Monster Cookies

We have a tradition at our house: the Sunday Night Treat. This week's is Monster Cookies

I was given this cookie recipe when I found out that oats were no longer on the "banned" list. It is a great cookie recipe. Oats are used as the "flour" and not only is it a great mix of peanut butter and chocolate, it makes a monster batch! (The recipe yields about 9 dozen!)

Enjoy with an ice cold glass of milk for dunking!

Monster Cookies

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

3 eggs

2 t. baking soda

1 t. vanilla

4 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup M&M's

Cream together butter and sugars. Add peanut butter and eggs and blend until creamy.

Mix in baking soda, vanilla, and oats.

Add chocolate chips and M&Ms.

Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes before removing to wire rack.

Or if you are feeling lazy, you can make a MONSTER cookie and cut it into bars.

Spread dough onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Don't forget the milk!

Cilantro Lime Basmati Rice

This rice is much better if mixed with burritos, tacos, salads, etc, than eaten alone. It's really lime-y. The flavor reminds me of Chipotle's rice, which is delicious. It's fast, easy and adds a nice touch to your fiesta!

Cilantro-Lime Basmati Rice

1 t. vegetable oil

2/3 cup white basmati rice

1 cup water

1/2 t. salt

Juice of 1 lime (or 2-3 T. bottled)

2 t. fresh cilantro, minced

In a saucepan, heat oil over low heat. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt, bring to a full rolling boil. At boiling, cover, turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed, about 20 min. Stir in minced cilantro and fluff with a fork.

Sweet Pork Burritos

If you like your burrito more sweet than spicy this is the recipe for you!

Remember to cook your corn tortilla in a frying pan for about 1 minute on each side just to brown. It makes the tortilla much more paletable!

Sweet Pork

{supposedly this is the Cafe Rio recipe}

3-4 lb. pork roast

16 oz. salsa, your favorite

1 can Coke, or diet Sprite

2 cups brown sugar

Put roast in crockpot and fill 1/2 ways with water. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain 3/4 of the liquid. Cool pork slightly. Shred and put back in crockpot. Puree salsa, stir in brown sugar and coke then pour over shredded pork. Cook for 2-3 more hours.

Delicious with all your fav burrito toppings!

Gluten Free Cincinnati Chili

In need of some spicy spaghetti sauce,
but not willing to go to Cincinnati to get it?
Well, you've come to the right place!
Today I'm sharing with you a homemade, gluten free recipe for
Cincinnati-Style Chili

I first tried this "chili" when staying with family in Cincinnati.
There are places all over serving this famous style chili and they even have it on the menu for school lunches.
What makes Cincinnati Chili, Cincinnati Chili is the use of unusual spices. 
There's more than 2 million pounds of chili consumed each year with 850,000 pounds of shredded cheese on top!  
Just like any place that has a signature dish, there are certain ways to order your Cincinnati Chili.
You can get a:
Bowl- just the chili in a bowl
2-way: Chili with spaghetti noodles
3- way: chili, spaghetti, and shredded cheddar cheese
4- way: chili, spaghetti, cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions
5-way: chili, spaghetti, cheddar cheese, green onions and kidney beans or tortilla chips
or
Coney-style: a hotdog topped with chili and if you want a "cheese coney" the chili is topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

So, make the chili and make your family order which way they want to eat it.
So fun and so much easier than a trip to Cincinnati!

Gluten Free Cincinnati Chili

1 lb. hamburger

1 small onion chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 can (14.5oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup root beer (A&W Rootbeer is GF)

2 T. chili powder

2 T. ketchup

2 T. minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (it will be about 1 pepper, I freeze the rest for later use)

1 T. ground cumin

1 beef bouillon cube

Hot cooked GF spaghetti

Optional toppings: crushed tortilla chips, chopped green onions, and shredded cheddar cheese, drained and rinsed kidney beans, or a hotdog for "coney style".

In a large sauce pan, cook the beef, onions, green pepper and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the tomatoes, root beer, chili powder, ketchup, chipotle peppers, cumin and bouillon. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve over spaghetti or hot dog.
 Garnish with preferred toppings.

Apricot Chicken

This is my favorite, favorite dinner!

It's so easy, thanks to the help of a crockpot (slow cooker) and the aroma is so good.

Apricot Chicken

2-3 chicken breasts (depends on how hungry you are)

1 cup Catalina dressing

1 cup apricot jam/preserves

1 packet onion soup mix

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in the crockpot. Add the dressing, jam, and soup mix. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. When cooked, shred chicken and serve over white rice.

*Oven method: Place chicken breasts in a greased 9x13 pan. Pour dressing, jam, and soup mix over chicken and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Shred or cut into cubes and serve over rice.

Serve with a side of corn.

So easy and so delish! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.