyways, this is a keeper for sure. We'll be making it many more times. We all liked it. . .except for Tessa.

Citrus Almond Rice

3 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups minute rice
salt and pepper
zest from 1 medium orange
zest from 1 lemon
3/4 cup fresh, flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
3 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 cup sliced, toasted, almonds

1. In a pan, combine broth, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

2. Add in rice. Remove from heat, and let set for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the green onions and parsley.

4. Add in most of the zests. (Reserve a Tbsp or so for garnish.)

5. In a small bowl, combine olive oil, orange juice, lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, and cumin.

6. Whisk until all combined. Pour over rice.

7. Gently fold dressing into the rice mixture.

8. Add in 1/2 cup of toasted sliced almonds and stir again.

9. Garnish rice with remaining almonds and zest.

Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwiches

Shredded BBQ Pork Sandwiches

3 to 4 lb pork loin (I usually buy the really big ones from Sams Club or Costco and cut it into thirds. I'd use one of the thirds for this recipe.)
1 medium sized onion, chopped
1 pkg. Lipton Onion Soup Mix
3 cloves garlic
1 cup BBQ sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's. . .SO GOOD!)

1. Toss all ingredients into crock pot.

2. Cook on low heat for 8 to 10 hours.

3. Should fall apart when touched with fork.

4. Serve on a bun with our without cheese!

Easy Drop Biscuits

I made this biscuits tonight with some soup. It was definitely a hurry-up meal. The soup was about five minutes from done when I realized that I didn't make anything to go with it and we had no bread in the house. Usually we'd do soup and salad, but there were plenty of veggies in the soup, and I decided to go this route.

So here they are. The worlds easiest no-fail biscuits. 15 minutes, start to finish.

Easy Drop Biscuits

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup milk

1. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

2. Slowly drizzle in butter and and mix a little bit.

3. Add in milk, and continue mixing until a soft dough forms.

4. Scoop, by 1/4 cupfuls onto baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

5. Bake at 450 for about 12 minutes.

Mini Donut Muffin

Mmmmmm. . . Mini Donuts. I have to admit, I haven't had real mini donuts in several years, but they ALWAYS sound delicious. Over Christmas, Dave and I stayed at my parents house and my Dad ordered some Mini Donuts from Schwanns. They were good. Sugary. Mouthwatering. Since then, been craving. Came across this recipe on the Baked Perfection website, and had to try them. It's like the real deal, or at least as close as you can come in a healthier way.

Mini Donut Muffin

MUFFIN:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
4 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla

TOPPING:
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.

2. In a separate bowl, combine eggs, yogurt, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla.

3. Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry.

4. Scoop, by Tbsp, into mini muffin tin sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

5. Bake at 400 for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool completely.

6. In a small dish, melt butter.

7. In a separate dish, combine sugar and cinnamon.

8. Dip each muffin in butter, then in cinnamon sugar.

New York Style Cheesecake

New York Style Cheesecake

CRUST:
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
6 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp melted butter

1. Mix all ingredients together and pat in a 9" springform pan.

2. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

CHEESECAKE:
5 8oz pkgs. cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 Tbsp flour
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1. Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and flour.

2. Add eggs in 1 at a time.

3. Stir in sour cream and vanilla.

4. Pour over crust, and bake at 350 for one hour.

Chicken and Veggie Alfredo Soup

Yet another old Pampered Chef recipe. This was the first time I made this soup and it was good. Not fantastic. Not amazing. Certainly not life changing (like the Toasted Almond Chicken. . .Yum.) But good.

I chose this recipe tonight because it's FAST! We go to church every Wednesday night, and so dinner is always a rush. I like to make something simple, that doesn't take long to cook. We eat early, finish early, and head to church a few minutes early.

It's a fairly healthy dinner when made with the Light Alfredo Sauce. It's made with lots of veggies. The healthy part needs to come back around here. Weight Watchers kind of went out the window for me over the Holidays. And remember that fifteen pounds I lost? Well. . .Five just came back. So here we are. Fresh Start. Healthy dinner. Blah. . .Blah. . .Blah.

Chicken and Vegetable Alfredo Soup

1 cup chopped broccoli
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 small diced red pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 jar alfredo sauce
2 cups diced cooked chicken

1. Add broccoli, carrots, onion, red pepper, and garlic to a sauce pan.

2. Add in broth, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.

3. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for about 5 minutes or until veggies are crisp-tender.

4. Add in chicken and alfredo sauce. Simmer 5 more minutes.

5. Garnish with parmesan cheese and parsley.

Oreo Cookies and Cream

This is a summer time staple in our house. It's at every picnic, gathering, and weekend activity we have. So why am I making it in February? Because we haven't had it since August Ava's been BEGGING for it! It's her favorite. So tonight we had a summer "flash forward" meal. We grilled some brats, made a veggie pizza, tossed together some Cookies and Cream, and even had some chips and dip. We had the ultimate summer time dinner. . .smack dab in the middle of winter.

Oreo Cookies and Cream

1 large pkg. of Jello Instant Vanilla Pudding
2 cups milk
1 pkg. of Oreo cookies
12oz container of Cool Whip, thawed

1. Mix together pudding and milk and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, break Oreos into pieces and toss into pudding.

3. Mix pudding with Oreos.

4. Fold in Cool Whip and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

5. Stir again before serving.

Veggie Pizza

Veggie Pizza

2 pkgs. of Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 8oz pkgs. cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo
2 tsp dill
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Fresh Broccoli, Cauliflower, Carrots

1. Unroll and place crescents in a 10 x 15 pan. Press seams to seal.

2. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until slightly browned. Cool completely.

3. Mix together cream cheese, mayo, dill, and garlic powder.

4. Spread cream cheese mixture on cooled crescent rolls.

5. Chop fresh veggies, and top pizza with a thick layer of veggies.

Chicken and Vegetable Alfredo

Chicken and Vegetable Alfredo

1/2 cup butter
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Franks Red Hot
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup parmesan cheese
2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
Pasta cooked according to directions on pkg.
2 cups cooked, broccoli
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 cup sweet peas

1. In a sauce pan, melt butter.

2. Stir in the heavy cream and bring to a boil.
.
3. Add in garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, Franks Red Hot, salt, and pepper.

4. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly until slightly thickened.

5. Meanwhile, in another saute pan, saute the red pepper in a tsp of olive oil until tender.

6. Toss together, sauce, chicken, and pasta, and veggies. Sprinkle with cheese and stir. (The cheese melts right into the sauce and helps to thicken it up a bit.)

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

Garlic Parmesan Green Beans

1 bag of frozen, steam in the bag, green beans
2 cloves fresh garlic
salt
pepper
2 tsp butter
1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

1. Steam green beans in bag as directed on package.

2. Meanwhile, in a saute pan, heat the butter.

3. Toss the green beans into the pan with the butter.

4. Add to the beans, garlic, salt, and pepper.

5. Saute until beans are well coated, and slightly browned.

6. Top with parmesan cheese and toss to coat.

Chicken Potpie Crumble

I am obsessed with comfort food. It's just sooooooo gooood. Really. I love chicken potpie, chicken and dumplings, mac and cheese, all sorts of delicious tasty things that are not at all good for you. But I have to say, that chicken potpie just may be my favorite.

I love the potpies with the flaky pie crust, but I kid you not, with this crumble, you won't think twice about the pie crust. It's amazing. Warm, cozy, buttery, delicousness. I dare you try it.

Chicken Potpie Crumble

POTPIE FILLING:
1 bag of cooked shredded carrots
3 potatoes, diced and cooked
1 bag frozen sweet peas
2 cups cooked, diced chicken
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
5 cups milk
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Franks Red Hot (Yes, we really do put that "stuff" on everything.)


1. Mix together the carrots, potatoes, peas, corn, and chicken. Set aside.

2. In a saucepan, melt the butter.

3. Stir in flour.

4. Slowly stir in the milk.

5. Cook over medium heat until boiling. Boil, while stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

6. Pour veggie and chicken mixture into the sauce. (It will look like a lot of sauce, but it get soaked up and thickens a bit during baking.)

7. Pour Potpie Filling into two large pie dishes, or one 9 x 13 pan.

8. Top with Crumble.

9. Bake at 350 for about an hour.

10. Let set for about 15 minutes before serving. Filling is HOT HOT HOT!
CRUMBLE TOPPING:
3 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp pepper
1 stick butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

2. Cut in butter until it's thick and crumbly.

3. Stir in heavy cream.

4. Take dough, and using your hands, crumble it onto a large baking sheet.

5. Bake at 450 for about 10 minutes.

6. Take crumble and evenly cover your potpie filling.

Bacon Cheddar Cracker Spread

Mmmmmmm. . . Bacon. I adore this lovely mixture. It is so good. I mean, honestly, it's bacon and cheese.

I had this for the first time at a party and I HAD to have the recipe. It has become a Holiday Staple in our home. It's at almost every get together.

You can put it on anything, and it will taste delicious. I like to eat it with Wheat Thins. It's something about the salty bacon with the sweet cracker. Yum. We've also topped baked potatoes with this as well, and it gets all melty and cheesey.

You HAVE to make it. Just do it.

Bacon Cheddar Cracker Spread

1 lb cooked, crumbled, bacon
2 bunches of chopped green onions
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
enough mayo to hold ingredients together

1. Mix together the bacon, green onions, and cheese.

2. Mix in mayo. You only need enough mayo to hold the ingredients together.

3. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

4. Serve with crackers.

Spaghetti Soup

I got this recipe years ago when I used to sell Pampered Chef. It came in a little envelope with several soup recipes. I've actually made most of the recipes in that envelope, but had never made this one. I made it tonight because I had all the ingredients on hand, and my husband and son LOVE spaghetti. This was a quick fix on a busy night. It was literally less than 30 minutes - start to finish.

The name of the soup says it all. . .Spaghetti Soup. It tastes like spaghetti. . .only soupy. Dave thought it was good, and Justin said it was great. I'm not a spaghetti fan, so for me, it was just so-so.

I'll tell you what, if you have the ingredients in cupboard, and are looking for something easy, and you like spaghetti, give it a try. It's different than the usual spaghetti, but not so different that it'll surprise you.

Spaghetti Soup

1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 ring of smoked kielbasa sausage, diced small
2 cloves garlic, pressed
4 cups beef broth
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
2 cups uncooked pasta
parmesan cheese

1. In a large pot, saute smoked sausage with onion and garlic until onions are tender and sausage is slightly browned.

2. Add in spaghetti sauce, broth, salt, pepper, sugar, Italian Seasoning, and onion powder.

3. Bring to a boil, and toss in pasta.

4. Boil for about 8 to 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

5. Add in zucchini and cook for a few more minutes.

6. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Rocky Road Brownies

Who doesn't like brownies, I mean really. Does it get much better than a gooey, chocolatey, brownie?

Oh Yes It DOES!!! Toss some marshmallows, chocolate chips, and peanuts on top and you have yourself some simple decadence.

My mom used to bake these all the time when we were little kids. They are simple, tasty, and a favorite quick treat of all of ours. We usually have all the ingredients on hand to make these on any given day, however, I rarely do. So when I threw these together the other day, I couldn't keep everyone's hands off them!

Rocky Road Brownies

1 pkg. Family Size Fudge Brownie Mix, plus ingredients to make
1 bag small marshmallows
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups peanuts

1. Mix brownie batter as directed on package. Spread in a 9 x 13 baking pan.

2. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

3. Take hot brownies out of the oven and sprinkle with marshmallows. Top with chocoalte chips and peanuts.

4. Put brownies back in the oven for about 5 more minutes.

5. Take brownies out of oven and and let cool completely.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookie Pizza

Valentine's Day is a HUGE Holiday at my house. Sounds weird to most, but it's a biggie here. I took a tip from my Aunt Nancy, and ran with it.

My Aunt Nancy told me that Valentine's Day was her favorite holiday. She always made a big deal of Valentines Day for her family. Her kids LOVED it! It's just a great day to tell the people you love. . .that you love them. We all go through that age as teens where Valentine's Day is awful if you don't have a boyfriend or girlfriend to share it with. Aunt Nancy wanted to make Valentine's Day about family. . .it doesn't always have to be a "romantic" kind of love. I thought that this was a great idea! I mean really, is there anyone you love more than your kids?

So over the last few years, Valentine's Day has turned into quite the ordeal here. We ALWAYS start the day off with Chocolate Covered Strawberries, and some other type of heart shaped breakfast.

Lunch is the same, Sweetheart Sandwiches, pink and red Jello, anything "Valentiney." I always make a dinner that my husband will love, and a dessert we all like as well. The kids get special little treats from us, and we just celebrate our love, and our family.

Today, I made a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookie Pizza. It's a take on Pampered Chef recipe I used to make years ago. I love chocolate covered strawberries, and this recipe combines a chocolate chip cookie, with fresh berries, and delicious, nutty, toasted almonds. It's so good.

I hope you share this recipe with that special someone on Valentine's Day, and if you have any favorite ways to celebrate this year, post a comment! I'm always up for new ideas!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookie Pizza

1 pkg. refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 8oz pkg of cream cheese
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 lb strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup melted white chocolate
1/4 cup toasted, sliced, almonds

1. Spread cookie dough in a heart shaped pan.

2. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

3. Microwave chocolate chips with cream cheese until melted and smooth.

4. Spread melted chocolate over the cookie.

5. Top with sliced strawberries, drizzle with white chocolate, and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Pizza Sandwich Sticks

Pizza Sandwich Sticks

8 slices of good bread
8 slices of smoked provolone cheese
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 jar pizza sauce

1. Mix together butter, cheese, and garlic powder.

2. Spread mixture on to 4 slices of bread.

3. Put bread, butter side down, on grill pan.

4. Top each piece of bread with 2 pieces of provolone cheese.

5. Butter last 4 slices of bread.

6. Top cheese, with last slices of bread.

7. Cook like grilled cheese sandwiches.

8. When sandwiches are done, cut into sticks, and serve with pizza sauce.

Parmesan Garlic Butter

Parmesan Garlic Butter

1 stick butter
3 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp garlic powder
dash of salt

1. Mix together all ingredients.

2. Serve on bread, rolls, or anything else!!!

Cream of Corn Soup

Cream of Corn Soup Recipe

1 can (15 oz) cream style corn

1 can (15 oz) sweet corn kernels

5 cups and a bit more milk

2 cubes chicken bouillon

1/2 onion, chopped

3 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp All-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry onions and butter on low heat, stirring constantly till onions are soft but not brown.

2. Add flour and stir well.

3. Add milk and chicken bouillon.

4. Let it come to a boil. Turn heat to medium-low and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add cream style corn and sweet corn kernels.

6. Heat on medium-low for another 5-10 minutes (if using other vegetables, add now).

7. Add salt and pepper to taste and continue to simmer for an additional 5 minutes till heated through.

Banana Pudding Parfaits

Banana Pudding Parfaits

1 large package of Jello Vanilla Cook and Serve Pudding
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
24 vanilla wafers
2 large bananas, sliced
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 more tsp vanailla extract

1. In a saucepan, combine pudding and milk.

2. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla. Cool Slightly.

3. Layer 1/4 cup pudding in 4 dessert glasses.

4. Top each pudding cup with 3 broken vanilla wafers.

5. Top vanilla wafers with several slices of banana.

6. Repeat layers with pudding, wafers, and banana.

7. Add one more layer of pudding to each cup.

8. Whip together cream, sugar, and vanilla, and top each parfait with whipped cream.

Chicken and Orzo Soup

Chicken and Orzo Soup

1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, pressed
2 tsp oregano or italian seasoning
8 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup orzo, uncooked
3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
2 cups of chopped zucchini
1/2 cup roasted red peppers, chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in large soup pot.

2. Add onion, garlic, and oregano, and saute for about 3 minutes.

3. Add broth, water, and pepper.

4. Bring to a boil and stir in orzo.

5. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 8 more minutes.

6. Add in chicken, zucchini, and pepper.

7. Return to a boil and cook for about 2 more minutes.

8. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.

9. Ladle in to bowls, and top with parmesan cheese.

Dump Cake

Dump Cake

1 large can of crushed pineapple
1 can of cherry pie filling
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup melted butter

1. Dump pineapple and cherry pie filling into a 9 x 13 pan. Make sure pan is evenly covered.

2. Sprinkle cake mix over the top of filling.

3. Top cake mix with chopped pecans.

4. Drizzle melted butter over cake mix.

5. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Creamed Potatoes

Creamed Potatoes

6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
6 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 to 6 cups milk
4 chicken boullion cubes

1. Place potatoes in a sauce pan, and cover with water.

2. Bring to a boil.

3. Boil until fork tender.

4. Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, melt butter.

5. Add in flour and whisk until incorporated.

6. Slowly pour in milk.

7. Add in salt, pepper, and boullion cubes.

8. Stir over medium heat until boiling.

9. Cook for a few minutes and remove from heat.

10. Place potatoes into a baking dish and pour the cream over the top of potatoes.

11. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350.

Kim's Bourbon Street Chicken

My sister, Kim, made this for my family the first time we had it. It's amazing. We loved it. She makes it a lot, this was only the second time I made it. It's quick, easy, and made with ingredients everyone usually has on hand. I did make a few a small changes which are noted in the ingredients. Also, I breaded the chicken. Kim used chicken breasts, just saute'd in the pan until done.

Kim's Bourbon Street Chicken

Chicken:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1/2 cup corn starch
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

1. Toss chicken in a large resealable Ziploc bag.

2. Mix together all the dry ingredients.

3. Add dry ingredients to bag, and shake until chicken is well coated.

4. Fry for a few minute in oil until the outside of the chicken in browned and crisp.
5. Take chicken out of pan and set it on a baking sheet.

6. Cook in the oven at 350 until cooked through.

Bourbon Street Glaze:
1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 Tbps cornstarch (not in original recipe, but helps make sauce more glaze like.)

1. Mix together garlic, ginger, pepper flakes, apple juice, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water, and soy sauce and cornstarch.

2. Bring to a boil.

3. Once mixture is boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Toss with chicken, and serve over rice.

NOTE: I added red and green peppers to this the first time I made it, and topped it with a few toasted sesame seeds. It added that little something special.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

Ok. . .not gonna lie to you. This is not the best pizza sauce ever. It's simply Ok when in a pinch. We made pizza last night, and thought we'd do the whole homemade sauce thing. This is a recipe I came across and the kids ate it and liked it. I didn't think it was fantastic. When I find a better one. . . I'll ditch this one. But you try it. See what you think. If you have a good one PLEAE email me or post it as a comment.

Homemade Pizza Sauce

one 6oz can of tomato paste

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons dried Italian Spices

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Mix all together!

2. Spread on pizza dough and top as desired!

Saute'd Zucchini and Onions

Saute'd Zucchini and Onions

2 small zucchini, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic
salt
peper

1. In a large saucepan, melt butter.

2. Toss in zucchini and onions and stir fry until slightly blackened.

3. Add in garlic, salt, and pepper.

4. Continue to saute until crisp tender.

Chips Ahoy Pie

This is the easiest thing ever to make. So easy, in fact, that I'm almost ashamed to post it. But it's SO GOOD! I mean seriously, it's inexpensive, quick, and so easy that my 6 year old daughter could make it. . . in fact, she did make it!

Ava is in Kindergarten and she only has school every other day. On her days off, she's always wanting to do something creative with me. She loves to cook, bake, and create art projects. Today, we made some little stuffed animals with a kit she got for Christmas called "Magic Fabric." She loves it. After that she wanted to make a special dessert for our Friday Family Movie Night.

I was flipping through some cooking magazines and I came across this recipe in a Simple and Delicous magazine and thought. . .Wow. That looks simple. And delicious! Then I went online to browse through other recipes, and found that this one is everywhere. A lot of blogs are calling it "Cookie Dough Pie" because when you eat it, it has the texture and taste of cookie dough.

Chips Ahoy Pie

1 pgk. (15oz) of Chips Ahoy Original Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 12oz container of Cool Whip
1 cup milk

1. Start by dipping some of your cookies in milk. You'll want to do this quickly, and tap them to get the excess milk off so that you don't get puddles of milk in your pie.
2. Then cover the bottom of a 9" pie plate with the cookies. Break them to make sure they cover the whole bottom of the plate if need be.
3. Cover the cookies with a thin layer of Cool Whip.

4. Repeat this process until you have three layers of cookie.
5. Once finished, use the remaining Cool Whip to top your pie and "decorate" as desired.
6. Toss it in the freezer, and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving.

Grandma Dorothy's Chop Suey

Grandma Dorothy's Chop Suey

1 lb hamburger, browned
1 bunch celery, chopped
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 beef boullion cubes
4 cups water
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbps sugar
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/4 cups long grain rice (NOT Minute Rice.)

1. In a large pan, brown the hamburger until cooked through.

2. Toss the rest of the ingredients in with the hamburger and cook, over medium heat, for about 45 minutes. Most of the liquid should be gone when Chop Suey is ready to eat.

3. Serve with Chow Mein Noodles.