Easy Peanut Butter Cookies, and a little break

I have a super easy cookie recipe for you! And boy do I need things to be easy right now. And because of that, we'll be taking a break. Of course the recipe archive is always open. And if you have a recipe to send over, I'll happily post it. I just don't have oodles (ok, any) time to post regularly from my own recipe stash. Hope your kitchens are happy and full of fun smells!

 

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1egg

Splash of Vanilla

Mix together until smooth.

Drop by small spoon fulls onto lined baking sheet. 

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Let cool and enjoy!

Candied Nuts

Sand Tarts

This is my Granny's special recipe. Perfect for the holidays! Enjoy!

Baked Ziti with Three Cheeses

A favorite phrase of mine: "Bake until bubbly."
The layers of cheese and sauce in this dish make it a supreme comfort food. The best thing about making it yourself is, you can make it the way you like. For example, I like lots and lots of sauce, and slightly less noodles. But that's just me. You can make it any way you want!

Baked Ziti with Three Cheeses

1 jar best quality marinara sauce (I like Rao's)
1/2 C Ricotta cheese
1 C shredded Mozzarella
1 C shredded Parmesan
8 oz Rigatoni pasta
1 T flour
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 C milk
dash of Nutmeg


Prepare noodles by boiling in a big pot of salty water. While they are boiling, shred your cheeses. Next, make a white sauce. Starting with a hot pan, warm up your butter and olive oil. Add the flour, and whisk while it toasts. Remove from heat, and whisk in the milk. Reduce slightly, and add the Ricotta. Then add a dash of Nutmeg.

Time to layer! In your favorite casserole dish, layer half of the noodles, followed by half of the white sauce, half of the marinara, half of the Mozzarella, and half of the Parmesan. Repeat layers, and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Serve with soup, salad, garlic bread, or all three! 

Note: This warms up well, in an individual casserole dish. Drizzle with a little olive oil, top with some fresh cracked pepper, and pop into your mini oven for 12 minutes at 350 degrees.

Homemade Brown Sugar

It looks pretty, like maple syrup on snow!

Its so fluffy I'm gonna die!

Once you start pulsing, you might need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a bit. 

Have you ever reached the point where you have already made several stops in a day, and going to the grocery store seems IMPOSSIBLE? Especially when you just need one thing?

Old habits can die hard, and my firm belief that we can only access brown sugar at the grocery store was challenged only by my deep need to recline. I mean, shopping is seriously hard work! But brown sugar is one of my favorite ingredients and I use it daily. So I rose to the occasion; so can you!

You will need these two things: 

White sugar
Molasses


PROPORTIONS:

Light Brown Sugar:
1 Cup of sugar : 1 Tablespoon of Molasses

Dark Brown Sugar: 
1 Cup of sugar: 2 Tablespoons Molasses

I did this in a food processor, but I'm sure a mixer would work just fine. You can also do  double or triple the recipe to stock up! This is so much richer and more flavorful than the store bought version.

More of my favorite things with brown sugar:
Cinnamon Rolls
Stuffed, baked apples
Butternut Squash soup
Sweet potatoes

What are YOURS?