Broccoli Stir-Fry with Peanut Sauce

This recipe is a perfect example of how simple, satisfying and delicious an all-veggie meal can be. Stir-fried broccoli, red peppers and garlic get tossed in a peanut sauce and served over rice.

1 cup dried rice, rinsed

1/3 c. peanut butter

1 T. brown sugar

2 T. soy sauce, divided

1 T. rice wine vinegar

2 T. coconut, peanut or other oil with a high smoke point

1 lb. broccoli florets

1 large red bell pepper, cubed

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c. chopped peanuts

Red pepper flakes or hot chili sauce, to taste

Cook rice according to package instructions.

Make peanut sauce by combining peanut butter, brown sugar, 1 T. soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and 1/4 cup water. Set aside.

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add broccoli and stir continuously for 3 to 5 minutes or until the broccoli begins to turn bright green.

Add remaining 1 T. soy sauce and 1/4 cup water to the wok along with red pepper and garlic. Bring to a boil and stir fry all veggies until lightly steamed and liquid has evaporated some. 

Remove from heat and stir in peanut sauce. Divide rice and veggies among four plates and top each with 1 T. chopped peanuts. Serve with hot pepper flakes or hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha.

Chocolate, Banana and Peanut Butter Shake

This shake is so thick and creamy, you won't notice that there is no ice cream in it! Freezing the banana makes a good substitute for ice cream, the peanut butter gives it extra thickness and chocolate soy milk gives it a silky quality. It makes an equally good breakfast as dessert!

This is also a great way to use bananas that are getting too ripe. Just slice them, lay them out on a plate and put them in the freezer. Once frozen, move the banana slices to a freezer bag and then use them in this shake or other fruit smoothies as needed. 

You will need a blender that can crush ice.

1 banana, sliced and frozen

2 T. peanut butter

1 cup chocolate soy milk

Place frozen bnana slices in the blender. I try to let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes to get the frost off before I turn the blender on. I think this reduces the chance that you'll get a frozen chunk of banana in your shake. 

Add peanut butter and soy milk. Turn blender on high or ice-crushing setting for 20 secnds or until smooth.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Nothing says "I love you" like a giant heart-shaped cookie! When I was growing up, my mom always got us Valentine's Day gifts, and one year she made my sister and me each a heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie using just the recipe on the bag of chocolate chips and her heart-shaped cake pans. I've resurrected this idea from time to time on Valentine's Day, but this year decided to try it with my husband's favorite peanut butter cookie recipe. What makes this recipe his favorite is that we add "extras" to the batter... like chocolate chips, raisins, chopped nuts, or whatever candy or dried fruit we have in the pantry.

Whether you put it in two heart-shaped cake pans or just drop the dough in spoonfuls on a baking sheet, these cookies are full of love!

1/2 cup shortening

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup white sugar

2 eggs

1 cup peanut butter

1 t. vanilla

1/2 cup milk

 2 cups flour

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1 - 1 1/2 cups of your favorite additions (chocolate chips, raisins, chopped nuts, other candy or dried fruit, etc.) - Optional

In a mixer, cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, peanut butter, vanilla and milk and continue to mix until combined. 

Separately combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. With mixer on, gradually add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined. Stir in any addtional nuts, dried fruit or candy you'd like. If you want to make one for you and one for your sweetheart, divide the batter in half here and customize the additions. 

Add batter to two greased 9-inch heart-shaped cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until cooked through. You may need to put aluminum foil on top of them for the last 5 minutes if the tops begin to brown before the cookies are fully cooked.

For drop cookies, scoop out 2 T. of dough at a time onto a greased cookie sheet. You can press them down with a fork to make the traditional peanut butter cookie waffle top. Bake cookies at 350 for 10-12 minutes.