Irresistible Peanut Butter Cookies

3/4 cup Jif creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup crisco all-vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
 1 3/4 cups pillsbury best all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

1.  Heat oven to 375.  Combine peanut butter, shortening, brown sugar, milk and vanilla in large bowl.  Beat at medium speed of electric mixer until well blended.  Add egg.  Beat just until blended.

2.  Combine flour, baking soda and salt.  Add to creamed mixture at low speed.  Mix just until blended.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheet.  Flatten slightly in a crisscross pattern with tines of fork.

3.  Bake one baking sheet at a time 7 to 8 minutes or until set and just beginning to brown.  Cool 2 minutes on baking sheet.  Remove cookies to cooling racks to cool completely.

I love this cookie recipe!!  The cookies are nice and soft.  I made this all the time for awhile.  I haven't in a long time but probably because i made them so much before.  It makes a lot so I like to use a small ice cream scoop and freeze the balls.

Italian Chicken

4 frozen chicken breasts
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 8 oz. package cream cheese
1 4 oz. can mushrooms
1/2 tsp seasoning salt

Place the 4 frozen chicken breasts in crock pot.  Cover with salt, pepper, seasoning salt and Italian seasonings.  Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  1/2 hour before serving mix 1/2 cup water, cream cheese and soup over medium heat until creamed.  Add mushrooms.  Pour over chicken let sit for 1/2 hour. (Do Not pour out the water that has accumulated in the crock pot.)

Server over rice or noodles.

My family and I love this meal.  I got this recipe in my first year of marriage from my ward Relief Society.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

1 1/2 lbs hamburger
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup  brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/4 cup barbecue sauce

Combine egg, oats, hamburger, onion, milk and 1 tsp Worcestershire and mix well.  Form into meat balls. Place in 9 x 13.  Combine brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, barbecue sauce and remaining tsp Worcestershire.  Blend thoroughly.  Pour over meatballs.  Bake 350 for about 45 minutes.  (I double the sauce recipe.)  Serve with rice.

My family and I love this dish.  One of my cousins is getting married and for the bridal shower they want recipes so I thought I would put the ones I love on here also.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Batter:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1tsp. vanilla extract
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl, stir the flour, brown sugar, peanut butter and cinnamo0n until crumbly; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon; stir into creamed mixture just until moistened.

Divide half of the batter between two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans; sprinkle with half of the topping. Top with chocolate chips. Repeat layers of batter and topping.

Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

This recipe was really good! Sariah really loved it and ate a lot of it. The only thing I didn't like was I ended with the crumbs so it was really crummy and messy. I can't decide whether to make it again or not. But as I was typing it I thought maybe I will end with the batter next time.

Mediterranean-style Chicken

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup black olives, chopped
1 TBSP Lemon Zest
1 cup finely shredded cheese

Heat large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cover. Cook 5 to 7 min. on each side or until done. Remove chicken from skillet.

Add tomatoes, olives and lemon zest to skillet. Cook 4 min. or until hot, stirring often.

Return chicken to skillet; cook 1 min. or until hot. Top with cheese.

Serve over hot cooked rotini or penne pasta.

I put to much lemon zest in it so no one liked it. I don't think I really liked it overall though.

Whole-Wheat Pasta with White Beans and Spinach

Salt
1 lb. whole-wheat penne
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 15-oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz. baby spinach (about 5 cups)
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes or as package directs.

2. Warm 1 Tbsp. oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumb s and 1/4 tsp. salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

3. Warm remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in beans, spinach and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until spinach has wilted, 2 to 3 minutes.

4. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Add pasta to sauce, stirring in reserved pasta cooking water 1 Tbsp. at a time, to reach desired consistency. Season with salt. Divide among 6 bowls and sprinkle each portion with bread crumbs.

I have made this dinner twice. The first time I put in double the salt so it was kind of hard to tell whether we liked it or not. The second time was better. I liked it and the amazing thing was the girls liked it and ate it. Bad thing was Jeremy didn't like it. He said well maybe I'd like it better without the bread crumbs. So I gave him some without and he said nope I just don't like it. Sigh. Oh well. I also did not use whole wheat pasta.

Dreamy Strawberry Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

1 package white cake mix
2 cups fresh strawberries, capped and mashed.
1/2 cup sugar
19 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 small box of strawberry jell-O (3 oz.)
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Icing:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup water
1 box powdered sugar (1 pound)
6-8 oz. milk chocolate chips
Additional whole strawberries for garnish

Directions Cake:
Mix cake ingredients and beat well.
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cake can be baked in a bundt pan for 45 minutes or in three 9-inch round pans for 25 minutes.
Let cake cool for 30 minutes.
While cake is cooling, prepare icing. If you are in a hurry, just serve with whipped cream.

Directions Icing:
Mix cream cheese, vanilla, water, and sugar thoroughly.
Spread icing between round layers and over stacked cake layers/bundt cake.
In a small bowl, melt milk chocolate chips.
Drizzle over iced cake.
Dip fresh strawberries in the remaining chocolate and place on cake.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Sariah was playing on a Strawberry Shortcake website and printed out this recipe to make. I decided to give it a try. It was fun to make and it was good. It was really rich though so you just needed a little piece. The only problem I had was the chocolate didn't drizzle very well or go on the strawberries very well. I think the problem I had was I used semi-sweet chocolate. It was good but I probably won't make it again because it was so rich.