Chilli Blanco

I love this 'white chilli', it is just the right blend of chilli flavor, spice and white beans. Don't forget to soak the beans overnight, it will really make a difference in how the beans cook and break down.

6 cups chicken stock

1 pound great northern beans (soaked in water overnight)

2 medium Spanish onions, chopped

6 cups diced cooked chicken

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced

2 diced chili peppers

1 1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup salsa

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Sour cream (optional garnish)

Monterey Jack cheese (optional garnish)

Directions:

Simmer beans, half the onions, and half the garlic for 2 hours in the chicken

stock or until the beans soften, stirring frequently. Add chicken and salsa.

Saute pepper, spices, and the remaining onions and garlic in the oil and add to

the chili. Simmer for one more hour.

Garnish with sour cream or Monterey Jack cheese.

Beef Stew

There isn't anything all that special about this beef stew recipe.  It's just a classic stew, warm and filling.  But, it sure hits the spot on a cold winters night. 

·         2 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces

·         1/4 cup flour

·         1/2 teaspoon pepper

·         1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

·         1 bay leaf

·         3 potatoes, diced

·         2 Medium Carrots

·         1 stalk celery, sliced

·         1 1/2 teaspoons salt

·         1 1/2 cups beef broth

·         1 garlic clove

·         1 teaspoon paprika

·         2 onions, chopped

 

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins

Total Time: 1/2 day

1.     1 Place meat in crock pot.

2.     2 Mix flour, salt, pepper and pour over meat.

3.     3 Stir to coat meat with flour.

4.     4 Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well.

5.     5 Cover and cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 4-6 hours.

6.     6 Stir stew thoroughly before serving

(you can add other veggies if you want, I normally throw in some peas and sometimes little pearl onions instead of the chopped onions)

Supreme Sugar Cookies

I have been asked many times about how to bake a great cookie, everytime.  Cookies, as simple as they seem are a lesson in patience and obedience. There are several components to a great cookie, I will try to highlight them here. 

1. Almost all cookies start with butter, and or shortening.  This means real butter in a stick, not a tub and not margarine, no butter substitute, artificial spread in a plastic tub or 'butter flavored' shortening. It is important that the butter be softened at room temperature.  There is only one way to do this....take it out of the fridge and wait. (about 1 hour)  You can't put it in the microwave. a warm bowl of water, melt it, or set it in the sun.  

If it calls for both make certain that you mix them well before continuing on to the next step.

2. Sugar.  Use the sugar the recipe calls for, if it calls for both brown and granulated sugar...do it.  Substituting all of one kind because you don't have both will not produce the desired cookie. When you mix the sugar(s) into the butter/shortening mixture, have some patience.  On a good mixer on medium speed this will take a minimum of 5 minutes.  Scrape the bowl down a couple of times during this process.

3. Eggs, do yourself a favor and dont use egg substitute or egg whites only.  When you mix this and any extracts that the recipe calls for into your mixture, get ready to hurry up and wait.  This needs to mix until the color of the mixture lightens several shades, in most cases almost white and looks like fluffy frosting, roughly 10 min.

5. Dry ingredients, when you are ready to mix these in, do so lightly.  If you are still using the mixer, mix until just incorporated.  I prefer to do this step by hand. If you overmix at this point your cookies will get tough.

6. Several cookie types need refrigeration.  Do not skip this step or scimp on the time.  It makes a huge difference.

4. Baking times.  Bake the cookies on the instructed temperature for the time stated in the recipe.  I don't care if you 'think' they look done or not. Now, after you remove the cookies from the oven, leave the cookies on the sheet for 1 minute before removing them to a flat surface or wire rack and wait at least five minutes for the cookies to set. Test your cookie and if it is a little underdone increase the time by 1 min.  If it is a little overdone, decrease the time by 1 min. 

With all that said, I realize the biggest complaint I will get is, people have dietary needs and substitutions are neccesary.  To that I reply, actually portion control, (1 or 2 cookies, not the whole batch) is the key to everything yummy. Almost without exception, any and all substitutions are bad for you and filled with chemicals, you really aren't doing yourself any favors. But, if you must substitute some of the ingredients, do not come back to me complaining that the recipe didn't work out, or that they didn't 'taste' like mine.    

Now without further ranting :) With the holidays coming up, here is my recipe for sugar cookies. Happy baking!! 

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup salted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down sides of bowl, then add the flour mixture. Blend on low speed, or mix in by hand, just until combined. Do not over mix. Gather dough into a ball. Refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.

On a floured surface, roll out dough to a 1/4-inch thickness. Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut dough into desired shapes and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 9 minutes, being careful not to brown. Let rest one minute then, transfer cookies with a spatula to cool on a flat surface.

Face Wash and Moisturizer

Yep, that's right.  My nightly facewash and moisturizer is just coconut oil.  There is a whole spiel about why, and how....that I am just not going to go into on this one.

If you are brave, trust me and wash your face as normal, pat dry then take a quarter-sized amount and rub, rub, rub... it will begin to liquify as your rub.

After about 1 minute take a hot, wet, white, wash cloth and cover your face for 1 minute then wipe off excess oil, (do not rinse or wash) and look at all the dirt and make-up YOUR normal method is leaving behind... ewww.

I do this proceedure every night and wash my face as normal in the morning with an all natural bar soap.  I use one from Cal-Ben called 'beauty bar' but, there are several on the market.  Castille makes a very good one.

Shampoo and Conditioner

Did you know, shampoo wasn't even invented until the turn of the century, wasn't readily available until 1930's, wasn't considered, 'the thing to do' until the 1940's and really did not have a profit in the marketplace until the 1970's?  Remember when EVERY brand had 3 formulas, 1 for oily hair, 1 for dry hair and 1 for normal hair? The shampoo business was booming.

But, what did all those people do for all those years, without shampoo.  Did they just have dirty hair? In looking back at old photographs, obviously, no they didn't.  Some of those pictures show women with gorgeous locks and amazing hairstyles that simply would not have been possible with greasy, dirty hair! Could it be possible that the shampoo industry is just a money making scheme? The more you use, the more you need? I believe so....and that is where my story begins.

A couple of years ago I kept seeing this information for poo-free or poo-less concoctions.  I was intrigued but, not convinced.  I continued to follow some of the blogs and the journeys to rid their familes of chemicals especially those surrounding health and beauty.  Then after a year or so, pictures began to surface.  These women had gorgeous hair, could it be true?  Now, I was interested so, I sat out on my own journey.  Armed with baking soda, water and apple cider vinegar, I was ready to tackle this project. It went along splendidly, yes, there was a transition period and my hair didn't look wonderful for about 1 week.  But, besides that everything was looking up.

Then it happened, without warning, I woke up on morning, took a shower, performed my new shampooing and conditioning method and it didn't feel 'clean'.  Ok so, maybe this is yet another transition period, I tell myself. I make some adjustments to the formula, and the next day...it's worse, for the following 7 days, no matter what I tried ... it got WORSE.  I was so tempted to just break down and use the store bought stuff, but, what went wrong?

Now it was to the point of just plain gross,  I was so disappointed.  I was just convinced there had to be a solution so, I went back to the drawing board, (internet)  and began my arduous search.  I came across some sites that claimed I was doing it wrong.  OK, I didn't buy their chemistry, (they claim baking soda is bad for your hair because it has a ph level that it too high,  But, we aren't using it straight out of the box, mixing it with water lowers the ph so....that really shouldn't be the issue.) They offered other solutions, everything from honey to coconut milk, sooo,  I then spent the next 4 days trying other methods only to have my hair turn into some kind of gunky disaster, full of a variety of home remedies.

Now, I was just determined to find the cause and act upon a solution that would bring back my soft, shiney....CLEAN, hair.

After many, many, searches and numerous blogs I read something that gave me of one of those.. ah ha, moments.  Could it be that simple? After a quick jaunt to the store and yet another shower. Yes, Yes....that's it... my hair is back!!

Living here in the good old state of Missouri our water is a little on the hard side... (ha, that's like saying, I am a little stubborn) So, the key to the formula? Distilled water...ahhhh. :)

If you are going to try this, and have hard water, a jug of the distilled stuff is going to be in order...or you could make your own but, even I have my limits!!

Shampoo Ingredients:

2 tblsp baking soda
2 cups DISTILLED water
1 squirt bottle

Conditioner Ingredients:
2 tbls Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Cups Water
1 spray bottle

Directions:

Mix ingredients for both into separate bottles.

In the shower wet your hair and use the baking soda mixture to clean your scalp.  Don't worry so much about your hair, it's really your scalp that needs cleaning.  Just use the squirt bottle to get the solution right on to the scalp, cover well, then massage it in for 1 minute, rinse. (2 cups lasts me a week)

Lightly mist the top of your hair, NOT YOUR SCALP, and then really soak those ends.  Wait 1 minute and rinse. (2 cups lasts me 1 week)

Dry and style as normal, be cautious about using heat...your hair will be softer and more vunerable than it used to be when it was coated in chemicals.  Plus, you will find your hair is much more managable and requires less work than it used to.

Don't be so skeptial...try it ...you will love your hair!!

(PS, Steve is to the point he hardly ever even needs any shampoo and his hair always look great.  In fact, he had a haircut a couple of week ago and the stylist had to use thinning shears...he hasn't needed THAT in a very long time!)

Snickers Salad

Almost every 4th of July our family gathers at our lake in Northern Missouri for our annual reunion. These reunions have been the basis for many a wonderful memory and a smorgasbord of delicious food. Last year it was my Niece Natalie that took the show with this, simple yet oh so wonderful salad. (i like calling it a salad, it makes me feel better about myself when, I am on my 3rd or 4th helping)

Ingredients:

2 boxes instant vanilla pudding

2 cups milk

4-5 apples

4-5 snickers (big bars)

12 oz cool whip

Cut up apples in small pieces

Cut up Snickers in bite sized pieces

Add milk to pudding & stir, add cool whip and fold in gently

Mix in apples and Snickers 

Enjoy!!

Deluxe Pecan Pie

For years I wasn't much of a Pecan Pie fan. But, I had family members that would request them from time to time.  I finally realized that for me, there wasn't near enough filling for my liking so, I began to experiment and this is the result of my effort.  At least for me it did the trick, it is now among my favorite pies.

Ingredients:

1 piecrust*
1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs
2 1/2 cups toasted pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Make the piecrust and place in a 9-inch pie plate. Bake the crust until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Whisk the corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, butter and vanilla in a medium bowl. Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl, then whisk into the corn syrup mixture.

Finely chop 1 cup pecans and spread evenly over the piecrust.

Take remaining 2 cup pecans and mix into the corn syrup mixture, then pour the filling into the crust.

Bake the pie, 40 to 50 minutes. (it will appear to be VERY loose, don't worry it will be perfect when it cools) Cool completely on a rack.

Piecrust recipe can be found- http://thymesweetenedhoney.blogspot.com/2013/07/hot-water-pie-crust.html

Bread and Butter Pickles

This year my garden was overrun with an abundance of cucumbers.  My thoughts turned to pickles and the only recipe in the family archives was a concoction of my fathers he called, 'Converted Dills'.  I simply refuse to use this Lime Kool-Aid based recipe so I went in search of a Bread and Butter pickle that my whole family could enjoy. 

I wanted something simple, quick, tasty, and crispy.  No soft, mushy pickles here, I made several attempts and in the end this was a combination of several recipes that gave me the desired results. 

6 cups (1 1/2 pounds) thinly sliced pickling cucumbers*
2 Tablespoons kosher salt
1 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric

1. Combine cucumbers and salt in a large, shallow bowl; cover and chill 1 1/2 hours. Move cucumbers into a colander and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Drain well, and return cucumbers to bowl. Add onion to the bowl.

2. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour hot vinegar mixture over cucumber mixture; let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Regular pickles work well too, the seeds tend to be bigger but, the taste is still wonderful.

Broccoli Soup

This is one of my first ever copy cat recieps.  Here in the midwest we used to have a restaurant called Rax.  They served a Broccoli Soup on their salad bar that my son would beg for.  Being a young mother with 2 small kids the budget was tight so I set out to make this at home.  My son may have grown up but, even at the ripe old age of 26 there are times he still begs for Broccoli Soup.

2 Large Heads of Broccoli

2 Cans Chicken Broth

2 Cans of Water

1 pint heavy cream

4 tbls butter

4 tbls flour

Shredded Cheddar cheese

Cut up broccoli into medium sized pieces. 

Add 2 cans chicken broth and 2 cans of water to a large pot add ¾ of the broccoli and bring to a boil and let broccoli get mushy.  Whisk to break up broccoli until it is all incorporated.  Add remaining broccoli and boil until it is fork tender.

Add heavy cream, salt and pepper to taste.

In a sauce pan melt butter add flour cook until brown, add the soup a little at a time to the thickened flour until it begins to incorporate then add it to the pot.

Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese.

Laundry Detergent

This makes 1/2 Gallon of concentrate

1 bar Fels Naptha

1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax

1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

4 cups of hot water

Step 1: Put 4 cups of water in a large heavy saucepan over high heat. While that is heating, mix the borax and washing soda together in a bowl, mixing well, set aside.

Step 2: Grate the Fels Naptha- I use a handheld cheese grater

Step 3: Add the freshly grated soap to the water in the saucepan, stirring almost constantly. Reduce the heat to medium, It will take approximately 10 – 15 minutes for the Fels Naptha to complete dissolve.

Step 4: Once the fels naptha has completely melted, remove the pan from the heat and add in the Borax and the Washing Soda, stirring constantly until the powders are completely dissolved, this will take about 3-5 minutes.

Step 5: Pour the liquid equally into (2) 1 quart Mason jars.

Step 6: Add just enough water to bring the contents to leaving approximately 1 ½ inches of headspace.

Step 7: Put the lid on the jars and turn them UPSIDE DOWN and let them sit a few hours (about 4 - 5 hours). The reason for this is that the soap is going to Separate into layers while it's resting and occasionally will form crystals on the bottom.

Step 8: Place the entire contents of mason jar in the blender and whip until smooth and creamy throughout, about a minute. Pour back into mason jars to store.

Lasagna-Helen Rooks

I don't know how other families came up with menus for the week but, growing up we seemed to have the standards, Meatloaf, Roast, Fried Chicken, Vegetable Soup, Chicken Fried Steak, Hamburgers, Cold Cut Sandwiches, on endless rotation. Week after week it was as though variety was not our strong suit, oh of course there were your occasional Potato Soup, BLT's, Spaghetti or heaven forbid, Salmon Patty dinners (shudder) but, I don't recall that we ventured out-of-bounds too often.

My Mom was a great colletor of recipes. The recipe boxes are absolutely chocked full of recipes I never ate and I am fairly certain she never prepared. However, one recipe managed to slip through the ranks and Lasagna made an occasional appearance into the Rooks family menu rotation.

I LOVE this lasagna but, I will warn you, this isn't a traditional lasagna in the classic 'italian' sense. So, this may be more for my family to remember the traditional recipes that graced our table than, one for you to serve your Italian neighbors.  But, it is one of those dishes for me, that conjures up warm and fuzzy feelings of home.

     
8 oz package lasagna noodles
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1 Tblsp shortening
1 lb ground beef
1/2 finely chopped onion
2 cups Traditional Ragu Sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups Mozzerella Cheese-Shredded

Cook noodles according to directions, drain. Mix cottage cheese and sour cream and pour over noodles, toss to coat.

Brown ground beef and onion in shortening. After browned drain and add Ragu and mix well.

In casserole dish arrange in alternate layers noodle mixture, sauce, cheese, repeat-beginning with noodles on the bottom and ending with cheese on top.

Bake 45mins at 350 degrees

New England Style Potato Salad-Harmon and Helen Rooks

OK, so as near as I know this story, this recipe was concocted by my Mom and Dad as a copycat recipe to some potato salad they had at a deli in Connecticut while, visiting my Dads sister Carolyn and her family.   I had to give this recipe an official name so I picked one, based on the background story of it's origin.  I'll take suggestions if someone has a better one!!

Ingredients:

6 russett potatos
1 small jar of diced pimento peppers (1/4 cup)
1 cup Miracle Whip
1 cup French Onion Dip (french onion dip has a wide variety of tastes and textures, the one my Mom used when I was small was Adams, they are no longer in buisness, it took several years before they found a comparable one which was A&E.  I have lived in areas where this wasn't available and found a comparable source with Prarie Farms.)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Peel and dice potatoes into 1/2" cubes.  Boil just until tender. Drain and cool in refregerator.

Combine Miracle whip, french onion dip, pimentos, salt and pepper in a bowl, mix well, toss with cooled potatoes.

Chopped Apple Cake- by Helen Rooks

This is one of the first recipes of my Moms that I learned to bake.  It's easy and delicious!!

Ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
4 cups diced raw apples
2 tsp soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans or walnut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Sift together soda, nutmeg, cinnamon, and flour

Cream together butter and sugar

Add eggs blend well

Add sifted dry ingredients

Stir in apples and nuts

Bake in a 9 x 5" loaf pan for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean

Cool Cake-by Mike Rooks Family

Every family recipe archive has a 'poke cake' in it's files.  This one is ours and I know, I am probably biased but, it is so much better than other similar cakes I have tried.

Many years ago my brother Scott had an occasion to visit our older brother Mike at his home in Aurora, Il. For dessert they had this Cool Cake, Scott came home singing the praises of this unique dessert so, my Mom requested the recipe.  This quickly became a standard at many family gatherings.

Cake Ingredients:

1 yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cup flavored soda pop (strawberry, orange, pineapple...)
1 large box of Jello (the same flavor as your soda pop)
1 1/2 cups boiling water

Make and bake cake according to package directions.  After baking cook cake and poke holes with toothpick. (you want lots of small holes, do not use a wooden spoon handle as with many poke cakes)

Combine Jello and boiling water and stir until completely dissolved, add pop, stir together and immediately pour slowly over cake.

Refrigerate until cold. 2-3 hours

Frosting Ingredients:

1 Large box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup milk
2 cups cool whip

After cake has chilled-

Mix pudding and milk together and whisk to combine.  Fold in cool whip.  Frost cake and return to the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Keep refrigerated.

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies-by Tami Powers

After Steve and I were first married I would bake desserts and treats that Steve could take in his lunches.  He insisted  that he wanted Oatmeal cookies but, this is not something I had a recipe for.  I started with a recipe from the back of the Oatmeal box but, they were too dry, then I tried a recipe from a standard cookbook but, they were too bland.  I tried to combine the two recipes one day but, I ran short of butter.  I had read that people were adding applesauce in the place of oil/butter in some dessert recipes to make them more health conscience.  I had a little applesauce so, I gave it a try and Voila, they were exactly they right texture, a lot of flavor, and they stayed moist for days.  OK, not days, cookies never lasts for days around here but, they were moist to the very last cookie.  

These Oatmeal Cookies are soft and chewy, the applesauce adds flavor and keeps them so moist. They are absolutely perfect with walnuts and/or raisins.

Ingredients

¾ cups shortening

¼ cup butter

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs
1tsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla

½ cup applesauce
1 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp soda

3 cups uncooked oats

1 ½  cups walnuts and/or raisins to your liking

Cream together shortening and butter, add brown and granulated sugar and beat until it turns light in color.

Add eggs and vanilla and beat until fluffy.

Add applesauce and Oats beat just until incorporated.

Mix together flour, salt soda, and cinnamon. Add to creamed butter/eggs and mix lightly.

Remove from mixture and add nuts and /or raisins.

Chill in refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight

Bake 8 mins at 350 degree oven.  

Do not overbake, let sit on cookie sheet for 2 minutes before moving to wire rack to cool.

Icebox Cake-by Helen Rooks

Holidays were a veritable feast around our house growing up.  There were a few dishes you could always count on being served.  We never grew tired of some of these simple recipes and I hope future generations will love them too!!

This particular recipe was one of my Mom’s 'go to', recipes for every event.  She was extremely picky about the cookies.  We always had to use Hydrox, NEVER Oreo.  Always Nilla Wafers by Nabisco and never the ‘other’ brand. 

I must admit, I have lived in some places that just didn’t carry the ‘must’ have brands and I have had to resort to using the taboo ingredients.

I am pretty certain no one noticed and it all came out delicious….sorry Mom…

Ingredients-

1 pkg  Hydrox  chocolate cream filled cookies (Oreos)

1 Box Nilla wafers (Vanilla Wafers)

2 small bananas, peeled and sliced in to ¼ inch slices

1 small carton cool whip

1 small jar maraschino cherries

1 cup pecan halves

Grind in a grinder or food processor both packages of cookies, mix together and press into a 9” x 11” casserole dish. 

Add sliced bananas, cover entire cookie surface

Spread cool whip on top

Cut Cherries in half and alternate cherry halves and pecans in rows 1” apart down the length of the dish this should give you roughly 3 long rows.

Refrigerate overnight-

Sour Cream Green Chile Casserole-by Lynn Wood

One summer while visiting my sister in Phoenix, AZ, she made us a Mexican feast and among the dishes she served was this Green Chilie Casserole which, quickly became a family favorite.

Ingredients:

1 small pkg corn tortillas

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 small carton sour cream

1 small can green chilies-chopped

½lb shredded cheddar cheese

1 small onion

Directions-

Tear the tortillas into bite sized pieces, place ½ in bottom of a greased 8x8 casserole dish.  In a sauce pan add soup, sour cream, green chilies, onion and heat until bubbly.

Pour half the mixture over tortillas, added ½ the shredded cheese, add remaining mixture and remaining cheese.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies-by Gertrude Bliss Rooks

So excited to find this recipe in my Mom's recipe box. I can remember a few occasions where my Dad made peanut butter cookies, I was enlisted to help during these times.  At one point I asked, 'why always peanut butter' , he said it was one of his few memories of his mother as, she died when he was very young. Having never met my Grandma Rooks, I consider this a rare find and a blessing.

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 well beaten eggs
2 tsp vanila

Cream together, butter and sugars.  Add eggs, beat until fluffy. Add vanilla and peanut butter, mix well. In a separte bowl combine- Flour, soda, and salt.  Add to creamed mixture and beat just until combined.  Chill dough overnight.  Roll into balls the size of walnuts, mash eash ball with a fork in a criss-cross patern.  Place on cookie sheet 1 1/2 inches apart, bake at 300 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until just lightly browned.*

*For months now I have been on a quest to bake the perfect Peanut Butter cookie, upon finding this recipe I decided to give them a try.  This is it!! Who knew it was right in my kitchen the whole time.... I did have to mess with the baking times but, I found that 12 minutes was perfect if, I let them set on the sheet for a couple of minutes before, moving to the wire rack.  My biggest issue with this is keeping Nikki from burning her fingers on the hot pan because, she wouldn't wait....

**I did alter the recipe ever so slightly, for the 1 cup of peanut butter I used 1/4 cup crunchy, 3/4 creamy (Steve likes the occasional peanut in his cookie)

Citrus Cleaner

Citrus Cleaner

This amazing citrus cleaner will disolve baked-on, burnt-on, messes in seconds.  I have given away samples from time to time and have had nothing but rave reviews. 

The peelings and leftover pieces of 4-6 citrus fruits (grapefruit, lemon, lime, pineapple..etc)
1 qt jar with lid
white vinegar

Place peelings/pieces in jar, cover with vinegar.  Place lid on jar but, do not tighten.  Wait 3 months-try to tighten lid and shake weekly.  Make certain to loosen lid before storing.  After 3 months strain into spray bottle and dilute 50/50.

This is great for cleaning the smooth top stoves, just spray cleaner, sprinkle with baking soda.  Wait 5 minutes, wipe clean.

All Purpose Cleaner

All Purpose Cleaner

10 oz water
2 oz lemon juice
4 oz dawn dishwashing liquid
8 oz white vinegar
1 tbls baking soda

Mix first 4 ingredients together in spray bottle, add soda, wait for foaming to stop, tighten lid.

Great for bathtubs!!

Dishwasher Tabs

Dishwasher Tabs

2 cups of Borax
2 cups of Washing Soda
1/2 cup of Kosher Salt or epsom salt
1/4 cup of vinegar
1/4 cup lemon juice
ice cube trays

Mix dry ingredients together, add vinegar and lemon stir wait for foaming to stop.  Pack tightly 1 tbl into ice cube trays air dry for 48 hours, unmold store in airtight container.

Chocolate Cake (chocolate suicide)

I have had this recipe for years, I found the orginal recipe in a magazine while sitting in a doctor's office 30 years ago.  

I took it and began to tweak it just a little so that the cake was so unbelieveably moist you wouldn't be able to resist it.  

Then I began to make adjustment to the frosting, I wanted a frosting that wasn't overly sweet, that would stand on it's own without the cake, I think this is it.  Rather than see people scrape the frosting off to the side, I see them plowing right through and threatening to lick the plate.   

I have come across a few chocolate cake haters in my time, I fix this cake for them and have yet to not have a sold out convert.  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients

1¾ cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa 
1½ tsp baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk 
½ cup butter, melted
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup mayo
1 cup strong  hot coffee

Frosting:

1/2 cup softened butter
2/3 cup cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
2/12 to 3 cups powdered sugar (for your own consistancy and sweetness)
1 tbls cream
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff


Instructions:

Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans

In a mixer, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. 

Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, mayo and vanilla extract and beat until smooth

Remove bowl from mixer and stir in hot coffee with a spatula. 

Batter will be very runny.

Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for about 35 minute, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs attached.

Allow to cool 15 minutes in pans, then remove from pan and place on wire rack.  Cool for another 15 min and then frost while still warm.


This also works well in a 9x13 pan!

Chalupas

My Sister-in-law, Ann and her husband... :), made a Chalupa recipe for a family gathering many years ago.  Through the years I have added a few things to make it crockpot friendly and to suit the tastes of my own family.  This is such an easy, comfort food meal.  It's definitely a favorite.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. pork shoulder
1 lb. dry pinto beans (rinsed)
1 15-ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeno peppers minced 
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
generous pinch or two of salt
1½ cups water
¾ cup shredded chedder cheese 
12+ flour tortillas

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the pork shoulder in the slow cooker. Cover with dry pinto beans, tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt, and 1½ cup water. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or high heat for 4-6 hours. Don’t open the lid – it adds to the cooking time.Remove the lid after the cooking time and shred the pork using two forks. You can do this directly in the slow cooker. If it’s too runny, continue to cook with the cover off for a little while. If it’s too dry, add more water.Sprinkle cheese on top, replace the lid, and cook for another 30 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425. Place tortillas directly on the oven rack and bake for 2 minutes flip the tortillas and bake for another 2 minutes until bubbly yet soft. Be careful because they burn easily! 

Remove from oven and allow to cool.Top each tortilla with pork and bean mixture and sour cream.

 Other topping ideas include fresh tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, sour cream or guacamole.