Glazed Chocolate Cherry Cookies

When 50 Shades of Gray was all the rage (well, the movie made it popular all over again) I did get the trilogy and read them.
I guess I can see what the big deal was, but I wasn't a big fan of the series.
Just felt the need to jump on the bandwagon and be able to hold my own around the proverbial water cooler.

Know what is really sexy?
As I type this, my hubby is simultaneously doing laundry and washing dishes.
This is after making a breakfast for me and the girl child. (bacon and toast, we don't really do breakfast)

To me, that is the epitome of sexiness.

Then again, these chocolate cherry Pillsbury cookies are pretty dang sexy too!

Ingredients:

1 Pouch  (1 lb 1.5 oz) sugar cookie mix

⅓ Cup unsweetened dark baking cocoa

½ Cup butter (softened)

1 Egg

1 ½ Tsp almond extract

1 Cup dried cherries

1 ½ Cup powdered sugar

2 Tbsp milk

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375

2. In large bowl, stir cookie mix and cocoa

3. Add butter, egg, and ½ tsp of almond extract. Stir until soft dough forms.

4. Gently stir in cherries

5. Shape dough into 1 inch balls

6. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart

7. Bake 10-12 minutes or until set

8. Cool cookies for 20 minutes

9. In medium bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk, and remaining tsp of almond extract

10. Drizzle glaze over cookies

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This recipe was shared with:
Flour me with Love, Tumbleweed Contessa, Grace Langdon, A Southern Fairytale, A Pinch of Joy, The Modest Mom Blog, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, A Mama's Story, All Things Fee, The Chicken Chick, Boogieboard Cottage, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Skip to my Lou, Mom Favorites, Sew Can Do, Moms the Word, The Multitasking Mummy, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, April J Harris, Pint Sized Baker, The New Mrs Adventures, Cornerstone Confessions, My Joy Filled Life, Yesterfood, Kathe with an E, Stone Gable Blog, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Lou Lou Girls, Mandy's Recipe Box, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, Recipes for our Daily Bread, Milk and Cuddles, My Girlish Whims, Raising Homemakers, A Peek into my Paradise, Buns in my Oven, Gingersnap Crafts, Crafty Allie, Lambert's Lately, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lemoine Family Kitchen, Katherine's Corner, Ivy and Elephants, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Grace and Good Eats, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Embracing Change, Feeding Big, A Delightsome Life, The Pin Junkie, AKA Design, Lady Behind the Curtain, Daily Dish, Tidy Mom, The New Mrs Adventures, The Country Cook, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Coffee with Us 3, Craft Dictator, Thirty Handmade Days, City of Creative Dreams, Diary of a Real Housewife, Craft O Maniac, Morsels of Life, Simple Nature Decor, Sweet Haute, Cooking with Ruthie, Raising Memories, A Peek Into my Paradise, Denise Designed

Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Hi, my name is Jay and I am a cartoon junkie.

It's understandable when you are a kid, and even as a teen...but I am a full grown adult. A mom. An Auntie. A wife. Is it still OK?

I would like to think it's sweet and young at heart, not bizarre. 

Doesn't matter too much, I like what I like!

Of course the old classics are a fave!

But I am a child of the 80's.....

And happened to have a child who grew up in the 90's...

Sadly, good cartoons are hard to come by now. I am a sucker for this cute little guy though.

Just to continue with my late in life childishness, I have a love affair with chocolate chip cookies. 

Make them chocolate CHUNK?  OK!

Saw this Pillsbury recipe, and knew I couldn't go wrong.

Hubby and the girl poured big glasses of milk and waited not so patiently. They had to have them hot right out of the oven.

Ooey and gooey!

Ingredients:

1 Cup butter (softened)

½ Cup packed brown sugar

½ Cup granulated sugar

1 Box French vanilla instant pudding mix

2 Eggs

2 Tsp vanilla

2 ¼ Cups all purpose flour

1 Tsp baking soda

1 Bag (11.5 oz) semi sweet chocolate chunks

1 Cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:

1 Heat oven to 350

2. In large bowl, beat sugars and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in pudding mix

4. Beat in eggs and vanilla

5. Gradually beat in flour and baking soda

6. Stir in chocolate chunks and nuts

7. Drop onto ungreased cookie sheet

8. Bake 14-16 minutes

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This recipe was shared with:
Flour me with Love, Tumbleweed Contessa, Grace Langdon, A Southern Fairtyale, A Pinch of Joy, The Modest Mom Blog, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, A Mama's Story, All Things Fee, The Chicken Chick, Boogieboard Cottage, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Skip to my Lou, Mom Favorites, April J Harris, Sew Can Do, Mom's the Word, Pint Sized Baker, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Cornerstone Confessions, Lou Lou Girls, My Joy Filled Life, Yesterfood, Time Warp Wife, Mandy's Recipe Box, The New Mrs Adventures, Kathe with an E, Hope in Every Season, Stone Gable Blog, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, Milk and Cuddles, My Girlish Whims, Raising Homemakers, A Peek into my Paradise, Gingersnap Crafts, Crafty Allie, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lemoine Family Kitchen, Ivy and Elephants, Feeding Big, Grace and Good Eats, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Lambert's Lately, Embracing Change, Katherine's Corner, A Delightsome Life, The Pin Junkie, The Grits Blog, Play Party Pin, Lady Behind the Curtain, Daily Dish, The New Mrs Adventures, The Better Baker, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Craft Dictator, Thirty Handmade Days, City of Creative Dreams, The Diary of a Real Housewife, Craft O Maniac, The Girl Creative, Morsels of Life, Coffee with us 3, Sweet Haute, Cooking with Ruthie, Raising Memories, A Peek into my Paradise, Denise Designed

French Macaroni Salad

Are you sick of our Lennon story yet?

When we left off, Lennon had broken out of the couch cushion fort and made a bee-line for the girl child.

She and him have been inseparable ever since! He, literally, pouts when she is gone for a weekend!

Anyhoo...we were in need of a vet for Mr. Kitty Sir, and thought it would be good to keep him at the same vet that we received him from.
Oh what a great decision that was!

They L-O-V-E him there! Seriously, people come in who are not even scheduled that day in order to see him.

They all have millions of pictures of him on their phones. Yeah, I meant it when I said L-O-V-E.

He loves his fan club, and they truely love having him come in.
We are complete with him in our home, and feel that he is getting above par veterinary care.

His brother still goes to this vet, and the Doctor was like a kid at Christmas the day they got to "meet" after so long apart!

Our handsome boy all grown up!

Now, onto the salad!

Ingredients:

1 Lb macaroni

1 Green pepper (chopped fine)

1 Bermuda onion (chop fine)

1-2 Tbsp Miracle Whip

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 (8 oz) bottle French dressing

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni as directed, drain and rinse.

2. Stir in Miracle Whip

3. Add remaining ingredients, mix well

4. Chill for 30 minutes

5. Stir well before serving.

Print

I did not forget the onion....I just don't care for raw onion

This recipe was shared with:
Flour me with Love, Tumbleweed Contessa, Grace Langdon, A Southern Fairytale, A Pinch of Joy, Modest Mom Blog, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, A Mama's Story, All Things Fee, The Chicken Chick, Boogieboard Cottage, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Skip to my Lou, April J Harris, Sew Can Do, Moms the Word, Pint Sized Baker, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Cornerstone Confessions, Lou Lou Girls, My Joy Filled Life, Yesterfood, Timewarp Wife, Mandy's Recipe Box, The New Mrs Adventures, Hope Studios, Kathe with an E, Hope in Every Season, Stone Gable Blog, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, Milk and Cuddles, My Girlish Whims, Raising Homemakers, Buns in my Oven, A Peek Into my Paradise, Gingersnap Crafts, Crafty Allie, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lemoine Family Kitchen, Ivy and Elephants, Feeding Big, Grace and Good Eats, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Lambert's Lately, Embracing Change, Katherine's Corner, A Delightsome Life, The Pin Junkie, The Grits Blog, Play Party Pin, Lady Behind the Curtain, Daily Dish, The New Mrs Adventures, The Better Baker, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Craft Dictator, Thirty Handmade Days, City of Creative Dreams, Diary of a Real Housewife, The Girl Creative, Morsels of Life, Coffee with us 3, Simple Nature Decor Blog, Sweet Haute, Cooking with Ruthie, A Peek into my Paradise, Denise Designed

Blogging for Books: Trisha's Table

**I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own**

I think Trisha has the right idea....there is nothing wrong with comfort food, and certainly nothing wrong with lightening up said comfort food...but still keeping all the flavor.
As a self proclaimed "girl who loves to eat", she makes sure not to lose any of the tastes and textures that make comfort food what it is.

Not everything in this book is light and healthy, but then again, not many people live that way.
Moderation is key! (or as she says "everything in moderation, including moderation")
There is nothing wrong with enjoying a real fried chicken dinner, just maybe balance it off with tofu lasagna later in the week.

Cornbread chili casserole, Dill pickles, Grilled zucchini, there is a recipe for every taste.

She offers so many real dishes with real options; I can't wait to try them all.

Happy Easter 2015

To all my readers, Happy Easter and Happy Passover to you all!

Today we head to my aunt's house, we get to see all the aunts/uncles and most of the cousins (on my side at least).
One cousin can't come home from college for the holiday, and one has to work...but, we can understand such things.

On hubby's side of the family, a group of them headed to Ireland for vacation, leaving one aunt home alone for the holiday. She will be joining us for the festivities, which will be a huge change for her. Hubby's immediate family is a much smaller crew than my side. When we get together, it's 12-14 people....on my side, it's more like 30-35.
She's the type to feel overwhelmed at this.
We are heading over early so there will be less people when we get there...isn't it always easier to adjust when you are one of the first ones there?
She knows everyone who is coming, she is just nervous.

Today I am bringing
Baked Beans
Creamed Spinach
Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Let the egg cracking commence!

Italian Drip Beef Sandwiches

...and back to our Lennon/Vet story

When we left off, we had decided the runt baby needed to become part of our family.

They told us that one of the vet techs had taken the babies "under her wing" and was screening all potential owners. I had thought ahead and brought all of our pre approval information from the MSPCA.

We left, after being told it would be a few days before this particular vet tech would be reading our paperwork. That was fine, as we were totally unprepared.
When Cookie passed away, we got rid of everything.

Hubby headed on home, and the girl child and I headed off to a friend's house for pedicures.
So, we are sitting at our friends. Ankle deep in warm, soapy water...and my cell phone rings.
Hubby.

I answer and I hear this panicked voice "OMG, the vet just called, they said we can come and get him TODAY".
Not to worry, we can handle this. Well, he can..the girl and I were a little "indisposed".

Sent him off to the vet as we finished up.
Quick stop at a pet store to get basic essentials and we headed home to met our baby!

Imagine our surprise to walk into the house and see all the cushions off the couch. Hubby dearest had made a "fort" (of sorts) to contain the new little man. His reasoning was that Lennon had seemed scared to be in a big, new area and this was helping him.

Yeah, it helped until the first minute he heard the girl child's voice. He is so her cat. As soon as he heard her, he broke through the couch cushion walls and went running.
No fear from that moment on!

Lennon snuggling with his favorite human

To be continued...

Onto some sandwich talk!
I made these...and they were delish...but I neglected to tell Hubby and the Girl that I was using the pepperoncinis. They ate the majority of the jar. Oh well!
I made do, and they were still good, we just had no extra for the top.
When Baked Bree first posted this, that is how she showed them. Fine by me though as they are not my favorite item.

Ingredients:

4 Lb beef roast

Pepperoncini (diced)

4 Cups beef broth

6 Tbsp Italian seasoning

Sub Rolls

Provolone Cheese

Directions:

1. The night before, cook your roast in the crock pot for 8-10 hours, until it is falling apart.

2. Add to crock pot the beef broth, the diced pepperoncini, 1 cup of the pepperoncini juice, and the Italian seasoning.

3. Refrigerate all night so fat will separate (keep meat in the juice it was cooked in)

4. When ready to “cook” dinner, skim the fat from the meat

5. Heat juice and meat on the stove top until warm.

6. Toast sub rolls in oven

7. Pile high with meat and top with cheese

8. Toast sandwiches in oven until cheese is melted

9. Serve with additional pepperoncini if desired

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This recipe was shared with:
Flour me with Love, Tumbleweed Contessa, Grace Langdon, A Southern Fairytale, A Pinch of Joy, The Modest Mom Blog, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, A Mama's Story, All Things Fee, The Chicken Chick, Boogieboard Cottage, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Skip to my Lou, Mom Favorites, April J Harris, Sew Can Do, Mom's the Word, Pint Sized Baker, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Cornerstone Confessions, Lou Lou Girls, My Joy Filled Life, Yesterfood, Timewarp Wife, Mandy's Recipe Box, The New Mrs Adventures, Hope Studios, Kathe with an E, Stone Gable Blog, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, My Girlish Whims, Raising Homemakers, Buns in my Oven, A Peek into my Paradise, Gingersnap Crafts, Someday Crafts, Crafty Allie, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lemoine Family Kitchen, Ivy and Elephants, Feeding Big, Grace and Good Eats, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Lambert's Lately, Embracing Change, Katherine's Corner, A Delightsome Life, The Pin Junkie, The Grits Blog, Play Party Pin, Lady Behind the Curtain, Marly's This and That, The New Mrs Adventures, The Better Baker, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Craft Dictator, Thirty Handmade Days, City of Creative Dreams, Diary of a Real Housewife, Craft O Maniac, The Girl Creative, Morsels of Life, Coffee with us 3, Sweet Haute, Cooking with Ruthie, Raising Memories, Denise Designed

Creamy Gruyere Shrimp Pasta

Today is going to be an interesting day. I am sort of looking forward to it.
Why so interesting? Our fluffy little (not so) Lennon has his yearly vet appointment.

Our lovely lady kitty, Cookie, had passed away due to lung cancer. The girl child was more sad than she had ever been before. About a year passed and she decided it was time. Time for the pitter patter of little paws in our house again.

We went on the hunt for a new kitty. We went through all the paperwork for the MSPCA and got approved as appropriate pet owners. None of the kitties seemed to be the right fit though.

My aunt happened to call me one day. She knew of the great kitty search, and had taken her dog to the vet that morning for an appointment...only to find out that someone had found a litter of 4 kittens under some stairs and brought them to the vet.

A couple of days later, we went to visit the kitties and check them out.
O...M...G...I cannot clearly express the level of fluffy, black cuteness!

They let us hang out in an exam room with all 4 of the babies. The littlest runty baby was very interested in us! He kept coming to check us out...especially the girl child.

All of our hearts turned into a pool of melted butter.
We told the techs that we were interested in the peanut.
All of their faces lit up! "That is the only one that isn't spoken for!".
This was obviously meant to be.

How can one not fall in love with this king of cute?

Stay tuned for the remainder of our "why the vet is interesting" story!

Now, back to the reason you are reading this post!
While surfing the Recipe Girl site, I came across this recipe.

My first intention was to make this for a shrimp loving friend who was coming over, but as the night dissolved into chaos, we decided to order a pizza instead.
I made this for my own family the next night instead.
To quote hubby, this is "the best "new" pasta dish you have made in a long time"!

I did use already cooked shrimp, so when it was time to add it to the wine and butter, I just heated them through in the sauce.

Ingredients:

8 oz Penne

¼ Cup all purpose flour

½ Tsp salt

2 Cups milk

1 ¼ Cup (5 oz) gruyere cheese (grated)

1 Tbsp butter

1 ½ lbs raw shrimp (peeled and deveined)

4 Cloves garlic (minced)

2 Tbsp white wine

¼ Tsp cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375

2. Spray 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray

3. Cook and drain pasta

4. Combine flour, salt, and milk in a large skillet. Stir thoroughly.

5. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly

6. Cook for an additional minute until thick.

7. Remove from heat and stir in ¾ cup of cheese. Stir until melted.

8. Melt butter in large skillet.

9. Add garlic to butter and cook for 3 minutes.

10. Add shrimp, wine, and cayenne. Cook until shrimp turns pink.

11. Add pasta and shrimp to cheese mixture, toss to combine.

12. Pour everything in prepared dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

13. Bake for 20 minutes.

14. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving

Print

This recipe was shared with:
Flour me with Love, Tumbleweed Contessa, Grace Langdon, A Pinch of Joy, The Modest Mom Blog, Huckleberry Love, I Should be Mopping the Floor, Uncommon Designs, Jambellish, A Mama's Story, All Things Fee, The Chicken Chick, Enchanted Homeschooling Mom, Skip to my Lou, Mom Favorites, April J Harris, Sew Can Do, Mom's the Word, Pint Sized Baker, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Cornerstone Confessions, Lou Lou Girls, My Joy Filled Life, Yesterfood, Timewarp Wife, Mandy's Recipe Box, The New Mrs Adventures, Hope Studios, Kathe with an E, Stone Gable Blog, Someday Crafts, Dizzy Busy and Hungry, Milk and Cuddles, Raising Homemakers, White Lights on Wednesday, Buns in my Oven, A Peek into my Paradise, Gingersnap Crafts, Crafty Allie, The Newlywed Pilgrimage, Lemoine Family Kitchen, Ivy and Elephants, Recipes for our Daily Bread, Feeding Big, Grace and Good Eats, What's Cooking Love, Saving 4 Six, Miz Helen's Country Cottage, Lambert's Lately, Embracing Change, Katherine's Corner, A Delightsome Life, The Pin Junkie, The Grits Blog, Play Party Pin, Lady Behind the Curtain, Marly's This and That, The New Mrs Adventures, The Better Baker, Love Bakes Good Cakes, Craft Dictator, Thirty Handmade Days, City of Creative Dreams, Diary of a Real Housewife, The Girl Creative, Morsels of Life, Coffee with us 3, Simple Nature Decor, Sweet Haute