Peanut Butter M&M Cookies

We all know how I get when I'm bored, not feeling well, etc.
So, I wanted to make Chocolate Chip Cookies... all out of chocolate chips.. d'oh!
However, I DID have m&ms! YAY!

Using the Old-Fashioned Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from Nestles, I made cookies. With a couple of variations...

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour -- I used 1 & 3/4 cups
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter -- I used 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract -- I used 1 & 1/2 teaspoons
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cups (11.5-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Milk Chocolate Morsels - I used a medium bag of plain m&ms
• Granulated sugar

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour and baking soda in small bowl. Beat butter, peanut butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in egg. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels/candies.

DROP dough by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Press down slightly with bottom of glass dipped in granulated sugar.// I used a mini scooper, rolled into balls, and dropped them into a measuring cup that had sugar in it to coat the top. Then placed them on the baking sheet, and gently pressed down on the tops of them (sugar side up!)
BAKE for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are set but centers are still soft. Cool on baking sheets for 4 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

The verdict: They're pretty tasty. Chewy. Could use some more chocolate flavor in my opinion, but, still very good. Any one want cookies?

Perfect Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I love slow cooker meals -- more so on a hot day. You don't heat up the house like you would cooking over the stove, or even the oven.

For the "Perfect Pulled Pork" the original recipe calls for:
5# boneless pork butt shoulder
1&1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup water
soft sandwich buns

I used about a 4 lb. pork shoulder roast. Apparently we were out of paprika so I used 1/2 tsp. Cumin, and 1 tsp. of my Fareway's Rub. Also, we didn't have dried thyme, so I used ground. For the rolls I used Francisco brand Crustini Sandwich Rolls. To the bottom of the crockpot I also added 1 yellow onion, and 1 green bellpepper, both sliced thinly.

You cook the pork roast, that has been evenly rubbed with the above mixture in the crockpot with 1 cup of water. It's cooked on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours. After removing from the crockpot you let the roast sit for 10-15 minutes before pulling, slicing or chopping. Serve on a soft bun with BBQ sauce. I chose Jack Daniels Original No. 7 BBQ sauce for this, the smoky flavor goes perfectly.

As promised, I made breakfast...

Breakfast burritos...
Scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, cheddar-jack cheese -- and a little bit of salsa in my moms.

And this shrimp, said to that shrimp... Hell, IDK.

I made dinner tonight hoping the boyfriend would be over to enjoy it as well. As it all panned out that wasn't the case, but I still made dinner for everyone else to enjoy. Tonight's dinner is Shrimp Scampi over Linguine, and 5 cheese garlic bread.

And, more cake.

After the last cake I made, people wanted MORE. And, they wanted the SAME cake. So, I present to you, another yellow cake, with a fudgy ganache filling, and chocolate frosting. Yum.

I also decided to drizzle some ganache over the top as well... but the picture won't upload =(

Hold the Peas, Please...

Dinner tonight is Tuna Casserole. I used to not like different shaped pasta - everything had it's place, like elbow noodles go in macaroni, not wheels, not Dora the Freaking-Explorer, not A, B, C's and 1, 2, 3's - but have taken a liking to the Farfalle noodles for my Tuna Casserole. I got Barilla's mini Farfalle to make it a little more "interesting"... oh! And, NO PEAS! Ever. Thanks. I've also changed from making the casserole in a casserole bowl to an oblong pan... you get more of the crusty cheese on top that way... yum. =)

I've never liked peas. Maybe it's a texture thing? Although, the taste of them is equally disgusting to me. When I was little, my dad hid a pea, ONE SINGLE PEA, in my tuna casserole. While I was chewing my mouth full of deliciousness, I tasted it. I felt it. That nasty little pea in my food. While trying to swallow the food and not gag (or vomit) I begged my dad for a glass of something. ANYTHING. He brought me a glass of peas. =( Sad day... Haha

Sorry...

For the lack of updates over the last few days. Dinners were quite boring, after the last post starting with hot dogs and macaroni and cheese in the RICE cooker. It usually comes out pretty good but for some reason my noodles weren't cooking right. So, I tricked the bastard by adding a little bit of fluid a little bit at a time and cooking it until I was satisfied. Of course this cut down on the rich flavor of it, but, it was edible.

The next meal, my mom and her boyfriend decided to go out to dinner, so I grabbed a Bean Burrito from Taco Bell. No onions, add nacho cheese. Yum. LOL

Last night was TEXAS ROADHOUSE! If you've never been, go. AND, eat the damn rolls, they're FREE. Oh! And, use the cinnamon butter, it's effing delicious. Last night I had the Mushroom Jack Chicken Sandwich, yummy.

Me? I'm having leftovers...

Not in the mood for beef tonight, although, I tasted a piece and it's great...
I'm having leftovers.
Mexican Rice and Salsa Chicken Enchiladas. Yum. =)

And, then comes dinner.

Tonights dinner was an easy one.
I let a roast (beef) chill with a rub (that I got from Iowa) ALL over it in a ziploc baggy over night. This morning I tossed it in the slow cooker with 2 chopped carrots, 12 red baby potatoes, a minced shallot, and some golden mushroom soup. (About halfway through the cooking, I took a bunch of the liquid out... it's a roast, not a stew!)

Just getting started -- everyone in the sauna.



8 hours later, a nice, well seasoned roast.



Potatoes and Carrots -- happy in the hot tub.

So, that's dinner for tonight.

Have your cake & eat it, too.

Dinner is cooking away in the slow cooker.

So I decided to get started on dessert. A classic yellow cake and chocolate frosting. The filling, a milk chocolate ganache. Yum! I got lazy in the decoration department, but after everything I've done today, and while supposed to be recovering, I really can't complain. Besides, it's all about how it tastes, right?

Only a few pictures of this one -- not sure if I want to post pics as I make it, or just the finished product. We'll see how it all unfolds.



"X" marks the spot... a little chocolate "glue" to hold my cake in place.





Ready to go with the ganache filling.





And, frosted.



Now that this thing is frosted, and set, I think I might add some more to it. The guinea pigs for dessert tonight will be my mom, her boyfriend, myself, my sister and her husband. Let me know how it is, guys! Meanwhile, dinner is smelling delicious in the crock pot!