over the top brownies
Mary Costa-Pearson

Over the Top Brownies
Cookie Base
1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker® double chocolate chunk cookie mix
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons water
1 egg
Filling
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (6 oz)
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows (Next time I’m doing 2 cups)
Frosting
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/8 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
2 ½ tablespoons milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray bottom and sides of 13×9-inch pan with cooking spray. (I line my pan with foil then spray with cooking spray. This way it’s easier to get the brownies out of the pan and cut into squares)
2. In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Set aside.
3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, 1/4 cup butter, the flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the egg with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Stir in 1/4 cup pecans. Spread over cookie dough base. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
4. Bake 26 to 28 minutes or until filling is set. Sprinkle evenly with marshmallows. Bake 2 minutes longer. Cool for 30 minutes on a cooling rack.
5. In 2-quart saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over medium heat. Stir in cocoa and milk. Heat until starts to thicken. Remove from heat. With wire whisk, gradually stir in powdered sugar until well blended. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 cup pecans. Immediately drizzle icing over brownies.
6. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. For bars, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.
***Instead of just baking the marshmallows I left the dish in the middle of the oven, and turned the broiler on high and cooked until they started to brown, about 3-4 min
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Taco Soup
Mary Costa-Pearson
Days like today soup just seems like the best dinner. And I needed something quick and easy. This recipe is super fast and easy. And tasty! My husband likes tomatoes but doesn't like them cooked and chunky in things, SO I take the time to drag out the food processor and I blend up the tomatoes. I added the ranch and taco seasoning to the tomatoes to cut out one step. I think I actually like it better this way makes the soup a bit saucier. I made mine with deerburger since I had some left over from flat bread taco's last night.
Enjoy!
Taco Soup
1 lb. chopped chicken, roast beef or ground beef 
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 oz.) can kidney beans, with liquid
1 (16 oz.) can white beans, with liquid
1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans, with liquid (I didn’t have these so I used black beans)
1 (16 oz.) can corn, with liquid
1 can Ro-tel tomatoes with chilies and liquid
1 (16 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, with liquid (I used a can of crushed tomatoes)
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. Ranch dressing
Saute ground beef & onion; drain. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or put in your crock pot on low for 3-4 hours. Top with sour cream, tortilla chips and grated cheese.
 if meat is already cooked , just saute the onion 
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3 minuet flat bread
Mary Costa-Pearson

I found this on the picky palate blog. http://picky-palate.com/ I thought it was different and thought I would give it a try. I made these to have with Taco's and they were really good. They remind me of the shell that comes with the Gorditas from Taco Bell. As I was rolling them out they did stick a bit so I would suggest lightly flouring your rolling surface and rolling pin.


1 tube (16.3 ounces) large refrigerated buttermilk biscuits  (This is the Pillsbury Grands.  I used the buttermilk flaky layers
Roll out each biscuit into a 6-in. circle. It is important to get it to the 6 inch circle so it’s the right thickness.  In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook each biscuit for 30-60 seconds (I did 60 seconds) on each side or until golden brown.  Yes that is right, DO NOT put any oil in the pan.  You cook them in a completely dry pan.  Makes 8 servings.

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Pasta Roll Ups
Mary Costa-Pearson
I made this last night for dinner. It was pretty tasty and pretty easy.

Ingredients:
1 egg, beaten
1 container  (15 oz.) POLLY-O Original Ricotta Cheese
2 cups KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Italian* Three Cheese Blend
4   green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 jar  (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce, divided
16 lasagna noodles, cooked
1/4 cup  KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

HEAT oven to 375ºF.

MIX first 5 ingredients until well blended.

SPREAD 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish. Spread each noodle with 3 Tbsp. cheese mixture; roll up. Place, seam-sides down, in dish. Top with remaining sauce and Parmesan; cover.

BAKE 40 to 50 min. or until heated through, uncovering the last 10 min.

TIPS:

I played around with this a bit. This is what I found to make it a bit easier. When the pasta is done, put it in a strainer and run some cold water over it. This will help keep them from sticking together. Lay the noodles out flat, otherwise they tend to stick in the shape they are left. Pat the noodles dry with a clean kitchen towel or paper towel otherwise the cheese mixture will not stick. 3 tbs is roughly the same as 1/4 up if you don't want to measure out 3 tbs each time. Makes it go a bit faster. I used whole wheat pasta to make it a bit more "figure friendly" as Rachael Ray says. I don't think it changes the flavor of the dish at all.

I added hamburger to mine. Just add the meat to the cheese mixture and mix well.  I think italian sausage cooked and crumbled would be good in this too. This recipe is one of those you can change up to fit your own likes. If you try something different with this let me know!

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