Old Soul, Young Heart

  Monster Cookies Recipe from: Lori Leake (my mom's friend from work) Ingredients: 6 eggs 2 cups brown sugar 2 cups white sugar 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla 1 ½ teaspoons Karo syrup 4 teaspoons baking soda 1 cup softened butter 24 ounces peanut butter 9 cups oatmeal 8 ounces chocolate chips 8 ounces m&ms Directions: Mix above in a very large bowl in order given Place about 6 large scoops of dough on each cookie sheet and flatten Bake at 350° for 12 minutes (no flour; do not overbake) Monster cookies were such a treat when we were kids. These were the cookies we would request when we were able to take birthday treats to school. They are definitely a crowd pleaser. The combo of peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and m&ms... you can't really go wrong. And the size of the cookie is impressive, especially to a kid. Of course I had to decorate the cookies like my mom did--it was always three m&ms on top, spaced evenly, and preferably three different colors. Do I get my p...

  I definitely wanted my second recipe to be a treat like the first one I posted since this girl's got herself such a sweet tooth, but I realize I should have a good mixture of items here. So here we go with... Chicken & Rice Bake Ingredients: 2 cans chicken soup 1 cup water ¾ cup rice seasoning salt 6-8 boneless chicken breasts Directions: Spray glass dish with Pam Mix soup, water, and rice in dish Place chicken breasts on top of rice mixture Sprinkle with seasoning salt Cover Bake at 375° for 1 hour or until done The chicken looks pink, but I promise it was done! This was a Scheffert household dinner staple. I had never made it before, but I can see why it was a popular one because the ingredient list is short, the prep work is as about as simple and quick as it gets, and it uses only one dish. About halfway through baking, the house started to smell like it and it was such a familiar smell which was interesting. 😊 I've never purchased "chicken soup" before, so...

This time of year has become increasingly difficult for me. The couple of weeks leading up to Mother's Day and then the actual day on Sunday--it's a lot. Advertisements for gift ideas in my email, on tv, in the stores, on social media. The card aisle lined with glittery pink and purple designs filled with words I wish I could say to my mom. The posts on social media from friends and companies. I dread it and just want the day to be over. You'd think it would get easier as time goes on, but grief is a funny thing. Hilarious , in fact. The past two years on the Saturday before Mother's Day I've participated in a Zoom call for motherless daughters, hosted by Hope Edelman who authored a book many years ago by that name. I was so moved last year to be in the company of hundreds of women who get what it is to lose their mom, whether it was 60 years ago or just a few weeks ago. In the call this year, Hope suggested that we think about a characteristic of our mom that we...