Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I got a baking itch while I was at my Dad's this past weekend, so this is what I came up with given what we had on hand. Not bad for an improvisation. Warm cookies, I have found, aren't ever greeted coldly. My Dad polished off most of these and I took the rest to Shannon... so I'm sure Matthew ate them. P.S. Congrats to the Shatthew engagement! These will be deemed engagement cookies!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies via Crisco:

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter flavor Crisco

1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 3/4 cup. flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1 c. chocolate chips

Cream together brown sugar and Crisco until light & fluffy. Add peanut butter, milk, vanilla, egg, baking soda, and salt. Mix thoroughly. Add in flour in three additions. Mix in chocolate chips last just until combined. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls on to a greased cookie sheet and bake forr 10 minutes at 350. Let cook for a minute on cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Peanut Butter-Banana-Chocolate Chip Muffins

I'm truly starting to believe I may be living a parallel life with Cathy from the Noble Pig. Our food tastes are way too similar for us not to be the same person! I still have yet to make anything that I didn't love from this blog. I saw this recipe while I was at work a couple nights ago and knew that the browning bananas on my counter would be a perfect match. I think these should be renamed Elvis muffins. They're great! I normally love muffins warm, but these were actually better room temperature. Be patient!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins via Noble Pig:

http://noblepig.com/2008/03/23/youll-never-make-a-different-muffin-againyou-wont.aspx

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

Another recipe that immediately sparked my interest just from title... I've been Thai obsessed as of late. Nothing could be bad about the perfect melody of sweet/salty/spicy. I'm usually a little intimidated to try to make Thai at home, usually because of the addition of unfamiliar ingredients in most recipes (i.e. fish sauce), but this recipe sounded delicious and didn't have any weird accompaniments so I knew I had to try it. Winner, winner, Thai chicken dinner... delectable. I served this chicken over Thai jasmine rice topped with chopped scallions and a side of steamed green beans. Saveur!

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken via Tasty Kitchen:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/thai-honey-peanut-chicken/

Sticky Peanut Butter & Jelly Wings

This recipe caught my eye immediately and the Noble Pig still has yet to disappoint me. So what more perfect occasion for wings than yesterday... the BCS National Championship game. GO AUBURN! So literally... Winner, winner, chicken dinner! This was actually the first time I've made wings, interesting. I actually used drumettes, which seem to be much less labor intensive than actual wings. Depending on your palate, mine prefers spicy, you will need to add much more hot sauce than the recipe calls for. I really used about ten times as much, nearly 4 tablespoons. Peanut butter + wings + hot sauce = Excellent!

Sticky Peanut Butter & Jelly Wings via Noble Pig:

http://noblepig.com/2009/03/29/classicly-twisted.aspx

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Made this for a work potluck for one of the other nurse's birthdays, went over really well! Smooth, moist chocolate cake with a creamy peanut butter frosting, what could be bad about that?! The only thing I left out of the recipe was the chocolate ganache OVER the frosting, I thought that was a bit much. Still great without it. My only dilemma was at the the time I only owned two round cake pans, where as the recipe asks for three. Fret no more... Cornell got me a third round cake pan for our anniversary. I can now bake on a tri-level basis!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake via Smitten Kitchen:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/08/chocolate-peanut-butter-cake/