Life Right Now

Claire was busily sorting out the birth order among myself and my siblings. "Okay, Mom, you're the oldest. And Emily is the...medium-est. And Allison is...a little medium. Who's next? Oh, Andy. He's...um...medium-smallish. And Erik's smallish-medium. And Alair's the smallest."
Claire, Natalie, Alair, and Evelyn received a stern talking-to (which is to say, shrieking-at) about the dangers of crossing the road at Mom & Dad's house. Since the weather's nice, they were all playing outside before supper last night. And naturally, where's the ball going to go? ACROSS THE ROAD. So the two little ones start trucking their merry selves to retrieve it. The two big ones come running to the house to get a grownup. I informed them all (loudly) about how to handle this situation in the future. DON'T CROSS THE ROAD WITHOUT A GROWNUP.
I did something (unknown what) to my foot on Sunday and now I'm wearing running shoes for the best support, even to work with my nice khakis. I'm limping and just wishing I could go a couple days without some sort of injury incapacitating me. In the last month I've boiled my hand, yanked a muscle in my back while bowling, and now this.
Maybe I'm just getting old.

A Crime in My Kitchen

I am so glad I halved the following recipe. So is my budget, so I won't be stuck buying all new pants after eating them all.
Peanut Butter Balls
2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
3 cups Rice Krispies
2-4 cups chocolate chips
Melt peanut butter and butter in a saucepan. In a large bowl, mix Rice Krispies and powdered sugar well. Pour peanut butter mixture over and stir thoroughly. Roll into 1-inch balls and refrigerate until firm. Melt chocolate. Dip the peanut butter balls in the chocolate and refrigerate until set.
Half the recipe, using a tablespoon cookie scoop to make the balls, resulted in 20. I also used a whole package of chocolate chips.
Yum.
That is all.

Mugged

Have you ever had an egg mug? This morning I made one for the first time, and wow, what an easy and fast breakfast!
Spray a microwave-safe coffee mug with cooking spray. Crack 2 eggs and a little milk into the mug and beat well with a fork. You'll want to make sure the yolks are broken up.
Microwave on HIGH for 45 seconds, stir, and then microwave another 30-45 seconds until the eggs are set.
Enjoy!
You can obviously change this up to suit your tastes, adding salt and pepper, or other seasonings. I cut up a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese (thanks Hungry Girl for this suggestion) and added it before microwaving. You can sprinkle some bacon or sausage or other cheese in it. Just be careful of the proportions, since you've got a rather small container to work with.
I've also read suggestions that say to cook the egg mixture on a saucer, then you've got a perfect, flat egg to make a breakfast sandwich with.
I liked this because of how fast and simple it was. It only took about as long as making a bowl of instant oatmeal, which is the breakfast du jour most days in our house. We like to eat a hot breakfast most often, since I think it stays with you longer and is more satisfying.

Smithsonian Corn Muffins

This is my favorite recipe for corn muffins. It really does come from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. This makes a large amount (36 muffins) but is easy to cut in half. Also, the dry ingredients are measured by weight. This recipe was the reason for me buying a kitchen scale.

12 ounces yellow cornmeal
12 ounces flour
10 ounces white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
24 ounces (3 cups) buttermilk
6 eggs
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
1 cup corn, optional

Whisk dry ingredients together.
Combine liquid ingredients.
Add liquid mixture to dry and stir until combined; the mixture should be a bit lumpy.
Spoon into greased muffin cups.
Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

To make a 9x13 pan of cornbread, cut recipe in half and bake for 25 minutes.