Ultimate Turtle Cookie Bars

I am making these to take over to my friend, Montay's, house as she just had a new baby girl. I am really sad that I don't actually get to deliver them due to this dumb cold. But, at least I got to make something so I can feel like I'm helping in some way. :0) Love you Montay! Enjoy the sweets!

1 pouch Betty Crocker® chocolate chip cookie mix
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
24 caramels, unwrapped
1 tablespoon milk
3/4 cup pecan halves
3 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1 teaspoon shortening
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In medium bowl, stir together cookie mix, butter, egg and 1/2 cup chopped pecans until soft dough forms. Press evenly in ungreased 8-inch square pan. Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Meanwhile, in 1-quart saucepan, heat caramels and milk over low heat, stirring frequently, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat.
3. Carefully spread melted caramels evenly over warm bars; sprinkle with pecan halves. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 hour.
4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and shortening uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until melted and smooth. Drizzle over bars. Let stand about 30 minutes or until chocolate is set. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

Ashlee side note: remember...nuts are BAD! So, I don't use any...these are just caramel cookie bars for me. :0)

Grasshopper Fudge Cake

In honor of St. Patty's Day...I thought I'd post a GREEN recipe. Not green like in saving the planet or anything...just the color. :0)

Ingredients
1(18 1/4ounce)box Betty Crocker super moist white cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons mint extract
3 egg whites
12 drops green food coloring
2(16ounce)jars hot fudge topping
8 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
5 drops yellow food coloring
Andes mints candies, unwrapped and cut into pieces

Directions
1Heat oven to 350F for shiny metal or glass 13x9 pan (or 325F for dark or nonstick 13x9 pan).
2Spray bottom only of pan with baking spray with flour.
3Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, oil, 1 1/2 tsp mint extract and the egg whites.
4Reserve 1 cup batter; stir 3 drops of the green food coloring into the reserved batter and set aside.
5Pour remaining batter into pan.
6Drop green batter by generous tablespoonfuls randomly in 12-14 mounds onto the batter in pan.
7Cut through batters with a metal spatula or knife in S-shaped curves in one continuous motion.
8Turn pan 1/4 turn; repeat cutting for swirled design.
9Bake 28-33 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
10Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake.
11Cool completely, about 1 hour.
12Carefully spread fudge topping evenly over the cake.
13In medium bowl, stir whipped topping, remaining 1/2 tsp extract, remaining 9 drops of green food coloring and the yellow food coloring until blended.
14Spread whipped topping mixture evenly over fudge.
15Garnish with candy pieces.
16Store covered in refrigerator.

Dinner Size Texas Chili Cheese Fries

My sister just sent me this recipe and it looks really yummy. She got it from her friend Rachael Ray :0)

4 Very Large Idaho potatoes, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
2 tblsp grill seasoning
2 tblsps plus 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus additional, divided
2 -2 1/2 pounds hamburger
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tblsps chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper
3 tblsp tomato paste
Hot sauce, to taste
2 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups beef or chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450. Place potatoes onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle them with the grill seasoning and a good drizzle of olive oil. Toss to coat, then transfer to the oven and roast, until crispy and golden brown. Turn them over halfway through cooking time.

While potatoes are roasting, place a large pot over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add meat to the pan to cook until brown. When done, push the meat to one side of the pan and addthe onion, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder and cumin to the pot. Cook until the veggies soften, and season with salt and pepper. Add the tomato paste to the pot and cook for about 1 minute, unitl it smells sweet and has caramelized slightly. Add the hot sauce, Worchestershire sauce adn stock to the pot. Bring everything to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer teh chili until thickened. To eat, Put your potatoes on your plate and pile on the chili and then some sour cream and cheese and mmm....it's a yummy dinner!!! Enjoy!!!

Ashlee side note: For a quick and easy version of this meal...just open up a couple cans of chili {I use the fat free kind} and dump on top of the potato wedges. Or, just use the pre-made fries from your freezer section and bake those up. They have some yummy fajita fries I like to buy. They would be yummy topped with chili and cheese. :0)
Homemade is always better...but if you are short on time this would work great!
Thanks Crystal!

March Menu

Ok, Honey Bunch, here is my menu. This month was clean out the cupboard month. Get rid of the stuff that's in there before it goes bad. All of the thing I bought that sounded like a good idea at the time, and then never used. Each meal also MUST have a vegetable, but all Mackenzee will eat is corn and green beans, so I don't write it over and over again on the menu.

March Monthly Menu
Saturday Mar. 1 - Calzones (SET OUT FROZEN DOUGH!)
Sunday Mar. 2 - Mom's
Monday Mar. 3 - Broccoli Cheese Soup with crossaints
Tuesday Mar. 4 - Chicken Strips with baked french fries
Wednesday Mar. 5 - Mini Meatloaf with mashed potatoes
Thursday Mar. 6 - Chicken Noodle Soup
Friday Mar. 7 - Steak Kabobs with rice
Saturday Mar. 8 - pizza
Sunday Mar. 9 - Chicken Scaloppini with garlic bread
Monday Mar. 10 - Stuffed Ground Beef
Tuesday Mar. 11 - Mesquite Chicken and Rice
Wednesday Mar. 12 - Salisbury Steak & Mashed Tatos
Thursday Mar. 13 - Lasagna with garlic bread
Friday Mar. 14 - Utah
Saturday Mar. 15 - Utah
Sunday Mar. 16 - Chicken Francais p.367 Cooking Light with rice
Monday Mar. 17 - Bean and Cheese
Tuesday Mar. 18 - Turkey and Rice
Wednesday Mar. 19 - Frito Pie {chili and cheese over Fritos}
Thursday Mar. 20 - Shake and Bake with pasta
Friday Mar. 21 - Cajun Chicken Alfredo with garlic bread
Saturday Mar. 22 - shredded beef tacos
Easter Sunday Mar. 23 - family dinner
Monday Mar. 24 - shredded beef tacos
Tuesday Mar. 25 - Spaghetti and Meatballs
Wednesday Mar. 26 - Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
Thursday Mar. 27 - Sloppy Joe Supreme
Friday Mar. 28 - BBQ ribs with mashed potatoes
Saturday Mar. 29 - tacos
Sunday Mar. 30 - Burnhams
Monday Mar. 31 - Beef and Rice Casserole

I only spent $100 at the grocery store for this month's menu! Of course, I will have to go back for more milk and bread throughout the month, but I was so excited at the small bill! I had oodles of Rice a Roni, so I'm using that up, and a box of Shake and Bake, that last box of Chicken Helper...you get the idea. I also really made myself stick to my grocery list instead of just adding oodles of junk I didn't need.
Anyway...there you go! If you want any of the recipes, just let me know! I won't post some of them until I have tasted them and made sure they were super yummy. :0)

Johnny Carino's Chicken Scallopini

Everytime we go to Johnny Carino's I order this. It is sooo mouth wateringly delicious. I am drooling just thinking about it. :0) I found a copycat recipe for it. So now I can make it any time!

Ingredients:
Lemon butter:
1/2 lb butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons white wine
1/2 teaspoon garlic , minced
chicken
4 tablespoons butter , melted
2 chicken breasts
1/2 cup roma tomatoes
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup cooked bacon , chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic salt
10 ounces spaghetti
8 ounces heavy whipping cream

Directions:
Combine Lemon Butter ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat at a medium speed until a smooth consistency in the batter is formed. Once combined, keep refrigerated until needed.
Put Spaghetti on to boil & prepare as you usually would.
While it is cooking halve each chicken breast (you will have 4 pieces).
In a warm saute pan, combine melted butter & chicken breast pieces. Saute until chicken is browned & just about done. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, bacon, and spice mixture. Simmer until tomatoes begin to dissolve & chicken is done. Add heavy cream and allow to boil to the middle of pan. Remove from heat, add one cup lemon butter, and fold together to make sauce.
Serve over spaghetti.

Ashlee side note: The lemon flavor is hardly noticeable, so don't think it's like lemon chicken. It's kind of like grilled herbed chicken with a creamy herb sauce. And the bacon, mushrooms, and tomatoes give it a nice kick. I'm getting hungry just talking about this!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

I tried these at 'Death by Chocolate' the last month and they were SOOO good. They even offered everyone the recipe. Like I was going to pass that up! They were my pick for winners. And even though I don't like nuts, these cookies were so scrumptious, I didn't even notice them. :0) The recipe is from Bridgeview Retirement Center here in Twin Falls.

Ingredients:
1 c. softened butter
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 c. unsifted flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 pkg. white chocolate chunks
1 jar roughly chopped macadamia nuts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter, sugars and vanilla together until smooth. Beat egg and then add to sugar mixture. Mix this together and gradually add flour and soda. Stir in chocolate chunks and nuts.
Use a small #40 scoop to drop dough onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes.

Ashlee side note: I usually prefer to bake my cookies at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. They seem to turn out softer that way. I'm a soft cookie gal. :0)

I got this recipe from my sister in law Jodie. I remember eating these Cookie "cakes" at bday parties when I was growing up. They were ALL the rage. So, when I saw her post about one a while back I asked her for the recipe. Here you go!

Cookie Pizza

½ C packed brown sugar
¼ C granulated sugar
½ C butter, softened
1 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 ¼ C flour
½ t. baking soda
½ t. salt
1 package miniature chocolate chips (regular work too)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugar, butter vanilla and egg. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread dough onto ungreased 12 inch pizza pan or cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool. Just before serving, decorate with whip cream. (Frosting is good too.)
Ashlee side note: I always remember my "cakes' being piped with chocolate frosting.