Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. peanut butter
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c, flour
2 c. oatmeal
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Combine flour, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt. Then add to the wet mixture. Spray 9 X 13 pan with cooking spray and spread batter in pan. Bake at 325 for 20-25 minutes. Remove from over and cool.

Glaze:
1/2 c. peanut butter
2 c. chocolate chips
1/2 c. butterscotch chips
Melt in saucepan and spread over cooled bars. Chill and cut.

Lemony Cheesecake Bars

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/3 c. finely chopped pecans
1/3 c. sugar
1/3 c. melted butter
Perheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs, pecans, sugar and butter. Press into 9 X 13 pan and bake for 6 minutes. Cool.

2 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
1/2 c. lemon juice.
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweeted condensed milk. Add egss. Beat until combined. Stir in lemon juice. Pour atop crust and bake for 30 minutes. Cool 1 hour and then store in refrigerator.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Crust:
1 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. butter
Combine until crumbly. Press into ungreased 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Filling:
1 can evaporated milk
1 can pumpkin puree
2 eggs
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 salt
1/4 t. cloves
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
Combine. Pour onto crust and bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Topping:
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 chopped pecans
1 T. butter
Combine until crumbly and sprinkle over filling. Bake 15-20 minutes.

So good with cool whip. Oh yes.

Sobriety Dessert Buffet

We're having a party. A serious party! I have two years of sobriety on Sunday, December 28th. One of the girls I sponsor has one year as of last December 19th. And this dirty old man who works at Tallgrass has 17 years - on the same day as me. And in honor of all that not drinking, I'm throwing a dessert buffet. Here's the menu.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Carrot Cake
Apple Crisp (didn't get made)
Strawberry Pretzel Dessert (didn't get made)
Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Pumpking Pie Bars
Chocolate Cake (from a box)

We're going to get all jacked up on sugar and caffeine and then go to the birthday meeting. Should be like old times - flying high. Stay tuned.

Grandma's Love

The following recipe is my grandma's. I make this chili quite often, as it reheats well and you can change it up in a number of ways. My mom doesn't like things with beans or tomatoes and yummy stuff like that, so we only ever got it at my grandma's house. She's now 92, still living alone, driving herself to the grocery store and pulling weeds a little bit every day in the summer. I love her. And I love that I have this recipe of hers. Now it's yours.

Layered Chunky Beef Chili

3 1/2 lbs. bottom beef round or boneless chuck
2 T. vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can tomatoes
2 c. beef broth
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 T. chili powder
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground cumin
1/4-1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. sugar

Cut beef into 1/2 " cubes. Heat oil in large pot until sizzling with a drop of water. Stir beef, onions and garlic in oil until beef is browned. Stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1-2 hours.

How I change it up: I use a combination of turkey burger and canned beans to equal the 3 1/2 lbs. beef. I just brown the turkey like it says to do for the beef and add the drained beans when I dump the rest of the stuff in the pot. And I usually just put it all in the crock pot and leave it all day. Some people add things like green peppers, but I don't. I like it like this.

I serve it with shredded cheese and sour cream if I'm feeling naughty!

Still Fucking Sick

I'm still sick and this is what my grocery list looks like.

THINGS FROM THE GROCERY STORE THAT WILL MAKE ME HAPPY.

In green sharpie marker on a yellow recipe card. That seems important.

Ramens
Frozen peas
Velveeta Cheese

Yep. That's it. I don't make my ramens like soup, I make them like noodles. Cut back on the water and you'll be happy. Then I throw in cheese and peas. It doesn't get any better than that. I'm telling you.

Chicken Tortilla Soup (with a side of Monkey Plague)

I'm sick. And I hate being sick. So I made some spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup to make my nose run and clear out my sinuses. It works. It really does!

Fry up some red onion and about a pound of chicken. I use chicken already cut up for stir fry so it goes quicker. Some people would use chicken breast and then shred it. But I'm not some people.

While that's cooking, throw the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot. A can of cream of chicken soup followed by a can full of milk, a can of nacho cheese soup, a can of cheddar cheese soup, two cans of Rotel, a large can of enchilada sauce and some black beans. I had some leftover - that's what's in the tupperware. You can use whatever combination of cheese soups you like. There's sometimes a Monterey Jack cheese soup that makes it super yummy, but my grocery store doesn't always have it.

When the chicken's done, shred it or chop it up and add 3/4 cup of water and a package of taco seasoning mix.

Throw that in the crockpot too, and then wait for it's cheesy, spicy goodness to take the ache of a cold away. If you're impatient, you can cook it in a stockpot on the stove, but I had to go to an AA meeting, so the crockpot worked fine for me today.

I serve it with shredded cheddar cheese and nonfat sour cream. But it's just as good plain.

I am NOT pretty when I'm sick.
Just so you know.

Pumpkin Bread (with Chocolate Chips!)

I've been plotting this pumpkin bread for about two weeks now. I have no idea WHY I wanted to make it - I've never made pumpkin bread before. No idea where the thought came from, but it was almost an obsession. I downloaded recipe after recipe, comparing and contrasting and here's what I finally came up with. It's good stuff!

Mix together the wets. 4 eggs, 1 cup oil, 2/3 cup of water and 1 can of pumpkin puree.

Stir in the drys. 3 1/2 cups flour, 3 cups sugar, 2 t. baking soda, 1 1/2 t. salt. I normally don't add salt to recipes, but I've found that with bread products, it really makes a difference, so I actually just put in a few sprinkles of sea salt.

And don't forget the cinnamon! I found two full jars of cinnamon in the cupboard. Two. Why? No clue. At least I checked before I went to the grocery store, or I might have bought another one. I put in 2 teaspoons. It called for one. And some of the recipes added nutmeg and some called for cloves. I thought that for the first time around, simpler would be better, so just added twice the cinnamon. And God said it was good. I always do what God says.

Stir, stir, stir. I have a mixer, but it's too much work to haul out of the bottom cabinet. Plus, I've been trying to win a Kitchen-Aid from The Pioneer Woman, but she hasn't seen fit to grace me with one yet. A whisk had to suffice.

I sprayed the shit out of my loaf pans because I hate scrubbing them. And yes, that is the pink Pyrex that I JUST HAD TO HAVE when I graduated from college and set up my first kitchen. I have all the pieces. Yes. I. Do. It makes food look hideous, FYI. This recipe makes three loaves of bread, so grease 'em up!

I almost forgot to tell you that I added about 3/4 cup of chocolate chips to two of the loaves. I wanted to try some with and some without. Both are good. And no, I didn't just leave them in a pile on the top, I stirred them in. Otherwise? Burned blobs of chocolate. Yuck.

Then I baked them in a 350 degree oven for a little over an hour. The recipe said an hour, but the oven that Gay Boyfriend snagged off someone's lawn for my kitchen doesn't hold the heat very well and the gas kicked on about every five minutes. Just watch it. When a knife comes out of the center clean, and the tops are brown and perhaps cracked, you know it's done.

I cooled them most of the way before I dumped them out and immediately cut one to pieces, slathered it with butter and crammed it in my mouth.

Then I did the dishes, because I'm a little OCD like that. I don't have a dishwasher either. Feel sorry for me. This bread is awesome! Super awesome for a first try. In fact, I think people are going to be getting some for Christmas!

Stuff your Sorrow Carbs

Most women I know like to eat ice cream and watch sappy movies when their hearts are broken. I don't like ice cream all that much, but I do love carbs. They seem to hit the heartbreak pretty well for me. Last night, after lots and lots of headache inducing crying, I figured I needed to eat something before bed. And since I've been in the throes of really starting to fall for this guy, I had no groceries. That's such a bad thing for when they break it off with you. There's no food.

Rice. That's about it. Oh, and some beef broth in the back of the cupboard. That's a good start. I always make my rice with broth instead of water - it gives it a depth of flavor and gives you something to base other flavors on. I sauteed some garlic and onion in olive oil, un-froze a few peas and threw all that in when the rice was done.

Then I ate it.

All of it.

Because I was sad.

Low Carb Pizza

8 oz. cream cheese
4 eggs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 t. Italian seasoning
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/2 c. pizza sauce
3 cups mozzarella cheese
pizza toppings of choice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat together cream cheese and eggs until smooth. Add Parmesan, garlic, and Italian seasoning. Spray 8 x 13 pan with cooking spray or oil. Place 2 cups mozzarella cheese in bottom of pan. Pour egg mixture over cheese. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and spread sauce over baked mixture. Add toppings of choice. Cover with remaining cheese. Bake until bubbly and brown. Let Stand for five minutes.

I used sauteed garlic and onions on it for toppings since I like plain cheese pizza and I knew I was sleeping alone... If I were to make this recipe again, I would probably use a harder cheese for the bottom of the pan. Something like asiago or an Italian cheese blend instead of the mozzarella. Where as the "crust" was tasty (albeit somewhat "eggy"), it didn't have that crunchy feel that I like on my pizza and I'm pretty sure the harder cheese would make it more that way. In fact, I might reduce the number of eggs in the crust as well to make it thinner. But I had some for breakfast this morning, and let me tell you! It tastes just like leftover pizza from anywhere. It was awesome.

Turkey Meatloaf and Roasted Cauliflower

Low-Carb Turkey Meatloaf
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
2 T. sugar
2 t. white vinegar (or water)
2 lbs. ground turkey
2 eggs
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
1/4 c. onion, diced
1/4 c. yellow pepper, diced
2 T. parsley flakes
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. dried basil
1 t. kosher (sea) salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 lb. provolone cheese, sliced.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Tomato Sauce: In a small bowl, mix together the tomato sauce, paste, sugar and vingear. Set aside. Add water if it's too thick for your taste.

Meatloaf: In a large bowl, Mix together the turkey, eggs, parmesan, vegetables, herbs and seasoning.

Make it: Spray a 5 X 7 inch loaf pan with pam spray or something like it. Take half of the meat mixture and spread in the bottom, cover with a layer of provolone cheese, top with the remaining meat mixture and then pour the tomato sauce over the top. I wanted the tomato sauce to go down the sides as well, so I formed more of a "loaf" in the pan after I put the second layer of meat on. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or more if desired. Let rest at least 10 minutes before slicing.

Roasted Cauliflower
Take one head of cauliflower and remove the leaves, but leave a portion of the stem to be able to cut it into large wedges. Brush both sides of the wedges with olive oil and place in a baking pan, sprinkle a generous amount of red pepper flakes over the pieces and top with minced (or powdered) garlic. Salt and pepper to taste. Roast in a 450 degree oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the edges of the cauliflower are browned.

I took both of these to work today and ate them both cold. I think the cauliflower would have been a little tastier if it had been reheated, but I think heating things in the microwave makes them rubbery. If I were to reheat it at home, I'd throw it on a cookie sheet and give it a few minutes in the oven at 350 degrees.

Sunday Cooking

For those of you who read my other blog, New Life In South Dakota, you know that not only do I love to cook and try new recipes, I also live in Tiny Apartment, which happens to be in a basement. I don't have a fancy kitchen; my pots and pans are banged up and burned, I don't "do" gadgets, my oven is circa 1972 or something like that and my refrigerator is of the seventies efficiency type. I like to take pictures of what I cook, but I'm not a very good photographer and a new camera is not even a consideration for the budget. What you see is what you get.

I cook on Sunday nights for the whole week. As a single woman with a limited income, I find that cooking one large meal and refrigerating it in portion sizes to slip in my bag every morning is as good as it gets. I've lived with myself long enough to know that once something hits the freezer, it's not coming back out except to go in the trash and I can't and don't like to waste food. So, there's not much variety in my diet and woe is the day I make something horribly yucky that I have to eat all week long, but I try new things and sometimes they're awesome and sometimes they're not. I can try to convince Gay Boyfriend to eat the yucky leftovers, but if I don't like it, I'm pretty sure he won't either.

So, come along for the ride. And maybe some good eating along the way!