Gosh, I want to thank all of you who have contributed recipes and ideas for using Nutella. I am looking forward to trying some of your recipes & suggestions but til then, I've been content with a little nip straight from the jar when I need a quick pick me up. I hope that those of you who try the Aldi brand are satisfied with the product. Also, I apologize for taking so long to get back to this thread and want you to know that I really appreciate each & every suggestion and, especially, the time you take out of your day to respond. (By way of explanation, we have been really busy back to work on our on again/ off again DIY kitchen remodel. Doing all the work ourselves including bldg. the cabinets, the old pay as you go shoestring budget approach to remodel.)

I agree, CC, at some point we need to take responsibility for ourselves, what we purchase and what we eat and stop expecting the government to "take care of us". Geez. Read the label, it clearly states the ingredients, the calorie content, the fat grams. It's not like it's a big secret, it's right there, printed on every jar. It's provided free, every single time, in easily accessible form. That's why Nutella is a dessert here, spread on graham crackers, or an occasional treat for The Princess on waffles or toast, because I can read. That's why I know that although it's got half of the calories from fat, I know that only 3.5 of those fat grams are saturated and none are transfats, it's the healthier fat from the hazelnuts. If you check a label of Peanut butter (in this instance I'll use Skippy Creamy because that's what's in my desk drawer), you'll find that peanut butter has 190 calories in 2 tablespoons and 140 of those are fat, more than Nutella. 3 grams are saturated in Skippy peanut butter, 3.5 grams are saturated in the Nutella. Nutritionists differentiate between good fats and bad fats. Peanut butter does have more than twice the protein of Nutella, so it's a more economical protein source. What makes it dessert in my family is the sugar content, not the fat grams, but if you add jelly to a peanut butter sandwich that's pretty much negated too. Anyway, read the labels and take responsibility for yourself, and then you won't have the opportunity to make a lot of money and clog up the court systems. Oh, and send me ALL of your Nutella, I know how bad it is for me. It's that "reading" thing again. I won't sue you, I promise. Annie

Meems is a sweet girl and if she doesn't like to cook I don't think she has to learn a whole lot of cooking techniques that fit someone else's lifestyle. I think that's what AnnT is getting at. Everyone needs to find their own system of what works for them. My brother and BF are "plain food" people. They eat like LindaC suggests, a good cut of meat, a cooked vegetable, a quick salad and some kind of starch, all in their neatly arranged individual corners on the plate, lol! Me on the other hand, I like stir fry, a jumble of pasta, a melange of soup. That's why I can't really give quickie advice here, my quickie stuff is mostly some version of rice and beans, something most folks don't eat for dinner as the sole dish. My system is to cook some larger, more complicated dishes on the weekends and freeze them. And I love leftovers. Someone else's system might be to throw something fresh together every night. There are lots of quick and dirty ways to get a fast meal on the table. I am learning more and more of them everyday as I venture into the wonderful world of "cooking for two." Sooner or later you'll get a repertoire together that suits your new lifestyle realities. Seems like that's what you're asking for here, not a treatise on how to get along with your adult children. There are certain dishes I just won't do, not because I can't do them or they are particularly difficult, but because I just do not want to fuss with the process of making them. Pie is one example. I love pie, so I make it, but I rarely do the crust from scratch, I don't care how easy someone tells me it is or how much they enjoy homeade pie crust. I buy boxed pie crust, haven't found it to be all that much worse than my own homeade, and a whole lot less trouble. It is a compromise I'm willing to make. This week I'm making a quiche with one, which then makes quiche one of those easy, delicious, semi homeade meals. Add a salad, some good rolls and you're good to go. The pre-shredded gruyere at the market was actually way cheaper than the whole cheese, what a boon!! Sometimes it's not just the process of cooking that makes getting a meal on the table a no-fun endeavor. My kitchen set up is so awkward it has greatly reduced what I'm in the mood to cook. No matter how I've reconfigured it, it is still a pain. I love to cook with a good music or other NPR show on the radio as accompaniment. Maybe that is one part of motivating yourself to cook dinner--make the kitchen environment seem fun and welcoming to you when you come home tired from work. Unfortunately, mine is not, which explains a lot of why I don't like to cook. The other thing for me is cooking with someone else. I am WAY more motivated to cook something if someone else is helping. I am an extrovert who loves to be with friends, I love to cook with others so when BF helps me in the kitchen I am way more motivated to make things. Being a craftsman by profession, he loves the process of dicing and slicing, which I hate. So I would suggest that is part of the equation. Take a look at your kitchen and see if there are ways to arrange things that make cooking faster, easier and more enjoyable. I rotate my crockpot and my bread machine, one or the other is going on my counter almost every day. The joy of those appliances is not that they do such a spectacular job of cooking food, but that they fill up the house with wonderful, homey, mouth watering aromas, which makes you feel good about both cooking and eating. That's part of the process. A bowl of fresh fruit and nuts or a tray of muffins in a see through glass container on the counter, etc. I once lived in a big old farmhouse and the kitchen was loaded with counter space and was by far the biggest room in the house. I lived with some great roomates, we cooked together and hung out most of the time at the kitchen table. I cooked WAY more in that set up than I do now. I can't believe the baking and cooking I did back then, having no more time than I do now. Anyway Susie, I know I tend to be the alpha wolf in a lot of situations and sometimes what I need to do is ask for help, tell others I need help. Sure, you can cook everything all by yourself, but if you tell the kids you would really appreciate some help, they will find ways I'm sure!! Somtimes all you have to do is ask, because what one person automatically knows to do isn't the same for every other person.

Wow, Jenn thought I was Sol ! What a nice compliment to meeeee!!! Here's the Lavender Honey Ice Cream recipe, which I found on line! David Lebovitz' Honey Lavender Ice Cream 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup fresh lavender flowers 1 1/2 cups whole milk (Susans note: I used half & half) 1/4 cup sugar pinch salt 1 1/2 cups heavy cream 5 large eggs (you will only use the yolks) Âroom temp Sooz's Notes: 2 T vodka (80 proof) to keep the ice cream from becoming icy A bit of gel food coloring to make it look lavender (or whatever color you want) Instructions: Pull the lavender flowers off the stems & measure out the flowers. Heat honey with ½ lavender, just until bubbles start to form in the honey (Sooz's note: I used the microwave). Remove from the heat, and let sit an hour or so to extract some of that tasty lavender flavor. It may look kinda funny, but it's okay. Put the cream in a bowl. Rewarm the honey a bit to make it runny and pour it through a sieve into the cream. Squish those lavender flowers with the back of a spoon to get out as much flavor as possible. Add 2 T vodka to this bowl. Meanwhile, warm the milk, sugar and salt until the sugar and salt dissolve, and the milk is hot. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, and beat the egg yolks into a yellow foamy looking foam. Add the warm milk to the yolks, a tiny little bit at a time, mixing constantly. You have to add the milk slooooowly especially at the beginning. Put the egg yolk mix back on the stove, and heat, stirring constantly over medium-low heat. Use a thermometer for this next part, as it will keep you from curdling the custard base. Heat to 175°F. Never stop stirring. At 175°F, the custard should have thickened nicely, shouldn't have curdled, and will be ready for the next step. Immediately pour this through a sieve (just in case there are any cooked egg bits in your custard), pour the hot custard over the lavender flowers (which are in the sieve anyway) and into the cool cream. Mix gently, and add the remainder of the lavender. Sooz's Notes: I used violet "gel" coloring and added it with the remainder of the lavender. If you add too little food coloring, it will look a sickly grayish color. Keep adding the gel coloring until you get what color you want. I used the end of a toothpick to add the color, then stirred with a spoon. Cool in the fridge overnight. Sieve out the fresh lavender, and run the mixture through your ice cream maker, using the directions for your machine (make sure you froze the freeze-y canister for at least 24 hours). Then, you slowly pour in the sieved ice cream mix into a the machine while the beater is stirring on low. If you pour in the mixture and then turn on the machine, it may cause a problem as the paddle may not be able to move. Churn for 25-ish minutes. Scoop into a cold container, and leave in the freezer overnight to finish hardening it. Enjoy! Here's the link for the recipe to the Amaretto Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream. Scroll down and look for the big picture of it!