Best Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, a hybrid of two other recipes. I used a simple recipe and added an unexpected ingredient--instant vanilla pudding mix--from another recipe to make these spectacular cookies!
The unexpected ingredient came from the "Award Winning Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies" recipe on allrecipes.com, but the main recipe below is from popularcookierecipes.com.

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 large eggs,beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix*
  
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• if desired, 1 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl by hand. Stir in flour, baking soda, pudding mix* and salt. The dough will be very stiff. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans if desired.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light brown.

Giant Meatballs with Gravy!

According to the recipe it's called "Simple Salisbury Steaks," but as I was making it, I realized it was just like my dad's meatballs but with breadcrumbs and cream of mushroom added to the mix. Nonetheless, these came out great! They kind of look like a mess, especially in this picture, but my husband and I both loved them and I can't wait to make them again.
Here's the original recipe (from allrecipes.com):

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Regular, 98% Fat Free or 25% Less Sodium)
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1. Mix thoroughly 1/4 cup soup, beef, bread crumbs, onion and egg. Shape firmly into 4 patties, 1/2 inch thick.
2. Heat oil in skillet. Cook patties until browned. Pour off fat. Add remaining soup and mushrooms. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 10 minutes or until done.

Apple Bread

This came out nicely; it just tasted like banana bread but with apple bits. The only alterations I made were to grate the apples and use 1/2 c. sugar and 1/2 brown sugar.
Here's the original recipe ("Apple Breakfast Bread" from allrecipes.com):

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.
2. In a bowl, mix the butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs.
3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Mix into the butter mixture until moistened. Fold in the apples. Transfer to the prepared loaf pan.
4. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Steak and Onions

Yummy! I made this for my family when they came to visit and they seemed to like it :) I seasoned the steaks with seasoning salt and garlic powder, coated them with flour and cooked them on low-medium heat in about 1/4 c. canola oil. I cooked them covered until the meat stopped bleeding--about 15 minutes--and turned them a few times. After the meat was cooked, I kept the oil and whatever little pieces were left in the pan and used it to saute a 1/4 of an onion, sliced. I peppered and poured a little soy sauce over the onions, and then scooped the onions out and onto the steaks. Delicious!

Fried Chops with Country-Style Gravy

The fried chops are fried chops, but I crushed 4 oz. of Ritz crackers and threw them in with 1 c. of flour. I seasoned them with garlic powder and seasoning salt, dipped them in a mixture of egg and canned milk (1/4 c.), then covered them with the cracker/flour mix.
The gravy is also a very simple gravy, but it's my favorite part of this dish. The recipe makes a LOT of gravy, but I only wanted about 1/2 that amount. After pouring in the first can of milk, I realized it was going to be too much; so, instead of using 4 cans of milk, which I didn't have anyway, I dumped out half of what I had made and then added 3/4 of another can of milk. I sprinkled about 1 tsp. salt, threw in a dash of onion salt and used as much black pepper as I thought would be good. It was delicious :)
So, in the future, I think I'll use...2 tbs. vegetable oil, 1/4 c. flour, and 1 c. of milk!
Here's the original recipe for the gravy ("Mom's Country Gravy" from allrecipes.com):

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 cups milk

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Cook and stir over medium heat until browned, about 10 minutes. Gradually stir in milk so that no lumps form, and continue cooking and stirring until thickened. If the gravy becomes too thick, you may thin it with a little more milk.

Chicken with Parmesan Cheese

I love this recipe. It's so easy to make, and the potato buds and Parmesan cheese make the chicken crunchy. I followed the recipe closely except that, like always, I didn't measure the seasonings. I sprinkled the chicken liberally with garlic salt and seasoning salt. I baked it for 40 minutes, turned the oven off and let the chicken sit for another 5 minutes before taking it out. In the future, though, I'll have to remember to coat the baking dish with Pam spray beforehand.
Here's the original recipe ("Crispy Herb Baked Chicken" from allrecipes.com):

• 2/3 cup dry potato flakes
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 (3 pound) chicken, skin removed, cut into pieces
• 1/3 cup butter, melted

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease or line with foil a baking sheet or a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine potato flakes, Parmesan cheese, and garlic salt. Stir until well mixed.
3. Dip chicken pieces into melted butter or margarine, and roll in potato flake mixture to coat. Place in prepared pan.
4. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until chicken is tender and golden brown.

Pork Chops and Ritz Crackers!

I haven't had Ritz crackers in years but if I had known it would make such a great batter/bread crumb replacement/shake n' bake stuff--whatever you want to call it--I would've made sure to keep a box in the kitchen.
I used seven thin pork chops, seasoned them to my liking with seasoning salt, garlic powder and a little pepper, and then followed the recipe from there. Since I used seven chops instead of four thicker ones, I had to leave them in the oven for an extra five minutes...and probably because I let it bake uncovered for the first ten minutes. So, in trying to follow what some of the reviewers suggested (cover for 30 min, then cook uncovered the last 15 min), I covered it for the next 20 min and then left it uncovered the rest of the time. They came out nice and crunchy!
Here's the original recipe ("Famous Pork Chops" from allrecipes.com):

• 1 cup crushed butter crackers
• garlic salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 4 pork chops
• 1/2 cup butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a shallow bowl combine crushed crackers, garlic salt and pepper; mix well. In a separate bowl beat eggs.
3. Dip your pork chops in the egg batter and then in the cracker mixture. Place the pork chops in a casserole dish. Place chunks of the butter around the pork chops. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Fried Chicken Breasts

I used three small boneless chicken breasts, seasoned them to my liking with salt, pepper and garlic powder (instead of measuring each and distributing them according to the recipe), and cooked them in a skillet on medium-low heat. As the recipe says, I cooked them for 5 minutes on each side (uncovered); but then for another 5 minutes on each side--covered. The recipe says to cook them for 15 minutes, but the chicken breasts needed an extra 5 to get them thoroughly done. They were delicious!
Here's the original recipe ("Tanya's Louisiana Southern Fried Chicken" from allrecipes.com):

• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into 6 pieces
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium size bowl mix together the eggs and milk. Add ALMOST all of the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder (reserve a dash of each for seasoning the chicken pieces). Set aside.
2. Sprinkle a dash of the remaining salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder onto both sides of the chicken pieces.
3. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Put the flour in a plastic bag. One piece at a time, dip the chicken into the egg/milk mixture then add to the plastic bag. Shake the bag so that the flour is covering each piece of chicken.
4. You can check to see if the oil is hot enough by sprinkling a little flour in the skillet. If it fries, it's hot enough! Place the chicken pieces in the skillet. After about 5 minutes, turn the chicken over. Let chicken fry for about 15 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and the juices run clear. Enjoy!