Peanut butter and?

As I am sure I have mentioned a time or two, I am not a baker. The idea of exact measurements makes me crazy! This food blogging has forced me to measure things and keep track of what I am cooking so I can share it with you. I suppose it is a good lesson...

I read awhile back a post by my friend the Spirited Miu Flavor about a peanut cake...this was shortly after reading about homemade peanut butter by the Duo Dishes...this made me hungry and made me actually want to bake!

So while I really wanted to make these items exactly as they had...I didn’t. I cheated! Baking from scratch still scares me.

I decided one morning that peanut butted muffins would be wonderful. So I got my ingredients together and began baking.

The only thing I did different than the box was instead of oil I put in 1 cup of chunky peanut butter and baked as muffins.

Now I am dreaming of some kind of topping for these...Should they be peanut butter cupcakes with chocolate frosting? Or maybe Peanut butter muffins with a homemade strawberry jam type topping? Thoughts? I will have to make them again when I figure it out because these muffin/cupcakes plain have been consumed pretty fast!

Pasta with NO Pasta?

Pasta for me, as I am sure it is for so many, is a great weakness! If I lived someplace like Italy this would be no problem. The Italians can have pasta of some sort for every meal and it is acceptable along with drinking wine like its water...Maybe I should just move!

In an attempt to keep from exploding or becoming as big as a house,or having to move to another country I will try to put a limit on my pasta intake. This is very difficult and sad, but I have found a pretty good replacement, that is healthy, tasty and cheep!
Yellow Squash fettuccine With Bolognaise Sauce

With a vegetable peeler, peel off strips of squash the length of the squash and as even thickness as possible.

When you hit seeds, stop and go to another side.

Stack the strips and slice into thin strips the width of fettuccine.

Pile them in a bowl and pour the heated sauce over the raw squash.

The heat from the sauce cooks them to al dente texture!

I would Recommend using only thick hearty sauces for this. The squash does have a lot of water in it and will release it in the sauce.
Top with cheese and dig in! No guilt and after dinner you will not feel that sluggish over full feeling Pasta can give you.

Truth be told this was breakfast for the Wino...and since I do not live in Italy (yet!) no wine for now...

Let me know if you have found any other great substitutes for pasta and Bon Appetit!