Homemade Peanut Butter

Matt was making lunch for his kids and one of the items included celery with peanut butter. I noticed we didn't have much left but after watching his kids eat them, I still really wanted some. I looked in our cabinets to see if we had any hidden jars but all I found was a bag of peanuts. Then BAM, the idea to make peanut butter had formed! Luckily, making peanut butter did not call for many ingredients (we ha had not gone grocery shopping yet)!

INGREDIENTS

Peanuts- from a can or in the shell

Smart Balance Oil (peanut oil is ideal)

Honey

STEPS

Put peanuts (unshelled) in a food processor. Blend for a couple of minutes. Add a little bit of honey and a little bit of oil.

Keep on blending. Add honey and oil to you liking for taste and texture. It might not seem like its getting anywhere but you have to mix for awhile to get this texture and consistency.

Scoop it out and enjoy!

Cheeseburger Wontons

We had some wonton wrappers left and felt like experimenting! Good thing for us, they turned out delicious! 

CHEESEBURGER WONTONS

INGREDIENTS

Wonton Wrappers

Ground Beef

Oil (for frying)

Ketchup

Mayo

Mustard

Cheese

STEP 1 

Brown ground beef. Drain and put in a bowl.

STEP 2

Add your favorite cheeseburger condiments.

 Mix together, then add cheese. Mix some more.

STEP 3

Place a small spoonful of the meat mixture on the wonton wrapper.

Rim the wonton with water and fold in half. Make sure you press the ends tightly.

STEP 4

In a pot, add enough oil to cover the wontons. Place 3-4 at a time. They are reasy when they turn a light brown.

This is a great recipe for a snack or appetizers! The taste of a cheeseburger in a bite size crispy shell!

Cream Cheese Dip with Radish and Green Olives

Here is a real simple recipe for a yummy and quick dip. 

INGREDIENTS

Whipped Cream Cheese 

 Radishes

Green Olives

Dill

STEPS

Mince radishes and olives. I have a mini food processor that I used. I bought this thing on a whim and it actually comes in handy more times than I thought it would.

Do the same with the olives. We used these ones stuffed with pimiento. 

After they are minced, mix in the cream cheese with a little bit of chopped up dill!

Spread on crackers for a filling snack or spread on cucumber slices for a healthy alternative!

Sale!

Stock up on this sale! I know we are!

More recipes to come!

Spicy Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry

INGREDIENTS

STIR FRY

Napa Cabbage

Carrots

Edamame

Ginger

Green Onions

Chicken

SAUCE

Chili Garlic Sause

Teriyaki Sauce

Soy Sauce

STEP 1

Cut up all the ingredients.

Use frozen chicken that is thawed a little for easier slicing!

STEP 2

Heat up a frying pan with oil (we used sesame oil). Add green onions and ginger. Let it cook for a minute.

STEP 3

Add chicken and cook until done. Add Carrots, cook for a minute or two. Then add napa cabbage.

STEP 4

When everything looks pretty much done, add an equal mixture of soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. Then add the spicy garlic sauce (add as much or as little as you want). Then add the edamame last.

STEP 5 (optional)

In a separate little bowl or cup add a teaspoon of flour and mix it with water. Add this watery mixture to the pan. This will make the sauce thicker.

STEP 6

Pair the chicken stir fry with some jasmine rice!

Restaurant- Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant

We finally tried it! We used a gift certificate we got from Restaurant.com!

Here is our experience at Queen of Sheba in Tampa, FL.

Drink

Hot Tea $2.00

Served with a side of sugar.

Matt ordered this tea that was very good and reminded us of chai tea.

Appetizer

Beef Sambusa

Homemade thin flat bread hand-wrapped and stuffed with a blend of minced beef, fresh garlic, onions, peppers and ginger and parsley

This was SO good! Very crispy thin outside and hot beefy inside! The two sauces on the side were spicy and delicious, though we could not put our finger on what they were.

Entree

Queen's Eight Meal Platter

 A combination of four meat and vegetarian entrees from their menu.

Starting at left green item and going clockwise: collard greens, potatoes and carrots, lentils, chicken, lamb, beef, chickpeas, and in the center boiled egg and chicken drumstick.  Don't let the portion fool you! When this first arrived we both thought that this plate wasn't going to fill us up. We were wrong. 

Ethiopian cuisine does not include silverware. Instead they use injera (pictured above). We tore pieces of this off and used it to pick up the various foods. I wish I had gotten a clearer picture but when we first saw it, it reminded us of rolled up ace bandages. Its very thin and light and so good with the food!

Everything was very good. Even though we thought some things were more bland than we expected, the experience made up for it! This would be so fun to do with a group of people. Interactive food is the best! Matts favorite was the lentil mix and mine was the chickpeas. Kind of weird considering we are both heavy meat eaters. 

We will definitely be coming back again, next time with a few more extra people to join in the fun! PLUS we saved $25 with our Restaurant.com gift certificate!

Deals for Dining Out at www.restaurant.com!

We found this site a couple months ago and have saved so much money eating out! Its called Restraurant.com  and they sell $10 and up gift cards at a discounted price. I was a little skeptical at first but I asked my friends who had tried it and said it was legit. Now we are HOOKED! Right now it is only available in the US. They have lots of sales when they sell $25 gift certificates for $2-4 (usually they are $10 for a $25 gift certificate)!

We just got one for Queen of Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant, which we are very excited to try (review will be posted after we try it)! Click the link above to see what gift certificates are available in your area. ALSO they are running another sale now for $25 gift certificates for $4!