Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I love to bake cookies and am always looking for new recipes or ways to change up my current recipes.  My hubby is a chocolate and peanut butter freak so these cookies are a frequent visitor to our house....and lucky for me he eats most of them so I don't have to =) The kids love them too!!  If you aren't a fan of peanut butter, you can sub in regular chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, and even mint chips.  They are even good if you add some peanuts or cashews to them.  (I told you I like to change things up with my recipes and see how many variations I can do)

 Ingredients

• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose Gold Medal Flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray a large baking sheet with non stick spray
2. Place butter and sugars into a stand or electric mixer and beat until light and creamy, a good 2 minutes. Add egg and vanilla mixing until well combined. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt, mixing to combine. Add chips and mix to combine. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop dough onto baking sheet 1 inch apart and bake for 10-12 minutes, until baked through.

Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Serve and enjoy.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies

Chicken Roll-ups

These are some of my favorite things!  They are pretty easy to make and everyone in my family loves them! (always a plus when everyone will eat what you make, right?)  I originally got this recipe years ago, from who knows where and have been making it ever since.  I don't always do it the same each time, depends on my mood but here's my basic recipe:

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (if they are small, use 3, if they are big, use 2)

8 oz. cream cheese

2-3 pgks. crescent rolls (I make my homemade ones but if you are short on time, Pillsbury will help you out)

2-3 cans of chicken gravy (once again, I make my own, but if you want to use canned stuff, it works)

1 can mushrooms, optional

2 tbs. melted butter

garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, other seasonings you prefer, just use to taste.

1/2 c. butter, melted (may need more)

1 c. bread crumbs, plain or Italian (may need more)

Here's a quick tip before you cook your chicken:  add a cube of boullion while you are cooking it and it adds lots of extra flavor.

In a bowl, combine your chicken, cream cheese, mushrooms, 2 tbsp. melted butter and seasonings.  Mix until there are no cream cheese lumps.

Spread out your crescent rolls (or roll out and cut into triangles if making your own). Place a heaping tablespoon onto the crescent rolls.

Roll up to form a bundle, starting from big end.

Roll the bundle in the melted butter, then roll in the bread crumbs.

Place on a cookie sheet.  Bake for about 14 minutes at 375, or until golden brown.

While those are cooking, either heat or make your gravy.  If you are using the canned stuff, add some onion and pepper to it to give it a bit more flavor.

Once the bundles are finished, pour some gravy over before serving.  Have a yummy dinner!!

These freeze great too so don't worry about making extras =)

Gravy Recipe

• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 cubes chicken bouillon (let it dissolve in teh water before you add it to the pan)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup butter
• seasonings to taste: pepper, garlic, poultry seasoning, etc

Melt half the butter in a sauce pan, saute onions.  Add the flour to make a roux (kind of like a paste). Add the other half of the butter, water, and bouillon.  Add other seasonings to taste Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until thickened.