Make your own peanut butter!

I love peanut butter! I always have. I think I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich almost every school day ---from elementary school all the way through high school. That is a LOT of peanut butter and jelly! I could have eaten other things, but that is what I wanted. I figure my sweet mother made at least 2,000 sandwiches during my childhood and adolescent years. (Thank you, Mom!)

You might think that I would never want another bite of peanut butter for the rest of my life, but for some reason, I still love it! Years ago, we transitioned from regular peanut butter to all-natural. It was a little hard to get used to at first, but now we won't eat anything else!

The problem: natural peanut butter is expensive. A small jar costs around $3. We literally eat at least one jar a week. That adds up to over $150 per year! The frugal answer: Make your own! It costs much less and tastes much better! Here is the easy-peasy recipe from RecipeZaar:

Ingredients:
2 cups roasted shelled peanuts
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if using salted peanuts)

Directions: :
Process all the ingredients in a food processor for 2 to 3 minutes. The ground peanuts will form a ball which will slowly disappear. (be patient... set a timer so you know it has been a full 2-3 minutes) Continue to process until the desired consistency is obtained. For crunchy peanut butter, stir in 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts after the processing is completed.

Yield:
Homemade smooth (1 cup) or crunchy (1 1/2 cup) peanut butter.

Additional Information:
Store in a tightly closed container in the refrigerator. Oil may rise to the top. If this occurs, stir before using. If you don't like having to stir: turn the container upside down on the counter for about a day: long enough for the oil to work its way through the mixture and back to the top. Turn it upright again and immediately place in the refrigerator.