Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars

I have to admit that I'm a little hesitant to share this recipe...It's probably one of my favorite things to bake and the pan never lasts more than 2 days in this house. I usually get compliments over these, so that's probably why I don't want people stealing the recipe. But go ahead, enjoy! They really are amazing...especially just out of the oven with a glass of milk. Yum!

3/4 cup shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups mini choc. chips

Filling
2 pkgs (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, salt, and baking soda; add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside 1/3 of the dough for topping. Press remaining dough into a greased 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 for 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Spoon over crust. Drop teaspoonfuls of reserved dough over filling. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cover and store in refrigerator.

Shrimp Scampi

Annie's Eats

Another win from the kitchen! I'm actually really proud of myself for trying to cook different things rather than just food I've had at home before. Next time I'll probably use some more lemon (once again I didn't measure anything out). Also, I'll add more basil. Unfortunately none is showing in the picture so it looks a little bland. For the asparagus, I just used olive oil, salt, pepper, and some lemon juice.

Chicken Parmesan

This is one of my favorite foods and a go to recipe. First of all, I don't even need to use a recipe anymore. Second, I usually have all the ingredients on hand. During the winter I'll make pasta to go with it, but my favorite this to use is spaghetti squash. It's delicious.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup Italian-style dry bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
2 cups spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Flatten chicken to 1/4 inch thickness. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Dip chicken into egg; coat with bread crumb mixture.
Heat oil in 12 inch skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken in oil 10 to 15 minutes, turn once, until juice is no longer pink when centers of thickest piece are cut. Add spaghetti sauce. Reduce heat to low. Cook 2-3 minutes or until sauce is hot. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over chicken.

Garlic Shrimp with Basil, Tomatoes, And Pepper Flakes

From Serious Eats

Yum!!! Despite this snow/ice storm we've had over the past few days, I was able to get out to do some grocery shopping. However, many other people had the same idea so some things were running low. For example, Walmart didn't have any milk left. It didn't matter for my dinner, but still...crazy! They also didn't have any fresh basil, so I had to use some dry basil we had at home. Next time I definitely want to try this recipe with fresh basil and more pepper flakes for more of a kick. My favorite part had to be the tomatoes. They tasted delicious. Also, I want to use shrimp that hadn't been frozen first. Even though they were mostly thawed, I think they still added quite a bit of liquid while cooking. Overall, this was a great dinner and I can't wait to go eat some more of it in an hour or so.

Breakfast: Toad in a hole, popeye egg, egg in a basket, etc.

Inspired by the snow day today, I actually made myself breakfast (if you can call it that at 10:30). This one is for my dad. He's the one who got me started on this I'm pretty sure. However, now I'm finding out it's called by many names. Oh well. Whatever it's called, I'm still a big fan. So, all you do is melt some butter in a pan, cut a hole out of the middle of a piece of bread, and crack an egg in that hole. Then cook! Delicious breakfast. I like to leave the yolk a little runny, but it's completely up to everyone how they like their eggs.
After being reminded, I realized how I left someone out of the list of people who taught me how to cook. That person would be my dad. Luckily, he definitely knows what he's doing in the kitchen since there were a lot of weekends where my mom had to work so it was up to dad to feed the kids (aka me and my brother). I also remember a certain person telling him that they liked his meatloaf better than their mother's. So thanks dad...and next time I'm home can you make me breakfast?