Happy Indepence Day, Thank you Veterans

I hope everyone had a great 4th! We went to the mountains (Boone, NC) to hang with some of M's friends this weekend. We grilled out and feasted on hamburgers, hotdogs, potato salad, coleslaw, plenty of potato chips and I made peach cobbler! We also made these cute cupcakes for the crew!

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend and celebrating safely.

I wanted to dedicate this post to all veterans who have served for our country and put their lives on the line so that we back home can safely celebrate holidays like Independence Day. Thank you for everything that you sacrifice for us. We would not be free if it weren't for you. :)

From Scratch Double-Delight Peanut Butter Cookies

From BakingBites.com

PB Cookie Dough
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth, national brand)

Filling and Topping
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup peanut butter (creamy, national brand)
1/2 cup confectioners’/powdered sugar
generous pinch salt (recommended)

Make the cookie dough. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light. Beat in egg, followed by the vanilla and peanut butter.

Gradually add in dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined.
Spoon dough onto a sheet of wax or parchment paper, shape into a roll about 3-inches in diameter and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Prepare topping and filling. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar (and a bit of salt, if using) until smooth. Shape mixture 20 small (1/2 inch) balls and place each on a sheet of parchment paper. Set aside.

Remove cookie dough from fridge. Cut the log lengthwise in half, then make 10 horizontal cuts to slice the dough into a total of 20 even pieces. Each piece should be a semi-circle in shape.

Flatten each piece of dough and place a peanut butter ball into it. Shape each cookie dough piece around the filling, making sure to cover the ball completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.

Roll each ball in peanut-sugar mixture and place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2-inches between balls. Use a flat-bottomed drinking glass to flatten the cookies down to 1/4-inch thickness.

Bake for 9 - 11 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

Cool for 1-2 minutes on the baking sheet, then remove cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 20 large cookies

The KBo Conclusion
As a big (almost huge) fan of peanut butter anything I knew that I simply must make these cookies. Since finding this recipe, I have made them a few times and each time they simply get better. For me, it was a little bit easier to simply scoop small spoonfuls of the peanut butter mixture into the cookies, rather than making peanut butter balls and then putting that in the cookies, but you guys make them however you would like!

I especially love the warm peanut butter mixture in the middle of the cookie, it really is heavenly. Four thumbs up!

Soyrizo Cilantro and Avocado Burgers

Ingredients:
1 12 oz. package of Soyrizo* (Soy chorizo sausage, you can also use regular chorizo if soy isn't your thing)
1 pound lean ground beef (anything above 93% lean is good)
1 small white onion, finely diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 sliced tomato
iceberg lettuce leafs
2 avocados sliced
1 package thickly sliced Muenster cheese
low fat mayo for spreading
salt and pepper
4-6 whole wheat buns

*This is the only kind I could find online, but I used a different brand that I bought at Wal-Mart.















Start by mixing the soyrizo (in my case, you had to remove the sausage from the casing and crumble into the bowl), ground beef, cilantro and onion in a large mixing bowl. After everything is mixed well, form into 4 to 6 patties. This step can be difficult if the ingredients don't hold together so be careful!

















Heat a medium to large sized nonstick skillet on medium heat and then spray with non-stick cooking spray. I like to use Pam Organic Olive Oil spray. Gently place the burgers on the heated skillet and let cook on one side until a nice crust forms. Gently flip to cook the other side through. This should take about 10-15 minutes. If you are using the Muenster cheese, place one slice on each burger while still in skillet to melt.
















Once the burgers are cooked, arrange on toasted whole wheat buns with the mayo spread on each side. Spread the avocado slices on the top bun half and sprinkle with salt and pepper, place the burger (with or without the cheese) on the bottom bun half, then add your tomato and lettuce. Enjoy!

The Kbo Conclusion
These burgers turned out way better than I thought they would! Although they were a little messy in the making, once everything came together the flavors of the soyrizo, cilantro, and the avocado were fabulous. I also ended up only making about three burgers for me and M to enjoy and then crumbling the rest of the meat mixture to save for leftover taco salad! (Recipe to come.)

All in all this was a flavorful and pretty healthy way to spice up the average burger, perfect for a July 4th cookout!