Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies

When I first made chocolate chip cookies after becoming a wife, I was disappointed in my husband's disappointed reaction. He said his sister sent him cookies when he was on his mission and that they were the best. So, I got her recipe. They really are the best. I've tried others who claim that they are the best, but to no avail. These are soooo good! This is Mary's recipe:

Ingredients:
1 small pkg vanilla pudding
1 cube butter (1/2 cup)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 pkg chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*. Cream butter, brown sugar, pudding, eggs and vanilla. Gradually add flour and baking soda. Mix in chocolate chips. Place on cookie sheet in little balls. Bake 8-10 minutes. They should still look a little rounded with touches of golden brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheet, then move to a rack to cool the rest of the way. Brent thinks they're even better the next day.

*to send them to a missionary anywhere in the world, wrap them in aluminum foil and put that in a ziplock bag with a piece of bread in it. Freeze them and send frozen. I send them in either pringles or crystal light canisters that I've wrapped in paper or placed inside another box. They made it all the way to my brother in northern Russia and they were fine...even though their mail system is a wreck over there.

Best Banana Bread

I LOVE Banana Bread, but it seems like every time I make it it turns out with a really crunchy crust and a really gooey middle. I used to blame it on my gas oven, because they say they don't cook as evenly as electric ovens. I sort of stopped making Banana Bread...gave up for the time being, until recently we had a lot of bananas that needed to be used. So I decided to try it again...and I'm so glad I did. I got this recipe from a cook book my family's ward put together. I decided to try this one because it had sour cream in it, and I've always had good results in baked goods when they have sour cream in them...kind of weird, but true.

This is Judy Teuscher's Banana Bread:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup mashed bananas

1/2 cup sour cream

*optional: chopped walnuts

Directions:

Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Add the remaining ingredients. Bake at 350* in a greased pan for 50-60 minutes. It makes one loaf.

Easy! I let mine go a little past 50 minutes...till the knife came out mostly clean. And seriously, this is the best Banana Bread my husband and I have ever tasted!!! No gooey middle and no burnt crust, but so moist and delicious! I hope you try it, and if you do, I'm sure you'll love it.

taco soup

taco soup

• 1 lb hamburger (cooked, drained, and seasoned with 1 package taco seasoning)
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can kidney beans with juice
• 1 can black beans with juice
• 1 can (29 oz) tomato sauce
• heat all ingredients together thoroughly
• when hot, put in a bowl and top with crushed tortilla chips, grated cheese, and or sour cream
  

tuna??

we are getting ready to move and so i am trying to use up food storage so we don't have to hull it over to our new house. anyways . . . . does anyone have a good recipe using tuna??

thanks!!

Melissa's Chocolate Chip Muffins

After having my second child, I recieved this recipe from my sister. I had succeeded in losing some of the baby weight but upon tasting these muffins and the easy accessibility for breakfast or a night time snack---I have gained the weight back. Needless to say these are really good. They can be frozen as well.

2 cups flour

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup margarine, melted

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, sitr together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, stir together milk, eggs, margarine and vanilla until blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add milk mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spoon batter into muffin cups or greased muffin pans. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from cups. Dust with powdered sugar.

Almost Kings Hawaiian Bread

I made bread two weeks ago to go with the chili I made and my husband said it tasted like King's Hawaiian Bread. He would know since he worked there in CA when he was younger. I decided I ought to share it. King's Hawaiian Bread is extremely tasty so I take that sincere compliment and cherish it even though I don't think the comparison is close.

This recipe is from Cindy Jerabek in Morgantown, WV.

2 pkg. yeast (1 package equals 1 Tbsp)

1/4 cup warm water (NOT HOT)

1 tsp. sugar

3 cups milk

1/2 stick butter or margarine

2/3 cups sugar

1 tbsp. salt

7-10 cups flour

First, in a small bowl, put the warm water in a small bowl. Then add sugar and yeast to that. Stir once then let sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.

While the yeast is activating, put milk in a bowl with the butter/margarine and heat it in the microwave. Make sure its warm but not hot.

While the milk mixture is heating--in a large bowl, mix sugar, salt, and half of the flour. When the butter is melted in the microwave and it's warm, yet not hot, pour that mixture into the dry ingredients. Put the yeast mixture in lastly and add a few more cups of the flour. Stir. You will need to add flour until you can handle the dough and knead it without a lot of gooey stuff clinging to your hands. Keep adding a little flour at a time until the dough begins to pull off your hands.

Knead for about 5 minutes.

Grease a bowl. Put bread in the bowl then flip it over (so that the top is lightly greased). Run a thin towel under warm water, wring it out and cover the bowl with it. Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Punch down bread and let it rise for 1/2 hour longer. (warm up the towel again if you want and cover.)

Grease loaf or roll pans.

Form rolls, loaves or scones, then let rise for another hour. (don't need the towel here)

Bake in 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until brown on top. Then use a smidge of butter and rub it on the tops of the rolls and loaves. Or if making scones, fry them after that last hour of rising.

I love this recipe and this bread! I grew up on it and enjoyed making it for sacrament meeting when I was younger. It has a special place in my heart. I hope you enjoy it too.

KBB's (Kidney Bean Burritos)

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Ok so a few years ago my doctor really pushed me to go on a fiber full diet....Ya... Anyway it forced me to become somewhat inventive. Robbie and I were dating at the time and we invented the Kidney Bean Burritos. We had them the other night and I snapped some pictures. We both love them! It feels like such a healthy meal, and it mostly is. Plus its a cinch!

Heres what you need.

Flour tortillas (or wheat for extra fiber)
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can corn
cheddar cheese
lettuce
optional: sour cream

Throw a small amount of cheese, corn and kidney beans on the flour tortilla, heat up for 30 seconds, remove and add lettuce and sour cream if desired (if I use sour cream I only use a tiny bit but you really don't need it) Then eat it. Honestly I know it sounds weird but don't knock it til you try it. I love it!