Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

I've got a cookie jar full of yum and I've gotta give you the recipe :)

Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup chunky peanut butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream together butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar. Stir in eggs. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix all together. Put tablespoon-size scoops on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 14 minutes.

Makes about 45 cookies, about 130 calories per cookie. Super yummy!

Ham & Potato Breakfast Skillet

This is so fast, easy, cost-effective, and delicious... had to share it! Copy cat of Village Inn's breakfast skillets!

Ham and Potato Breakfast Skillet
6 potatoes
2 Tbsp butter
6 eggs
1 lb ham, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
1 Tbsp minced onions
Seasoning salt, to taste
Salt & Pepper, to taste

In a large pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Dice the potatoes and cook them in the butter until golden brown, stirring frequently. Season with minced onions, seasoning salt, and salt and pepper.

Keep the heat on and stir in eggs. When the eggs are all cooked, throw in the ham. Dump the can of tomatoes with green chilies, mix in the cheese, and stir it all together till the cheese is all melted.

It does not take long and this meal will feed a lot of people for a lot of happy tummies! :)

Side note- try it with other kinds of meats too! I bet bacon or sausage would be delicious!

Homemade Rumbi Rice Bowls

This turned out great. Healthy, filling, delicious, and much cheaper than eating out at one of our favorite restaurants- Rumbi Island Grill! :) I'm excited about this new recipe! It tastes quite a bit like the restaurant version! I got the inspiration from Favorite Family Recipes. Mine's just a little easier :) Hope you like it!

Rumbi Rice
2 cups uncooked white rice
1 can coconut milk
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 Tbsp sugar
Vegetable oil
1 can red beans

Line the bottom of a large pot with oil. Stir fry the rice until it's coated and sizzling. Add the coconut milk, water, and sugar. Cover and cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the red beans.

Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp ginger

Stir till sugar dissolves

Chicken and vegetables
1-2 lbs chicken breast
1 pkg frozen chopped veggies (I used broccoli stir fry)
Vegetable oil
Teriyaki Sauce (recipe above)

Cut the chicken into small pieces and cook with oil on a frying pan. When the chicken is cooked tender (easy to cut into), drizzle half of the teriyaki sauce on it and stir fry for a few minutes. Add the vegetables and stir in the rest of the teriyaki sauce. Cover and let simmer till the vegetables are thawed. Stir fry till they're cooked through. Remove from heat.

Combine the chicken and veggies with the Rumbi rice, and enjoy!

Crock Pot Hawaiian Haystacks

It's so easy, and you can make this meal as simple or as elegant as you want! Yum!

Crock Pot Hawaiian Haystacks
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
2 cans condensed cream of chicken
1/2 package frozen broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt to taste

Optional topping ideas:
Chow mein noodles
Diced tomatoes
Coconut
Shredded chicken

Canned pineapple

Cook the rice with 3 cups water, and salt to taste, in the crock pot on High for about 1.5 hours. When the rice is cooked, add cream of chicken, broccoli, and cheese. Stir it together and set crock pot to "warm" until you're ready to eat it. Top it how you want, or eat it as is. Enjoy! :)

Cafe Rio Style Chicken Salad

I have a new favorite meal!!!!!! This one takes the cake, it was sooooo good!!! Let me teach you how to make this knock-off Cafe Rio Chicken Salad, so you can enjoy it too!!

Cilantro Lime Rice
2 cups uncooked white rice
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups water
1/4 cup lime juice
1 Tbsp dried cilantro
Salt to taste

In a large pot on the stove top, heat the oil and slightly fry the rice in it. Then pour in the water and other ingredients. Cover and let it boil until the water is all absorbed and the rice is tender (add more water if necessary). Stir well and remove from heat.

This is the bottom layer of your salad.

The next layer is a can of Seasoned Black Beans. Drain it and heat it in a small pot on the stove.

Now for the chicken. I got the recipe from Mandy's Recipe Box, and I wouldn't change a thing. It was perfect!

Cafe Rio Chicken
2 lbs chicken breasts
1 cup zesty Italian dressing
1 packet ranch dressing mix (mixed with 1/2 cup water)
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 Tbsp chili powder

Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on High 5-6 hours. Shred with fork.

Top the salad with romaine lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing. Voila!! A delicious homemade meal, healthier and less expensive than eating out at Cafe Rio/Costa Vida (which might I add are my very FAVORITE restaurants). Try it. Love it. Yum!!!

Cafe Rio Style Chicken Salad
Cilantro Lime rice
Seasoned Black beans
Cafe Rio style chicken
Romaine lettuce
Shredded cheddar cheese
Ranch dressing

Layer it, in that order. Try adding a tortilla, tortilla chips, salsa, avocado, whatever you want! Enjoy!!! :) :)

Crash Hot Potatoes

Tonight I tried the recipe from The Pioneer Woman for Crash Hot Potatoes. It was a hit! We ate it with some delicious grilled steak, watched some football... it was a great Saturday. God bless America :)

Crash Hot Potatoes
Boil potatoes till fork tender (about 20 minutes)
Drizzle olive oil generously on a baking sheet
Smash potatoes individually on the baking sheet (I used the bottom of a big cup to smash them, it worked great)
Drizzle more olive oil on each potato
Season generously (I used salt, pepper, chives, parsley, and seasoning salt)
Bake at 450 for about 25 minutes

They were crispy and delicious!! We loved them!! I definitely have a new go-to potato dish. While it took a little time, it wasn't hard at all, and it would be easy to make a whole bunch. I can't wait to make it again!!

Spicy Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Here's tonight's dinner! Delicioso!!

Spicy Crock Pot Mac and Cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni
2 cups cheddar cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the macaroni according to package instructions, then drain. Dump in the crock pot with all other ingredients. Season generously with salt and pepper, and stir. Cook on low for about an hour, then set to "warm" until you're ready to eat it (if you don't wanna use the crock pot, cook it all in a pan in the oven for about half hour at 350). Super easy, fun twist on the regular American dish! Sure to please the whole fam.

**Optional: If you're in the mood for something meatier, throw in some ground beef! Yum! :)

Chicken Bacon Florentine Pasta

I used the recipe from 5 dollar dinners. Here is my slightly adapted version. It was OH so delicious :)

Chicken Bacon Florentine Pasta
1 box penne pasta
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
5 strips of bacon, cut and cooked
10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/4 C Olive oil
Dried Oregano, to taste
Dried Thyme, to taste
Dried basil, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste

Cook and drain the pasta, then toss in all other ingredients. Serve warm. It was so delicious!

Crock Pot Cheeseburger Rice

Crock Pot Cheeseburger Rice
1 1/2 C uncooked rice
3 C water
1 lb ground beef, cooked
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1/2 C onion, diced
2 C cheddar cheese

Montreal steak seasoning, to taste
Cook the rice and water in the crock pot, about 1.5 hours on High. Stir in all other ingredients and let it sit on "warm" until you are ready to eat it. Yummm :)

Best Crock Pot Mexican Casserole ever!

This easy recipe will make you feel so good about yourself. Everyone who eats it will call you the best cook of all time!

Okay so it's possible I'm exaggerating a tiny bit, but seriously, this stuff is GOOD. And I'm super proud of it. :) The meat adds a lot, but for a quicker version (or a vegetarian version) you can leave it out and still have a delicious, high-protein meal!

Crock Pot Mexican Casserole
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can corn
1 packet taco seasoning
1 Tbsp minced onion
1 cup salsa (your favorite kind)
8 oz sour cream
8 oz shredded cheese (any kind)
1 lb cooked ground beef OR cooked shredded chicken (optional)

Stick rice in the crock pot, set to "high," with 3 cups water. Cook for about 1 1/2 hours.

Set crock pot to "warm." Dump all other ingredients into crock pot. Mix, and let it all warm up together for a couple hours. Serves well with tortilla chips!

Seriously guys, it's so easy. And SO. YUMMY. Enjoy!