PB & Cookies

Somewhere a while back I found this recipe for easy peanut butter cookies. When going through my files, I just came across it, but am sorry that I don't know its source. Apparently I just jotted down how much of what and how long to bake. I will share at the bottom of this post. 

I was feeling "up-to-it" this afternoon after having 3 shots for my constant back and shoulder pain. Not to worry, I'm used to these and I was overdue. We all know what is wrong after having a totally smashed and unrepaired shoulder four years ago,  MRIs to see extent of sacroiliac deterioration,  nerve pinches, and both arterial and venal scans of legs for more information. It is not about what I can't do, it's about what I CAN DO!

Forget all about that and enjoy my project today. Since I like to experiment and am always curious, I baked three sheetsful, shaping each batch a little differently.

First were the uglies. I just scooped a blob, plopped it on the sheet and gave it a few mashes with the fork.

Next tray were the fatties.  I rolled a ball and didn't decorate or mash with the fork. 

The last dozen were the perfects — AKA traditionals. Rolled in a ball and carefully crossed mashes.

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Can you guess which had the best texture? I had the Mister eat one of each and now I know.  They all will go into the same container and be integrated. It is the way of today. No segregation here! All had brown bottoms.

Recipe

1 box yellow cake mix

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter (creamy was on hand)

1/2 cup canola oil

Bake 350° 10 minutes.

ALERT!  Don't bake these until you read my review tomorrow!

Kitchen Help

Awwww......Ain't he sweet!

Once in a while my kitchen help shows up, especially when he has enjoyed a meal. He thinks this one was a lot of trouble for me. It wasn't! (Don't tell!)

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I first thawed out a 32 oz. container of frozen turkey broth that our daughter made and gave to us. I then turned the heat  to very low under the large 5 cup kettle and added 3 cups of elicoidali pasta. This is a medium sized tube pasta similar to rigatoni. The pasta simmered for several hours until all of the turkey broth was absorbed. 

I then added half a bag of frozen chopped green peppers and onions, along with a can of drained black beans, and a small jar of Prego Chunky Garden Combo Sauce. This simmered for about 2 hours and I then added half a bag of pre-cooked Jimmy Dean Hearty Turkey Sausage Crumbles. The kettle was really full!

It was all then poured into a foil-lined baking dish and I covered the top with shredded Mozzarella cheese and baked it for an hour at 350°.

Not hard at all to make and there is enough left over for two more meals! It was very tasty!

Eggs and Ham

Merry Christmas Eve Day!

My contribution to the family Christmas meal is prepared. I must be getting older - it seemed to be more time consuming than I had planned, but I'm ready now.

Everyone raves about my deviled eggs but I have NO recipe for them. I just add a bit of this and a bit of that, and then I taste. I'm also often asked how I get my eggs to peel so well. I can tell you the egg "trick."

The eggs must be at least one week old. A single layer in a semi-heavy pot is covered with cold water to about an inch above the top of the eggs. I then bring them to a boil, boil for five minutes, remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes in the hot water. Then I fill and drain the pot with cold water until it is completely cold.

I tap the bottom of the egg against the kitchen sink and then tap tap tap it some more to crackle the shell. I then run cold water the entire time as I remove the shell at the bottom and keep peeling down, letting the water run under the shell, which loosens it from the egg quite well.

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I slice the eggs with an old cheese cutter that has lost its roller. It's a neat way to slice evenly and easily.

After mashing the yolks and adding the ingredients shown above, I use my spatula to fill the mixture into a freezer zip loc baggie and snip off the end so I can easily pipe the mixture into the halves. A topping of paprika makes them pretty!

What would eggs be without ham? This is an easy-to-clean-and-keep-moist method of roasting a ham. After it is finished baking, I can snip off the end of the oven bag to save the juices before removing the ham onto a platter to be sliced. Split pea soup will surely be the next project.