Oriental Cashew Asparagus

1 lbs. asparagus spears, bias-sliced into 1-inch spears
1-1/2 cup fresh button mushrooms
1 med. red onion, cut into thin wedges
1/4 cup red sweet pepper
1 TBS butter or margarine
1 tsp. cornstarch
2 TBS teriyaki sauce
1 TBS water
2 TBS cashew halves
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Place steamer basket in sauce pan. Add water til just below the bottom of basket. Bring water to a boil.
Add asparagus to basket. Cover and reduce heat; steam for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, onion and sweet red pepper. Cover and steam for 2-5 minutes more or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove basket; discard liquid.
In same saucepan, melt butter; stir in cornstarch and black pepper. Add the teriyaki sauce and water. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Return vegetables to pan; toss gently to coat. Top with cashews.

This is a great and easy recipe. The best part is that you can add whatever vegetables you want. It really doesn't matter. I also thought about adding shredded chicken to it as well. Depending on your taste, I would recommend adding only 1/8 tsp. of black pepper the 1/4 tsp. was a bit much for me.

Tiffany's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mix together in small bowl
21/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Then in seperate bowl

1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs

white and milk chocolate chips to your desired amounts

Cream white and brown sugar, margarine, and shortening until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs beat well. Stir in flour mixture then add chocolate chips.

Bake 10ish minutes at 350 on an ungreased cookie sheet.

No Bake Cookies

2 cups sugar
3 T cocoa
Mix together in pan over stove
Stir 1/2 cup milk
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)
Boil 1 minute or until butter has melted
Add 1/2 cup peanut butter
After peanut butter has melted, add 3 cups oatmeal.
Remove from heat and drop spoonfuls onto wax paper.
If you like them more firm add extra oatmeal (about 1/2-3/4).

These are one of my favorite treats and they are so quick and easy to make!

Granola

8 cups quick Oatmeal
3/4 cup Wheat Germ
3/4 cup Wheat Bran
Mix in 8 1/2 X 11 pan and bake 325 for 10 minutes
1 cup brown sugar (firmly packed)
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
Raisins if you want
Mix and bake for another 10 minutes

This is very yummy! I like it in my cereal, either Cheerios or Rice Krispies. You could also put it on ice cream or in yogurt.

Peanut Butter Pie from Fiddlehead

Crust:
2 Oreo crusts or other graham cracker crust

Ganache:
1/4 Cup heavy cream
2 oz semisweet chocolate chips

Filling:
5 oz cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 smooth peanut butter
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups chilled heavy cream

1. Prepare Ganache: Bring 1/4 cup heavy cream to a boil in a small pan over medium-high heat, or microwave for 2 minutes (careful if boils over quickly) and pose over chocolate chips. Whisk together until smooth. Pour into pie shell and spread evenly over bottom. Refrigerate.

2. Prepare Filling: In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer set on high, whip cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add milk, peanut butter, and vanilla. Beat until well mixes.

3. In a separate bowl, whip chilled cream until stiff and fold into peanut butter mixture. Spoon gently into chilled crust and smooth out. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

4. Garnish with chocolate shavings, crushed peanuts, whipped cream, or extra ganache and serve.

Shrimp Scampi

1 TBS. Olive Oil
1/4 cup Chicken Broth
4 Garlic Cloves, minced or 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 cup Clam Juice
Salt and Pepper
2 Lbs. Extra Large Shrimp, peeled
4 TBS. Cold, Unsalted Butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 TBS. Lemon Juice
2 TBS. Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Heat oil, then add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds. Add chicken broth, clam juice, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper; bring to a boil. Add shrimp, cover and cook until shrimp are slightly translucent; about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, stir, cover and cook until shrimp are just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Put shrimp aside. Bring sauce to a boil until reduced by half, about 1 minute. Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time; stir in lemon juice and parsley. Pour mixture over shrimp. Serve over hot spaghetti noodles. Serve 4 to 6.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 package 3 cheese tortellini (frozen or fresh)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can Italian seasoned stewed tomatoes
Any veggies you want to add. I usually add: peas, carrots, zucchini (corn, celery, etc is good too)
Italian seasonings
Parmesean cheese

In a large pot, add 2 cans chicken broth and can of stewed tomatoes; do not drain juice. (cut up tomatoes if they are too big). Bring to boil. Add tortellini to cook in broth. While tortellini is cooking, prepare veggies. (I like to steam all my veggies first before I put them in the soup for time purposes. You can also cook the veggies in the broth.) Add veggies and shredded chicken once the tortellini is ready. Simmer for about 5 minutes, or until all veggies are completely cooked and everything warmed. Add any Italian seasons to taste, and sprinkle parmesean cheese on top. Serve Hot with rolls or croissants.