Coconut Chocolate Graham Cookies

These aren't the prettiest cookies I've ever made. Well, come to think of it none of my cookies ever rise up and look like the picture. They are always flat. Maybe I overmix the dough? Anyway, they still taste wonderful!
I found this recipe on the back of the Kroger graham cracker box. I thought it was interesting that it was a cookie recipe that doesn't need eggs! Give them a try for a chocolatey cookie that's a little bit different. And make sure you have a big glass of cold milk accessible.  You'll definitely need that.

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups Graham crackers, finely crushed
1/2 cup All purpose flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1 (14 oz) can Sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup Butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 cups Semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup Flaked coconut
1 cup Chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, flour, and baking powder.
3. In another mixing bowl, beat sweetened condensed milk and softened butter until smooth.  Add vanilla extract.
4. Add crumb mixture to milk mixture and stir until smooth.  Add chocolate chips and coconut.  It seems very sticky, but it thickens up as it rests for a few minutes while you prepare the cookie sheets.
5.  Drop by heaping teasponfulls onto a lightly greased cookie sheet.
6. Bake 12 - 14 minutes
7.  Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheet.  Move cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Easy Cheesy Southwest Chicken Soup

I got the base for this recipe off of the nacho cheese soup can. And then added a lot more ingredients to it. Since I made the recipe up and I have such a bad memory, I wrote it on this paper and then took a picture of it. The picture of the soup didn't look too great, so I am posting a picture of the recipe instead. :) But, it is a very yummy, oh-so-easy soup. Just open a bunch of cans and heat til warm. That's it. It is very similar to the chicken tortilla soup that I love, just creamier and cheesier.
Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can nacho cheese soup
2 (cans) of milk (fill the empty soup can with milk twice. You don't need to use canned milk)
1 can chicken broth
1 13 oz can chicken chunks, drained
1 can sweet corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes, diced and NOT drained
1 can green chilies
A few dashes of onion powder
Garlic powder to taste
Salsa, tortilla chips, and cheddar cheese for topping

Directions:
1. Combine first 4 ingredients in large sauce pan. Blend until smooth.
2. Add remaining ingredients.
3. Heat over medium heat until hot, not boiling. Stir constantly
4. Serve with salsa and tortilla chips, and more cheese if desired.

Sweet N Sour

This is my favorite sweet and sour recipe. I don't take the time to deep fry the meat, and i think it tastes just as good cooked this way. I have used this with chicken and pork, and both were yummy.
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 lb lean meat, raw and cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 1 green bell pepper, stemmed,seeded and cut into thin strips
• 1/2 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 cups cubed pineapple
• cooked rice (for serving)

Directions:
1. Combine first 10 ingredients in large sauce pan and stir until well dissolved.
2. Add meat, green pepper, onion, and pineapple to sauce and bring to a simmer.
3. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until meat is cooked through.
4. Serve over rice.

http://www.food.com/recipe/sweet-sour-pork-100871

Toasted Artichoke Sandwiches

Mmm. I only made one substitution. Do your best to get all the specific ingredients it calls for because this was super yummy.

Ingredients

• 1 can (14 ounces) water-packed artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
• 1 large jarred roasted red pepper, julienned
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
• 8 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)
• 8 spinach leaves
• 1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions

• In a large skillet, saute the onion in oil until tender; add artichokes and peppers and cook until soft and hot. Stir in cheese. Remove from the heat.
• In a food processor, combine mayonnaise and tomatoes; cover and process until finely chopped.
• Spread four bread slices with half of the mayonnaise mixture; layer with a spinach leaf, artichoke mixture and remaining spinach. Spread remaining bread with mayonnaise mixture; place on top. Butter outsides of sandwiches.
• On a griddle, toast sandwiches for 2-3 minutes on each side or until bread is lightly browned. Yield: 4 servings.

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Toasted-Artichoke-Sandwiches

Ice Cream Cake

I made this for my daughter's birthday since she doesn't like regular cake. We all thought it turned out pretty tasty!
Ingredients:
1 gal bucket of ice cream, any flavor
1 package Oreo cookies
4 Tbsp butter, melted and divided
1 bottle of Magic Shell ice cream topping
Frosting, your choice color and flavor

Directions:
1. Empty the ice cream into a big bowl and let it soften while making the rest of the recipe.
2. Wash out the ice cream bucket, and line with foil. Make sure the foil comes up the sides and past the top of the bucket so you can get the cake back out.
3. Place 1/2 of the Oreo cookies, 1 1/2 rows, in a food processor. Process until crumbs. Add 2 Tbsp of butter and 2 big squirts of Magic Shell to the crumbs. Process again to mix well.
4. Dump the cookies into the bucket on top of the foil. Press down to form a crust.
5. Spoon half of the softened ice cream into the bucket on top of the crumbs. Press down to make an even layer.
6. Process the other 1/2 of the cookies, 2 more Tbsp of butter, and 2 more squirts of Magic Shell, just like before.
7. Add on top of the ice cream in the bucket. Press to firm into a crust.
8. Top with remaining ice cream. Even it out as best as you can so it's flat.
9. Freeze for 2 - 4 hours.
10. Remove from freezer, let ice cream cake sit on counter for 5 minutes, then turn bucket over and gently pull the foil to help release the cake onto a plate. I rubbed the outside of the plastic with a hot wash cloth to help it out too.
11. Turn ice cream cake back over onto your serving plate so that the oreo crust is on the bottom. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze again until ready to frost.
12. Frost cake, return to freezer until ready to serve.
13. Remove cake about 10 minutes before ready to cut and serve.
14. Can top with more Magic Shell and Caramel sauce.

Original Recipe:
http://www.food.com/recipe/ice-cream-cake-228763

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I loved this. It was the perfect balance of sweet and tart, saucy and crunchy. You can make it any time, because i used frozen rhubarb and frozen strawberries! I had to add about 5 minutes to the cooking time and I put it under a low broil for a few minutes to make it crunchier, but it worked great.
Ingredients

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 3 cups diced rhubarb
• 1 to 1- 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup rolled oats

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, mix white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, strawberries, and rhubarb. Place the mixture in a 9x13 inch baking dish.
3. Mix 1 cup flour, brown sugar, butter, and oats until crumbly. You may want to use a pastry blender for this. Crumble on top of the rhubarb and strawberry mixture.
4. Bake 45 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned.

original recipe:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/rhubarb-strawberry-crunch/Detail.aspx