Peeeeaaaahhhh Buuuuuhhhhhh! (mouth full of peanut butter)

I've been craving peanut butter a lot lately. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bumbs on a log minus the bumps (eww raisens), peanut butter and crackers, peanut butter straight from the jar (shhh don't tell.) So when I had the urge to make cookies the other day peanut butter cookies were a no brainer. And I found this recipe that includes oatmeal so that means it's healthy! Right?

Here's what you'll need: peanut butter (duh), butter, flour, oats, white and brown sugar, baking soda, salt, honey, an egg, and vanilla extract.

Mix together the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl beat together peanut butter, butter, sugars, honey, egg and vanilla until well blended and nice and creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients in 2 batches. Refrigerate the dough for about 30 minutes until it is firm.

Form the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and roll in sugar. Place them on a large baking sheet and smush down a little bit. Yes smush is a technical term. You can do the traditional criss cross with a fork, or you can roll like me and top with some extra peanuts. I happened to have honey roasted in my pantry.

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes or until puffed and beginning to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. If you can wait that long that is. (I couldn't.)

Mmmmmm, stacks of cookies.


Peanut Butter Cookies
adapted from epicurious.com

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned chunky peanut butter (about 9 ounces)
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
The epicurious recipe also included 5 ounces semisweet chocolate coarsely chopped or chips, which I would have added if I had it on hand. But I didn't :(

I think I'm gonna stop rewriting the directions for recipes down here because I think I cover them pretty well with the photos and I'm lazy. If the directions are complex I might do them, but otherwise let me know if you need more step by step instructions. Peace!

A Bowl of Bolognese

So I know it's been a while since I've posted a recipe on here. It's actually been awhile since I've had time to cook! But I had some spare time the other day and I thought a nice pasta dish would be lovely. (I always think a nice pasta dish would be lovely.) But I also wanted to try to work some veggies and fiber into my dinner so I decided on a rich, hearty bolognese sauce. Plus I had lots of celery in my fridge, so, perfect!

There's lots of different ways to make tomato sauce. Marinara is usually just tomatoes cooked down with some basil and garlic. I usually just do a quick sauce with some onions thrown in too. But this sauce is special and requires a little thinking ahead because the longer it simmers the better it gets! Lets make it!

You will need 2 pounds of ground meat (I used beef you could also use any combination of pork, veal, turkey, wild boar, use your imagination!), celery, carrots, garlic, onion, milk (yes milk), red wine, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and thyme.

Chop the veggies in a small dice (you could use a food processor) and saute in olive oil. I also added some butter cause that's how I roll but it's not required. Be sure to salt the veggies to draw out the water and flavor. When the veggies are soft add the garlic and thyme. Mmm, kinda smells like Thanksgiving at this point.

Add the ground meat and break up into little bits. When the meat is cooked add in milk and simmer to reduce. I read that the milk is important because it protects the meat from the acidity of the wine. Speaking of which, when the milk is reduced by half add in the wine!

When the wine has reduced by half add in the tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. Thin out the mixture with chicken stock or water. Add salt and pepper to taste but not too much because as the sauce reduces the flavors will grow. Now here is the important part. The sauce needs to simmer for AT LEAST an hour. An hour and a half to two hours is even better. So go watch some TV, maybe catch up on some yardwork or gardening, pay your bills, you got time!

Your patience will be rewarded with a thick, rich, meaty sauce that's a little bit sweet from the tomatoes and carrots. Serve over your favorite pasta. I used some linguine which was a good choice as this is a hearty sauce. Enjoy!

Bolognese Sauce
Adapted from epicurious.com

2 pounds ground meat
2 large carrots
4 ribs celery
2 onions
4-6 cloves garlic
1 cup milk
1 cup red wine
1 can tomato paste
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water or chicken stock
1 tablespoon thyme
Salt and pepper (the recipe I used said 1 1/4 teaspoons salt but I added way more than that. Salt is pretty subjective so just taste as you go along!)

Finely dice carrots, celery, and onions and saute in olive oil with a sprinkle of salt. When veggies are soft add in finely chopped garlic. (I use a grater.) Add in thyme. Add in meat and break up into little pieces. When meat is cooked add milk and reduce to about half. Then add in red wine and reduce that by half as well. Stir in tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and chicken stock. Salt and paper to taste. Simmer over medium low heat for at least one hour. Serve with your favorite pasta.

Adoption Day

Yesterday was adoption day at the PetsMart in Euless for the Alley Cat Angels, and I stopped by for a little while to meet some more members of the group and take more photos of the kitties. There were all new kitties there today as Ophelia, Krissi, Andy & Randy got taken back home with their fosters and Mandy was picked up by her new family! So here are some of the photos I took, all the kitties are so sweet! As always find out more about this kitties and Alley Cat Angels at their website www.alleycatangels.org

This is Sean & Brendan, they are about 2 months apart and from the same litter. The baby, Sean is a little on the small side, but is super playful.

Say hello to Spot, Mittens and Smokey! These sisters have the most silky super soft fur!

This handsome cat is Sneakers. He's a little cautious, but purrs mightily when you pet him.

This is Misty, isn't she beautiful? She's shy, but once she warms up to you she'll be very affectionate.

And this is Letty. She's new to the organization, so let's find her a new home soon!

And since I can't take just one photo of each cat, here are some more for you to enjoy!

Kitties just go crazy for the feathers!

Alley Cat Angels

Today I started volunteering with the Alley Cat Angels, a cat rescue operation here in the DFW area. My job is to clean cages every Monday. Glamorous, I know, but on the plus side I get to play with the kitties that are staying there! I brought along my camera to get a few shots of them. Expect to see a lot more kitty photos on here as new ones come in. And if you're interested in adopting a kitty friend for yourself, Alley Cat Angels have adoption days at the Petsmart in Euless every second and fourth Saturday. I'll be there this Saturday, taking more photos and meeting all the kitties. Stay tuned!

These are either Andy, Randy or Mandy, they're siblings and look alike! Aren't they precious? They were ready to play as soon as they were let out of the cage, and weren't too happy about being put back in. They started climbing on the cage and one fell into their food bowl! Of course then they had to be let out again so we could clean that up. I think that was their plan all along, sneaky sneaky.

This is Ophelia, a beautiful long haired lady. She's a little shy, but once you pick her up her motor starts running!

And here's Krissy. Her coloring is kind of reverse skunk, white all over with a black stripe down here back! Very unusual. She's a sweety too.

More photos just cause! If you'd like to learn more about this organization, the kitties, adoption, or volunteering please visit their website at www.alleycatangels.org