One Hot Saturday Afternoon

Why I picked a day with 90+ degree heat to get ahead with my baking, I'll have no idea. Maybe it is knowing that summer is coming to its inevitable close and I would really like to have some goodies stocked up to make the school year go a little smoother. Maybe it's because I really missed making/eating baked oatmeal. Maybe it's because I've been wanting to try making PB cookies and alfredo sauce. Maybe it's because I had 2 rotten bananas staring at me from the counter for the last few days...Ok, so maybe it's a little of them all :)  But mostly it is knowing that there are only 2 weeks left before I start getting my room ready and this week has 3 days of training, therefore my summer is almost over. I wish last week would have lasted forever.

So today I made a double batch of baked oatmeal and froze it in muffin cups for a preportioned breakfast (idea courtesy of my friend, Jess!).

Then I turned those overripe bananas into muffins...only the batter was really thick (I think I accidentally got too much flour) and they were screaming "cookies" at me, so I just plopped the dough on a cookie sheet to make banana muffin cookies. I haven't tried one yet. I froze half and are letting the other half get eaten  :)

I have also been craving alfredo noodles with shrimp and broccoli and tried Laura's recipe from Heavenly Homemakers. The only change was that I used organic half and half instead of cream b/c Giant didn't have cream. It was yummy, so yummy in fact I did not take a picture. All I did was sautee the shrimp and broccoli in some olive oil and then combined it all on my plate. And there is enough sauce for another meal so that is going in the freezer as well, and next time I'll try to take a picture.

Last but not least, peanut butter cookies. I have not made them in a very long time, but they remind me of being a kid as I remember always helping my mom bake them and having the job of criss-crossing the fork pattern on top. They turned out so yummy. The batter was dry so I did have to add some olive oil to make it a better consistency. I based my recipe on this one from cooks.com.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/2 cups King Arthur organic all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
large pinch of salt
1/2 cup Earth Balance butter
1/2 cup organic peanut butter
1/4 cup Sun Crystals
1/2 cup sucanat
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla

Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.

Cream together butter and peanut butter until well blended and smooth, adding the sugar gradually to mixture. Beat until mixture is light and fluffy.

Add 1 egg, well beaten; stir in vanilla. When well mixed, add flour mixture, stirring until just mixed. This is where I added a little EVOO.

Roll into small balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheet and press a criss-cross pattern onto the top using a
fork that has been dipped into flour.

Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 8 minutes. Do not overbake.