An interesting twist on an old favorite, courtesy of Southern Living magazine:

1 cup butter, softened
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and stir well. Add flour and vanilla, stirring until dough is formed.

Fold in chocolate chips. Roll teaspoon sized balls and drop onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 13-15 minutes or until cookies are golden brown. Remove cookie sheet from oven and let cookies set for 1 minute, then transfer to wire rack to cool. Makes approx. 3 dozen cookies.

This is altered from a recipe I found in “Cooking for 2″ magazine from Taste of Home. The recipe has been adjusted to make a good side dish for more than two, but you can halve this recipe to make a main dish for two or a meal for one.

3 cups dry egg noodles
dash garlic powder
dash oregano
2 tbps butter
2 tbps olive oil
1 tsp basil
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
minced garlic (optional)
lemon juice (optional)

Using a large saucepan or cooking pot, heat several cups of water over medium-high heat on the stove. Sprinkle garlic powder and oregano over water. Add noodles once water is at a rolling boil and cook 8-12 minutes or until noodles are at desired firmness.

While noodles are cooking, combine butter, oil, basil, thyme and salt in a small mixing bowl. Top mixture with pepper.

Drain noodles and add herb mixture, stirring thoroughly to ensure even coating of noodles. Top with parmesan cheese. Minced garlic and lemon can also be added to taste. Stir well before serving.

If serving with Honey-Lime Chicken, I recommend omitting garlic and lemon. The garlic and lime flavors in the chicken will compliment this dish nicely. If you begin boiling the water for the noodles a few minutes after putting the chicken in the oven, the two should be done at about the same time.

Last night, I tried a new combination and it worked really well. Here is the new recipe:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (these can be cut into thirds if very large, or you can use pre-cut chicken tenders instead)
3 tbps extra virgin olive oil
2 tbps honey, plus extra for drizzling
1 tbp lime juice (fresh, if possible)
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/2 tsp minced garlic (or to taste)
dash of salt & fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.

Trim fat off chicken and cut if making tenders. Set aside.

Combine oil, honey, lime, thyme and basil in a small bowl. If using a measuring spoon, alternate oil/honey/oil/honey/oil so that the honey doesn’t stick to the spoon, then add lime. Stir in garlic (lime and garlic seem to go well together).

Arrange chicken in a single layer in a baking dish (do not grease). Spoon honey/lime mixture over chicken. If chicken is not completely covered in pan, add extra oil to prevent burning. Drizzle a small amount of honey over the chicken (and lime if desired). Sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper.

Bake 20-35 minutes, depending on size of chicken pieces and type of oven. Stir/rotate chicken every 10 minutes or so, adding oil if sides of dish begin to burn. Chicken is done when the insides are no longer pink.

This went well with steamed broccoli and a dish of Parmesan Herbed Noodles (recipe to be posted soon). Because the noodles have such a strong taste, the spices for the chicken were decresed to allow the honey-lime flavor to come out and mesh well with the noodles.

This is a recipe I’ve been tinkering around with, making some modifications here and there, trying to come up with a great menu. Here’s what I have so far:

Honey-Lime Chicken

In my Million Menus cookbook, this was called “Sticky Lime Chicken,” but the general consensus was that it was too much lime. I’ve reduced the amount of lime and increased the honey to strike a nice, sweet-tart balance. Beware! This recipe is “in-progress,” and might still need some adjustments.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (these can be cut into thirds if very large, or you can use pre-cut chicken tenders instead)
2 tbps extra virgin olive oil
2 tbps honey
2 tbps lime juice (fresh, if possible)
1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tbsp fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp basil
garlic, to taste (optional)
dash of salt & fresh ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.

Trim fat off chicken and cut if making tenders. Set aside.

Combine oil, honey, lime, thyme and basil in a small bowl. If using a measuring spoon, alternate oil/honey/oil/honey so that the honey doesn’t stick to the spoon. Stir in garlic if using (I’ve heard that lime and garlic go well together).

Arrange chicken in a single layer in a baking dish such as Corningware. Don’t overlap but try to keep dish as tightly packed as possible. Pour honey/lime mixture over chicken. If chicken is not completely covered in pan, add extra oil to prevent burning. Sprinkle with salt and fresh pepper.

Bake 20-35 minutes, depending on size of chicken pieces and type of oven. Stir/rotate chicken every 10 minutes or so, adding oil if sides begin to burn. Chicken is done when the insides are no longer pink.

From Nestle’s Best Loved Recipes:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup (5 fluid oz can) Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk (2% low-fat can be used)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 cups (9 oz) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Line 8-inch square baking pan with foil.

Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes and remove from heat.

Stir in marshmallows, morsels, nuts (if using) and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan, remove foil and cut into pieces.

Alternatives:

Milk Chocolate Fudge: Substitute 1 3/4 cups (11.5 oz package) Nestle Toll House Milk Chocolate Morsels for Semi-Sweet Morsels.

Butterscotch Fudge: Substitute 1 2/3 cups (11 oz package) Nestle Toll House Butterscotch morsels for Semi-Sweet Morsels.