Homemade Peanut Butter

A few weeks ago I turned 2 1/2 pounds of raw peanuts into a TON of peanut butter.  I assumed it would have been months before I had to make it again.  I really underestimated the peanut butter demand in this house, because in just about a month here I am making it again.  Good thing it is so easy and cheap to make.

What you will need:

2 - 2 1/2 pounds of raw peanuts
Baking sheet
Food processor
Pinch of salt, optional

I had a surprisingly difficult time finding raw peanuts by the pound.  Neither the Whole Foods or Trader Joe's near my house sold them, which surprised me.  I found them at an organic health food store quite a distance from my house.  My husband also found them online here.  Check your local health food store for availability.  Two and a half pounds of peanuts from the organic store ran about $8.00.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F.  Spread the nuts onto the baking tray evenly.  This is what 2 pounds of raw peanuts looks like.

Roast the nuts in your heated oven for about 30-40 minutes.  Keep checking them so that they don't burn.  They should have a light golden brown color to them.

Once they are done let them cool for about 10 minutes then transfer them into your food processor.

Then turn on your food processor and let it do its thing.  They will have to spin for quite awhile.   

Here are the peanuts after about one minute of spinning....

 ...and here they are after about 3 minutes of spinning..... starting to resemble peanut butter!!  If you are going to add a teaspoon of salt, now would be when you would do that.

Finally after about 5-7 minutes of processing, you have yourself some beautiful, creamy, all natural, no additives, and preservative free peanut butter!

Transfer to any type of jar... try and make sure most of it ends up in the jar and not your mouth.  This is my yield of peanut butter from exactly 2 pounds.  Adjust the amount to your needs.  Store the peanut butter in your fridge for as long as you like! I can guarantee it will be consumed long before it spoils!

Enjoy!!

Super Quick And Adorable Easter Craft for Toddlers

In honor of Easter this Sunday, I found a super quick and adorable paint project to do with my toddler.  It involves paint and body parts, which is a favorite craft of mine.  (On Valentines Day I painted her tiny hands red and pink and smashed them onto white card stock.   It was supposed to resemble a heart shape with the two hands.  We did the best that we could with a one year old.)

For this holiday, I decided to paint her foot yellow and turn it into a baby chick.  I used a non toxic water based craft paint that I picked up at a local hobby store.

Put your toddler in her high chair and occupy her hands with something to distract her.  I gave my daughter a few cheerios and she was content to let me paint her left foot completely yellow.  I had assistance from a mom friend on stand by with baby wipes and the card stock.

Once her foot was painted we mashed it carefully into the card stock and slowly peeled it away to prevent smears and smudges.  Her foot was quickly wrapped in baby wipes and all the paint was easily removed.

Here is the final result, with embellishments added later in the day once she was napping.  I added the flower by painting my own thumb different colors and making a pretty thumbprint Easter flower.

We will be giving this one to my husband to replace the Valentine's craft at his desk at work!

In total this craft took about 30 minutes.  If your child has very ticklish feet, this craft may be a little more difficult to make.

Happy Easter!!