There are times when genius is the result of deep thought, hard work, and relentless experimentation. I would say this would apply to chili. You think through it, tweak it, find new ways to make it even better. You discover that by using fresh roasted tomatoes instead of canned and adding a poblano pepper does indeed make a huge difference. You find ways to constantly improve. The same process is applied to grilling, smoking meat, making rubs, concocting bbq sauces. It is a relentless pursuit of unattainable perfection. I appreciate that kind of commitment. That is how places like 4 Rivers Smokehouse in Winter Park come into existence. (I realize I pimp this place like I owned it. But it is just that good. And if you live in Orlando, go buy some of their packaged rub. You have no reason not to. Your life will be better and tastier for it.)
Then, there are other times, where it is just plain dumb luck that creates genius. It is sitting there at the dinner table and just out of nowhere coming up with a plan for frozen peanut butter banana pops. Or just randomly creating peanut butter fondue. (Yes, I am aware that a lot of these involve peanut butter.) Or dumping a particular spice into something without understanding what you just did. I would even say deciding to use Greek yogurt to replace mayonaise in tuna and chicken salad would fall into this realm.
This morning, I had another one to drop into this category. With all of the traveling I have been doing, I have run out of fruit at the house. That has severely hurt my breakfast options. I usually throw fruit into plain yogurt for my morning meal. Without fruit, you are stuck with . . . well . . . plain yogurt. I realize I have changed my eating habits. But expecting me to eat plain yogurt is a bit much. I have some fat free vanilla yogurt also, which is what I have been eating lately. Today, though, that lightning strike of brilliance hit me. "Why isn't there such a thing as peanut butter yogurt?" I had no good answer. So I decided to try it.
Exact ingredients are not my strong suit. I usually wing it and try to figure it out later. I don't always use measuring spoons - as was the case this morning. We have three different sized spoons in our silverware set. There is the smaller normal sized spoon that I give the kids with their cereal. (I think this is called a teaspoon, but I don't know. I am not talking about the measuring teaspoon.) Then there is the larger spoon that I use when I eat chili or yogurt. Bigger mouth, bigger spoon. (Tablespoon? No idea.) Then there is the biggest spoon, that we use to serve veggies and stuff. (Serving spoon, I would assume.)
Today, I got the peanut butter and one of the second sized spoons - my size spoon. Oh, now here is another rabbit. Peanut butter - not all the same. We have been going through peanut butter pretty rapidly, what with it being my dessert (smeared on a banana or apple). Up to this point, we were finishing off a giant two pack of Jif from Sam's. I always have been a big Publix peanut butter fan. So, when we ran out, I went to Publix to get some more. I have decided to not use the organic or natural peanut butter. I have three reasons. First, you have to refrigerate it and stir it and all that stuff. Second, you really don't save a lot of calories or fat in it. Third, many of them taste like crud. So I made a conscious decision to stick with regular peanut butter - with all the evil sugar and salt in it. I guess that's my splurge. Anyway, I knew from reading the label that Jif is 190 calories for 2 tablespoons. Pretty hefty, but not bad for a dessert - if you view it that way, which I choose to. On a whim, I checked the Publix container. 210 calories. Wha? So I checked Peter Pan. 210. And I checked Smucker's Natural. 200 calories. (That surprised me.) Their organic was 210. Skippy was the only other 190 calorie one. So I got it, to mix things up and try a different flavor. And Skippy tastes completely different than Jif. Jif is actually sweeter. Skippy has a more robust peanut flavor. They are both fine, just different. Right now, we are using Skippy - in case that matters to all of this story.
Back to the concoction. I got a David spoon and the Skippy. I took a heaping spoonful and put it in a bowl and threw it in the microwave for 20 seconds. It didn't melt all of it, just enough that when I stirred it, it got really smooth and thinner. Then I grabbed the fat free Stonyfield Farms vanilla yogurt and stirred in two heaping David spoons. I mixed it all together until evenly distributed. At this point, it would have made a GREAT fruit dip. I added two more David spoons and mixed it up again. This made for a wonderful peanut butter yogurt to just eat. It wasn't too strong of peanut butter presence. It was just like a bowl of peanut butter yogurt.
My idea for the dip, though, is simple. Just do a 2:1 ratio of vanilla yogurt to peanut butter. Heat the peanut butter enough to thin it out. Then mix it in with the yogurt. The texture and strength of the resulting dip is perfect - not too runny or too thick. Then cut up some apples, bananas, celery. Put out little side bowls of raisins, craisins, dried blueberries (another amazing discovery I've had - Sunsweet Varietal blueberries). You can dip the celery in the dip, add some raisins. Good stuff. I can't wait to actually make it on a party scale. I just need a party to go to.
And yes, I did just write that big huge post to give you a two ingredient recipe.
Thanks! That sounds like fun if you like peanut butter, which my kids do.
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