Creme de Menthe Chunk Cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 package (10 oz) Andes Creme de Menthe Baking Chips
2 2/3 cups flour

Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and eggs until mixed. Stir in Andes Baking Chips and then flour. Chill approximately one hour in refrigerator. Measure out approximately 1 oz of dough. Form ball and slightly flatten. Raise oven rack one level above middle and bake on non-stick baking pans.

Bake at 350 for approximately 8-10 minutes. Cool on pans for two minutes before removing.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I didn't chill the cookie dough. I assumed that was in the recipe just to make it easier to roll into balls (chilled dough is much easier to make cookies with!) but I don't have that kind of time!

What I'll do differently next time:
Same.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Mom has made these before, but I never had. They were incredibly simple and really good. I made about 1 1/2 dozen of the cookies and I'll freeze the rest of the dough for later use, so that's always handy. Also, when our exterminator came over today he wasn't able to resist taking a bagful home with him. They're just too good.

$$:
This recipe actually didn't cost me anything. Mom bought the Andes mints for me when they were marked down to $1.20 and everything else came straight from my pantry. Cheap dessert choice!!

Fruit Leather

Ingredients:
5-10 apples or pears
1/4-1/2 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon

Peel, core, and slice fruit. Place the slices in a 3-quart saucepan with water and cover. Simmer until fruit is tender and begins to appear translucent. Add cinnamon.

Remove from heat and zip through your food processor. Store in the refrigerator (if not making fruit leather same day). You can also mix in fruits like strawberries or peaches prior to cooking. Please note: you can stop here and have delicious pear sauce or applesauce!

Use one piece of aluminum foil to form a boat approximately 9x6 with sides 1" high. Place the foil boat on a shallow cookie sheet. Pour two cups of apple or pear sauce into the foil. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then turn the oven down to 150 (or lowest setting) and cook for 8-10 hours.

Peel the fruit leather off and store it in the refrigerator.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Nothing.

What I'll do differently next time:
Stephen suggested leaving out the cinnamon because he doesn't like it. I couldn't taste it at all, so I guess next time I'll just exclude it. Also, next time I think I'm going to puree strawberries and mix them in with the sauce before cooking it. There's so many options with this recipe!

Verdict:
Thumbs up!! The reason I made this is because we are always buying Fruit by the Foot (at triple coupons of course). Even when I buy it on sale with coupons it's still costing much more than this recipe. With mom and dad's generosity, I made this recipe completely free. I got pears from their pear tree :) Even so I believe buying pears, apples, strawberries, peaches, etc. when they are in season and cheap it would save you buying snacks like that. And no added sugars - the fruit was definitely sweet enough on its own!

Thai Beef and Noodles

Ingredients:
2 pkg (4.4 oz each) Thai sesame noodles
12 oz boneless sirloin steak, cut in thin strips
1 bag (16 oz) California stir fry vegetables

Cook noodles as package directs. Remove from heat; cover. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet. Season beef with 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper. Add half to skillet and, turning once, cook 2 minutes until browned. Remove to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Cook remaining beef; add to bowl.

Add 1/2 cup water and vegetables to skillet. Cover and cook 4 minutes until crisp-tender. Remove from heat.

Add beef and noodles, toss to mix.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Everything. Seriously, I would love to know how this recipe is supposed to taste. I've made it for years, but only as a guide for the recipe I actually end up making. I omit noodles and make rice instead. Instead of sirloin steak, I use whatever is in the clearance bin at the grocery store. For example, today I was able to get boneless beef tips on sale for $1.68. Cha-ching! And California style vegetables were only $1.28, so this was a great cheap-o meal! When I spice the beef, I use one to five of the following ingredients (depending on my mood I mix and match): salt, pepper, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and onion powder. SO tasty!!

What I'll do differently next time:
The same thing I do every time!

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This is such a simple recipe but Stephen says our house smells as good as Mt. Fuji (Japanese restaurant) when this is cooked. It's great as leftovers too.

$$:
This can be a really cheap meal if you get the meat on sale. Try different cuts of meat - they'll probably all taste similar but you can almost always get beef tips or western grillers for less than $2. Happy hunting!

Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 shallot, finely chopped (you can substitute 1 Tbsp onion for this)
1 can (10 3/4) oz condensed cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup thinly sliced sun-dried tomatoes
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
4 cups hot cooked extra wide egg noodles
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook 10 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove chicken from skillet. (You can cook your noodles during this time, according to package directions.)

Heat remaining oil in skillet over medium heat. Add shallot (or onion) and cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir soup, water, tomatoes, vinegar and basil in skillet.

Return chicken to skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cook 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Serve chicken and sauce over noodles.

Sprinkle with cheese and basil if desired.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Nothing.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! This was a really easy recipe that looks like it belongs in a restaurant. The sun-dried tomatoes added a zing to the flavor, and I've always loved a mushroom sauce with chicken.

$$:
You can definitely make this meal for under $10! I estimate that it cost me about $8 to make this meal and it easily served (stuffed!) three of us. The most expensive items were the chicken and the sun-dried tomatoes. I was able to get almost 2 pounds of chicken on sale for just over $3, and the tomatoes were $2.99 for the bag but I only used about 1/4 of the bag.

Baked Crescent Churros

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
2 Tbsp butter, melted

Heat oven to 375. In small bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon; set aside. Unroll dough; separate into 4 rectangles. Press each to 6x4-inch rectangle, pressing perforations to seal.

Brush tops of 2 rectangles with some of the melted butter; sprinkle with about half of the sugar mixture. Top each with remaining rectangle; press edges lightly. Brush tops with melted butter.

With sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut each rectangle stack lengthwise into 6 strips. Twist each strip 3 times; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Brush tops with any remaining melted butter; sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Not much. I used a smaller can of crescent rolls because there are only two of us (eating solid foods) and we just wanted a light dessert. I didn't measure out the amount of cinnamon and sugar I used because I have a jar of cinnamon sugar on hand and I just poured it on there. In my opinion, you can't overdo the cinnamon sugar.

What I'll do differently next time:
More cinnamon sugar! I STILL didn't use enough! I'd sprinkle more on the outside as well.

Verdict:
Thumbs up! Too easy and a very light dessert or fast breakfast idea. I have a really good recipe somewhere for a sugar dip (like Domino's has for their CinnaSticks) and if I find that I'll post it to go with these. But don't be fooled, these are definitely "crescent churros", not churros from a vendor in New York. But they'll do.

Wacky Cake

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup cold water

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together dry ingredients into un-greased 9x9 baking pan. Pour in oil, vinegar, vanilla, and cold water. Mix well, avoiding overzealous mixing.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Let cool and cut into squares.

What I did differently from the recipe:
Nothing.

What I'll do differently next time:
Nothing.

Verdict:
Neutral. I made this because I just had all the ingredients and didn't have to buy anything. But I'm not sure why it's called "Wacky Cake". It just didn't do much for me. I sprinkled powdered sugar on top because the middle of the cake sank! I'm not sure what I did for that to happen. It just tasted like a plain old chocolate cake to me. I poured caramel over a piece and that tasted good, and then on another piece I put raspberry preserves and that was good. But the cake alone didn't impress me. Now that I think about it, if it was frosted it would probably be better. But this recipe is going in the trash. (The verdict is neutral because it wasn't bad, I just don't prefer this type of cake. You might actually love it!)

Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
1 broiler-fryer chicken (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), cut up
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup all-purpose flour
salt and pepper
cooking oil

Place chicken in a large flat dish. Pour buttermilk over; refrigerate 1 hour. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a double-strength paper bag. Drain chicken; toss pieces, one at a time, in flour mixture. Shake off excess; place on waxed paper for 15 minutes.

Heat 1/8 to 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet; fry chicken until browned on all sides.

Cover and simmer, turning occasionally, for 40-45 minutes, or until juices run clear. Uncover and cook 5 minutes longer.

**For gravy:
After you cook the chicken for the 5 minutes, remove and keep warm. Drain all but 1/4 cup drippings; stir in 3 tablespoons flour until bubbly. Add 1 cup milk and 1 1/2 cups water; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook 1 minute more. Add more water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper and serve with chicken.

What I did differently from the recipe:
I didn't refrigerate the chicken in buttermilk. I put my own twist of buttermilk (1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and fill up the rest of the cup with milk) in a bowl and just dipped the chicken before shaking it in the flour mixture. I also put it right in the skillet rather than laying it out for 15 minutes. I didn't make the gravy so I can't vouch for it.

What I'll do differently next time:
I really liked how simple this recipe was, but I like my chicken crunchier. Maybe next time I will dip the chicken in milk, then flour, then milk, and flour again, or crush some crackers or Frosted Flakes in there to make it a bit crunchier. Maybe that's why you're supposed to let it sit for 15 minutes? I don't know.

Verdict:
Thumbs up. I just thought it was okay but Stephen really liked it which means it's a keeper! It was definitely good, I just happen to prefer KFC.