When I’m craving something quick, tasty and substantial for dinner, this big bowl of saucy Asian-style noodles with ground beef and loads of fresh vegetables is just the ticket. Don’t let the long list of ingredients fool you – once all the vegetables are cut up, it comes together in a flash, which makes it a perfect option on a hectic weekday evening.

What I love best about this recipe is that it’s endlessly adaptable, depending on what you’ve got around – change up the vegetables based on your preferences, replace the ground beef with ground pork or bite-sized pieces of chicken breast, or go meat-free by replacing the beef with a soy-based “ground round” or omitting it altogether.

I used The Heat Is On peanut butter as the base for my sauce because we like things spicy at our house, but if you can’t find The Heat Is On (or if you just want a less spicy version), substitute it with an equal amount of Smooth Operator peanut butter and spice things up with a squirt or two of Sriracha sauce.

A morning bowl of oatmeal is routine in my kitchen and more often than not it includes peanut butter and banana — a classic and delicious combination. For those mornings when I want something extra special or I have company in town, I serve baked oatmeal. Warm and comforting, you’ll enjoy the tender oatmeal, crunchy nuts and soft baked fruit on the bottom. Peanut butter is mixed right in and the result, if you can imagine, is like a warm piece of banana bread smeared with a generous helping of peanut butter. It’s truly a breakfast worth waking up for and helps start my day right!

Asian cuisine rarely has desserts to offer, at least not in the traditional European sense. No large towering cakes or plateful of brownies can be seen on the menu. That said, one of the few desserts you see, as a celebration for the Chinese New Year, is the peanut cookie. Not nearly as sweet as your usual peanut butter cookie, traditionally the New Year peanut cookie is made with freshly roasted ground peanuts.

Using peanut butter as a substitute is faster shortcut. But these aren’t your usual peanut cookie. Updated with the use of The Heat is On peanut butter, and a touch of lemon zest, these cookies will give you a kick into the new year, with their fiery red heat; perfect as red is the color of happiness and good luck.

These little cookies pack a wallop of red heat that grows after you eat it. The lemon citrus is subtle in the finish but there. If you want to dilute the heat a bit, try using 3/4 cup The Heat is On and 3/4 cup Smooth Operator in place of 1 ½ cup The Heat is On.

I had my first spring roll almost 10 years ago and still love the crunch of fresh vegetables and herbs paired with a peanut dipping sauce.

This is a fun dish to serve when having a couple of friends over for dinner. There’s very little cooking (none if you buy pre-cooked shrimp). Just some fancy chopping and stirring up a bit of sauce. If you happen to have vegetarian or vegan friends, add a couple more vegetables, like bean sprouts and red cabbage, and they can make their spring rolls without any shrimp.

In 1941, Time magazine referred to George Washington Carver as the “Black Leonardo” for his many skills and talent, which no doubt included his scholarly pursuit and promotion of the humble legume — peanuts. An early proponent of sustainable agriculture, Carver knew farmers needed a crop to provide food for their families which would also serve as a source for other products that would help improve their quality of life. This January 5 is George Washington Carver Recognition Day, and I’m proud to honor a man who was an outstanding scientist, botanist, educator, inventor, and developer of over a hundred peanut-based recipes. This recipe is a tribute to Mr. Carver, who I’m sure would have enjoyed a hefty morning slice of this savory sweet cake with his coffee.

In my mind, nothing can rival a warm and gooey cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven and slathered with sweet frosting on a cold snowy morning. Especially if it happens to be Christmas morning! Imagine waking up not only to the excitement of opening presents with loved ones, but also to the intoxicating aroma of warm cinnamon, sweet sugar, and rich peanut butter wafting from the kitchen. My inspiration for creating these peanut butter and raisin cinnamon rolls was threefold: my brother’s love of peanut butter (it must run in the family), my sister-in-law’s tradition of making cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and my nephew’s adoration of raisins. Therefore, these sweet and rich peanut buttery cinnamon rolls dotted with raisins are dedicated to Dan, Jaime, and Aiden!

Baklava is a sweet that’s claimed by many countries around Central Asia and the Middle East, which means there are about as many variations as there are people who make it. Most versions share the phyllo dough, nuts and syrup in common and while it’s good with a cup of tea, it tends to be a little too sweet for my taste.

Through my travels, I’ve seen versions that use everything from walnuts to pistachios to sesame seeds, but I’ve never seen one made with peanuts. Given my love for peanut butter, I decided to give it a go, and you know what? It works!

The flaky layers of crispy buttery phyllo dough, crunchy peanuts and creamy white chocolate peanut butter, takes this humble dessert and elevates it from rustic to elegant. The combination of textures and flavors kind of reminds me of French praliné, and because this uses about two thirds less sugar than most recipes, it’s not overly sweet.

While phyllo dough might scare some of you that have never worked with it, it’s actually quite simple and this dish is especially fun to make, just make sure the dough doesn’t dry out while you’re working with it.