Have a Peanut Butter-licious Halloween

These cute little pumpkins are easy to make and absolutely delicious! Just melt a package of peanut butter chips, mix with a can of vanilla frosting, and add a few drops of orange food coloring. Take a small piece of the dough and add green food coloring. Cover the dough and chill for about an hour. Roll the orange dough into balls and draw the pumpkin "seams" with a toothpick. Use the green dough to make stems and press them lightly on top of the pumpkins. If you're feeling the need to create jack-o'-lanterns, you can add some mini chocolate chip eyes and teeth.

The Creamy Peanuts Winner

Congratulations to micaela6955 of Creative Writings 101! If you haven't seen her blog, click on over and scroll down a bit--the photo of the pumpkin is too funny!

We're all looking forward to her review of this yummy-looking candy, and I hope to be better at posting in the meantime. Sorry for the lack of exiting stuff, it's been a bad week here. Tomorrow is another day, right?

Vintage Reese's Coffee Mug

How awesome would it be to drink your morning coffee from this vintage mug?!! I found it on eBay, and from the photos and description it seems to be in new condition. It's listed as a pre-1970s item, but I haven't been able to find out what year these were made.

GIVEAWAY! Creamy Peanuts from Sugar Dreams bakery

Made from scratch by Stacie of Sugar Dreams Bakery, these Creamy Peanut candies could be yours! Creamy Peanut Butter and Merckens Chocolate combine to make a wonderful little taste treat for peanut butter lovers, and I'm drooling just typing the description.

I haven't had the chance to try these little bits of peanut buttery goodness yet, so I'm going to let the winner of this giveaway write a review and post it here.

Here's how to enter:
1. You must have a U.S. mailing address and be willing to provide it in the event you are the winner.
2. Visit Sugar Dreams Bakery and look at the mouth-watering assortment of treats. Then come back here and leave a comment telling why you should be the person to guest post this review.
3. Get a second entry by posting about this giveaway on your blog, linking to this post and to Sugar Dreams Bakery, and leave a second comment here with the URL of your post.
4. Get another entry by making a purchase from Sugar Dreams Bakery, and posting a separate comment here with the transaction number.
5. Comments will be accepted through October 28, 2008.
6. On October 29 I'll use the randomizer to select a winner, and notify you via email or comment on your blog. Make sure that there is a link to your Blogger profile, blog, or email address with your comments.

Exclusive Discount for Peanut Butter Blog Readers

You all remember the You're the Peanut Butter to My Jelly card, right? Sarah (of Sarah Marie Stationery & Wrap) was so taken with your lovely comments that she's offering 25% off of the PB&J card and 15% off everything else in her Etsy store to everyone who reads this blog! Just enter "PBBLOG" in the buyer's comments when you checkout through Etsy.

Guest Post by Kim from Kimmi's Krazy World

Our Family Couldn’t Live Without Peanut Butter!

We go through a huge jar of peanut butter about every 3 weeks. It’s always Peter Pan Creamy … that’s our favorite! My husband has a PB sandwich almost everyday of the week for lunch. You would think that would get old … but not to him. On top of that, he eats it sometimes at night on graham crackers or in a milkshake. Anything with PB in it is his favorite dessert. He has kidney stones, which PB is bad for … but he eats it anyway!

Our dog Noel even gets treated every morning with a spoonful of peanut butter. She won’t take her pill unless it is wrapped in a big lump of peanut butter. Trust me, I’ve tried to wrap it in something else and she just snarls her nose and walks away.

Now as for me…. I love peanut butter, but maybe not quite as much as those two. However, I do use it for more than just eating. Some wonderful tricks I have learned to use peanut butter for are: Getting chewing gum out of my daughter’s hair, baiting a mouse trap, removing glue from fabric, and my all time favorite is adding a spoonful of it to a pan after frying fish … it absorbs the smell that usually stays in your house forever!

Our favorite peanut butter recipe is the Peanut Butter Crunch Bars. They are so simple and easy to make. They never last more than an hour in our house.

Peanut Butter Crunch

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup white sugar
1 cut smooth peanut butter
10 cups cornflake cereal

Cook syrup and sugar until mixture comes to a boil. Stir constantly. Remove from heat and add peanut butter. Stir until smooth. Pour mixture over cornflakes in a large bowl. Mix until the cereal is thoroughly coated. Then spread in a buttered 9x13 inch pan and press down lightly. When it cools, cut into squares.

I hope you have enjoyed my guest post for The Peanut Butter Blog.
Please remember to check out my blogs at
www.kimmiskrazyworld.com
www.talktimewithkim.com
www.kimskountrykitchen.com

And the Winner is ...

Angel from Nytro Girl! The Powers That Be--also known as the randomizer thingie--have chosen her to win the very sweet You Are The Peanut Butter To My Jelly card from Sarah Marie Stationery & Wrap.

If you didn't win this time, you can shop to your heart's content--Sarah Marie has a ton of really cute things!

Our PB2 Winners

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I try to get in a minimum of one post every other day, but I started physical therapy and it's really kicked my butt. Too bad they haven't discovered a peanut butter cure for arthritis--maybe one day.

Here's the picks from the randomizer:


Congrats to Dee from Two of a Kind, Working on a Full House and Mike from Rambling Stuff. Go check out their blogs if you have a minute, and feel free to express your jealousy at their wins.

There's still a few hours left to enter the giveaway for the You're the Peanut Butter to My Jelly card, so enter now if you haven't already.

I've got some terrific posts lined up for next week, including another fabulous giveaway.


*************UPDATE***************

Unfortunately Mike won't be able to receive his peanut butter. Poor fellow--but that means we have a new lucky winner! It's echoeve from Echo Kirkland! Go check out her blog, and make sure you scroll down a bit for some bizarre and creepy art.

Peanut Butter and Jelly for Your Dolls

I know that many of you have been worrying about the scarcity of peanut butter for your dolls and stuffed toys compared to the abundance of PB products for humans. Worry no more! I found this cute set of miniatures on eBay. Made to a 1:12 scale, it's perfect to adorn the table in a dollhouse or Barbie's lunch. (Dime not included.)

Guest Post by Christine from The Power of Housewife Word of Mouth

Growing up we were always a two-jars-of-peanut butter family. I have always loved creamy, while my sister Jen is a crunchy peanut butter lover. One summer we went to my grandmother's on Long Island, New York, to spend a few weeks with her, and my sister was overjoyed to see crunchy peanut butter in her pantry.

The next day at lunch she made herself a sandwich using the jar provided and also a jar of strawberry preserves (with whole strawberries). It was one huge gloppy mess. She took one large bite, and then looked a little puzzled as she crunched.

The next thing we knew she looked at the sandwich and started screaming. There were some sort of small bugs nesting throughout the peanut butter! She ran right to the restroom and up came her entire lunch. When we took a closer look at grandma's peanut butter, it was over four years past the due date! The rest of the afternoon we spent clearing out grandma's cupboards and throwing out food and such past due, and of course headed right for the grocery store to restock her shelves.

From then on Jen has been a creamy peanut butter eater like me. Just the thought of crunchy turns her green to the gills.

Visit Christine at http://housewifewom.blogspot.com/

GIVEAWAY! Say It With Peanut Butter

I love being able to include peanut butter in parts of my life where it's least expected, and this artisan-created card is perfect. I found it at Sarah Marie Stationery & Wrap. It's an original illustration letterpressed with soy-based ink on 100% cotton paper, complete with coordinating envelope.

This little sweetheart of a card can be yours. Take a look around Sarah Marie Stationery & Wrap (she's got some lovely things besides this card) then leave a comment here by midnight on October 18, 2008, telling us who's the peanut butter to your jelly. Make sure that your comment includes a link to your Blogger profile, your blog, or your email address so I can contact you if you're a winner. You must have a U.S. mailing address to enter. On October 19 I'll use that randomizer thingie and choose a winner.

Want an extra chance to win? Blog about this giveaway, linking to both this post and Sarah Marie Stationery & Wrap, then post a second comment here.

GIVEAWAY! PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter: The Best Thing Since PB in a Jar

I first heard about PB2 powdered peanut butter from Lady Rose at The Diet Pulpit. She said it was really good, and I have to admit I didn't think I'd agree with her. Seriously, powdered peanut butter that you mix with water, with most of the fat removed? How good could that be?

Well, Lady Rose was absolutely right--this stuff is good. Really good! As in blindfold a few people and let them do a taste test, and PB2 will win. The folks at Bell Plantation have perfected a way to remove 85 percent of the fat calories from peanut butter, while keeping the peanutty-good taste. It looks, and tastes, like really good peanut butter.

Mix a single serving in about 30 seconds, and save yourself a ton of calories and fat. And lucky me--they've just introduced Chocolate PB2! This has a delicious milk chocolate and peanut butter flavor. It's amazing on toast. And bagels. And a spoon.

If you've been avoiding peanut butter because of its calorie load or fat content, this is the solution. If you haven't been avoiding peanut butter--and I certainly haven't--it's still the answer.

The exciting news is that Bell Plantation has given me a jar of regular PB2 and a jar of Chocolate PB2 to give away on this blog! To enter:

1. You must have a U.S. mailing address.
2. Leave a comment on this blog stating which flavor (regular or chocolate) you would like most if you win. Make sure I can follow a link to your Blogger profile or your blog, or leave an email address with your comment.
3. Earn a second entry by blogging about this giveaway, including a link to this post, and leaving a second comment here directing me to your post.
4. Comments will be accepted through October 17, 2008.

On October 18 I'll use that randomizer thingie to select two winning numbers. The first number it selects will receive their first choice of PB2 flavor. The second number it selects will receive the remaining jar.

The Mystery Photo Was . . .

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Tapioca Pudding! Congrats to Reeni who had the first correct answer. Go check out the beautiful pumpkin cakes on her blog--they look delicious.

I seem to crave comfort food in the fall, and this fits the bill.


Ingredients
1 egg, beaten
1/3 c. sugar
3 TBSP Minute Tapioca
3 c. skim milk
2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla

Mix egg, sugar, tapioca, and milk in a large microwavable bowl. Add chocolate and peanut butter but don't try to mix. Let bowl stand for 5 minutes. Microwave on high for 2 minutes; stir. Repeat microwaving and stirring until the mixture comes to a full boil. Stir in vanilla and refrigerate.

You can also cook this on the stove over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a full boil.

Guess the Photo Contest

If you're looking at this photo and wondering what my camera has captured, know that I'm giggling just thinking about it.

This is a close-up of something I made. Be the first to leave a comment correctly identifying this concoction and you win!

What do you win? Well, along with all the fame associated with winning on The Peanut Butter Blog, I'll also send you one peanut butter cookie soap from Sugarlane Soaps. That's one cookie, not one batch of soap--sorry, these are too much fun for me to part with an entire order.

This competition is open worldwide. Make sure to leave a way to contact you with your comment: either a link to your Blogger profile, a URL, or an email address.

Here's a hint to get you started: this contains peanut butter. Hope it helps!

Who Won?

The lucky winner of the Van Vacter PBJ Bagel Knife is Topher! That guy makes some seriously yummy-sounding (and looking!) food, so maybe if we all start reading his blog we can convince him to start updating it again.

I've got another giveaway coming up later this week, so make sure you come back to check it out. Better yet, click on one of the subscribe options in the upper right corner and you won't miss a single delicious drop!

Peanut Butter Jar Safes Are Not So Safe

I've heard of people who use empty jars and cans to stash valuables, hiding them in their kitchens next to real food to fool thieves. This guy, however, went a bit over the top with that idea. According to the Forest City, Arkansas, Times-Herald:

A trooper with Arkansas State Police arrested a Texas man Thursday after finding drugs hidden inside a jar of peanut butter. According to an arrest report, troopers stopped Cyrus David Gharbi, 24, of Arlington, Texas, just before 1 p.m., near the 246 eastbound mile marker on Interstate 40.

The trooper stopped the vehicle after noticing that Gharbi’s license plate expired earlier this week, and during the stop, Gharbi consented to a search of the vehicle. During the search, troopers found a jar of peanut butter which contained not only peanut butter but also about 220 hydrocodone and oxycontin pills in a plastic wrapper hidden inside the jar.