Since Mr. Fantastic is feeling under the weather today, it was a good day for me to stick around home and bake. And I don't know about you, but the term "Stay at home Mom", is false. I feel like I am never at home. But make no mistake about that statement either. I am NOT one of the drive thru mom's. I am blessed with non picky children, partly by fate, partly by diligence as parents. We do not give them them the choice to eat their veggies or not eat their veggies, the choice comes in which ones they would like today. But they will eat them.

I am lucky, both Little P and Boots love, love, love fresh fruit and veggies, and 8 out of 10 times when offered the choice between cold slices of watermelon or ice cream on a hot day they will pick the melon, those other two times, well....they are kids after all and ice cream is ice cream. But as a mom I cheer when I see them making those choices with out me standing there prompting the right one. It's great to see them choose better for them selves. And I have to say secretly that some times it's kind of fun to see them savor that ice cream too.

I will say in the same breath that as much as I am stickler about making sure that they eat a balanced diet and drink lots of water and milk, I also don't feel that you should deny your kids things. I have had people drop their kids off at my house with a list a mile long of things that they don't let thier children have, and those parents no sooner step back in that car and drive away, when I have that small visitor who is hungry and insistant that twinkies are definately NOT on that list, and they are not taking strawberries as a possible substitution. So it has been my experience that moderation like with everything else in life is the best policy.

All this talk about food is making me hungry! What do we have here?

This morning I threw a cinnamon coffee cake in the oven, it is Mr. Fantastics fav.

He rested a lot today, but he did enjoy the scents coming from the kitchen. He is a big fan of Saucy Chicken, as am I. One dish, I can always deal with that.

I give you Saucy Chicken...


And one of my favorite desserts ever. Peanut Butter pie. I have tried every recipe I could ever get my hands on for this pie. This one is perfect, its made from 6 things, it goes in the freezer, it stays in the freezer. It resembles peanut butter ice cream, one fantastic slice at a time. And it is my very best friends recipe, so that makes it extra good.

Aunt Jenn's Peanut Butter Pie


1 cup milk
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup cool whip, not the 8 oz. container just a cup.
1 graham cracker pie shell (bought or made)
1/2 cup hot fudge (cold from the jar) optional --- but really really good.

You blend the sugar and the peanut butter with your hand mixer or beloved Kitchen Aid mixer on med. Slowly add the milk. Stop a few times to scrap down the sides and make sure there is no peanut butter clumped at the bottom. When smooth, fold in the cool whip. It works best if you do it in thirds.

Spread the hot fudge in the bottom of the pie shell, pour the filling over the hot fudge, cover, place in freezer over night. Slice and enjoy... See easy as pie.