Soy Glazed Chicken with Peanut Noodles

The other day I found this recipe in one of my magazines that I accidentally bought.  It was piggy backed on a magazine I was buying for my mom for mother's day, and I guess, if nothing else, one good thing came out of that accidental purchase: this recipe!

Soy Glazed Chicken with Peanut Noodles

slightly adapted from: Family Circle Magazine

2-3 chicken breasts

salt and pepper

1 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. honey

12 oz. spaghetti 

1/4 c. rice vinegar

3 Tbsp. soy sauce

3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

3 Tbsp. peanut butter (I used creamy, but next time I will definitely use crunchy for the added texture)

2 tsp. sesame oil

1-2 dashes onion powder

Season your chicken with salt and pepper.  In your instant pot, add 1 c. of water and cook the chicken on high for 8-10 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the 1 Tbsp. of soy sauce and the honey.  When the chicken is cooked, baste the honey soy mixture on the chicken.  While the chicken is cooking, cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package directions.  Drain and rinse them in cold water.  Stir together the rice vinegar, 3 Tbsp. soy sauce, vegetable oil, peanut butter, sesame oil and onion powder, until smooth.  Toss the sauce mixture with the noodles and serve it with the chicken.

Peanut Butter Pie

This was Avery's choice for pie this year.  It sounded so rich and sweet that I thought it would be too rich, and too sweet.  But, I was wrong!  It was just enough.  So delicious!  It was the favorite pie of all that we made.

Peanut Butter Pie
adapted from: allrecipes.com

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. container of Cool Whip
24 crushed Nutter Butter cookies
4 Tbsp. melted butter
chocolate fudge ice cream topping

In a small bowl, stir together the Nutter Butter crumbs and melted butter and press into the bottom and sides of a pie plate.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until it begins to look golden brown.  Set it aside and let it cool down.  In a large bowl, combine the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar and beat it with an electric mixer until it is smooth and creamy.  Add the peanut butter and vanilla and do the same.  Stir in the cool whip until it is well combined (also, smooth and creamy) and spread the whole mixture over the cooled Nutter Butter crust.  Squirt a little of the chocolate fudge ice cream topping over the top of the pie and refrigerate until you are ready to eat it.

Scotcharoos

My neighbor, Virginia, makes the most delicious scotcharoos.  This week she brought over an entire 9X13 pan for me.  To eat all by myself.  Just kidding.  Those were not her instructions.  But I did consume enough in one sitting to put myself into a sugar induced coma for the next couple of days.  The above picture is of hers, but I want and need to have this recipe documented for my further use.  So we get to see her beauties.  

Scotcharoos
by: My neighbor Virginia

3/4 c. sugar
1 c. corn syrup
1 c. peanut butter
6 c. rice crispies
1 bag milk chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips

In a large pot, over medium high heat, stir together the sugar and corn syrup, just until it begins to start boiling.  Don't let it cook too long!  I put an exclamation point there, because I did let it cook too long and my scotcharoos were as hard as a rock.  My neighbor says that it really needs to just barely start boiling.  Then add the peanut butter and stir it until it is just melty.  Those are her words.  Stir in the rice crispies until well combined and pour it into a greased 9X13 pan.  In a glass bowl, combine the bag of milk chocolate chips and the bag of butterscotch chips.  Cook them for 30 seconds and then stir.  Repeat as many times as needed until they are melted.  Pour them over the top of your rice crispy mixture and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes

I love these cupcakes!!  I may have eaten this frosting by the spoonful as I was making it.  My friend made them for us at work and I couldn't wait to try them myself.  They're moist and deliciously sweet, and the banana in the cupcake balances out the peanut butter frosting very very well.

Banana Peanut Butter Cupcakes

Ingredients:

1 ½ c. sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk
1 ¼ c. ripe banana, mashed

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix until batter is smooth.
4. Combine all dry ingredients and mix into batter in 3 parts,
alternating with buttermilk.  Reduce speed to low and mix for 2 more
minutes
5. Line cupcake pan with wrappers.  Using a spatula gently fold mashed
bananas into batter.  Scoop into cups until 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 25 minutes and let cool.

FOR FROSTING

2 c. powdered sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. creamy peanut butter (i used chunky b.c that's all I had :)
3 tbsp milk

Combine powdered sugar, butter and vanilla. Then add 1 cup peanut
butter and milk. Mix until spreadable.

Makes 18

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Waffles with Peanut Butter Glaze

Nicole and I decided to start trying out a new waffle recipe every other week.  Someday we want to open a waffle shop together (I should give Monica some credit here, too.  She is going to be our restaraunt cleaner.)  When I told my mom we were going to do this project, she immediately said "Are you going to make dad's chocolate waffles?"  I don't think that my dad actually has any chocolate waffles that he could really call his own, but there is a legend in our family, that when Mom had a baby (maybe Nicole?) and Dad was in charge for a couple of days, he made us all chocolate waffles for dinner.  And I don't think we liked them.  It is joked about quite often.  So, I went ahead and started out our Waffle Project with some chocolate waffles.  I found a recipe for Chocolate pancakes, adapted them for waffles and doctored them up a bit with more chocolate.  The peanut butter glaze I found on allrecipes.com, and is incredibly easy and yummy.  The waffles (er, pancakes) recipe was from a website that I now can't find and so I can't give (whoever they were) credit.  And it actually called for bananas, which I added, but Dustin and I thought they would be better without.  If you want to add those in, go ahead!  It was two mashed bananas, folded in just before cooking.  Otherwise, enjoy these chocolate waffles, dedicated to our Dear Ol' Dad.  

Chocolate Chip Chocolate Waffles

adapted by: Carolyn

1 c. white flour

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. sugar

2/3 c. cocoa

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 c. milk

2 eggs

1/2 c. oil

1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Glaze

2/3 c. powdered sugar

4 tsp. water

1 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter

For the waffles, in a large bowl, stir together all the dry ingredients.  Add the eggs, milk and oil and mix it well.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Cook in your waffle iron, adding a couple more minutes than your waffles normally take.  I checked mine after the normal time and they usually needed a minute more.  Make sure and spray your waffle iron in between every couple of rounds of waffles.  The chocolate chips make it stick a little more than usual.  Also, be sure to stir the batter every time before pouring it on the iron to get the chocolate chips off of the bottom. 

For the glaze, in a small bowl, add all the ingredients and stir it until it is smooth and creamy.  And that's all.