Best. Sugar. Cookies. Ever.

6 1/2 cups Flour
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Shortening
4 oz Cream Cheese
2 cups Sugar
3 Eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
1 Tbsp Vanilla

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt together. Set aside. Cream butter, shortening, cream cheese & sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Then add sour cream. Mix completely. Add vanilla. Mix well. Slowly add flour mixture.

If dough is too wet add more flour. Chill for at least one hour. Roll & cut into shapes. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.

:::Emily:::

Pumpkin Roll

Cake:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan. Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.

Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.

Lay a large dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture - a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top. Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool. While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake. Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.

:::Emily:::

BBQ Ribs

Here it is finally for those who wanted it :)

1- 1.5 lbs Pork ribs bone-in or boneless (I do boneless)
*if you go to 2 lbs, double the sauce
1 C tomato sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C honey
1/4 C Spicy brown mustard
2 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Liquid smoke

Cook Ribs for 4+ hours on high in a crock pot. Drain and add all the remaining ingredients. Turn the ribs to coat in the sauce. Cook for another couple of hours on low. Shred the ribs if desired and enjoy!

:::Brittainey:::

Carnival Chocolate Melting Cake

When we went on our cruise, we ordered Chocolate Melting Cake every single night we were there. It is so good. Derek's mom found the recipe for it on Carnival's website... we tried it and it tastes exactly the same.

8 oz semi sweet baking chocolate
2 sticks butter
5 eggs
2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cups flour

Melt chocolate & butter over low heat. In another bowl, wisk eggs, sugar & flour together.

Gradually add chocolate mixture. Pour into greased cups. Bake at 400 degrees for 14 minutes.

(the cups they used are the ones you usually see souffle in.)

Makes 5 cakes at 22 points+ each.

:::Emily:::

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

 I stole this recipe from Fig too.

Ingredients:

6 chicken breast tenderloins
Salt and pepper
2 1/2 cups shredded colby-jack or cheddar
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can diced green chiles
7 medium-sized flour tortillas (I like using the ones you cook yourself from Costco. I think Smith's and Wal-Mart have them too.)

Instructions:

Bring the chicken to a boil in salted water. You need a decent amount of salt in the water, because it's going to flavor the enchiladas. Simmer about 15 minutes, or 'til cooked through.

While the chicken boils, prepare the other ingredients. Shred cheeses, chop chilies, and mix the cream of chicken soup and sour cream together. Stir the chiles into the mixed sauce. When the chicken's done, add a half ladle of the cooking water to the stock - about 1/4 cup. It thins the sauce to make it easier to work with, plus imparts a little extra salty chicken flavor.

Spread about 1/4 of the sauce in the bottom of a greased 9 x 13 pan. Drain and chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces; sprinkle with pepper. Assemble the enchiladas by rolling up some chicken bits and colby-jack cheese in each tortilla and placing them seam-side-down in the pan.

When all the enchiladas are made, spread them with the rest of the sauce, making sure to get some sauce in between them, and sprinkle with more colby-jack and some mozzarella cheese. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 10 minutes uncovered.

10 points+ per serving when using fat free sour cream and the tortillas from Costco.  

:::Emily:::