White chocolate macadamian nut cookies

I made these a while ago and swore I got the recipe off the back of one of the ingredients but haven't been able to recreate them since. Anyway, this recipe is dang close. Stolen from another blog, which was stolen from another source. I haven't decided if i like the dough or the cooked cookie better.. both are to die for!

For the love of cooking

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A good friend of mine mentioned this blog on hers and I've been addicted to it ever since. It has yummy recipes and I haven't found one I didn't like. Check it out!

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Waffles

It's only appropriate that I'm watching Julie & Julia as I'm updating this blog and Julia is loving how much butter is in French cooking. These waffles.. are pretty much butter but boy are they good! We have another recipe for waffles but it's just not that good.. my husband got this one from the Joy of Cooking cookbook and made them for some special occasion a few weeks ago. I couldn't stop eating them. I LOVE that they stay crispy after you take them out of the wafflemaker instead of getting all soggy right away. Anyway, back to the butter. So my husband is a very meticulous cook.. which is why he doesn't like cooking very much. It stresses him out. So he got very stressed when he added the butter and it started to curdle in the cold milk. I calmed him down when I explained he could double boil it to melt the butter (put the bowl over a pot of boiling water) but it doesn't really matter. When I made them again the other day the butter still curdled it even after I tempered it. Ironically, if we'd bothered to read the ENTIRE recepie, it mentioned that it'll have a lumpy consistency and be fine when you cook it! Ha! Anyway, these are great waffles. PS, I don't like the really thick waffles.. I like the thinner kind.

1 3/4 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

3 large eggs
4-16 tbsp melted butter (We did all 16, yes that's 2 whole sticks)
1 1/2 cups milk

Mix wet and dry seperately (or just really well) and pour however much your waffle-iron needs. You can add chocolate chips, blueberries or really whatever you want. "You can never have enough butter."

Cheesy crockpot roast

Oh my goodness I love this dish. We had this at least once a month on a Sunday. Not more than once a month because it's pretty fattning and my mom didn't like that.. but at least that much because it's so easy, makes the house smell delicious when you come home from church. It makes its own gravy and if you've cooked it long enough, the roast will be so tender and pull apart easily.

1 pot roast, 1-2 pounds.
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1/2 pkg onion soup mix

If your roast is bigger, add more soup and onion mix. Serve with potatoes or pasta. ooohh I start salivating when I think of this gravy. Seriously, it's that good.

Tortellini Soup

Ahh this soup is soooooo satisfying and so ridiculously easy. Keep these ingredients in your pantry and you'll be grateful to have an easy, last-minute winner. This makes enough for 4+. Simply add more broth if you want to stretch it, or double it of course.

1 pkg tortellini
1 pkg frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 can northern beans, drained (I hate bean juice so I always drain my beans)
1 can petite diced tomatoes
4 cups chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
italian seasoning or a spoonful of refrigerator pesto (I like the Classico brand and always have some on hand..)

Add everything together and cook until tortellini is done. About 10 minutes. Add more pasta if you want or meatballs. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Orange Julius

So my mom stopped cooking about.. oh 15 or so years ago. She's a piano teacher and her studio really picked up around then. I also began watching the Food Network religiously. So my dad and I picked up the slack and started cooking. My mom was more than happy to let us.. even if my dad's creations were.. unedible (to pick a nice adjective). However, she'd always take care of us when we were sick, making this yummy treat to help our little throats feel better. This makes enough for 1 good sized drink.

1/3 cup frozen OJ concentrate
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar (less if you want it healthier yet tangier)
1/2 tsp vanilla
5-6 ice cubes

combine in a blender until smooth. add bananas, strawberries or other fruits to your liking. it will be a little watery but so are the real OJs at the mall. add more ice if you want it more like a smoothie. adding yogurt it yummy too.

Cucumber drink

I have a friend (who is sadly moving away!)  who has a ton of great recipes..this being one of them. Another friend of mine made it for a dinner party I went to the other night.. it's so refreshing! And I got such a kick out of watching her little girl sneak the slices of cucumber out of it until they were all gone.

6 oz limeade concentrate
2 L Sprite
1-2 cucumbers, sliced

Combine Sprite and limeade in a punchbowl or pitcher.. add cucumbers. Don't add water. It's that easy to!