Lasagna Soup

I found this on Mel's Kitchen Cafe, though my family affectionately calls it Lasagna Soup! The amount she has isn't enough for my family, so the amounts below are 1 1/2 times her recipe.

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds lean ground beef (see note)
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
Salt and pepper
2 1/4 teaspoons dried basil
1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Large Pinch of dried thyme
9 cups chicken broth or stock (I use low-sodium)
1 (28-ounce) & 1 (15-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) & 1 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, optional (UPDATED: see note)
12 ounces cream cheese, light or regular, softened to room temperature
3 cups (12 ounces) short tube pasta, like ditalini or elbow macaroni
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the ground beef, onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent, 4-5 minutes. Drain excess grease.
2. Add the basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, broth, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir well.
3. Bring the soup to a simmer and add the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is just al dente (according to package directions). Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and lower (or increase) heat, if needed, to maintain a gentle simmer without scorching.
4. Add the softened cream cheese to a bowl and ladle in 1-2 cups of the hot soup (do the best you can to avoid scooping up the noodles and small pieces of ground beef – doesn't have to be perfect). Let the cream cheese and hot soup sit for a minute or two so the cream cheese can melt then whisk until creamy, smooth and well-combined.
5. Add the cream cheese mixture back into the soup and stir until evenly combined. Simmer for 1-2 more minutes, stirring often, until the soup is bubbling and slightly thickened. The soup will thicken as it cools (so if you want a thicker soup, let the soup rest, off the heat, for 5-10 minutes).
6. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Oreo Trip Layer Chocolate Pie

INGREDIENTS

32 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
¼ cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups cold milk
2 (4 serving size) packages Jell-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1 (8 ounce) tub Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided

DIRECTIONS

1. Finely crush 24 of the cookies; mix with butter. Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.
2. Pour milk into large bowl. Add pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk until well blended and thickened, about 2 minutes.
3. Spoon 1 ½ cups of chocolate pudding into crust. Gently stir 1/2 of the whipped topping into remaining pudding; spread over pudding layer in crust. Chop remaining 8 cookies; stir into remaining whipped topping. Spread over pie.
4. Refrigerate pie until set, about 4 hours.

Aimee's Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sister, Michelle, has a dear friend named Aimee. Aimee brought these to my niece's baby shower, and I couldn't stop eating them! :-) 

INGREDIENTS & DIRECTIONS

Cream together:

2 cups brown sugar (424 grams)
2 cups white sugar (424 grams)
1 lb butter softened to room temperature (454 grams)
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs (for an egg free version, use one cup of applesauce)

Then add:

1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 1/2 cup flour (639 grams)
5 cups oats (400 grams)
2, 12 oz bags of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Optional: 1 cup coconut (85 grams)

Bake at 375° for 11 minutes. Take them out when they don't look quite done and let them finish baking on the pan.

**If making a smaller cookie (think Oreo size), bake at 350° for 9 minutes.