recipes and happenings

hello blog readers. i tried to post this yesterday but our internet wasn't working. it's up now so here's the blog. so, there are a few things that pop into mind to blog about today. just a little bit of this, a little bit of that. i will organize my thoughts into a "liking it" list and a "not liking it" list.

liking it:

*diet v8 fusion- this stuff is so good, and "counts" as eating a serving of fruits or vegetables!

*cookie dough poptarts-though not for breakfast, a great afternoon sweet! john likes to put his in the microwave for a couple seconds, like every baked good he eats.

*playing with daphne- she is not napping as much as usual. i'm definetely thinking it is due to her molars coming in. i found one peeking through on the top a week ago and since then she is anti-naps, anti-going to bed early, and anti-sleeping in passed 8. i'm very close to buying some tylenol. however, although she is awake more often these days, i totally don't mind and she plays very well while i just get stuff done around the house. the only thing that is suffering is my homework time. i've told john that if i didn't have to do school, i wouldn't mind it if she never napped. she's such a joy, and a cutie pa-tootie!

*my husband's bod (that's right- i said it!)

*my hair- i just got my bangs cut, as many of you know and i really like it. i haven't even had to touch up my blonde chunks in months! i'm waiting for our tax return to do that!

*premaking dinners and freezing them- every time i cook now, i make a ton of it and freeze like 3 meals out of it. it's really really great and saves me time and money in the long run! i highly recommend it!

*my mandarin/cranberry scented candle from BB&B

not liking it:

*cleaning my house- although i am putting much time into getting paid to clean other people's houses, i find myself totally unenthused to clean my own. i often find myself cleaning other people's houses thinking "my house would be great if it did this type of deep cleaning once and a while.... oh well..."

*homework- just due to the fact that i am having less and less time to do it

*snow- although i love winter, i am tired of snow and am GLAD it's melting

*potholes- john and i have definetely noticed that the pot holes are way worse this year. drive VERY carefully!

so anyway... many of you {laura} have been asking for the recipe of the peanut butter cookies that john made last week. i finally found out where he got it from, he just googled peanut butter cookies and clicked on one of the links. so here's the recipe....

{john's peanut butter cookie recipe}

[INGREDIENTS]
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

[PREPARATION]
In a bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Beat together the butter, peanut butter, and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour mixture.
Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, or about 2 to 4 hours.

Take tablespoonfuls of dough and roll into balls with hands. Place about 3 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Using a dinner fork dipped in flour, lightly press cookies, flattening and forming a criss-cross pattern on each cookie.
Bake at 375° until golden brown, or about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a minute; transfer to rack to cool completely.
Makes about 4 dozen peanut butter cookies.

OK- now i don't know if many of you remember me saying that i had about 2 of these cookies, which isn't a big deal... but is now hilarious to me, finding out that the recipe made 4 dozen cookies...

anyway... John isn't the only one whipping up great recipes around here. i have to mention that i found this GREAT meatloaf recipe. i just love it and it's pretty easy. i found it off of allrecipes.com and thought i'd share:

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup dried bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/3 cup ketchup

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, combine the beef, egg, onion, milk and bread OR cracker crumbs. Season with salt and pepper to taste and place in a lightly greased 5x9 inch loaf pan, OR form into a loaf and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a separate small bowl, combine the brown sugar, mustard and ketchup. Mix well and pour over the meatloaf.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour. Makes 8 servings.

Daphne has been doing this really cute thing lately- she peaks her head around a corner/chair/door and says "where are you?!" we'll have to get it on video to share. i was looking through some pictures to see if any of them turned out to be blog worthy. i took some pictures of my hair, but those turned out blah, and the picture posted below was the only one i thought would be worth posting. enjoy. so that's all from me today... til next time.