It Use to be Easier

I've been thinking about meal preparations. Several weeks ago I decided to organize my recipes. I had a notebook and a couple of folders full of recipes that I have torn from magazines, gotten from the internet, gotten from friends and family, and who knows where else! I also have several cookbooks that have either been given to me as a gift or I purchased over the years. Really not a lot of them but still several. Some of the cookbooks I hold onto just because they have one or maybe two (or three) recipes that I use. The rest of the recipes just stay between the pages.

When my husband and I first married we pretty much ate the same foods week after week with a new recipe thrown in every now and then. There was very little meal planning as it was simple and pretty much kept in my head. I know that sounds boring but we were happy! We did change things up a bit from time to time. Sometimes we found something we really liked at a church potluck and tracked down the person who had made it and requested the recipe. Sometimes we added a new recipe gotten during a family get together. Mostly our meals were simple with meat and vegetables or pasta. Not a lot of ingredients. Special dishes were delegated to special occasions. Sometimes I long for those days again. No need for meal planners, or so much time trying to decide what to prepare when, or a long list of ingredients to shop for. Truthfully, I find meal planning more difficult now because of all the choices!

I am thankful for the variety of dishes that I have learned and am learning to prepare. However, I am going to try to eliminate some of the angst I feel with meal planning by incorporating some of that simplicity again. I do have my recipes pretty much organized now and that should help also. I have given away several small cookbooks and lots of collected magazine recipes to some newly married and engaged couples. Just knowing I have trimmed my collection makes me feel better and maybe they will be a blessing to someone else.

Now if only I can curb my desire to look at all those wonderful recipes on pinterest. Sometimes I find so many great recipes that it causes me to be paralyzed instead of active. Does that make since? I guess there is so much I want to try that I end up trying nothing. Like I said too many choices makes it more difficult for me. I recently visited a blog where a young woman tries two new recipes a week. I think I might give this idea a try and incorporate one new recipe a week (or maybe a month) into my meal plans. I will see how this works.

Having said ALL that, I am going to share one of my favorite recipes. We use to have these in school every Thursday along with tomato soup and a peanut butter and banana sandwich. My husband's aunt gave me a cookbook with this recipe many years ago. It is one of those cookbooks that I keep just for the one recipe! If your recipe repertoire is not to full I honestly believe you will enjoy adding this one. I have to say, although it has some healthy ingredients it also has a lot of sugar, including corn syrup. So I cannot  promote these as "healthy", but maybe they could be thrown in every now and then. I make them once or twice a year (usually in the fall) and could devour the whole batch if I let myself. I do restrain myself from this! It helps to prepare them when others are coming over. That way the number I can consume decreases drastically. Enough said  ~ Enjoy!

Hay Stacks

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup white Karo syrup

Bring to a slight boil, remove from heat. Bring to a slight boil again, remove from heat.

Add

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 12 ounce jar smooth peanut butter

Mix well and pour over 5 heaping cups of Corn Flakes (or Special K). Stir Corn Flakes and mixture gently together. Work Fast. Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper.