Yummy Recipes!

Last week I made some M&M cookies that Steven has dubbed as "the best cookies you've ever made." That same day I also made a pasta dish that we thought was awesome! I thought I'd share these recipes:

Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce with Shrimp
(taken from a box of La Piana Mezzaluna Pasta & slightly modified)
serves 4

Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, coarsely chopped
24 oz fresh cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
12 fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound of cooked shrimp (I cut the tails off ahead of time)
Mozzarella cheese
4 cups (uncooked) of your favorite pasta, prepared

Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and saute the garlic and the onion until lightly golden in color. Pour in the chopped cherry tomatoes, add the basil, and stir well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce is fairly thick. Last 5 minutes, add the cooked shrimp.
Serve over your favorite pasta!

It was so yummy and Steven and I both agreed that using FRESH ingredients made this dish even better. The only exception was that I used pre-chopped garlic. I also added more basil than the recipe calls for, because I love basil. We halved the recipe.

Here is the recipe for Steven's favorite cookies:

Steven's Favorite M&M Cookies
(taken from the internet)
makes approx. 36

Ingredients:
1 cup shortening (I used butter-flavored Crisco)
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla (I always add a little extra vanilla to my recipes)
2 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups plain M&Ms
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used the minis)

Directions:
Combine shortening, sugars, and vanilla. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt and add to creamed mixture. Mix well. Stir in M&Ms and chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.


Yum! Enjoy!