Monster Cookies

Ingredients:
12 eggs, beaten thoroughly
2 pounds brown sugar
4 cups white sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon syrup
8 teaspoons baking powder
1 pound butter
3 pounds peanut butter
18 cups oatmeal (42 ounce box)
1 pound semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pound m&m candies

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Using a very large bowl, mix the first nine ingredients in the order they are listed.
• Stir in chocolate chips and m&m candies.
• Using an ice cream scoop, drop six (6) scoops of dough per cookie sheet, and flatten slightly.
• Bake for 12 minutes or until done.
• Dough can be refrigerated and baked in batches at your convenience.

My note: This is a recipe I cut out of the newspaper years ago. It takes a HUGE bowl to mix together. I used to take my two biggest bowls, and kinda sorta mix part in one and part in the other...I finally bought a great big stainless steel bowl at a restaurant supply company just for this recipe. It makes LOTS of BIG cookies, and they are SO yummy!

Bread Pudding with Irish Mist Sauce

The bread pudding is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (1981). One of my three most used cookbooks. The Irish Mist Sauce is my own.

Bread Pudding

Beat together 4 eggs, 2 cups milk, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place 2 1/2 cups dry bread cubes (3 1/2 slices) in an 8 x 1 1/2 inch round baking dish. Sprinkle 1/3 cup raisins over bread. Pour egg mixture over all. Bake in a 325 degree F. oven for 40 to 45 minutes or till a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool slightly. Makes 6 servings.

Irish Mist Sauce

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup milk

3 Tablespoons Irish Mist Liqueur

Directions:

Mix together the cornstarch and sugar. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir the sugar and cornstarch into the butter. Pour in the milk, and cook stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat, and stir in the Irish Mist. Serve warm over bread pudding.

My note: I used Irish Mist, because it struck my fancy. You could substitute any hard liquor...bourbon, whiskey, rum.

Stuffed Bell Pepper

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 box Spanish Rice-a-Roni

2 cups of water (as called for in package directions)

1 15.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

4 to 6 green bell peppers

shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Over medium high heat, brown meat in a skillet. Push meat to one side of pan, and if the meat is very lean add about 1/2 Tablespoon of butter to the empty side of the pan (if there is a little drippings in the bottom of the pan, omit the butter; if there's a lot of grease in the pan, drain it off). Pour the rice/vermicelli mix to the empty side of the pan, and leave for a few minutes stirring to even the browning. Add the seasoning packet to the pan, and stir together with rice and meat. Add the diced tomatoes, the 2 cups of water, and the raisins, stirring to mix. Cover pan and cook for about twenty minutes.

In the mean time, wash the peppers, cut their tops off, and remove the seeds and membranes. Also preheat oven to 35o degrees F.

After the rice is cooked, stir a cup of shredded cheddar cheese into the rice. Spoon the rice into the peppers, and place in a casserole dish. Place a small amount of water in the bottom of the dish. Cover, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Top with a little more cheese, and return to oven just until melted.

My note: You can leave the raisins out if you like, or rather if you don't like, but I love them included.

Dump Cake

Ingredients:

1 can blueberry pie filling

1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 box yellow cake mix

1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter or margarine

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

In ungreased 9 x 13 inch cake pan, spread pie filling, then spoon in pineapple (trying not to mix the two). Sprinkle cake mix over pineapple. Pour melted butter evenly over cake mix, then spread coconut over, and lastly pecans. Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees F.

My note: This is such an easy recipe (with such an unfortunate name...I'm sure because you basically just dump everything in). I think the recipe has been included in every church or organization cookbook I've ever owned. You can use other fruit pie fillings as well...cherry is nice with a splash of almond extract added to it. Even better served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Drew's Kick-Ass Beans

This recipe was shared with me by Drew D., aka (affectionately known as) the Crazy Cat Lady. The title refers to the awesome flavor, not digestive repercussions. :)

Ingredients:
3 cups dried pinto beans
8 slices of thick-cut bacon, cut into about 1inch pieces
1 onion, cut into large chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into large chunks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 beer
salt to taste

Directions:
Rinse the beans and pick out any stones or bad beans. Place in large pot, and add 10 cups of water. Bring to a rolling boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, and cover pot. Let sit for one hour. Add remaining ingredients to the pot. Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, or enough to maintain a slow boil. Continue cooking for several hours until beans are tender. During the cooking time, add water to the pot as needed.

Beans cooked covered, low, and slow will have a thinner broth. I like to uncover them, and let the broth reduce so it's thick and hearty.

My note: Don't be timid with substitutions. You can use sausage or ham instead of the bacon. Today I don't have a green bell pepper, so that will have to be left out. No beer in the house today, but I had a bottle of wine in the fridge, so I used about a third of it. If you don't drink, leave it out.

I serve with a fresh-baked pan of cornbread. Any cornbread that is left over, I put in a big zip lock freezer bag and throw in the freezer. I make a fresh batch of cornbread each time we have soup in the fall, by adding all the leftovers to the freezer bag, when Thanksgiving rolls around, I have plenty of cornbread for the dressing. One less thing to do for the busy holiday preparations.