Cheesy Corn Chowder

This is a kid-friendly favorite that always gets gobbled up by even the pickiest eaters I've encountered. It is perfect for a chilly fall or winter day. Something about the combination of potatoes and a creamy cheese soup is cozy and comforting. You can make this dish vegetarian by omitting the bacon pieces and using water flavored with instant chicken bouillon granules.

• 1 lbs. potatoes (approx. 3-4), peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup chicken broth
• Tiny sprinkle cayenne pepper (optional)
• Dash of black pepper
• 3 cups milk
• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen whole kernel corn
• 3 Tbsp bacon pieces, crumbled (you can use store purchased real bacon pieces if you don't want to cook and crumble some up yourself)
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 cup mild or medium cheddar cheese, shredded

1. In a large saucepan, combine potatoes, broth, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.

2. Bring broth to boiling and then reduce heat. Cover and let potatoes simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of the milk, corn, and bacon pieces.

4. Pour remaining 1/2 cup milk and flour into a resealable air-tight plastic container. Place lid firmly on container, and shake to combine. Conversely, you could mix these two together in a bowl with a wisk... I just think shaking them together is more fun!

5. Add about 1/4 cup of hot broth to flour and milk, stirring as you add it.

6. Slowly pour flour and milk mixture into potato and broth mixture, stirring constantly so flour doesn't clump.

7. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

8. Cook one additional minute, stirring gently occasionally.

9. Add cheese and stir until melted.

Pomegranate Guacamole

Much to my husbands chagrin, guacamole is one of my favorite snacks. I will eat just about any kind of "guac," but this one is a particular favorite.

This recipe is a little different because it incorporates the tangy sweetness of pomegranate seeds to compliment the creamy richness of the avocados. This is so good, I could eat a whole bowl by myself... in about 10 minutes.

• 2 large, ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• The arils (seeds) of one pomegranate (click here to find out an easy way to get the arils out of a pomegranate)
• 1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1/4 cup green onions, chopped (optional)
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Mash avocados in a large bowl with a fork.

2. Mix lemon juice into mashed avocado.

3. Add 1/3 cup pomegranate arils, cucmber, green onions, and cilantro.

4. Salt and pepper to taste.

5. Scoop guacamole into a serving bowl and top with the remaining pomegranate seeds as a garnish.

6. Serve with tortilla chips.

No-Bake Cookies

Okay, okay! I know what you're thinking. Another cookie recipe?! Really, Brittney? Well... what can I say? I warned you I had a chronic sweet tooth! As long as we are on the subject, I thought I would share a recipe that is great when you don't have the time to bake dozens of cookies, but want something sweet to eat.

These little babies aren't really cookies in the traditional sense, but they are easy, fast, and tasty! Trust me, I know my sweets! ^_^

• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 stick of butter
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 5 Tbsp cocoa powder
• 3 cups oats

1. In a large sauce pan, heat milk, sugar, and butter to a boil.

2. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.

3. Once peanut butter is incorporated, add cocoa powder and oats. Stir until all the oats are evenly coated.

4. Drop rounded tablespoons onto waxed paper (I use my handy dandy scoop).

5. Allow to cool and set. Enjoy!

See! I told you they were fast and easy!

Sumptuous Slow-Cooker French Onion Soup

The first time I ever had French onion soup was my senior year in high school. My now husband was my boyfriend at the time and had secretly made a romantic, 5 course meal for me. After a fresh green salad, he brought out piping hot, homemade French onion soup.

I was a bit apprehensive, I mean, it's a soup that tastes like onion, for heavens sake! One bite, however, confirmed that not only was it a soup made from onions, it was a delicious soup made from onions!

This isn't the recipe that my husband used that night, but it is fabulously tasty and is a snap to make! Even though this is a slow-cooker recipe, it can be ready in as little as four hours (which is fast for a slow-cooker). The onions come out so tender and the broth is so flavorful, you'll have to have a second helping!

• 5 small onions, thinly sliced (be sure to use white or yellow onions, not red onions for this recipe)
• 2 cans (14 oz) beef broth (I mush prefer to use a low sodium variety so I can control the amount of salt that goes into my soup)
• 2 cans (10 oz) beef consomme
• 1/2 water
• 1 packet of dry onion soup mix
• 8-10 slices French bread, cut about 1 inch thick
• 1 cup grated Gruyere (if you can't find Gruyere cheese, you can substitute it with Provolone, which has a fairly similar flavor)

1. In a slow-cooker, stir together broth, consomme, water, and soup mix. Mix until combined.

2. Add onions to broth mixture. Give a quick stir to coat onions.

3. Cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours or LOW setting for 8 hours.

4. Portion soup into oven safe bowls. Place a slice of French bread on top of each bowl and sprinkle bread with shredded cheese.

5. Put soup bowls under the broiler in the oven until cheese is melted, about 30-60 seconds.

6. Serve warm.

NOTE: If you don't have oven safe bowls or don't want to be transporting soup to and from the oven (with my episodes of clumsiness, this is often a recipe for steaming hot disaster), you can place the bread slices on a cookie sheet, top with cheese, broil, and then move a slice to each bowl of soup once cheese is melted.

Measurement Conversions

I can be incredibly helpful when cooking or baking to know some basic measurement conversions. Especially if you plan on halving or doubling a recipe. One wrong measurement and a whole dish can be thrown off. Here is a list of some of the most common measurements used in cooking and how they break down.

a pinch.......................... 1/8 teaspoon or less
1 tablespoon................ 3 teaspoons
1/4 cup ....................... 4 tablespoons
1/2 cup ....................... 8 tablespoons
3/4 cup ....................... 12 tablespoons
1 cup ............................ 16 tablespoons
1 pint ........................... 2 cups
1 quart ........................ 4 cups
1 gallon ........................ 4 quarts or 16 cups
1 liquid ounce ............. 2 tablespoons
8 liquid ounces ........... 1 cup

Scotcheroos

Okay. I have made it no secret: I love desserts. I have a chronic sweet tooth... and even a pound of these babies would leave me wanting more!

This recipe is one I remember my mom* making for church activities, family gatherings, and if we were lucky, just as a special treat. The combination of creamy chocolate, smooth butterscotch, and crispy rice cereal treats with a hint of peanut butter is, to understate it, heaven!

So, get out the fat pants; it's time for scotcheroos!

Serves: 24 people... if you are generous! ^_^

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup corn syrup (I use Karo brand corn syrup)
1 cup sugar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
12 oz butterscotch chips

1. In a large pot, bring sugar and corn syrup to a slow boil.

2. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter, stirring until well combined.

3. Stir Rice Krispies into sugar mixture until well coated.

4. Lightly grease a 9"x11" baking dish with cooking spray.

5. Press cereal mixture into baking dish. Let cereal mixture cool.

6. In a large glass bowl, microwave chocolate and butterscotch chips, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted.

7. Pour chocolate mixture over cooled rice cereal treats.

8. When chocolate is cooled, cut into bars and serve.

*Thanks mom! This will always be one of my favorites!

Cheeseburger Meatloaf with Easy Cheese Sauce

My husband always jumps at the chance to have "the guys" over to play video games on a Friday night. All that button pushing can work up quite an appetite, so I have often used the gang as a test group for new recipes. This tasty number was one of those "tester recipes." To my delight, it was devoured quickly and completely.

Growing up, I never really liked meatloaf. I'm not sure why (I also hated apple juice and ranch dressing, but loved vegetables and V8), but this recipe made me a meatloaf believer. With a yummy cheese sauce, this is sure to please kids and adults alike! Oh, and thanks for being my (sometimes unknowing) test subjects, guys!

Note: This recipe calls for 2 slices of bread. These are to line the loaf pan and soak up any grease and are meant to be thrown away after cooking. You do not want to eat these bread slices! Yuck!

Note: After a couple of experiments since I originally posted this, I would strongly recommend using a lean beef for this recipe (preferably around 7% fat). If you use a beef with too much fat, it really falls apart and you lose the texture of the meatloaf... also, it can become a greasy mess. Not appetizing!

Meatloaf

• 1 lbs ground beef
• Dash of salt
  
• Dash of pepper
  
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp seasoned salt
  
• 1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
• 2 slices of bread

Sauce

• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 1/2- 1 3/4 cups grated cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In large bowl, season ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and seasoned salt.

3. Add onion, 1 cup cheese, Worcestershire sauce, sour cream, and crushed crackers. Gently mix to combine.

4. Place the bread slices on the bottom of a 1/2 quart loaf pan. Shape meat mixture into a loaf shape and place on top of bread slices.

5. Bake meatloaf for 45-50 minutes.

6. When meatloaf has about 10 of cook time left, start the cheese sauce.

7. In a medium sauce pan, heat condensed soup and milk over medium heat.

8. Add cheese and stir until cheese melts and is combined throughout the sauce.

6. Once meatloaf is done, discard bread slices. Sauce can be drizzled over meatloaf or portioned out on each serving.

Overnight Caramel Nut Rolls

When my husband and I got married, wonderful friends and family gave us many practical and useful gifts (thank you all!). Among these was a bundt pan, which may seem a little commonplace, but this particular bundt pan included this gem of a recipe from a family friend.

These are sweet, delicious, and sure to be gobbled up in no time. Most of the ingredients in this recipe are prepared, so this one is very fast to make. The only catch is that these have to sit out overnight to rise and develop their caramely deliciousness, so plan ahead when you want to make these.

Now, I personally do not like most kinds of nuts. I'm not sure why this is, but in this sweet dish, they definitely add a texture and flavor that enhance these rolls. I personally prefer almonds for this particular recipe, but pecans or walnuts would work very nicely as well. Note: I have been meaning to try this one using candied pecans, but have not carried out that experiment yet. I'll add an update when I try that variation.

3/4 - 1 cup sliced almonds (or pecans, or walnuts, or whatever nut strikes your fancy that you want to try - though I wouldn't recommend peanuts for this one)
20 frozen rolls (I use Rhodes)
1 box Cook-N-Serve butterscotch pudding mix (do not use instant pudding mix)
6 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar, tightly packed
1 tsp cinnamon

The Night Before:

1. Line bottom of bundt pan with sliced nuts.

2. Place frozen rolls on top of nuts.

3. Sprinkle butterscotch pudding mix powder over the rolls.

4. In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat.

5. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to butter. Stir constantly until sugar is melted, being careful not to let butter brown.

6. Give sugar and butter mixture one last stir to make sure it is mixed well. Pour evenly over rolls.

7. Spray a sheet of plastic wrap with a thin film of cooking spray. Drape plastic wrap over bundt pan.

8. Allow rolls to stand at room temperature overnight.

The Next Morning:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Cover bundt pan with a sheet of foil (this will prevent burning or over-browning on the top of the rolls).

3. Bake rolls for 30 minutes. Note: Do not under-bake. This will cause the rolls to fall and flatten once you remove them from the oven

Homemade Oreos

Our family situation is... unusual. I come from a rather large family of 6 kids. My husband has 10 brothers and sisters, most of whom are married. We both have divorced parents who are remarried bringing the total number of parents to 8. Not to mention our own little darling and all the nieces and nephews.

Add them all up and you have quite a large family. Don't get me wrong. I love having a large family, but it does make family gatherings a little tricky. I mean, finding room for that many people, let alone feeding and entertaining them, can be a daunting task!

So is it any wonder that when I was asked to make a dessert for Ben's family Christmas party last year, I was a little intimidated? Thank goodness for homemade oreos! This recipe made more than enough for everyone. Plus, I tinted the frosting red and green with food coloring, making them extra festive!

I highly recommend using a small scoop for measuring out most cookies, but with these ones especially, it is incredibly helpful. If you use a scoop, all of your cookies will end up the same size, making them much easier to match and frost. Plus, it makes them look nice, too!

Cookies

• 2 devil's food cake mixes
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil

Frosting

• 1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar (to desired consistency)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. Mix together cake mixes, eggs, and oil.

3. Scoop dough onto cookie sheet. If not using a scoop, roll dough into 1" balls.

4. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes.

5. While cookies are baking, prepare frosting. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with electric beaters until combined and slightly fluffy.

6. Add sugar, a small amount at a time, mixing constantly until desired consistency is reached.

7. Cool cookies completely before frosting. Spread a small dollop frosting on the underside of one cooled cookie and top with another cookie (be sure not to use too much frosting or cookies will slide off of each other).

Linguine in an Artichoke and Caper Sauce

I love this recipe! My mom got this from a contest cookbook from the 1980s (originally submitted by Merlene Aronson) and passed it down to me. This is one of my husband's favorite dishes and I got the recipe from her so I could make it for him, but sadly he says my mom has me beat on this one. Ha, ha!

This one is not low fat, but it is so scrumptious I promise you won't care! It is easy and super fast to make. Plus, you will probably have most, if not all, of the ingredients for this one on hand which is a huge incentive to try this dish!

Linguine

• 1 lbs linguine, cooked and drained
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp salt

Sauce

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (you can also use approx. 1 tsp dried parsley if fresh is not available)
• 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped (I prefer to use artichokes that are packed in water instead of marinated artichoke hearts - that way you controll the amount of salt and flavors that are added to your sauce)
• 2 tsp small capers, rinsed and drained
• 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Once cooked, drain and set aside.

2. While pasta is cooking, start the sauce. Melt 1/4 butter with 1/4 cup of olive oil in a medium sauce pan.

3. Once butter is melted, add flour and stir until smooth.

4. Add broth slowly, stirring as you pour. Once all the broth is added, stir over medium heat until
slightly thickened.

5. Add garlic, parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Cook 5 mintues over medium heat, stirring constantly.

6. Add artichoke hearts, capers, and 2 Tbsp of parmesan cheese.

7. Cover and simmer over low heat for 6-8 minutes.

8. In small sacue pan, melt 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp oil together. Add 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese and salt.

9. Toss butter mixture with cooked linguine.

10. Serve pasta warm. Top with sauce and extra parmescan cheese if desired.