Hey all! We are enjoying a little nutty family time in Michigan right now…but I’ll be back at it in a week or so…
Don’t worry, my Aunt Nanette is holding down the fort at Krema – so if you are in need of some PB…give her a call or stop by the Sisters Sweet Shoppe!!
Happy Summer
I just kind of made up this dinner last night for my family and some of our friends and they all flipped! Everyone loved it and had two or three helpings! Even the kids!
I was soooo pleasantly surprised, so I’m sharing 
First I made a Quinoa Salad. My awesome cousin Mallory (one of my Aunt Nanette’s daughters) introduced me to the fabulous whole-grain product: Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). This pseudocereal is a whole-grain product which can easily be substituted for rice in almost any recipe. .jpg)
My Quinoa Salad:
Its pretty simple. Wash quinoa. Cook quinoa in rice cooker. Add chopped veggies. Refrigerate. That’s it!
I added red pepper, red onion, and leeks and a bunch of cooked, shelled edamame – but you can add just about anything, nuts, seeds, craisins, or other raw veggies
My Easy Green Beans:
I also cooked up some green beans separately. I used organic, frozen green beans – and our favorite way to cook them is super easy : throw the frozen green beans in a large, deep skillet over medium heat, add a tablespoon of peanut oil and season with garlic salt and pepper! Voila! Easy veggie side in just a few minutes.
Nanette’s Spicy PB Chicken:
1/4 c Hot & Spicy Krema PB
1/3 c + 1 Tbs. light soy sauce
2 Tbs. sugar
1/3 c peanut oil
chunk chicken (any will do; cut up breasts, rotisserie, canned chicken)
Mix all ingredients together in order. It helps to warm up the PB mixture to ease in the stirring process 
If you don’t have a jar of this incredibly delicious Hot & Spicy PB already, then go here to order some! You won’t be sorry!
(or you could just use creamy Krema PB and add some cayenne pepper and hot Hungarian paprika to get that special ‘kick’)
The Spicy PB Chicken and Quinoa Salads can be made in advance and refrigerated. Just whip up the green beans (or not) and combine them all!
Can be eaten cold or hot!
This really is such a versatile, easy, delicious dinner!! 
Hi Kimmie- Hope I got this right, but this granola is to die for. I broke my diet for it!!Here are some pictures of my before and after of the granola and the recipe.
Addictive PB Granola
(found on the blog lifeloveandfood24.blogspot.com)2 1/2 c oats1/2 c flour (I used whole wheat)1/2 t Baking Soda1 tsp Vanilla1/3 c oil1/3 c Krema Crunchy PB1/4 c Brown SugarAdd in’s – PB chips, chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, whatever!!Mix the oats, flour, baking soda in a large bowl. Stir in vanilla, then add oil stir well.Then add the PB, brown sugar and the add in’s.Spoon into a square pan, Bake for 18-20 min at 350 or until light brown.Cool 10 min before devouring!!Enjoy!
Until the next morning when I woke up and was CRAVING this granola, so then I made myself a double batch and I CAN NOT STOP eating it!! Morning, Noon, and Night!
Oh, but honestly, this photo is a little skewed because they RARELY have their hair fixed and are dressed for the day at breakfast. This was just a fluke But fantabulous granola none-the-less!!My mother, Melissa, is awesome. I mean, I’m sure you all knew that already, right? Well, she was asked to be a guest blogger on The Cook Next Door about natural PB and the benefits of going with all-natural PB (like Krema or Crazy Richard’s) v. eating ‘the other guys’ PB! I think my mom did a fabulous job! But for the sake of space I’m not going to re-post her post here, I’m just going to let you read it yourself…HERE. And I think she is going to do some giveaway next week and post some great Krema PB recipes too!
(Candace from The Cook Next Door with her family)
Oh yes, and here is a super cool, totally nutty fact: the creator and author of the absolutely adorable blog The Cook Next Door, is the daughter of my mother’s old college roommate! How fun is that? Did that make sense? Let me clarify. Not too many years ago, my mother was roommates with Jill. Than Jill had a daughter named Candace (The Cook Next Door) and my mom had me (We’re Totally Nuts!)
(recent photo of Jill on left, my mom Melissa center, Julie on right – all old college roomies)
AND to make the story even that much more fun, Jill has another daughter named Chelsea who I WAS ROOMMATES WITH IN COLLEGE!!! And Chelsea has a phenomenal style blog based out of Washington called Make You Over (which I highly recommend). Oh and that other adorable old roommate of my mom and Jill’s on the right in this picture named Julie? Yeah, she also has a daughter. Her name is Ani. And – can you even guess – Ani was ALSO my roommate in college! Incredible? I think so.
There you have it. We are all connected….in a crazy and nutty kind of way!!
(my old roomie Chelsea – Jill’s [my mom's old roomie] daughter)
Hi Friends! Are you throwing a party soon? Like for Memorial Day? Or maybe you’re planning a wedding or shower? Well, if you’re not, then you might want to start planning a party just so you could use one of these…
That’s right, it’s a Peanut Butter Fountain! My family has a love/hate relationship with chocolate – meaning we all LOVE chocolate but HATE the added pounds we get from consuming it in such massive quantities (which is soooo easy when your mom owns a candy store full of gourmet chocolates!) Well, try this idea instead of the traditional chocolate fountain at your next party!
Peanut Butter Fountain Recipe (from knol.google.com)
- 3 lbs cream cheese (room temp)
- 3 cups white sugar
- 4 cups all-natural Krema creamy PB
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk
In a mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in the peanut butter and salt. Add the milk, 1 cup at a time. Thin with additional milk as needed. Serve fondue at room temperature to avoid changes in consistency.
Yield: Makes enough for the largest home fountains.
Suggested dipping items: Angel Food cake, Chocolate-covered pretzels, Marshmallows, Molasses cookies, Oreos, Bananas, Brownie Bites, Apple slices
A Tip: Before dipping apples in the fondue, drop them briefly into boiling water. This removes the wax coating and allows the fondue to stick better.
