Boys Love Peanut Butter

One day this week, I was busy doing something (don't remember what) and the boys got all quiet. That usually means something is wrong. Well they had got our giant jar of peanut butter out of the cupboard, took the lid off, and were eating it with their hands. I didn't get a picture of Jacob, but his face was just as covered. Now I can't make anything with peanut butter that I want to feed to anyone outside the family. Needless to say, neither of them were hungry for supper.

Daniel loves peanut butter. He can even say peanut butter.

Also, here is an AWESOME recipe for PB cookies. They are chewy, not crunchy, but I think delicious. I ate WAY too many, so it is a good thing it is a big recipe. I made these the other week (before the boys made my peanut butter unhygienic) and I was kind of upset (okay I was ticked) because neither of the boys would listen when I asked them to move away from the stove so I could take out the cookies. I ended up burning two dozen because I was having a power struggle with them. The funny thing is is that I always ask them to "go stand by the table" when I have to open the oven, and they do. So it wasn't like I was expecting something unusual or inappropriate from them. Anyways, here is the recipe. You have to make them for yourself because now I can't make them for you.

Honey Peanut Butter Cookies
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Yield: 5 dozen

Ingredients:
1/2 cup hard margarine
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix butter, peanut butter and honey. Add eggs; mix well. Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powdert; add to peanut butter mixture and mix well.
2. Roll into 1- to 1-1/2-in. balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork dipped in flour.

3. Dip fork in sugar instead of flour for a pretty look. (Sprinkles as Jacob calls them)

4. Bake at 350 degrees F for 6-7 minutes.

And for those of you who have been asking.... a non-kitchen picture of Jacob's Halloween costume. 

Pass or Fail

So I was cooking a roast in the oven this weekend... I pulled it out after 2 hours so Jeff could cut into it and see if it was cooked. It needed a little more time, I thought, so I reached out and grabbed the roasting pan WITH MY BARE HANDS. Jeff said his brain saw it in slow motion and wondered what in the world I was doing because that pan must be hot. Well, he was right. It was hot. I immediately stuck my hands under cold water, then put ice and aloe lotion on my fingers. I burnt five fingers and both thumbs. To tell you the truth, I don't know how it wasn't way worse. I was in intense pain for about two hours that evening but I managed to play the piano at church the next morning.
Despite all that, my from scratch gravy was deemed "savory" by my in-laws. Which I think is a pretty good compliment.

EEEEK! Spiders!!!

So Halloween is coming. It is not a day that I particularly look forward to but our playgroup is having a party on wednesday so I volunteered to make cookies. And here they are:

Jacob helped me put the eyes on...  however Jacob and Daniel ate at least four chocolate chips for each one that ended up on the cookies. It was fun to get them involved.

There is a bit of a story behind these cookies which I am going to share and I will finish with the recipe. Last Christmas I was looking for a gingerbread/gingersnap recipe. All the recipes had molasses in them which is not a stocked pantry item in my kitchen and I didn't want to buy it. Well.... Christmas passed and I found this recipe. It is called "Almost Gingerbread Cookies." I was very excited by the recipe and even planned to use it in my 2011 recipe challenge as a "Christmas in July" kind of thing. But then my challenge became an epic failure because I didn't keep up with it.

Anyways, what could be better than fake gingerbread fake spiders for halloween?

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Almost Gingerbread
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1 pkg butterscotch pudding mix
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

In a medium bowl, cream together the dry butterscotch pudding mix, butter, and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg. Combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, and cinnamon; stir into the pudding mixture. Cover, and chill dough until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350. On a floured board, roll dough out to about 1/8 inch thickness, and cut into shapes using a cookie cutter. Place cookies 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake for 6-7 minutes in the preheated oven, until cookies are golden at the edges. Cool on wire racks.
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Harvest at Our House

Just wanted to share some pictures of the bounty our small garden gave us. These pictures are from a few weeks ago and are taken in our front yard.

Rescuing the tomatoes before the frost.

A butterfly visits my marigolds and eyes my parsley!

Ready to help.

Fresh out of the dirt. Yum.

Digging for carrots.

Found one!

We really enjoyed watching all the butterflies.