Julie Berg's Monster Cookies

1 lb. butter
3 lb. peanut butter
2 lb. brown sugar
4 cups white sugar
1 dozen eggs
1 T. vanilla
1 T. maple syrup
8 tsp. baking soda
5 lbs. oats
1 lb. chocolate chips
1 lb. M&Ms

I usually cut this recipe in half. Mix together in order listed with mixer. Transfer to a very large bowl. Then add oats, chips and M&Ms. Stir till mixed well. Drop by ice cream scoop onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 8-11 minutes or until done.

Rachelle's Perfect Chocolate Cake

1 c. sifted, unsweetened cocoa
2 c. boiling water
2 3/4 c. sifted flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. softened butter
2 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
In a medium bowl, combine cocoa with boiling water, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Cool completely. Sift flour with soda, salt, and baking powder. Preheat oven to 350. Grease well and lightly flour three 9 x 1 1/2 " layer cake pans (rounds). In a large bowl of electric mixer, at high speed beat butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, scraping bowl occasionally until light, about 5 minutes. At low speed, beat in flour mixture in fourths, alternating with cocoa mixture (in thirds), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Do not over beat. Divide evenly into pans; smooth the top. Bake at 25-30 min. or until surface springs back. Cool ten minutes, loosen and set on racks to cool. You can put frosting or whipping cream between the cake layers.
Frosting:
1 pkg. 6 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. light cream
1 c. butter
2 1/2 c. powdered sugar
Combine chocolate chips, cream, butter and stir over med. heat until smooth. Pour into a bowl with a wire whisk blend in powdered sugar. Set the bowl in a bigger bowl with ice in it. Beat with the wire whisk until the frosting holds its shape. This is a little labor intensive but so worth it when you get to eat it!!

Chillie

2 15 oz. cans kidney beans
1 medium green bell pepper
2 medium onions
2-3 cloves garlic
4 T. olive oil
1 1/2 pounds ground chuck (or one pound)
1 1/2 -2 T. mild chili powder
1 T. cumin
1 1/2 T. flour
3 c. chicken or beef stock
1 tsp. salt
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1-2 T. steak sauce, such as A-1
1/2 -2 cups additional stock, tomato juice or water if needed.

1. Drain the liquid from the canned beans. Rinse the beans well in a colander or sieve and set them aside.
2. Chop the green pepper and dice the onions.
3. Brown the hamburger and drain and put the cooked hamburger in a big pot.
4. Pour a few tablespoons of oil in the empty skillet and add the onions and peppers and saute them for about 6 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the minced garlic and cook two minutes more.
5. Sprinkle the chili powder, cumin and flour over the vegetables in the skillet and saute for one minute more, stirring nonstop. Stir in one cup of the chicken stock and cook for one minute. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the meat pot, along with the salt, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and steak sauce. Stir in the remaining two cups of stock and the beans.
6. Gradually bring the chili to a low boil, stirring it occasionally. Reduce the heat slightly and cook the chili, covered, at a gentle simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. When done, the chili should be thick, but still somewhat soupy. If it starts to get too thick, add some extra stock or tomato juice, or water.
7. Serve with sour cream, cheese or onions if desired.

Corn Bread

1 c. corn meal from a box
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. milk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine cornmeal, flour sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl. Combine milk, oil and egg in small bowl, mix well. Add milk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until blended. Pour into grease 8" square pan. If you have a sweet tooth, add 1/4 c. honey, reducing milk to 3/4 c. or 3 T. sugar
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Sauce for Spare Ribs

1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. vinegar
1/4 c. orange juice
2 garlic loves, minced
1 T. Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
Heat all of the above in a sauce pan until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. You can brush ribs with this if you are BBQing or just pour it over spare ribs in a crock pot.

Pumpkin Loaf

1 cup sugar
3/4 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 c. pumpkin
walnuts

Mix together. Grease and line with wax paper in a jelly roll pan. Pour and spread mixture. Sprinkle with chopped walnuts. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Put on a linen towel and peel off the wax paper. Roll in towel; cool for 2 hours.

Filling: 8 oz. cream cheese, 2 T butter, 1 c. powdered sugar, 3/4 tsp. vanilla
Whip together. Unroll the pumpkin loaf Spread filling. Roll and refrigerate for one hour before cutting. Enjoy!

Sweet Pork Salad similar to Cafe Rio

Sweet Pork
3 lb pork roast
1 c brown sugar
1 c Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp powdered ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tb dried minced onions

Cook all ingredients in a crock pot on low all day (abt 8 hours). One hour before serving, remove roast and shred it. Dump out all cooking juices and place shredded pork back into crockpot and add…

1 c brown sugar

1 c red enchilada sauce

Cilantro Lime Rice
1 c. uncooked rice
1 tsp. butter
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp. lime zest
1 can (16 oz) chicken broth
1 1/4 c. water
Cook all of the above in a rice cooker or how you would normally cook rice. When it it finished, pour 2 T. lime juice, 2 tsp. sugar and 3 T. chopped cilantro over it and mix well.

Salad Dressing
1 7 oz can Salsa Verde
4-5 fresh tomatillos, cut up.
1 1/2 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix
1 c. sour cream
1-2 seeded jalepenos (optional)
1 T. sugar
juice of one lime
handful of cilantro
salt and pepper
blend it all in a blender. Will keep for about three weeks in the fridge.

Black Beans
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

Just start with a warmed tortilla on your plate then add the rice and beans, lettuce, pork, salad dressing and salsa or guacamole if you want.