Cream Cheese Filled Cookies

These cookies were SO good. I got the recipe from www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com.

Cookies

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup shortening

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Filling

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

(I halved the filling recipe and it was just enough.)

Topping

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips melted

Directions

In a large bowl cream the butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla, beat again.

Mix in flour, baking powder and salt. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

I used my cookie scoop and then pressed them down a bit.

Bake at 375 for 11-13 minutes. Immediately after removing them from the oven make an indention in the middle with the back of a wooden spoon.

Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Spread on cookies.

For the chocolate topping I put the chocolate chips in a Ziploc bag and put in the microwave. Heated in 30 second increments until it was melted enough and drizzle the cookies. Enjoy. Keep in fridge.

Beef and Mushroom Tacos with Avocados

1 lb. ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 onion, thinly sliced or chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped (you can use more if you want)

Salt and pepper

2 avocados, cubed

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

8 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 clove garlic, sliced or pressed

8 small flour tortillas

In a large skillet cook beef, onions, jalapenos. Season with salt and pepper. When done remove from pan. In same skillet cook mushrooms and garlic with a little bit of butter or olive oil if needed. When done put meat mixture back into pan and combine.

In a bowl combine the avocado with the lime juice.

Brown the tortillas or warm them up.

This is a super quick supper and really good. Besides layering the meat mixture and the avocados we put sour cream, cheese and salsa on ours. They are yummy! I got the recipe out of the Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine and changed it up a little bit.

Enjoy!

Butterfinger, Milky Way Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I really need to come up with a better name for these amazing cookies!  I found them at  Picky Palate . The cookie base is incredibly tender, the Butterfinger melts leaving chunks of  peanut butter goodness, and the milky way adds gooey chocolate spots that are out of this world. Seriously they are AMAZING!

Butterfinger, Milky Way Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3/4 Cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
6 mini Butterfinger (fun size) or 1 1/2 full size candy bars
6 mini milky ways quartered or 1 full size candy bar
1/2 Cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a stand or electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until well combined. Slowly add in eggs and vanilla until well mixed.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl; mix to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with the candy bars and chocolate chips until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until done to your liking. I take them out right at 9 minutes for a softer cookie. Let cool for 5-7 minutes on baking sheet to set up. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Junk

A friend of mine brought this to a ladies game night and it was delicious! I am a huge fan of sweet chex mix. This recipe is combines sweet chex mix with the saltiness of buttered popcorn. My kids and I are addicts!

Junk

2 bags popped popcorn  (use butter lovers if you dare!)
4 cups corn Chex
5 c. Golden Grahams (I left these out and added more chex)
1/2 c. slivered almonds
1 c. butter
1 c. sugar
1 c. Karo Syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix popcorn, cereal and almonds; set aside. In a medium saucepan combine butter, sugar and syrup. Boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour over cereal mixture and stir to combine.
YUMMY!

Coconut Shrimp

I am a huge fan of the coconut shrimp at Outback and have tried a few times to copy it but have failed miserably at my attempts. I found this recipe in my All You magazine and tried it. My family loved it and said it was the best shrimp they had ever eaten. It is a little different than Outbacks but very good. We just eat cocktail sauce with it.

24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 large eggs

1/4 tsp. Tabasco

1 cup panko bread crumbs

1 cup sweetened flake coconut

1 tsp. crushed red pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying

Pat shrimp dry. In a large bowl, mix flour and salt and pepper. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with Tabasco. In a third bowl, mix bread crumbs, coconut and red pepper.

Pour enough oil to measure 1 inch deep in a large skillet. Warm over medium high heat until 370 degrees. I just use my deep fat fryer to cook mine.

Working with one shrimp at a time, roll in seasoned flour, then dip in egg mixture. Then press shrimp into coconut mixture until completely coated. Transfer to a cookie sheet or plate until ready to cook.

Fry shrimp, a few at a time, until golden brown turning once or twice, 3-4 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

My recipe for cocktail sauce is some ketchup and add a little horseradish to taste.