Chocolate Lasagna

Ingredients:

Crust:
36 regular OREO's
6 Tablespoons butter, melted

Cream cheese Layer (double for optional 2nd layer)
1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese, softened 

1/4 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cold milk
1 cup Cool Whip

Pudding Layer

2 (3.9 oz) pkg's. chocolate instant pudding
3 1/4 cups cold milk

Topping
1 (12 oz) container Cool Whip (remainder)
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Butter a 9x13 dish and set aside.

Crust:

Crush OREO's in a zip top bag with a rolling pin. Add melted butter into the bag and mix until combined. Press OREO mixture into the bottom of the dish and place in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.

Cream Cheese:

In a medium sized bowl whip the cream cheese until fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk and sugar. Mix until combined. Stir in 1 cup Cool Whip, then spread the mixture lightly over the crust. Place in the fridge for another 5 minutes.

Pudding:

In a separate bowl combine the chocolate pudding and cold milk. Whisk together until thick. Then spread over the top of the cream cheese layer. Place back in the fridge for another 5-10 minutes to allow pudding to set.

Optional 2nd Cream Cheese:

Spread half the Pudding over the top of the cream cheese layer. Place in fridge for 5-10 minutes to allow pudding to set. 

Once pudding has set spread Cream Cheese Layer lightly over the pudding. Place in fridge for another 5 minutes.

Spread the rest of the Pudding over the top of the cream cheese. Place back in fridge for another 5-10 minutes to allow pudding to set.

Topping:

Once pudding has set spread remaining Cool Whip on the chocolate layer and then top with chocolate chips. Place in the fridge for 3-4 hours before serving.

Original recipe from:

http://www.iheartnaptime.net/chocolate-lasagna/ 

Chicken Florentine Pesto Pasta

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes

Yield: Serves 6-8.

INGREDIENTS
12-16 ounces dried short pasta (bowties, penne, gemelli, etc)
4 chicken breast cutlets (1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds total)
Salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 yellow or white onion, chopped, about 1 cup
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup white wine or stock
8-16 ounces of fresh spinach*, washed, long stems removed and chopped
Black pepper
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup (or more) pesto

*To wash spinach, fill up a clean sink basin with cold water and let the spinach soak in the water. Move it around a bit to loosen any dirt. Fresh spinach is usually pretty dirty, so you may need to do a couple of soakings. Remove the spinach and shake off excess water. Lay the spinach leaves down on a clean towel and pat dry.

METHOD

1 Bring a large pot of salted water (add enough salt so that the water tastes salty) to a boil. Add the dried pasta and cook until al dente.

2 While preparing the pasta, cook the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken breasts with salt, heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and brown the chicken breasts on both sides over medium-high heat. They don't need to be cooked all the way through, just browned. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

3 Add the chopped onion to the pan and sauté 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the onions cook, slice the chicken into strips. Put any pieces that are cooked all the way through in one pile, and put the ones that still need a little cooking in another pile.

4 When the onions are just beginning to brown, add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the white wine or stock and boil vigorously until the liquid is reduced by half.

5 Add the spinach and the undercooked pieces of chicken to the pan. Using tongs, turn them over to coat them with the juices in the pan. Continue to cook, turning and stirring often, until the spinach is wilted and the chicken cooked through, about 2 minutes.

6 Turn off the heat and add some black pepper, the pile of cooked chicken pieces and the pesto. Stir to combine. Drain the pasta put it in a large bowl. Add the cream to the saute pan and stir well to combine. Add the contents of the pan to the bowl with the pasta and mix well. Serve at once.

Simply Recipes: 

www.simplyrecipes.com 

Cooking with Fresh Herbs: Sage, Rosemary, & Thyme

For Christmas, Jack is getting some fresh herb to enjoy. Here is a compilation of articles about using herbs.

Sage

45 Things To Do With Fresh Sage

Butter and Sage Sauce

Fettuccine with Brown Butter and Sage

Growing Sage - A Wise Choice for the Herb or Flower Garden

6 tasty recipes with sage

Rosemary

How to Grow and Care for Rosemary Plants

39 Delicious Things To Do With Rosemary

8 fresh rosemary recipes

Cooking with Rosemary

Thyme

Thyme - How to Grow Fragrant, Flavorful Thyme Plants

8 ways with fresh thyme

Cooking with Thyme

7 Week Bran Muffins

Combine and cool:

• 2 cups boiling water
• 2 cups 40% Bran Flakes

Add:

• 1 cup soft shortening (margarine or butter)
• 1 quart buttermilk

Sift then stir to combine only:

• 5 cups flour
• 5 teaspoons soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups sugar

Stir in

• 4 cups Bran Buds

Store in refrigerator in a covered container up to 7 weeks.

Can add nuts, apples, raisins, dates, etc.

Use large pan to mix.

Bake 375° for 20 minutes.

Yield approximately 7 dozens.

Tortilla Soup

My friend, Heather, brought this to us as we adjusting to being new parents. It is absolutely delicious and tastes like tortilla soup from a restaurant. It tasted like Sothern California to me.

Ingredients

3 cups rotisserie chicken, taken off the bone
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 can Rotel tomatoes (10 oz) - I used 'original' but you can use 'mild' as well
1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
4 c. water
2 beef bouillon 
2 chicken bouillon
2 cans tomato soup
3 more cups of water
2 T. Worcestershire Sauce
1 T. chili powder

Directions

Saute onions and garlic in some butter in the bottom of your pot.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the chicken) in the order listed.

Simmer 1 hour. 

Add chicken.

Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, avocado, shredded cheese, limes.

Pumpkin Cream of Wheatless Cereal

This was our Mother's Day breakfast today. Super-yum. I adapted the recipe. Original is found here. I made a double recipe and it was enough for two people.

• 1/2 C cottage cheese
• 1 egg
• 1/4 C pumpkin puree'
• Pinch salt
• Sweetener and flavorings to taste
• 2 T flax seed meal (optional)

Dump the cottage cheese and in the mixing bowl and water it down thin. Whisk in egg and beat. Add the pumpkin and salt. Stir on non-stick skillet on medium heat. Add flax when it gets "grainy." When it is fully grainy the egg is cooked.

I thought this might turn out more like an omelet, but it really was like cream of wheat instead.

Ultimate Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 cup (24 oz) chocolate chips                   1 cup margarine, softened

2 2/3 cup flour (2 3/4 cup)                           1 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda                            ½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt                                           1 t vanilla

                                                    3 eggs

Melt 2 cups chocolate chips. Combine flour, soda, salt in medium bowl. Beat butter, brown sugar, sugar, vanilla in large bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in melted chocolate. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in remaining chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-9 minutes at 375 ̊