Molasses Cookies

**These cookies are SOOOO good! I always get rave reviews when I make them**

3/4 cup butter-flavored shortening (NO SUBSTITUTIONS!!)

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup molasses

2 cups flour

1 egg

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

-Beat shortening, sugar, and egg together really well. Add remaining items, one at a time. Drop

by teaspoonful on UNgreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes, until soft and brown.

**I use my large cookie scoop for bigger cookies, and they have to bake for about 11 1/2 mins.

Grilled Sour Cream Hamburgers

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup sour cream

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 tsp kosher salt

1) Mix everything together, and form into patties (this made 4 regular sized burgers)

2) GRILL to perfection (however you like it)!! These burgers DO fall apart easily, so move them as little as possible.

**We grilled the buns for a few minutes and that really made it yummy. Incredible. MOIST. Delish. We'll never do burgers any other way!

Stuffed Shells

1 12-ounce package jumbo pasta shells
1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 large egg
16-ounces ricotta cheese
10-ounces chopped frozen spinach, thawed, squeezed dry, chopped further (or 10 ounces chopped fresh spinach)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Jar of tomato sauce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (1 teaspoon salt per quart of water). Cook the pasta shells according to the instructions on the package. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

Add the sausage to the pan, breaking up the sausage into smaller bits. Cook sausage until cooked through and no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute more. Remove pan from heat.

Beat the egg lightly in a large bowl. Mix in the ricotta, chopped spinach, basil, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and sausage mixture. Fill each cooked pasta shell with some of the ricotta, spinach, sausage mixture.

Spread 1/2 cup tomato sauce over the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange the stuffed pasta shells in the dishes. Spread the remaining sauce over the top of the pasta shells.

At this point you can make ahead, to freeze (up to four months) or refrigerate before cooking. (If freezing, cover with foil, then wrap with plastic wrap).

Heat oven to 375°F; bake for 40 minutes, until bubbly.

Beth's Chocolate Chip Cookies--Allrecipes

2/3 cup butter

2/3 cup butter-flavored shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 TBSP vanilla

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

-Preheat oven to 375

-Mix everything together well.

-Bake 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until centers are set and very lightly browned. Cool 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then move to cooling rack.

Pretzel Salad

PART 1

1 cup salted pretzels, any kind

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick butter

-Melt butter; break pretzels into smaller pieces. Add broken pretzels into butter bowl and add sugar. Stir until pretzels are coated.

-Spread coated pretzels onto a cookie sheet lined with wax paper (for easy clean up).

-Bake at 350 for 7 minutes.

-Let them cool, break apart, and then set aside until RIGHT before you serve the salad.

PART 2

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 can crushed pineapple

12 oz tub of Cool Whip

-Mix cream cheese and sugar together until well blended. Add pineapple and mix well. Fold in Cool whip.

-Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Mix in pretzels just before serving so they don't get soft.

MMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!

Strawberry Watermelon Slushy-Our Best Bites

2 cups seedless watermelon

1 pint of strawberries

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

5 ice cubes

-Cut watermelon into cubes, and take the stem off of each strawberry

-Put everything in a blender, and blend until everything is blended really well.

-Enjoy!

These are SOOOOOO awesome on a hot day!

Artichoke Dip

14.5 oz can of artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

1/2 cup mayo

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/4-1/2 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients. Spray 8x8 or 99 baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown. Serve with baguette bread or crackers.