Foody Friday - Monster Smoothies

Last Friday I returned from two weeks in Indiana to find my garden was huge and full of weeds. My Swiss Chard leaves had grown larger than my hand! It's no surprise Kansas is hot and dry. I've found that Swiss Chard handles the heat much better than spinach which bolts to seed quickly. Last summer it lasted well all summer long despite 100+ degree temps. Swiss Chard is very similar in taste to spinach if it is picked when it's small. But these leaves are bigger than my hand and the taste is starting to turn bitter. Even if everyone in my ate salads morning, noon and night it would take us a while to get through this amount of Swiss Chard. 

I just hate the idea of throwing away food from the garden.

I stumbled across this recipe for a Spinach Smoothie and figured Swiss Chard would work just as well. I mixed up a batch; it wasn't bad but it wasn't great either and it definitely wasn't anything my kids were impressed with. 

So I tweaked it and hit gold! 

Or green in this case. 

Monster Smoothies

Place the following in a blender. 

1 cup milk

1/2 cup yogurt

2 sliced bananas (frozen sliced if you prefer)

2 HEAPING tablespoons of peanut butter

3 T honey (or so, I didn't measure this)

Pack in the remaining blender space with spinach/swiss chard. 

Blend until liquified. 

May the Wild Rumpus BEGIN! 

"Let me try!!" 

"Mmmmm....yummy!" 

Yap: "Hey let me have some!"

Yahoo: "NO!!" *gulp gulp*

Yap: "Ah maaaan!"

Yahoo: "Oh, okay...Here you go!"

Yap: "Yum yum!" 

Yap: "Do I look like a monster yet?"

We took half of this batch and made popsicles from them. They were even better than the smoothie. 

I know, I know...it really looks gross. Honestly though it doesn't taste any different than a peanut butter banana smoothie. Anyway, calling it a Monster Smoothie makes it a whole lot more fun to eat! 

Most importantly though...I'm making a huge dent in my garden's Swiss Chard!! 

Foody Friday - Traditional Peanut Butter Pie

Oh. My. Goodness.

I have just gained five pounds just LOOKING at this pie. 

I'm not telling how much of this delectable pie I actually ATE! 

An embarrassing amount though.

Peanut Butter is one of my favorite foods. 

I think it deserves its own food group...right next to chocolate. 

I found this deliciously sinful pie recipe in A Foxfire Christmas. 

Are you familiar with the Foxfire Books? It's a great story of a teacher, his students and the people of the Appalachian mountains.

 Got a minute? Check it out!! 

But back to the pie.

Grandma's Traditional Pie from Emma Sue Carver

My grandmother has been making this pie every year on Thanksgiving and Christmas for as long as I can remember. She is the only one in my family or anywhere that makes it as good as she does. I got this recipe from one of her recipe cards, but I had to get her to translate if for me because she had written it down so only she could read it. So here is how she told me to make it: 

Combine 2/3 c. sugar, 2T flour, 1T cornstarch, and 1/4 t. salt in a heavy, deep saucepan. Gradually add 2 1/2 c. milk to the mixture; cook on medium heat, stirring constantly. then, beat in 3 egg yolks; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. (About 10 minutes) Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Remove from stove, and add 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter and 1/2 t. of vanilla extract. Stir until peanut butter melts. Add 1/2 c. chocolate chips. Then pour mixture into a baked store-bought or homemade pie crust, let it set out at room temperature for 30 minutes, and gently swirl the top of the pie with a knife to give it a "swirling water look." Then it is ready to eat. But don't eat it all in one sitting.

I was VERY tempted to eat it all in one sitting! It is so creamy and yummy! And I'm sure very fattening...ah, who cares! Bring on the pie!! 

Combine 2/3 c. 

Foody Friday - Homemade Nutella or Chocolate Peanut Butter

My son Yip is in love with Nutella. He'd eat it everyday if I let him.

Not Yap though. I swear, the only foods both my boys like are apples and pasta.

You'd think they'd have a bit more in common being twins and all. Nope, they are about as different as night and day.

Anyway, the last time we went grocery shopping I forgot to buy Nutella. Oh the tragedy!! Our tiny grocery store down the street doesn't carry Nutella but Yip and I thought we'd try to make our own version. I found lots of versions online that included roasting nuts and cooking on the stove top. I don't have that kind of time so we improvised. Nutella is made with hazelnuts, no luck finding those either, so we used peanuts.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

4 cups peanuts (I used raw)

1/2 c. powdered milk

1/2 c. cocoa

1/2 c. honey

1-2 T vegetable oil

Process peanuts in food processor until the oil releases and it forms a ball around the blades.

Add the powdered milk, cocoa and honey and process until mixed thoroughly. The butter will be pretty thick. Add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil to thin it out. Makes roughly 3 cups. Store in refrigerator and stir up before using.

If you don't have powdered milk I would suggest mixing the nuts, cocoa and honey together, then leaving out the oil and adding milk slowly until the desired consistency is achieved. That's what I'm going to try next time.

Yip thought the home made version was alright for now, but he's already made sure I added Nutella to my shopping list. I, on the other hand, am addicted. I'm pretty sure I've eaten most of this batch on my own.

Foody Friday - Peanut Butter Cookie Bars..and a Rabbit

I was in the mood for cookie bar cookies and found a very simple recipe and cooks.com. Yum, 9x9 inch pan of cookies came warm out of the oven and then frosted with peanut butter frosting!

I presented the yummy treat to my boys fully anticipating they would eat at least half the pan and I would probably get one or two and not feel guilty about eating too many.

Nope, they rejected them! What is wrong with my kids?

I ate the whole 9x9 pan of cookies in three days. And then I felt guilty for eating so much junk.

But they were goooood!

Peanut Butter Bar Cookies

1 c. flour

1 c. oatmeal

1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1/2 c. brown sugar, packed

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 c. butter

Grease square 9 inch pan. Combine everything in a bowl and mix until crumbly. Press into pan. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350.

Peanut Butter Frosting

1/4 c. butter

 1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

2-3 T milk

1 t. vanilla

1/3 c. peanut butter

Cream soft butter and add, alternating, sugar and milk and vanilla. Then add peanut butter. Ice bar cookies.

Don't want to make frosting? I don't blame you. Buy some vanilla frosting at the store and mix in some crunchy peanut butter. Quick and easy.

Now, eat the whole pan so I don't feel quite so guilty.

As a snack for our play group this week we had peanut butter bunny sandwich with marshmallows for ears and ritz crackers for feet. A perfect snack for Sunday after church!

Foody Friday - Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

A new cookie recipe! To me heaven is full of cookies and I'll eat as many  as I want without getting fat...ha ha!

I love this recipe I found off of Two Peas and Their Pod.

I love it because you only use one mixing bowl, hence fewer dirty dishes and these are bars which means I'm not taking extra time to put individual cookies on a sheet. I didn't have peanut butter chips like the original recipe called for so I just doubled the peanut butter and it came out great.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

1 c. butter, at room temperature

1 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 325.

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and mix until just combined.

Fold in peanut butter chips. Spread dough in a 9x13 baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes. If bars are not done (due to using a different sized dish), bake for 5 minute increments. Let cool completely before slicing.

Foody Friday - Peanut Butter Granola

I pulled this recipe out of a magazine years ago and I used to make it all the time. However, I had totally forgotten about it until DR requested some the other day. But I didn't have all the ingredients so I changed it up a bit and it worked out great.

The Original

Yummy Peanut Butter Granola

3 cups rolled oats (not instant)

1 cup roasted peanuts

1/4 c. wheat germ

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t salt

1 c. canola oil

1 c. honey

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 300. Grease a 13X9 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, combine oats, peanuts, wheat germ, coconut, cinnamon and salt. in a small saucepan over low heat, combine the oil, honey and peanut butter and vanilla. Stir until the mixture is completely combined - don't allow to simmer. Pour the warm peanut butter mix into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread the granola on prepared pan and bake 30 minutes until golden brown. Allow to cool, then break into chunks. Transfer to airtight container suitable for storage; add raisins and mix until combined.

How I changed it;

3 cups oats

1/4 c. ground flax seed

1/2 c sunflower seeds

1/2 c. chopped pecans

(I just happened to have them on hand and tossed em' in.)

NO COCONUT!

lots of cinnamon (I didn't measure)

1/2 t. salt

1 cup oil

1 cup honey

1 cup of chunky peanut butter

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. raisins or dried cranberries

I followed the instructions as above until I came to melting the peanut butter. I had mixed it in a small bowl and forgot I was supposed to put it on the stove. I popped it in the microwave for 30 second intervals and it worked just fine. I spread my granola on a cookie sheet and roasted it. Mine took closer to an hour to finish.

Enjoy!

Foody Friday - Nutty Cookies for a bunch of GED Nuts

Last night was my last GED class. Usually, I'm happy to get the semester over with but not so this time. This group of students I had were really fun to work with. They wanted to be there, truly wanted to succeed and were always asking for extra worksheets in addition to their assigned homework. No matter what age of students, these are traits that make it enjoyable to be a teacher. 

To celebrate the last class session before they take the GED test I brought in some cookies. I'm calling these Nutty Cookies and I adapted the recipe from Pioneer Woman's Oatmeal Crispies.

Nutty Cookies

1 c. chopped peanuts

1 c. butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1 heaping t. cinnamon

1 t. baking soda

3 c. quick oats

Toss peanuts in a freezer bag and smash with the flat side of a meat tenderizer hammer, set aside. Mix butter and sugars till creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and add to creamy mix. Last add the peanuts and oats and stir till combined. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes. I mix up  large batches and freeze in a log shape wrapped in wax paper and cut off in slices to bake. When I bake frozen cookies I usually add a minute or two to the baking time.

These cookies are crunchy and very peanut buttery without using peanut butter. I added cinnamon because I just think everything tastes better with cinnamon. Yum, yum! They were a big hit!

Hillbilly Teeth, a Preschool Snack

I found this cute little snack idea here. My boys love to make these hillbilly teeth to take to preschool. Yip even helps make them and he NEVER helps me cook/bake anything! Who can resist such a funny little snack? I think these would be a great snack to serve at a Halloween party.

Slice up a couple of apples and toss them in lemon juice to prevent browning. Spread peanut butter or cream cheese on each slice then place four or five mini marshmallows between the spread then close the "lips" to glue it all together!

A great activity to do with your kids and a healthy snack. Enjoy!