Peanut Butter Conundrum

Sometimes it seems life has themes, don't you think? Last week's theme was peanut butter. It started with a cell phone conversation with my sister Megs on the way home from work one night.

I was whining to her about various little things, then moved to whining about the ridiculous minutia that irritates me more-and-more as I get older. (On the top of my list is faded neon plastic houses that have baked in the backyard sun for years on end. Yes, I know, I'm quirky like that.) One of my recent and ongoing irritants is the collection of empty peanut butter jars (with tomato red lids) that has been lining my kitchen counter. The challenge that I posed to her is this: to recycle them, you have to first clean them out (Iccckkk). And I don't like to get my hand down in there with napkins trying to dig out that nasty gunk. You just never get it all.

Fortunately, Megs (in her infinite wisdom and/or trial-and-error) had a solution that involved a three-day process of lots of dish soap, hot water, lid-on shaking. Then dumping. Then repeating. In essence, just follow the directions on any shampoo bottle ... "Lather. Rinse Repeat." I'm pleased to say, I ridded my kitchen of the collection of peanut butter jars that evening (condensing her process to an hour, out of desperation). Now, bring on the issue of world peace.

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Later that week while visiting Papa Soups, Sue treated us to dessert. You guessed it ... homemade Peanut Butter Pie. So, in the interest of demonstrating my new-found inner peace with peanut butter, I'm sharing her recipe:

PEANUT BUTTER PIE

1 Graham cracker pie crust (Bake 10-15 min. Just to brown)

Mix these 4 ingredients with mixer:

1 C. Powdered sugar

1 C. Chunky peanut butter

8 oz. Softened cream cheese

1/2 C. milk

Fold into mixture: one 8-oz. tub of Cool Whip.

Pour the mixture into graham cracker crust. Freeze overnight. Remove from freezer to thaw before serving. Sprinkle top with unsalted peanuts.