Oreo Cookie Balls

Oreo Cookie Balls (shared by Zoe)

Enjoy this easy and fun recipe to celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of Oreos!

Ingredients:

· 1 pkg. Oreo Cookies

· 1 pkg. JELL-O chocolate instant pudding

· ½ cup milk

· 24 Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate squares

· Wax-paper

· 1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag

Directions:

1. Put 36 Oreos into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and crush them (with a rolling pin or a mallet.)

2. In a mixing bowl, make a paste out of the pudding powder and the milk.

3. Add the crushed cookies to the pudding mixture and stir well.

4. Form the mixture into small balls. (If they don’t hold a round shape easily, add a tiny bit of milk to the mixture to make it easier to stick.)

5. Place the cookie balls on a wax-paper lined cookie sheet

6. Freeze the cookie balls for about 10 minutes.

7. While they’re in the freezer, place the semi-sweet chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl and heat, stirring often.

8. After 10 minutes, dip the chilled cookie balls into the melted chocolate, place them on a fresh wax-paper lined cookie sheet, and freeze for another 10 minutes.

9. Store the cookie balls at room temperature in an air-tight container, but freeze or refrigerate them again for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes approx. 36 cookie balls (warning- they are so good you might eat them all!!)

Pasta and Vodka Sauce

Pasta and Vodka Sauce (shared by Megan)

In a pot, melt the following together over low to medium heat:

4 tablespoons butter (a.k.a. 1/4 cup)
a few pinches of red pepper flakes (I usually do 2 - 3, depends on how spicy you want it)
4 cloves of minced garlic

Once it's melted, add the following:

1 can of 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup vodka

Stir all of that together and add some pinches of salt (Without salt, the sauce can be very bland, I always taste it at the end too and usually end up adding more).

Then cover the mixture and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for 20 mins.

Once it's done simmering, slowly pour in a small container of heavy cream and stir it while pouring. (Here's where it might be getting sorta milky - - I don't always use the whole container b/c it can get too soupy). Anyway, then just let it simmer for a bit longer so the temperature comes back up. (Use the remainder of the heavy cream for re-heating in subsequent days. This recipe is like soup; it gets better the next day!)

Greek Layered Dip

GREEK LAYERED DIP WITH PITA CHIPS (shared by Michelle)

INGREDIENTS-

1 14 ounce package pita bread

Olive Oil cooking spray

4 tsp greek seasoning

1 pound ground lamb (I used ground turkey)

1 tsp garlic salt

1 16 ounce container prepared hummus

1 1/2 cups tzatziki (gyro sauce)

1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce

2 medium roma tomatoes, diced

1/2 cup diced red onion

1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 4 ounce container crumbled feta cheese (I used fat-free)

DIRECTIONS-

1. Preheat oven to 375. Line 1 or 2 baking sheets with foil. Cut the pita rounds into eighths (I think Lara cut them in fours). Split each piece in 2 and place on the prepared baking sheet(s)., with inside of the bread facing up. Spray with the olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with 2 tsp of the greek seasoning. Bake 7 to 10 minutes, or until golden.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, brown the ground lamb (turkey) with garlic salt and the remaining 2 tsp greek seasoning. Drain and set aside. In a shallow 1 1/2 quart dish, spread the hummus on the bottom on the bottom. Top with a layer of ground lamb (turkey), then the tzatziki. Layer with the lettuce, tomatoes, onion, olives and feta. Serve dip at room temperature with pita chips.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Turtles

CHOCOLATE TURTLES (shared by Courtney)

Ingredients:

1 bag rolos

pecanssmall pretzels

Directions: preheat oven to 350. Place pretzels on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a rolo on top of each pretzel. Bake for 4 minutes. When you take the out of the oven the rolos will be soft and warm, but still have their shape. Place a pecan on top and press down. Allow them to cool/harden for couple hours before serving. Recipe makes 20, but I made the whole bag of rolos. Enjoy!