Ode to Peanut Butter

Peanut butter is such a treat
It’s a creamy food I like to eat
It’s good on apples, it’s good on toast
It’s the nut butter that I love the most
Crunchy or creamy, I like them both the same
When it comes to eating peanut butter, I’m always game
I lick it off my finger because sanitation doesn’t concern me
The only thing that would make it better, is if it all was free

Any guesses what I had for lunch today?

Yep, A peanut butter sandwich!  Man, nothin’ gets past you guys! 😀

Peanut Butter Sandwich

I enjoyed a peanut butter sandwich made with whipped peanut butter and slightly thawed frozen banana slices on an Earth Grains whole wheat thin bun.

Because I have to keep you guys interested and a simple pb & b sandwich doesn’t exactly scream “creativity,” I sprinkled pumpkin pie spice over the bad boy before folding the two halves together.

Banana + Pumpkin Pie Spice

Peek-a-Boo

Confession: I definitely added the pumpkin pie spice to make this sandwich more attractive for the ol’ blog. BUT… man-oh-man, did it kick up the flavor about 10 notches. Seriously! Next time you make a simple pb & b sandwich, sprinkle a little pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg or cinnamon on the lil’ guy.

Along with the spiced up pb & b, I enjoyed a very loving array of butterscotch chips that I stirred into a cup of Fage Greek yogurt, sweetened with honey.

Aw, I Love You, Too, Butterscotch Chips!

All Togetha Naw

(Quick question to all you dog lovers out there… Can dogs eat butterscotch chips? I know chocolate chips are a complete no-no, but I wasn’t sure about butterscotch. Sadie definitely had one… and by one I mean 5… okay like 8.)

This lunch was more like a breakfast, but the body wants what it wants… and mine wanted peanut butter. Shocking, I know. 😉

Keep Calm Print Giveaway Winner

You guys had me smilin’ real big as I was reading your entries for the Keep Calm print giveaway.

Some of my favorite entries included:

• Molly: Keep Calm and Love Carbs
• Pursuit of Happiness: Keep Calm and Love Cheese
• Shane, Corinne: Keep Calm and Smile Big
• Sarah: Keep Calm and Love Whipped Cream
• Lauren: Keep Calm and Love Funfetti
• Marsha: Keep Calm and Love Fur-butts (about her cats 😉 )
• Lindsay: Keep Calm and Crack a Beer
• Clarissa, Noel: Keep Calm and Love Each Other
• Jess: Keep Calm and Eat Cheeseburgers

I think I may need to order some more. I think a whole wall of “Keep Calm” prints would look fantastic in our house, but they might inspire us to drink copious amounts of wine and beer every night and eat an entire batch of cookies daily, so maybe that’s not the best idea. 😉

Without further ado, the winner of the “Keep Calm” print giveaway was:

Kayla: “I love these prints! There are so many I want, lol. I love the Cupcake one and so want the Be a Nerd one. But if I could make my own it would be Keep Calm and Love On OR Keep Calm and Om On for yoga <3. Ok, maybe Keep Calm and Love On. ”

Please email me (pbfingers@gmail.com) your mailing address and the print phrase you would like so I may pass it along to Barb to make you your free print!

Question of the Afternoon

If you were going to write an “ode” to a food, what food would you choose?

(Feel free to actually write your own ode below. 😉 )

Aside from peanut butter, I think ice cream also deserves an ode… And so does cheese. And cookies.

Butterscotch Brownie Bars

Cooking is something I’ve grown to really love, but baking is something I’ve always adored.

I wonder if my love for baking stems from my love for sweets?

Today I baked a totally new treat!

Last week I was loving the combination of butterscotch chips with roasted peanuts and enjoyed it as an afternoon snack throughout the week.

Butterscotch + Peanut Butter

Toady I figured I could take this tasty creation to a new level by combining the two in a brownie-like bar.

I started by melting butterscotch chips and butter in a small saucepan.

Butterscotch + Butter

I stirred the warm mixture into a bowl with sugar, brown sugar, an egg and vanilla extract. After adding flour, a pinch of salt and peanuts, the batter was ready for bakin’.

Batter

After about 25 minutes, the butterscotch brownies were done.

Butterscotch Brownies

Butterscotch + Peanuts

Yummy!

They were moist, delicious, and a fantastic combination of sweet and salty.

Butterscotch Brownie Bars

(Makes 18 bars)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 bag butterscotch chips (6 oz.)
• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. flour
• 1/2 c. roasted unsalted peanuts
• pinch of salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Melt butterscotch chips and butter in a saucepan on low heat. Stir constantly until no lumps remain.
• Combine sugars, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.
• Pour butterscotch mixture into the bowl with the sugar mixture.
• Stir in flour, peanuts and salt until everything is thoroughly mixed.
• Pour batter in to a pan sprayed with cooking spray and bake for 25 minutes.

Overactive Nose

This morning I feel like my nose is on smell patrol!

Take Time to Stop and Smell the Roses

Today I have been very sensitive to even the slightest smells.

It started when a stinky person got on the stair master next to me at the gym. I promise I’m not just being mean, they really were stinky. You know the type… Drenched shirt, dripping hair, sweat on the floor next to their machine…

After completely 20 minutes of a stinky stair master workout, I took my sweat session to the treadmill and the elliptical to finish it out.

I came home and leashed up Sadie for our morning walk.

Ready for Walkin'

Thankfully the air on our walk smelled fresh and crisp. We even enjoyed the sweet smell of citrus when we passed a grapefruit tree.

After our walk I took a shower and was one again overwhelmed by a new smell. Last night we ran out of our girly moisturizing soap with aloe for soft and silky skin, and Ryan broke into his “man soap.”

Kiehl's Man Soap

He received the “Ultimate Man Body Scrub Soap” as a gift for Christmas. It smells really good… but like a guy. So now I smell like a guy. A good smelling guy… but a guy nonetheless. Sexy, no?

On to the last strong smell…

As I was blow drying my hair, Sadie came in to keep me company and did a little stretch before heading into the bedroom to watch me complete my morning routine from our bed. About 1.5 seconds later, I realized that mid-stretch Sadie let out a stink bomb!

Our bathroom smelled like a mix of man and flatulence… but I guess those two smells go together pretty frequently anyway.

What is your favorite smell?

I love the smell of:

• Cinnamon candles
• Freshly baked cookies
• The beach
• Sadie (her fur, not her gas)
• Ryan
• Freshly baked bread
• Cinnamon rolls
• Pizza

Breakfast

After Sadie’s gas attack, I was ready for some good smellin’ stuff in my life again. Enter breakfast!

Today’s breakfast included cinnamon lavash chips that I baked in the oven using a Joseph’s lavash bread. I dipped them in yogurt pudding made with Chobani Greek yogurt and a spoonful of butterscotch pudding mix.

Breakfast

Butterscotch Yogurt Pudding

All around good breakfast!