Good Product: BC Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix

So I tried the Betty Crocker GF cookies from the box this week that I picked up at a regular grocery store.  Big thumbs up!  Here's the edits I made:

• Mix up the dough as the box says
• Refrigerate dough overnight (Yes, I do this because I like to make one pan at a time with my cookies so we can eat them fresh and warm.  I think that putting them in the fridge overnight really helped because the ones I cooked right after mixing the dough were not as good as the overnight batch).
• Taking the dough right from the fridge, spoon it on the pan
• Cook for 9 minutes on 350 degrees (my oven of course, yours may vary)
• Pull cookies out and use the spatula to scrape them off the pan carefully, but!...
• Leave the cookies on the pan to cool and finish cooking in the middle on the hot cookie sheet  (The recipe tells you to let the cookie sheet cool completely between batches anyway
• Enjoy while still slightly warm. 

This method seemed to give me the best, most solid and puffy cookie.  Scraping them and then letting them cool kept them from sticking so bad to the pan.  If I just left them to cool straight from the oven then they glued themselves to the pan and they fell apart trying to get them off.

Great cookies!  Only a very small difference in texture from regular wheat flour cookies.

Greek/Mediterranean Tacos

GREEK/Mediterranean TACOS

Anthony and I came up with this recipe ourselves.  We call it Greek Tacos (thanks to Diane for helping us name it) because it tastes like Greek food even though it's not especially Greek. :)

 Ingredients:

• Corn tortillas - (pitas would make it more Greek, but more expensive/difficult too)
• Mozzarella cheese
• Breakfast sausage, cooked (gf) or leftover Jerked chicken, cut up into small pieces (preferable)
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Spinach, cooked or raw, however you like it
• Mushrooms

And top it with:

• Cucumbers
• Italian dressing - just a couple drops (Wishbone or other GF version)
• Feta Cheese (or Parmesan cheese if you are like us and don't have Feta around the house) 
• Romaine Lettuce, shredded

I put down corn tortillas on a baking sheet, covered them in cheese, mushrooms, spinach, cooked sausage or chicken, and tomatoes. I put them in the oven long enough for it to get hot and the cheese to melt. Anthony threw on cut up cucumbers as they came out. I rolled it up like a taco and ate them like that and they were delicious, but Anthony also added a little Italian dressing, Parmesan cheese, and shredded lettuce to the top. I had a bite of his and it tasted amazing.

Messy goodness!

"Num num num num num. " - Cookie Monster 

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Crockpot Fajitas

(^uncooked in the crockpot - gorgeous!^)

1 large green bell pepper, sliced

1-1 1/2 lbs chicken, sliced

1/2 -1 onion sliced

1/4 cup water

Fajita seasoning

Cumin

Black Pepper

Red Pepper

Garlic Salt, or Salt and Garlic

Oregano

(I sprinkle in the amounts I like but if you like to know how much you should add in you can click here for a seasoning recipe).

Cover and cook in crockpot for 5-6 hours on low.

To create the rest:

Corn Tortillas

Tomatoes

Lettuce

Green Onions

Cheese (your choice)

Sour Cream

Salsa

Mexican Rice

Black Beans

YUM YUM!

Mexican Rice

Mexican Rice definitely spices up a meal.  You could add chicken and veggies and make it a great meal. Yum, sounds good.  I sometimes use it along side my homemade quick chili. 

I give this 5 out of 5 stars for being just plain good.

Mexican Rice
(from allrecipes.com)

1 cup uncooked rice

3 Tblsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic salt (garlic powder if you're cutting down the salt)

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth (or veggie, or half and half)

Heat oil and add rice. Cook, stir constantly until golden. Sprinkle with garlic salt and cumin. Stir in onions and cook until "tender." Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or more (20 minutes didn't cut it for me so I just watched until it looked right - you know, like rice is supposed to look). Fluff with fork.

I tend to make this in advance for a meal and refrigerate and reheat later in the evening. I have to admit I've never made just one cup at any time. I've made 2, 3, and 4 cups, so I've doubled, tripled, and quadrupled according to how many guests I've had (13 guests = 4 cups rice, but gives some leftovers, just in case you were wondering, lol).