Maybe it's the cream cheese...

..or maybe it's the butter.Maybe it's just nice spending more time eating than baking. Or maybe it's the wonderful sugar-y smell they leave in your kitchen? I don't know.... but these "kind of cheating, only half real baking cookies," were the best I've ever made.

1/4 cup butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 box cake mix (white/butter/chocolate/whatever floats your boat)

375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Yum-o. Serious gooey, indulgent, yum-o.

Milton dinner favorites

Sorry to be answering your call for help so late, Katy! This first recipe is one of my favorites! I tend to make it a few times every month. Sometimes we eat it with tortilla chips, most of the time we eat it just as it is. I love this recipe for its nutrition, simplicity (that always wins me over!), color, and fragrance. And, of course, it tastes so yummy! Have fun with this Black Bean and Couscous Salad

A typical dinner around the our home is a roasted vegetable with rice and/or green salad. There are lots of vegetables that can be roasted and it's so easy and healthy! This recipe for Roasted Brussels Sprouts is a good one.

I also roast butternut squash. Joshua loves it! I chop it up into big bite-size bits, toss it in olive oil and sprinkle a little bit of salt and a tablespoon or so of brown sugar. I roast it at 400, I think. I'm not totally sure on the temperature, just keep an eye on it and move the squash around once or twice. It should only take about 10-15 minutes. Sometimes I broil it for a minute at the end, just to darken it up and make it a little crispy. The brown sugar will slightly carmelize from broiling. Sorry this recipe isn't the clearest. I make it all the time and it's probably a little different each time. Another good one is roasted broccoli with rice on the side. Hope these help! :)

Gazpacho Pasta Salad

Hey, Christy, I think this just might go well with your bread!  Recipe here.

Bread Recipe

Here are two recipes - one from me and one from Kathryn (I am assuming she doesn't mind sharing). Kathryn says hers is a no-fail. I believe the key to mine is you can never knead long enough. I let it knead on high for good 5-7 minutes.

Christy's
1 1/2 c. hot tap water
1 T. yeast
1/4 c. sugar

-Mix together and let it sit for approx. 5 minutes or until bubbles.

Then add,
2 T. oil (I use olive)
1/2 T. salt
3-4 c. flour (I do half white and half wheat, but you can do whatever) - add one cup at a time.
*I have been mixing vital wheat gluten to the flour before I put it in, but if you don't have it - don't worry, my mom never made it with it and it turned out fine.

Mix until smooth and just barely sticky to the touch (so you might have to add more flour) and knead well.

Let rise until double.

Make into loaves and put in 2 greased loaf pans. Let rise until double. Bake in oven @ 350 for 20-25 mins. To check doneness, thump and listen for hollow sound. Let cool and dig in!

Kathryn's:

Mix wet ingredients first

1/3 C oil

1/3 C Honey

1/3 C molasses

5 C Hot tap water

1 Tbl salt

3 Tbl yeast

½ C gluten Flour

10 cups of Flour (stop and mix)

Add flour until tacky consistency (wheat less, white up to 14 cups) But average is 12 cups total.

Let rise until double in size

Oil hands to roll and put in pans let rise to lip of pan

Should make 4 loafs

325 degrees for 35 mins

I Need a Recipe for Bread...

Okay, all you Mormon gals...I want to make some breadsticks with a roasted garlic spread, but can't decide on a dough recipe. I have tried bread recipes in the past and I am a big fat failure. The only way I can ever successfully make bread is with a machine, but I just got a Kitchenaid mixer and want to try it out. Christy--I thought you had posted an easy bread recipe on here, but I couldn't find it.

Any help? Anyone??

Lentil Casserole

I posted a lentil casserole recipe here. It was so good. I just can't say enough good things about it--and I can't wait to make it again! Who knew you could get so excited about lentils?!

Stromboli

Super easy and super good. I used my own bread dough. It was delish! It was stuffed with veggies and the kids still gobbled it up!

Stromboli

Ingredients:

1 lb frozen bread dough, thawed or your own dough

mustard (I used mustard and honey mustard)

salami

ham

bell pepper

olives

cheese

*you can add whatever other deli meats or toppings you would like

First roll out the dough into a rectangle. Brush with mustard. Layer meats, and toppings. Bring sides and ends together and pinch closed. Lay seam side down on baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees. Another filling idea would be to use alfredo or other cheese sauce and layer with shredded chicken and broccoli.