Italian Chicken and Tortellini

Easy dinner and almost no clean up since you cook it in a foil packet.  Great for summer. Cook it on the grill and keep your house cool. It's also great for fall or winter. Cook it in the oven and enjoy a great one dish dinner.

Ingredients:
2 sheets (12x18-inches each) aluminum Foil*
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1/2 to 3/4 lb.)
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 package (9 oz.) refrigerated or frozen cheese tortellini
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, undrained
1/2 can (from a 2 1/4 oz. can) sliced ripe olives, drained (optional)

Directions:
Preheat grill to medium-high or oven to 450°F.
Center one chicken breast half on each sheet of aluminum foil that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Sprinkle each chicken breast with 1/4 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Arrange 1/2 of the tortellini around each piece of chicken. Spoon 1/2 of tomatoes and 1/2 of olives over each serving of tortellini.
Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to seal packet, leaving room for heat circulation inside.
Repeat to make two packets.

Cook:
Bake 30 to 40 minutes on a cookie sheet in the oven OR
Grill 14 to 18 minutes in a covered grill.

*I  use 4 pieces of foil and make two layers of aluminum foil to prevent the juices from leaking out.

Molten Chocolate Cookies

These are good at room temperature, but they are delectable warm. Eat fresh or just heat in the microwave for about 15 seconds. They will melt in your mouth.
Makes 16 cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups (12 oz package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons butter
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Melt chocolate chips and butter in the top of a double boiler over low heat, stirring until smooth but thick.* Remove from heat; set aside to cool.
In the large bowl of your mixer beat eggs, sugar, salt, and vanilla on high speed about 2 to 3 minutes until pale yellow and slightly thickened. Mix in chocolate on low speed. Scrape the bowl. Mix again.  Add flour and baking powder on low speed and mix just until incorporated, stop once to scrape the bowl. Don't mix too much.
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Scoop 8-2 inch mounds onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet leaving 2 inches between cookies. I used my medium sized cookie scoop.

Bake one sheet at a time for 12 minutes or until crusty on the outside but soft in the center.
Cool on cookie sheet 3-5 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool.

Best when served warm.
*Microwave Instructions:
Heat chips and butter in a microwave safe bowl at medium power for 1 minute. Stir, then heat for 10 seconds and stir again. Repeat until melted. The chocolate chips will not appear melted until you stir them.

Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle

This is SERIOUS deliciousness!

Makes 20 servings (1 cup each)

Ingredients:
1 fudge brownie mix (13-inch x 9-inch pan size)
1 package (10 ounces) peanut butter chips
2 packages (13 ounces each) miniature peanut butter cups (I've also used Miniature Snickers Peanut Butter Bars.)
4 cups cold 2% milk
2 packages (5.1 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 teaspoons vanilla extract (YES, that's 4 teaspoons.)
3 cartons (8 ounces each) frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:
Prepare brownie batter according to package directions; stir in peanut butter chips. Bake in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan at 350° F. for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with moist crumbs (do not overbake).
Cool on a wire rack; then cut into 3/4-in. pieces. (These don't have to be exact.)
Cut peanut butter cups in half; set aside 1/3 cup for garnish.
In a large bowl, whisk milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes(mixture will be thick). Add peanut butter and vanilla; mix well. Fold in 1-1/2 cartons whipped topping. (I'll admit I hesitated to add the peanut butter to the pudding, but WOW that stuff was good.)
Place a third of the brownies in a 5-qt. glass bowl; top with a third of the remaining peanut butter cups. Spoon a third of the pudding mixture over the top.
Repeat layers twice. (You'll have three layers of each ingredient.)
Cover with remaining whipped topping; garnish with reserved peanut butter cups.
Refrigerate until chilled.

I layered these in clear plastic cups and used as individual servings.  They were a big hit.  Try them for a  shower or other party.  If you like chocolate and you like peanut butter, you can't go wrong with these.

SOUR CREAM CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

These are the best chocolate cupcakes I have had.  Very moist.

 CUPCAKES:
1/4 cup butter, cubed
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
FROSTING:
1/2 cup butter, cubed
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a microwave, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth.  Cool for 10 minutes.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, water, sour cream and vanilla.  Combine flour and baking soda; add to the egg mixture and mix well.  Add chocolate mixture; beat on high speed for 2-3 minutes.

Fill paper lined muffin cups two-thirds full.  Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For frosting, in a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter and chocolate; stir until smooth.  Cool for 10 minutes.  With a portable mixer, beat in the confectioners' sugar, sour cream and vanilla on low until smooth.  Frost cupcakes.  Store in the refrigerator.  Yield:  2 dozen.

Hugs and Kisses Cookies

These cookies look so good and they taste even better.  You'll get lots of compliments when you share these.  And they are super easy.
 
1/3 cup butter or margarine

6 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 package (1 lb 1.5 oz) Sugar cookie mix

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

60 Hugs candies, unwrapped (The white ones look best, but use whatever flavor you like.)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix the butter and chocolate. 

Melt until smooth, but not too hot.  Stir often.  Take off the heat as soon as it's melted enough to stir the butter and chocolate together.

Stir sweetened condensed milk into chocolate mixture.  Add the cookie mix and cinnamon and mix well.

Using 1 level tablespoonful of dough for each cookie, shape into 60 balls. (I use my small ice cream scoop.) Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets.   

Bake 6 to 7 minutes or until edges lose their shiny look (do not over bake). 

Remove from oven and immediately press 1 candy into the center of each cookie.  Cool cookies on cookie sheet for 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.  

 

Try these.  You'll love them.

 

Pizza Dip

This is a great dip! Try it with tortilla chips or thinly sliced baguette. It's also good with crackers.
This would be a perfect appetizer or snack for your New Year's Eve party or for your Super Bowl party.

Very easy and oh, so yummy!
We had this on Christmas Eve. It was delicious. I'll try some variations and also some other possibilities for dipping into the pot.

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, cubed
1 can (15 ounces) pizza sauce
1 package (8 ounces) sliced pepperoni, chopped
1 can (3.8 ounces) chopped ripe olives, drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Bagel chips or garlic toast or English muffins

Place the cream cheese in a 3 quart slow cooker. Combine the pizza sauce, pepperoni and olives; pour over cream cheese. Top with mozzarella cheese. Cover and cook on low for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the cheese is melted. Stir; serve warm with bagel chips or garlic toast or spread on English muffins as an open face sandwich.

I made half the recipe and used a 1 1/2 quart slow cooker. I also made my own pizza sauce. Find that recipe under pizza.
I think it would also be good with browned hamburger or sausage instead of or in addition to the pepperoni.
It might also be good as the dressing on a sub sandwich with some ham, turkey, or beef.

Banana Zucchini Bread with Salted Caramel Frosting

I'm usually not a big fan of banana bread. It's typically on the dry side. But the addition of the zucchini to the batter makes this bread moist and delicious. Can't miss with some delicious bread that includes fruits and vegetables. The salted caramel frosting makes it just that much better. Definitely a delectable treat on a crisp fall day, or any other day.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup grated zucchini
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips (I actually used 1 cup.)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a small bowl, beat the egg, bananas, oil and vanilla extract.
Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.
Transfer to four 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans coated with cooking spray.
Bake at 325° for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from pans to wire racks.
Salted Caramel Frosting:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
4 teaspoons whipping cream (I didn't have cream, so I just used milk.)
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (Since it's salted caramel, you really want the more coarse salt like kosher.)
In a small saucepan, heat 4 tablespoons butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar to boiling over medium heat, stirring constantly with whisk. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in whipping cream.
Remove from heat; stir in powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Immediately spread over loaves. This frosting sets up quickly, so don't wait to spread it on the bread.