Update about Jack

My stepdad, Jack, is having more big pain challenges. He may have a blockage in his left leg, plus diabetes is wreaking havoc on his right foot. We're working on a solution that won't put him into a skilled nursing facility for the rest of his life. We put him on Hospice six months ago to avoid that, but we weren't prepared for this level of challenge that requires hospitalization. Nobody wants him to suffer in pain, and the Hospice team tells us it's probably best to hospitalize him for treatment rather than simply try to keep his pain under control right now. Bummer...

Meanwhile, as with any of these big challenges with my parents' health over the past few years, I take comfort in food. My delight today is dark-chocolate covered Peppermint "Jo-Jo's" cookies (like Oreos) from Trader Joe's, of course. I bought 10 boxes the other day. I won't eat all of them, I promise. One a day is enough...but they are truly comforting.

And here are some festive variations of the "Gooey Butter Cake" from yesterday's post.

Pineapple Gooey: Add a 20-oz. can of drained crushed pineapple and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Proceeed as directed in original recipe.

Carot Cake Gooey: Use a spice cake mix in place of the yellow cake. Ad 1 cup chopped nuts and 1-1/2 cup finely grated carrots to cream cheese filling. Proceed as directed in original recipe.

Peanut Butter Gooey: Use a chocolate cake mix. Add 1 cup creamy peanut butter and an extra egg to cream cheese filling. You can sprinkle the top of batter with 1 cup chopped peanuts if you like. Proceeed as directed in original recipe.

Chocolate Chip Gooey: Use either yellow cake or chocolate cake mix. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts on top of filling. Proceeed as directed in original recipe.

Pumpkin Gooey: Follow the original recipe, adding a 15 oz. can of pumpkin pie filling and an extra egg to the cream cheese filling. Bake as usual, remove from oven, cool, cut into squares an dtop each square with a pecan half. Serve with dollop of fresh whipped cream.