Caramel Oatmeal Bars

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9x9 inch square pan.
Combine the 1 cup flour, baking soda, oats, brown sugar, salt and melted butter.
Mix to combine, mixture will be very crumbly. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
Let cool slightly then sprinkle over the crust the chocolate chips and chopped nuts. Mix the caramel ice cream topping with the 3 tablespoons of flour and drizzle over the chocolate chips. Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture. You will need to break it into small pieces to cover.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let bars cool before cutting.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1 pkg (18-1/4oz) devil's food cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

In a mixing bowl, beat cake mix, eggs, and oil (batter will be stiff). Stir in chips. Roll into 1-inch balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets; flatten slightly. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until a slight indentation remains when lightly touched. Cool for 2 minutes before removing to a wire rack. *Note: I've found that the Betty Crocker cake mixes work the best with this recipe.

Zippy White Chili

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion
2 cups chicken broth
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp minced cilantro or parsley
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 can (15 oz) great northern or white beans, rinsed & drained
Tortilla chips
Shredded cheddar
Sour cream


Saute chicken and onion until juices run clear. Stir in broth, chilies, garlic powder, oregano, cilantro or parsley, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 30 minutes. Stir in beans; cook 10 minutes longer. Serve with tortilla chips, cheese & sour cream.

Note: We prefer to cook this using dried parsley instead of cilantro; it tastes great that way plus I always have parsley on hand. We stir the sour cream & cheese into our bowls of soup and use tortilla chips for dipping. Nice change from regular chili. This makes enough for us three to eat dinner & Adam to take some to work, so you might want to double the recipe if you need to feed more people. It's not spicy, despite some of the ingredients.

Roasted Potato Soup

Ingredients
5 whole garlic heads
2 bacon slices, diced
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups diced baking potato (about 2 pounds)
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup 2% low-fat milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Preparation
Remove white papery skin from each garlic head (do not peel or separate cloves). Wrap each head separately in aluminum foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour; let cool for 10 minutes. Separate cloves, and squeeze to extract 1/4 cup of garlic pulp; discard the skins.
Cook bacon in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until crisp. Add onion, carrot, and minced garlic, and sauté 5 minutes. Add potato, broth, salt, pepper, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender; remove bay leaf.
Combine garlic pulp and 2 cups potato mixture in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return purée to pan; stir in milk, and cook over low heat until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat, and stir in chopped parsley

Cranberry Spinach Salad

1 Tb. butter
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 lb. spinach, rinsed and torn into pieces
1 cup dried cranberries
2 Tb. poppy seeds
1/2 cup white sugar
2 t. minced onion
1/4 t. paprika
1/2 cup apple cider
1/2 cup vegtable oil

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Cook and sir almonds in butter until lightly toasted. Remove from heat and let cool. In a large bowl comine spinach almonds, and cranberries. In a large bowl, whisk together remaining ingredients. Toss with spinach just before serving.

Easy Pasta Salad

Spiral pasta
Any combonation of the following
broccoli
tomatoes
cubed cheese
olives
cucumbers
pepperoni slices
onion
green pepper
artichoke hearts
1 bottle of italian dressing
Cook pasta. Add vegtables and cover with dressing.

Chicken Cabbage Salad

1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
4 green onions, sliced
1 pkg. ramen noodles, uncooked
1/2 cup sliced roasted almonds
2 chicken breasts cooked and cubed

Mix all together in a large bowl

Dressing
2 TB. sugar
3 TB. vinegar
3 TB. oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
seasoning packet from noodles

Mix all together. Pour over salad 1 hour before serving. Put in refrigerator until ready to serve