I was in a cookie rut. Whenever my daughter and I make cookies, it always seems to be Peanut Butter Cookies. Don’t get me wrong, peanut butter cookies are delicious (and my husband’s favourite), but sometimes I want something a little different!
So, enter Fall M&M Monster Cookies! They’re easy to put together and delicious so they’re sure to please! And they still include peanut butter, so my husband is on board. 🙂 These Fall M&M Monster Cookies have everything. Peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips and M&M’s, make for my FAVORITE Cookie!
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 Cup peanut butter, smooth or chunky
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 Cup butter, softened to room temperature
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 Cups oatmeal
2 tsp baking soda
1 Cup chocolate chips
1 Cup Fall colored M&M’s (red, yellow and brown) + extra to press on top of the cookies prior to baking
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, butter, vanilla, baking soda and eggs.
Add in the oatmeal one cup at a time, stirring well.
Add in the 1 cup of chocolate chips and the 1 cup of Fall M&M’s.
Drop by rounded tablespoon onto your baking sheets about 2-3″ a part. Press a few extra M&M’s into the tops of each cookie.
Bake for 9-13 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies will be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven but will set as they cool.
Taco night is a regular occurrence in our house. It’s quick, easy, and everyone’s happy! I love it when no one complains about what’s for dinner!
But here’s the thing… I stopped buying those taco seasoning packets ages ago. Once I started mixing up my own, there was just no going back. This homemade taco seasoning is so simple, way more affordable, and the best part? I can tweak it to fit our taste buds. Which, let’s be real, most of us are not built for spicy food.
I love that the savings add up too. Overall, this homemade version costs just a fraction of what you’d spend on the packaged kind.
I like to make a small jar each time and keep it in the pantry so we’re always ready when a taco craving hits (which is often). It’s perfect for ground meat, chicken, or even veggies if we’re going the meatless route. And yes, I’ve totally used it on roasted potatoes and in soups too—it’s that good.
Why I Love This Homemade Taco Seasoning:
It’s customizable. You can control the heat, the salt, and the flavour balance.
It saves money. Those little packets may seem cheap, but the homemade version costs pennies per use—and uses spices you probably already have.
No mystery ingredients. Just simple, real pantry spices. No preservatives, no weird fillers.
It’s super quick. Takes five minutes (if that!) to mix together.
If you haven’t tried making your own taco seasoning yet, this is your sign. It’s one of those little kitchen swaps that feels like a win every time you use it.
Want the recipe? Here’s the blend I use, feel free to tweak it to your liking!
This recipe for Chai Spice Mix is a delicious and easy way to have your favorite chai drinks and treats whenever you like. Wonderfully aromatic spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice are combined to create a rich, spiced base for drinks and baked goods. Authentic and relaxing.
This chai spice mix would be a great, thoughtful gift for many on your Christmas list!
Recipe and instructions are included below for Hot Chai Latte, Cold Chai Latte, and Hot Chai Tea Latte using this chai spice mix recipe!
● 1 ½ Teaspoons Chai Spice Mix ● 8 Ounces Milk ● 1 Tablespoon Honey (or other sweetener)
Warm ingredients slowly in a pan over the stove. Once heated through, pour through a cheesecloth, if desired, and enjoy. To skip the stove, warm the milk and add all the ingredients to a blender and serve.
Cold Chai Latte Directions:
● 1 ½ Teaspoons Chai Spice Mix ● 8 Ounces Cold Milk ● 1 Tablespoon Honey (or other sweetener)
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 20 seconds. Pour into a cup and enjoy.
Hot Chai Tea Latte Directions:
● 1 ½ Teaspoons Chai Spice Mix ● 4 Ounces Milk ● 4 Ounces Hot Black Tea ● 1 Tablespoon Honey (or other sweetener)
Warm ingredients slowly in a pan over the stove. Once heated through, pour through a cheesecloth, if desired, and enjoy. To skip the stove, warm the milk and add all the ingredients to a blender and serve.
Tips:
● If you prefer one spice more over another, you can adjust the spice amounts to match your preferences. ● If you make the drink recipes, be sure to adjust the amount of spice mix and sweetener to suit your tastes. ● This tastes better the longer the spices get to sit in the liquid. The flavors truly shine their best if you blend or heat them over a stove when preparing. ● You can use one of those little handheld milk frothers in place of a blender as well, although I still find that the blender is still a bit better at it. ● You can make this recipe from whole spices and get an even more robust flavor out of it.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until fully combined.
Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry spot for up to 1 month.
Recipe Notes
Yields 9 Tablespoons + 1 Teaspoon
Hot Chai Latte Directions:
1 ½ Teaspoons Chai Spice Mix
8 Ounces Milk
1 Tablespoon Honey (or other sweetener)
Warm ingredients slowly in a pan over the stove. Once heated through, pour through a cheesecloth, if desired, and enjoy. To skip the stove, warm the milk and add all the ingredients to a blender and serve.
Cold Chai Latte Directions:
1 ½ Teaspoons Chai Spice Mix
8 Ounces Cold Milk
1 Tablespoon Honey (or other sweetener)
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend for 20 seconds. Pour into a cup and enjoy.
Hot Chai Tea Latte Directions:
1 ½ Teaspoons Chai Spice Mix
4 Ounces Milk
4 Ounces Hot Black Tea
1 Tablespoon Honey (or other sweetener)
Warm ingredients slowly in a pan over the stove. Once heated through, pour through a cheesecloth, if desired, and enjoy. To skip the stove, warm the milk and add all the ingredients to a blender and serve.
This delicious homemade Slow Cooker Pumpkin butter is perfect for fall. Add to your toast, muffins, or use it in some fall recipes for added flavor. Delicious!
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter
I’m sure you’ve tried apple butter, but have you tried pumpkin butter? This homemade slow cooker version is delicious and so simple to put together. Not to mention it’s much more cost effective than buying a jar from the store. I happen to think this pumpkin butter is also perfect for gift giving. I plan on giving few jars away as random fall gifts.
This Slow Cooker Pumpkin Butter recipe is really simple. Just a few ingredients cooked in the slow cooker and you have wonderful homemade pumpkin butter. Your house will smell amazing too!
This homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick) is made with only 5 simple ingredients and takes just minutes to mix up. It’s cheaper, healthier and tastes great!
Homemade Baking Mix (Bisquick)
If you are like me and looking for ways to eat healthier and save money at the same time, then you’ll love this copycat “Bisquick” mix!
It only takes minutes to make, is cheaper than buying the Bisquick brand and it doesn’t have any ingredients that you can’t pronounce.
Take a look at my recipe for homemade baking mix (Bisquick)! Use it in any recipe in place of Bisquick. It’s so great in casseroles, quiche, pancakes, biscuits, muffins and more.
Have you ever made Sun Tea? It’s my favourite way to enjoy iced tea in the summer! The taste of real brewed tea and endless flavour options is what gets me really excited about brewing a batch.
Sun Tea is a method of brewing tea slowly by using the heat of the sun to steep tea bags. I find it fascinating to watch the water in the glass jar slowly change colour as the sun works its magic on the tea bags. 🙂
Sun Tea is really easy to make and is very adaptable to your own personal flavour preferences.
Place in the direct sun for 3 – 5 hours, or until desired strength is reached. Remove tea bags.
Place in the fridge.
To serve: add sliced lemons, fresh mint, sweetener (honey, simple syrup, agave…etc.) if desired.
For the batch I brewed pictured below, I used 2 Ginger Peach tea bags and 6 Orange Pekoe tea bags. I added some of the Simple Syrup I featured the other day until I was happy with the sweetness. I think it tastes pretty darn good, but if I had some lemons on hand I would have added a few slices to make it perfect!
