Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Waffles

Word on the street is that today is National Peanut Butter Lover's Day. If you consider peanut butter to be a food group (same as with cheese and chocolate) like I do, then today is your day...

I am obsessed with peanut butter. No bake cookies are one of my absolute favorite anything...when I was younger I could last hours with a spoon and a jar of peanut butter. A morning is not complete without a piece of peanut butter toast. At work, I make these peanut butter payday bars and it takes every ounce of my being to refrain from shoveling it into my mouth...so seriously...

I frickin love peanut butter...

Lately, I have loved it more than usual...odd I know...perhaps my body knew the holiday was coming. I have been making peanut butter everything...peanut butter banana oatmeal, peanut butter chocolate oatmeal, bars, waffles...the list is never-ending (all posts are coming soon btw!)

These...waffles...are...amazing...

I searched high and low for a good whole wheat peanut butter waffle recipe that I could play around with and I found one that I found to be perfect. I changed some components and added banana and boom! Heaven...these waffles are the only reason I now get out of bed...

I could go on and on about my love of peanut butter and these waffles but it is a holiday and I have cream cheese coming to room temperature for a peanut butter pie and my laptop can only handle so much drool....

(how much do you wanna bet these would rock with chocolate chips?...just sayin...)

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Banana Waffles
Adapted from Food.com

Ingredients:
(makes 6-8)

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/4 cups skim milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 ripe bananas, sliced

Directions:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine all of the ingredients.

Preheat a waffle iron. When it is hot, spray its surface lightly with the cooking spray or brush it with the butter.

Fill a medium-size ladle with batter and pour it onto the waffle iron. Cook until the waffle is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. Serve hot with sugar-free syrup.

Chocolate and Cheese Danish

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Oh how quickly Mondays come upon us :( My day is finally winding down with pumpkin cheesecake ice cream and "The Bachelor".

This past week was Shawn's week off and it flew by. I sent him off this morning with homemade whole wheat peanut butter banana pancakes and a sausage, cheese and tomato scramble. It's the least I could do...

His next week off is in 3 weeks...boooo...but it is also my Spring Break so something tells me these next 3 weeks are going to draaaag...and I have tons and tons of work to do to catch up and finish this quarter strong...

This of course equals lots of stress eating...crap...Luckily, I made these danish (is it danish or danishes?) a few weeks ago because if I made them now I would probably eat them all in one sitting...no joke.

I made these with croissant dough because I had it on hand but I'm sure its a lot better with puff pastry. If cheese and chocolate are food groups to you like they are me, then try these...now...seriously.

Chocolate and Cheese Danish
From Foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (2 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
2 (9-inch-square) sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Filling: In a small bowl, mix together the cheeses, egg yolk, flour, sugar, vanilla and salt until smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips. Set aside.

Cut each sheet of pastry into 4 equal-sized squares. Put 4 pastry squares on each prepared baking sheet. Spoon about 2 to 3 teaspoons of the filling into the center of each piece of pastry. Fold 1 corner of the pastry diagonally over the filling to within 1-inch of the opposite corner. Using a pastry brush, brush the folded-over section lightly with the beaten egg. Fold the opposite corner over the egg-brushed pastry to form an open-ended Danish. Brush the pastry with beaten egg and bake until puffed and golden, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Treats

I will be the first to admit that oftentimes my food or presentation of my food is not that pretty per se. I mean I get it. I'm aware....

Many times this is because I either A.) I don't have the patience to make it pretty because I want to get to the eating part... B.) I care more about how it tastes than it looks...or C.) I don't have a very good camera

This lovely treat that I threw together is a little bit of all of the above... A, B and C.

As I have said many times before I have this little obsession with the chocolate, peanut butter and pretzel combination. Remember my Love Triangle Cookie? Yeah, anything like that!

I had some rice crispy cereal and marshmallows laying around and decided to try to have some fun with them and make a few fun things...this is the first fun thing (since the Whatchamacallits)...and by fun I mean super, sinfully awesome.

Sure, its not that pretty. In fact, its a bit of a mess but I'm gonna call that fun...because the taste sooo makes up for it :)

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Pretzel Treats
Dame Good

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 (10 ounce) package regular marshmallows
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 cups Crisp Rice cereal
1 1/2 cups broken pretzels (break each pretzel into 4 pieces)
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Add the cereal, pretzels and chocolate and mix up.

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until melted.

Pour the marshmallow mixture over top of the cereal mixture. With a spatula that is sprayed with cooking spray, combine the two mixtures and stir until everything is evenly coated. The chocolate will begin to melt, but that okay.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray (or an 8x8 pan if you want thicker bars). Using a spatula evenly press mixture into prepared pan. Let cool for about 15-30 minutes. Cut into even squares.

Chicken Sausage with a Quick Homemade Sauerkraut

I have got a bad case of the Mondays. Anyone who likes mondays is crazy. Productive is the last thing I want to be on this day. I woke up wanting homemade whole wheat blueberry waffles (which I satisfied myself with happily) and to stay in bed in my warmest PJ's and watch movies with Shawn...

Of course, this just was not allowed as I had to get to work right away (after the waffles of course, and coffee...lots of coffee) then class immediately after until 6:30...yep, me and Mondays are not friends.

As this winter quarter is slowly nearing an end, I am finding that I am burnt out and in dire need of a vacation. I can't afford one so the one week break I get off from school will have to do. For the longest time now I have been grinding out day after day with either class or work or both...0 days off...ZERO

Totally getting to me now...feeling worn down and overwhelmed. Perhaps the fact that it is totally crappy out doesn't help. This morning it was raining and now it is snowing...the kind of snowflakes that are as big as my fist. Boooo!

I think I am done being a Debbie Downer...I'm going to find chocolate and watch "The Bachelor" :)

Ps, if you love sauerkraut, as I do...but find the stuff out of a can or jar or bag or what have you to be rather one-note and sometimes too sour...this homemade quick kraut rocks...its delish...honestly. I have never had chicken sausage before making this recipe and while it is definitely not the fatty oily sausage we all love, it is pretty yummy...

Chicken Sausage with a Quick Homemade Sauerkraut
From Eatingwell.com

Ingredients:

1 12-ounce package chicken sausage
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, sliced
1 Granny Smith apple, thinly sliced
1 10-ounce package shredded cabbage, preferably finely shredded
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup apple cider
1 teaspoon caraway seeds

Directions:

Cook sausages in a large skillet over medium-high heat until brown on all sides, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and apple and cook, stirring constantly, until beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add cabbage, vinegar and salt and cook, stirring often, until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Add cider and caraway seeds; bring to a boil. Return the sausages to the pan, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook until the sausages are heated through and cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes.

Winter Wonderland Sugar Cookies

I am so incredibly excited by this shift in weather. I was able to go outside today without a jacket no problem. For those of you who live in states where your sunshine is loyal to you, you have no idea what I am talking about. But here in Ohio you can never count on what the weather will be like. You always have to leave the house in a bikini, rain boots and a parka...its insane...

no joke...

I am writing this blog with the window open and the breeze flowing and I am loving it. I hate winter...I love the snow for about 2 weeks and then I spend the rest of the season in hibernation cursing mother nature.

Back when the ground was covered in snow and the wind was blistering cold I lost my car keys...remember my long drawn out stressful post? Yeah, back then. Two of my classmates were nice enough to help me search out in that horrible weather so I owed them....big time...

One of them requested sugar cookies but I wanted to make them special by rolling them around in pretty sanding sugar for some sparkle and shine. The winter weather inspired me so I went for blue and clear. Of course you can do these with any colors for any occasion...

I post this in hopes of kissing winter goodbye soon and welcoming my second favorite season...crossing my fingers...

Though I still have an unbrella, scarf and flip flops packed for tomorrow ;)

Winter Wonderland Sugar Cookies
Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup colored sanding sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, roll the balls in sanding sugar and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Push the tops down just a tad so they spread nicely.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.