Abby and I get to share birthdays within a week of each other.  Abby’s was last week, mine is this week.  So last week was all about what she wanted to eat, this week is all about me.  And peanut butter … lots of it!  I went all out and had saved up a number of bits and pieces to make my all-time favorite recipes, and try a few new ones.  So here’s what happened …

	Friday lunch was still Abby’s day, and fortunately (for me) she wanted my peanut satay chicken stir-fry.  Now, I didn’t take a picture of what this one actually looked like, but just imagine something like this but with rice, rather than just veggies on the side.  The recipe is similar to the sauce for here, but I didn’t measure it out this time, and it worked really well.  I added some red capsicum (bell peppers) and spinach to the chicken, and then we had peas, carrots and corn added in with the rice.  I didn’t go overboard with the veggies, although I would have loved to, but since it was Abby’s birthday lunch, I only put in veggies that I knew she would eat.  And it was one of the best peanut satays that I’ve made … score 1 for me! Get the recipe here: Thai coconut curry
	I love granola bars … and I have always loved the taste of this one, especially the peanut butter part, but I have struggled many times with it holding together after being baked.  So, I thought to myself, why don’t I just try to make this one like a lot of my other favorite granola bars, and just freeze it before cutting (and eating).  So I did.  I had to add a bit extra ground flaxseed and almond meal to make the texture more like what it needed to be for a no-bake bar, but it worked really well – and stayed together!  And I love the taste, so win-win for me again.  Score 2 for me! Get the recipe here: Healthy granola bars
	Monster cookies.  Need I say more?  I found these peanut-butter filled chocolate chips at Walmart and bought them a few weeks ago, saving them for this auspicious occasion.  I also found some springtime colored chocolate chips and bought them a few weeks ago, saving them for this moment.  Add in some peanut butter-filled M&M’s and I was in heaven.  Gluten-free oats, super-crunchy peanut butter, (butter-flavored Crisco to make it dairy-free) and the awesome add-ins.  These were very (VERY) more-ish … the dough and the finished products.  I chilled the dough for about 60 mins before forming the cookies, just so they didn’t spread too much.  I didn’t remember the huge amount of cookies this recipe made until I was in the middle of them … good thing I promised to bring in cookies for work on my birthday this week – I’m sure I’ll have no end of willing helpers to eat them!  Score 3 for me! Get the recipe here: Monster cookies
	Every now and then I just flick through my recipe book and find a recipe that I haven’t tried for ages.  This was one of these.  It was a recipe I copied from my Mum’s recipe book one time when I was visiting them and I hadn’t really tried it for ages.  Peanut butter cookies (what else?), but with just a few differences in the ratios of the ingredients.  I remembered these as being pretty crumbly but still yummy, but was a little intrigued as to how I ‘d find them now after trying so many other peanut butter cookie recipes.  And the verdict?  Well, sorry Mum, but while they were nice, and turned out well, they just weren’t a soft and chewy as I would have liked.  But, for sentimental reasons, I’ll leave the recipe in my folder for tweaking at a later date!
	This was going to be my birthday ‘cake’ – a chocolate peanut butter pie.  I was watching the Pioneer Woman on Netflix and she made this on one episode and thought that would be great for my birthday.  But that was before the whole lactose intolerance issue was discovered.  So then I went searching for something similar that didn’t use evaporated milk, condensed milk, Cool Whip, cream or any other dairy-containing ingredient.  Do you know how hard that is?  Anyway, I looked on Chocolate Covered Katie’s website again and found this recipe, for a peanut butter pie.  I had made this recipe once before and didn’t really like the banana taste, so decided to substitute it with pumpkin puree, making a chocolate peanut butter pumpkin pie (my favorite 3 things!).  The crust I made from Mum’s peanut butter cookies, some Crisco, cocoa, honey and chocolate chips.  And the result?  Yeah, it wasn’t the greatest.  We ended up eating a few pieces and throwing away the rest …

And for a snack on the weekend, I made myself a peanut butter and honey on a corn thin (kind of the corn version of the rice cake) – very yummy, but not photo-worthy!

Oh yeah, my actual birthday cake for the actual day of my birthday – my all-time favorite carrot cake, with the frosting made of non-dairy cream cheese and vegetable shortening.  Always a winner in my book.

Get the recipe here: Carrot cake

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about my peanut butter (and other) expeditions in the kitchen.  If you like what you read and see on this website, feel free to add your e-mail address in the subscribe here section and receive updates when I add new recipes and posts.  And feel free to tell your friends and family – the more the merrier!  And PLEASE comment on anything you see on this website – I love to hear from you – suggestions, tales about when you’ve tried these recipes etc.

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Until next time, enjoy cooking at home!

Sarah