One of my favorite snacks as a child was puppy chow. Not the dog food, but the cereal snack that is covered in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. (My brother did dare me to taste real dog food once. I don’t recommend it, bleh!) Whenever it was my turn to choose a snack for movie night or for a slumber party, I always asked for puppy chow. I love chocolate and peanut butter together. I also had fun making a mess with the powdered sugar. I usually ended up with a stomach ache after eating too much but just I couldn’t stop myself, it is so good!

When I saw ZoeDawn’s recipe for Poppy Chow on Tasty Kitchen, I immediately bookmarked it. (ZoeDawn blogs at Whole Eats & Whole Treats. What a beautiful blog!)

The recipe calls for popcorn instead of the traditional cereal, hence the name Poppy Chow. Genius idea! I had to give it a try.

Here is what you will need to make Poppy Chow: popcorn, peanut butter, chocolate chips, butter, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.

For a complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions, please view the recipe link at the end of this post.

Place chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a microwave safe bowl.

Put the bowl in the microwave for one minute. Stir and heat for another 30 seconds, or until ingredients are melted. You can also use a double broiler-but I was feeling lazy.

Add the vanilla extract to the mixture.

Pour popped popcorn into a large bowl. Make sure there are no unpopped kernels in the bowl. Pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the popcorn.

Stir popcorn until the kernels are evenly coated.

Add the powdered sugar.

Gently stir until all of the pieces are well coated.

Spread popcorn onto a large baking sheet and let the chocolate set.

 
Eat and enjoy!

If there are any leftovers, store in an air-tight container. I didn’t have any left over; I still haven’t learned to back away. This Poppy Chow is addicting! First, you get an explosion of chocolate, then a kick of peanut butter, and last comes the sugary sweet ending. This popcorn melts in your mouth. It is easy and fun to make; kids and adults will love it.

Poppy Chow is a great treat to make for the holidays. Enjoy it while you watch holiday movies, serve it at your holiday parties, or wrap it up in cute little bags to give away to your friends and family.

Thanks ZoeDawn for bringing me back to my childhood with this recipe. I will be making Poppy Chow from now on. Poppy Chow sounds so much better than Puppy Chow, don’t you think?

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Poppy Chow

by zoedawn on May 11, 2010 in Appetizers, Snacks May 11, 2010 AppetizersSnacks

4.07 Mitt(s) 13 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 5 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 20

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No, that’s not a typo in the title…this is puppy chow made with popcorn! My husband recently had a craving for puppy chow but I never keep Chex on hand so he suggested using popcorn. It is a delicious, healthy alternative!

Ingredients

• 9 cups Air-Popped Popcorn
• 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• ½ cups Natural Peanut Butter
• ¼ cups Butter (1/2 Stick)
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1-½ cup Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

In microwave or double boiler, melt chocolate, peanut butter, and butter until melted. Stir in vanilla. Place the popped popcorn* in a large bowl and pour the chocolate mixture over all. Stir until evenly coated. Add the powdered sugar and stir until each piece is covered. Spread out on cookie sheets to set the chocolate. Try not to eat the whole batch immediately. If you have any leftover, store in an airtight container.

*Be sure to first remove any unpopped kernels from the popcorn! We don’t want any broken teeth!

 
 
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Maria and her husband Josh (who she affectionately refers to as her “dough boy”) blog at Two Peas and Their Pod. They’ve been featured on Saveur, Eatocracy, Gourmet Live, Glamour, and the Los Angeles Times, to name just a few. We’re so glad to have them here!

 
The holidays are here and while I’m always full of thanks for the time to spend with family and friends (and the tasty food), by the time I’ve had my third leftover turkey or ham sandwich, I’m bored and ready for a change of pace. So when I found this recipe for Wasabi Sandwich Spread from Tasty Kitchen member, Sheila Johnson, I was intrigued. A sandwich spread to add some oomph to the leftover turkey or ham sandwich? I gave it a go and was happy that I did. It’s a simple way to change things up enough to turn an ordinary turkey sandwich into an extraordinary turkey sandwich.

And don’t be scared of the wasabi. Wasabi is your friend. Your mouth will not be on fire. Not at all. The wasabi adds a little spice but is balanced with mayo, honey and soy. A tasty combination that will leave you wishing you’d roasted another turkey. And it’s simple, too. So simple I almost didn’t post it, but then decided it was too good not to mention.

All you’ll need is mayo, wasabi paste (it comes in a cute little tube for only a few dollars), soy sauce and honey. This recipe makes a bunch and can be stored in the fridge to last through the whole holiday season. You can find the full recipe here.

In a small bowl combine all ingredients.

Mix together until smooth.

It certainly makes a plain sandwich come alive. We tried it on one of our favorite sandwich combos. It was a total success! Here’s how I used it.

Start with some roasted turkey. We also like using avocado and purple onion, sliced thinly on our favorite sandwich bread, toasted.

Begin building your sandwich with the wasabi spread going on first. Make sure you don’t skimp on the spread. You won’t need mustard or any other condiment with this spread.

Next add the turkey, the avocado, purple onion, and salt and pepper of course.

Then top it off with another layer of wasabi spread.

You’re looking at a not-so-run-of-the-mill leftover turkey sandwich, folks.

Try it. I think you’ll like it.

And thanks to Sheila Johnson, I’m looking forward to those leftovers. Wishing you the best this holiday season! Hope your kitchen is full of much love and tasty grub! (Speaking of tasty grub, check out Sheila’s blog, Eat2Gather. It’s filled with all kinds of yumminess.)

Printable Recipe

Wasabi Sandwich Spread

by Eat 2gather on October 21, 2010 in Condiments October 21, 2010 Condiments

See post on Eat 2gather’s site!

5.00 Mitt(s) 4 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: -

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 10

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This spread is perfect to spice up any sandwich. I personally love it on turkey. Add it to some shredded cabbage and it’s great on fish tacos.

Ingredients

• ¾ cups Hellman's Mayonnaise
• 1 Tablespoon Wasabi Paste
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Honey (heaping)

Preparation Instructions

Whisk your ingredients together. Use as a sandwich spread or toss with some shredded cabbage and it’s super on fish tacos!

 
 
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Amy Johnson is a blogger who writes about food, travel, the home (both inside and out), and various observations and random musings about anything and everything. Visit her blog She Wears Many Hats for a dose of deliciousness, practicality, hilarity, or just plain fun. She lives in South Carolina with her husband and two children.

 
Bacon. Parmesan cheese. Cream cheese. Heavy cream. Oh yes. This stuff is good. This recipe, brought to us by Trish Boese, brings together some of the most enticing ingredients known to man into an easy, irresistible dish.

It was hard to keep my fork out of the pot before serving the pasta. Even my little brother, who dislikes bacon, loved it. Let me show you how it’s done:

Here’s what you’ll need: bacon (yes, a whole pound) crushed red pepper flakes, penne pasta (I used whole wheat), heavy cream, cream cheese, grated Parmesan, eggs, and freshly ground black pepper.

Begin by frying the bacon. Sprinkle with the crushed red pepper flakes. When the bacon is cooked (I like mine just on this side of crispy), roughly chop and set aside.

Bring a pot of water to boil. Salt the water.

Add the pasta and cook until done (it took about 12 minutes for the whole wheat Penne to cook to al dente).

Meanwhile, place the cream cheese and cream in a small saucepan.

Heat over low until the cream cheese is melted. Whisk until smooth.

Remove from heat. Add the parmesan, eggs, and pepper. Whisk.

Drain the pasta and reserve 1/2 cup of the water. Place pasta in a large bowl (or return to the pot). Immediately add the white sauce and toss. The hot pasta will cook the eggs. Add the bacon and toss. Add a little pasta water, if needed, to loosen the sauce.

Serve with extra Parmesan cheese and freshly ground black pepper.

Notes: The flavors in this recipe were excellent and even improved the next day. Next time I will probably make more sauce. I didn’t serve the pasta immediately, so it soaked up quite a bit of the sauce. Also, I thought it could use a tad more salt.

Thank you, Trish, for sharing this delicious recipe.

Printable Recipe

Bacon and Parmesan Pasta

by Trish Boese on September 16, 2010 in Main Courses, Pasta September 16, 2010 Main CoursesPasta

4.56 Mitt(s) 30 Rating(s)

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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A break from the standard tomato or creamy white sauce – ingredients can be added depending on what you have in the kitchen.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Bacon
• ¼ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 pound Rigatoni Or Penne Pasta
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
• ¼ cups Cream Cheese
• ¼ cups Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 2 whole Eggs
• ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

In a skillet, fry the bacon. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes. When done, remove bacon until cool enough to handle and roughly chop.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water until done (according to package instructions).

Place cream and cream cheese in a small saucepan. Heat over low until cream cheese is melted, and whisk until smooth. Remove from heat. Add the parmesan cheese, eggs, and pepper and whisk until blended.

Drain pasta (reserving 1/2 cup of hot water) and return to pot. Immediately add the white sauce and toss to coat. The hot pasta will cook the eggs. Stir in the bacon, and add some reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce.

 
 
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Erica Berge shares her wonderful recipes and amazing food photography on her blog, Cooking for Seven. She also writes about crafts and posts more of her beautiful photography in her personal blog, EricaLea.com. There really isn’t much that this amazing young lady can’t do, and we’re thrilled she does some of it here.