Chocolate Peanut-Butter No-Bake Cookies

I recently found this yummy recipe for Chocolate Peanut-Butter No-Bake Cookies. My family loves these. They don't take long to make. I have one suggestion: gather all the ingredients and measure them out--especially the peanut butter.

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 4 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 stick butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 cups oatmeal
• Waxed paper

Directions

In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.

A Manti trip and a Dream

Saturday we drove down to Manti to see the LDS Manti Pageant. I was surprised at how empty the town was. We’ve gone before and I remember people playing at the park and walking the streets. We didn’t see many people out at all. We went to the craft store and park. Then over to the church for a turkey dinner (they raise turkeys in Manti). I stood in line for a few minutes, made a mad dash for seats, but in reality, there was little competition. Since the pageant doesn’t start until dark, we went back to the hotel to hang out.
The pageant was beautiful. The kids were impressed by the volcano action. I loved the angels and the part where Mary, a young mother who dies on the plains, comes back to get her husband when he is shot by an arrow. That scene is enough to make anyone cry.
I had a funny dream while in Manti. I was at a neighbor’s house, checking their mail for them while they were out of town. I was making sure everything was okay when another neighbor starting chatting. She asked me something about the neighbors, but I couldn’t remember the names of the people whose house I was watching. I was totally embarrassed. Then I see a door inside the house open and close. I ask, “oh, they are home now?” They invite me in and we chat for a minute before the husband gets up, and grabs some paperwork and a baggie of pills. He says, “I am conducting a study on how well this drug will help people with memory loss from drug use early in life. I’m going to sign you up. Here are your drugs.” He writes my name on the clipboard.
I say, “I’ve never used drugs. Will it still help?”
His reply “I think it is obvious you’ve been involved with drugs from your memory problems. I’m signing you up.”
I say, “Don’t you need some background information?”
His reply, “I don’t think that will be necessary.”
I’m upset that he is doing everything wrong, but I really want the drugs (how’s that for a not being a drug user?!) so go along with it. Hysterical!

I woke up to husband knocking on the door (due to our large family, we had girls in one room and boys in another). 7:45… you’ve got to be kidding. Groan. I open the door – not! The deadbolt won’t open all the way. I shake the door, move the deadbolt in and out, but it won’t move all the way over. I go to the window and notice it is a full window, you can’t open it. I shout through the window that the door is stuck. Jay is looking at me like I’m an idiot. Seriously, the lock won’t open. He wiggles the door from the outside and I try again. No luck. He goes to the office, who promptly calls me. I explain and again I get the “are you serious?!” treatment. He instructs me to do the same thing Jay and I just did, again. It doesn’t work, again. The manager says he’s coming to the room. I hurry into some clothes. He starts pushing and shoving the door. I turn the deadbolt and VIOLA- it works. I tell him it is a good thing there wasn’t a fire. That would have been bad. He promises to change the lock. Seems like I can’t go anywhere without having some kind of problem with the hotel. Rolling eyes.
We leave Manti rather quickly. We still had lots of snacks for the trip, mostly gluten-free stuff but not all. We did stop by a McDonalds on the way home for breakfast. My kids hardly ever eat breakfast out and really didn’t know what to get. One had egg mcmuffin, two had a cinnamon roll and one had nothing. I didn’t bother to get anything. There isn’t much on their menu that is gluten-free. I’m trying really hard but sometimes I forget...
We went to dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. My nephew cooked the steaks perfectly. There were baked potatoes and a yummy salad. For dessert, I brought ice cream cones. I had wanted something I could just serve. I didn’t want something with lots of prep time, since I wasn’t sure what time we would be back from Manti. I scooped out ice cream cones for everyone, then fixed one for myself.
I. ate. the. whole. thing. without. thinking. about. it.
I didn’t even realize I’d done it until we got home and the kids asked for one more cone. I fixed them one and thought, “I want another one. WAIT. I ate an ice cream cone?! What was I thinking? I wasn’t thinking!”
Waaaa! Where is my baggie of memory pills!

Friday Fun and Chocolate Disappointment

Friday I took the kids and met up with my friend, Whitney, and her son, in Salt Lake City. We went to The Discovery Gateway Museum and totally had a blast. The kids loved all the hands on activities. They played in a sand pit, pretended to be a news anchor, played with wood, plastic and magnetic blocks. John's favorite thing was the Magformers. I guess I know what he wants for Christmas. We ate lunch on the roof-top, next to a helicopter (after we ate, we got to talk while the kids played). We spent three hours there and could have spent longer.
The kids begged me to take them to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for a treat. The kids were excited as we crossed the street to store. It didn’t take them long at all to pick out something they wanted. Two ice creams (in a cup) and one Rice Krispie treat with chocolate and caramel on it. I asked the lady behind the counter what they had that was gluten-free. She turned to another employee and repeated my question, “What do we have that is gluten-free?”
He snorted, looked at me and smirked, “Water.” He then turned his back on me and went on with whatever he was doing that was more important than helping me.
I bought my kids their treat, hearing only a little whining from Jo, who seemed to feel she ought to be able to pick out more than one thing. I squashed that idea. Her one treat alone cost me three dollars. That was all she was getting. Then I sat with my friend and our kids and watched them all eat their treat. And I got angry.
Most chocolate is gluten-free. Rice Krispies and marshmallows are gluten-free. Most ice cream is gluten-free (not counting the obvious ingredients, like cookies). Nuts are gluten-free. Was it true that there was nothing in the store that would be considered gluten-free? I don’t know. I do know, though, that the employees there are uneducated about gluten-free foods and could care less about helping a customer who needs to eat gluten-free.
Next time we go to the Gateway, my kids and I will find another place to get our treats. Somewhere that cares.

Sweet Cake Bake Shop

I have a friend whose daughter got married last week. She told me she found this little bakery in Kaysville, whose sweets were all gluten-free. She didn’t have a clue what gluten was, but said their stuff was yummy. I’ve been dying to get to the bakery, but didn’t make it over there until my birthday.
That morning, my eight year old, asked me, “What kind of cake are you going to make yourself for your birthday?” Ack, little girl, didn’t I teach you better than that?! I’m not making my own cake.
After I went to lunch with my friend, Jo, we drove over to the Sweet Cake Bake Shop. It is right off Main Street and 200 North. It is a cute place. Not only do they have sweets ready to go, but they also have mixes to buy and make later. There is pancake and “Master Mix” for making bread. The sweets include cookies, cupcakes, brownies, and raspberry bars.
Four chocolate and two vanilla cupcakes, to go, please. The frosting is piled a mile high. The kids took one look and wanted to eat them before dinner. At first, my husband wasn’t sure he wanted one (after all, it is gluten-free) but they look so yummy, he gave in and ate his. We all did.
It was delicious to eat cake again… and know it wouldn’t hurt later.