Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolatechip Cookies

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

4 1/2 cups uncooked regular oats

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1 cup (6 ounces) candy-coated chocolate pieces

2 teaspoons baking soda

Beat sugars and butter at low speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add eggs and next 3 ingredients, beating until combined. Stir in oats and remaining ingredients.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.

Bake, in batches, at 350° for 15 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chewy-red-white-blue-cookies-10000000458980/

Crispy Slow Cooker Carnitas

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/crispy-slow-cooker-carnitas/

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Yield: Serves 6-8

A flavorful and easy way to make crispy carnitas using your slow cooker!

Ingredients
1 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
1 (4-5 lb.) lean boneless pork roast, excess fat trimmed, cut into 3-inch chunks
8 oz. beer
1 large white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. chipotle powder (or 1 chipotle in adobo sauce)
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Method

Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the pork and sear on each side until browned (about 2 minutes per side). Transfer pork to the slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients, and give the mixture a careful stir to combine. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until the pork is completely tender and shreds easily with a fork.

Once the pork is cooked, preheat your broiler to high heat and prepare two baking sheets with aluminum foil. Use a fork to shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, and then use a slotted spoon to transfer it to the prepared baking sheets, spreading it out evenly in a single layer. Reserve the remaining broth from the slow cooker.

Place one sheet under the broiler for about 5 minutes, or until the edges of the pork begin crisping up. Remove the sheet, and use a spatula or tongs to carefully toss the pork. Then ladle about 1/4 cup of the remaining slow cooker broth over the pork. Broil for an additional 5 minutes to get the meat more crispy. Then remove and ladle an additional 1/4 cup of broth over the crispy pork.

Repeat with the other baking sheet of pork.

Serve immediately in tacos, burritos, salads, or whatever sounds good to you! Or cover and refrigerate or freeze.

Cowboy Cookies

vegetable oil cooking spray
parchment paper
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c granulated sugar
3/4 c light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 c old-fashioned oats
6 oz semi-sweetened chocolate, cut into 1/4 in chunks (1 cup)
3 oz (3/4 c) pecan halves
1/2 c shredded unsweetened coconut (I substituted rice crispies)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Coat baking sheets with cooking spray, line with parchment and spry parchment.  (only need to do this once)

2.  Sift flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.

3.  Beat butter and sugars in mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla.

4.  Reduce speed to low, and slowly add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated.  Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans and coconut until combined. Dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

5.  Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop or small spoon, drop dough onto baking sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart.  Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, until edges of cookies begin to brown.

6.  Transfer baking sheets to wire rack to cool for 5 minutes.  Transfer cookies to rack and let cool.  Cookies can be stored up to 3 days... if they could even make it that long!

Playdough

Here are two ways to make play dough.

1.  Combine in a medium saucepan:
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tsp Cream of Tartar
2 Tbsp oil
food coloring
2. Add 1 cup flour and stir over medium heat until mixture congeals and pulls away from sides of pan.  Mixture may still be lumpy and that's ok.
3.Knead the dough on the counter until the lumps come out.
4. Store in airtight container.

All Natural Play Dough
1.  In a medium sized bowl, combine 1 cup flour and 3/8 cup salt.
2.  Pour in 1 Tbsp vegetable oil and natural dye chosen from chart below, and stir well.
3.  Knead dough on floured surface.  If clay is too soft, add more flour.
4. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator.

Brown - 3/8 cup plus 1 Tbsp hot water and 4 Tbsp cocoa powder
Fushsia - 3/8 cup hot beet juice From 15 oz can of beets
Orange - 3/8 cup hot water and 1 Tbsp paprika
Yellow - 3/8 cup hot water and 1 tsp tumeric

Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are vegan and verrrry yummy!

                                                                           

DOUBLE RECIPE:   (Single recipe… see below)

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 cup unrefined sugar

1 1/3 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

4-6 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (add almond extract too!)

1 cup canola oil (a little generous)

1 1/3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).

In a bowl, Sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add the sugar and salt, and stir until well combined.

In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup with the molasses and vanilla, then stir in the oil until well combined. Add the wet mixture to the dry, along with the chocolate chips, and stir through until just well combined (do not over-mix). Place large spoonfuls of the batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten a little.

Bake for 11 minutes, until just golden (if you bake for much longer, they will dry out). Let cool on the sheet for no more than 1 minute (again, to prevent drying), then transfer to a cooling rack.

Mini size scoop:     9-10  minutes

Note: Unbleached all-purpose flour or spelt flour produces a more classic cookie taste and texture, but you can use whole-wheat pastry flour and still get a delicious cookie. For a wheat-free version, use spelt flour, but add an extra 2-4 tablespoons of the spelt flour to the dry mix (the amount needed varies with brand of spelt flour and whether you are using a refined spelt flour versus a less processed spelt flour.)

Note: If, as you are mixing together your batter it appears quite floury and thick, simply mix together a couple of teaspoons more canola and maple syrup and incorporate it into the batter. Sometimes humidity, type of flour used, and other factors can affect the density of the batter and so a touch more liquid may be needed.

Single recipe

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (see note)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt

1⁄2 cup unrefined sugar

1⁄2 cup canola oil (a little generous)

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

1⁄2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

2 – 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2⁄3 cup non-dairy chocolate chips

© Copyright 2005 Dreena Burton