So...whats for dinner?

Can't remember if it was this thread but there was a flurry awhile ago about McDonald's chocolate milkshakes. I know Carole H was one of the culprits who convinced me to check it out. Finally went today. Oh my. I have to agree - they're excellent.

Oh, and happy anniversary Lacey!

Kay! Good hear from you!

Lacey,

Congrats on your 40th anniversary!!! But, looking at the Pickety Place photos, you must have gotten married when you were like 5!!! Hope you get a chance to celebrate really soon! And Italy.... It's on my list of places I hope to see some day!

Lacey. - Happy Anniversary to you and your husband. I'm planning on attending Michelle's memorial service, too. I'll see you there.

Thanks everyone for your best wishes on my 19th surviversary. That's the term I've coined to celebrate my years of survival since diagnosis.

I bought myself a small (2 qt) slow cooker. I've been using it to make steel cut oatmeal. I saw a recipe for slow cooker apple cinnamon oatmeal on Facebook. I'd never tried steel cut oatmeal before. It's delicious. The recipe I use is at theyummylife.com. There's several recipes for different favors of oatmeal. I also tried the cherry almond. It was good, but I like the apple cinnamon better. I store the leftovers in individual containers in the fridge. Grab one in the morning, add a little milk and nuke it. That's pretty much been the extent of my "from scratch" cooking recently.

Lynda

Thanks everyone for the anniversary wishes. Well put, Susan! Fortunately more ups than downs...and here we are!

Seaside, you flatter me! No young 'ens in this house.....we married at 28.

Lynda, I look forward to seeing you on the 17th.... I used to make steel cut oatmeal like you described and put it in small portion microwavable cups. Yum. Now that I make veggie/fruit smoothies for breakfast, I have abandoned my morning oatmeal regimen, but I could easily enjoy a big bowl of that for a solo dinner one of these nights.

Laurie, thanks so much for posting Michelle's sauce recipe....even while WWE was transpiring in your family room!! Oh those memories......;)

Hey all. Lacey, happy anniversary!

Did the peanut butter puff thingys up: I put them in the freezer for 45 minutes, then dipped the tops (they are shaped like little domes) in molten milk chocolate - about half way in. A few moments later after the choc had set, I rolled the bases in powdered sugar, and it stuck because of the moisture.

Looked great for a few hours, then the sugar turned into a paste because of the condensation.

Okay.. Round Two: did the same thing, except less time in the freezer (20 minutes) and I let the choc-tipped domes sit for about four hours then patted them with a paper towel, and then rolled them in the sugar - and that worked, no pasty stuff.

All I need now is those little paper things you put them in and guess what we're giving out for Christmas gifts? LOL!

Here's the recipe - I did a few runs so that I could get the measures exactly right to replicate the "Happy Accident" - this might be old hack for you ladies, but it's Mare Incognitum for me

PB Puff Cookies; recipe makes ~ 3 1/2 dozen



1 1/2 cup peanut butter



1/2 cup lightly salted butter (1 stick), softened



1/2 cup white sugar



5/8 cup packed brown sugar



1 egg



1 teaspoon vanilla extract



1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour



3/8 teaspoon baking soda



1/4 teaspoon salt



Directions



Preheat oven to 375 degrees



In a large bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until



well blended.



Separate bowl, beat egg, milk, and vanilla together, then add to mix.



Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into creamed mixture. Refridgerate for a



couple hours.



Place 25 cent piece sized cookie balls 2 inches apart onto greased cookie sheet.



Bake for 9 minutes in the preheated oven, until edges are lightly browned

Seaside thanks for the link. The recipes look real good. You can get canning jars pretty cheap now. I get half pints so I can bake bread in them for gift baskets. I cook up a pan of steal cut or old fashioned oats all the time. Just the oats and water and salt. In the mornings I heat up what I want with ilk or water and add whatever fruit or nuts I have on hand or just plain brown sugar and cinnamon. Yum. It lasts all week. Although on the site they said you could freeze it in the jelly jars. Great idea if I want to change it up. Also great to freeze soups and stews in the jars. For single meals or to take to people who need one size servings. I'm inspired. Now to clean out the freezer.... LOL

Keith those sound delicious! I used to make my Mom's recipe of PB, honey, dried milk balls (just mix equal parts) to dip. I also used it as edible play dough back in the days it was considered a healthy snack. Id take it to the preschool along with chow mein noodles, raisens ,choc chips, and let the kids build monsters to eat. Now most schools dont allow PB due to rampant allergies.

@deb. Um there is sometimes um "to much of a good thing" LOL

Debbie, You have such a great memory!! I had forgotten all about those pics!

Michelle's outfit for her son's birthday was hilarious... Here's the description of what she was going for...

"I'm sitting here with my costume for tonight's 70's party and DH is shaking his head. I started with the wig because my head was cold and I figured it could use a little gravity to help the style. I may wash it with my wig shampoo to see if it makes it a bit more manageable. I make him model his wig and he said he isnt't going to wear it, so I played the cancer card and he said he'll wear it until it gets too hot. I told him he'll wear it until he does the Sonny & Cher karaoke with me...lol. Then he can take it off! His needs to be washed and restyled, too. So you know what I'll be doing today!!! I need to get some false eyelashes, mine are gone and my glasse are too contemporary so I'll wear my contacts. I've never, ever applied eyelashes, this should be a hoot!"

Picture of her and Rick at the party...

And her description of the result.... "And here we are. His wig looked more like something from The Muppets!"

Too funny! For more pics from the party, check back on page 93!!!

Edited to change who's birthday they were celebrating!

Nancy,

The only complaint that some had was that, depending on how fast your slow cooker cooks, it could be burnt by morning.... For me and my particular slow cooker, the double boiler thing using the slow cooker worked really well! More forgiving if time goes a bit long!

When I make it I turn it on before bed and it's done by morning. Leftovers package well for breakfast thoughout the week!

loved the video of Michelle. Could someone post her Facebook connection.

Yum, Nance!

I remember going to Rebekah's elementary school and meeting her for lunch, I loved the pizza with a salad.

She will be 38 the 29th of December.

Laurie,

Enjoy lunch tomorrow! Your son will feel very special and will be so excited to see you!

Deborye,

It's funny how, almost universally here, Fridays are pizza, fish or mac and cheese days! We had the BEST pizza brought in from a local pizza place to be served in the cafeteria when I was in school! We all loved it!

Then came the government cheese subsidy days where schools got cheap (free?) cheese and our cafeteria ladies started making the pizza! Oh my, it really was pretty bad! They made lots of things I really liked but pizza wasn't one of them!

Minus,

We had an open HS campus for the lunch period, too! We had a Wendy's and a couple of Mom and Pop restaurants.

The Mom and Pop places weren't very welcoming to the hoards of teens with little to spend and nothing to tip. Wendy's was good as long as you bought something and the pizza place had a lunch special for students and could get you in and out fast! Important when you only have 42 minutes including travel time..lol!

More often than not we wound up at the bakery just up the street! They had the most incredible baked goods on display and for sale!! Our parents would have just about cried if they knew we spent our 75 cents on sweets rather than lunch but, yes, we did!

Hard here to find a good bakery anymore. Seems the grocery chains have pushed them out here!