Sweet Rice and Spicy Cilantro Dressing

I have been searching for a copycat recipe for the sweet rice that Bajio's makes. They actually use fruit juice-probably pineapple, but I can't find their recipe anywhere. This is a close second. I served this tonight on tortillas with bean, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and a yummy new spicy cilantro-lime dressing (recipe below).

Sweet Rice
1 T. oil
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1 1/3 cup white rice
3 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup sugar (you can add more or less depending on how sweet you like it)

Put a little oil in bottom of pan and saute chopped onion until translucent. Add the cilantro and saute for a minute more. Add the rice and cook until light brown-be careful not to burn. Combine the chicken broth and sugar so that the sugar dissolves (I actually put these two ingredients together in a Pyrex bowl and microwaved for a minute to make sure the sugar dissolved). Then stir the chicken broth mixture into rice. Bring to a boil and then cover the pan. Turn the heat down to low and let cook for 25-30 minutes, or until done. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Spicy Cilantro Dressing
tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 whole green onions, coarsely chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Place lime juice, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cilantro, green onions, and jalapeno peppers together in a blender or food processor. Process until well blended and smooth. Add sour cream and mayonnaise. Process again until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the container as necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Ranger Cookies

These are probably my #2 favorite cookie (right after chocolate chip). Thought I'd share.

Ranger Cookies

1 c butter
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
2 c flour
2 c quick cooking rolled oats
2 c corn flakes
1 c flaked coconut
1 c milk chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine with soda, powder, salt, flour. Mix well. Stir in oats, flakes, coconut, and chocolate chips. Form into 1 inch balls. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes

Banana Bars

J.D. made these tonight. He got the recipe from a woman at work. Although he says that his frosting wasn't as good as hers, they were still really good. I'm a so-so fan of banana bread (I prefer zucchini) and these blow banana bread out of the water. I will definitely make these again when the bananas go brown.

1/2 c. butter
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 c. sour cream
2-3 bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together. Bake in a jelly roll pan at 350 degrees for approx. 20-25 minutes.

Frosting:
3 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy; slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla.