Easiest Ever Peanut Butter Cookies

A few years ago, I was on the hunt for a gluten-free dessert recipe. My friend has children who have gluten sensitivities, and when I had youth get-togethers at my house, I would kick myself every time they would remind me that they couldn't partake of any of the goodies I had provided.  While searching for something yummy, yet gluten-free, I came upon this wonderful recipe.

I call these my 1-1-1-1 Peanut Butter Cookies. They are super easy to make and the recipe is easy to memorize.


1-1-1-1 Peanut Butter Cookies (Gluten-Free)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

1 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix ingredients together.
Drop by spoonful onto ungreased cookie sheet. Press lightly with a fork.
Bake between 9-12 minutes, depending on your oven and altitude.
Makes about 10 cookies.

See?  Easy. I make these frequently when it's late at night and the guys want a snack, but I don't want to spend a whole lot of time baking. I like that there's no flour in them because no matter how hard I try to keep things clean while baking, I always manage to dump flour on the table, on the floor, or down the front of my shirt. Easy to make, easy to clean up.

Enjoy!

Chicks in the 'Hood

The Hood

I am very lucky in that I live in a neighborhood in which people adhere to the policy of "Live and Let Live." In fact, I'd be willing to stick my neck out and say that for the most part, our whole town is like that.

We don't call the cops on each other when someone's music is a little too loud. Our thought is, "Hey, the neighbor is spending one of his few days off, out in the yard, playing with his kids and making improvements. Let the AC/DC roll!" 

If someone is out shooting fireworks other than on an "approved" holiday, I don't get my shorts in a bunch. I just figure they must be celebrating someone's birthday and had some leftovers from July 4.

Some stranger cuts through my back yard so they don't have to walk an extra three blocks? Go for it. Just leave my yard as you found it. Or better yet, pick up a rake on your way through and help out.

The guy down the block plants tall wildflowers in his front yard instead of grass. The neighbors don't complain that it's an eyesore, or looks messy. They appreciate the view as they stroll by.

The Chicks

Our next door neighbors, as a family project, built a chicken coop and stocked it with a few egg-layers. The first thing the grandkids do when they come over is say, "Can we go see the chickens?"  Since the coop borders our yard, they get a good view.

Baby Elephant and Chunk love to sing along with the rooster when he gets crowing.

Our neighbors open the coop and let the chickens out for some fresh air several times a week.

Uh-oh. Do they get in my yard?

Yup.

Do they get in my garden?

Yup. In fact they ate a whole flat of vegetable starts that I left sitting out in the yard, waiting to be planted.

Do I complain about it?

Nope.

Why not?????

Well, for one, I think it's great that my neighbors let their chickens "free-range" as we call it. It's good for the chickens and it's good for their eggs. 

Two, I live in a rural area. If I don't want chickens, deer, or baby goats in or near my yard, I know what to do--either move to an urban area or invest in the resources to protect my garden from them.

Three, they eat grasshoppers which would cause more damage to my garden than the chickens ever would.

Four, we sometimes get free eggs!

And of course the final reason has to do with a couple of little kids who have totally succumbed to the charms of the chicks in the hood.

The Return of the Teen

A week ago today, I said goodbye to Weston as he left on a quest. Was this a quest to destroy a ring and save a kingdom? Or a quest to defeat a gold-hoarding dragon?

Nay. This was a quest to test his fortitude in the absence of a bathroom, a quest to find if he could fall asleep without the whirring sound of a fan but with the screech of forest animals, a quest to prove his mother wrong when she said, "Maybe you should take a long-sleeved shirt in case you get cold." Indeed, it was a quest to prove his manhood.

I am happy to say, he succeeded in his quest. He arrived home yesterday, blistered, sunburned, and exhausted.

The first three days of the fifty mile hike, he trudged uphill in the rain. He drank water (filtered, of course) from cold running streams. He slept on the ground without a pillow. He hiked in boots that started to come apart at the heel. And he brought his iPhone so he could take pictures!  Yay! 

Enjoy the beauty of the high Uintas of Utah.

Ice Cream

Day 31, also known as "I can't believe it's August and summer is almost over!"

I got really lucky in the children department. All three of my kids are people that I really like. They're smart, funny, hard-working, and most importantly--kind.

I recently found out something fun. A story I submitted to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Touched by an Angel was chosen for publication. When I first found out, I went to Facebook to share the joy. I thought maybe a few of my friends would "like" the post. Instead, I read comment after comment of congratulatory wishes. I was stunned by all the heart-felt notes.

My two daughters were among my well-wishers. Em sweetened the moment, literally, by dropping by with some surprise ice cream--Oreo Mint Chocolate!  I am never one to turn down ice cream no matter how full I am.  (Well, except that one time when I bought some sugar-free, dairy-free, ginger ice cream. That stuff was nasty, and I did something unheard of--I threw it away.)

Doesn't that look yummy?  I offered some to Computer Geek and luckily he said no!

(Yes that is a map of the world hanging on my office wall. We are geeks who are constantly looking up stuff. Plus, I home school and force Weston to find places on the map just for my amusement.)

Ice cream. A perfect way to end Day 31.