Gingerbread Men Cookies

1 (3.5 oz) package cook and serve butterscotch pudding
1/2 C. butter
1/2 C. Packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 C. flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
1 t. ground cinnamon

In a medium bowl, cream together the dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter, and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon; stir into the pudding mixture. Cover and chill dough until firm about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheets. On a floured board, roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness, and cut into man shapes using a cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes , until cookies are golden at the edges. Cool on wire racks

**You can use fat free pudding and wheat flour **

Hot Chicken Dip *Lauren Perry*

So let me tell you all about this dip that I had at Jeanette's the other night! It was fantastic. It is a recipe that is circulating around her group of friends, and I can see why. I tasted it and I about died with how addicting it was. I literally dreamed about it and salivated over it the next day. I asked Jeanette if I could post it on the recipe blog for her and she thought that was a great idea. So here it is! enjoy!

ingredients
2 (10 oz) cans of chunked chicken; drain
1 (8oz) pkg of cream cheese; softened
3/4 cup of ranch dressing
1/2 cup of pepper sauce (like Franks Red Hot)
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

directions
heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat
stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing (melt)
mix in half of shredded cheese and transfer to a class baking dish
extra cheese on top

bake @ 350 for about 10 minutes
serve with tortilla chips, celery, or crackers

***If you want to make a healthier version of it use fat free cream cheese. Also- buy a ranch packet and low fat cottage cheese- blend these together with 1 tbs of olive oil and this makes an AMAZING substitute for ranch. Also, try to find low sodium canned chicken. It tastes the exact same and it is super low carb/high protein!

Tex-Mex Egg Rolls w/ Creamy Cilantro Sauce

These recipes were on my blog but I thought I'd post them here for easy reference...

Ingredients:

1 (5 ounce) package yellow rice (I bought the packet that you just heat in the microwave for 60 seconds...save you tons of time)

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound ground hot pork sausage (I used Reduced Fat mild or you could substitue with chicken)

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 (14.5 -ounce) can Mexican style diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

6 green onions, finely chopped

1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

28 egg roll wrappers

1 large egg, lightly beaten

4 cups peanut oil (I used Canola oil...much healthier)

Instructions:

Cook rice using 1 teaspoon salt. Cool completely

Cook sausage in a skillet over medium heat, stirring until it crumbles an is no longer pink; drain well. Let cool.

Stir together rice, sausage, black beans, and next 4 ingredients in a large bowel. Spoon about 1/3 cup of mixture into center of each egg roll wrapper. Fold top corner of wrapper over filling, tucking tip of corner under filling; fold left and right corners over filling. Lightly brush remaining corner with egg*; tightly roll filled end toward the remaining corner, and gently press to seal.

(*I used water instead of egg)

Pour oil into heavy Dutch oven (I used my wok); heat to 375 degrees F. Fry egg rolls, in batches, 2 or 3 minutes or until golden. Drain on wire rack over paper towels. Serve with Creamy Cilantro Sauce. Devour immediately!

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Creamy Cilantro Sauce:

2 (10-ounce) cans Mexican-style diced tomatoes

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese softened (I used Fat Free)

2 cups loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves (about 1 bunch)

1 cup sour cream (I used Fat Free)

3 garlic cloves, minced

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

(for the health cautious...you could probably bake these in the oven instead of frying. I'm going to try that next time)

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Yum! Don't you wish you were at our house on Sunday night...(yes that is a picture of the cake I made). After playing around with many different recipes this past year and throwing away many dry & crumbly cakes...I think I have finally come up with the perfect chocolate cake/frosting combination.

Chocolate Fudge Cake Recipe:

1 pkg. chocolate cake mix w/ pudding included
1 pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/3 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup warm water
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups miniature semi-sweet chocolate chip

In large bowl, combine all ingredients, except chocolate chips. Beat for about 4 minutes and then add the chocolate chips. Bake in 2 greased/floured 9 inch round pans at 350 degrees for 28 minutes or until cake tests done. (remember we're at high altitude so the time might be different for you...the key is NOT to overcook it.) Remove from oven and let cool in pan 10-15 minutes., turn out on wire rack to complete cooling. Because it's so dry here, as soon as it's cooled, get it covered so it won't dry out.
( I've never made this in a 9x13 pan so I'm not sure on the time for that one. I like doing the rounds because I think it makes it more moist. )


Chocolate Fudge Frosting Recipe:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter softened
2/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
6 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (you can use regular milk just the same...condensed milk makes it EXTRA creamy)
1 tsp. instant coffee (optional...this just accentuates the chocolate flavor)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients on medium speed. Alternately add sugar & milk to spreading consistency. Add more milk if needed. Frost the cake only after it is completely cool.

Enjoy with a large glass of cold milk!




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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size: Large
Servings Per Cake: 1-30
Calories: Too many
Total Fat: Irrelevant
Cholesterol: A significant source of cholesterol
Vitamins: Not a significant source of vitamins, unless you count chocolate as one {grin}
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