Chicken Pot Pie Baked Potato

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/chicken-pot-pie-baked-potato/

These were good. It just made sense to put a baked potato with a chicken pot pie. I liked that I didn't have to make the crust too. 

Slow Cooker Beef Enchildas

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/slow-cooker-mexican-shredded-beef-for-enchiladas/

I don't usually like burritos that are mostly meat but these were different. We loved these! They tasted like a really good restaurant and they were easy because all the meat cooking was done in the crockpot.  I had a lot of meat and sauce leftover after making a big pan so I froze it for later. It was nice it made so much.

Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Pasta Shells

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/cheesy-spinach-stuffed-pasta-shells/

I think these are going to replace my manicotti recipe because they were so much easier. I didn't make her sauce but just opened a store bought bottle to make it easier. My favorite part was that I didn't have to stuff those tight manicotti shells.

Chocolate Banana Creamy Smoothie

This is kind of like the recipe that came from Mom but more creamy and sweet because it has sweetened condensed milk in it. 

3 drops of vanilla 

1/3 c sweetened condensed milk

2 T of cocoa

1 banana 

1 1/2 c milk

12 ice cubes

chocolate chip cookies

 http://realmomkitchen.com/349/chocolate-chip-cookies/

These have shortening. (and butter) but i have come to the conclusion as of now, that if I'm willing to eat-out once in a while, I can eat the dreaded shortening once in a while. It just makes the cookie as soft as I have always wanted. After trying so many recipies, this cookie is just about perfect to me and so I wanted to post it. I feel like there still might be room for improvement so i'll keep my heart open to other recipes. Our cookies didn't flatten as much as her picture shows.

Creamy Banana Orange Smoothie

I made up my own smoothie, loved it, and wanted to document so I can make it again!

1 peach activia yogurt single serving size
3 oranges peeled
2 bananas
3/4 c of milk
3/4 c of water
6 ice cubes

I used a blendtec but I think any blender will work. The oranges just might not be as smooth.

Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread

 http://lilluna.com/glazed-lemon-zucchini-bread/
this was really good. A little chewy when I made it, but everything else outweighed that fact! Make sure and look at the tips at the end of the recipe. I did it at 375 for 40 min because I'm in high altitude, but it didnt' need 50 minutes. I used cake flour, but not sure it needs it and there were comments with subtitutes for it I would like to try next time because mine didnt end up very delicate even with limited stirring. and instead of canola oil, I used coconut oil, which made it super yummy. the glaze needed a bit more sugar so it wasn't so liquidy. Also, I didn't have lemons so I substituted a lot of lemon extract.