Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

I made these for an outreach meeting, and Chris really liked them.

Makes 5 to 6 dozen cookies

2 1/4 cups flour
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 (11 ounce) package peanut butter chips, or peanut butter & milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add salt and cocoa and mix well. Sprinkle baking soda over cookie dough, and gradually add flour. Stir in peanut butter chips.

Using a teaspoon or a small cookie scoop, drop cookie dough onto ungreased baking sheets. You'll save yourself some scrubbing if you line your baking sheets with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until centers are set. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, and remove to cooling racks. Cool completely before storing.

Tortellini Soup

This is not the best picture of this soup. It would have looked better without the cheese on top. Anyway, I made this fast and easy soup on one of the cooler evenings this week, and Chris and I both enjoyed it. I used to make more meatless dinners, but Chris has missed the meat, so I try to remember to incorporate it a few times a week.

Serves: 8
Ingredients:
1 pound ground chicken/turkey
1 onion, chopped
2 14.5 oz cans Italian diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 can water - from the sink =)
1 12 oz bag from cut green beans
1 13 oz bag frozen cheese tortellini
1 zucchini, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In a large pot cook chicken and onions until the meat is no longer pink. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 5 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top when serving.

The next day when I went to serve it again, it had thickened a lot, so I added another can of chicken broth, and it looked and tasted just the same as the previous day.

Herb Cheese Dollars

I saw these crackers on Tammy's Recipes blog, and decided to try them. When I made them, I added extra cayenne pepper, and Chris and I both really liked the extra kick. They really do taste like cheese-its! When I went to cut mine after I chilled the dough, I used a knife instead of dental floss. The crackers really were so fast and easy, and we really liked them.