Sadly, I'm having computer issues again. I just found out today I can post from my phone. This will be short and to the point. The kitchen is finally finished, and after a trip to the chiropractor yesterday, mom is doing much better. We thought she was headed back to the hospital last week. Not much cooking this week, I've got a terrible cold, hoping for better next week. Take care, God bless you all,

Vikki

• 3 oz soften cream cheese
• 1/2 stick of butter, softened
• 3-4 tbsp. chopped roasted red pepper ( I get mine in a jar, but could roast you're on or even use pimento if you wish)
• 2 tsp. spicy mustard
• 2-3 oz. thin sliced ham
• 2 low carb tortillas

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until cream and smooth
2. Add roasted red peppers and blend well
3. Stir in the mustard and taste; adjust taste as needed
4. Spread cream cheese over 2 tortillas; be generous
5. top with ham and roll up
6. Wrap in plastic (seam side down) and chill for a good hour
7. slice into bite sized pinwheels

These will hold for a day or two, but I wouldn't make up much farther ahead than that.  But the cream cheese spread will last several days and you can make more as you wish.

Btw the cream cheese spread that's left over is EXCELLENT smeared over grilled chicken breast too.

Pack some veggie sticks, a frozen bottle of water, a handful of nuts for a snack and maybe even a few berries for dessert.

I love sugar snap peas. I like the fresh ones right out of the bag, just to snack on, I like them sautéed with a bit of garlic and olive oil, tossed in a salad, a stir-fry you name it. But this has got to be one of my favorite recipes. In fact I have to be very very careful because I've been known to eat the whole bag… Yikes.

Sesame Snap Peas

• 1 bag fresh or frozen baby sugar snap peas ( I use the frozen for this and save the fresh for snacking and salads)
• 2 tsp. sesame oil ( light not toasted)
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
• Salt and pepper to taste (I no longer season with salt due to mom's sodium restrictions)

1. Steam peas until tender crisp
2. While they steam, toast sesame seeds in a dry pan
3. Add sesame oil to hot skillet ( I use the same one I toasted the seeds in it) and sauté peas for a couple of minutes
4. Season to taste and sprinkle with sesame seeds

Try not to eat them all, everyone else at your table might not be so happy!

Take care, God bless and have a great weekend!

Vikki

If you read my blogs often you know how much I love Mexican food. This quiche is inspired by one of my favorites, chilies Rellenos. It has many of the same ingredients, but it's light and creamy and perfect for breakfast or lunch. Also, makes a very nice side dish to go with grilled chicken or steak.

Chiles Rellenos Quiche

• 3 slices of bacon, cut into thin strips
• 2-3 green onions, chopped
• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened
• ¼ cup mayo
• 1 sm. Can of chopped green chilies
• 4 lg eggs
• 1 cup milk ( I use hood calorie count down)
• ½ cup shredded Colby jack cheese ( or cheese of your choice) Separated
• 2 tbsp. carbquik ( not a must but makes it a bit more stable)

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Brown bacon in small frying pan and set on paper toweling to drain
3. Spray a glass pie plate and snip green onions into the bottom, then sprinkle on the bacon
4. In a med mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, mayo and chilies.
5. Wisk in carbquik, will be a bit lumpy like pancake batter but that's ok
6. Beat in eggs milk and ½ the cheese.
7. Place pie plate on foil covered baking sheet
8. To keep from disturbing the bacon and onions pour the egg mixture over a large spoon into the pie plate
9. Carefully (pie plate will be very full) place in the oven for 40 -45 minutes
10. When center is set sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted
11. Let set a few minutes before cutting

Since it's only 4 eggs eating half the whole quiche is not out of the question, but I cut mine in 4 large pieces.

• 3-4 cups of beans (or a couple of cans drained and rinsed)
• 1 cup chopped sausage, use what you have, I had smoked
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4-1/2 cup water
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1- cloves of garlic, diced fine
• 1 tbsp of butter (we're using unsalted these days)
• 1 tbsp. bacon drippings (or other oil)
• Optional toppings: shredded cheese, salsa, chopped green onions, lc tortilla chips or whatever you like

1. Heat a heavy bottomed pan and add butter, oil and chopped veggies.  Saute until tender
2. Add chopped sausage and continue to cook until sausage starts to get a little brown
3. Add beans and water, you want them wet enough to heat but not too soupy, unless you like soupy.
4. Once beans are heated through and thickened up a bit, add rice and just cook long enough to heat.
5. Top each bowl with cheese, salsa and green onions and dig in.  This is even good at room temp. 
6. Serve with a crisp green salad and a huge glass of ice cold lemon or lime water.

This could easily change flavors depending on the beans and sausage you used.  Cannellini beans and Italian sausage would be great and you could top with chopped tomatoes, olives and fresh chopped parsley.  You could season the beans with any spices you liked.  But this is a basic, spring board recipe.  And after all the take out it was so so good.

Take care, have a wonderful day and may God bless you richly.

Vikki

I'd never even heard of Beans and Greens until watching Rachael Rae one time. But I had some left over steamed kale in the fridge and thought I'd give it a try. I'm a huge fan now! It's really pretty quick and very tasty, not to mention filling and cheap! It meets all my budget and dietary requirements. When I took these pictures mom wasn't on the sodium restricted diet so I used can beans, no I just use dried beans I soak and cook myself without salt.

Beans and Greens

• 2 slices of country bacon, sliced into small pieces
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp. white wine vinegar
• 1 cup sliced white button mushrooms
• 1-2 tbsp. sun dried tomatoes (jarred in oil)
• 1 cup beans
• 2 cups steamed kale
• Chicken stock
• Fresh ground black pepper

1. Fry bacon until it renders fat, add onions and garlic
2. When onions are translucent add mushrooms and cook until soft
3. Add vinegar and cook down until everything is golden brown
4. Stir in tomatoes and a tbsp. or two of chicken stock and let simmer until everything is cooked
5. Stir in beans and greens and more chicken stock, enough so it has a little soupiness to it.
6. Let simmer until everything is hot.
7. Serve with a little sprinkle of parmesan cheese and hot sauce if you like.

I am an Egg lover. If you know me at all out know I have a thing about eggs. They are cheap, healthy, filling and SO SO versatile. You can eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Heck boiled eggs or deviled eggs make a perfect snack.

That brings me to my new favorite egg dish. It's very simple and yet very rich and satisfying.

Green Onion Eggs

• 4 eggs
• 2-3 green onions
• 1 slice cheese, broken into small pieces
• 1 tbsp. butter

1. Melt butter in skillet
2. Add eggs and scramble
3. When egg whites are just starting to set, add green onions and continue to scramble
4. Stir in cheese and spoon into two bowls
5. Enjoy!

Try very hard not to overcook the eggs. These should be soft and not too dry. It's amazing what a fresh taste this give plain scrambled eggs.

I've made dozens of different versions of Laura Dolson's Focaccia -Style Flax Bread, but this has got to be my all time favorite. I can't believe it took me this long to finally get around to making it. I've had it in the back of my mind for a long while. I hope you like it as much as I do.

Apple Cinnamon Flaxbread

Preheat oven to 350

• 2 cups flax meal
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• Half a Granny Smith apple, diced
• 4 lg. eggs
• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
• ½ cup cinnamon syrup or water
• ¼ cup Fiberfit or other sweetener

1. Spray a 9x11 inch cake pan and set aside
2. Mix flax, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, walnuts and apples together
3. Mix eggs, coconut oil, syrup and Fiberfit until well blended and no egg "tails" are left
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine
5. Pour into cake pan and bake at 350 for 25 minutes
6. Cool on cooling rake before cutting.

Like all my flaxbreads, I store half in a zip bag with a paper towel and put the other half in a bowl with paper towel and pop it in the freezer.

I've been so so hungry for cereal the last few weeks that I finally got around to making mine and Patty's sesame flax cereal. While I was eating a nice bowl of the crunchy, nutty cereal I was thinking there must be other flavors I could make that would be equally crunchy. While I was putting the stuff away, I came across a bag of unsweetened coconut and thought what a yummy cereal that would make.

So I pulled all the stuff out again and made a batch using the coconut and some pecans and let me tell you, I think it's as good as not better than the original. This one however is super yummy just to munch on.

Coconut Flax Cereal

• 1 cup flax seed meal
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans or nut of your choice
• 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. splenda
• 1 cup water
• 10 drops coconut flavor drops (I used Capella)
• 2 tbsp. melted coconut oil

1. Mix all dry ingredients together until well blended
2. Add drops to water and pour over dry ingredients and mix well
3. Mix in coconut oil and let set a minute or two until it thickens up
4. Pour on to cookie sheet that is covered with parchment paper or silicon mat (I'm lucky enough to have a silpat)
5. Use wax paper to press flat and even out.
6. Using a dull knife score into small squares.
7. Bake at 200 for 30 minutes; remove spread out squares and bake an additional 30 minutes.
8. If dry and crispy, remove and let cool, if not quite there, bake until it is, I had to bake mine an additional 15 minutes.
9. Then just bag it up and enjoy!

It's been a long long time since I've posted. Truth is I didn't have anything to share. With mom in the hospital yet again and then when she came home she was in such pain, I simply didn't feel like watching what we ate. We ate too much take out, too much junk and too many nights of everyone scrounging for something to eat. Even when I could get myself in the mood to cook and feed us all better, another bout of depression would hit and I just couldn't do it. With mom out of commission, and me unable to drive that left Cindy to buy groceries and in this heat it's been hit or miss. More just picking up what we had to have for a few days and unfortunately that included a great deal of convenience food (something I've never liked).

She had dr. appointment after dr. appointment, test after test and no one could find out why her legs hurt her so badly. Her home nurse visited 2x a week and her PT 2x a week and neither of them could figure it out either. She got to the point she was sleeping all the time and was very very restless, talking and moving a great deal in her sleep. I urged and fussed until she agreed to get an appointment with her primary doctor to talk about having another sleep study done. But before she could make the appointment, Vickie (her home nurse) came for her visit and found she'd gained 7 pounds in one day. (Hmmm why didn't she tell me that?) She called and got her in to see the Dr. 20 minutes later. Back in the hospital she went. She had fluid around her heart and they put her on a lasix drip immediately. After a couple days they got her balanced on oral meds and then after only 4 days (sarcasm), she got to come home. Guess what? No more leg pain. She's doing very well now. She's still on the walker, but she's walking a great deal more and getting out of the house a little. She feels better and has been taking on cleaning projects, buy groceries (if someone takes hers, still can't drive yet).

Now she's on a strict sodium reduced diet along with fluid restrictions to keep the fluid from building up again. Now I need to learn how to cook salt-free. Boy you wouldn't believe just all the things that have sodium in them!!! I mean even ketchup and mustard have salt. So I have another challenge on my hands.

It's been nearly two years now since this all started. Since the first diagnosis that she needed to get the valve replaced immediately, finally getting it done in January, all the complications and setbacks since. We're really hoping this last trip to the hospital, is just that, her last trip. Seems every time she comes home she's doing so well until suddenly she's not, and then she ends back in the hospital. We counted it up and she's spent nearly twice as much time in a hospital or one rehab center or other than she has at home this year.

We've all been under so much stress for so long, that I think we've all forgotten how to just relax. My sleeping patterns are worse than ever. I'm having awful bouts of depression and all this rain we've had has had my allergies in full swing.

Cindy bless her heart has not only had all the stress of dealing with mom's health but work as well. It finally got to be too much for her and she had to take off for about a week and "run" away from home. She just needed some time to not worry about anyone or anything but herself. Now if she could have just stop calling home to make sure we were ok, she might have relaxed a little more…giggle. He knees and ankles are giving her problems again.

Mom feels so bad for having put us through this, not that there is anything to be sorry for. But we all live with guilt when it comes to the way our life effects others, even more for those closest to us.

I'm so not posting this for sympathy; it's why I didn't post it while it was all going on. But I did want to explain why I seem to have just abandoned both blogs. Sometimes life just takes all of our attention!

Hopefully, I can get refocused, re-energized, and inspired to get back with it. I just need to figure out how to cook low carb, cheap, and salt free…giggle so the focus is going to have to change a little, but I'll do it. God's been with us all the way through this and he'll guide me through this latest hurdle too. One thing is for sure, canned foods (not that we use them often anyway) are almost all out of the question at this point. No more canned beans, I'll have to make sure I always have cooked beans on hand. On the plus size they're much cheaper anyway!!!!

That's where we are now and I promise to try and post more often. Adding recipes, but with fewer pictures, I still don't have a camera and my phone is iffy at best…giggle

I hope you're all doing well, that your summer is going well and the heat isn't too horrible where you are.

Take care until next time,

Vikki

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As you know I'm a huge fan of cooking a large cut of meat and making two or three meals from it. It's tricks like this that makes my life so much easier and cost effective. The trick is to not let the second half stay in the fridge too long. If you're not going to use it within a day or two, freeze until you're ready, you don't save $$ when you let food ruin.

The only regret I have is that I only cooked one roast while I was roasting. If I had planned better I could have roasted two roasts and packaged up the second one in dinner sized portions for future dinners.

Using my roasting method here you will end up with a roast that is not quite finished cooking. I do this so I can finish it off in whatever recipe I'm using. If you just want to have a roasted pork roast, just cook a bit longer, maybe 10-15 minutes. Just remember to test doneness with your handy dandy thermometer.

This week my goal was to make Cranberry Roasted Pork Loin with half and Pork fried rice with the other half. Cindy's been hitting me up for it for a while now…giggle

Cranberry Roasted Pork Loin

Ingredients:

• 1-1 ½ lb  Pork loin roast ( or half a roast)
• Salt & pepper
• ¼ tsp. sage ( I just sprinkled didn't measure so might have been a bit less)
• 1 cup cranberry sauce, just make half a recipe and you'll still have some left over for a treat!

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350,
2. Season pork with salt & pepper then rub in sage, place in roasting pan (cover with foil to save on the mess) and roast 30 minutes
3. Top with cranberry sauce and roast an additional 10 minutes.
4. Cover with foil and let rest 5-10 minutes before cutting.

That's it, it's as easy as that! And let me tell you it's one of my family's favorites. It's moist, tender and so flavorful. I hope you enjoy it too.

*Note: If you roast the pork ahead of time like I do, and you are using cold cranberry sauce. Set out a good 30 minutes to let both come to room temp and roast 15-20 minutes instead of the 10, so it can heat all the way through.

Sometimes you just you just want something simple and easy to eat without having to remember to take something out, or give it a lot of thought.

Those are the times I throw together stir-fries and skillet dinners. Whatever is in the fridge goes in and yummy goodness almost always comes out.

Sometimes you just want good old fashioned comfort food. And what is more comforting than bacon and eggs? Throw in a few potatoes and some peppers and onions and you're in hog heaven (forgive the pun please). This is my version of one of those hashbrown egg dishes that use high carb potatoes and if you get them in a restaurant normally a good deal of hidden sugar.

I've used turnips in place of potatoes in this version, but I've been known to use zucchini instead. I really prefer when I have some boiled turnips in the fridge because I find they are less likely to be bitter, but raw works just as well too.

Since I love spicy hot foods I add jalapenos to mine, but there is no hard and fast rules in making this. Use what you like

You will notice I didn't add amounts, that's because it is completely up to you. For two people I normally use 3 strips of bacon and 4 eggs, the rest is up to what I have, what looks good and what I feel like chopping.

As odd as it might seem to some and as normal to others I like my scrambled eggs in a bowl. I'm not sure why, my mom always served them on a plate and still does. I guess I just associate comfort with a bowl. If you think about it, soups, oatmeal, mac & cheese all the big comfort foods come in a bowl and are eaten with a spoon. So for me this is bowl food.

That being said, leftovers make a great breakfast taco!

Ingredients:

• Bacon, cut into pieces
• Onion, chopped
• Green pepper, chopped
• Turnips, chopped
• Mushrooms, chopped
• Jalapeno slices
• Eggs
• Cheese (optional)
• Sour cream (optional)
• Cherry or diced tomatoes

Method:

1. Fry bacon with onions, peppers and turnips until bacon is crisp and the veggies are tender, I like my turnips to brown around the edges too
2. Add mushrooms and jalapenos cook until mushrooms are done
3. Crack eggs over veggies and scramble until desired doneness
4. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese and a dollop of sour cream if desired
5. Other veg choices include tomatoes, zucchini, green onions, spinach or whatever is in your veggie drawer.

So the next time you're craving something simple, something comforting, something quick just reach for your bacon and eggs.

Friday, May 08, 2009

6:03 PM

This is one of our favorite meals, but even using Dreamfields Lasagna noodles I don't make it very often. Though I have to admit this last time I tripled the recipe and froze enough for 2 more dinners later on.

It's so simple to make but a little time consuming so making them ahead of time will make it so so much easier.    

Now I think you could use large eggplant slices in place of the noodles, but I've never tried it so I'm not certain it would work. I've also heard of people using "egg noodles" where you bake beaten eggs on a baking pan with sides then slice into noodles, but again I've never tried it so I don't know and I'd be afraid the y wouldn't be strong enough to hold. But since you only eat one, possibly two of these , you don't really consume that much pasta.

Easy Lasagna Roll Ups

Serves 3-6    

Ingredients:

• 6 lasagna noodles, par boiled ( just get them a little past pliable)
• 1 lb ground meat (turkey, chicken whatever you like)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 8oz. Container of ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese, fresh is better but the canister stuff will work
• 1 egg, beaten
• Seasoning: it's really up to you, but I like a little salt & pepper, thyme and oregano, Italian seasoning would work great too if you have it.
• Optional: Fresh spinach, broccoli (steamed and pureed or chopped finely)
• Marinara sauce (my recipe follows this one)

     

  Method:

     

1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. If you haven't done so, par boil lasagna noodles, drain and drizzle with olive oil to keep them from sticking
3. Brown meat with garlic and onion, drain and let cool or do like I do and pull a bag out of the freezer to thaw :o)
4. In a small bowl, mix together the three cheeses and season to taste then mix in the egg
5. Lay out on or two noodles at a time, I like to lay them on wax paper
6. Spread with cheese mixture, then press the meat into the cheese.
7. Next add veggies if using. I like to use pureed broccoli if I'm using chicken and fresh spinach with beef, but any veggie you like can be added or just omit if you prefer
8. *Carefully roll noodles into large rolls and place on sides in 9x13 baking dish
9. Spoon marinara over each roll and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and bake 25-30
10. Let set up a minute before serving.

       

    Vikki's Famous Marinara

     

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 med. Onion, minced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-4 tbsp. dried basil, I use at least 3
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms -if you family will eat them, mine won't but it's better with them
• 1 lg. can tomato sauce, I like Hunts or Muir organic fire roasted, just make sure it's one that tastes really good
• Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp sweetener of choice, sugar, splenda, honey, Agave, it's simply to balance the tartness and bitterness of the tomato 

Method:    

1. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan over med. heat, when shimmering add onions and simmer until slightly softened. Add garlic and sauté another minute or two; add basil and sauté until onions are translucent.
2. Add tomato sauce and turn heat down to simmer. Let it simmer about 10 minutes then taste and season with salt and pepper and stir in sweetener.

      

   I like to add the seasoning at the end because adding salt to tomatoes too early can cause them to become bitter. And I add the sweetener at the end because until it's done I don't know how much I will need; nothing worse than sweet marinara.    

   My original recipe had whole tomatoes, puree and paste, this is just faster and I get the same texture without the long cooking time.    

   It's perfect for pizza, chicken parmesan, pizza burgers or whenever you want a clean red sauce.

   Freezes wonderfully. I add small bags to my pizza kits and lasagna rolls.    

   *To freeze the lasagna rolls, simply roll as directed. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheet and flash freeze. When completely frozen (overnight). Place the number needed for one dinner into a air tight freezer bowl, add a bag with grated mozzarella and a bag of sauce. Seal, label and freeze. When ready to prepare, thaw completely in the refrigerator, place in backing dish, pour over sauce, sprinkle with cheese and bake as normal.    

   I've never tried them from frozen but I'm sure it would work very much like a frozen dinner from the grocery store, I just don't know how long it would need to bake. 

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I belong to a couple of freezer groups and one of the things that comes up over and over is breakfast cookies. I had never heard of such a thing but sure hated that I couldn't try them because of the flour.

A few months ago, between mom's hospital visits, I decided to experiment. I wanted something else that we could quickly grab for breakfast and I wanted to get more fiber in my diet. My first thought was coconut flour. It low in carb, very high in fiber, so it fit the bill perfectly. I tried adding a little flax to keep the omega 3's but so far I haven't made that work yet. I tried chia for the same reason but I didn't like the results from it either.

I used the free sample of resistance starch that I got way back when from Hi-Maize. I have the wheat resistant starch you can get from netrition but I haven't used it yet, I'm still working on the huge sample Hi-Maize sent me, but I'm sure the wheat version would work just fine. It's simply to improve the texture.

I made these large so that one cookie would be more than enough for a quick portable breakfast. They are cake like and get sweeter as the days go by.

With mom in the hospital she wanted some to keep on hand but figured she would only eat half at a time. So I decided to make them smaller. I also wanted them to spread more so I added more fat and eliminated the cream cheese. What I ended up with is a cookie that looks and feels very much like a regular peanut butter cookie but with all the nutrition, protein and fiber of a breakfast bar. These were not cakey at all. I also left out the erythritol this time because I thought they were sweet enough without it.

Don't be afraid of the molasses, just make sure it's black strap. It comes from the last boiling of the sugar cane and contains all the healthy minerals especially iron, calcium, manganese and potassium. And a full tablespoon only has 11 carbs. When you're only using 1 it's not a bad addition to low cooking and it's a safe natural way to get a brown sugar flavor into your recipe. After all, brown sugar is nothing more than white table sugar with molasses added.

The protein powder and peanut butter both insure these have plenty of protein. The peanut butter, chocolate chips and butter, or coconut oil insure they have plenty fat. The peanut butter, coconut flour and nuts make them high in fiber. And they taste great too! I had all this figured out, but I lost the paper I wrote it on… oops! But suffice it to say they rated high on all counts. I hope you enjoy as much as we do.

Breakfast Cookies

 Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. butter, room temp.
• 2 oz. cream cheese, room temp
• 1 cup splenda
• ½ cup erythritol, shifted
• 1 tbsp. molasses, make sure it's black strap!
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ cup peanut butter (natural type no sugar)
• ½ cup coconut flour
• ¼ cup resistance starch
• 2 tbsp. Powdered peanut butter, optional but adds to the flavor and protein level 
• 2 scoops protein powder (I use Designer whey)
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup chocolate chips (optional)
• ¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)

 Method:  

1. Preheat oven to 325
2. Lightly spray cookie sheets, not really necessary but makes me feel safer 
3. Beat butter, cream cheese and splenda until light and fluffy
4. Add erythritol, vanilla, eggs, molasses and peanut butter. Beat until well combined
5. Shift in dry ingredients mix only until blended
6. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips if using
7. Drop by large, rounded tablespoons onto cookie sheet (these are huge cookies)
8. Bake about 6-10 minutes or until golden brown
9. Cool and store in airtight container.

 Serve a big cup of coffee for breakfast. 

Optional: Add coconut instead of peanut butter, with nuts and chocolate chips, not as much protein but a bit more fiber. 

Make smaller and have 2 cookies instead of one  

For a more cookie like cookie- omit cream cheese and butter and use ½ cup coconut oil. These will need to be rolled into walnut sized balls and then flattened with a fork like normal peanut butter cookies.