Peanut Butter Crispy Treats and Other Accidental Recipes

PEANUT BUTTER GOODNESS

This weekend, I wanted to try out some new recipes to add to my collection. I was looking for something that would be easy to make with my Big Girl. When I first saw this recipe on Pinterest for Schotcheroos Nuggets, I knew I had to try it! found here

 So we gathered all the ingredients the recipe called for.

1 Cup Corn Syrup
1 Cup Sugar* ( I would recommend 2/3-3/4 Cup instead; 1 cup was a little sweet for our taste)
1 cup Peanut Butter
4 Cups Rice Cereal
6 ounces Milk Chocolate Chips
6 ounces Butterscotch Chips**

*I prefer to use organic sugar whenever possible, especially Florida Crystals. They are not as sweet as the more refined sugars.
** You might also prefer to use 1 package of semi-sweet Chocolate Chips in place of the Milk Chocolate and Butterscotch Chips.

The first step is to combine the sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan, and cook over medium heat.

I stirred the mixture for about 10 minutes, while the sugar dissolved.

After that I spooned in the peanut butter and kept stirring until everything was smoothly combined.

I turned the temperature down to medium-low.

This took another 5 minutes to come together.

I poured it directly into the rice cereal, and stirred until it was well combined. The original recipe said to let it cool for about 5-10 minutes before pouring it in.

I don't think it made a difference in the overall outcome, but it definitely made it very hot to handle! We had to wait a few extra minutes while the combined ingredients cooked off.

Then, we used a cookie scoop to measure out the amount for each ball.

Eager little hands were very excited for this part. we used kitchen gloves sprayed with cooking spray to make it a little easier.

Then we placed each one on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

We were able to make about 21 golf-ball sized rounds.

 For me this was the best part, and the end of the recipe!

This was the alternative to Crispy Rice treats that I had been looking for. I have been searching for a recipe that did not use marshmallows, and I think I have found a definite winner.

...but since my Big Girl loves chocolate, we continued on with the recipe.
 The recipe indicates that  the chips should be melted until smooth, but doesn't state how or for what length of time.  After a bit of trial and error, we figured that about 1 to 1:10 minutes would just about do it.
 Then we stirred the mixture around until smooth, and rolled each ball around until covered completely.
This part was also a bit messy.

And because my Big Girl also loves sprinkles, we just had to put a bit of color on each one.

We only covered about half of them in chocolate, because I really do prefer mine without that part.

Then I stuck the chocolate covered ones in the fridge for about 20 minutes, until the chocolate had time to set.

I brought it back out of the fridge and transferred to an airtight storage container.

As far as my personal rating for the original recipe goes...I think living here in Japan, and getting used to the lighter sweetness of Japanese desserts...it was a bit sweet for me. But with my recommended changes to the recipe, if you also prefer your desserts a little lighter in taste, then I think it will work for you also.

I see many more of the Peanut Butter Crispy Treats in my future (sans chocolate)!

A FEW OTHER THINGS

Completely unintentionally, I also discovered a couple other recipes that I'm definitely adding to my regular rotation.

As much as I love vegetables and salad greens, I often skip adding them to meals, just because of the time it takes to wash and cut them. It's a bit lazy I know. Well, one of the many awesome things that you find in the Japanese supermarket is these large lettuce leafs - nicely washed and packaged.

This evening, my intention was to combine sushi rice and tuna salad, and wrap it in a nori (seaweed) sheet, to make a quick and easy dinner. Well, as I pulled out a sheet, it looked a bit purple to me (not the way I think it should look). When I checked the expiration date, several months had passed since it was fit for use.

I had already prepared the rice (mixed in a little sugar and rice vinegar) and tuna salad, so went hunting in the fridge to see what else I could use.  I spotted the lettuce leafs I had purchased a couple days earlier, and a light bulb went off! Here is the result:

These leafs were pretty big size.
I put about 1/4 cup cooked rice, and 1 Tablespoon of tuna salad in each wrap.

I then folded each side, until it was completely closed, and put them on the plate, folded side down.

They looked so lovely, and even my Big Girl devoured them quickly.

A lot of leafy greens were eaten today!

Simple and Delicious!!












ONE MORE THING...

Every weekend, I usually make a batch of pureed food to freeze for my Baby Girl. This week I wanted to cook a version of one of my favorite soup recipes for her. The ingredients were simple, and the results were so Yummy! She loved it, I loved it...it was really good!

As the Autumn months approach, I'm definitely going to be making more soup recipes. This one has just four ingredients (and a dash of salt), so it's ridiculously easy, and so so good.

Here are the ingredients:
1 can of corn (11 oz)
1 can coconut milk (13 oz)
2-3 medium potatoes, skinned and finely diced
1/2 small onion, finely diced
*Dash of sea salt (at the end)

I put everything, except the salt, in a medium saucepan, and cooked on low heat for about 1 hour. after the potatoes were very soft, I removed from the heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. I threw in the salt and then put it in the food processor, for about 20 seconds.

I always taste Baby Girl's food when I make it, because I think that if I don't like it or think it tastes good, then she might not either.

Because it is so creamy, a little bit goes a long way. You won't have to eat much to feel full and satisfied!

I was so surprised how delicious this was, I just had to share!

What to Eat

Now that I'm officially training for the marathon, I've started searching for tasty recipes that will fulfill my nutritional needs, and that my whole family will enjoy. One great think about training for a long distance race, is that you don't need to cut calories. As a matter of fact, you may actually need to increase your normal intake. Bonus!

Back in 2012, while I was training for my first race, I ate more than half as much more than I normally would at each meal. I still ended up losing 30 pounds without even trying.

Now that's not to say that I would just eat anything just to increase the caloric intake. Filling up on chips, ice cream, and other goodies was not how I was able to lose that weight and was ready to run 13.1 miles.

Back then I carefully planned how to increase my intake of quality carbohydrates (fruits, veggies, etc), lean proteins (tofu, fish, vegetarian substitutes), grains (mostly rice, bread, oatmeal, and some pasta), and healthy fats (avocado, nuts, oils). I did enjoy the occasional pastry or ice cream cone.

It worked really well for me then, so I think this time around I will probably stick pretty close to that same plan.

Even though I usually cook fairly healthy (not always), everyone in the household benefits when I'm training for a race. I purchase and cook a lot more vegetable dishes, and try to make as much of what we eat from scratch as I possibly can.

This is what I ate for breakfast this morning:

A method that has worked really well for me in the past, when training or trying to shed a few pounds is reversing meals - dinner for breakfast, breakfast for dinner. What has also worked extremely well is following this saying: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper.
There are conflicting theories out there about how many meals you should have during the day. I've tried 5-6 small meals, 3 big meals and 2 snacks, and 3 'square' meals. Three square with no snacks is how I've been most successful. Everyone must find what works best for them.

It also depends on when you are burning the most calories. I do most of my runs in the early afternoon, so having a big breakfast works perfectly for my. I have enough time to digest and plenty of stored energy for the workout.

I firmly believe there is no one-size-fits-all plan, as far as meals go. Years of trying a variety of ideas and theories is how I discovered the most effective plan for myself.

Age is also a factor. What worked for me in my twenties, certainly does not work for me now!

All that being said, I still want to find the tastiest dishes for me and my loves. If it doesn't taste good, we're not eating it!

Stay tuned to find out about my experiment with Peanut Butter Crispy Treats and Other Accidental Recipes...


You can also follow me on twitter, where I will post what I'm eating during this first-time-marathon journey @   MomOfEvaAndLila