Mom's Sugar Cookies- Even Better than Before!

2 Cups Margarine or Butter
3 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add in the eggs one at a time, stirring after each addition. Cream well. Stir in vanilla. Mix salt, baking soda, baking powder into flour. Add flour into batter. Divide dough and form into flat disks. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour. I usually chill overnight. This dough freezes beautifully. Roll dough out ¼ inch thick and cut into shapes. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. I bake until edges are slightly golden.

Sweet Pork Salads

Yeah for Janet Eyering and her Living for Less recipes!

Sweet Pork

Ingredients:

• 1 (3-5 lb.) sirloin or boneless pork loin roast
• 1 cup salsa (**sale** Don Julio 16 oz. $1.79)
• 1 cup packed brown sugar

Method:

Place ingredients in a greased 3 ½ - 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat 8-10 hours. Shred pork with a fork or potato masher before serving. Use meat in salads, burritos, or tacos.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked converted white rice
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated lime peel (zest)
  
• 1 can (15 ounces) chicken broth
• ¼ cup water
• 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3 Tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro

Method:

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, lime zest, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl, combine lime juice, sugar, and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice. Serve warm.

Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 envelope Ranch Salad Dressing
• ½ envelope Fiesta Ranch Salad Dressing
• 6 tomatillos, husked and cut in half
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Juice from 2 freshly squeezed limes
  
• ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro

Method:

Combine all ingredients in a blender. And blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.

Ice Cream balls

I found these instructions on a fun site called Grandmas modern day trunk of treasures. Yummy.
This is a really easy recipe that is delicious and fun to make. I created the recipe myself and it has become a family favorite. It is a good dessert to follow mexican food.

Recipe: Ice Cream Balls yields 3 dozen

8 Cups Frosted Flakes, 4 Cups Honey Bunches of Oats with almonds, 1/2 C. brown sugar, 3 tsp. cinnamon, 14 oz. sweeted coconut, 1 & 1/2 gallons vanilla ice cream.

In a large mixing bowl place cereals, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Crush mixture with hands to a rough crumble and mix ingredients well. Add coconut and toss to blend.

Line 2 cookie sheets with wax paper and make room in the freezer for them to sit flat.

Allow Ice Cream to slightly soften. Make scoops (rough scoops okay) of ice cream and set 3 or 4 in the bowl of cereal mixture. Use your hands to pat coating onto the scoops and round the scoops with your hands. Place on cookies sheets. Repeat working quickly until first pan is filled. Place in freezer to freeze. Fill the second sheet the same way.

Allow to freeze at least 3 hours before serving.

To serve: Place the ice cream ball in a bowl. Top with a nice drizzle of honey, top with whipped cream and sliced almonds. You can garnish with a triangle of deep fried flour tortilla coated in cinnamon sugar.

Once the balls are frozen hard you can store them in plastic ice cream buckets or any other freezer safe container. They keep for about 6 weeks in the freezer.

It is hard to mess this recipe up. You can easily make any size batch you would like.

Lemon Cake

Quick link to a recipe that looked yummy.

Tres Leches Cake, Potluck Style

This is a variation of Betty's Recipe. It is best to make it a day in advance so the milks can soak in .

1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1 can evaporated milk, coconut milk, or 1 cup whole milk

For topping
2 cups heavy whipping cream
¼ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease and flour or spray bottom and sides of a 13 x 18 jelly roll pan. (Also known in my house as a cookie sheet)
  
• In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
• Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes. Poke top of hot cake every 1/2 inch with a serving fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking.
• In large bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk. Carefully pour evenly over top of cake. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight when possible to allow mixture to be absorbed into cake.
• Frost with whipped cream or Cool whip frosting
  
• Top with toasted coconut, fresh fruit, or cinnamon.
  

Used the vanilla pudding, milk and whipped topping frosting and served with fresh strawberries

Basic Omelet Recipe

Incredible Egg.org is the organization that taught me eggs get fluffy by adding water, and rubbery by adding milk! Here is their recipe for a basic omelet
(Multiply the recipe by as many servings as you need and use 1/2 cup of the egg mixture for each omelet.)

things you'll need

• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, optional
• Dash pepper, optional
• 1 teaspoon butter or cooking oil OR cooking spray

getting started

1. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs and water with the salt and pepper, if desired, until blended.
2. In a 7- to 10-inch omelet pan or skillet over medium-high heat, heat the butter until it’s just hot enough to sizzle a drop of water.
3. Pour in the egg mixture. (The mixture should set immediately at the edges).
4. With an inverted pancake turner, carefully push the cooked portions at the edges of the pan toward the center so the uncooked portions can reach the hot pan surface, tilting the pan and moving the cooked portions as necessary.
5. When the top of the omelet is thickened and no visible liquid egg remains, fill the omelet, if desired.
6. With a pancake turner, fold the omelet in half or roll it.
7. Invert the omelet onto a plate with a quick flip of the wrist or slide the omelet from the pan onto a serving plate.

Orange Bundt Cake

Preheat oven to 325° F. Carefully grease and flour Bundt pan. Or save some effort and use pan spray with flour, like Baker's Joy. Turn pan over to drain any puddled spray

Combine ingredients in a good size bowl:
1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 cup milk
3 oz cream cheese, softened (the foil has measurements on the side, like butter)
2 teaspoons grated orange peel (avoid grating down to the white pith, it'll taste bitter)
3 eggs

Mix on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.
Pour carefully into pan, tapping edges when finished to remove air pockets.

Combine all ingredients and mix for 2 minutes. Carefully pour or spoon batter into pan. (Fill no more than ¾ full) Tap on countertop to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for precisely 10 minutes. Lift pan and shake from side to side. You should hear the loose cake shifting from back and forth. Then put on serving plate on top of pan and flip over to easily place it. Make sure it is where you want it, after it cools it may be stuck on the plate pretty well. Remove pan. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Thanks Betty Crocker!

Yummy Cream Cheese Glaze

4-5 ounces cream cheese, softened (The rest of the 8 oz brick from the cake recipe)
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
2 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
2 Tablespoons milk

Blend well, color as desired, and pour over cooled cake.