#peanutbutter

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The write-ups are short and so are the recipes! You won't have to scroll far to reach what you're really after--the food. Thenfeedthem.com focuses on providing tasty, easy, simple recipes for time-crunched, hungry, frugal, cash-poor people. Or just about everyone at some point or another.

No, there's not a lot about me here. I'm a writer, cook, and normal person, most of the time. I'll tell you a little about my life in my posts but not much (I'm kind of boring).

The filler is the food, not my life story! And, after all, "food is love." I hope you are filled to capacity. And cook to fill others, too!

Aug 26
2 min

Need an After School (or Work) Snack? Try Peanut Butter and Banana Bars

These bars are a long-time staple in my house because they have two of my favorites, peanut butter and bananas, in them. The bars are great for after school and after work snacks. Reasonably nutritious, the bars are sweet but won't send your kids or you into a high sugar orbit. The bars also are great to make at the end of the week when you have to deal with those bananas that nobody ate and are now turning brown. The bars bake up high, moist, and squishy and with a nice

Jul 14
2 min

Too Hot to Cook Dinner? Make Peanut Butter Chicken in Your Slow Cooker

It's hot, hot HOT here in northern Virginia, and I don't want to turn on my oven! So, instead, I use my slow cooker, because we do want to eat! Peanut Butter Chicken is a particular favorite. It's easy, cheap, and nutritious. It also tastes really, really good and makes great leftovers. The recipe is savory, not spicy hot. Nonetheless, if you like heat, feel free to add some cayenne and/or chopped fresh ginger. Chicken thighs stay super moist in the slow cooker, and th

Jun 30
2 min

What to Make When It's Too Hot to Bake? Chocolate Fudgies

This is a long-time favorite recipe that I'm reposting because it's HOT outside--way too hot to bake anything in the regular oven! The thermometer on my car registered 101 as I was driving home this afternoon, and the "feels like" temperature in northern Virginia is even hotter. So, no, I'm not going to turn on the oven, and I recommend opting for a no-bake treat if you face similarly high temperatures. My old standby for "no bakes" are cookies that have been around for de

Apr 8, 2019
2 min

Air Fryer Peanut Butter Cookies

Yes, you can even bake peanut butter cookies in your air fryer! The cookies come out crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. My husband said the cookies taste just as good as the ones baked in the regular oven. The difference is that the cookies bake more quickly, and you needn't bake a huge batch. You can have a few fresh cookies in about 10 minutes. The recipe I've included below makes about 18 smallish cookies, but I'm pleased to report that you needn't bake them

Dec 31, 2018
2 min

Quick New Year's Day Dessert: Baby Ruth Bars

Need a dessert for New Year's Day that doesn't take long, isn't too decadent, and tastes great? Try Baby Ruth Bars. The bars take only a few minutes to mix up and are made with lots of oats for whole-grain goodness--or at least less guilt, given that diet season apparently is on the way. The bars also include lots of peanuts and peanut butter for healthy protein. Why the name? Well, Baby Ruth bars were one of my Mom's favorites, and I decided to try a dessert that includ

Dec 10, 2018
5 min

In the Advent Kitchen -- December 10

Black-eyed Pea Salad Peanut Soup or Caribbean Chicken Coconut-Rum Plantains Today doesn’t call for takeout food, even if you’re tired. You know it’s not good for you—expensive and too much fat and salt. Instead try something that will feed your body in a much better way. The black-eyed pea salad has lots of lovely fiber, vegetables, and a sweet mango that will make your mouth water. With it, serve Peanut Soup, quick, creamy, and warmly spiced to ward off the chills of the

Dec 9, 2018
4 min

In the Advent Kitchen -- December 9

Spinach-Avocado Salad Garlic Baked Tilapia Orzo with Tomatoes and Feta Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Truffles It’s time to look after your body with a healthy heart dinner! To start, a spinach salad with avocado, onion, orange slices, and chopped walnuts gives you a great dose of important vitamins and heart-aiding fats. The baked tilapia doesn’t taste too “fishy” and instead sends out a wonderful garlicky aroma as it bakes with crispy, cheesy whole-wheat breadcrumbs on

Oct 11, 2018
2 min

Need a Snack? Try Gorpola

Remember the stuff that's made with Chex cereal, peanut butter, chocolate, and other stuff? Sometimes it's called "muddy buddies," "trash," and a few other names. Whatever it's called, it tastes of peanut butter and chocolate and is quite addictive. Well, I wanted to come up with something similar that isn't quite as bad for you. The result is Gorpola. It's a cross between gorp--essentially a trail mix--and granola. Hence the name, Gorpola. Okay, so it isn't health foo

Jul 11, 2018
2 min

No Wheat Flour, Low Sugar Banana Oat Cakes

This is another of those recipes that uses up the bananas that have been abandoned on your counter. You know the ones--those with the brown spots and the slightly squishy texture that no one will condescend to put on their cereal or in their lunch bag. Rather than tossing out the bananas, how about turning them into Banana Oat Cakes? As they ripen and develop spots and softness, bananas also turn quite sweet. You can harness that sweetness to cut back on the refined sugar

Jul 5, 2018
2 min

Too Hot to Bake Cookies

I wanted to make something for my husband's students who were working late on July 3rd, but it was too hot to bake. The "feels like" temperature outside was 110 degrees. So, no, I wasn't going to turn on the oven. Instead, I opted for the old standby, "Cow Pie" cookies. These cookies have been around for decades and have been known by many names. I used to eat them in elementary school. The lunch ladies who made them called them "chocolate fudgies." The kids, of course

May 31, 2018
2 min

Gotta Have Peanut Butter and Chocolate? Bake Some Swirl Bars

The internet has gazillions of recipes for peanut butter-chocolate swirl bars, but this is one recipe that I've used to good effect--meaning I've scarfed down plenty of these things. The original recipe came from an old "Mr. Food" cookbook, but, like many other recipes, I've modified it (okay, kind of a lot). You make a peanut butter batter and sprinkle it with chocolate chips before baking it. After 5 minutes in the oven, you remove the pan from the oven, cut through the

May 17, 2018
2 min

No-Marshmallow Peanut Butter-Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats

My husband and son really love Rice Krispie treats and say they're healthy because they have cereal in them. Nope. Sorry. Not so much. The cereal isn't too bad, although it's mostly air, but the marshmallows and butter in Rice Krispie treats underscore the treat part of the name. Quite a few nutritionists have improved on the original recipe with substitutions, including using brown rice cereal rather than the original Rice Krispies. The brown rice cereal is great if yo

Mar 12, 2018
2 min

Kid-Friendly Recipe: Peanut Butter Chicken Thighs

Peanut Butter Chicken Thighs are adult-friendly, too. They are easy to prepare and even easier to eat. The chicken thighs cook in a slow cooker to melting softness and are great over rice or noodles. Think sweet, savory, and crunchy all at the same time, and you've got the idea behind this recipe. The thighs can handle the long slow cooking without drying out, and plenty of vegetables provide color, flavor, and extra nutrition. I generally use curry powder that's on the

Dec 15, 2017
2 min

No Time to Bake Cookies: Peanut Butter & M&Ms

Okay, so all the websites, magazines, newspaper lifestyle sections, and instagram postings show wonderful pictures of beautiful, seemingly freshly baked cookies ranging from the weird artisan types--chipotle mango coffee crisps--to the kind your grandma used to make--crispy oatmeal with coconut. No, pressure, but you need to take cookies in to work tomorrow. Or you need to supply cookies for your book club, daughter's dance team, fill in the blank....Meanwhile, back in real

Oct 13, 2017
2 min

Better Kid Snacks: Peanut Butter and Banana Bars

Yes, your kids probably would like to have about half a package of Oreo cookies. Nonetheless, nutrition-wise that might not be wise. The cookies also will take a chunk out of your food budget. Instead, why not opt for some homemade Peanut Butter and Banana Bars that include ingredients that are nutritious and that, eaten in moderation, won't send your kids into sugar orbit? These are great bars to make at the end of the week when you have to deal with those bananas that n

Oct 11, 2017
2 min

Slow Cooked Peanut Butter Chicken

How about something a little different with a West African influence? Peanut butter chicken is cheap (it uses chicken thighs), quick to assemble in your slow cooker, and nutritious. It also tastes really, really good! If you like heat, feel free to add some cayenne or, better, chopped fresh ginger. The amount of ginger depends on your taste, but start with a small amount—a teaspoon—and add more, if you'd like. You can certainly use chicken breasts rather than thighs if y

Oct 4, 2017
2 min

Something For Your Kids

Fall seems to bring out the pumpkin people. I like pumpkin. I like it in lots of things, particularly breads, cakes, and pies. I also like it as a vegetable (stay tuned for that recipe). Nonetheless, I have a feeling that the media has been saturating society with pumpkin things. So today I have an alternative your kids might enjoy at snack time--old fashioned peanut butter bars. You might like them, too. The recipe for these simple, quick, and economical bars has been