Asian Meatballs with Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles

Time for another round of Secret Recipe Club and most likely one of our last since we will be stopping the blog at the end of the year. This month we were assigned Amy's Cooking Adventures. I know most of you probably picked a fall dessert or something festive for Halloween to feature today but I was looking for a new idea for dinner. Amy has plenty to choose from but for some reason her Asian Turkey Meatballs Over Easy Thai Noodles caught my eye and it ended up being delicious, easy to make and a perfect change of pace for us to have last week for dinner.

Ingredients for Asian Meatballs:

1 1/4lb Ground Turkey

1/4 Cup Panko

1 Large Egg

2 Garlic Cloves - Minced

3 Green Onions - White and Green parts Diced

1 Tbsp Lime Juice

1 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

1 Tsp Fresh Ginger - Minced

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Ramen Noodles:

3 Packages of Chicken Flavored Ramen

1 1/4 Cup Water 

1/4 Tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1/3 Cup Natural Creamy Peanut Butter

3 Tbsp Low Sodium Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tbsp Corn Starch

2 Garlic Cloves - Minced

1 Red Pepper - Diced

1 Large Carrot - Diced

1 Tsp Fresh Ginger - Minced

3 Green Onions - White and Green parts Diced

10oz Package Frozen Plain Sugar Snap Peas

1 Tbsp Canola Oil

Start by preheating your oven to 425 F, place parchment paper on a jelly roll baking tray and set aside. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs. Using your hands mix everything together.

Form your meatballs and arrange them on the baking sheet. Bake about 18 minutes until light brown. I made mine a little larger than Amy and only made 16 instead of 24 but it doesn't matter as long as you try and keep them even so their cooking time is similar. 

In a medium sized bowl combine all of your ingredients for the peanut sauce (peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, corn starch, water, crushed red pepper flakes and brown sugar) Whisk together and set aside.

In your largest pan heat up the oil and saute the vegetables for about 5 minutes until they are tender but still slightly crisp. When they are ready takes them off the heat and place them in a bowl. Return the pan to the stove over medium heat and thicken the peanut sauce while stirring frequently.  While the sauce is cooking quickly prepare the packages of Ramen according to the package but only using 1 flavor package as you drain the noddles of their cooking water.

Add the noodles, vegetables and the cooked meatballs into the thickened sauce. Using some tongs toss everything together so that it has a nice coating of sauce on it. Serve the meatballs on top the bed of peanut butter Ramen and vegetables immediately.

Enjoy!!

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Peanut Butter Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

My Secret Recipe Club assignment this month was Tasty Cheap Skate.  Jeanie started her blog in 2010 like Nicole and I did so I had tons of recipes to choose from.  She likes to break down the cost of each ingredient so you know how much it will cost you to make the entire meal which is helpful if you are on a tight budget. I chose her peanut butter cake with peanut butter frosting because my family is a bunch of peanut butter lovers.  I thought it might be too much peanut butter but I was pleasantly surprised.

 I cut the recipe in 1/2 as this is supposed to make enough for a sheet cake size.  There are only 3 people living in my house and the last thing we need is a sheet cake sized cake so a 9 x 9 pan was used instead.  Instead of chocolate ganache on top I used chopped Trader Joe's mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups.  The frosting was supposed to be made in a saucepan but I just whipped it up in my mixer instead to make it a little bit fluffier and less dense.

Ingredients for 9x9 Cake:
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 large egg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup water

Ingredients for Frosting:
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) softened
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1-1/2 cup confectioners sugar
5 tsp half and half
1/2 tsp vanilla

10 mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups (Trader Joe's) chopped

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl combine sugar and flour.  Set aside.
In a medium bowl mix the egg, baking soda and sour cream.  Set aside.

In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, butter and water. Bring to a boil.

Add boiled mixture to flour mixture and mix.

Stir in sour cream/egg mixture and mix again.

Pour into greased 9 x 9 pan.  Bake for 23-25 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into center comes back clean.  While cake is cooling make the frosting.

Combine softened butter, peanut butter, vanilla, confectioners sugar and 1/2 and 1/2.  Mix until mixture is at desired consistency.  Add more 1/2 and 1/2 if needed.  Spread on top of cooled cake.  Top with chopped mini dark chocolate peanut butter cups.

Enjoy!!



Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

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Oatmeal Apple Butter Squares

The girls and I have followed Jessica Merchant of How Sweet Eats on her food blog since the beginning. So when we saw she had a cookbook coming out we knew we were going to be buying it. The day after Seriously Delish arrived Sam decided to make two of the 150 recipes in the cookbook with another 15 bookmarked to make soon. These bars did not disappoint with a hint of peanut butter and an extra caramel drizzle on top.  If you are wondering what to do with your apple butter besides spread it on toast give these bars a try.  The whole wheat flour can easily be substituted with white all purpose flour or you can do 1/2 of each I would guess. The cookbook has a little bit of everything with 8 different sections from breakfast to snack time items, stuff to sip on, salads, soups and vegetable sides. The other dish we tried so far was Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps and we loved them. The dipping sauce was amazing and we will be using the sauce on other things soon.

Ingredients:
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup loosely packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond milk (1/3 cup in original recipe)
1 cup apple butter

Crumble:
1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup loosely packed brown sugar
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract

Drizzle: (I added - not in original recipe)
15 caramel squares
1 tbsp milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray and 8 x 8 pan with PAM.  In a small bowl combine the oat, flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add peanut butter and brown sugar.  Beat on medium speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add vanilla extract and beat the mixture until combined.

With the mixer on low, slowly add the dry ingredients.  Slowly add the milk and continue to mix until a dough forms.  Remove the dough from the bowl and press it into the baking dish.

Spread the apple butter over the top of the dough.

For the crumble combine the oats, brown sugar and flour in a bowl.  Add the butter and vanilla extract and crumble it together with your fingers until the butter is distributed.

Sprinkle the mixture over the apple butter.

Bake for 25 minutes.  Remove the pan from the oven and let the bars cool completely before cutting into squares.

If you want to add a little more sweetness to it drizzle caramel sauce over the top.  Prepare caramel sauce by melting caramels with a little milk and stir either over the stove or in the microwave.

Enjoy!!




Linked at: http://www.thecountrycook.net/

Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes

My father-in-law has a peanut butter sandwich every day for lunch so when his 86th birthday was this weekend I knew what kind of sweet I would be making him.  We got to spend a nice weekend together at the beach.  I used my usual go to chocolate cake recipe from www.hersheys.com.  The chocolate/peanut butter combination was perfect.  

Ingredients: (makes 12 cupcakes, double recipe to make a full batch of 24)
Cupcakes
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup + 6 tbsp all purpose flour
6 tbsp Hershey's unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup boiling water
36 mini Reese's peanut butter cups (24 chopped and 12 for garnish)

Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter (softened)
3/4 cup peanut butter (not chunky)
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream

Ganache
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp light corn syrup

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line muffin tin with 12 paper wrappers.  Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add egg, milk, oil and vanilla extract.  Beat on medium speed for two minutes.  Stir in boiling water.  Batter will be very thin.

Pour batter into paper liners about 3/4 full.  Cut 24 mini peanut butter cups in 1/2.  Put 4 pieces into each cupcake liner.

Bake cupcakes for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the cake part comes out clean.  While cupcakes are cooling you can make the frosting.

In medium mixing bowl beat softened butter and peanut butter until combined.  Add confectioners sugar and heavy cream and mix until desired consistency is reached.  Add more heavy cream if necessary.  Pour into piping bag and frost cupcakes as desired.

Make ganache by putting heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and heating on high for 1 minute. Immediately stir in chocolate chips and stir until melted.  Add 1 tbsp corn syrup and stir until smooth and shiny.  Drizzle over top of  cupcakes.

Top cupcakes with mini peanut butter cup.

Enjoy!!



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Peanut Butter Cup Brownie Trifle

I can't begin to explain to you how good this trifle is. If you love chocolate and peanut butter then this definitely should be the next dessert you make. I had never made trifle before and as you can see I don't own a trifle dish so my layers weren't as precise as they should've been, but it turned out delicious anyway. My mouth is watering just writing this post and remembering how good it was when I served it back in December. It also could be that I'm 37 weeks pregnant and I know my days of allowing myself to indulge in dessert every night are numbered since my post pregnancy diet is just around the corner :(

Ingredients:

1 Box Fudge Brownie Mix (9x13 Family Size)

2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

6 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter

3 Cups Skim Milk

2 Tsp Vanilla

1 Large Box Instant Vanilla Pudding

2 Bags Mini Peanut Butter Cups

Adapted from: http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com

Start by baking your brownies following the directions on the box you have bought. Obviously you are welcome to make brownies from scratch if you have the time.

Next make the whipped cream, the original recipe calls for Cool Whip but I refuse to eat that. One of the keys to making real whipped cream is to have the bowl and whisk as cold as possible. So before you start place them both in the freezer for 10 minutes. Pour the cream into the bowl, add the sugar and whip on a medium speed for about 2-3 minutes or until you achieve stiff peaks. Transfer the whipped cream to a large bowl and place in the fridge until it is needed later in the recipe.

Wash your mixer's bowl and whisk. Mix together the pudding packet and milk on a medium speed until combined about 2 minutes. Spoon in the peanut butter and vanilla and mix again

Take half of the whipped cream, about 2 cups and gently fold it into the pudding mixture until it is just combined. Your brownies should be done baking by now, when they are cool, cut them into 1 in pieces. Roughly chop up all the peanut butter cups. I used mini ones because they were on sale but it was a pain in the butt to unwrap each one, I would suggest using larger ones. 

Now it is time to construct the trifle, you are going to divide the brownies and peanut butter cups into threes and the pudding in half. Start with a layer of brownies on the bottom, followed by some of the chopped up peanut butter cups. Next you will put in half of the peanut butter pudding.

On top of the peanut butter pudding put a 2nd layer of brownies, followed by a 2nd layer of peanut butter cups and the rest of the pudding. Top the 2nd layer of pudding with the remaining brownies. Spoon the rest of the whipped cream on top smoothing it out evenly. Top the whipped cream with the remaining peanut butter cups.

Cover and place the trifle in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. Use a very large spoon to dig all the way into the bottom of the trifle when it is time to serve so you can have all of the layers together.

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Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies & Cookies & Crafts for Sandy Hook

Today churches throughout our town will be observing the National Day of Mourning and will be ringing their bells 26 times at 9:30am to remember the 26 people lost last Friday:  

Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Rachel Davino, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Ana M. Marquez-Greene, Dylan Hockley, Dawn Hochsprung, Madeleine F. Hsu, Catherine V. Hubbard, Chase Kowalski, Jesse Lewis, James Mattioli , Grace McDonnell, Anne Marie Murphy, Emilie Parker, - Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Lauren Rousseau,  Mary Sherlach, Victoria Soto, Benjamin Wheeler, Allison N. Wyatt

The world mourns the loss of these innocent people as we try to comprehend how anyone could ever such a terrible thing. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Newtown community.       

Sam and I made these cookies while she was home last weekend.  They are a family favorite and are made almost every year around this time.  They are adapted from www.hersheys.com

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter softened

1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3-1/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp milk

1 bag of Hershey's dark chocolate kisses

1 cup sugar for rolling

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Remove wrappers from chocolate kisses.

Beat softened butter and peanut butter in large bowl until blended.  Add 1 cup sugar and brown sugar and beat until fluffy.  

Add eggs, vanilla and milk and beat well.  Stir together the flour, baking soda and salt.  Gradually beat into peanut butter mixture.

Shape dough into 1" balls.  Roll in granulated sugar and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie.  Cookie will crack around the edges.  Remove from cookie sheet to a wire rack.  Cool completely.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!! Susan

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