There are many of these recipes around. I like this one but was just thinking . . . I wonder how chocolate graham crackers would work for it?
No Baking Involved Peanut Butter Bars!
2 cups peanut butter, divided.
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups Semi-sweet mini chocolate chips
Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
Beat 1 1/4 cups peanut butter, vanilla extract, and butter in a large bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in 1 cup powdered sugar. With sturdy wooden spoon, work in remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Press evenly into pan. Smooth surface.
Melt remaining peanut butter and morsels in emdium saucepan over low heat, stirring ukntil smooth. Spread over crust in pan. Refrigerate until firm or about an hour. Cut into bars and store covered in refrigerator.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Chilly night? Nope, CHILI night at our house!
I'm in an organizing mood and you can't really start on a project like that until you rid yourself of some of the excess clutter. That includes cupboards and refrigerators. I checking the dates on my frozen food and cooking meals accordingly.
Today, I found four boneless pork chops which is not enough to feed four people but cubed and cooked with lots of beans, onions, and rice makes chili . . . sort of! I'm not claiming to be authentic but as long as it tastes good, no one complains.
A 'secret' I discovered for making this dish more tasty is to toss the cubed pork with chili powder before browning it. It sears the meat better and makes it almost taste grilled. It seems to impart the spicy seasoning more evenly, too. Once the meat is browned, I add the onions and garlic and cook it some more before adding tomatoes, red wine, sliced carrots, and simmering it. There is really no recipe to it, just add stuff until it tastes good!
I've been cooking for a long time and was really taken aback by two different remarks. One person asked me how to cook a pot roast once and I began with, "Okay, you rub the roast with salt and pepper, brown it . . ." The woman practically shouted at me, "You don't use a cookbook. How can you cook like that." End of cooking lesson for the day! Another time, I was chatting about a roast chicken I had made and the other person said that she doesn't care for roast chicken as hers always tastes bland. I asked what herbs/spices she used and she looked shocked and said, "You use spices? That's cheating!" That ended yet another cooking lesson!
The funny thing is that I do have a lot of cook books but when it comes down to getting dinner on the table, I have to go with what I have on hand and work around the ingredients. I do refer to my cookbooks for special occasions when I plan ahead and can make sure I have the required ingredients. I'm afraid, however, that I tend to read cookbooks like a novel!
Today, I found four boneless pork chops which is not enough to feed four people but cubed and cooked with lots of beans, onions, and rice makes chili . . . sort of! I'm not claiming to be authentic but as long as it tastes good, no one complains.
A 'secret' I discovered for making this dish more tasty is to toss the cubed pork with chili powder before browning it. It sears the meat better and makes it almost taste grilled. It seems to impart the spicy seasoning more evenly, too. Once the meat is browned, I add the onions and garlic and cook it some more before adding tomatoes, red wine, sliced carrots, and simmering it. There is really no recipe to it, just add stuff until it tastes good!
I've been cooking for a long time and was really taken aback by two different remarks. One person asked me how to cook a pot roast once and I began with, "Okay, you rub the roast with salt and pepper, brown it . . ." The woman practically shouted at me, "You don't use a cookbook. How can you cook like that." End of cooking lesson for the day! Another time, I was chatting about a roast chicken I had made and the other person said that she doesn't care for roast chicken as hers always tastes bland. I asked what herbs/spices she used and she looked shocked and said, "You use spices? That's cheating!" That ended yet another cooking lesson!
The funny thing is that I do have a lot of cook books but when it comes down to getting dinner on the table, I have to go with what I have on hand and work around the ingredients. I do refer to my cookbooks for special occasions when I plan ahead and can make sure I have the required ingredients. I'm afraid, however, that I tend to read cookbooks like a novel!
A Corny story? :-)
Corn . . . the staple at barbecues, the favorite treat with a steak dinner . . . Suddenly, corn has become a culprit in our diets. I’ve been looking through various sites and like most any food in our lives, moderation is the key. And, with a lot of the fun things to eat, some of them need more moderation than others.
For those of you who think that since you don’t serve corn on the cob, creamed corn, and such, you are out of the woods on the possible negative side of consuming too much of this particular crop, thank about your last week . . . Corn bread? Popped corn? Corn flakes? Coatings on our fried foods? If nothing stands out, start reading the labels and see where this stuff sneaks in on us. Hey, even the animal foods of the cheaper variety include too much corn than is good for our dogs and cats.
One person who reads my blog mentioned this to me and got me interested in checking it out.
When cattle are ready for market, farmers increase the corn in their diet . . . to add weight!
Corn does have fiber but most people don’t chew it enough to break it down for ultimate use in our systems.
Corn can inhibit the absorption of iron in our bodies.
Ever heard of corn syrup? One guess where that comes from and if it comes from corn, even fresh corn has it. It breaks down faster than some sugars, from what I understand, so could raise one’s insulin levels which is never a good thing.
Corn chips? Tortilla chips? It is amazing where you find corn once you start thinking about it. And it has really crept in rather quietly as many of us were avoiding the potato . . . which would be a better choice, after all.
To my thinking, God gave us a lot of choices in the plants, trees, and grains he provided for us on this earth. We have variety so rather than ban anyone one item from our diets, just be aware of how much may already be in our meals and start making healthy changes or substitutions. Hey, pop corn at the movies is my favorite part and I’m not giving it up . . . but I can serve green beans instead of corn at dinner time!
For those of you who think that since you don’t serve corn on the cob, creamed corn, and such, you are out of the woods on the possible negative side of consuming too much of this particular crop, thank about your last week . . . Corn bread? Popped corn? Corn flakes? Coatings on our fried foods? If nothing stands out, start reading the labels and see where this stuff sneaks in on us. Hey, even the animal foods of the cheaper variety include too much corn than is good for our dogs and cats.
One person who reads my blog mentioned this to me and got me interested in checking it out.
When cattle are ready for market, farmers increase the corn in their diet . . . to add weight!
Corn does have fiber but most people don’t chew it enough to break it down for ultimate use in our systems.
Corn can inhibit the absorption of iron in our bodies.
Ever heard of corn syrup? One guess where that comes from and if it comes from corn, even fresh corn has it. It breaks down faster than some sugars, from what I understand, so could raise one’s insulin levels which is never a good thing.
Corn chips? Tortilla chips? It is amazing where you find corn once you start thinking about it. And it has really crept in rather quietly as many of us were avoiding the potato . . . which would be a better choice, after all.
To my thinking, God gave us a lot of choices in the plants, trees, and grains he provided for us on this earth. We have variety so rather than ban anyone one item from our diets, just be aware of how much may already be in our meals and start making healthy changes or substitutions. Hey, pop corn at the movies is my favorite part and I’m not giving it up . . . but I can serve green beans instead of corn at dinner time!
The four properties experienced by our resurrected bodies . . .
Something I did not know! You learn something knew about our Faith every day. This comes from Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall. He has a unique, inspirational, or educational offering almost every day. Google it and sign up to have it come directly to your e-mail!
Sacred Scripture and Catholic theology teaches
that our glorified resurrected bodies will experience four properties as an
outflow of the beatified soul enjoying the vision of God's essence:
1) Impassibility - the glorified body will no
longer suffer physical sickness or death, as Saint Paul teaches regarding the
glorified body in 1 Corinthians 15:42, "It is sown in corruption, it shall rise
in incorruption."
2) Subtlety meaning that we will have a
spiritualized nature in the sense of a spiritual body as did our Lord as we
learn at 1 Corinthians 15:44: "It is sown a corruptible body, it shall rise a
spiritual," i.e. a spirit-like, "body." We see that Christ's glorified body was
able to pass through closed doors.
3) Agility - the glorified body will obey the
soul with the greatest ease and speed of movement as we read in 1 Corinthians
15:43: "It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power," that is, according to a
gloss, "mobile and living." Saint Thomas Aquinas says, "But mobility can only
signify agility in movement. Therefore the glorified bodies will be agile." We
discern agility our Resurrected Lord's ability to bilocate and travel great
distances in an instant.
4) Clarity - the glorified body will be free
from any deformity and will be filled with beauty and radiance as we read
at Matthew 13:43: "The just shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father," and Wisdom 3:7: "The just shall shine, and shall run to and fro like
sparks among the reeds." Here clarity refers not being "clear" but to being
"bright."
Quotes that all brought out a smile today!
"If you're not scared or angry at the thought of a human brain
being controlled remotely, then it could be this prototype of mine is finally
starting to work."
-- John Alejandro King
-- John Alejandro King
"To be a book-collector is to combine the worst characteristics of
a dope fiend with those of a miser."
-- Robertson Davies
-- Robertson Davies
"Of all noises, I think music is the least disagreeable."
-- Samuel Johnson
-- Samuel Johnson
"There is always a well-known solution to every human
problem--neat, plausible, and wrong."
-- H. L. Mencken
-- H. L. Mencken
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