Thai Honey Peanut Chicken

This was delicious!  I normally lean towards the Thai dishes made with chili sauce vs. peanut type sauces, but this did not disappoint.  Great flavor with just a little Thai kick at the end.

I used natural peanut butter.  If you use regular (Jiff, Skippy, etc) instead of natural reduce the honey by 1 tbsp.

I let this marinate for over 24 hours.  We were supposed to make it last night, but Alex found out yesterday that his fractured finger needed a few screws today.  He decided he needed a "man meal" at Longhorns instead of this for dinner.  So being the good wife I am, I agreed!

It was super easy to make.  I was thankful for a quick meal so I could get back to tending to my post-operative patient that is lying on my couch.  We served it with steamed broccoli topped with a little soy sauce and basmati rice.  Enjoy!

Thai Honey Peanut Chicken
Source:  Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen Blog

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 large clove garlic
• 1 heaping tbsp. natural peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. sriracha (thai hot sauce, this is optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:

Mix ingredients and marinate chicken in a bowl for 2-3 hours (or 24+:))

Cook chicken and the marinade over medium high heat for 7-8 minutes or until chicken is done.  Reduce heat to medium low and add precooked veggies if desired.  Serve topped with sesame seeds.

Buckeyes

If you have had these before then your mouth should already be watering!  There is nothing healthy about these chocolate covered peanut butter balls!  My mother in law kept referring to them as "fat balls" while we were making them for our Christmas party. 

It is difficult to find gluten free desserts that do not require crazy flours that I do not own, so I love when I find recipes that do not require flour at all!

This was my first time making them and they are a lot of work.  My hand was sore the next day from squeezing them into balls.  Not to mention I forgot to put the toothpicks in before they went into the freezer.  This created a problem when I needed to dip them in the melted chocolate.  I was able to put a toothpick in about half of them, but after a few minutes of being out of the freezer they started to soften and crumble.  I was being impatient and decided to dip them by hand at that point versus using a toothpick.  Big mistake...I kept burning my finger tips! 

The recipe said it would make 30.  Mine made 60 something and they were still large!  Luckily I was able to send some guests home with left overs.  They keep well in the refrigerator.  I think it would be great to get some tins from the dollar store and fill them with buckeyes as a host, teacher, or work present.

These are super sweet!

I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of mine.  This picture is from Google images (http://www.beckertop5.blogspot.com/).

Buckeyes
Source: http://www.allrecipes.com/
Makes: 60+

1 1/2 cups peanut butter (I use one of the natural brands to avoid the hydrogenated oils.  The kind I used was Earth Balance and it does not separate like some other natural kinds do.)
1 cup butter, softened (I always forget to take things out to soften.  I put the butter in the microwave for 15 seconds)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and confectioners sugar.  I used my hands to mix it.  The dough will look dry.  (At this point the directions say "roll into 1 inch balls"...rolling caused mine to continue to crumble, so I grabbed some of the mixture and just kept squeezing until it slightly resembled a ball). Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

Press a toothpick into the top of each ball.  Place in the freezer to chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate chips in a double broiler or in a bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water (I didn't believe this step and turned it up, but don't it definitely heats up just fine on low).  Stir frequently until smooth.

Dip frozen peanut butter balls in chocolate holding on to the toothpick.  Leave a small portion of peanut butter showing at the top to make them look like Buckeyes.  Put back on cookie sheet and refrigerate until serving.