Chocolate Waffle Brownies

This has been a family favorite for quite some time. Hope you enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 1 cube butter
• 7 tbl. cocoa
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Melt butter and stir in cocoa. Add eggs one at a time. Combine dry ingredients and add to mixture. Add vanilla. Follow waffle iron instructions for a tasty treat! ( You can add chocolate frosting to top them off!)

Eggs Benedict

So there was this one time, at IHOP, when Blake discovered the palatable beauty of Eggs Benedict. He liked it so much that he set about to learn how to make it at home and so whenever we whip this little luxury breakfast together, he's usually the one in charge -- which is fine by me! Anyway, enjoy!

Ingredients:

• Hollandaise sauce (we usually buy a "just add liquid" mix, but you're welcome to try making your own)
• 3 English muffins, halved, toasted, and buttered
• 6 thin slices of fully cooked ham (cooked bacon strips also work)
• 6 eggs, poached
• paprika, if desired

Directions:
Make Hollandaise sauce; keep warm. Cook meat in 1 tsp butter over medium heat until light brown on both sides; keep warm. Make poached eggs (for instructions, see below). Place one slice of meat on each muffin half. Top with egg. Spoon warm Hollandaise sauce over eggs. Sprinkle with paprika, if desired.

How to Poach an Egg:
Heat 1.5 to 2 inches of water to boiling in skillet or saucepan. Use large enough pan so eggs do not touch while cooking. Reduce to simmering. Break egg into custard cup. Carefully slip egg into water (hold cup close to surface of water for best shape and to avoid splashing). Cook about 5 minutes, or until white and yolks are firm, not runny. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Manicotti

This has been a favorite meal of mine for a long time. It's a bit of a hassle to make (what with the stuffing of slippery, easily breakable, cooked manicotti shells), but it tastes so good, I think it's worth it -- so long as you have the time and energy to devote to it.

Ingredients:

• 1 8-oz box manicotti shells
• 8+ oz mozzarella cheese, grated (8 oz for filling, extra for top, if desired)
  
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp parsley
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce (about one jar)
• Diced tomatoes (optional)
  

Directions:
Cook manicotti, drain. Combine cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper for filling. Spoon into the manicotti shells. Spread a thin layer of spaghetti sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange manicotti in a single layer over the sauce. Cover with remaining sauce. Top with diced tomatoes (optional) and a sprinkling of extra mozzarella cheese (also optional). Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes longer. Makes 6-8 servings.

Hints:
Because stuffing the manicotti shells is often more difficult than it's worth (in my opinion, anyway), I've decided to justify a little cheating. Simply slice open the shells (once they're cooked), fill with the cheese filling, roll them back up and place, sliced side down, in the pan. They might not look Martha Stewart-esque, but they'll taste the same. Also, it is tempting (for me, at least) to want to put more filling into the shells than I really need -- which ends up being a slight problem when I start to run out of filling and still have half a dozen shells to fill. My advice: just don't go overboard on the stuffing. If you end up with extra, it's pretty simple to stuff a bit more into the shells.

(Healthy*) Double-chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate is not really my favorite, but we made these cookies today and with a glass of milk they were pretty good. The best part was that unlike regular chocolate chip cookies, I could only eat two of them because of the chocolatiness, but I still liked what I ate.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg white (we used the yolk also)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp baking cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 deg. Beat brown sugar and butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, or mix with spoon. Beat in vanilla and egg white.
2. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until set (do not overbake). Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack.

*If you believe such a thing exists!

Nutritional Facts:
1 Cookie: Calories 75 (Calories from Fat 25); Fat 3g; Saturated Fat 2g; Trans Fat 0g; Cholesterol 5 mg
Carbohydrate 11g (Dietary Fiber 1g); Protein 1g

Hawaiian Haystacks

This recipe is super easy and quick, and the toppings will help you empty out any small amounts of leftovers in the fridge. Serves 6 adults.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• About half a can of milk
• A dash of Cayenne pepper (optional)
• Black pepper to taste

Directions:

Cut the chicken up into bite size pieces and cook in a regular size saucepan. Add remaining ingredients. Cook enough rice for 6 people. Serve sauce over rice and then add as many or as little of the following possible toppings:

• Shredded coconut
• Grated cheese
• Tomatoes
• Raisins
• Bell peppers
• Chow Mein Noodles
• Pineapple
• Olives
• Mandarin Oranges
• Almonds
  
• Anything else you can think of.