Peanut Butter Pie

Joe recently had a potluck at work and, in typical Joe fashion, he asked what I was making for him to take. Never mind the fact that I just had a baby; no, clearly this potluck took precedence over the care of our newborn. (I'm just kidding, of course; Joe is an amazing father and took wonderful care of Andrew while I was in the kitchen slaving away.) Peanut butter pie was the first thing that came to my mind. Not only is it so easy to make, it's also something I craved throughout my pregnancy and never got the chance to indulge in. So, naturally, I decided to make two pies -- one for his potluck, and one just for us.

The recipe was handed down from my mom, and I have no idea where or who she got it from. This is the most delicious, scrumptious, sinfully decadent peanut butter pie you will ever put in your mouth. Honestly, that's really all that needs to be said about it. It's so easy to make -- the only thing that requires baking is the crust -- so you have no excuse for not making this dessert immediately.


Peanut Butter Pie
Source: my mom

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups peanut butter Oreos, finely crushed (about 20 cookies)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

For the pie:
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

1. Combine crust ingredients; press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes; cool.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, peanut butter, sugar, butter and vanilla until smooth. Fold in whipped cream. Gently spoon into crust. Garnish with cookie crumbs if desired. Refrigerate before serving.

A couple of announcements

I know I haven't posted here for a while, but that's because I've just finished cooking something I've had in the oven for the past nine months:

That's Andrew, and he's been taking up most of my time lately, so I haven't had too much of a chance to be in the kitchen.

I'd also like to mention that I'm honored to have joined The Foodie Blogroll, hosted by Jenn (a.k.a. The Leftover Queen). As soon as things settle down around here, I'm excited to start exploring this wonderful forum, and to resume my adventures in the kitchen!

Strawberry Margarita Cake

¡Olé! My office celebrated cinco de mayo on Friday with a Mexican-themed potluck, complete with tacos and fajitas and all the fixins. I knew I wanted to make something, but I kind of had a lot going on last week and I didn't want to commit to anything too labor-intensive (such as the margarita cheesecake I originally signed up to make...I didn't really feel like messing with a "water bath" or any such thing; I'll have to save that one for another time).

Betty Crocker to the rescue! On the very day I needed to do my shopping for the potluck, I got my weekly e-mail from Betty Crocker, which included a recipe for strawberry margarita cake. I couldn't think of a thing that sounded more delicious and festive, and it looked really low-maintenance. And, it was alcohol-free...which meant that little old pregnant me would be able to enjoy it, too.

I'm so glad I decided to go with this recipe! It was so simple to make; I'd forgotten how convenient boxed cake mixes can be sometimes. Everyone at work raved about how delicious this cake was, and it was gone before I could even get picture of it! It offered the perfect balance of sweetness from the strawberry margarita mix and tartness from the lime zest, and it was really moist, just like the cake mix box promised! A definite winner, and one I'll probably be going back to every cinco de mayo!


Strawberry Margarita Cake
Source, recipe and photo: Betty Crocker

3/4 cup bottled strawberry-flavored non-alcoholic margarita drink mix
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist white cake mix
Vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
Strawberries, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350° (325° for dark or nonstick pan). Grease (or lightly spray with cooking spray) bottom only of 13 x 9-inch pan. Add enough water to drink mix to measure 1 1/4 cups.

2. In large bowl, beat cake mix, drink mix, oil and egg whites on low speed 2 minutes. Pour into pan. Bake and cool as directed on box.

3. Gently stir peel into whipped topping; spread over top of cake. Garnish with strawberries, if desired. Store covered in refrigerator.

Root Beer Pulled Pork

No baking this weekend; there was too much cake left over from my baby shower on Saturday for me to justify bringing even more sweets into the house!

Saturday was a busy day all-around, and since I knew I just wanted to relax today, for dinner tonight I wanted something very low-maintenance. Pulled pork sandwiches have sounded good to me for quite a while, so I thought I'd try a recipe I've seen variations of on a lot of food blogs: root beer pulled pork cooked in the slow cooker.

This was an absolutely delicious meal! The root beer added a nice, subtle flavor to the pork, and the meat was so tender it just fell apart. Very, very yummy -- I can't wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! My changes are in purple.


Root Beer Pulled Pork
Source: All Recipes

1 2-pound pork tenderloin
Salt, pepper and garlic powder
1 12-ounce bottle or can of root beer (I used A&W)
1 18-ounce bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce (I used KC Masterpiece honey-flavored)
8 hamburger buns

1. Season pork tenderloin with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place the pork in a slow cooker and pour root beer over the meat.

2. Cover and cook on low until well-cooked and the pork shreds easily, 6 to 7 hours. Drain well.

3. Stir in barbecue sauce and serve over hamburger buns. Top with cole slaw, if desired.

Cheese-Filled Meatloaf; Mashed Cauliflower

Meat loaf and mashed potatoes is one of those meals that just screams comfort for me. After a long day at work today and a baby kicking me persistently in the ribs all evening, some comfort was just what I needed.

Last year, I saw a recipe for meat loaf in one of my Taste of Home magazines that, for some reason, just stuck with me. It was a stuffed meat loaf, filled with sour cream, cheese and pimiento-stuffed olives. I'd been wanting to try it for a long time, and tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity. I decided to try something new with the "mashed potatoes" portion of the meal: I mashed cauliflower instead. I've seen this idea floating around on a couple of the food blogs I frequent, and I wanted to create my own spin on it.

The meat loaf turned out great, besides the fact that it fell apart and thus ended up looking nothing like the pretty picture in my cookbook. Yeah...I'm not so good at rolling things up, apparently. I may want to avoid jelly rolls this holiday season until I practice a little bit more. The meat loaf itself was delicious, though, despite its appearance: very moist inside, and crusty on top just like I like it. The pimientos gave it a nice tang, and the sour cream added a nice flavor and interesting texture. The cauliflower was delicious, too; I chose not to puree mine and instead left it a little bit chunky -- just like I enjoy my mashed potatoes. The verdict: Mashed cauliflower really does provide the same comfort factor as a steaming pile of mashed potatoes. I'll definitely make both dishes again. My modifications are in purple.


Cheese-Filled Meat Loaf
Source: Taste of Home 2008 Annual Recipes

1/2 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup crushed cornflakes (I didn't have any, so I used regular potato chips instead)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped celery (I omitted)
1 teaspoon salt (I used 1/2 teaspoon, since I used salty potato chips)
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1 cup (4 ounces) finely shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed olives

1. In a large bowl, combine the first 10 ingredients. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. On a large piece of heavy-duty foil, pat beef mixture into a rectangle. Sprinkle sour cream to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle with cheese and olives.

2. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side and peeling away foil while rolling. Seal seam and ends. Place seam side down in a greased 13-inch x 9-inch baking dish.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 65-75 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink and meat thermometer reads 160°. Let meat loaf stand for 10 minutes before slicing. 6 servings.

*****


Mashed Cauliflower
Source: Cassie

1 medium head cauliflower
1 can chicken broth
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cream cheese
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used colby-jack)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook cauliflower in a saucepan over medium-high heat in chicken broth until tender, 10-12 minutes (add some water to cover, if necessary). Drain.

2. Mash cauliflower with a potato masher (or puree, if desired). Stir in sour cream, butter, cream cheese, shredded cheese and salt and pepper.