Happy National Peanut Butter Day!
(source)
I can’t believe I almost missed it! Did you already celebrate? Had a peanut butter massage? Indulged in a peanut butter facial? Organized your peanut butter stash? Or baked up a big batch of peanut butter cookies?!
I did none of those.
BUT I did receive a peanut themed package in the mail.
All clear. No peanut allergies in this house. 
What could it be? Why, it’s…
PEANUT BUTTER CHEERIOS!
The company sent me an email a couple of weeks back asking if I would like a sample to review and I couldn’t respond fast enough. Peanut Butter Cheerios?!?! I am sooo there!
I had a handful right from the box and instantly loved the subtle peanut butter flavor. It reminded me of the Reeses Peanut Butter Puff cereal, only not as sweet or sugary.
I made a small bowl of the cereal with a spoonful of ricotta cheese and fresh blueberries for my afternoon snack.
Yep. Still good. 
Now the question remains – which is better? Cinnamon Cheerios or Peanut Butter Cheerios? Tough call.
I had lentils on my mind for dinner. And after pinning recipe after recipe, I figured it was time I actually tested one out.
They sure make those lentil meatballs look good, don’t they?
That pin brought me to THIS RECIPE featured in The New York Times from The Meatball Shop. I had the distinct pleasure of dining at The Meatball Shop when I was in New York City in 2010 and can vouch that the food there is amazing. If their food is good, I figured the recipe had to be good too.
However, the recipe wasn’t an easy one. It was long, time consuming, and felt like it was missing steps. Let’s just say my ‘meatballs’ weren’t quite as pretty as the above photo.
Umm.. yeah. Not even close. It didn’t help that they fell apart while cooking either.
Fail.
On the bright side, it was pretty hard to mess up the spinach basil pesto. That part was a piece of cake and came out pretty tasty.
Steamed brussels sprouts + broken balls and sauce
The lentil meatballs have broken pieces of walnuts inside, which gave the balls a nice meaty flavor. The ball may not have been pretty, but they still tasted pretty good. Of course, the spinach basil pesto was really the best part. I think you could put that on anything and it would be good.
Strawberries and dark chocolate edamame for dessert!
Have you ever tried your hand at a recipe from a restaurant? Were you able to nail it as great as the restaurant did?
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
I didn’t have any PB today, but I did make a PB sandwich tonight for a meal tomorrow. Does that count? I would love to try the chocolate edamame. Sounds delicious!
Caroline recently posted..CHObsessed
I didn’t honor national pb day, because i am deathly allergic. i think i shouldve celebrated nutella instead – i am obsessed w/ the stuff!
bummer that the meatballs didnt stay together- but they sure look tasty anyway!
Mallory @ Have Your Cake and Eat It recently posted..Easy Weeknight Meal
did the pb cheerios taste like the puffin pb cereal? cause that is my all time fave cereal!
Either type of cereal sounds delicious! Most of the time my food doesn’t look like it does in the picture, but that doesn’t mean that the taste is different! Pinterest sure does have lots of ideas for new recipes!
Karolina recently posted..What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?
I don’t think I have tried to make a recipe straight from a restaurant, but I once made Tyler Florence’s meatballs from scratch, which were probably as difficult as a restaurant recipe! They were so tedious and time consuming, but really were so moist and delicious. I actually made them for my college graduation party so I had to make a ton! Let’s just say I was an expert by the end of that cooking session..
Jana @ Newly Wife Healthy Life recently posted..Peanut, Peanut Butter, withOUT Jelly
I almost always fail at anything that involves the food processer and forming patties (i.e. veggie burgers). They may turn out delicious but it’s never pretty and always messy!
Lindsay @ Running the Windy City recently posted..Cleaning Up… A Little History
Looks yummy to me! Wow…chocolate edamame! I have to try those!
Your post also made me wish I could eat peanut butter again! I found out about an allergy/intolerance a couple years ago and haven’t had peanut products since
Megan recently posted..Edible Cake Image Giveaway
I like honey nut cheerios best!*
Army Amy* recently posted..Reward Zone
I did celebrate! I had a peanut butter sandwich for lunch. And i firmly believe in peanut butter WEEK, so I’ll continue tomorrow with peanut butter in my oatmeal! I can’t wait to try the peanut butter cheerios too!
Daphne recently posted..Monday? DONE
I hate when recipes end up taking way longer than you planned or being much harder than anticipated. I’ve never had luck with lentil loaves or meatballs sticking together.
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Crispy curry roasted broccoflower
I celebrated with peanut butter on an english muffin with sliced bananas for breakfast! yummy… and that was before knowing today was a holiday!
I tried making fried pork chops last night, my batter turned soggy instead of crispy… oh well… glad you were able to enjoy your meal even tho it didn’t turn out quite right.
PB Cheerios!! Must try!
Christina @ Heels and Meals recently posted..Not What I Imagined…
I haven’t tried the PB ones yet but the Dulce de Leche are YUMMMY!!
MrsSwan recently posted..Slacker mom
I think the trick with anything lentil meatloaf or meatballs is always to puree at least half of the lentils coarsely so that it is more sticky and holds together.
Silvia @ skinny jeans food recently posted..Foggy Bottom
aha! great idea!!
Elizabeth recently posted..Today’s thoughts
No peanut butter day for me… well, I had a Kind bar with peanut butter in it, so I guess it counts?
I think that recipe should be forever known as “Broken Balls.”
Laura recently posted..Is there an echo in here?
THANK YOU I was cracking up at the broken balls thing. Yay, other people with the sense of humor akin to a 13 year old boy
Believe it or not I’m gonna have to go with PB Cheerios!! PB will always win out over Cinnamon in my book. But I’m glad my Cinnamon won out when parents were naming me….
Cinnamon @eatpraytri recently posted..Snot rockets and 5k’s
Apparently every day is national peanut butter day in my home
Khushboo recently posted..‘Sweet’ Move?
Peanut Butter CHEERIOS?! SIGN ME UP!!!
Katie @ Talk Less, Say More recently posted..On the hunt
Had a delicious spoonful (or three) of nut butter today while making my overnight oats to celebrate the holiday!
By the way, I primarily wanted to post and say what a GREAT read your blog is. It’s really inspirational and quite interesting (I seriously started tearing up over the proposal entries
). I’m about to start the New Rules of Lifting program, and I’m EXTREMELY excited about it. It’s my first time weightlifting, and going through your posts about your experience has been reassuring, motivating, and a great resource.
Thanks for writing your blog! I will be anxiously awaiting more NROL updates (as well as all other updates)!
Those meatballs look AMAZING. I’ll be giving that a go this week!!!!
I contemplated buying the PB Cheerios this weekend and specifically didn’t because I knew the entire box would be gone in a day. At least I know my weakness? Hah!
Hillary recently posted..Today I…*
I love peanut butter cheerios so much!!! It’s definitely my new favorite cereal. Cheerios did good with this one!
Hope @ With A Side Of Hope recently posted..Trying To Find Balance…
you should TOTALLY submitt this to pinterestfail!
http://www.pinterestfail.com/
Heather recently posted..Simply Saturday
hahaha YES!!! I should also submit a photo of the braid bun I attempted last night – epic fail! Derek asked why I wanted to look like Princess Leia
I think that your recipe goal was quite ambitious, and you did well by me. Heck, sometimes I get scared to try recipes in oxygen magazine for fear of messing them up! (got one cooking in the crock pot right now, so wish me luck!)
Emily recently posted..Lunch to Chill
I made this same recipe with my boyfriend a few months ago. We had them with spaghetti. Mine held up just fine, but weren’t the most attractive. It made a huge batch, and I froze the leftovers. Now I just microwave a few at a time, add sauce and enjoy for a quick mini-meal.
Elizabeth recently posted..Today’s thoughts
Haha as long as it tastes good, that’s what matters!! Happy PB day!
Katie @ Peace Love and Oats recently posted..WIAW–A Day of Repeats
I hate when recipes end up not turning out like the pictures. At least it still tasted good! And PB Cheerios sound absolutely delightful! You probably thought of this already but you should mix together the cinnamon and pb cheerios!
Liz @ Tip Top Shape recently posted..Turkey Chili
cinnamon cheerios all the way!
Sarah recently posted..It’s Back!
YUM!!! all I did was make a pb milkshake. I’m slacking
hahaha. That looks divine and pb cheerios?!?!?!?! I’ve got to get me some of those
Even if food doesn’t look pretty it can still taste good
I went Pin crazy yesterday [mostly searching for PB recipes, gotta honor it's special day!] and have tons of recipes that are on my “want-to-make” list but haven’t… I really should make a list of them all and start planning to make at least one a week!
I know I only realized halfway through the day! Luckily I eat peanut butter by the jarful on a daily basis so I didn’t feel like I missed out too much, but I definitely wanted to make a bigger deal of it on the blog!
How come oats get a whole month and PB only gets a day!? Love, love, love peanut butter! The snack size, grab-and-go containers are perfect for my addiction. Thank you Costco for the giant box!
Talia @ Bite Size Wellness recently posted..Get your Om on this Winter
Ha! Love that you actually tried a recipe from pinterest. I love pinning them, but haven’t actually followed through on one yet! Maybe this is one to submit to pinterest fail? But honestly, it doesn’t look too bad!!!
Aundra @ Fit for Life recently posted..Return of the Green Monster
Everything looks tasty though!
PEANUT BUTTER CHEERIOS?! Hopefully we get them here in Canada. Mmmm.
As odd as it may sound, I find myself recreating meals that I ate on campus during college. (To be fair, Duke has really good dining options.) I love making the Crunchy Broccoli Salad that I used to get at The Loop!
BroccoliHut recently posted..1001 Ways to Eat Your Oats
We make huge batches of spinach basil pesto, freeze it in an ice cube tray and keep them on hand. Perfect for tossing with a ham, onion, & cheese scramble for breakfast or for putting on top of a fillet of fish
mmm I need to try those meatballs!
sarah recently posted..greeen detox