My mom picked red Swiss chard, unsalted sunflower seeds, goat cheese crumbles, and frozen pre-cooked shrimp.

I cut the stems off the Swiss chard, then cut them up. I threw the stems in a pan with olive oil and baked at 400-degrees. After about ten minutes I added half of the cut up leaves. I put the sunflower seeds in another dish, added Himalayan sea salt, and put them in the oven to bake too.

I thawed the shrimp out, then I put them in a skillet for a few seconds each. I mixed the cooked and raw chard, baked/salted sunflower seeds, and shrimp together to make the salad.

For the sauce I put western salad dressing and goat cheese crumbles in a small pan and heated it for a bit. Then I tasted it and it needed more sweet, so I added honey. It still tasted bad so I added fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

It was horrible and I will never make it again. It was the worst dish I've ever made in my entire life. The sauce was horrible. I'd keep it raw next time and not cook the chard and just throw away the stems.

MOM'S NOTE: This dish wasn't completely inedible. It wasn't the best, but I did eat all but the stems on my plate. The sauce was pretty bad, but mostly for the texture. It was gritty. The salad wasn't the worst thing I've eaten. I wouldn't order it again in a restaurant. I think if he would have cooked all of the chard and served it as a hot salad, or left it all raw and served it as a summer salad, it would have been an improvement. The shrimp really brought the salad together though, so I'm glad that was in there. The sunflower seeds seemed a natural addition to the salad and helped to tie in the shrimp.

Today, my Mom made a mystery box and gave me an hour to make food for her, Dad, #1 and myself. The mystery ingredients included a bag of frozen sliced chicken, pineapple slices (canned and in their own juice), eggs, and three fresh bell peppers. I came up with poached eggs, lightly cooked bell pepper, heated up chicken, with pineapple slices and a garnish of parsley.

If I'd have had more time, I would have made a sauce too.

It was really fun and I enjoyed poaching eggs for the first time. It was pretty good. If I could change anything, I'd use less bell peppers next time (only two).

MOM NOTE: The pineapple surprisingly brought the meal together. Sauce would have helped with some dry chicken, but it was otherwise a nice filling and healthy meal!

I'd use less grapes and put in more cherries next time. Otherwise it was a four star rating.

Mom Note:  I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought we could try it.  It smelled wonderful and looked good too.  The top layer was good with the Nutella, but the bottom half of the cup was bitter without the Nutella to compliment.  I think the recipe calls for too much cocoa.  I think we may try this one again with less cocoa and maybe more brown sugar.  It may also be neat to sink a mini peanut-butter cup in the center right before cooking it.  After making and eating this particular recipe, the only comment #2 would give was "It was horrible and I will never use this recipe again!"  That said, #1 enjoyed it.

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup milk
Nutella for topping

Step 1.  Pick out a coffee mug, add in the flour, sugar, and cocoa.  Mix well so there are no lumps.

Step 2.  Add butter and milk.  Mix until smooth.

Step 3. Microwave.  Time varies based on your settings.  Cook 30-seconds at a time and watch carefully.  It's done when it no longer looks moist.  Ours cooked for 2-minutes.

Step 4.  Top with Nutella while still hot enough to melt.  Enjoy!

I've wanted to do this recipe for a little while now, but just got the ingredients I needed.  Mom says these turned out more like brownie-topped cheesecake squares.

I think you should chill (not just cool) these before cutting them into squares.  I'm still not sure how the cheesecake ended up on the bottom...

Make sure you have a drink when you eat these.  Only the edges of the brownie batter cooked through.  The entire center is still batter (raw).  It tastes good, but maybe next time the brownies should be cooked a little first?

1 (21.5 or 23.6-ounce)  package fudge brownie mix (I used Pillsbury Brownie Classics - Traditional Fudge)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened (I used butter)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ready-to-spread chocolate frosting, if desired (I did not use this)
Orange peel, if desired (I didn't use this either)

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.  Prepare brownie mix as package directs.  Spread into well-greased 13x9-inch baking pan.

2. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and cornstarch until fluffy.

3. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk.  Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth.  Pour cheesecake mixture evenly over brownie batter.

4. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until top is lightly browned.  Cool.  Spread with frosting or sprinkle with orange peel, if desired.  Cut into bars.  Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes 3 to 3-1/2 dozen brownies

This recipe came from the Eagle Brand Collection (2003 issue), ISBN 0-7853-7973-8  However their website offers an updated version here.

**Mom Note:  The boxed brownie mix said to cook at 350* for 28-30 minutes, and he baked these for 45 minutes.  I don't know why the brownie mix didn't cook through.  I'd also like to note that the boxed brownie mix was only 19.5 ounces, so even less than the recipe called for.

I chose this recipe because we had most of the ingredients already.

It's very chocolatey! The topping is sticky-ish. I think putting the nuts on top was a good choice. Grandma says it would be good with some vanilla ice cream, Grandpa suggested it with coffee, and my sister (#3) says it's just "too chocolatey."

It took about ten minutes for the chocolate topping to melt, so don't start it as soon as the brownies go in the oven. Next time I'd use less chocolate in the topping.

**Mom Note: we cut this recipe into large pieces, not realizing how rich they are. You really only need a 1-inch by 1-inch square to be a complete dessert. Anything else is really just too much.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted (I used butter)

2 cups sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided

1 cup chopped nuts, if desired (I used a handful)

2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Dash of salt


1. Preheat oven to 350*F. In large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, eggs, milk, and 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla; mix well. Stir in nuts, if desired (I skipped this step). Spread in greased 13x9-inch baking pan. Bake 40 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan.

2. Meanwhile, in heavy saucepan over low heat, melt chips with sweetened condensed milk, remaining 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla, and salt. Remove from heat. Immediately spread over hot brownies. Cool. Chill. Cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature.

Makes 3 to 3-1/2 dozen brownies

This recipe came from the Eagle Brand Collection (2003 issue), ISBN 0-7853-7973-8  However their website offers an updated version here.

Mom wanted dessert, so Dad went to buy ingredients for Magic Cookie Bars.  Mom gave me three old recipe books from her eBay stash, so I'm going to try all of the recipes and share my results.  I'll share the recipes too so if it looks good, you can try it too!  I hope you enjoy!

You should make these at about lunch time if you want them for dessert after dinner.  It takes forever for them to cool!  Next time I'd use fewer peanut butter chips and more chocolate chips because you can hardly taste the chocolate chips in this batch.  Otherwise, they're good!

Bake Time: 25 minutes

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine (I used butter)
1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14-ounce) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2 cups (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup peanut butter chips)
1-1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for glass dish).  In 13x9-inch baking pan, melt butter in oven.

2.  Sprinkle crumbs over butter; pour Eagle Brand evenly over crumbs.  Layer evenly with remaining ingredients; press down firmly.

3. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool.  Chill, if desired.  Cut into bars.  Store loosely covered at room temperature.

Makes 2 to 3 dozen bars.

This recipe came from the Eagle Brand Collection (2003 issue), ISBN 0-7853-7973-8  However their website offers an updated version here.