Monday, August 30, 2004

Fudge Oatmeal Peanut butter 'cookies'

oatmeal peanut butter fudge cookiesThese are excellent...! Quick & easy. They come out perfectly so long as you let the mixture boil long enough (has to be a light brown in color and a little thick). These are little peanut buttery oatmeal yummies.

You will need to start:

1 cup granulated (white) sugar
1 cup (light or dark) brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine (8 TBS or 1 stick)
1/2 cup milk (half & half, rice milk, or soy milk also work)


Cook the above ingredients in a medium saucepan (non-stick works best for me) on low to medium heat until thick, about 10-15 minutes after it starts boiling. Stir occasionally.

Take off the heat and add:

2 (rounded) Tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 cups uncooked quick oats (canister kind, not instant, unflavored)
1 tsp vanilla

Mix well (and quickly), drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed or parchment paper.
This step must be done quickly as this mixture will set fast.

Let cool fully before storing.

Any kind of nut butter will work with this recipe. Stored in an air tight container, these will last about 4 days.

The batch in the picture were made with 100% natural chunky peanut butter and coffee creamer because I didn't have any milk. Works just fine. Versatile recipe. You can view another picture here.

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Saturday, August 28, 2004

Slow cooker tomato sauce

crock pot tomato sauceEverything here is really preference. Want a lot? Use more of everything. The beauty of slow cooking is that you set it and then forget it. And the beauty of this sauce is that it can be used for many meals. Freeze some for the week and have it on pasta, on bread with cheese, toasted (mini pizzas! mmm), over baked chicken (Parmesan or not) or beef. Tomatoes are very nutritious. Let's make em' taste great!

short list:

your favorite slow cooker (or crock pot)

1 can pureed tomatoes (diced if you like chunky sauce)
1 can tomato paste
hot or mild sausage (one for taste, more if you like it), browned
crushed garlic (2-4 cloves)
couple dashes of oregano
dash of salt
ground pepper (as much as you like)
bay leaf (optional, adds a nice flavor, be sure to remove it before serving)

Add it all to your crock pot and that's basically it.

Set your slow cooker to low and leave it (stirring occasionally) for 4-8 hours (duration depends on the cooker). You can speed this up by cooking it on high but I'd stir it more often.

Sometimes I add onions. Sometimes white and red pepper (dashes). Sometimes a little red wine. Sometimes a dash of cinnamon (cuts the acidity).

Many variations, and each one equally tastey.

Enjoy!

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Hungry?

Me too. Let's see if I can add some goodies. Er...soon. Snacktime !