5 Snickers cut in pieces
1 pastry shell, deep dish, baked
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup peanut butter
2/ cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 Tbsp. whipping cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place Snickers in bottom of pie shell.  In a mixing bowl beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add eggs, sour cream and peanut butter.  Beat on low speed just until combined.  Pour into pie shell.  Bake 35-40 minutes.  Cool.  In a small saucepan melt chocolate chips with cream over low heat until smooth.  Spread over cooled pie.  Refrigerate over night or for several hours.

Comment:  This recipe came from a friend who does some catering on the side.  I'm not a chocolate lover but the response I've received from everyone who was lucky enough to try this, it was delicious.  I did make one mistake.  I melted my chips in the microwave.  Actually I made 2 mistakes.  I used chips that I had in the pantry for a while.  Yes, chips do get old and don't melt as well as fresh.  But I still used them as a crumble over the top of the pie.  I also used the Almond Snickers and Almond Butter so I sprinkled my pie with sliced almonds.  I think this would be a fun dish to make with other candies too.

1 pound light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Prehet oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Blend in flour. Mix in vanilla and nuts. Spread evenly on a 9 x 13 x 2 pan sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake 45 minutes. Don't overcook. They will fall after cooking. Cool before cutting into squares. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen bars.

3/4 cup hazelnuts
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup packed SPLENDA brand brown sugar blend
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp maple extract
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking (not instant) rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour

In large bowl, beat butter with SPLENDA until light, beat in maple syrup and maple extract. Stir in oats and flour. Roll into balls using 1 tbsp dough per ball. Roll in nuts to coat. Flatten slightly, place about 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until chilled.

2 1/2 cups macaroni (low carb)
2 Tbsp. Dijonnaise mustard
2 large eggs (boiled)
2 stalks celery (diced)
2 lbs. shrimp, cleaned, boiled, cut into pieces
3 Tbsp. lemon juice
4 Tbsp. mayonnaise (low fat)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder

Cook macaroni according to package, drain and cool.  In a large bowl combine all ingredients tossing to mix well.  May be served warm or chilled. 

Comments:  This recipe came from an author friend of mine Lawrence Johnson, Sr. - The Budget Gourmet.  Larry has written 4 novels, so far, Escape 2 Earth, Terror on Telderan, Planet of Doom and Return 2 Earth.  As well as being an author he holds a cooking class for healthier eating.  This is one of his recipes.  When I made this dish I did, of course, make a change or should I say an addition.  I added about 1 tsp. of horseradish which made a great dish even greater.  This is also a dish you can tone down or spice up.  I cut the garlic and onion powders down to 1/2 tsp. each and did ad an extra Tbsp. of mayo.  Plus I used penna pasta instead of elbow, for no real reason.  This would also be good with a sprinkle of Old Bay.  Think With Your Taste Buds when playing with this recipe.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple with juice, undrained
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup pecans
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 13 x 9 x 2" baking dish with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda, eggs, pineapple with juice, coconut and nuts.  Stir with a spoon until just combined and all ingredients are moist.  Spoon into prepared pan.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserteed in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove from oven and cool.

Icing
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a bowl beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually beat in sugar and vanilla until smooth.  Frost cooled cake with icing.  Garnish with nuts and coconut (optional).

Comments:  This was a recipe for an Hawaiian Wedding Cake that looked like my kind of cake.  I did make 1 change and that was to decrease the sugar by 1/2 cup.  The original called for 2 cups and I used 1 1/2 cups.  This cut down the sweetness and I think made it even better.  I also changed from walnuts to pecans.  The icing is the perfect recipe for cream cheese icing that can be changed by changing the flavoring.  This icing would be great using Rum flavoring, orange, black walnut or just about any other flavorings you might like. 

1 box Fleischmann's Simply Homemade Country White
1 container (6.5 oz.) Land of Lakes Cinnamon Sugar Butter Spread
Sweetened, Condensed Milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix bread mix according to package.  Add 1/2 tsp. cinnamon butter to 12 muffin (not mini) tins.  Roll bread mix into walnut size balls.  Place 3 into each muffin tin.  Top with another 1/2 tsp. cinnamon butter.  Allow dough to rise.  Bake 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly.  Remove from oven and drizzle with plenty of sweetened condensed milk over each muffin.  Allow to sit to absorb milk.  Scoop out with a spoon and serve hot or cold.

Comments:  The original recipe called for leftover bread dough or refrigerated biscuit dough, sugar, butter, cinnamon and sweetened condensed milk.  I had a box of Fleischmann's Country White that I thought would work perfectly for the bread part and a container of Land of Lakes Cinnamon Butter that actually included the other 3 ingredients.  It worked out perfectly and with very little cleanup.  I had a friend come over just as I took them out of the oven and added the condensed milk.  She nor I could wait for the milk to soak in.  We dug in and boy were these delicious.  What few were left over I passed on to a couple of my food testers.  They ate them cold and raved about how good they were. 

1 lb. Linguine
2 Tbsp. olive oil
6 Tbsp. butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp. garlic minced
1 tsp. Old Bay
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 cups half & half
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 lb. Imitation Crab, cut into bite size pieces
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta in a large pot according to package directions until al dente.  Drain reserving 1/4 cup of liquid.  Return linguine to pot and toss with olive oil and reserved cooking liquid.  Cover to keep warm.

In a large skillet melt butter over medium high heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and Old Bay cooking.  Cook stirring constantly about 1 minute.  Add chicken broth, half & half, lemon juice and cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes and mixture has slightly reduced.  Add imitation crab and cook until warmed.  Add 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese and pasta.  Toss to coat with sauce.  Remove from heat and sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese. 

Comment:  This can be made with real crab but due to it's cost I've found quite a taste for the Imitation in my recipes.  I made this dish for a dear friend who actually loves the Imitation Crab with it's delicately sweet taste.  She loved it and so did everyone that was lucky enough to give this one a try.

1/2 cup butter (room-temperature)
3 oz. regular cream cheese (room-temperature)
1 1/2 cups confestioner's sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg (room temperature)
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Place butter and cream cheese in bowl and beat for 1 minute.  Beat in sugar and baking powder.  Add egg and vanilla and beat until fluffy.  Beat in flour.  Chill for 30 minutes for drop.  Scoop by rounded teaspoon full, press flat and place on parchment paper.  Bake 7 minutes for soft cookies, 10 minutes for crunchy.  Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet then transfer to wire rackis to cool completely.  Makes about 2 dozen depending on size.

Comments:  This recipe came from The Girl Creative and the original recipe does include directions for rolled and cut cookies.  It also gives directions for rolling your cookies in superfine sugar, which I didn't do.  But I have to say that these cookies are so good that I could have sat down and ate at least half of them without stopping.   There is a strong butter/cream cheese taste that can't be beat.  This is also a good recipe for making decorated cookies or maybe adding a pecan to the center of each cookie before cooking. 

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mini pepperoni
1/2 lb. sausage, cooked and crumbled
pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray a 24 cup mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl whisk together the flour, garlic powder and baking powder.  Whisk in the milk and egg.  Stir in the mozzarella, sausage and pepperoni.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Divide into 24 mini muffin cups.  Bake 20-25 minutes or until puffed and golden.  Serve with heated pizza sauce for dipping.

Commet:  I found this recipe on Pinterest where it had been posted by Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms.  This is delicious and can be made healthy by using turkey pepperoni and turkey sausage.  As you can see I didn't take it the healthy way.  I took these to a friends house who was having company over.  She served these to her company and between the 4 people present, they ate all 20.  They are that good.  Yes I kept 4 for myself.

1 cup dates, chopped
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tsp. baking soda
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
several whole walnuts to decorate

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour an 8 x 4" loaf pan.  Set aside.  Bring the water to a boil.  Remove from heat, add dates and soda.  Allow to cool.  In a bowl beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Stir in flour and salt.   Add cooled date mixture.  Stir in chopped walnuts.  Don't over mix.  Spread in prepared loaf pan.  Smooth over and place whole walnut halves on top in a decorative manner.  Bake for 1 hour or until well risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to sit in pan 5 minutes before tipping out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely.  Store covered in an airtight container.  This tastes even better the next day.

Comments:  Years ago I found date nut bread in cans.  I loved them and could easily eat a whole can with cream cheese.  I haven't found them since and have never really given much thought to making my own.  That is until I spotted this recipe.  The recipe came from Marie Rayner @ Cook Eat Share and if you aren't a date nut bread lover, I have no doubt that you'll find many other dishes posted by this lady that will fit your taste buds.  But if you are, give this recipe a try.  It's easy and sooooo delicious.

6 slices rye bread
36 med. shrimp, cleaned
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp. minced garlic
6 slices cheese

Place bread on a baking sheet.  In a frying pan melt butter, add garlic and shrimp.  Saute until shrimp is pink.  Place a slice of cheese on each slice of bread.  Top cheese with 6 shrimp.  Drizzle with drippings from frying pan.  Broil in oven until cheese starts to melt. 

Martha:  I made shrimp scampy one night and had leftover.  This is what I came up with so the shrimp wouldn't go to waste.  Boy was it a big hit.  The fortunate food testers that got to try this one all raved over how good it was.  You got the flavor from the rye bread, the sweet taste of the shrimp and of course the delicious blend of butter and garlic.  Oh yeah, the cheese was good too.  If you don't like rye bread, use French, wheat or whatever you do like.  As for the cheese, I used a blend of cheddar and jack.  You can do the same or use whatever cheese you like that will go with shrimp and garlic. 

1/2 lb. deli sliced chicken
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. dehydrated minced onions
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
4 med. potatoes sliced into 1/4" thick circles
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Boil sliced potatoes until tender.  In a large bowl mix cream cheese, onions and lemon juice.  Chop deli chicken into bite size pieces.  Mix chicken and potatoes with cream cheese mix.  Spread into a baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake 20 minutes or until cheese melts and dish is hot.  Sprinkle with Panko and bake another 5 minutes or until Panko starts to brown.  Serves 4 - 6

Martha:  This is the dish I told you about that can be made from leftovers from the Chicken Cream Cheese Rolls.  If made using the leftovers you'll simply cut up the rolls and stir them into the cooked potatoes, top with shredded cheese, bake and then sprinkle with the Panko.  Personally, I like both so well that there never seems to be leftovers to use so I make it from scratch.  This is also a dish that can be made with beef or ham.  It's a fun dish to play with changing the cheese to different blends such as Italian or Mexican and even changing the seasonings.

1 lb. deli sliced chicken
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. dehydrated minced onions
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. Italian seasonings
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix cream cheese, onions, lemon juice, garlic and Italian seasonings until well blended and smooth.  Separate the chicken slices putting 3-4 together creating about an 1/8" thickness.  Spread evenly with cream cheese mixture.  Roll like a jelly roll.  Place in a baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Sprinkle with shredded cheese.  Bake 20 minutes or until cheese melts and filling is hot.  Sprinkle with a thin layer of Panko.  Bake another 5 minutes or until Panko starts to brown.  Serves 4 - 6.

Martha:  I found a recipe for Cream Cheese Filled Chicken on Pinterest and loved the idea but I wanted to find a short cut for making these so I came up with using the deli sliced chicken.  You can have the deli slice it to about 1/8" thick or you can buy the pre-cut and layer the pieces to give you the thickness.  One pound of chicken gave me about 12 rolls.  The original recipe had a few other ingredients that I eliminated because I had another recipe in mind to make with the leftovers, if there were any.  The leftovers will go into what I'm calling Chicken Loaded Potato Casserole so make sure you see that one too.  I did eliminate the garlic salt from the original recipe and used the minced garlic.  The garlic salt along with the salt from the other ingredients would be too much for me.  Two to three rolls served with some cole slaw, green peas or beans and a roll gives you a simple yet delicious meal.

1 can (15 1/2 oz.) or 3 cans (5 oz.) boneless, skinless salmon
2 eggs, slightly beaten
12 saltine crackers, crushed
2 Tbsp. dehydrated onions

Drain and mash salmon.  Add other ingredients and refrigerate 1 - 2 hours. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Shape into 7-8 equal sized patties.  Bake 30 minutes.

Comment:  I found this recipe on Cooks.Com Recipe Search.  I made 2 changes.  I used dehydrated onions instead of 1 med. chopped onion and I eliminated the dash of Tabasco.  These have to be some of the best tasting Salmon Patties I've ever made or eaten.  They are moist and you can really taste the salmon.  This is something that you can also make with tuna, which I've done, and it too is great!

1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1 pkg. (1 lb) broccoli-cauliflower mix, thawed and chopped
2 Tbsp. flour
4 cups half & half
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg (add more to taste)
pepper to taste

In a large frying pan melt butter on med. high and saute onions 3-4 minutes or until they start becoming transparent.  Add broccoli and cauliflower and saute until they are just beginning to become tender.  Add flour and stir to blend well with vegetables.  In a large pot on med. high heat add half & half, cream cheese and velveeta.  Stir VERY frequently until melted.  Add vegetable mix, nutmeg and pepper.  Serves 6-8.

Comments:  The sweetness of the sauteed onions and the nutmeg give this soup a taste that can't be described.  The nutmeg can be adjusted to your own taste by starting with the 1/2 tsp. and adding more if you like.  I like my broccoli to have just a slight crunch so I saute it for 5-6 minutes, depending upon how finely I chopped it.  You can use fresh broccoli and cauliflower or the frozen type.  Both work but you'll get a stronger flavor from fresh.  The base of this soup is also great for Mushroom Soup and even Cream of Chicken Soup.  Simply replace the vegetables with the mushrooms or cooked chicken which would eliminate the need to saute.  This is also GREAT using Imitation Crab or fresh if you can afford it.  For the Imitation I use 1 lb.  For fresh, which is stronger I would use maybe half a pound.

1 yellow cake mix
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tsp. almond extract
3 med. bananas, mashed (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 pkg toffee chips
cream cheese icing

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl beat together cake mix, water, oil, eggs and almond extract on low speed for about 30 seconds.  Continue to beat for another 2 minutes on med.  Beat in bananas until smooth.  Take out 1/4 cup of the toffee chips and set aside.  Stir remaining chips into batter.  Pour into 9 x 13 baking pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until cake springs back or toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  After taking cake out of oven spoon 6-8 teaspoons of icing over cake.  Allow to sit for 3-4 minutes.  With a knife smooth over cake.  Sprinkle with remaining toffee chips.  Also, the bananas add just enough flavor that the cake doesn't end up tasting like a box cake.

Comments:  I had 3 bananas that needed to be used so I started thumbing through some of my older cookbooks. I found this recipe in a 1996 cookbooklet from Betty Crocker.  The only changes made was the addition of the cream cheese icing and sprinkling the toffee chips on the icing.  I also found that you can take a can of store bought icing, spoon a small amount onto a hot cake and give it a glaze.  If the cake has cooled off enough that it won't melt, put it into a still warm oven.  This makes the perfect glaze for any cake.

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups cheese, grated
1 lb. imitation crab, bite size pieces
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Panko or bread crumbs
Melt butter over medium heat in a medium size saucepan.  In a small bowl mix flour with 1/2 cup of the water.  Whisk together until smooth.  Whisk into butter.  Add milk and remaining water.  Cook over med. heat until it starts to thicken to the consistency of gravy.  Add cheese.  Continue to heat until cheese melts stirring very frequently.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Evenly layer eggs and imitation crab.  Slowly pour cheese mixture over both.  Bake 20 minutes.  Sprinkle with Panko or bread crumbs.  Bake another 5 minutes.  Serves 6-8. 

1 Butter Pecan cake mix
1 pkg (3.4 oz.) Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained and juice saved (1 cup)
2 med. bananas, mashed
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl combine cake mix, pudding, saved pineapple juice eggs, oil and cinnamon.  Mix with electric mixer on med. 2 minutes.  Stir in pineapple, bananas and nuts.  Pour into 2 loaf pans sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Comments:  The original recipe called for a yellow cake mix but I decided to Think With My Taste Buds and use a Butter Pecan for the added flavor.  It was a great choice!  This cake actually allows you to taste each ingredient as well as their blend.  It came out delicious and no way did taste nor texture give you any clue that I had used a cake mix.  I did mix up a light icing consisting of about 3 Tbsp. softened cream cheese and enough powdered sugar to allow it to spread easily and smoothly over the hot cake.

1 pkg dry yellow cake mix
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
3 cups sliced, frozen strawberries, drained
8 oz. pkg cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl combine cake mix, butter and 1 egg.  Mix with a fork until crumbly.  Remove 1 1/2 cup to use later for topping.  Press remaining crumbs on the bottom of the pan.  Bake 10 minutes.  Spoon strawberries over baked batter. In another bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla.  Beat with a mixer until creamy.  Spread evenly over strawberries.  Sprinkle with remaining crumbs.  Bake 30 minutes.  Serves 8-10.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

Comments:  This recipe originally called for canned peaches.  I decided to use strawberries after my small freezer died giving me food that had to be cooked quickly or thrown out.  When I freeze my strawberries I sprinkle them with about 1/4 cup of sugar per pint which in turn makes juice.  Before making this dish I poured 2 bags into a strainer to remove most of the liquid.  This ended up giving me about 3 cups of berries.  You can make this with canned peaches or other fruit, I personally think frozen fruit of your choice would be better.  You could use blueberries, cherries, raspberries, peaches, etc.  Think With Your Taste Buds.

2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups candy corn
1 1/2 lb. white chocolate candy bark, coarsely chopped
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened consensed milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Cover a cookie sheet, 15 x 10, with parchment paper.  In a large microwave safe bowl pour milk, white chocolate and salt.  Microwave 3-4 minutes stirring at 1 minute intervals.  When completely melted and smooth, stir in vanilla, nuts and candy corn.  Pour onto parchment paper and refrigerate at least 2 hrs.  Cut or break into pieces and store in a covered dish at room temperature.

Comments:  I found this recipe on Pinterest and couldn't wait to give it a try.  The original recipe called for the pecans to be toasted, I bypassed that step which gave my pecans a chewey texture instead of a crunch.  I also increased the amount of candy corn from 1 cup to 1 1/2 cups and used a mixture of regular and carmel flavored candy corn.  This candy has so many possibilities!  With the holidays coming, you can used colored white chocolate and/or holiday flavored candy corn... mint would be good.  You could also add one of my favorites - coconut instead or the nuts or 1 cup of nuts and 1 cup of coconut giving you the best of both tastes.  Think With Your Taste Buds!

3/4 cup milk
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 box broccoli, thawed
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
French fried onions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat milk and cream cheese over low heat, stirring until melted and smooth.  Place broccoli in 10 x 6 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Top with 1/2 cup cheese and chicken.  Pour cream sauce over chicken.  Bake 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese and sprinkle with French fried onions.  Bake another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serves 6

Comments:  I found a recipe for Chicken Divan in a Philadelphia Cream Cheese cookbook dated 1981.  It was sounded so simple to make that I couldn't pass it by.  I did make a few changes.  I increased the cream cheese, left out the Worcestershire sauce, used uncooked broccoli and added the French fried onions.  This dish is delicious!  And its even better the next day, if that's possible.  If you're a broccoli lover, increase the amount and if you want to try adding the Worcestershire sauce, the original recipe called for 1/2 tsp.  If you aren't a French fried onion lover, use Panko instead to give it that little crunch on top.

3 cups rice krispy cereal
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup coconut
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup finely chopped nuts
1 can swettened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large bowl combine cereal and butter, mixing well.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.  Spread cereal evenly in dish.  Top with coconut, chips and nuts.  Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over dish.  Bake 35 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting.  Makes about 16 squares.

Comments:  This is a fun recipe to play with.  It originally called for 1 cup of graham cracker crumbs but I wanted to give it a try with the cereal.  I also poured half of the cereal mix into 2 8" round cake pans topping one with coconut, chocolate chips and pecans.  The other with coconut, white chocolate chips and chopped peanuts.  Then drizzled each with 1/2 can of the milk each.  Either way you make these they will be a hit.  Think With Your Taste Buds and change up the cereal, nuts and chips.  One mistake I made was getting too impatient before cutting.  They must be completely cooled before cutting to get nice, smooth pieces. 

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 pound box graham crackers, crushed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix butter and sugar until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each.  Add graham crackers, baking powder, milk and vanilla.  Blend well.  Stir in coconut and nuts.  Pour evenly into 9 x 13 x 2" baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 35-40 minutes or until done in center.  If the cake starts browning too fast, cover lightly with foil. 

Icing
1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, melted
1 small can crushed pineapple, well drained

Mix sugar, butter and pineapple.  Spread evenly over cake while still warm.  Garnish with nuts and coconut.

Comment:  I found this recipe in an old vintage cookbook that had no directions!  Only ingredients.  I played with it hoping that I would get it right the 1st time.  I did.  I've made it since and have made several changes each time.  If you aren't a graham cracker fan you can use a box of crushed vanilla wafers.  And add extra flavor by adding a few well drained, chopped cherries to the cake as well as the garnish.  This is a rich cake but so delicious.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp maple flavoring
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

In a large bowl mix butter and sugars until fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time.  Beat in maple flavoring.  In another bowl mix baking soda and flour.  Add to egg mixture about 1 cup at a time beating until blended.  Refrigerate dough 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Spoon out dough forming into a ball about the size of a large walnut.  Place on cookie sheet and bake 10 to 12 or until lightly browned.  Makes 3 to 4 dozen depending on size of cookies. 

Comments - This started out from a recipe for Mapledoodles but I made a few changes along the way and added the pecans.  I also eliminated the topping and glaze.  I chopped my pecans until they were very fine but you can buy pecans that will work which are already chopped.  They are called cookie chop.  These would be great with coconut too.

1 yellow cake mix
1 cup apple butter
1 cup marshmallow cream
1 stick butter, melted
2 cups powdered sugar
cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix cake mix according to package directions.  Fill paper lined muffin tins 1/2 full with cake mix.  Spoon a heaping teaspoon full of apple butter into center of muffins.  Top each with heaping teaspoon full of batter to cover apple butter.  Bake 20-22 minutes or until done.  In a medium bowl mix marshmallow cream, butter and powdered sugar until well blended.  Fold in pecans and add cinnamon to taste.  Ice when cupcakes are completely cooled.  Makes about 18 cupcakes.

1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 eggs

Peheat oven to 35 degrees.  Line mini muffin tins with paper liners or spray tins with non-stick spray with flour.  Mix all ingredients together.  Fill each tin 3/4 ful.  Bake 15-18 minutes.  Make 24 - 28 mini muffins.

Comments:  I found this recipe on Pinterest where it had been submitted by Lick the Bowl Good.   It looked so good I had to give them a try.  The only changes I made at all to the recipe was to use the paper liners.  I'm sending a batch of these to a friend who had a birthday yesterday and loves pecan pie.  I have no doubts she will be tickled with these.

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl combine graham crackers, flour and baking powder.  Stir in condensed milk and butter.  Stir until fully blended with no dry ingredients left.  Stir in chips and coconut (this is easier done by hand).  Shape into walnut size balls.  Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.  Bake 12-14 minutes.  Don't over bake.  Cookies should be soft and lightly browned on the bottom.  Makes about 4 dozen.

Comments:  This is one delicious cookie.  When I tried to make them using their original recipe I found the batter to be too thin so I made a few adjustments by increasing the dry ingredients.  This was my end result.   I'm not a chocolate lover but these I can eat and enjoy.  For my chips I used milk chocolate but you can use whichever you like.  These would also be good with butterscotch or white chocolate chips.  And adding maybe 1/2 cup of chopped nuts would make these simply out of this world.

1 yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 pkg (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups cool whip topping
1 cup boiling water
2 pkg. (3 oz. each) Lemon flavored jello
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix cake mix and butter.  Press into 13 x 9" pan.  Bake 8 minutes.  Cool.  Beat together cream cheese, marshmallow cream and vanilla until well blended.  Whisk in cool whip.  Spread over cooled crust.  Refrigerate until ready to add next topping.  Add boiling water to gelatine.  Stir until completely dissolved.  Stir in pineapple.  Refrigerate until slightly thickened.  Spoon over cream cheese mixture.  Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. 

Comments:  This recipe originally came from Kraft Foods and called for a graham cracker crust.  I was out of graham crackers so I decided to give a dry cake mix a try.  It worked great!  The yellow cake mix gives you a sugar cookie type crust.  You can use any flavor of cake mix you want and compliment it it with a different flavor of jello.  You might want to use a chocolate cake and cherry jello.  Do include the pineapple no matter what flavor to keep the liquid mix correct.  The jello will carry over it's flavor to the pineapple making it not quite as strong.  This is a fun recipe to play with.

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 1/3 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. soda
3 1/2 cups oats, old fashion
1 1/2 cups dry roasted, salted peanuts
1 cup butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large bowl cream butter.  Slowly beat in sugars.  Add eggs and vanilla.  In a 2nd bowl combine flour, oats and soda.  Stir in dry mixture about 1 cup at a time until all has been added.  Stir in peanuts and chips.  Spoon onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake 12 minutes.  Makes about 6 dozen.

Comments:  While thumbing through an old cookbook created by the 'lunchroom ladies' from the Charlotte Mecklenburg School I ran across what was called Boyfriend Cookies.  The ingredients looked good to me but I did make a few changes.  The original recipe called for quick cooking oats, I used old fashion.  They used salted peanuts that were chopped, I kept them whole and their recipe called for chocolate bits, chopped and I used butterscotch chips.  These turned out to be some of the best cookies I've ever made.  If you closed your eyes and took a bite you would swear that you're eating coconut.  I think the combination of the texture from the oats and the taste from the butterscotch is what gives this illusion.  These are delicious!  And if 6 dozen are too many for you, simply cut the recipe in half.

1 jar (13 oz.) Nutella
1 cup all purpose flour
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix all ingredients together.  Roll into walnut size balls.  Bake 8-10 minutes.  Makes about 3 dozen.

Comments:  I found this recipe on Pinterest and it has to be one of the easiest cookies I've ever made.  The original recipe called for 1 cup of Nutella.  I spooned what was in a 13 oz. jar into a measuring cup and it's barely over a cup so I'm suggesting you just use the whole jar.  When mixing the ingredients, I first used a spoon and then my hands.  The finished mixture comes out like play dough and is really easy to work with.  The original recipe also suggested baking 6-8 minutes.  On 350 degrees I found mine needed to cook about 10 minutes so I'm suggesting you might want to cook 8-10 minutes.    I really wish I had thought to pick up some hazelnuts to put into my cookies.  I think that would be a delicious addition.  Anyway, these are a must try cookie for anyone who loves chocolate.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. sugar
4 cups Ricotta cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup plain flour
1/2 cup evaporated milk
2 tsp. coconut flavoring
5 eggs
1 jar coconut curd
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees if using a silver 9" springform pan or 325 if you're using a dark 9" springform pan.  Mix crumbs, butter and 3 Tbsp. sugar.  Press firmly onto bottom of pan.  Bake 10 minutes.

Beat ricotta cheese, 1 1/4 cups sugar and flour in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Add cream and coconut flavoring.  Mix well.  Add eggs 1 at a time mixing just until blended after each addition.  Pour over crust.  Bake 1hour and 20 minutes or until center is almost set.  Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake.  Cool before removing rim of pan.  Carefully spread curd over top of cake and sprinkle with coconut.  Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.  Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Comments:  The Ricotta gives this cheesecake more of a custard texture and a cheesecake texture.  It's not super sweet and the coconut gives it the perfect flavor.  You can change it around by using other flavors and toppings.  You can use vanilla and top with chocolate.  Use lemon flavoring and top with lemon curd.  Or just make it plain and serve with cherries or strawberries.  No matter what flavor you come up with, you'll love the texture and ease of making this cheesecake.

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
4 cups (1 lb.) powdered sugar
1/2 cup non-sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 dish with non-stick spray.  Mix cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg to make a soft dough.  Press into the bottom of the pan.  Mix powdered sugar, softened cream cheese and remaining 2 eggs until smooth, about 1 - 2 minutes.  Fold in coconut.  Pour on top of crust.  Bake 40-50 minutes or until the center is set and top is golden brown.  Cool completely.  Slice into bars. 

Comments:  I found this recipe on Pinterest where it had been submitted by Kevin & Amanda's Recipes.  This recipe is so much fun to play with.  It can be made with ANY flavor of cake mix allowing you to create your favorite flavor.  You can do as I did and add coconut.  I'm betting a chocolate cake with coconut would be out of this world!  I did have to cook mine a bit longer than 50 minutes.  I actually cooked mine about 1 hr. & 15 minutes but it's well worth the longer wait.

1 oz. strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/4" and then diced (2 cups)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 oz. (6 Tbsp.) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cups heavy cream
sugar for sprinkling

2 tsp. olive oil
1 med. leek, white and pale green parts halved and sliced (about 1 cup)
1/2 cup diced red or green bell peppers
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 tsp. minced garlic
3 cups water
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups grated cheese
Toppings - Panko, crushed red pepper, French fried onions
Salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil in frying pan over med. heat.  Add leek and peppers.  Cover and cook 5 minutes or until tender.  Stir in quinoa and garlic.  Cook uncovered 3-4 minutes.  Add 3 cups of water, salt and pepper.  Cover and reduce heat to med-low.  Simmer 20-25 minutes or more (depends on what kind of quinoa you use) or until most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.  Whisk eggs and milk in a large bowl.  Fold in quinoa mixture and cheese.  Pour into baking dish.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until browned around edges.  Sprinkle with toppings and bake another 5 minutes, watching carefully so toppings don't burn.  Serve with salsa, scallions, sour cream, hot sauce, etc.  Serve with a side of steamed broccoli or a salad and a slice of bread.  Serves 6

Comment:  On Doctor Oz's show he talked about quinoa.  I had never heard of it before and had no idea as to what it might taste like, how it was served nor what it even looked like when cooked but he said it was one of the healthest foods and a total protein so I decided to give it a try.  I went to my local health food store and bought some a couple of weeks ago.  It's been in my pantry since buying and then I ran across this recipe.  The dish was posted on Pinterest by Around the Table and it's delicious!  I made a few changes to fit my own taste.  She used tomatoes and I used green peppers.  She added seasoning salt which I omitted and my cheese was a blend instead of cheddar.  This is a dish that I would make even if it weren't healthy.  It's that good.

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1/2 1 lb. bag of egg noodles (no yolk)
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp. yellow mustard
8 oz. shredded cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup water
thyme
oregano
French fried onions (optional)

Cook noodles according to package.  While cooking, in a large frying pan melt butter over med. heat.  Add flour and whisk to combine.  Add wine, garlic and mustard.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add milk and water.  Allow to simmer 5-7 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken.  Add cheese, chicken and pasta.  When dished up, sprinkle with thyme, oregano and French fried onions.  Serves 6-8

Comments:  The idea for this came from a recipe found on Home is Where the Holmes' Are and her recipe was for White Cheddar Chicken Pasta.  I made several changed starting with the chicken.  I had chicken that had been cooked the night before waiting on me to find something to do with it so eliminated the chicken cooking that the original recipe called for. I also made several changed in the cheese base of the dish.  There were a couple of things I didn't want to include and some that I wanted to add.  This all boils down to my Thinking With My Taste Buds which ends up creating an entirely new recipe. 

6 oz. pkg of pasta noodles, cooked and drained
2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
2 cups milk
3 cups cheese, shredded
bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl whisk milk and flour.  Add 2 1/2 cups cheese, chicken and noodles.  Mix well.  Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and bread crumbs.  Drizzle with butter.  Bake 40-45 minutes or until cheese has melted, dish is bubbly and crumbs are browned.  Serves 6-8.

Comment:  I found chicken breasts on sale for $.99 lb. and couldn't resist buying.  Now what to do with them.  I decided to boil and think about it later.  Later came and some went to chicken salad but the rest went into a true comfort food...mac & cheese.  I boiled my noodles in some of the chicken broth which gave them a delicious flavor and for my cheese I used half of a cheddar blend and half of an Italian blend.  This turned out so good.

3-4 med. size yellow squash, peeled and sliced
1 med. onion, sliced
1 lb. lean sausage
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup water
3 cups stuffing mix (Pepperidge Farm)
1 cup shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place squash and onions in a medium size pot and cover with water.  Boil until tender.  Drain.  Cook sausage and drain if needed.  Mix all ingredients together.  Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 20-25 minutes.

Comments:  A friend gave me some squash fresh from his garden and I couldn't wait to make my Sausage & Squash Casserole.  You can spice this up by using hot sausage but I like to use the mild and I use Jimmy Dean due to it being so lean.  I also use the blue package of Pepperidge Farm stuffing but the choice is your's.  I don't use the stuffings that have added seasoning packages because I want to control my flavor.  And for the cheese, I like to use an Italian blend which gives me a buttery taste.  You can change this up a bit by adding mushrooms and/or celery.  If using celery I would saute it with the sausage or boil it along with the squash. 

1 box yellow cake mix
Grated peel of 1 lemon
Grated peep of 1 orange
1/2 cup boiling water
8 tsp. lime flavored gelatin powder
8 tsp. orange flavored gelatin powder

Frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
juice of 1 lemon
remaining package of EITHER lime or orange flavored gelatin powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cupcake liners in 24 regular size muffin cups.  In a large bowl place cake mix and prepare according to package directions.  Add lemon and orange peel.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes.  Using a fork or skewer, poke holes in tops of the cupcakes.  Mix lime gelatin with 1/4 cup of boiling water and spoon over half of the cupcakes.  Do the same with the orange gelatin and pour over the other half.  Refrigerate 30 minutes.  During this time, in a large bowl beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Add lemon juice, powdered sugar and your choice of 1 remaining gelatin powder.  Ice cupcakes. 

Comment:  The original recipe came from bettycrocker.com and called for a lemon cake mix.  I went with yellow to mellow out the flavor a bit.  It called for the peel of 1 lime as well as the orange and lemon.  While at the grocery store I found no single limes so that was omitted from my recipe.  It also called for the gelatin to be mixed with 1/2 cup of boiling water each but I decreased it to 1/4 giving it a thicker drizzle inside and outside the cupcakes.  For the frosting, the original recipe called for lemon extract, I decided to use the juice from the lemon instead.  It also called for 3 3/4 cups of powdered sugar and 2/3 cups of whipped cream.  I cut the sugar down, eliminated the whipping cream and added the remaining gelatin to give extra flavor and to also keep from trying to come up with something to make with the remaining gelatin.  This worked perfectly!  As usual, I decided to Think With My Taste Buds.

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1 head cabbage cut into 4 equal pieces
6-8 pieces pre-cooked bacon
1 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cabbage on top of a large piece of foil (big enough to wrap completely, may even take 2 pieces depending on size of cabbage.).  Sprikle bacon over cabbage.  Drizzle with oil.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Place in a baking dish.  Bake 45-50 minutes or until cabbage is soft but not mushy.

Comment:  I found this recipe on Pinterest where it had been submitted by food.com.  Their method of cooking was to grill, I decided to bake.  They used uncooked bacon, I opted for the pre-cooked and a small amount of olive oil.  Using the pre-cooked cut down on the grease coming from the bacon but still gave flavor throughout the cabbage.  The dish is delicious and really pretty when served.  It's also a great dish to cook while the oven is already in use with another dish.

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a 9" cast iron frying pan melt butter in oven.  Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over melted butter.  Evenly distribute pineapple.  Sprinkle with pecans.  In a large bowl beat remaining ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes.  Pour batter over pineapple.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Turn onto a platter.  Cool at lest 10 minutes before serving. 

Comments:  The original recipe for this came from Betty Crocker Kitchens.  I made 3 changes.  The original recipe called for pineapple rings with cherries in the center, I omitted the cherries and used crushed pineapple.  My mother used to make her Pineapple cakes in a well cured cast iron frying pan. so in hopes of coming up with the same taste I remember from my childhood,  I decided to use the cast iron frying pan instead of the 9" round pan called for in the recipe.  I didn't accomplish the taste from the past but I have to admit that this is one of the best Pineapple Upside Down Cakes I've ever eaten.  The butter and the nuts combined with the pineapple are unbeatable.  Additions?  How about a little coconut!  Yum.

Fish fillets
1 egg white for every 2 fillets
crushed salt and vinegar chips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Place a rack sprayed with non-stick spray on top of a baking pan.  This keeps the fish from sitting in it's drippings and have a crisp crust all around.  Lightly whisk the egg whites.  Dip each fillet in the egg white and then into the crushed chips.  Place on rack and bake 15-20 minutes depending upon it's thickness. 

Comments:  I have a friend who knows how much I love fish.  One of my favorite is a nice thick piece of Cod.  You can cook 1 - 2 pieces in a toaster oven or more by cooking it in a regular oven making this perfect when cooking for 1 or 2 or for a larger family.  No matter which oven you use, make sure you place your fish on a rack with another pan under it to catch the drippings and give you a good crust.  If you like fish, this is one you must try!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl mix:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

In a saucepan over medium high heat stir and bring to a boil:
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coca cola
1/2 cup buttermilk

Take off heat and add to flour mix and whisk until combined.

Add:
2 eggs
1 tsp., vanilla extract

Mix and pour into pan.  Bake about 30 minutes.  Don't over-bake.

When cake is nearly done make the glaze by mixing in a saucepan:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup coca cola

Bring to a boil.  Remove and slowly stir in 4 cups of confectioners' sugar.  Whisk until smooth.  Add 1 cup chopped nuts.  Once cake is done and out of the oven  (toothpick should come out clean), pour warm glaze over hot cake.  Serve warm or cold.

Comments:  This recipe was on Pinterest and posted by MayFlaum I followed this recipe to the letter and apparently it's delicious!  I don't eat chocolate so I can't say personally but all of my food testers have raved about it's moistness, flavor and richness.  For my cocoa I used Dark Chocolate so the coloring came out almost black!  It really looked great.  A cherry on top would have been perfect.