Peanut Butter Pumpkin Puppy Cake

Happy Birthday Ellie! 

I can't believe Ellie is 4 years old today, I remember when she was just a puppy so that's why I made her a peanut butter pumpkin puppy cake.  I modified this recipe from the cake I made for Buddy's 10th birthday.  I know these dogs are spoiled!  Ellie is so lucky today because she is also featured on Pretty Fluffy's Daily Fluffy - http://prettyfluffy.com/2012/08/daily-fluffy-look-at-this-mess/!  How cool is that?  Ellie sure can be a troublemaker sometimes but I love her anyway (and so does her brother Buddy).

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Puppy Cake

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup peanut butter, natural

1/8 cup vegetable oil

½ cup applesauce

½ cup pumpkin puree

1 egg

For the Frosting

½ cup greek yogurt, plain

dog treats for decoration

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda.

Add in the remaining ingredients and mix with a spatula.

 

Pour batter into loaf pan.  Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

 

Cool on a wire rack.  (I cut the cake into the shape of a dog bone with a serrated knife.)

 

Cool completely before frosting.

Frost with plain greek yogurt.  Top with dog treats.

Ellie loves it and so does Buddy!

Mmmmmm!  Happy 4th Birthday Ellie!

Don't forget to check out Ellie on Pretty Fluffy's Daily Fluffy!

Green Monster Smoothie 2

Since I'm done traveling for awhile I'm trying to get back to eating healthy again.  I am still loving these green monster smoothies for breakfast or as a healthy snack.  It is so easy to make a large batch to make ahead several smoothies.  This is a slightly varied recipe from my first green monster smoothie recipe.   I added in blueberries and it is a more tart flavor, so I personally like it better with just banana as in my original recipe.  I also freeze extra portions in these Ziploc Twist 'N Loc containers to take to work for breakfast in the mornings.  I usually take one out of the freezer in the morning and set it on the counter while I get ready.   Once I get to my office, I leave it on my desk for an hour to fully defrost.  These green monster smoothies are also dog friendly - my dogs love it as much as I do!

 
Green Monster Smoothie 2

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups spinach

1 ½ cups vanilla soy milk

½ cup plain greek yogurt

1 frozen banana, sliced

½ cup frozen blueberries

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon honey

Directions

Mix all ingredients into a blender or food processor.

Makes about 4 cups.  Serve immediately or freeze.

Buddy and Ellie wait so patiently when they know they are getting something!

Peanut Sesame Noodles

I have made peanut noodles and sesame noodles, so now I have finally made peanut sesame noodles!  I adapted this peanut sesame noodles recipe from Rachel Ray's sesame noodle recipe.  This is another great summer time recipe since you could serve this warm, at room temperature, or cold.  It tastes great either way and I know because I have tried it all.  Also if you don't have agave, you could substitute 2 - 3 teaspoons white sugar instead or leave it completely out if you prefer a more salty taste.  I love the simplicity of this dish and it is great as a side dish or for a quick meal.  Enjoy!

Peanut Sesame Noodles

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon peanut butter

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 – 2 teaspoons agave nectar

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ pound thin spaghetti

1 tablespoon sesame seeds (roasted)

1 scallion, chopped

Directions

Cook spaghetti according to package directions.  Drain well.

In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, vegetable oil, sesame oil, agave and cayenne pepper. 

Add noodles and toss to coat.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped scallion.

Great served at room temperature, cold or warmed.

Serves 4.  

Green Monster Smoothie

I have seen green monster smoothie recipes all over pinterest and blogs.  I actually used my food processor to make the smoothie because I don't have a blender.  It works just as well and I had no issues.  I was really apprehensive about this smoothie because you put spinach in it, but I honestly couldn't taste the spinach.  You mostly taste the banana and peanut butter.  I love how satisfying this green monster smoothie was and I could just drink it for breakfast.  I could see this as a quick lunch too if you are on the go somewhere.  I also tested freezing the leftovers and they still tasted great the next day.  You could even eat it like ice cream if you only defrost halfway so its more like a soft serve ice cream consistency.  If you have been afraid to make a green monster smoothie, you shouldn't be.  Try it!  Its green, really green, but delicious!

Note:  I tried using kale instead of spinach once and I thought it tasted too "green" so I'm sticking with spinach for all my green monster smoothies :)

Green Monster Smoothie

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

2 cups fresh spinach leaves

1 frozen banana, sliced  (Peel and slice before freezing.)

1 tablespoon peanut butter

½ cup vanilla soymilk

½ cup plain greek yogurt (I used Fage greek yogurt.)

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a blender (or food processor).

Serve immediately.

You also freeze leftovers in an airtight container.   Let defrost at room temperate for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Even Buddy and Ellie liked the green monster smoothie!  Don't worry I put the food processor bowl in the dishwasher aftewards :)  Also, I gave them a spoonful in their dog food of the kale green monster smoothie until I ran out since I wasn't a fan of it, but they sure were :) 

Simple Peanut Noodles

I bought a jar of Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter recently and a recipe for Peanut Pasta Twists was on the lid of the jar.  Of course, I changed up the recipe and came up with this one.  It turned out pretty good and only took me about 15 minutes to put it all together (including cooking time for pasta).  These simple peanut noodles would be great as a side dish or as a main dish if you want to add in the optional ingredients to make it more hearty.  For those with peanut allergies, maybe you can substitute with Barney Butter (almond butter), SunButter (roasted sunflower seeds), or soy nut butters.  Just be sure to check labels for anything processed on shared equipment or in the same facility as peanuts.  This dish is great served warm or cold too.  Enjoy!

 

Simple Peanut Noodles
Printable Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup creamy peanut butter (I used Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter.)

¼  cup ketchup

¼ cup warm water

1 tablespoon soy sauce

½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar

½ teaspoon sesame oil

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ pound dry pasta, cooked (I used linguine.)

Optional Ingredients

red bell pepper, diced

sesame seeds, toasted

scallions, sliced

cucumber, sliced

firm tofu, diced

chicken, cooked and shredded/diced

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, ketchup, water, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and garlic powder until well blended.

 

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well.

 

Toss hot pasta with peanut sauce until evenly coasted.   Garnish with optional ingredients if desired.

 

Serve immediately warmed or serve chilled. 

Make Ahead Tip: Refrigerate for up to 2 days. To serve, stir in 2 tablespoons warm water per portion; serve cold or reheat in microwave.

Serves 2 as main dish or 4 as a side dish.

Top with some roasted sesame seeds.

Homemade Nutty Bars

Remember nutty bars as a kid?  I haven't had one in years and when I saw the recipe posted on theKitchn,  I knew I had to try to make it!  I already had leftover matzot from passover and this was the perfect way to use some of it.  The recipe called for creamy peanut butter, but I tried it with crunchy peanut butter and I liked it too.  You really can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter together.  I could see possibly trying this recipe with saltine crackers, graham crackers, or thin cookie wafers.  These homemade nutty bars came out delicious and are probably much healthier than the store bought version!

 

Ingredients

matzo sheets, plain

peanut butter (I used both creamy and crunchy.)

semisweet chocolate chips 

 

Directions

Break matzo sheets into long pieces, about an inch wide.  I used a serrated bread knife to cut sheets as evenly as possible. I can't say this part is easy to do...

Spread peanut butter onto a piece of matzo.

 

Add another piece of matzo on top of the peanut butter. 

 

Spread peanut butter on top of that matzo and top with another piece of matzo.

 

You will have 3 matzo layers.  Place onto a parchment/wax paper lined sheet pan. 

 

Repeat those steps for however many bars you want to make. 

In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips for 1 to 2 minutes.  Stir every 30 seconds; be sure to not burn the chocolate!

 

I used the back of a spoon to spread a layer of chocolate over the top and sides of each matzo bar.  If you are fancy, you can draw patterns on top of the chocolate covered bars using a toothpick.

Chill the bars in the refrigerator until the chocolate has hardened.  

Also since I had peanut butter out and 3 doggies watching me, I had to put a little peanut butter in some dog bones for them!

 Waiting patiently...

 This is Roscoe, his parents are on vacation so he gets to stay with Buddy and Ellie for a whole week!

 Ellie can't wait to get all that peanut butter!

Buddy is enjoying his peanut butter filled bone!