Peanut Butter Cookies

The only ones I've been able to make that taste good!

My mom has Type II Diabetes and LOVES cookies. She will buy these sugar free cookies at the store, but, they still have carbs in them. Not from sugar, but from the flour used in the cookies. When she eats bread the blood sugar jumps right up there.

I stumbled across this recipe for flour free peanut butter cookies and tried it. They are a VERY delicate cookie and will crumble if you look at them funny, but very good. And MOM likes them, which is good cause they are FOR her. LOL The recipe I have calls for a cup of sugar, but I will put the recipe here the way I do it, with Splenda.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 C organic/natural peanut butter (doesn't have sugar added)
1 C Splenda
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix it all up well, drop by teaspoon fulls onto cookie sheet, I greased mine, the recipe didn't call for that, but I always grease them, bake for 10 minutes in 350 degree pre-heated oven. Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before taking them off to avoid crumbling. Makes 2 doz cookies.

DANG! These are so easy to make and they DO taste good, even with just the Splenda to sweeten them.

I also have tried the no-flour oatmeal cookies, but oatmeal... it still makes the blood sugar go up and that's what needs to be avoided. Next time I make the peanut butter cookies I'm going to add some chopped up walnuts.

Maple Toast and Eggs

Mom is doing very well at the Rehab center. They have her using a walker now. She does pretty darn good on it! The house is really quiet since she's been away. Huh? Am I insinuating my mother is loud? ROFLOL no... not at all. It's just different enough with her being gone it is just strange.

Here is a recipe I made for breakfast late January I believe. I did cut down on it. The recipe makes 12 cups and there were three of us. I just didn't think we'd eat all that. And I didn't think it was something you could just keep for left overs. I guess you could, but it just wouldn't be the same.

Maple Toast and Eggs from Taste of Home Winning Recipes cook book, pg. 139

12 bacon strips 1/2 C maple syrup

1/4 C butter 12 slices firm-textured white bread

12 eggs salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove to paper towels to drain.

In a small saucepan, heat syrup and butter until butter is melted; set aside. Trim crust from bread; flatten slices with a rolling pin. Brush one side generously with the syrup mixture; press each slice into an ungreased muffin cup with syrup side down.

Divide bacon among muffin cups. Carefully break one egg into each cup. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; Cover with foil. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 18-20 minutes or until the eggs reach desired doneness. Serve immediately. Yield: 12 cups

I tried it their way, ungreased. I will grease the muffin pan next time. It is quite good. We all liked it. I just made one for each of us the first time, next time I will make two for each of us! LOL

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

ohh... this was good. I fixed it today for dinner and we had sandwiches for supper. :) I can't say as I've ever added Worcestershire sauce to a white sauce before, but then again I haven't MADE that MANY white sauces. LOL I didn't use the sherry (or chicken broth). I was going to add the broth but forgot. It still came out tasting good. WHEW!!!

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham from Taste of Home - Cooking for Two, pg. 8, July 20, 2009

2 tsp butter 2 tsp flour

1/8th tsp salt 1/8th tsp pepper

dash Cajun seasoning 1/2 C 2% milk

1 1/2 tsp sherry or chicken broth 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese 1 med. potato, peeled & thinly sliced

1 C cubed, cooked ham 1/4 C thinly sliced onion

1. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning until smooth. Gradually add mil, sherry and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in 1/4 C cheese. Remove from the heat; set aside.
2. Place half the potato slices in a 1-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Layer with ham, onion, and half the white sauce. Repeat layers.
3. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

oh oh... I didn't cover the dish before baking it. Didn't see that part till just now. YIKES It still turned out good. So... I reckon if I can mess up a recipe and it still turn out good, anyone can cook! :)

Cooked Cabbage

I love cabbage, raw, semi-raw, rolled, fried, boiled, I like it. When I fixed it the other night I did it just a little differently than the way I normally do, surprise!! LOL

I chopped it up in small enough peieces that it doesn't choke you going down because it is LONG, put it into a large skillet with melted butter and fried it with some chopped red onions. I think I used half an onion and enough cabbage to cover the bottom of the pan and heap upwards some but not spilling over the pan rim.

I covered the pan with the lid and let it cook some until it was pretty soft, but not all the way. I added about half a cup to a cup of water and some caraway seeds, covered, and let it cook some more, till it was all soft. Remember, if it's cooked veggies they have to be cooked soft for Mom to like them. :) She liked it. I did, too, so did Denny. Three out of three! YAYAYAYYAYY

Meat Loaf

Well... thought I should get back here. Mom had a bit of a mishap Friday morning, she fell and hit her head on the floor and it caused a bleed on her brain so she IS in the hospital and getting so much better. They had her up and walking a little bit this afternoon and had her sitting in a chair for a couple of hours. She's eating well, too! Tonight she is having beef stroganoff, which sounds sooooo good.

Thursday night Mom fixed meatloaf for supper. We've been having trouble with it sticking together! We haven't been doing anything different, we don't think anyway, but since we don't measure this or that, who knows! But we generally use a pound of ground beef, an egg, quick cooking oatmeal, spices, chopped onion, and milk. It's always worked before, but these last few times we've had to scoop it out and serve it with a SPOON! It still tasted as good as it always does when Mom makes meatloaf, though.

This time we did it a little differently. To the pound of ground beef I added a pound of bulk sausage, we used two eggs instead of one. After it was ketchupped on top and put into the oven, Mom remembered she didn't put in any spices or salt, but it was just too late then. I had the idea put it into the top of my steamer so the grease could drip down the holes into the pan. That was a good idea but it didn't work. A LITTLE grease dripped down, but the rest just stayed on top the meatloaf. Bigger holes are called for, I think. I'm wondering now, when I put meatloaf in the pan I usually pull it away from the sides of the pan after I pat it down. Mom doesn't. I wonder if that is having something to do with the meat not sticking together!

Oh.. her meatloaf Thursday night tasted just fine without the spices. LOL

Good ole' Goulash

That's what we had for supper last night. I rummaged around and rummaged around and din't know what to fix for supper. I asked Mom, she didn't know either. Of course, mothers ALWAYS know.. so she suggested goulash. Yeah! That was it, goulash. It turned out different, I liked how it turned out. I never fix it the same way, twice, I just put it together. Last night was no different, I through it together, but I know WHAT I did this time. LOL

Mind you, I don't measure anything. Everything is estimated.

Goulash

1 lb ground beef whole wheat macaroni

1 can tomato sauce 1 can diced tomatoes

1 tsp dried rosemary 1 tsp dried parsley

salt and pepper to taste 1 onion chopped into medium pieces

1 packet sweetener or 2 tsp sugar

Cook the macaroni in boiling water until it's soft. While that is cooking, brown the hamburger, rinse with hot water and drain. Add the onions and cook till the onions are semi-soft. Add the rosemary and parsley, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Stir, let it simmer about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

I noticed, last night, when I added the rosemary to the meat and onions, i just smelled so good, and then added the parsley. I hadn't noticed that aroma before when making goulash, so I figure I've never used it in there before. I liked it! I'll be fixing it this way again... no garlic, although I LOVE garlic and usually add it to everything, including goulash. I didn't last night and loved how the goulash turned out.

I found out...

I did.. I found out what Herbes de Provence is, a traditional blend of aromatic herbs that flourish in the hills of southern France. I even found a recipe if you want to mix your own blend.

From Encyclopedia of Spices

Recipe for Herbes de Provence.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon thyme
1 tablespoon chervil
1 tablespoon rosemary
1 tablespoon summer savory
1 teaspoon lavender
1 teaspoon tarragon
1 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon mint
2 powdered or chopped bay leaves

Prepartion:
Mix together all of the ingredients and store in a tightly sealed container.
Makes about 1/3 cup herb mix.

Tilapia Provencal

Wellll.... I guess they all can't be what we like. This had a couple of ingredients I'm not sure what they are, outside of olives and herbs. Call me a silver-haired menopausal blonde if you will... it's what I am. LOL Kalamata olives. Is that a brand? A type? Green? Black? I don't know, I've never heard of a Kalamata olive before, that I recall. It said pitted and I figured a black olive, but then I've seen green olives with pits in them as well. Herbes de Provence. Another brand? I've never seen that in the grocery stores I've been in, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Knights, Sam's. Course, I've never looked for it and it may have been there and I just didn't see it. Wouldn't be the first time for sure. LOL

Denny just plain didn't like it. Mom said it was ok but it wouldn't be something she would fix. It was ok, my rice wasn't done quite enough although it cooked long enough, more than called for, even. The fish tasted fishy. I have no clue why, but it could be tasted through all the herbs and spices and onions and tomatoes.

We all decided the dish might be ok with chicken breasts rather than fish. I might try that sometime.

Tilapia Provencal pg. 32, Woman's World, Mar 1, 2010 issue

2 Tbs olive oil 1 onion, chopped (1 C)

1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic & oregano 1/2 C pitted KIalamata olives, halved

1 tsp dried herbes de Provence 4 tilapia filets

1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper

Fresh parsley and cooked orzo, optional (it also suggest serving over whole0grain couscous or brown rice, I used the brown rice)

• In large nonstick skillet, heat 1 Tbs oil over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes with their juices, olives, and 1/2 tsp herbes de Provence. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 10 minutes.
• Transfer sauce to heatproof bowl; carefully wipe skillet clean with paper towel. Sprinkle tilapia with salt, pepper, and remaining herbes de Provence.
• In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add tilapia; cook, turning, 3-4 minutes per side, until browned and just cooked through. Pour reserved sauce over tilapia; heat 1 minutes. If desired, garnish with parsley and serve over orzo.

I did something wrong, I don't know, but this just wasn't a favorite meal tonight.

::: off to look up herbes de Provence and Kalamata olives ::: Am I the only one who doesn't know what these are? Let me know!!

Farmhouse Ham Chowder

Good stuff! I'd never made a chowder before in my life and I didn't know what to fix for supper tonight and was browsing through one of my new magazines and there it was. Yeah! I can do that one. I didn't have the celery and I didn't have vegetable broth (I used beef broth instead, chicken would have worked, too). It still turned out good!!

Farmhouse Ham Chowder pg 74, First for Women, Mar 1, 2010

1/2 lb green beans, trimmed & halved 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 C)

1 C each chopped carrots & celery 2 Tbs butter

1 1/2 lb baking potatoes, peeled/cubed 1 container (32 oz) vegetable stock

2 C milk 1/2 lb smoked ham, diced

1 Tbs each, chopped fresh parsley and dill

In saucepot of boiling salted water, cook green beans 2 min. Drain. In pot over medium-high heat, cook next 3 ingredients in butter for 2 min. Add potatoes, stock, and milk. Over high heat, brin to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Cover; let simmer 20 minutes. In blender, puree 1 1/2 C mixture; stir back into pot. Add beans and last 3 ingredients. Cook 2 minutes.

Serves 4

I cooked the beans longer than 2 minutes... they were frozen and I know Mom does not like crunchy veggies. If they are cooked veggie, they are supposed to be COOKED until they are soft. I also put the put the green beans in with the milk and stock and cooked them in there with the carrots and onions.

Try! Enjoy!

See... I have fallen off the menu planning big time. LOL Had to figure out what to have for supper tonight! :)

Waffles for Breakfast!

You know what??? Adding TWO eggs to the pancake mix to make waffles sure does make a difference!! I know, I know... you already know that, no doubt. It takes some folk a little more time to make a connection. I've only been cooking for what... a little over 40 years?

I've seen waffle recipes and they all have TWO EGGS instead of the ONE EGG for pancake recipes. I just didn't really make the connection of WHY until this morning. Never paid attention before. And I've been using my pancake (griddle cake) mix and just adding the one egg. The waffles turned out all right, nothing wrong with them... but when you put in the suggested TWO eggs. POOF! They poof right up there and get light and fluffy instead of flat and stuffy. Go ahead... say it with me.. ::: duuuuuuuhhhhh ::::

They were good waffles. Thick, light, fluffy, full of carbohydrates... Mom ate poached salmon and a poached egg. I fixed toast for her, too, but it turned black so I mixed that piece in with the dogs' food. They loved it. LOL