Re-locating, both on earth and to heaven....and bar-be-qued cookies!!

As I look at my blog, I realize that I haven't posted all summer!!  All I can say in defense is that it's been one of the busiest summers I've had in a really long time!!

We decided for my husband to retire from the Air Force after 30 years of dedicated service and bought a small, 5-acre farm in central Missouri.  In the midst of all of that, my youngest daughter, Carlie, delivered a healthy baby boy, Henry Spock Johnson, and I spent 3 weeks in Idaho with her family while trying to close on the farm.

Then, I spent the entire month of August closing things out with the Air Force, having a ton of farewells to attend, packing up and moving to Missouri.  

Just 2 weeks after I arrived here, and while I was still unpacking and getting settled, my father, Dean Douglas Holliday, passed away unexpectedly and I spent the next 10 days trying to get a funeral accomplished and handling his affairs.  I know he missed my mother terribly and I'm so glad that they're back together but I was, selfishly, very upset at his choice of timing on this whole thing!!  The day after he died was supposed to be the first day that he was coming down to my new farm to visit and see our property.  I had menus planned and was so excited to cook for him, especially since Dad hated cooking more than anything!  I love you, Dad, and I miss you :)

But, as we all know, life goes on, both here on earth and in the eternities.  I know that he and my mother are busy re-uniting and doing the work they have there and I know that they expect me to carry on my work here.  So, in that spirit, let me share a fun cooking experience that I had back in August during our move.

We were living in Sumter, SC and have some wonderful friends there--Rex and Marcia Vanderwood---who graciously invited us to stay with them while we were in the moving process.  Rex is one of my biggest fans and I absolutely love creating something new or fun for him!  He especially loves any kind of cookie that I make and I had promised him a batch before we left.

I mixed up a huge batch of my favorite Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies and was pre-heating the oven when it decided to burn out--literally!  We had a huge fire in the oven and then, it was toast!  None of the neighbors were home for us to borrow an oven and we were trying to decide what we could do with this cookie dough when Rex announces that he's going to bar-be-que them!  Needless to say, I was a bit hesitant and skeptical, but my husband jumped on the bandwagon and I handed over the dough to the 2 cookie monsters:)

They went outside, fired up the gas grill, maneuvered the heat adjustment, and began bar-be-queing cookies on a cookie sheet placed on the grill!  And, they did it!!  The first batch was a little dark on the bottom, so they re-adjusted the heat level and by the second batch, we had perfect cookies!  Amazing!

 

Don't they look wonderful??? And they were!  Here's the recipe so you can try them for yourself...either in the oven, like normal people, or on the grill for you adventurers....

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe:

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

3 eggs

12 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven (or grill) to 350 degrees.  Beat the eggs.  Mix in the sugar and the peanut butter. Add the chips and stir carefully.  Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Makes about 3 dozen.

That's it; yes, it really is that easy!  This is another great GF recipe that doesn't call for flour so there's no adjusting anything and they always turn out perfectly, even on a grill!!  They're fast and easy and they travel well, so they're great for picnics (you could even grill them right there at the picnic and wow all your friends!) or to tuck into your bag for a sweet treat when you're gone on a trip.

Happy grilling!!