Chubby Hubby Truffles

Pin It I saw this recipe a few months ago, but never had a reason to make them until this weekend.  My brother and sister in law were in town and I brought these over for dessert.  They were inhaled and they were such a hit that they were requested for my sister's wedding shower in a few months.  These are a mixture of sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy...All the best parts of a dessert rolled into one delicious ball.

Chubby Hubby Truffles
Original recipe from Six Sisters' Stuff
1 cup crushed pretzels
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 Tbsp butter, softened
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3 Tbsp powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Toppings:
1/4 cup crushed pretzels
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 tsp vegetable oil

1. Mix peanut butter, butter and brown sugar in a bowl until well combined.
2. Stir in pretzel pieces.  Then mix in powdered sugar.
3. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop rounded balls onto a wax paper covered cookie sheet.  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
4. Remove balls from fridge.  Melt chocolate chips and vegetable oil in the microwave for 1 minute, stirring every 30 seconds.
5. Dip  balls into chocolate and return them to the wax paper cookie sheet.
6. Melt peanut butter and vegetable oil in microwave for about 30 seconds or until able to be drizzled.
7. Top truffles with pretzel pieces and peanut butter.
8. Return truffles to the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.
9. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pin It So these cookies are grain free, oil free, egg free and white sugar free.   I was leery of trying them and thinking they might not satisfy my sweet tooth.  I was pleasantly surprised.  You would never guess that these are healthy by looking at them.  I also had several friends and family members try them without telling them they were healthy and tricked all of them.

Check out Six Sisters' Link Party.  There are so many good ideas there!

Healthy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Original recipe from Texanerin
1 can chickpeas, drained (also called garbanzo beans)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place all ingredients, except chocolate chips, in a food processor.  Pulse until well blended and smooth.  Stop several times to scrape down the sides so you don't have chunks of chickpeas in your cookies.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.  Dough will be sticky.
4. Scoop tablespoons of dough on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes or until they are no longer glossy looking and slightly brown.

**Be careful when removing from cookie sheet, they can be fragile

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp

Pin It Whenever I go to The Cheesecake Factory I ALWAYS get bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp.  It is a Thai inspired dish with flavors of coconut, curry, peanuts and chiles.  It has veggies and rice covered in this amazing curry sauce.  You also get a massive portion so I have leftovers for at least 2 lunches.  I made this for my friends on "wine and dine" night and I have to say that this is pretty darn close to the real thing.  This recipe is a bit more complicated than my normal cooking, but it is definitely worth it!

Check out Weekend Potluck to see lots of awesome recipes!

Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp
Adapted from Firehow.com
Curry Sauce:
olive oil
1 small white onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
2 Tbsp red curry paste (to taste)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
3 cups lite coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup zucchini, julienned
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup caulifour, chopped into small florets
2 chicken breasts
1 lb shrimp, peeled
green onions
toasted coconut
chopped peanuts

1. Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet.  Add onion, garlic and ginger.  Saute until starting to brown.
2. Add chicken broth, cumin, paprika, curry, red pepper, salt and pepper.  Stir well.  Simmer for 5 mintues.
3. Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for 20 minutes until sauce begins to thicken.
4. Meanwhile, cook chicken and shrimp in a separate skillet.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.  Set aside when done.
**Make peanut sauce.  Directions below.
5. When sauce is starting to thicken add veggies.  Simmer for 10 minutes or until carrots are tender.
6. Add chicken and shrimp to sauce a few minutes before serving.
7.  Serve over rice.  Drizzle with peanut sauce and top with chopped green onions,toasted coconut and chopped peanuts.

Peanut Sauce
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp water
4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp lime juice

1. In a small sauce pan combine all ingredients.  Whisk to combine.  Heat until mixture begins to bubble.
2. Cover pan and remove from heat until ready to serve.
3. Drizzle on top of meal before serving.

Chunky Monkey Cookies

Pin It I'm always looking for healthy desserts because I have a sweet tooth.  I found these cookies on Pinterest and was a little leery about them being too "healthy" to satisfy my sweets craving.  I made a small batch just to try them out and I was pleasantly surprised.  I did add some agave syrup for a little sweetness and some chocolate chips, which makes them not quite as healthy, but still better than a regular cookie.  These cookies are sweet, moist and chocolatey.  Definitely a winner!

Chunky Monkey Cookies
* makes 12 large cookies
Adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 Tbsp agave syrup (or sugar)
1 cup oats
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mash bananas in a bowl.  Add peanut butter, cocoa, vanilla and agave.  Stir to combine.
3. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
4. Allow batter to rest for about 20 minutes to soften the oats.
5. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter on a parchment lined baking sheet.
6. Bake 10-12 minutes or until the bottoms are golden when you lift them up.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

Pin It I've been on an instant oatmeal streak lately.  It fills me up and I like a warm breakfast on chilly mornings.  Then I stumbled upon a recipe for peanut butter banana bars on Pinterest.  I decided to try it out, but tweaked it a bit to make it healthier and tastier.  You really don't taste the peanut butter or banana.  I would describe these as a chewy chocolate chip granola bar with a hint of cinnamon.  You won't even notice the flax seed, but it adds some extra protien.  Don't let the long ingredient list scare you.  This recipe is super simple.  I don't think you can mess it up.

These bars don't last long at my house.  I snack on them throughout the day.  They are moist, tasty, healthy and very filling.  One serving keeps me full until lunch time.  Enjoy!

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 large egg)
2/3 cup skim milk
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flax seed meal
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup chocolate chips**
1/3 cup chopped pecans**

**optional - or add your favorite mix -in - raisins, cranberries, walnuts...the list goes on and on

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix bananas, egg, milk, vanilla, sugar and peanut butter.
3. Add oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Mix until well combined.
4. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans.
5. Pour batter into a greased 8x8 pan.  Sprinkle brown sugar on top.
6. Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

5 Ingredient Cookie Bars

Pin It I had a real craving for something sweet last week and needed something simple, fast and using ingredients I already had.  These cookie bars were perfect.  5 ingredients and 25 minutes later I had a delicious fresh baked treat.  These are perfect with a scoop of ice cream.

5 Ingredient Cookie Bars
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups baking mix (like Bisquick)
1 1/2 cups M & M's (or chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream peanut butter, eggs and sugar.  Mix in baking mix.  Stir in 1 cup of M&M's.
3. Press mixture into a greased 8 x 8 pan.  Top with remaining M&M's.  Press gently into the batter.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Faux Ice Cream

Pin It I LOVE ice cream.  I could eat it multiple times a day if my waistline would allow me.  I stumbled upon this gem on Pinterest and then my sister-in-law made some and raved about it so I decided to give it a try.  The main ingredient of this creamy delight: BANANAS!  I have a strong dislike for bananas.  It is a texture issue.  I usually make some sort of muffin or cake out of my over ripe bananas.  However, this "ice cream" has only a mild banana flavor, especially if you mix in extras like peanut butter and cocoa.  You don't need a fancy ice cream maker either.  The only appliance you need is a food processor.  A blender would probably do the trick as well.  While this won't be completely replacing my trips to the local custard stand, this is a good substitute that I don't have to feel guilty about enjoying.

Faux Ice Cream
* 2 large servings
4 ripe (not over ripe) bananas, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 heaping Tbsp peanut butter
2 tsp cocoa powder
mix-ins of your choice

1. Freeze banana slices until firm.  I used a ziplock bag and laid flat so the bananas were in a single layer and they froze in about an hour.
2. Place bananas in a food processor.  Mix until it blends into a creamy, smooth mixture.  This may take several minutes and you will have to stop to scrape down the sides as least once.  It will look like banana pebbles for a while, but be patient and it will turn creamy.
3. Mix in peanut butter and cocoa powder.
4. Stir in any extras you wish.
5. Place in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up.  (Or if you are impatient, enjoy immediately)

Note - This does not freeze extremely well.  I recommend making a fresh batch each time you want some.  I thought it had a weird texture when I saved some until the next day.  But this might just be  my texture issue coming through. 

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Pin It I have never been a huge fan of 5 ingredient or less recipes because I like experimenting and adding my own spices or ingredients to liven things up.  When I stumbled upon this recipe while watching Food Network one day, they made these cookies look so delcious that I had to try them.  I was pleasantly surprised.  They are moist and chewy and can be mixedup in the amount of time it takes to preheat your oven.

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup natural, creamy peanut butter (I used Trader Joe's)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
sugar for rolling

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended.
3. Spoon tablespoons of dough into sugar and roll into balls.  Place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
4. Press down with a fork to make a criss-cross pattern on the cookies.
5. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  They will look under cooked.  Let cookies cool slightly before removing from baking sheet and placing on cooling rack.