MAGIC MONSTER COOKIE BARS

I made these cookie bars for a bake sale a while back. They sold out very quickly and people were coming back for seconds. By no means are this tasty little things healthy, but they sure are delicious!!

Ingredients:

9 full graham crackers 4 tbsp

butter 1 can sweetened condensed milk approximately 3/4 c

oats approximately 3/4 c

M&Ms approximately 3/4 c. chocolate chips

Directions

In a zip top bag, crush the graham crackers using a rolling pin.
Once crushed, add the 4 tbsp. butter to the bag.
Place in the microwave and heat up for about 30 seconds.
Remove from microwave, let out the air and make sure the bag is sealed (maybe let it cool for a second or two!), and “mush” the butter and graham crackers together until fully incorporated.
Press the graham cracker crumbs into a well-greased and parchment lined 9×13 baking dish.
Evenly pour the sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker layer.
Sprinkle the oats, M&Ms, and chocolate chips evenly over the sweetened condensed milk and gently press in a little.
Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until browned and pulling away from the edges.
Let cool and serve.

DELICIOUS Pozole

Pozole is very different. Since it takes so many ingredients and tons of time, I only make this recipe on Easter as a tradition. This pozole recipe is so delicious, the whole family loves it (the kids LOVE it)

INGREDIENTS:

4 quarts of water
2 pounds cubed pork shoulder.
1 pound pork spare ribs or baby back ribs
3 cans (15 ounces each)White Hominy, drained and rinsed
1 white onion cut in quarts
8 large garlic cloves
Salt to taste

For the red sauce:
5 Guajillo Peppers cleaned, seeded, open flat, and deveined
5 Ancho Peppers cleaned, seeded, open flat, and deveined
6 Garlic cloves
1 medium white onion coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon dry Mexican Oregano Mexican oregano
salt to taste

For the Garnish:

1 Head of lettuce finely shredded
1 1/2 cup of onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 cup of radishes sliced
Ground Chile Piquin to taste
Mexican oregano
Deep fried Corn tortillas (Tostadas)
Limes, cut in wedges
Optional : Avocado chopped

Crockpot cube steak and gravy

I love cooking with the crockpot. This recipe is way simple and my family loves it so much. I have to admit, the meal doesn’t look pretty on your plate, but that doesn’t stop it from being delicious!! I always serve this recipe over mashed potatoes!

Ingredients:

Cube steak (I used a family size pack)
2 cans (10.75 ounce size) cream of mushroom soup
1 envelope onion soup mix
3/4 cup water

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Cook on low all day. Serve over rice, noodles, mashed potatoes or with your favorite side dishes.

CROCKPOT MEATBALLS (GAME DAY GREATNESS!!)

I’m not a huge fan of potlucks. I’m always nervous about what to cook and how it will turn out (which is why I never make a pie, cake, or casserole… You can’t show up with a missing chunk, right??!) I know that meatballs and grape jelly sound like a crazy/weird combination, but they are surprisingly DELICIOUS! I make this my potluck “go-to” almost every time!!

Ingredients:

1 bottle of BBQ sauce (I use sweet baby ray’s original)
1 cup grape jelly

About 30 frozen, prepared meatballs

Directions

1. Combine BBQ sauce and grape jelly in the crockpot.

2. Add frozen meatballs to the mixture, cover, and set to low temperature.

3. Cook meatballs on low for 8-10 hours

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup (NO HEAVY CREAM!!:)

Bake potato soup is a huge hit in my house!! My kids constantly ask for it, even in the summer time. I’m pretty easy to convince when it comes to cooking with the crockpot because you throw it in the pot and are able to forget it for hours! With my 5 kids, hovering over the stove is just not an option. This soup is too easy, you don’t even have to skin the potatoes beforehand. My husband and kids love to dip Ritz crackers or french bread in it.

5 lbs russet potatoes, diced, NOT peeled
3 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
64 ounces chicken broth or stock
16 ounces cream cheese
bacon, sour cream, chives or shredded cheese for garnish (optional)

1. Combine potatoes, garlic, onions and chicken broth in your crock pot.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 5 hours.
3. Purée soup in food processor with cream cheese, or add cream cheese to crockpot and mash potatoes, place lid back on crockpot and continue to cook and stir every few minutes until cream cheese is fully dissolved.

Serve warm topped with bacon, sour cream, shredded cheese & chives (optional)

Chorizo Chili YUM!!!

Tired of the same ol’ chili recipe? This one is liable to knock your socks off!!!! I made a huge pot and we ate on it for days. It’s awesome on a cold day, or whenever!!

Ingredients:

1 pound of lean ground beef
2 fresh chorizo sausage links, casings removed (about 1/2 pound)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped (omit if you want the chili less spicy)

2 cans of kidney beans
1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 can of rotel, spicy was used but you can limit heat by using mild
1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons of chili powder
1 Tablespoon of cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
avocado, red onion, and cilantro optional for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium skillet brown off beef and chorizo.

2. Drain and toss into a crock pot

3. In the same skillet add 1 tsp of fat and cook the onions and garlic just until the onion get a bit of color. You can skip this step if you like and just throw it into the crock pot. I just like giving the onions a bit of color before putting them in the crock pot.

4. Add remaining ingredients, stir together, and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-6.

5. Garnish with diced avocado, minced red onion, and cilantro

EASY Chicken Marsala

I love to cook. I often don’t have time with a huge demanding family, so the crockpot is ideal. This recipe is so delicious that I have to double or triple it because we all love the sauce so much… (Even the kids).

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Cup of Flour (or Gluten Free flour mix)
3 Tbsp Olive oIl
2 oz prosciutto (or bacon)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
⅓ cup dry marsala wine (or chicken broth)
⅓ cup Chicken Broth
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Instructions:

Place flour in shallow bowl and season with salt & pepper.
Coat the chicken evenly with the flour, shaking off the excess.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the chicken on both sides. Working in batches so you don’t over crowd the pan.Transfer to crock pot once browned.
In the same skillet place another 1 tbsp of olive oil and the prosciutto until it becomes crisp. Remove prosciutto onto paper towels.
Add mushrooms to skillet and cook until they begin to brown. Once brown stir in wine and broth, scraping up the browned bits of prosciutto stuck to the pan.
Pour the mushroom and wine sauce over the chicken in the crock pot.
Cover and cook on low for about 4 hours
Top with the cooked crumbled prosciutto and chopped parsley.

If you’d like to double, triple, or quadruple the recipe… You can!! It’s still amazing 🙂

Earn money from home. (100% not a scam!)

I have been taking surveys on inbox dollars for years. The payout process is what you make of it. The more you take, the more you earn! When you sign up, you’ll get $5.00 in your account to start with. http://www.inboxdollars.com/?r=ref13355837 click the link to sign up!

Burlap Giftwrap Bows DIY (easy)

These little bows are different, easy, and so cute. You can even alternate a piece of ribbon in between each layer to make it more colorful if you’d like!  I don’t think of myself as a crafty person but when I was able to pull these bows off, I knew that anyone can do this.

Supplies: Scissors, burlap, Glue, glue gun, and lighter.

You’ll wan’t to cut 7 strips of burlap making each on about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.

The length of the strips should be as follows. 2: 10″ long, 2: 9″ long, 2: 8″ long, and 1: 4″ long.

Glue all the strips into figure 8 but don’t glue the smallest strip yet. Starting with the 2 10″ figure 8’s, glue together making an “x”, glue another “x” with the 9″ pieces on top of the 10″ pieces, and do the same with the 8″ pieces. Make a circle out of the 4″ bow and glue, then glue that to the middle so the bow is complete!

HEAVENLY PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

SMOOTH PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

This no bake recipe is simply amazing!! My favorite thing in the world is chocolate and peanut butter mixed together, Can you get any better than that?! This is a total MUST on my holiday goodie making list.

INGREDIENTS:

-½ cup creamy peanut butter (substitute other nut butters, if needed)

-3 tablespoons salted butter, softened

-1 cup+ powdered sugar

-8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chopped), semi-sweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate kisses.

INSTRUCTIONS:

*Mix peanut butter and butter together in a mixing bowl.

*Gradually stir in powdered sugar until combined well into a dough ball. If needed, add more powdered sugar a little at a time until mixture holds together in a large ball.

*Cover and let peanut butter dough sit for about 15 minutes to firm up, or cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to form balls.

*Shape into 1-inch balls, place on a baking sheet, cover and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to allow to firm up. Dough balls should hold shape before dipping in chocolate. Add more refrigeration time if necessary.
*Melt chocolate according to package instructions.

*Dip peanut butter balls one at a time into melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip off.

*Place on waxed paper lined baking sheet, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

NOTES:

Before beginning, make sure  you have room for a cookie sheet on one of the shelves in the fridge. COOLING IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THIS RECIPE!!