Cappuccino Chocoate Bites

Okay, gripes. I hate cookies that I have to roll out. My rolling skills are less than desireable. And ones you need to roll out between two sheets of parchment paper and put in the freezer and cut with a 1 and 1/4 inch cookie cutter. Blah. Since the dough is 50 percent butter, it's sticky. So the roll out technique was not working, so I formed into tiny balls and squished into rounds. Also, recipe says will yield 30 cookies. I got 14 cookies. I think maybe Martha was counting each half of the cookie as one. But they were a pretty good deal of work for 14 measily cookies. I did not have esspresso beans, so I used coffee beans. Which were not ground fine enough, and were a little chunky in the cookie. They are tasty, very tasty. But make like a triple batch or something to make it worth your time! I couldn't find the recipe on Martha's site, so you'll have to buy the book if you wanna try it!

Physician's Formula Organic Wear

Talk about extreme bummer. Physician's Formula Organic Wear mascara is a disappointment for me. I loved PF's blushes, powders, concealers, bronzers.....but those weren't organic. This mascara was running and did not last. It gives an extremely natural look - read: doesn't do anything! There is no clumping, no dried out brittle lashes....but that's probably because it doesn't stay on your lashes. Depress. I have contacted the company, maybe I just had a bad batch, but this stuff was crap. Keep your $8 or whatever it cost.

Cakey Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used all margarine instead of any butter in these, and you can tell. I am not into these very much, they are definitely "cakey", and that just isn't my style. I like them chewy. The recipe is on Martha's site, but there aren't even any pictures of it! So, maybe she wasn't impressed either.

Cheese and Bean Quesadilla

• 1 can of chopped tomatoes/green chilis mix
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed, drained, slightly mashed (use a potato masher)
• chili powder
• 8 ounces of shredded cheese (I used a jack/colby mix)
• cilantro
• 8 flour tortillas, I used whole wheat

Drain the tomatoes, extremely well. Warm them up in a pan for a few minutes, then put in the mashed black beans and a decent sprinkle of chili powder. Cook together for 3 minutes. Spray a skillet pan, put down on tortilla. Put 1/4 of the bean mixture on it, spread it out evenly. Cover it with cheese, then sprinkle on some cilantro, cover with another tortilla. Flip it over after it begins to brown, 2 minutes on medium heat. Cook the other side till the cheese melts. I cut them into six pieces, using a pizza cutter.

Buttery Pecan Rounds

I had not been baking lately. With the death of Reggie, I just have not been up to it. But I am back now. These were pretty tasty. The recipe said it would make 36, but made 20. I think my cookie scoop was bigger than the recommended size, so they spread out further and ended up all touching on the sheets. I need to get a smaller scoop, but waiting till the next Pamper Chef party I go to. I did 50/50 margarine/butter.

The recipe called for 2/3 cup toasted finely chopped pecans. I chopped them up in a mini-food processor then put them into a fry pan, and stirred them for about 10 minutes. On medium heat.

Check out the recipe on Martha's site.

Walgreen's Trip

Even after tax, I still made nine cents on all this, plus a coupon for more free toothpaste.
Toothpaste + Mouthwash: $4.29 (coupon for free paste from Nikki)
Bayer Meter: $14.99 (coupon for free, I give these to the hospital. This purchase caused a free toothpaste coupon to print)
Degree: $1.09 (coupon for 75 cents off, 3-1RP)
Chapstick: $1.99 ($2 register rewards print)
Scunci Hair ties: $2 ($2 register rewards print)
Toothbrush: $3.29 (coupon for 75 cents off, $3.50 register reward print)

Nice haul, just for popping in while returning a Redbox Movie!

Five Minute Chocolate Cake

3 tablespoons flour (used white, but I think whole wheat would be fine)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg white (original recipe called for whole egg)
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (original recipe called for "splash")
1/4 teaspoon salt (original recipe called for none)
1/4 teaspoon instant coffee (original recipe called for none)
3 tablespoons chopped chocolate

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well..
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.
The cake will rise over the top of the mug,

This recipe was sent to me by my mother-in-law. I did my own twist on it, through a few trial and errors. No matter what I did, I could not get rid of the "spongy" feeling of the cake. I think that was a combo of a whole egg and the microwave. So reducing the egg to just the white made a small difference, but still remains spongy. Bonus of less cholesterol.

The recipe can be doubled, just use a 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup, and cook for 3.5 minutes.