WARNING:  These cookies contain oats.  That is usually a deal-breaker for me (it’s a texture thing), but despite the oats, these. were. delicious.  But you may want to just pretend you didn’t see the ingredient list.  Or, become a master of denial and concentrate on how healthy oats are.  Either way, so yummy.  As far as homemade cookies go, these were easy to make and certainly made a big enough batch for a crowd.  Here’s how they came together:

First I creamed butter and peanut butter together, and then added white and brown sugars.

Next, I measured out flour, baking powder, and baking soda.  This was added alternately with the liquid mixture of eggs and vanilla.  Finally, I stirred in a lot of oats (it looked like a lot to me).

I used my medium scoop to create equal portions of cookie dough.  These baked for about 11 minutes at 350.

While the cookies cooled, I made the “stuffing” with butter, peanut butter, and powdered sugar.  I used my small scoop to divide the stuffing between the cookies.

Next time, I’ll use my smallest scoop for the cookies since I think that would make a much better size portion, especially when sandwiched together with a second cookie.  Otherwise, I wouldn’t make any changes.  I’ll even keep the oats (now that I have some in my pantry, I’ll need something to do with them anyway).  I’m going to tuck this recipe away for a future pot-luck opportunity – it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

The Sweet as Pie bonus recipe for the month was Haricots Vert a la Provencale from Julia Child’s famous Mastering the Art of French Cooking.  Well, I haven’t mastered it yet.  I had high hopes for this recipe since it was one of Julia’s, but it fell flat for us.  Here’s how it came together:

I started with fresh beans. I blanched these in boiling water for a few minutes.  While I was waiting for the water to come to a boil, I sauteed onions in olive oil.

Next, I added some diced tomatoes, garlic, and an herb bouquet.  I didn’t have a cheesecloth (and couldn’t find one) for the herbs, so I took the internet’s advice and used a coffee filter instead.  It seemed to work just fine.

Once the green beans were blanched, I added them to the pot and let everything simmer for about 10 minutes.  The herb bouquet came out and some additional herbs – basil and tarragon – went in.

The beans were fine, but I was really hoping for something better than “fine”.  I’m definitely going to persevere on this front and figure out how to make this recipe work for us.  Perhaps I made some poor choices with my herbs (or simply made the poor choice to go with dried in some instances), or maybe I didn’t execute the cooking techniques correctly.  I won’t count Julia out just yet though!

Next on our Sweet as Pie list was Balsamic Vinegar Chicken with Fresh Tomatoes.  Although it was easy and convenient enough for a weeknight meal, it really didn’t make a lasting impression on us.  We were hoping for a great balsamic taste, but what we got ended up being fairly bland.  Here’s how it came together:

First I browned some chicken and sliced some grape tomatoes and red onions.

Next, I mixed garlic, basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and water together and poured the mixture over the chicken.

I layered on the tomatoes, onions, and sliced mushrooms before baking for about 35 minutes.

We were just underwhelmed by this dish.  Conceptually, it’s a great idea, but it just didn’t translate to reality in our kitchen.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some, right?  And with the right combination of other ingredients, the leftovers actually made pretty tasty chicken sandwiches and salad toppings, so all was not lost.  On to the next dish!

If you’re like me, you saw the title of this recipe and thought “Umm, yeah…that sounds kinda gross.”  First, it’s a meatloaf, which unfortunately, generally gets a bad rap no matter what’s in it.  Now, to be fair, there are some good meatloaves to be had out there (for example, my parents make a delicious meatloaf with barbecue sauce and bacon), but in my experience almost all of the meatloaf iterations end up sounding and looking unappetizing and bland (and don’t get me started on the ketchup smear).  Second, it’s turkey.  Some people love turkey, but I’m just not one of them.  Sure, I like a good Thanksgiving turkey and I won’t pick it off a club sandwich, but otherwise turkey just isn’t one of my go-to meats, especially not for supper.  Third, although we both like feta, Mediterranean is not always one of our favorite flavor profiles and this recipe makes some serious use of hummus.  Again, lots of people love hummus, but I am not one of them (it’s bean paste people, bean paste).  So, these premises considered (like how I snuck some legalese into my blog post?), I made this Sweet as Pick pick first this month mostly so I could get it out of the way and move on to the Nutter Butters knock-off recipe (stay tuned to find out how that one turns out).  Here’s how it came together:

First, I mixed together ground turkey, eggs, some hummus, panko bread crumbs, feta cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.    The recipe also called for chopped olives, but Phillip doesn’t do olives, so we skipped them this time.  I formed the mixture into four mini loaves and put them on a greased baking pan before spreading another tablespoon of hummus on top of each loaf.

While the meatloaves baked, I made a tomato and cucumber salsa/relish to use as a topping.  I stirred together diced tomatoes, diced cucumber, basil, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.  Super easy!

After the meatloaves came out of the oven, we topped them with the salsa/relish and some extra feta before enjoying them alongside some roasted sweet potatoes. 

Okay, okay, these actually turned out pretty well (you know, once you scraped the hummus off the top).  Phillip really liked them and even I had to admit that they made a solid weeknight meal.  The turkey actually wasn’t too bad and of course, was a healthier meat choice.  It definitely made me less skeptical of trying other recipes that call for ground turkey.  I like olives so I wish we’d been able to try it with them. If I ever make it again I’ll probably sneak some into at least a couple of the mini loaves.  If you decide to try this one for yourself, don’t skip the relish topping – it adds the extra flavor and texture that the dish really needs.  Thanks, Catherine, for broadening our dinner plate horizons with this pick!

For the final Sweet as Pie pick for the month, I whipped up Queso Blanco Dip, a Mexican restaurant-like white cheese dip.  I thought it was the most successful home version of white cheese dip I’ve had and I certainly didn’t hear any complaints from the four boys I served it to.  Here’s how it came together:

I started with white American cheese.  I had originally planned to get the block from the deli counter, but I forgot when I was on that side of the grocery store, and as I was feeling too lazy to go back, I just used the packaged slices from the more conveniently located cheese aisle.  Worked fine and didn’t require a knife since I could tear the slices by hand.

I mixed in diced green chiles, milk, water, and a little cumin.  The recipe called for two pickled jalapenos.  I found pickled jalapeno slices so I just guessed as to how many slices once comprised two whole jalapenos.  The chopped jalapeno slices went in, as well as an ounce of the pickle juice.

After five minutes in the microwave (stopping to stir every minute), the dip was done. 

The recipe’s author mentioned that her Pampered Chef batter bowl was the perfect size for the dip, so I broke mine out.  It was the right size, had a handle, and comes with a lid so it made the recipe a one pot dish.  Easy! 

As I said, the dip was very good and the boys liked it too.  It wasn’t too thick, too runny, or too spicy (actually, it wasn’t spicy at all – add some more jalapeno or another spicy ingredient if you’re looking for more of a kick in your cheese dip).  Next time I might try to remember to get the higher quality cheese, but otherwise, I don’t think I would make any changes.  I made some Pioneer Woman Pico to serve as well, and together they made the perfect afternoon snack.  I’ll definitely save this recipe for another time.

This was actually Phillip’s pick for Sweet as Pie.  We both like broccoli, so we were looking forward to trying this recipe out.  It came together quickly and easily:

First I drizzled some broccoli with olive oil and sprinkled it with salt and pepper.  Then, I roasted it in a 500-degree oven for 14 minutes.

Meanwhile, I sauteed the walnuts in melted butter.

When the broccoli was done, I stirred in the walnuts, butter, and some lemon juice.  And that was it, folks.  Easy, delicious broccoli – perfect for a weeknight side dish.  We’ll definitely make it again.