Slow Cooker Beans

I went to a pot luck for Independence Day with my family and my mom taught me this recipe. It's really good and so simple!

4 cans of various beans, drained. I chose black, red kidney, white kidney and garbanzos (chick peas)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, finely choped
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (I run mine through a press)
10 strips of cooked bacon, cut up into bite sized pieces
1/4 cup prepared mustard
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup barbecue sauce or more (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix up ingredients in the slow cooker. Slow cook on low for 4-6 hours. Makes about 8 cups, maybe more. Super easy!

Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookies

So some of my friends and people from my church youth group need to eat gluten-free. This recipe compliments the previous cookie recipe (Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies) because that one requires an egg and an egg yolk. This recipe here requires an egg and an egg white. Perfect split of three eggs between the two!

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 egg
1 egg white
2 1/2 cups almond flour (I use Blue Diamond)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in extracts, egg and egg white. In a bowl, mix almond flour with soda and salt. Beat flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Portion out dough with tablespoon-sized scoop two inches apart onto parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 11-13 minutes or until edges brown up a little. Let stand on cookie sheet 5 minutes; then remove to cooling rack. Store loosely covered. Makes about 3-4 dozen.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love to bake, but believe it or not, I didn't have a really good chocolate chip cookie recipe! I have a fabulous peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe, but until now, I didn't have a plain one. So here it is, and if I find another one that is better, I'll post it too!

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup bread flour
2 tsp. corn starch
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugars in a mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and egg yolk one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla bean paste. In a separate bowl, stir together flours, corn starch, soda and salt. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture. Do not over mix--only mix enough to combine. Stir in chocolate chips (I do this by hand). With a two-tablespoon sized scoop, portion out dough two inches apart on parchment paper covered cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 10 min. and 30 seconds, or just until edges are starting to turn golden-brown. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes and remove to cooling rack. Makes about 30 cookies (maybe a little more).