PBfit Healthy Power Balls with George Washington Carver

February is Black History Month. PBfit is recognizing George Washington Carver and his contributions to the peanut industry. Even though he isn't the direct inventor of peanut butter, he helped establish peanut butter as the nutritious staple ingredient found in 94 percent of American households today! Say what? Isn't that insane? No way would I have guessed 94 percent. If only Mr. Carver could see his impact on our world today.

Read this excerpt from my friends at PBfit:

"Born an African-American slave a year before the practice was outlawed, Carver left home at a young age to pursue education and would eventually earn a master’s degree in agricultural science from Iowa State University. As an agricultural scientist and inventor, he learned that years of growing cotton had depleted the nutrients from soil, resulting in low yields. But by growing nitrogen-fixing plants like peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, the soil could be restored, allowing yield to increase dramatically when the land is reverted to cotton use a few years later. Farmers, of course, loved the high yields of cotton they were now getting from Carver’s crop rotation technique. But the method had an unintended consequence: A surplus of peanuts and other non-cotton products.

In all, he developed more than 300 food, industrial and commercial products from peanuts, including milk, Worcestershire sauce, punches, cooking oils and salad oil, paper, cosmetics, soaps and wood stains. He also experimented with peanut-based medicines, such as antiseptics, laxatives and goiter medications.

In 1921, Carver appeared before the Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on behalf of the peanut industry, which was seeking tariff protection. He described the wide range of products that could be made from peanuts, which not only earned him a standing ovation but also convinced the committee to approve a high protective tariff for the common legume.

He then became known as “The Peanut Man.”

Succeeding Carver and these other innovators, PBfit is proud to bring peanut butter into the next century so those can enjoy this long-standing pantry pleaser made healthier and in more delicious ways. PBfit is peanut butter powder made with gently pressed roasted peanuts, coconut palm sugar, and a pinch of salt. The result is a delicious, nutritious product that leaves the fat and calories of traditional peanut butter behind. In comparison, it contains 87% less fat and 1/3 the calories.

The versatility of powdered peanut butter adds to the long list of benefits that make PBfit a must have product for every kitchen. Mix with water for that satisfying, creamy peanut butter texture, easily add it to smoothies for a nutrient boost, or use in any recipe where peanut butter is an ingredient.

Experience the next innovation in the peanut butter industry that’s already popular with households. PBfit is the number one selling peanut butter product on Amazon!"

WOW! Thank you Mr. Carver aka "The Peanut Man" and all the others involved in the peanut process the past 100 years. 

Have you ever tried PBfit? We LOVE it! Not only is it great for our morning Shakeology but it rocks in other healthy recipes. Below is a recipe for Super Healthy Power Balls. The recipe is from one of our little friends at school. Instead of sandwiches, this little guy brings 3 Kids & adults both love them. Enjoy!

Super Healthy Power Balls

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips (We like Enjoy Life Brand)

1/2 cup ground flax seed (I like the chia, flax & hemp mix)

1/2 cup crunchy or smooth peanut butter (we use smooth)

1/4 cup honey 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 scoop Shakeology (chocolate, vanilla or cafe latte)

2 Tablespoons of PBfit (any flavor)

Directions

1-Combine oats, chocolate chips, Shakeology, flax seed, peanut butter, honey and vanilla extract together in a bowl.

2-Form into balls with your hand or use a small cookie dough scoop. 

3-Roll or sprinkle balls with PBfit. 

4-Arrange balls onto a cookie sheet and put in freezer to set for 30 minutes. 

4-Store in fridge or freezer in a freezer safe container/bag. They are also great at room temp.

These are great for lunch, too. There is plenty of healthy protein in these little power balls to go along with your healthy lifestyle. 

Sweet Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheese Ball Recipe

I'm a visual learner! I see a picture of a recipe or a plate of food and that is how I decide if I want to make it or not. That is where this peanut butter ball recipe came about. The week of Super Bowl Sunday I found it on Google Plus. I knew that I had to make it for my family and friends. Stop over and visit the original recipe (I made a few changes) at A Worthy Read. I love her blog! 

So are you a visual learner? Do you see something and that is how you decide if you want to cook it for your family?

Sweet Peanut Butter Cheese Ball Dip

Ingredients

8 oz Cream Cheese softened
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup mini Chocolate Chips
1 cup Peanut Butter Chips

Directions

1-Combine all ingredients, except chips, in a mixing bowl to combine.
2-Form mixture into a large ball and roll into the peanut butter and chocolate chips. Another variation is to use a cookie dough scoop and form bite size balls. Roll each into the chips.
3-Cover and place in fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.
4-Serve with Nilla Wafer, Graham Crackers, etc. 

Need more sweet recipes?

Best Ever Cup Cakes
Brown Butter Cereal Bars with Candied Bacon
Chocolate Chip Dip
Kahlua Tiramisu
Sweet Nutella Recipes

{January 24} National Peanut Butter Day Recipes

We love peanut butter by itself and in recipes. Peanut Butter recipes are all over the place and I don't think that there is enough time to make every one we see! I personally love just eating natural peanut butter with apples or bananas. When sweet treats are needed, most of the time that involves chocolate with the peanut butter.

What are some of your favorite peanut butter recipes? Feel free to share them in the comments below!

Buckeye Brownies - This is the all time most popluar recipe on my blog thanks to my friends at Gooseberry Patch. This is the ONLY peanut butter brownie recipe I ever make. 

Easiest Peanut Butter Cookies - 3 ingredient cookies which most likely you have all the ingredients at home!

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars - the best recipe that doesn't need to be baked. These can be made up in no time.

Peanut Butter Brownie Mini Muffins - not so naughty! Really, check it out and see!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kisses - This is a no-brainer recipe and has been around forever! It is an easy to do cookie.

Peanut Butter Pan Cake (no, not pancake but pan cake :) and Peanut Butter frosting

Sweet Peanut Butter Bread - This is an old family recipe. Kids love it.

Thai Peanut Butter Noodles - We LOVE Thai food. This taste just like one of the entrees at our favorite Thai Restaurant.

Reese's (Peanut Butter) Magic Bars by Andrea at Savings Lifestyle - I just saw these today on Google + and had to share! My girls will LOVE them! 

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National Peanut Butter Lovers Day Recipes!

Raise your hand if you love a good peanut butter recipe? If so, today is National Peanut Butter Loves Day so get up and celebrate with a spoon full of peanut butter and check out new peanut butter recipes.

If your house is anything like mine, you know that peanut butter almost always goes hand in hand with chocolate or jelly. What is your favorite way to enjoy peanut butter?

I personally enjoy all natural chunky peanut butter on apples. I eat it either once a day or every other day. One of my teens loves this No Bake Peanut Butter Bar recipe and the other this Peanut Butter Pan Cake which is not pancake but a Pan Cake.

I stay away from concentrated sweets but if I'm in the mood for chocolate and peanut butter, I will make a batch of these Buckeye Brownies! They have been the #1 most clicked on my recipe since I added them on my blog and have been added on Pinterest over 1/2 MILLION times!! No joke these things are HOT!

Enjoy National Peanut Butter Lovers Day, March 1st or any day the mood strikes you! Here are a few more of our favorites.

Peanut Butter Brownie Mini Muffins
Peanut Butter Chocolate Kisses

How do you like your peanut better? Share your recipe below and I will come check it out. If you don't have a blog, feel free to leave the recipe or tell me about the way you like to enjoy your peanut butter!

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Not so Naughty Holiday Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

There are so many tempting desserts everywhere you go this Holiday Season. One way to get you through it is to prepare yourself ahead of time on how much you can eat and what foods to look for and to avoid. Peanut Butter recipes rock our sweet tooth. How about yours?

This holiday season make your own tasty treats that you can eat. Others will eat it, too! If you prepare it then you will know what is in it. Make it healthier so you can have a piece without the extra guilt.

One yummy treat that would be worth making is Not so Naughty Peanut Butter Brownie Bites. Being a mom of 3 teen girls where someone is in need of chocolate, this recipe uses Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour, less oil and less sugar than most brownie recipes. They are tasty, satisfying especially with the chocolate peanut butter combination!

I'm entering this recipe into the Have a Grain Holiday!’ Recipe Contest! I also have a giveaway for you, too! You can enter below and here Baker’s Holiday Gift Pack Sweepstakes!!

Not So Naughty Holiday Peanut Butter Brownie Bites

Ingredients

3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup natural applesauce
1 cup milk- your choice
1 teaspoon vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat Flour Flour
1/2 cup Hodgson Mill White Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup of cocoa

6 tablespoons natural peanut butter, smooth or nutty
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Directions

1-Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C).
2-In a large bowl, add all the ingredients except the last 3.
3-Line mini muffin tins with mini muffin liners or lightly oil each muffin tin.
4-Pour the batter evenly into each muffin well.
5-Bake for 8-10 minutes. Insert a toothpick into one and if it comes out clean they are done.
6-Let brownies cool for 5 minutes.
7-Use your finger or a wooden spoon handle to make a small well into the center of the brownie.
8-Spoon 1/2 teaspoon of peanut butter into each well.
9-Top each brownie with a few mini chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.

Notes

When you make the well, be careful not to go to the bottom of the brownies.
This recipe is one that I have been making for quite sometime. I've created a healthier version to go along with my healthier lifestyle.

Yield 36 mini brownies

(OVER) Enter to win a Hodgson Mill’s Baker’s Holiday Gift Pack in the below Rafflecopter form which includes a $1 coupon! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Kisses

This is a super easy peanut butter recipe that can be made anytime of the year. It  typically gets made as a holiday recipe for us. Either way, these peanut butter and chocolate kisses cookies recipe hits the spot every time we make them.

This is a recipe that has been around forever. Why post it on my blog? Because there are always new cooks looking how to bake a simple, crowd pleasing recipe. This is good for new cooks and well seasoned cooks. It is super easy to make these cookies! I've been making these for over 20 years and I see them being made all the time by others. I also like posting my recipes so that my daughters have a place online to see my recipes.

So have you ever made these? What is your favorite variation?

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Kisses

Ingredients

1 package of peanut butter cookie mix (and ingredients needed on back of bag)
1 bag of Hershey Kisses

Directions

Make peanut butter mix as directed on bag.
Use a cookie scoop to get small, even amount of dough on cookie sheet.
Bake according to package directions.
As soon as cookies come out oven, add a unwrapped Hershey kiss on top. Let cool completely.

Kitchen Notes

There are a lot of flavors of Hershey Kisses. Have fun with this recipe by using different dough and flavors of Kisses.

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Meals in Minutes Cookbook Giveaway with Gooseberry Patch

Yes, it is time for another Gooseberry Patch Cookbook giveaway! I was so excited to get the chance to be an early reviewer for this book, Meals in Minutes. This is the 10th anniversary edition with new recipes that are fast and fun to make with batches of time saving tips.

Peanut Butter Pan Cake
3 c. all purpose flour
2 c. sugar
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1/4 c. baking cocoa
2 t. vanilla extract
3/4 c. oil
2 T. vinegar
2 c. water
Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and baking cocoa in a large bowl; mix well. Add vanilla, oil and vinegar; stir in water, mixing well. Spread into a lightly greased 13"x9" baking pan; bake at 350 degrees for 35 min. Spread Peanut Butter Frosting on cake when cool. Makes 15.

Peanut Butter Frosting
2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. shortening
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2-3/4 c. milk
1 c. creamy peanut butter (WE USED CRUNCHY)
Combine sugar, shortening and vanilla until smooth and creamy, adding enough milk to reach desired spreading consistency. Stir in peanut butter; mix well. 

I'm going to jump right in and share with you the chapters and some of my favorite recipes that I have cooked or plan on cooking. I have a house full of 3 teen girls. We eat together almost every night. Some nights we might be missing a teen due to college classes or work schedule but I still plan dinner. I love cookbooks like this one to give me new and exciting meals to try out on my girls. We are always looking for new family favorites. Quick and easy Meals in Minutes is just the right book to help me get a nutritious dinner on the table. (As for hubby, he'll eat anything but cooked carrots)

Market Fresh & Fast-Cauliflower Soup, Taco Salad & Spicy Salsa Shrimp (having both next week for Cinco De Mayo)
Oodles of Noodles-Chicken & Bowties, Cajun Chicken Pasta (having this on Thursday), Zippy Ziti, Pizza Pasta Salad, Garlic-Angel Hair Pasta, Thai Peanut Noodle
Hearty in a Hurry-Easy Mini Meatloaves (making soon and recipe by Jen at Gooseberry Patch), Deli Stromboli, Veggie Pizza Casserole, Zesty Pizza Casserole
Quick as a Wink-Coconut Chicken, Baby Hot Browns, Coffee-Braised Chicken, Macadamia Nut Chicken
Treats in a Twinkle-Pecan Chippers, Butterscotch Brownies, Peanut Butter Pan Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting, No-Fry Fried Ice Cream (Cinco De Mayo), Best-Ever Cupcakes, Homemade Lemonade Syrup
Perfectly Prepared Pantry-Wonderful chapter that of ingredients that are essential to have on hand for speedy suppers. Market Math breaks down measurements from what you need to what you actually need to buy at the store.

Thai Peanut Noodles

Instructions
1 lb shrimp (WE also USED 1 lb chicken breast cut into small pieces)
1 c. light Italian salad dressing, divided
8 oz pkg. angel hair pasta
2 T. crunchy peanut butter
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. honey
1 t. ground ginger (WE also USED 2 t. fresh, chopped ginger)
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 c. green onions, chopped
1 T. sesame oil 
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
optional: 2/3 c. chopped peanuts

Directions
Coat shrimp and chicken with 1/2 cup salad dressing; refrigerate for 30 min. Meanwhile, prepare pasta according to pkg. directions; drain. In a bowl, whisk peanut butter with remaining salad dressing, soy sauce, honey, ginger and red pepper flakes until smooth; set aside. In a skillet over med. heat, sauté carrot, onions, chicken & shrimp in sesame oil until  chicken is cooked, about 5 min. Toss pasta, peanut butter mixture and meat together in a large serving bowl; sprinkle with cilantro and peanuts. Serves 4. 
 (WE doubled the ingredients for the peanut sauce-it needed it!) 

The cookbook is for new chefs, newlyweds, seasoned cooks, Gooseberry Patch cookbook collectors, busy mom's, dad's looking for a date night meal and more! The book is also for teen girls! The two desserts, were made by my 13 year old all by herself. Each page in this 222 page cookbook is chocked full of recipes and hand-dandy tips to make meal time prep look easy. Check it out, today!

(Click here to get the Best-Ever Cupcakes recipe)

(OVER) Enter to win a copy of this cookbook with the super easy Rafflecopter entry form. There are entries for everyone. Do as many as you want. Giveaway ends April 8th, 2012.

Best Ever Buckeye Brownies - Most Pinned Post

Thanks to an office potluck at Gooseberry Patch this peanut butter recipe is here for us all to drool over! Gooseberry Patch shared it on their Facebook page! 

I have made this so many times and every time I do the recipe gets passed onto someone new!  They kindly shared the recipe from Almost Homemade Gooseberry Patch Cookbook.

This recipe couldn't be easier to make! If you have a chocolate-peanut butter fan in your house, they'll be gone before you know it!

Buckeye Brownies, from Almost Homemade cookbook, submitted by Heather Prentice of Mars, PA

19-1/2 oz. pkg. brownie mix
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. plus 6 tablespoons butter, softened and divided
8-oz. jar creamy peanut butter (yes 1 cup or 8 oz not 18 oz)
6-oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare and bake brownie mix in a greased 13"x9" baking pan according to package directions. Let cool. Mix powdered sugar, 1/2 cup butter and peanut butter. Mix well and spread over cooled brownies. Chill for one hour. Melt together chocolate chips and remaining butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Spread over brownies. Let cool; cut into squares. Makes 2 to 3 dozen. 

Don't forget to check out the yummy Cake Batter Martinis while you are here :)

Quick and Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars! No baking required!

Please do not be mad at me for sharing this peanut butter recipe with you.  It is so addicting and very very very quick and easy to make!  If you love peanut butter and chocolate you will go nuts over this.  When finished these have the taste of Reese's Peanut butter cups.  They taste even better because this recipe leaves out all the preservatives.

Thanks to my friend Kristi (click to see one of her other Guest Chef recipes that I love to make), for this addicting recipe.  About once a year my kids ask for these. I end up making about 4 batches of these over a course of a month to share with friends.

No Bake Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars

Bottom layer:

1 stick butter, very soft

1 1/2 c. peanut butter

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

Mix all together in a bowl.  Press into a 9 X 13 pan.  You can press the mixture into individual muffin tins or liners.

Top layer:

1 stick of butter

1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips

Melt together in microwave or stove top while making the bottom later.  Pour on top of bottom later and refrigerate.  They are also good frozen. 

Pictures:

Bottom layer

Top Layer

Both layers

Pure goodness!

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