Peanut Butter Blossoms

48 Hershey's Kisses
1/2 cup shortening
3/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Remove wrappers from chocolates.

2. Beat shortening and peanut butter in large bowl until well blended. Add 1/3 cup granulated sugar and brown sugar; beat until fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

3. Shape dough into 1-inch (or 1-1/2-inch) balls. Roll in granulated sugar; place on ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes (10 to 12 minutes for 1-1/2-inch balls) or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate into center of each cookie; cookie will crack around edges. After 1 minute, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely.

Makes about 3-4 dozen cookies, depending on size.

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Tuna Cakes

2 cans (6oz each) light tuna in water, drained, flaked
1 pkg (6oz) Stove Top Stuffing for Chicken
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup mayo
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
3/4 cup water

1. Mix tuna, stuffing mix, cheese, carrots, mayo, relish and water in a bowl. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2. Heat a large non-stick skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Scoop tuna mixture, using about 1/3 cup for each cake. Gently flatten cakes using a spatula. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides, turning cakes over carefully.

Serves 6 (2 cakes each).

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Tilapia with Lemon-Butter Wine Sauce

4 teaspoons of flour, divided
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
5-6 sprigs fresh Italian parsley
1 lemon
1 1/2 pounds tilapia fillets
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1/4 cup white wine

1. Place 3 teaspoons of flour & the seasoned salt into a large zip-top plastic bag; shake to mix & set aside. Chop parsley coarsely, leaves only. Slice the lemon in half & set both halves aside.

2. Check fish for bones by pressing on the fillets with fingertips & remove. Add fish to zip-top bag; seal tightly & shake to coat. Preheat a large saute pan on medium-high heat 2-3 minutes.

3. Place 1 tablespoon butter in pan & swirl to coat. Add fish & cook 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon butter to center of pan. Turn fillets, using spatula, distributing butter under each fillet. Cook 3 more minutes until fish is golden & flakes easily. Place fish on serving plates.

4. Place remaining 1 tablespoon butter & 1 teaspoon flour, the wine & squeeze the juice from the lemons into the saute pan. Heat 1-2 minutes until thickened, stirring occasionally. Stir parsley into sauce & serve over fish.

Serves 4.

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Zesty Potato Salad

2 lbs red potatoes, scrubbed, skins left on, cut into bite-sized chunks of roughly uniform size
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 teaspoons Grey Poupon dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cook potatoes in boiling water until tender. Drain. Rinse with cold water until cooled.

2. Mix mayo, mustard, honey & pepper; stir to combine. Add potatoes. Mix lightly. Cover.

3. Refrigerate several hours or until chilled.

Serves 6.

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Layered Tomato Salad

2 red tomatoes
1 yellow tomato
1/2 cucumber
1/2 green bell pepper
1/4 red onion
chopped fresh basil
balsamic vinaigrette dressing

1. Cut tomatoes into thick slices. Thinly slice pepper, cucumber and onion.

2. Layer tomatoes on a plate, followed by cucumber slices, then pepper, and finally onion. Top with a little bit of fresh basil and dressing to taste over entire salad.

3. Place in refrigerator to cool & marinate while you cook dinner.

Serves 4.

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Bruschetta Chicken Over Angel Hair with Sauteed Zucchini

Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette salad dressing
2 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 large tomato, diced
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 medium zucchini
olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
angel hair pasta
salt & pepper

1. Preheat over to 375.

2. Put chicken breasts in a plastic bag with enough dressing to coat completely, turning bag several times to make sure all chicken is covered. Refrigerate 10 minutes to marinate.

3. Remove chicken from bag & place in baking dish. Add a little more dressing for moisture while it bakes, cover & bake for 15 minutes.

4. Cut zucchini into 1/2-inch slices. Put half diced tomato in a bowl with onion, half the basil, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and cover with dressing; combine.

5. Flip chicken over, add a little more dressing, cover and cook 15 more minutes or until cooked through.

6. Put on water to boil for angel hair. Put olive oil in pan, add garlic, remainder of basil, and zucchini; saute over med-high heat, roughly 5 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions.

7. Spoon "bruschetta" mixture over chicken, put back in oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove pasta from heat & drain. Add remaining diced tomato to zucchini (sprinkle a little shredded mozzarella over the top, if desired) and let heat for 2 minutes. Remove chicken from oven. Serve over angel hair with zucchini on the side.

Serves 2.

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Strawberry Pretzel Salad

CRUST
2 c. crushed pretzels
3/4 c. melted margarine (1 1/2 sticks)
4 Tablespoons sugar

SALAD
1 c. sugar
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
8 oz. cool whip

TOP LAYER
Lg. pkg. strawberry jello
2 c. boiling water
2 pkgs. sliced strawberries

1. Mix ingredients for crust. Put in 9x13 inch metal pan and bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes. Let cool.

2. Mix salad ingredients and spread on top of crust.

3. For top layer: Mix jello w/boiling water. Place in refrigerator. When jello starts to gel add 2 pkgs. of sliced strawberries. Return to refrigerator. When half gelled, pour on top of salad mixture and refrigerate until firm.

Makes 16-20 servings.

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Candy Cane Cookies

1 box Devils Food cake mix
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Batter will be very stiff. Spoon into cups of mini muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F. While cookies are baking, unwrap candy and set aside. As soon as cookies come out of the oven, push a Kiss into each one. Finish cooling completely on rack before storing in covered container or zipped plastic bag.

Makes 4 dozen.

(from Marianne's Kitchen)

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Meatloaf Patties

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3 cups Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 cups chopped onion
A1 Steak Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Mix meat, stuffing mix, the water, and onion until well blended. Shape into six hand-formed mini loaves. Place on rimmed baking pan. Bake 25 minutes or until cooked through.

3. Top with steak sauce; return to oven for 5 more minutes.

Notes: Beef should be no leaner than 90-10 or the meatloaves will be dry. If you don't want your meatloaves cooking in the fat that naturally drains out during the baking process, set them on a rack placed in the rimmed baking pan, which will allow the fat to drain away from the meat while it cooks.

Serves 6.

(from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals)

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Cheesy Smashed Potatoes

1 pound (about 3 small) red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup bite-sized cauliflower florets
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar

1. Place potatoes and cauliflower in large saucepan. Add enough water to cover. Bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium; simmer 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

2. Drain; return to pan. Add sour cream; mash until vegetable mixture is light and fluffy. Stir in cheese.

Serves 6 (1/2-cup servings).

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