Chocolate Chocolate and Toffee Chip Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
3/4 cup toffee chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chips and toffee chips. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Tortellini Primavera with Ham

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 12 min
Servings: 6

2 packages (9 ounces each) refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
1 jar (24-28 ounces) fat-free spaghetti sauce
1 bag (16 ounces) frozen broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, thawed
1 ½ cups cubed fully cooked fat-free ham
1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook and drain tortellini as directed on package; keep warm

Heat spaghetti sauce, vegetables and ham to boiling in same saucepan, stirring occasionally. Stir in tortellini and cheese; heat through.

Another favorite. Guess we like tomato stuff. This makes a ton of food, but it's easy and re-heats well.

Wagon Wheel Chili

1 can tomato soup
1 can beef broth
1 can vegetarian beans in tomato sauce
1 cup wagon wheel pasta
1/2 pound ground beef

Cook beef until brown. Drain. Combine rest of ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender and soup has thickened.

I love this recipe. It is so easy and tastes so good. But, of course, I'm a sucker for almost anything with beans. :-)

Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson

Genre: Non-fiction, adventure
Pages: 390
Duration: March 5-9, 2007, half listened to, half read.

Description: This book tells the story of two men who live to deep sea dive. Off the tip of a fisherman, they go to investigate a mass in the ocean. Upon diving the first time, they discover it is a U-boat from World War II. The book tells the story of the divers lives for the next six years as they try to learn the identity of the mysterious U-boat.

Review: I have to admit, I was a skeptic. I didn't really think I'd enjoy a book about deep sea diving. I mean, I've never had any interest in any way shape or form. But let me tell you, I couldn't put this book down, hence one of the reasons I listened to it. As with any true story, their have been others who have criticized the information in the book as false, but Kurson does a wonderful job of making this story come to live, and my guess is that the most important facts and the feeling associated with these two divers are correct. I would recommended this to almost everyone....in fact, I pretty much already have. :-)

The Colorado Kid by Stephen King

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 200?
Duration: About 3 days, end of Feb 2007, listen to on CD

Description: A new journalist in a small coastal town learns from two old-timers. The two tell her of a man who was found dead on the beach 20 years earlier. The two tell her the story and revel details in the same order that they learned them. In the end, they decide "the Colorado Kid" was murdered.

Review: If I had been reading this book instead of listening, I would have put it down. Definitely a slow book and not what I've come to expect from Stephen King. The entire time I was waiting for it to pick up or get to a twist or something interesting, but that never happened. I wouldn't really recommend this to anyone.