Cake Mix Cookies

These are so easy to make. They are quite a bit softer than regular cookies. I suppose if you substituted butter for the oil, it would give you a crispier cookie. Here are some variations I thought you could do. Lemon cake - dried blueberries, spice cake - toasted pecans, chocolate cake - dried cherries, really the possibilities are endless. To be quite honest, these aren't the best cookies I've ever had. They are good enough for a quick cookie fix though.

1 box any flavor cake mix
½ cup flour
⅔ cup oil
2 eggs
6 oz. chocolate chips, any other flavored chips, dried fruit, nuts, etc

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips. Mix well. Add chocolate chips; mix well. Scoop a teaspoon sized ball onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes 2-3 dozen cookies.

Cheesy Ravioli Bake

This is a very simple, quick dish which I usually have all the ingredients for. I have used both frozen and fresh ravioli. Of course the fresh tasted better, but the frozen is just fine. I usually just use mozzarella instead of the Italian cheese blend, but use whatever you have on hand that melts nicely. There are lots of other things you could add to this dish (sausage, veggies, etc) to make it your own; I probably wouldn't add more than one cup's worth of extras. Be careful of water based ingredients (mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, etc), they could flood the dish unless you cook them first. I love this dish for Sundays. I put it together in the morning, leave it in the oven during church, and have the time bake function set. When I get home, all I have to do is take the foil off, and finish baking it. Within 30 minutes of coming home, dinner is ready - with very little effort.

1 26 oz jar spaghetti sauce (unless you have homemade on hand - who does?)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes (if you don’t like chunks, use crushed)
½ c water
2 lbs frozen ravioli (or enough to make two layers in a 9x13 pan)
2 cups shredded Italian cheese blend
2 tbs grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix sauce, tomatoes, and water. Spoon 1 cup into the bottom of a 9x13 dish.

3. Layer ½ ravioli and 1 cup shredded cheese over the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Top with remaining ravioli and sauce mix. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the sauce, and top with the Parmesan. Cover with foil.

4. Bake 30 minutes then uncover. Bake for additional 15-20 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Enjoy!