Orange Julius

This is a DEFINITE family favorite for breakfast! We have also taken the leftovers (when there actually are some) and put them in little cups with popsicle sticks to have orange julius popsicles. :)

ORANGE JULIUS

1 C water

1 C milk

1/3 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 carton of orange juice concentrate

12-18 ice cubes

In a blender, put all ingredients. Mix well for a few minutes until all the ice is crushed and the drink is thick and creamy. Serve immediately.

Bajio Sweet Rice

Original recipe found here

BAJIO SWEET RICE

*1/2-1 tablespoon vegetable oil
*1/2 of a white onion, chopped (add more or less to your taste)
*1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
*1 1/3 cups white rice
*3 cups chicken broth
*1/4-1/2 cup white sugar

Directions

Put a little oil in bottom of pan (maybe about 1/2-1 tablespoon).

Saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the chopped cilantro (no big stems) and saute a minute more.

Add the rice, cooking until it is light brown (being careful not to burn).

Combine the chicken broth and sugar, letting sugar dissolve. Then stir into rice until combined. Bring to a boil.

Cover and let cook on low, med-low until rice is done, about 25-30 minutes. Fluff with a fork before serving.

*****NOTES:

I actually wish I had added a little bit of onion powder to this to help ground the sweetness. However, it was REALLY tasty either way. I threw in some chopped red pepper, and we love that.

VERY TASTY...VERY EASY...especially if you are missing good ol' Bajio. :)

Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

First off, I have to give credit to where I actually found this recipe. Click here for the original.

A lot of the recipes I found online for the Cafe Rio sweet pork used more expensive cuts of meat than I was willing to buy. :) So I bought a cheap boneless pork roast to make mine with. Because of this, I was afraid to use one of the recipes that had a shorter cook time since I wanted to make sure my roast was really good and tender.

Turns out it wouldn't have mattered anyway because my meat was ready to shred at a shorter time than I thought. But my point is, that's what peaked my interest in this recipe.

(I am going to write this recipe with my own variations)



3 1/2 pounds Boneless pork roast
3 cans Coke (NOT diet) (though I have heard Dr. Pepper works too)
1/4 c. brown sugar
dash garlic salt
1/4 c. water
1 can sliced green chilies
1 can red enchilada sauce
1 c. brown sugar

Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. (I marinated overnight for ease in cooking)

Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.

(I cooked mine for 4 hours on high. Basically started the crockpot first thing in the morning and left it until lunch time.)

In a food processor or blender, blend 1/2 can Coke, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about a cup, you can add a little more or less to taste..). If it looks too thick, add more Coke little by little.

Put shredded pork and sauce in crockpot and cook on low for 2 hours.

---THIS WAS SOOO YUMMY! Worth the wait! Also, in regards to the coke, chilies, enchilada saic and brown sugar mixture that you blend together, I did that in the morning, so the evening prep was SO MINIMAL.

Served with Bajio Sweet rice and tortillas, and red pepper corn. YUM!

Scrumdidlyumptious chocolate chip cookies...

The is a recipe passed down through the grapevine...from my sister who got it from here sister-in-law who got it from her famlily. :) And it is SOOOOO good. THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe I have ever had.

And because it's hers, I am passing it on as she wrote it. PICTURES to come!


1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 c shortening
2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 - 2 1/2 c flour
2 c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325. Mix the two sugars and the shortening together until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients except flour and mix well. Add flour and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop batter by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 11-12 minutes.

Notes from the source: Experiment with the amount of flour you use. I prefer to use 2 1/4 cups, because I like my cookies a little chewier. 2 1/2 cups will make them a little thicker. At high altitude in Colorado (where my dad put together this recipe), we bake the cookies for exactly 11 1/2 minutes, and they come out perfect. I usually have to cook them for several minutes longer in California. And they won't look quite done when you take them out - if the tops begin to look brown, they've cooked too long. We take them out and let them harden up on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, and then cool them on a cookie rack, so the bottoms don't burn on the hot pan. I know it's a lot of detailed instructions, but my family is kind of obsessive about cookies, and we've spent a lot of time trying to get it right. The recipe allows for a lot of playing, though - I will often throw in some oatmeal, or some toffee chips, or other things.

YUMMMMMMMY!

Yogurt sundaes

I don't know that I can really call this a "RECIPE", but I put it here because it's something my kids LOVE. :)

Yogurt for breakfast is okay...but yogurt sundaes are gobbled right up. I have to admit, I think they are pretty tasty too. You could add any kind of toppings you like, but for us we use:

-About half a cup of Danon Light and Fit yogurt (you could choose any you want, but this is pretty much the only kind I can get at my grocery store)

-banana (cut how you like)

-Cool Whip

-fun sprinkles

-cherry on top

Tasty, tasty...the kids go wild!

Better than sex cake

WOW! 3 whole months since my last post. I can't believe it...I have been busy with a move, the holidays, family coming to visit, and the winter blahs...anyone else feeling that way?? I have so many recipes to post! I took pictures over the past few months, and now I just need t get myself motivated to put it all on here.

I have been thinking about the big Valentine's day dinner tomorrow. I can't decide what to do! I would love to hear what you are planning--if anyone is willing to give some ideas! Last year we did our own tour of Italy with a sampling of chicken Parmesan, baked ravioli, and fettuccine Alfredo. Salad and breadsticks made the meal complete and we finished it off with some better than sex cake. (though, we had the missionaries from our church over for dinner, so we called it better than baptism cake! :)

That reminded me I never posted the recipe for it! So, here goes~

1 German chocolate or other chocolate cake, baked, 13x9x2-inch
3/4 cup fudge topping
3/4 cup caramel or butterscotch topping
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 bag of toffee pieces
1 tub of whipped topping

To make this in a regular 9x13 pan:
Bake cake as directed on box. After the cake has cooled, Pour (one at a time) fudge, butterscotch, and condensed milk over the top of the cake and let each flavor soak in before adding the next. Put desired amount of toffee on the top. Frost the cake with the whipped topping and remaining toffee pieces to decorate the top.

To make this in a trifle dish (like I did):

Bake cake as directed. After the cake has cooled, cut into small pieces and divide into 3 parts. Layer the bottom with 1/3 of the cake pieces. Drizzle 1/4 C of the chocolate fudge, 1/4 C of the Carmel, and 1/4 C Of the sweetened condensed milk. Top with desired amount of toffee pieces and put a layer of cool whip. Repeat layers 2 more times ad top with cool whip and toffee pieces.

This dessert is really good if you let it sit for a bit before serving. Let chill in the fridge for a couple hours or even sit overnight. It's so yummy letting all the flavors mix together.

Enjoy your Valentine's day everyone!