Grandma Marynel's Pudding Cookies

These are the cookies that my husband remembers from growing up... you know, the ones they always talk about until you finally get the recipe from your mother in law... I have to admit, they are pretty good - and very versatile!

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 small package chocolate or vanilla Jello instant pudding
3/4 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Mix flour with baking soda and set aside. Combine butter, vanilla, sugars, and pudding in large bowl. Beat until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe is very easy to change depending to suit the type of pudding you have on hand. This time I had Pumpkin Spice pudding, so I substituted butterscotch chips for the chocolate chips and added pecans - yummy! I've also made them with Pistachio pudding, white chocolate chips and pistachios (of course). The possibilities are endless! If you happen to have the large box of pudding, just double the rest of the recipe and get twice as many cookies!

Velveeta Shells & Cheese Cups

Let me start by saying that I love Velveeta Shells & Cheese - it's just so much creamier than regular mac & cheese and feels more like a comfort food - especially when I don't feel up to making the real deal. In fact, I usually won't eat the regular stuff when I make if for my kids. I recently had a chance to try both Easy Mac and the Velveeta Shells & Cheese Cups and while I can tolerate the Easy Mac because it really doesn't taste that different from the regular stuff, I really think Kraft needs to discontinue the Shells & Cheese Cups.

For starters, the shells don't cook evenly in the microwave so you end up with noodles that are part gooey and part crunchy. Then, the extra water that is left in the noodles dilutes the cheese sauce so you don't get that Velveeta taste. In the end, you are left with a gummy, gluey, yellow mess that hardly even tastes like macaroni & cheese. The convenience really isn't worth it since regular Velveeta Shells only take about 7 minutes to make and only cost about 50 cents more.