Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love pumpkin anything! But I like it to be somewhat healthy so I added 1/2 cup applesauce and took out 1/2 cup of the butter. They tasted great!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cream together:

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup applesauce

Then add:

1 cup pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Sift together dry ingredient then add to above wet mixture.

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

Add 1 cup milk chocolate chips. Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. Allow to cool then frost.

Icing:

In saucepan, heat 3 Tb butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar over medium to med-high heat until bubbling and thick. Cool 10 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup milk. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Zucchini Brownies

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, egg and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture. Fold in the zucchini and walnuts. Spread evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.

Frosting
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup margarine
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa and margarine; set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together the confectioners' sugar, milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownies before cutting into squares.

Ann's Sweet Salsa

3 qts tomatoes skinned and chopped
1 qt bell peppers
1/2 qt anaheim peppers
1 c jalepeno peppers
1 qt. onion
12 cloves garlic
1 cup vinegar
1/4 cup cilantro
1 1/2 TBL Salt
1/2 TBL Sugar
1 tsp cumin
1 TBL Italian seasoning (if you don't have this use a combination of basil and oregano)
3/4 to 1 cup brown sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)

Mix together and simmer for 2-3 hours. Process in water bath for 20 minutes.

Spaghetti Sauce for Canning

14 cups mashed and peeled Tomatoes
3 cups chopped onion
1/2 c plus 1 TBL olive oil
4 6 oz cans tomatoe paste
Red pepper flakes
2TBL Oregano
2TBL Basil
2TBL Sugar
1 1/2 TBL unionized salt
1 TBL Garlic Powder
Pepper

Chop and combine everything in a large quart pan. Let simmer for 2-3 hours. Process in water bath for 15 minutes.

No Fail Pizza Dough

My husband told me not to lose this recipe so here it is in the safest place I know:


1 pkg yeast (I think 1 pkg =2 1/4 tsp)
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
2 TBL oil
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and add oil. Combine flour and salt. Pour yeast mixture over dry ingredients and mix. Let rest 5 minutes. Roll dough onto greased pizza pan. Add toppings. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

I think I only cooked it at 400 until it was light brown.

I put a bruschetta type mixture on top:

6-7 tomatoes skinned (boil one minute run under cold water and they skin easy)
fresh basil
mozzarella cheese
garlic
pepper

I smashed all the seeds and juice out of the tomatoes and stirred everything together and put it on top cooked until cheese was melted.

Zucchini Soup

I got this from another cooking blog that I love. It is so tasty and you don't have to turn on the oven and can still use all the zucchini from the garden.

http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2009/05/zucchini-soup.html

1 cup chopped onions
2 T. butter (she usually uses 1 T)
3 cups sliced zucchini
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
½ cup half-and-half (she often substitutes with regular milk and still think it tastes very yummy)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
4 slices bacon, cooked until crisp, then crumbled


In a large saucepan cook onions in melted butter until tender. Add sliced zucchini and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender (about 15 min.) Add salt and pepper. Cool slightly. Pour mixture into blender and puree it. Stir in half-and-half (or milk). Return to saucepan and reheat, but do not boil. Garnish with grated cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. Makes 6 servings.

I think my picture is not as green as hers because she probably left the skin on. Which after making once I think it would still taste good. I added the cheese and sour cream and thought it was delicious.

Striped Delight

35 OREO Cookies

6 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. cold milk

1 tub (12 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

3-1/4 cups cold milk

2 pkg. (3.9 oz. each) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

PROCESS cookies in food processor until fine crumbs form. Transfer to medium bowl; mix in butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch dish. Refrigerate until ready to use.

WHISK cream cheese, sugar and 2 Tbsp. milk in medium bowl until blended. Stir in 1-1/4 cups COOL WHIP; spread over crust.

BEAT pudding mixes and 3-1/4 cups milk with whisk 2 min.; pour over cream cheese layer. Let stand 5 min. or until thickened; cover with remaining COOL WHIP. Refrigerate 4 hours.

How to Easily Cut Into Squares:

Place dessert in freezer about 1 hour before cutting into squares to serve.

I made this for Mother's Day and everyone seemed to like it. I got the recipe from Kraftfoods.com. Check out their site for a pretty picture of the dessert. I tried to cut a few calories by using low fat Oreos, light cream cheese and light Cool Whip, and it was still pretty tasty.