(Easy) Cheesy Potatoes

Here's another fav around here and seem to be a hit when we bring it to someone's house for dinner. This is a recipe that my mom has made FOREVER for our holidays. She is such a good cook and I have loved every recipe that is her's! You will too!

You will need:
1 large package of hash browns (I usually use Ore-Ida)
1 stick of butter
1 pint of 1/2 and 1/2
1 8-ounce package of Velveeta Cheese

Thaw frozen hash browns.
In sauce pan, melt butter on low heat.
Mix in sliced Velveeta and 1/2 and 1/2.
Completely melt cheese, stirring constantly.
Put hash browns in buttered 13 x 9 pan. (I use PAM.)
Pour sauce over potatoes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Optional: Top with 1 cup cornflakes mixed with 1 Tbsp. butter

Tips: Make sure all the hash browns are soaked in the sauce. Also, I sometime broil them for a couple minutes to get them browned on top. If you plan to use the cornflakes, keep in mind they will be soggy if you have leftovers which is why I leave them off!

Breakfast Cookies

I thought of something I wanted to add to my blog this year...recipes! Cooking has become something that I really enjoy and why not pass on some of my favorite recipes to Jack, Audrey and whoever else reads the blog! Here is one that my friend Kate requested recently after a playmate we had at our house. They are so tasty and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, snack time, you name it! They freeze really well so I usually make 3x the recipe. I would make more but my mixing bowl can't hold that much! Eat them directly out of the freezer with a hot cup of Jo or warm them in the microwave for 5 seconds to melt the chocolate (that is if you choose to put chips in them...you'd be crazy not to!). I do a little substitution with my version...I use jumbo mixed raisins instead of dried apples. Sometimes I add nuts, other times not. And of course I add 1/2 c. of chocolate chips! One was to indulge is to eat one with some fat-free vanilla yogurt and a dollop of peanut butter. BTW..this is a Weight Watchers recipe and is 3 points per cookie!

Combine for 1 minute in mixer:
1/4 cup unsalted fat free margarine
3/4 cup dark brown sugar

Add 2 large eggs and beat for 30 seconds.

Add 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and beat to mix.

In another bowl, combine:
1.5 cups whole grain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture, and then add the following and combine by hand:
1.5 cups quick oats
1/2 cup dried apples, chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/ cup chopped walnuts

Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and drop heaping tablespoons 1" apart on sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes. Freeze if desired.