Caught Cha

Look what I found this morning...

As it turns out I'm not the only one sneaking the Halloween candy.
Mr F I'm on to you!

Hey What's That Smell?!?

I'll give you a hint... it is not poop... it is worse. Much, much, worse.
In fact it may be the most vile smell ever known.
It is the smell of rotten egg... literally.
Gag. Retch.
It is the kind of nasty nastiness that you can't clear from the air and makes you want to roll around on the ground moaning and crying... and... retching.
My favorite pan...
is now tainted with smelly green partially developed chicken egg disgust!

And although I love this pan (and the fact that it can't slowly poison my family with toxic fumes) you can't clean it with soap! If you've ever wondered why Martha Stewart cracks eggs into a cup before... I don't know... cracking them into a searing hot pan (or banana bread batter.. that happened to me too... but did I learn....NO!) this is why. Because now part of my cast iron pan's "seasoning" is chicken death.... and there is nothing I can do about it!

Judge For Yourself

I know a lot of you have never seen me as anything but someone who posts photos looking like this...

And since I only started my blog 3 months ago it may be hard to believe that I am not this thin by nature. I fear that the lower my weight is the more credibility I may be losing in your eyes.
So I wanted to post this photo.. of course I only have a hard copy so bear with me...

I call this photo "Fat Mom".
If I didn't work hard to lose my postpartum weight this IS what I would look like. In fact after gaining as much as I did this pregnancy who knows I may have been even heavier. Because although I have never had a "weight problem" I have always liked to eat and not liked to exercise. And no matter how you put your weight on you still have to lose it by doing the same kind of work. Some women are blessed and they lose all their "baby weight" without doing anything. They can wear their *regular* jeans as soon as they give birth. Some of us will not lose our baby weight...period... unless we kick our own asses. This is my proof. Two pregnancies... two different postpartum weight loss approaches.

My "Fat Mom" picture was taken in the spring of 2003 when Kid was 7 months old and I weighed around 137 pounds. I had lost 30 pounds naturally within the first month postpartum... and then.. not another pound.
Baby is now 8 months old and I weigh 112 pounds. I am 5' 3". From day one I have been on a mission and I have lost 66 pounds (14 under my pre-pregnancy weight).

Hey Kid!

"Today is the first day of swimming lessons... you are only going to swimming lessons if you are being a good listener. So far today you are not being a good listener. That is going to change right now. Okay? Okay."


moments later....

"No. NO. NO! Are you listening?!?!"

My Day in Pictures

I thought I'd ease everyone out of the *heaviness* of my last post with a little photo documentation of my day thus far...

If you have been following my weekly plan you know I have a LOT to get done in order to ensure a quality birthday experience for Kid's party this Sunday. Because I am an idiot I decided to have this be a costume party.. which of course means that on top of all the party planning I also need to make Kid's Medusa costume. Any sane person would have put the kabash on that and allowed themselves the whole weekend to finish that up in time for actual Halloween. Live and learn. Of course what isn't on my list are all the normal things I have to get done everyday... like grocery shopping, food prep, driving to and from school, yada yada yada. Okay so this morning I actually got the baby to take a nap so I thought I could be extra efficient and pound out my remaining party/costume errands and grocery shop. This meant I had to partake of one of these little babies...That would be a Mc Donald's double hamburger. FYI these babies are only 330 calories, and are actually "The Zone Diet" approved for their protein to carb ratio. Added bonus... they are a special order so they are always fresh. So fresh that if you are taking pictures of yourself eating in the car you might end up with a little "fresh from the griddle" burger grease juice on your favorite fucking sweatshirt...Oops!

Okay on to project Medusa....
Yesterday I obtained some used clothes to make into the body. I did not get them at a higher end used clothes retailer..no... I went to the place where homeless people get their clothes. Why? Well because they are really cheap and then I don't have to feel badly about destroying them (although I do feel bad about buying them when I clearly have enough money to go somewhere else and should leave these for the people who really need them!). Also they hang everything by color so if you need some kind of greenish monster flesh toned sweatsuit it is easy to find. Unfortunately everything in the store smells... well.... terrible...Today I had to enter into the third ring of Hell ...
...in order to obtain black feather wings. I'm not kidding this place is absolutely terrifying. It should be rated X for horror and children should not be permitted inside. I kid you not, I was shocked at the horror level in this place. Adding to the creepiness is that fact that these stores are temporary and kind of thrown together out of peg board. They note that they have a large "weapons" section... and when you are in there you have a terrible feeling that some kind of shit might be about to go down. The "realistic" severed limbs don't help. Baby was of course transfixed... and is probably going to suffer some kind of repressed subconscious trauma from that place.
Luckily she fell asleep on the way home so I was able to spray paint those bad ass wings bronze. Cause you know Medusa was a lot more than just a woman with snakes for hair people.. a LOT more!

After achieving all that , and grocery shopping, what was waiting for me when I got home?... a little reward for all my hard work? NO! What I got was... some.... dog shit on my Oriental rug and these babies in the mail...
"But Mrs F coupons are good things... right?"
Wrong! They are only good when you get them before you go shopping! I just went to mother fucking Old Navy two freaking days ago! So thanks for nothing Old Navy... oh and thanks for rubbing my face in it!
And I think I mentioned that I just went grocery shopping... without this goddamn coupon!

Dear Kid

I'm gonna write you a love letter because I need to, because I'm grieving.
You are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. When you were born you filled a hole in my heart and completed me. You have changed me and healed me and made me a better person. I love you so much that my heart is breaking. You are strong and resilient and courageous, far more than I am or ever will be. You are funny and quick witted and absolutely beautiful. Stunningly beautiful really, with big eyes the color of deep lake water, and long golden hair like a undulating field of wheat , your skin is flawless like a pool of spilled milk. I watch you in the morning and my eyes well up with pride and awe and also the deep sorrow of this past year. I am sorry, so very sorry for all you have gone through. For someone so little you have such strength and confidence. You don't know the depth of my fears and my sadness and my worries... and I hope you never do. There is no time away from you that I am not thinking of you. But I do need you to know that I am not sad that you are not perfect, I am just sad... that this never ends... that you need another surgery... and that it just never seems to get any easier. I hope that this is just a bad couple of years and that before we all know it this will seem so far behind us. I hope that in the scope of your life this will be such a small part. And secretly in the deepest part of me I hope that I can love you enough to make that all true. I want for you to have a better life than your little body has allowed for you to have. But more than anything else I just don't ever want you to leave me. I love you.

This Week The Plan

This week is going fast and I'm kind of freaking out. The more I think about it the more stressed I am ... so hopefully this will be short and to the point. Kid's birthday party is this Sunday and I have a LOT to do before then, including finishing her Medusa costume... I mean starting it!
Review shmew... you all know that last week wasn't great and I stopped working out. Moving on to this week...


Menu:
I'm cutting myself some serious slack with this week's menu, I know I'll be way to stressed by the end of the week to make dinner especially when I start baking for the party!

Monday- Chicken and Pasta with mushrooms, carrots and peas (this was good I'll try and post the recipe this week)

Tuesday- Meatball Subs and Salad

Wednesday- Kid F & Mr F date night

Thursday- Brown Sugar and Ginger Salmon w/ rice and sesame snap peas

Friday- pizza night

Saturday (aka night before party freak out) take out of some kind

Sunday- Salmon Noodle Casserole (or something else pantry related)



Party Planning:

Tuesday - hit thrift store for green or grey sweatsuit for Medusa body, and stretchy gloves

Wednesday- go to bank for 3 rolls of pennies for treasure hunt

Thursday - Joanne Fabrics for safety pins, brass colored spray paint (for wings), felt for talons and feathers... possible fake creepy fingernails, and elastic

Friday - bake and ice cookies for goodie bags

Saturday- order balloons, bake and ice cupcakes, and get pumpkins

Sunday - clean, have party, cry that my baby is turning five :(


Exercise:

Seriously I think I'm going to have a reasonably hard time fitting it in. I did workout today and I'm going to shoot for 2 more days of cardio on Tuesday and Sunday and then I'll just call it a week. Most nights I'm going to be busting my ass making brass wings and claws.


Cleaning:

Ummmm... what do you think?!?
At least I already did all of laundry today and vacuumed the entire house. I need to clean the bathroom and the kitchen before the weekend.... hopefully on Friday. And obviously I'll need to vacuum again. This would be the bare minimum!

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Guess what I had for lunch?
800 freaking calories!
Wish I had looked that up before we went out for lunch!
Or at the very least looked it up before I made Spaghetti and Meatballs for dinner.... D'oh!

Oh Please

My eyes could not be rolling any further back into my head right now. I just finished reading THIS. I'll have you know that although I believe he is suffering from a similar pain... my first thought is NOT oh poor you Mr F... no, my first thought is are you fucking kidding me?!? Seriously?! I've been dealing with this for days and have I been swearing under my breath and using my arm like a "club arm"(Mr F's words)? NO! Oh. My. God... as soon as it happened he was acting like he had been struck by lightening... and constantly trying to describe the pain to which I kept cutting him off with "YEAH.... I KNOW!! I mean he can't shut up about it or stop using his damn arm all tight fisted like a goddamn freaking club! Give me a break! If there is a God I am clearly being punished. Because not only do I still have the pain, and have had it intermittently for YEARS, but instead of getting a little reprieve, from ALL the household activities that cause a searing pain in my hand, I now have to listen to Mr Puss Baby complain about how crippling his pain is. Oh Please Mr F... a voodoo doll?... I think not.... suffering through your pain is worse than suffering through my own!

Throwing In The Towel

I'm taking the rest of the week off of exercise.
I just can't do it all.
I'm exhausted and my hand pain is back.
I've got Kid's birthday party to plan for next week and I still need to hunt down Medusa costume clothes and brass wings before next weekend.
I still don't have any decent pants to wear... once you can actually pull your buttoned jeans off without unzipping them or unbuttoning them then I guess they are officially *too big*.
And there just aren't enough hours in the day for me to get it all done.
Oh and I'll need to really clean the house this weekend so that I can do just a quick pick up before the party.
Arrrggghhh... I want to throw up!
Plus Kid has a three hour *makeover* party at a friend's house tonight... which eats up a fair amount of my prep time. Do five year olds need makeovers? Kid doesn't even know what makeup is. I don't know if you've ever noticed but Kid is not exactly a girly girl to begin with!
So I'm trying hard to keep our party prep low key and in perspective.
And I need pants.... I desperately need pants. I must fit that in to the weekend somehow.
Plus I must get out our Halloween decorations today... I've been putting it off too long. Did I ever mention that Kid's birthday is Halloween? Yeah... so kind of a BIG deal around here!
Oh and I have to return all my Gap stuff. If I haven't worn it in 2 weeks I'm never going to wear it.
Bwwwwaaaahhhh.... and my day is just beginning!

*******************************************************************
Progress Report:
I have decorated the house (slightly less than usual but good enough!)
&
I have made Kid's Party favor bags... which are working double duty as decorations.... how smart is that?!?

Yay or Nay?

The tags are still on this baby.

Guten Tag

Things are going MUCH better this morning. It is amazing what a little sleep can do for ya! My hand pain is almost all gone.. completely bearable at this point. Thank you to everyone who felt sorry for me....even if you were just feeling sorry for what a complete wuss baby loser I am ;)

So last night I was pretty much hitting the wall and when Mr F called.. I mean I called him to say "where the hell are you"...
He said "I'm walking to the car right now."
I said "run".
He said "what?".
I said "run!" and hung up
I then called the pizza place and ordered us up some delivery.

While I waited for Mr F to come home Kid F took these pictures of me...
Happy Mom

Dead Mom

We also banged blocks together and sang "Mommy wants to die, unh unh, Mommy wants to die".. don't worry I'm not damaging them! As Kid's teachers informed me.. "she has a very adult sense of humor" ... huh... I wonder where that comes from?

Mrs Furious Ponders Her Plummeting Self Esteem

Despite being at an all time low weight wise I'm just a wee bit depressed about my body...er... my stomach. I don't know what the deal is but I did not enjoy the dressing room experience. One bit. And I'm frustrated and discouraged and annoyed. This is why I shop at Target. I can load up a cart (while drinking a no whip Frappucino no less) and then I can take the clothes home and try them on in the damn dark if I want to. There are no florescent lights to stand under and in truth no full length mirrors. I can see my top half and then teeter on the toilet lid to see my bottom half. I don't ever have to see my bottom half, horrendous tummy included, if I don't want to. And that is how I like it. I know I am not even 9 months postpartum and that I weigh 12 pounds less then I did pre-pregnancy, which is no small feat and I am happy about that, but how fricking long is it going to take for the jelly belly to go away?! You moms out there know what I'm talkin' about. With Kid I hadn't even begun to try and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight 9 months postpartum so I really have nothing to compare this to. But right now I am thin, pretty damn thin, and yet my waist is still the same measurement as when I weighed 12 pounds more. Clothes are a nightmare since I don't feel that anything fits me well. And in order to fit my body they are tightish in the waist which just makes me feel fat. I mean seriously how much do I freaking have to lose to fit in a damn pair of pants?!? And I know some of you are like "Shut Up Mrs F I wish I weighed what you weigh.. when will it be enough for you all ready?" Well that is exactly what I would like to know. When will it be enough? When will I not look down and see a roly-poly belly, and I am not exaggerating, it is still doughy squishy and roll-y despite hovering in the 114s (and before you throw pitch forks at me I'm only 5'3). I've got my body fat down to 22.7%. What is it going to take? Maybe this is just a postpartum issue (I hope) but I am frustrated nonetheless. Maybe I need to read some of my old posts. But right now I'm tired and I'm just not feelin' it.
And the fact that this is what I am wearing isn't helping...

And those wets spots are baby snot if you are wondering!

Wanted

Someone To Cover The Night Shift


Must be able to function on little to no sleep. Must like the sound of baby's crying and mucus gargling. Must be willing to act as a human Kleenex and sit in an upright position ALL night. Must be willing to work pro bono.
Hoping to fill this position immediately.

Mrs F Suffers A Crippling Setback

Mrs F has a few problems... and they are not all mental ;)
I happen to suffer from chronic pain resulting from Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia.. not too mention a bad back, broken rib, shoulder spurs, waa, waa, waaah. Anyway that is my life and for the most part I can get through my days without too much thought about it. But I have this weird thing that happens in my shoulder that effects a nerve that runs down my arm and into my hand. It is crippling. I feel like my hand is broken and can't put any weight on it, or I don't know... open baby food jars, unbuckle carseats, open my goddamn sparkling water, drive the car, carry the baby, etc, etc. But don't worry about me it is just my RIGHT hand .. and yeah you guessed it I'm right handed.
Sooo typing hurts. This thing usually spontaneously heals.. I just don't know when. Until then no long thoughtful posts.

I will, however, leave you with this....

When I was shopping yesterday I saw Marshmallow Fluff in the baking aisle. Believe it or not I have never had Fluff. With parents slaughtering their own food I guess that might come as no surprise;) Anyway when I saw it I had to have it. I figured it would be great on my nightly hot cocoa. When Mr F saw it ...after he got over his astonishment... he immediately started jonesing for a Fluffernutter. So I opened that baby up tonight and fixed myself one. I had my misgivings since there is no way to spread marshmallow all over a piece of bread and think.... "mmm this is dinner!" In fact it boggles my mind that anyone's mother would ever serve them this as anything other than a dessert!

Now maybe in order to really enjoy a Fluffernutter you need to eat it on white bread and not whole wheat double fiber bread... cause let me tell you I wasn't impressed. I actually threw it out.

But this....

This was good!

Dinner Is Served

3 oz pork tenderloin (roasted with a rub of thyme, salt & pepper.. marinated in worcestershire sauce)
1 T apple butter
2 cups steamed haricot verts w/ 1 t butter
1/2 c rice pilaf
380 calories


************************************************************
UPDATE:

"Did you eat all the pork?"
"Um... Yeah" Mr Furious replys a little nervously
"Okay, that was like 3 servings worth of pork." I snippily explain
"I guess I did go back in for more.. Did you need it for something?"
"Yeah..."

I would take that as a compliment if I weren't so furious right now.

This Week The Plan

It is official... I now start my week on Tuesday... no more apologizing for running late. There is no late in a continuum of time and space.

This past week actually turned out pretty good. I failed less and achieved more. I lowered my standards and actually met most of my goals.

Meal Planning: I did follow my plans but had to throw out the 2 lbs of tilapia.. since I kept forgetting that I had no cornflakes and then it went bad. Ooops. I also didn't make pork sandwiches, we had leftover pizza... hey sometimes I have a life! Back off!

Exercise: For awhile there I thought I had pretty much shot my goals straight into the crapper but miraculously I actually decided that I was going to suck it up and stop sabotaging. I ended up EXCEEDING my cardio goals and I did do one pilates workout. I have finally figured out why I have trouble with the pilates... for 3.5 years I went to a trainer 2x a week... and so even though I loved it (and do love it!) there is a mental component to doing it on my own...of having to be constantly *present* and think "what's next" the whole time. Jeesh no wonder I always put it off.. the treadmill is automatic.. the pilates couldn't be more opposite of that. And seriously by the end of the day I just don't have any mental energy left to expend. But I'm trying... and I'm going to stick with one pilates workout a week until I think I have mastered this goal before I move on.

Cleaning: I vacuumed. This week I will do laundry on Tuesday & Wednesday and vacuum on Thursday.


This Week's Menu:

Monday: Chicken Pie and Chicken Soup (yeah I know it was redundant)

Tuesday: Pork Tenderloin, green beans & rice

Wednesday: Kid F & Mr F date night

Thursday: Meatballs, spaghetti & broccoli

Friday: Pizza Night

Saturday: Chicken Chili & cornbread

Sunday: Meatball Subs & salad

Mrs Furious Has Lived A Life Of Great Intrigue

Last night I made a FANTASTIC Chicken Pot Pie.

Although after doing a little research I guess technically I made a Chicken Pie, since I used a double crust. All of you who are already rolling your eyes because you don't know what the hell "double crust" means... don't skip this post... intriguing insights into Mrs Furious past are about to be revealed...

Okay back to the Chicken Pie.
When I was thinking about writing this post and about pot pies I was forced to bring up from my subconscious the childhood memory of eating Rabbit Pot Pie. MMMM... bunny. No seriously, for a while my mother and her 2nd husband went through a little "let's live off the land" phase which involved raising rabbits for food. They also raised pigs and chickens. I can still remember hiding by the side of the house not wanting to watch the chickens running around with their heads cut off... and yet being drawn to it like a bad accident. So why didn't we have Chicken Pot Pie I wonder? During this strange, albeit fascinating, time my stepfather shot a squirrel and we HAD to eat it for dinner. I am currently almost crippled with a fear of squirrels... coincidence?... I think not. I also have a pretty strong "memory" of seeing a UFO under our mulberry tree at about this same time... so I might not be an accurate reporter ;)
No seriously the eating of bunnies and squirrel did happen.
Anyhoo my Pot Pie is not made of rodent... so enjoy!


Chicken Pie

I made a double crust using a basic pie crust recipe, except I tried out some new White Wheat Flour (not worth the extra $.. still tastes like regular wheat, and isn't exactly white anyway)

I roasted a pack of chicken legs (400 degrees for about 35 minutes)

I melted 3 T butter in the bottom of a saucepan then added 3 T flour and stirred this over a low flame for about 2 minutes then slowly added 1 & 1/3 cups of Chicken Stock to this. I seasoned this with salt, pepper, ground sage, ground thyme & a little onion powder and simmered this. (I didn't measure but not a lot 1/4t each maybe.. salt to taste)

I pulled the meat off the roasted Chicken Legs and added it to the "gravy".

To this I added one bag of Trader Joe's Vegetable Melange (this stuff is fantastic and I use it in Shepard's Pie as well). If you don't have a Trader Joe's this is a mixed vegetable with a seasoned butter (5 servings 70 cal each... if you need a butter sauce factor to keep in mind while you look at other brands).

Anyway I added the veggies to the chicken and gravy and poured it into my pie crust and then covered it with my top crust.

I baked that at 375 for 40 minutes.

Oh yeah brush the crust with some egg that has been beaten with a little milk or cream.

This makes 8 servings at 375 calories a piece

*************************************************************
UPDATE:

Mr F thinks I need to explain what double crust does mean.
A double crust is simply enough crust for the bottom and top crusts of a pie. A typical "pot pie" has no bottom crust and is really filling inside of a casserole dish with a top crust. Homey don't play that way. I want my filling encased in crust.

basic recipe:
2 c flour
1/2 t salt
2/3 c shortening (FYI shortening makes for a flakier crust!)
6-7 T ice cold water

Blend the flour and salt together with a fork in a large bowl. Use two knives to cut the shortening into the flour until it is in pea sized bits (this is really easy.. but of course you can use a food processor... personally I don't think it is worth the clean up). Sprinkle the mixture with the water a Tablespoonful at a time while using a fork to press & mash it into a dough. It should still be a little crumbly when you are done. Divide the dough into two circles. Roll one out on a floured surface (you'll need more for rolling) and place in the pie plate. Trim edges to a little past your plate. Roll out top crust. I roll the edges off my bottom crust and crimp. Then for a pot pie I place the plate on top of the top crust and use a pizza cutter to cut around the bottom of the plate. This makes a circle slightly smaller than the pot pie. Place this top crust on top... it will not meet the edge just center it in the middle of your pie... this looks great when you are done. I also roll out the scraps and cut out some decorative leaf shapes with a cookie cutter (what.. just because we eat pretty food doesn't mean we aren't furious!). Beat an egg with a splash of milk and brush your top crust and the edges of your bottom crust. This also acts as glue for your decorative pieces... brush the tops of those too! The egg wash gives your crust that shiny golden color.

Hey What's That Smell?!?

It sure ain't the smell of freshly baked cookies!

I'm in the kitchen making some soup while the Baby is crawling around sucking on dangerous chokables. While peeling some carrots I notice a slight off-scent but can't tell where it is coming from so I carry on with my wifely duties. Then I find the baby sucking on the recycling (no sharp metal cans... no worries). She crawls over to me and I realize... with a fair amount of horror... that her entire pant leg is soaked with liquid poo. Now Baby F is a baby so she is wearing a lot of cloth between her butt and the outside world... and if poo is now outside of her clothes we have got a mega disaster on our hands. Oh did I ever mention that Canine Furious is like a poop hound? Yeah.. double disaster! So I go into lock down mode... nobody move!.... "Okay Kid get Canine in the basement and bring me the wipes!!! Now!!! NO the wipes! The Wipes! No Kid THE WIPES! NO I need the wipes.. in here.. faster..fast, fast, fast! "(yeah that's how 5 year olds play it) Okay 15 minutes later ... as I precariously balance the baby in such a way as to minimize contact with the deadly ooze I finally get the damn wipes. Now I begin mission poop removal. I should note that Baby's poop causes an immediate and permanent stain... and I am not just saying that to be cute.. I mean for real. So off come the poop covered socks, then the overalls... Sweet Jesus they are filled with poop!!! I approach mission poop removal like Baby is a bomb that might detonate at any second... it has been known to happen people! You need to be speedy but careful to contain all the damage in one location. And let me tell you nothing is harder than trying to remove a poop covered onesie without spreading the nastiness all over the baby's head.. or even worse yourself.
And that my friends is what we call a Pooptastrophy!

Momma's Got A Brand New Bag

...of frozen cookie dough that is!

Sweet Jesus these are so goddamn good I can't even control myself! And that is saying something.. The Magic Cookie Dough is fantastic and a fabulous frozen nugget of goodness but these are unbelievable baked... irresistible really. Perfect amount of sweet, spice and salt. Make 'em when you know you'll be able to give most of them away ;)


The Essential Chewy Oatmeal Cookie (Taken From The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

preheat oven to 375

1/2 c unsalted butter
1/2 c vegetable shortening
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 c brown sugar (I used light)
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t almond extract
3/4 t cinnamon
1/8 t ground cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
1 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 large egg
6 T light corn syrup (I used dark)
2 T milk (not non-fat)
3 c quick-cooking oats (or pulse old fashioned oats in a food processor or blender to break into smaller pieces)
1 & 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 c raisins
1 c chopped pecans or walnuts (I omitted due to picky husband)

Lightly grease (or line with parchment or silpats) two baking sheets.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and shortening, sugars, extracts, spices, salt, and baking soda, beating until fairly smooth. Beat in the egg, scraping down the bowl, then beat in corn syrup and milk. Stir in oats, flour, raisins, and nuts.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 11 minutes, until they are light golden brown. Remove them from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.

makes 45 cookies at 156 calories a piece.

* I omitted the nuts and scooped out level tablespoonfuls of dough and yielded 67 cookies at 100 calories a piece.

A little cookie primer:
Baking cookies with all butter makes for a softer cookie, using all shortening (or margarine) makes for a crisp and crunchy cookie. This cookie calls for half of each yielding a delightfully crisp crust. All butter is great for sugar cookies while all shortening is prefered for molasses cookies and ginger snaps. But if you have a strong preference for one quality over the other you can adjust most recipes to the texture of your choice by replacing butter with shortening (or margarine) and vice versa. Happy baking people!