Peanut... Peanut Butter!!

I love peanut butter. And with my increased amounts of work outs, my body has begun to crave it. Isn't it fascinating how your body craves what it needs? Need protein? Body craves peanut butter. I love it. The human body is incredibly intelligent.

This year, the peanut crops did not do as well as expected. Therefore, peanut butter prices have gone through the roof. I've spent many hours consoling my poor mother who complained about her organic peanut butter going from $2.50 to $4.50 in the matter of a week. (I don't blame her for being upset, my father eats about two jars each week!)

Solution to beat the prices? Make your own! I bought a 5 pound bag of shelled peanuts for about $2. This served to make two batches of peanut butter, which is awesome! I also enjoy making my own because I can switch up what I want to put into it. Chocolate peanut butter anyone?

Peanut Butter Recipe
- Peanuts, unshelled

- Honey (optional)
- Salt (optional)

Place peanuts into food processor and hit go.

That's it, honest! Peanuts are naturally oily, so no extra oil is needed. Takes about 5 minutes for it to look like peanut butter. I added a little bit of honey to it, because to me, just peanuts alone was too dry. Feel free to add what you want to make it your own!

Getting crumbly, almost there!

Going for a spin!

Brussel Sprouts

Before you disregard this post because of the title, please let me explain why this recipe will be delicious and NOT disgusting. I know, brussel sprouts get a bad wrap. Growing up, you learn you're "supposed" to hate them. When you finally do try them, they've only been steamed and taste like garbage. I know, I get it, I've been there. But, brussel sprouts were begging me to give them a second chance. "Please! Try us a different way! We swear you'll like us!" I caved in and tried, and I haven't looked back since. Last night I tried out this recipe, and let's just say, there were no left overs.

I will say that this recipe isn't very technical. It's more of a take it as you go, feel it out recipe. You'll find there aren't exact measurements in the ingredients, and that's ok. Adjust as you see fit!

Quinoa with Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients
- brussel sprouts (halved)
- cooked quinoa (see note below)
- red onion chopped
- extra virgin olive oil
- butter
- balsamic vinegar
- seasonings (salt, pepper, and garlic powder)
- shredded Parmesan

*To cook quinoa, always do two parts liquid to one part quinoa (1 cup liquid if 1/2 cup quinoa) Liquid can be water, but I prefer chicken/vegetable stock for more flavor. Bring quinoa to a boil in the liquid, then simmer for about 20 minutes. Quinoa should "puff" out and look almost like cous cous.

Directions
- Heat equal parts oil and butter (not too much, about a tablespoon) over medium heat. Place brussel sprouts flat side down and let cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. The mixture of butter and oil will prevent the brussel sprouts from burning. Once they're nicely browned, take off heat and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (optional).
-Add equal parts oil and butter again to pan. Stir to pick up brown bits left by brussel sprouts. Add in onion and saute until slightly browned.
-Add in balsamic vinegar (about 2 tablespoons) and stir until onions are completely coated. Keep on the heat until mixture begins to thicken, and then turn heat off.
-Add in brussel sprouts and toss until evenly coated. Add in quinoa and mix until coated. Season with salt and pepper.
-Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

This is a great vegetarian dinner recipe that's really filling! I suppose if you wanted to add a bit of meat, prosciutto would work wonderfully!

Shameless

Hello faithful readers!

Unfortunately, I don't have a recipe for you in this post. I do, however, want to share my brand new blog that I've started! It's called "My Year in Photography" and yep, you guessed it, it's my year... in photographs. Feel free to check it out! -> Year In Photography

Stay tuned for my Girl's Night Menu!

Tomato Bread Pudding

Happy 2012!

I hope you all had a great holiday time, full of relaxation and family and friends. I had a great vacation and got lots of cooking goodies for Christmas!! New pots and pans set, a charcoal grill, and my loving boyfriend got me a GREEN KITCHENAID! Oh yeah!

 

Needless to say, I've been cooking up a storm ever since. I had a lovely ladies night, which I will be posting about soon (I don't have the recipes with me). One item I had at ladies night was bruchetta, and as we didn't use all the ingredients I bought, I had left over tomatoes and half a loaf of bread left. I found this awesome little recipe that's very simple but tasted awesome - Tomato Bread Pudding! (Although I'm not sure why they call it a pudding, it doesn't look like a pudding!)

Ingredients

-5 tomatoes peeled, sliced, and seeded *See note below about pealing

-1/2 french loaf, sliced into small bits

-1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

-1/2 tsp sugar

-1/2 tsp salt

-4 tbsp butter

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

- Place pieces of loaf into a greased 9x12 pan. Pour butter on top of bread and mix gently to coat all pieces. 

- Put tomatoes, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse until tomatoes are broken down and sugar and salt are fully incorporated. 

- Place tomato mixture on top of the bread pieces. Gently stir to incorporate bread and tomato mixture. 

- Bake for 30 minutes. Take out and top with Parmesan cheese and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes. 

- Enjoy!

When I originally found this recipe, I was a bit skeptical, but it was so delicious. It's like a deconstructed pizza! Feel free to get creative and add different ingredients!

*Peeling tomatoes

To peel a tomato, score the bottom of the tomatoes with x's.Place tomatoes in a pot of boiling water for about a minute.

Then, take the tomato out and immediately submerge in ice water. Then peel from the x scored on the bottom of tomato.