Blackberry Cobbler

Oh yeah! Come to mama! I saw this recipe online and just had to make it. The pictures on the other website are pretty appetizing. PW, you make my every dessert dreams come true!

I think this is probably the first recipe on here I have incorporated salt as an ingredient as I hate to use it unless I really really have to. I know a lot of people use it religiously, especially if a recipe calls for it, but I usually omit. It's the health nut side of me I guess.

After bringing this to my family Christmas, I had zero leftovers. Everyone absolutely devoured and loved it. I got all kinds of compliments and never again will I be allowed to bring anything to a family Christmas but dessert. I won't complain; it's my favorite thing to make.

Serve with vanilla ice cream for best results.

Blackberry Cobbler

Adapted from: Tasty Kitchen

6 cups blackberries

1/2 cup PLUS 4 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 fresh lemon)

1/2 whole zest of lemon (from fresh lemon)

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

4 tbsp butter

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in large bowl. Spread mixture into a 9x9 (or similar size) pyrex dish and flatten with a spoon.

In a separate bowl pour in flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 tbsp sugar. Add shortening and butter and mix well with a pastry blender until mixture is coarse. Measure 1/2 cup milk in large measuring cup, add 1 egg and mix well. Pour into flour mixture, stirring as you go. The final product should not be too dry or too sticky. If too dry, add a little more milk.

Take small clumps of dough and place on top of blackberries until covered. Lightly flatten dough with fingertips and sprinkle with remaining 3 tbsp of sugar. Bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Berry juice will be slightly thin but allowing it to sit will give it time to soak up into the cobbler topping.

Serve with vanilla ice cream. Don't skip this last step!

Easy Cherry Pie

Have you forgotten about that pitch-in at work or a family gathering you volunteered to bring dessert to? No need to worry because here is the solution. Easy as pie!

My mom has been making this and taught me a long time ago how to master the art of a beautiful crust. Moms are the best and I plan to pass this talent onto my children some day.

Easy Cherry Pie

Adapted from: the recipe on the cans of cherry filling at local grocery

1 package pie crusts

2 21oz cans cherry pie filling

2 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease pie pan. Unroll one pie crust and lay into pie pan making sure all sides are an even height. Pour pie filling into crust and cover flat with second crust. Take a dull knife and cut excess crust that hangs over the edge of the glass pie pan.

Fold top layer of crust over top bottom layer's edge of crust and press together. When finised make into a desired "crust-like" zig-zag pattern. Cut 12-16 slits in top of crust with dull knife for ventilation and sprinkle with sugar.

Cook pie at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and then turn heat down to 350 degrees for remaining 30 minutes. I like to put foil over top of my crust to prevent browning and hardening too much. I usually remove after the first 20-30 minutes.

Notes From the Kitch

Just wanted to update! I got a Kitchen Aid mixer for Christmas because my mom is the best mom in the entire world!! Pardon my bed-hair too.

Also we will be moving in almost two weeks and so I won't be doing much new cooking, so my blogs might be few and far between. :( Although when I do get my new kitchen set up I will be taking some pictures around it and possibly making a new header with it. I have been waiting and waiting (on pins and needles) to move for just that reason!

Don't get me wrong, I love my header, but it just doesn't say "cooking blog". The next one is sure to do so.

If you haven't already noticed I have been taking a different, more fun-loving, approach to my cooking blog. Any comments or suggestions are welcome. I can't decide if I prefer to have step-by-step directions or just the one final picture with instructions and a little story. I'm sure I will decide after a few more blogs the new way to see what I like .. what others like .. and what looks good.

Thanks for being patient and sticking around!

Easy Tuna Melt

Here's another simple and easy dinner for those "I don't want to work out, do laundry or cook" kind of nights. It's very simple with few ingredients and can be modified for your own personal taste. I also added some Spirulina hot sauce. It has a green tip. You can find it at certain grocery stores in the asian food isle and I highly recommend it.

Easy Tuna Melt (4 sandwiches)
Adapted from: Allrecipes

2 can tuna in water, drained
mayonaise to taste (I used just under 1/4 cup)
1/4 small onion, chopped
8 pieces bread
4 slices cheese

optional ingredients:
peppers to taste (I didn't use any but will do green peppers next time)
1 Jalapeno, sliced and seeds/middle cut out (I used these the first trial and it really gave them some spice)
dash of minced garlic
dash of hot sauce (the peppers in my opinion gave this recipe more spice the first time around)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix tuna, onion, mayo and optional ingredients to taste. Place desired amount on bread and place onto cookie sheet. Place sliced jalapeno's onto tuna mix if desired and cheese slices on top of that. Bake approximately 5 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.

*I served this with a side spring mix salad and it was the perfect amount for dinner.

Black Bean & Salsa Soup

You want quick and easy? This took me a whole 10 minutes to prepare. If you have a can opener and a blender, you've got dinner! Just what I love after a long, hard days work. My husband said it didn't look nearly as good as it tasted. He even ate some for leftovers!!

*cue the choir music*

Also, don't skip the garnishings. The green onion really gives this dish something it wouldn't otherwise have.

Black Bean & Salsa Soup
Adapted from: Annie's Eats, originally Allrecipes

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1.5 cups chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 cup salsa
1 tsp cumin
sour cream, chopped green onion & shredded cheese for garnishing

Combine all ingredients except garnishings into a food processor until fairly smooth or desired consistency. Pour into saucepan and heat on low-medium until thoroughly warmed. Place into soup bowls and garnish as desired.

Baked Ricotta Penne

My answer is yes. I know you are asking, "Does it taste as good as it looks?" .. YES! This is the first time I've ever cooked any kind of noodles that weren't lasagna, fettucini or spaghetti. I love pasta but don't know what to do with it most times. This recipe was pretty easy to do and had few ingredients, most of which I already had on hand. Plus I love baked recipes because some nights I just don't want to slave over a stove for an hour just to slave over the dishes for an hour.

I had no complaints or suggestions on this one from my husband either. He liked it as-is! I did add the spices right at the end because I realized I hadn't used them and in the Holman's Blog where I got the recipe from, it didn't say where to use or add them in. Next time I think I will add them with the sauce to be able to get more of the flavorings out of them.

Baked Ricotta Penne

1 box penne pasta
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 cup ricotta
1/4 cup red peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pkg frozen spinach
1 jar marinara sauce
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 8x13 glass dish. Boil pasta until al dente (about 8 minutes). Meanwhile, heat ground beef on med-high heat in large skillet. After about 8 minutes, add garlic, red peppers, seasonings and marinara sauce and reduce heat to low. Add ricotta and stir until melted and combined. Add spinach and cook another 5-7 minutes.

Drain pasta. Add sauce and pasta to baking dish and combine well until pasta is coated. Top with mozzarella cheese and bake 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted

Buckeyes

Buckeyes have been a family tradition of mine for as long as I can remember. Every single gathering, there were buckeyes. My mom's side of the family is from Ohio of course, so it had to be known. By the way that does make me an Ohio State fan, but don't worry my husband is anti-OSU and reminds me every Saturday in the fall.

Anyways these are a recipe I have perfected over and over so the recipe is flawless exept one thing: making the batter. Making the batter, because it is so thick, is a chore and a half. You have got to have good upper body strength for it. This stuff is thick and it really needs to be. The batch makes a lot because these little guys are small, but mighty. Yes, kinda like the football team. Oh, Jim Tressel .. you are our man!

You know I couldn't get away with writing a blog update about Buckeyes without mentioning the great Jim Tressel!

Buckeyes
Kelly's Kitch original

1 lb butter
3 tbsp vanilla
2 cups peanut butter (smooth)
3 cups powdered sugar
12 oz pkg chocolate chips
paraffin, quarter sized piece (optional)

Cream together butter, vanilla and peanut butter. Mix in powdered sugar a little at a time until mixture is firm and manageable. Roll into quarter-sized balls and place on cookie sheet and into the fridge or freezer to harden. After 1-2 hours, dip balls with toothpick in the middle into melted chocolate chips (and optional paraffin). Leave a small amount of peanut butter still showing at the top to imitate a real buckeye, as shown above.

Place back onto cookie sheet and remove toothpick. Place cookie sheet in fridge for another 30 minutes to harden. I usually leave them in overnight, however.

Peppermint Bark

I never liked candy canes as a kid and I have never grown out of it. I really only made this because I know my family loves chocolate, loves peppermint, and put me in charge of desserts for Christmas this year. Oh boy will they be surprised when I show up with this! No one in my family has ever made this before. My husband also doesn't like peppermint so I couldn't find a taste-tester although I did try a piece as I am the chef and it is my job. Definitely didn't outgrow the dislike for peppermint .. although the bark itself turned out well.

I got the idea from the Holman's blog and it looked so good I wanted to make some myself since I had a ton of leftover chocolate bags. I just went and bought some $1 candy canes and voila! Peppermint bark! It was really quick too! Only took me maybe 30 minutes to make and I didnt even have to turn on the oven.

One thing I wish I would have done was press the candy cane pieces down into the white chocolate after sprinkling them on it. When I broke the bark later, a lot of the pieces broke off the top. I thought about it but they seemed to sink into it fine. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Peppermint Bark

1 12 oz bag white chocolate
1 12 oz bag milk chocolate
6 candy canes
parchment paper

Place parchment paper into a jelly roll pan (deep dish 8x13 pan) with about 3-5 inches on each end for handles. Folding it in the creases helps for later. Melt milk chocolate in double boiler or in microwave on defrost setting (in 30 second increments). Pour into pan lined with parchment paper and smooth around pan evenly. I used a large spatula but the smaller the better. Wherever the chocolate goes, the chocolate stays and hardens. Even on the sides.

Then, place the pan in the fridge for 20 minutes to harden. Meanwhile, crush 6 candy canes in ziplock bag with mallet or pulse in food processor. There will be some dust.

Melt the white chocolate and spread over top of the hardened milk chocolate layer. While white chocolate is still melted, sprinkle the chopped bits of peppermint onto the top of it and lightly press into the chocolate. Place back in fridge for another 15-20 minutes to allow to harden and pull bark in one piece out of pan and peel off of parchent paper to break into desired sized pieces.

Holiday Pretzel Treats

I promise this will be the easiest holiday treat you ever make. I made them a few years ago and they were such a huge hit at Christmas I had to make them again this year! They are so easy, too. You can customize them (thanks to Hershey's) to whatever suits your taste.

I used only chocolate this time around but last year I made hugs and caramel kisses with these too and they work great. If you like dark chocolate I'm sure they would taste fantastic as well. Me? I'm not a big chocolate fan so I made all chocolate because if I made the hugs, I would have eaten them all and I really don't need all those sweets right now.

Holiday Pretzel Treats

1 bag small pretzels (rounds or squares)
1 small bag M&M's (I prefer holiday colors since they are Chrismas themed)
2 small bags Hershey Kisses, your choice

Heat oven to 170 degrees. Cover cookie sheet with pretzels and top with kisses. Place in oven for 4 minutes, if using chocolate kisses. If using hugs 3.5 minutes is enough time. Pull cookie sheet out of oven and place an M&M on the top of each kiss and press until the kiss melts flat. If it is still hard inside, it needs to go back into the oven for a few seconds longer (20-30 second intervals). Place an M&M in the middle of each kiss and allow pan to cool a bit and place in freezer or fridge to harden. Then you may put into a cookie tin or platter to serve!

Note: I usually do each pan about 3 minutes apart to give myself enough time to finish the previous pan.

Gourmet Pretzel Rods

Making these pretzel rods has been an experience. I read several recipes online from several general websites and took the tips I could find to make my own recipe. I was mostly looking for a way to melt the white chocolate chips I had to make it smooth without a double boiler (as I don't have one). Well, I eventually found the best method on The Holman's Blog and when I put it on defrost, it worked perfectly. I will never forget my first, chunky batch. For time and sanity reasons I won't go there.

I already had a great carmel recipe from making my homemade carmel apples so I figured they would be perfect to put underneath the chocolate. I just didn't realize it would be such a long process. It is really worth it in the end though.

If you aren't one for carmel, then you can simply omit that section of the direction, but let me just say this: they taste like a twix bar but better. Yes, it's true. They are so delicious!!

Gourmet Pretzel Rods

1 bag pretzel rods
1 12 oz bag white chocolate
1 14 oz bag Caramels
2-3 tbsp milk
optional: holiday sprinkles

For caramel:

Melt milk and caramels in small, microwave-safe dish. Microwave in 30-second intervals sitrring in between until caramel is of a liquid and manageable consistency. Dip pretzel rods completely in caramel leaving a small section of the end uncovered (about 2-3 inches). If the dish doesnt allow this, you may us a spoon and spoon it on while twirling the pretzel.

Allow rod to drip excess caramel off for 10-15 seconds, flip rod completely upside-down (vertically) to even out for another 5-10 seconds. Then, place them on a lightly greased cookie sheet and refrigerate or freeze until hardened (1-2 hours).

Note: Do not use parchment paper! The caramel will stick to it and you will have completely ruined pretzel rods .. that is, unless you like to eat paper.

For Chocolate:

Melt chocolate in microwave-safe dish on the defrost setting in 30-second intervals stirring in between until it is a liquid and manageable consistency. Dip the caramel-covered pretzel rods into the chocolate, spooning over if needed, and allow to drip from the tip for 10-15 seconds. Flip vertically and allow the chocolate to settle a bit and place back onto cookie sheet. If desired, sprinkle the tips over the sink. Allow these to cool in the fridge or freezer and enjoy!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I got this recipe from a friend at work. The first time I tried it, I was completely amazed and thought that it had to be too complicated for me to re-make. Absolutely not! This is probably one of the easiest and most rewarding recipes in the recipe box. It never seems to taste differently when reheated for leftovers. I don't think I can say that about any other recipe.

I'm sure that this can somehow be made into a crock pot recipe as well since it simmers, but it's so quick that I usually do have time at the end of a long work day to make this. I like the recipes that I can just open cans, throw things in a pot and voila .. dinner! The only thing that I changed from the original recipe is that I mix in a little lemon juice with my lime juice to make it less tangy and give it some sweetness too. The original was just all lime juice.

Also note that the worst part about this recipe is shredding the chicken. It isn't too time consuming but is annoying and repetitive. Trust me, it is worth it in the end.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 lb boneless chx brst
1 can beans, undrained
1 can mexi-style stewed tomatoes, garlic, cumin, jalepenos
1 can fat-free chx broth
3 cans chopped green chiles, undrained
¼ cup lime juice & lemon juice combined (75% lime, 25% lemon)
2 tsp minced garlic
¾ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp dried oregano
Toppings (as needed): sour cream & shredded cheese

Combine all ingredients in large pot on stove and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Remove chicken from pot with tongs and shred with a fork. Return to pot, stir well and allow to simmer and warm up again. Serve with cheese and sour cream as desired.

Royal Icing & Sugar Cookies

Waking up Christmas morning to open presents, eat cookies and play with your siblings. That is what these cookies remind me of. They are a classic and are the perfect (and I mean PERFECT) recipe. Annie's Eats is where I found the recipe for both the cookies and the icing. One batch and I was done. These made about 28 cookies and I used every last piece of dough. I made extra, don't worry.

The icing on the other hand I will modify for next trial. I have heard horror stories about how hard royal icing is to master but this was the easiest especially with her how-to instructions on her blog. I can't believe I actually made them and succeeded! I dyed the red batch of icing with the suggested Wilton's dye and I couldn't find it in green so I had to use my food coloring I had at home. I actually liked the taste much better of the food coloring batch than the Wilton's. That stuff just left a gross after-taste in my mouth and the icing never really set right underneath the top. Not sure why. Use food coloring and if the mix gets too watery, add a little more powdered sugar.

Another tip would be to do the icing of the cookies on a cookie tray. Don't worry about them sliding around, they won't. I put them on a dish towel and needless to say, that dish towel is in need of a washer! The cookies were superb and had a perfect hint of almond extract. The icing was great and I heard no complaints from anyone.

Sugar Cookies (about 28 cookies)

1 cup butter
1 cup powdered sugar
1 egg, beaten
1.5 tsp almond extract (I used imitation and it tasted fine)
1 tsp vanilla
2.5 cup flour

Cream butter and add in powdered sugar. Blend in egg, almond extract, vanilla and flour. Chill dough until firm. Roll into 1/4" thickness (or as desired) on well-floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Re-roll dough and repeat. Bake cookies at 375 for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should not brown and they will not rise. Allow to cool before decorating.

When using royal icing, you have to have a lot of will power. No, not the Nascar racecar driver. Don't eat it as difficult as that is. :) When you make the batches of icing, divvy them up into sealable containers. The number of containers = number of colors you need. I used two different colors for one batch of 28 cookies and I had TONS of icing leftover so you could probably get away with 4 colors of icing with two batches of cookies easy.

Make the icing, put in piping bags with the couplers and tips and pipe the cookies (as shown above). I suggest Tip 3 as I had the best luck with this one (not popping the bag off the coupler). Allow those to cool (an hour or so) while the leftover icing is sealed in containers. You can leave the piping in the bags when not in use in a tall glass with a small amount of water in the bottom. Then add water to the sealable containers with the icing 1 tsp at a time so that the icing is more of a liquid consistency and drips off of a mixing spoon smoothly.

Then, spoon the icing inside the piped cookies. Using a bottle with nozzle works the best and is less messy. Help the icing reach the edges of the cookie with a toothpick until they look like the cookies below! As you can see I experimented with a few to see what I could get away with. Allow these to cool overnight and enjoy!

Royal Icing

4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp meringue powder (you can sub 2-3 egg whites for this)
5 tbsp water
toothpicks - for icing

Combine all ingredients with a mixer. Paddle attachment on a stand mixer is best. This will be the consistency of the icing that is piped for edging so if need be, you may add a small amount of water if it doesn't initially pipe through the #2 tip. After edging all the cookies, add about 1-3 more tbsp of water to the remaining icing in a tupperware container until it is smooth and drips off the back of a clean spoon. It should reabsorb into the tupperware container in about 10-12 seconds. It doesn't take much more water to get the consistency needed.

Note: I used to add enough water to make it the consistency on Annie's website but that was too much water and the icing never set. Use just a little less than is recommended on that website.

Lasagna

Why Italian food is such a staple in my household, I will never know. Neither of us are Italian. I think we are just carb-lovers. Me having a degree in Exercise Science, I should know better. I say that because my husband won't let me substitute white for wheat noodles hardly ever. He is slowly coming around though. There is always that saying, "Do as I say, not as I do." That might just become a staple in our household too as we have kids .. just kidding!

My mom always made the best lasagna on the block. I never tried it until I was an adult. Why? I have no idea, but it's so delicious! It's a recipe from her mother's mother and so on. This one is another one of my family recipe's so please let me know how it turns out for you. I absolutely love this recipe although I do tweak it a bit as I am only cooking for two and not a big family yet. I made this a few weeks ago for my husband's friends (and groomsmen from the wedding) as they were all in town. I also had side salad and garlic bread too. They all went home and I'm sure I have now raised the bar for their wives now. I swear that wasn't my intention! I just like to feed people!!

When you make this, know that the ricotta cheese comes out in chunks but if you take the time to do so, you can spread it; it is possible. This past time I was lazy and hungry so I just did it in a rush and piled it on in chunks. Brad didn't like them so much and maybe next time I will use less. Also I have tried to leave the pasta whole or break it in half. I prefer to break it in half. It is more manageable that way. A few tips from classic mistakes I have made: put the lasagna noodles on the bottom of the dish or you will have a MESS. Also, top with the cheese covering. If you have exposed noodles, they will harden in the oven. Nobody likes crunchy lasagna.

Lasagana

1 pound ground beef
1 can tomatoes
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
1/3 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp oregano
1/4 lb lasagna noodles, cooked
8 ounces mozzarella cheese
1/2 tub racotta cheese
parmesan cheese

Brown meat in large skillet. Add onion and cook until tender (about 4-5 minutes). Stir in tomatoes, paste, water, garlic and seasonings. Cover and simmer on low 25 minutes. In a 12x8 greased baking dish, layer the lasagna in this order: noodles, meat sauce, racotta cheese, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

This recipe makes two layers. Double it for a deep-dish three layered lasagna for a large party!

Spaghetti & Meatballs

I always grew up in a household where spaghetti was a weekly meal. No matter what. My mom always made it wonderfully and with ground beef it in too. I have become lazy over time and just make sauce and noodles. This time I wanted to spice things up a bit. Meatballs seemed to do just that.

I have never made meatballs so I was looking for an easy weeknight recipe. I was browsing some of my favorite blogs and came across this recipe on Lindsey's Kitchen. I thought I would give it a go and I must say that my first try at meatballs was a fantastic success!! I don't think I would change a thing in this recipe except the timing of how long to cook the meatballs. I might make them in the sauce next time because they browned too much and stuck a little to the pan. They still tasted fantastic and heard NO COMPLAINTS from the husband .. which is rare as we have very different food tastes!

Spaghetti & Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1 egg
1 tsp dried parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup bread crumbs, divided (I used Italian)
1/2 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
1/4 cup milk
dash salt (optional
1/4 tsp garlic powder

1.5-2 jars spaghetti sauce
1 package spaghetti noodles

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 1/4 cup bread crumbs with milk and let sit for 8-10 minutes. Combine with all remaining ingredients and shape into desired sized balls. Cook for 30 minutes and then add to the sauce. If you want to cook them the whole way in the oven, turn them over and cook an additional 10-15 minutes longer depending on the size. I would highly recommend adding to the sauce though.

NOTE: I put on the ingredient list 1.5-2 jars spaghetti sauce because this recipe makes so many meatballs that there is no sauce left for the spaghetti. It is best for a large group. If you are just making for two people and don't want too many leftovers, I would suggest cutting the recipe in half.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

I have been trying to find time to make this recipe all week. I was afraid it would take a ton of time and that is a luxury I don't have these days. The recipe is actually very quick and relatively easy. My wonderful husband decided to help with both the dishes (oh yes, the dishes) and with the food preparation. This helped tremendously and allowed me to concentrate on following the directions very carefully. Something I am notorious for not doing.

This is embarrassing to say, but I didn't know how to use my Cuisinart Food Processor we got for our wedding. I didn't read the directions nor had I ever owned one before. I usually slice, chop or grade stuff myself. Yeah, that is really old-school and takes a lot of time. Well, I asked him to read them and show me how to use it. It is so simple. I don't know how anyone can cook .. or even live without one of these things. They are a time and life saver! We sliced, shredded and pureed with it tonight just to see what it could do.

My husband liked the cheese base of the soup but he isn't a huge vegetable fan. I thought this would be a great recipe to have him try since whenever we go to Panera for lunch he always gets the Broccoli and Cheddar soup there and loves it. Well, I think I must have pureed it too much for him so I think I will just have to take more time to make smaller chunks of broccoli and not puree it in the end. I personally loved it. It was the most magnificent blend of broccoli, cheese, and carrot. I couldn't even really taste the onion which I was originally worried about too. The recipe I used was from Annie's Eats and I adapted one ingredient only because .. per the norm .. I neglected to read them all beforehand and realized when I was making it that I didn't have it on hand.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

6 tbsp butter, divided
3/4 cup onion, chopped (I used yellow)
1 cup carrot, shredded
4 cups small broccoli florets (approximately 1 head)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp onion powder
dash salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

In large stockpot, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add the onion to the pan and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook a few minutes more. Stir in the broccoli, chicken broth, onion powder, salt, and garlic powder. Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low to simmer.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan melt the remaining 4 tbsp butter on medium heat and add the flour. Whisk together and cook until golden, about 1-2 minutes (mixture will be chunky). Whisk in the milk and cook until it thickens and bubbles, about 5 minutes. Then, add the cheese and whisk until completely melted which shouldn't take too long. Add this cheese mixture to the stockpot. Allow to simmer until warmed and broccoli is at desired consistency. Season with pepper if desired.

You can also add the mixture to a food processor to blend and chop the broccoli up a bit more, but it all depends on preference.

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

All-American classic cookies. Nothing compares to the beautiful taste of white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts together in the same cookie. The only reason this is my favorite cookie of all time is because it has no chocolate. At all. My husband tells me I am not a real woman because I hate chocolate. It's sad, but very true.

Even though not true "chocolate" it's still the most wonderful sweet treat ever. When Hershey's came out with the Cookies N Cream bars .. it was heaven at the check out line! Not so much for my thighs. Well Snickerdoodles are never the easiest to master and I still have yet to do so. Here is the recipe so far. Trial number one was delicious but not quite perfection and that is what my kitchen strives for.

I think one reason this recipe failed was because I was over-zealous with the white-chocolate chips. I just love them SO much I felt I had to double the recipe. Learn from my mistake .. that is a big no-no. You have got to have some cookie with your white chocolate chips.

White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 ounces white chocolate
6 ounces macadamia nuts, chopped

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda in separate bowl then stir into mixture. Then, stir in the white chocolate chips and nuts. The mixture was very liquidy and the cookies spread out quite a bit so drop cookies in small nickel sized drops on greased cookie sheet. Make sure they are pretty far apart too (approximately 2 inches is best). Bake in preheated oven at 375 degrees for about 7-8 minutes or until cookies are golden brown on the bottom.