Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies Wow! Were these ever loved by all! The neighborhood kids devoured them.. there was an actual fight over the last one. "NO, I'm telling you it is mine." "NOT!" "Give it to me.. NOW!" Until I, of course, intervened and broke it in half. I have made cookies with Rolos in the center before.. see here.. and they are one of my most requested cookies out of my collection. So, when I saw these over at My Baking Addiction, I decided to try this version. Result, I know they will be made again in this home! Easy to make as well..Full recipe on key ingredient card below.

Begin with a batch of your favorite homemade chocolate chip cookie dough, and some Rolos. Now, take a tablespoon and a half of dough and flatten a little, put a Rolo in center, and roll into a ball. Freeze for 15-20 minutes. Bake at 350 for 11-13 minutes. They will come out looking like this, a bit puffy. Let cool on sheet a couple of minutes and remove. Spectacular. Great basis of a good chocolate chip cookie, combined with a caramel chocolate middle, oh, so good!Look at the inside. All good things in one!

Symphony Toffee Brownies

Symphony Toffee Brownies Better late than never. These symphony toffee brownies, original recipe from Paula Deen, found here, has been floating around the internet for a while. I finally got around to making them, and were they tasty! The FFH really enjoyed them, as did his fellow fighters of flames. And yes, they do start with a brownie boxed mix, but you can certainly adapt the recipe to use your favorite homemade brownie.

Just buy these.Prepare your brownie mix per box directions. Pour and spread 1/2 of the mix into a greased foil lined 9x13 pan. Layer the Hershey symphony bars. Spread remaining brownie mix on top. Bake as directed. Here you go. Cool completely. Cut into small squares as they are rich. So good. Look at the lovely layers. Easy, simple, quick, treat!

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup Soup in the summer? WTH, you say? Soup is an all year round staple for me. I saw this recipe here on allrecipes.com, adapted it a bit to suit our tastes, my version below on key ingredient recipe card, and put it together in no time. FFH called it a keeper recipe. Fabulous taste. A definite in the 'will make again category'!!

Begin by browning your sausage(remove the meat from casings) in pot with the chopped garlic. I used both hot and sweet sausage. Always like the flavor of a HOT sausage...ehem.. Stir in the Italian styled stewed tomatoes, chicken and beef broths, and the sliced carrots. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile..Grab the zucchini, chop it. Stir in the canned cannelini beans, along with their liquid, and the zucchini. Cover and simmer another 15 minutes or until zucchini is slightly tender. Add your spinach, remove from heat, and let pot sit with cover on to wilt the spinach a little. Ready to serve in about 5 minutes. Delicious soup. Very flavorful. I love the amounts of vegetables in this soup, and the flavor of the sausage pairs perfectly!Top with grated parm cheese if you like, and serve with warm crusty bread or grilled cheese.

Cavatelli and Broccoli

Cavatelli and Broccoli What is it about broccoli and pasta? I have quite a few recipes involving these two ingredients, see here, and here for example. Anyhow, I have been making this dish for 15 years or so. Found the recipe on the back of a frozen cavatelli bag and tweaked it just a bit to suit our tastes. How can you beat broccoli, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, seasonings, and pasta? You just can't. This is truly one of my favorite go to weeknight meals. Fantastic way to get the green veggies into the kids as well..

To begin, grab some broccoli,and cut into florets. Blanch the broccoli in salted boiling water for 5 minutes till ever so slightly tender. Drain and set aside. Before draining, I always save 1-1/2 cups of the water it boiled in to add to my broccoli later. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute your minced garlic till lightly golden, but not burnt. Add your broccoli. Saute , stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Broccoli should be tender yet slightly crisp to the bite...or to suit your tastes. Meanwhile, cook your cavatelli in boiling salted water, until al dente. Drain. Add to your cooked broccoli and garlic. Pour in your reserved cooking water. Season with red pepper flakes and salt. MOST IMPORTANT, serve with grated Parmesan or locatelli cheese, A MUST! This is a satisfying, delicious, comfort food type dish to me. We love it, hope you might too!

Apple Kielbasa and Spinach Dip .. 2 Simple Appetizers

Apple Kielbasa Spinach Dip Two of the most simple appetizers ever!! Always received well by everyone!!

For the apple kielbasa you will need two ingredients. The apple jelly and the kielbasa.Slice up the kielbasa, Mix it with the apple jelly in a 9x13 glass baking dish, and bake at 400 till crispy. Stick a couple pieces on a toothpick and you're good to go! This FABULOUS spinach dip is adapted from the back of the Knorr vegetable soup mix packet, original recipe here. Gather these ingredients. Put them all in a bowl, mix together. Let the flavors mingle a while in the fridge. Scoop into a hollowed out bread bowl and serve with cubes of bread. This is outstanding!

Fingerling Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Fingerling Potatoes with Caramelized Onions and Bacon I absolutely adore fingerling potatoes. Adore. Them. One of my most favorite side dishes involves them, it was one of my most earliest blog posts, found here. I saw this recipe quite a while ago on Pam's blog. Printed it out to make it, and then had filed it with all of my bucket list recipes. Came upon it recently, and here it is. Thanks Pam for a fabulous, fabulous recipe!

Begin by frying some bacon in a frying pan, remove with slotted spoon to paper towels, and crumble the bacon. Set aside. Grab these ingredients,and have ready. Remove all but 1 teaspoon of the bacon grease from the pan. Add some olive oil to the reserved bacon grease in the pan, add your onion slices, and cook until caramelized. While the onions are caramelizing parcook the fingerlings in a pot of boiling water over high heat for about 10 minutes or until fork tender. Remove from water and let cool. Once the onions are caramelized, add the garlic , cook for 60 seconds. Remove the onions, keep warm. Cut the fingerling potatoes in half lengthwise. Add more olive oil to skillet and add fingerling potatoes , cooking for about 5 minutes on this side.(I actually added a bit of butter too at this point.) Flip the potatoes and cook 5-6 minutes more, or until golden brown. Add the bacon crumblescaramelized onions, and garlic and reheat. Top with fresh chopped parsley and serve. My only suggestion is to let them cool a bit before eating them, they have so much more flavor when they are not steaming hot!! They were wonderful. We will be having them again. A repeater.