Spiced Candied Nuts

Naked Nuts, haha!

Caution, these are highly addictive! Make in large batches to share or to hoard and eat alone! I made a batch for a girls' night and am making two more for my dad and my father-in-law for Father's Day. Its okay to splurge on the nuts, I bought bags of walnut pieces, pistachios, and almonds at Trader Joe's for $6 each, I don't think I would be able to put together a good party snack or two gifts for under $20!!

Spiced Candied Nuts

Ingredients
Mixed raw nuts of your choice, about 4 or 5 cups worth, unsalted
2  Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp raw sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne

Heat oven to 400 F. On a baking sheet lined with wax paper or pachement arrange nuts in a single layer. Bake for about 15-30 minutes until nuts are toasted and fragrant, stirring every 10 minutes. Be careful not to let the nuts burn. While nuts are roasting combine maple syrup, agave nectar and vanilla in a bowl large enough to hold all the nuts. In a food processor combine sugar, salt and spices until ground to a medium fine powder. Pour the hot nuts into the syrup mixture, stir to thoroughly coat. Sprinkle half the sugar mixture over the top, stir gently, then add remaining sugar and stir gently to coat. Place nuts back on sheet pan and return to oven for approximately 10 minutes, or long enough for glaze to set. When nuts have cooled, salt to taste. Store in a covered container at room temperature.

Roasty Glazed Goodness!

Feel free to adjust seasonings to your taste, if you like things a little spicier add more cayenne, less spicy feel free to omit or add your favorite flavor. Enjoy! To give as a gift, fill a ball jar with nuts and top with a bow, nothing fancy to get in the way of digging right in!

heh heh, nuts!

Tips and Tricks for Successful Budgeting

I wanted to share some of my tricks for saving money and time when cooking. These will not only help you keep on track with budgeting and meal planning, but can also just make your week easier.

1.  Plan your meals for the week! I know this is said over and over, and I apologize for saying it again, but its true! To the best of your ability think out what you might like to eat each night - what dish or ingredient might work more than once. You do not need to stick to this plan, feel free to swap nights or even rework the menu with what you have on hand. Think of everything you need to make these meals and make a list of the ingredients. Take this list with you to the store and STICK TO IT! The more you do this the less often you will forget to buy ingredients needed throughout the week's meals.

2. Stick to your grocery shopping schedule. If you forget to buy something on grocery day, you know (and I know) you are not going to run into the store and buy ONLY that ingredient. You will see something delicious on sale and buy it, or think that good looking bunch of flowers would look nice on the table. This is not going to keep you on budget, try and eat what you have at home. If you forget to pick something up, see if you can make it work without it.

Grilling chicken for lunches, red sauce for the freezer, and soup for dinner!

3. While cooking dinner think, "is there anything I can prepare quickly to eat tomorrow or the rest of the week?" I like to prep snacks to have on hand. There is nothing better than wanting something to nibble on and already having it ready! While you are cutting veggies for a dinner cut a few extra to have with dip and make more salad for lunch the next day. When waiting for dinner to finish cooking put together a quick fruit salad, no work the next morning!

4. I always plan out how many meals I can get out of cooking once. What leftovers will this give me and how can I reuse them? Can this be frozen and served with something else for a new twist next week? Meatloaf makes great sandwiches, I will make it on a Monday so my husband has something healthy and cheap to take to work for lunch. Same with chicken; if I am already grilling two breasts why not just add two more and have a nice salad or wrap the next day? Besides, packages of chicken come in 4 more often than 2! I find having a variety of different sized Tupperwares on hand is a great way to save different portion sizes. I like these from Rubbermaid! Best part is the lids snap together and stack to save room in the cupboard!

Christmas Present from the Husband

5. Even though you are only cooking for 1 or 2 doesn't mean cut all your recipes in half. Similar to the tip above, why cook multiple times when you can just make something once (and do the dishes once too)! I love to make family sized batches of soup and sauce and freeze them. My meatballs usually last us 2-3 months! Much better than those frozen meals in the freezer section!

6. Freeze! Buy or cook or bake in bulk whenever you can and freeze it! Most meats can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and foil, tuck into a Ziplock bag and it will stay good for 6 months. This is a great thing to take advantage of when chicken goes on sale buy one get one free! Also good for making large batches of beans in a crock pot or leftover from a can. Just toss into a Ziplock bag and freeze flat, easy to break off however many you need.

I hope these tips will help you save money and time! I sometimes screw up, or am just too tired to cook. When all else fails you can ALWAYS make breakfast for dinner!

Roasted Stuffed Mushrooms

This is an easy and quick meal that makes plenty for leftovers! Hearty, healthy and flavorful you will be making this one again!  Using ingredients we normally have on hand makes this even easier. I first saw this printed in Everyday Food, my changes are below.

White Bean Stuffed Portobellos

Serves 2 (with leftovers for 2)

Ingredients

4 large portobello caps (stems removed)

1 tsp lemon zest

1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can cannellini beans, drained

2 tsp fresh thyme 

1 Cup bread crumbs

1/2 Cup feta cheese crumbles

1 bag baby spinach

Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl combine 2 Tbsp olive oil and 2 Tbsp lemon juice, brush over each side of the mushroom caps, season with salt and pepper, place stem side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. Flip and drain any juices from sheet pan. Reserve two mushrooms for tomorrow's lunch.

In a saucepan heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat, saute garlic for 1 minute. Add beans, thyme, lemon zest and 1 cup water. Season with salt and pepper, stirring occasionally until liquid is almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. 

Top each mushroom half with a handful of spinach leaves, then 1/4 cup of bean mixture, layer of feta cheese and top with breadcrumbs. Drizzle mushrooms with remaining olive oil. Return baking sheet to oven and roast until breadcrumbs are golden, 5-10 minutes. Serve with a spinach salad and garlic chiabatta toast. 

For your leftover lunch, warm bean mixture and mushrooms. Top a spinach salad with sliced mushrooms and feta. Top a couple slices of toast with the warmed bean mixture.

OCD Cutting Board

This REALLY made me laugh today, so I'm sharing it with you guys!

You can find it here if your need to make carrots into perfect 1/4 inch dice compels you!

Mushroom, Pepper, and Potato Frittata

This is a wonderful and easy dish to make for company, a quick dinner, or to use up leftovers from the fridge. Feel free to swap out the ingredients for what you have; add spinach, veggies, cooked meat, etc. Also warms up great the next day in the toaster oven!

Mushroom, Pepper, and Potato Frittata
serves 6


Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
2-3 red bliss potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 pepper thinly sliced
1 clove garlic minced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
5 large eggs
5 large egg whites
1/2 cup whole flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a medium (10-inch) nonstick oven proof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add onion, potato, and peppers; season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Cover skillet, and cook 10 minutes; uncover. Add garlic and cook, tossing mixture occasionally, until onion and potato are tender, about 5 minutes.


Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, egg whites, parsley leaves, with salt and pepper to taste.
Add remaining tablespoon oil to vegetables in skillet. Pour egg mixture into skillet. Cook on stove, over low heat untouched for 2 minutes. Cook for about 10 minutes longer, lifting mixture a few times around the edges with a spatula to let egg flow underneath. Continue cooking until frittata is almost set in center.

Heat broiler with rack set 4 inches from heat.Sprinkle cheese over the top of the frittata. Place skillet under broiler; broil until frittata is set and top is lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Run a clean spatula around edges to loosen, then slide frittata out onto a serving plate, and cut into wedges.Serve with a mixed green salad and fruit.

Mushroom and Chicken Orichette

This dish is a staple in our house, some people may turn to cereal on nights they don't want to fuss in the kitchen, I turn to this. It is an easy meal, and there are no end to ways to sub out ingredients for what you have on hand. Use defrosted shrimp in place of chicken, add some spinach, spring vegetables would make a nice prima vera. If you don't have wine or choose not to cook with wine it comes out just as good. The recipe below is based on my measurements, it is not perfect, it even gets better with tweaking. Its an easy recipe to make your own, and impress friends and family!

 

Mushroom and Chicken Orichette
Ingredients
Serves 2

1 boneless chicken breast, split
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbs butter
pinch red pepper flake
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 lb Orichette pasta, cooked (any small shape works well)
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
fresh chopped parsley (optional)
grated Parmesan cheese(optional)

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook chicken, you want it to be golden on the outside. Remove chicken from the pan, slice and reserve. Add the remaining olive oil and butter to the pan. Once butter melts add the garlic and red pepper flake. Once garlic is starting to become golden, add mushroom. When mushroom are cooked add sliced chicken back to the pan, turn heat up to medium high and add wine. Cook about 3 minutes, then add the cooked pasta and toss to coat. Serve with parsley and cheese if desired.

Party Favorite - Taco Salad Dip

I can't remember a summer cookout at my parent's house that didn't have a Taco Salad Dip. Now that I have made it myself for a girls night I understand why! Its comes together quickly, its cheap, and it tastes amazing! Make this for game day, or like I did, for friends getting together!

The more level you can get your layers the better!

Taco Salad Dip
Serves a crowd


Ingredients
1 package cream cheese
1 8 oz. bottle taco sauce
1 12 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 2/3 cup home cooked black beans)
1 medium head romaine lettuce, shredded
1 8 oz. package montery jack shredded cheese
3-5 jalapeno pepper slices
1/2 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, chopped

Let the cream cheese come to room temperature in a mixing bowl. Pour entire bottle of taco sauce over this and beat with mixer until well combined. Spread mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 9" pan or similar sized container. Layer the black beans, tomatoes, and lettuce. Finish with the cheese. Garnish with chopped jalepanos. Let this sit in the fridge for about 1 hour before serving. Serve with tortilla chips and a spoon!

A couple of things to note, this is not a make ahead dish. It comes together quickly and can sit for about 1-2 hours before being served, it will get soggy if served the next day. If you want more spice try adding some hot sauce to the cream cheese mixture. This does well in a square glass container with no slope to the sides. You want to layer the ingredient level, it looks so pretty this way! While I don't recommend serving to guests the next day, save it for yourself, it still tastes good!

Toffee Pretzel Brownies

Do not lick the computer screen...get your own!

I was asked to bring a dessert to the Superbowl party we were attending. Now our friends are not exactly football fans, this was more a time to hang out and get our food on! I decided brownies were going to be the way to go, but I didn't want to just make regular chocolate brownies, so I stepped it up a bit by adding Heath Bar chips and crushed pretzels to the top before baking! These were such a hit, at one point our host asked if anyone would judge him for eating another one, his fourth!

I did cheat and use a boxed brownie mix, in my opinion they just come out better! I used a half sheet pan for these, using two Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Brownie mix. After greasing the pan reserve 1 cup of the batter, pour the rest in and spread around. Sprinkle the top with 3-4 cups crushed (but not coarse) pretzels and toffee chips. Drizzle the reserved batter over this, it helps the keep all the pieces in place. Bake according to recipe on box. Stack with parchment paper inbetween layers. Let the diners be amazed!!

The wonderful Sweet as Sugar Cookies has asked me to be part of her Sweets for a Saturday blog! Swing over and check out all the good things she has collected!

Pasta e Fagioli

  

It has snowed and snowed, and then snowed some more over the last month. When it gets cold there is nothing that warms me better than a hearty soup or stew. I came across this recipe in Martha's Everyday Food magazine. I had been saving it for some time, and what a perfect opportunity to make it! Most ingredients I have on hand all the time, and it makes enough for leftover for a day or two. Hot, flavorful, and hearty - perfect for curling up on the couch with a movie or in front of the fire!

Pasta e Fagioli

serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil

3 celery stalks, small dice

2 carrots, small dice

1 small sweet yellow onion, small dice

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

1 pinch red pepper flakes

1 tsp dried oregano

1 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 15.5 oz can canellini beans, drained

2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 Parmesan rind (optional) 

1 Cup small uncooked pasta, I used ditalini

1/4 Cup grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

In a medium heavy pot, like a dutch oven or pasta pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add celery, carrots, onion, and garlic. Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flake. Cook until vegetables are soft, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add oregano, tomatoes, broth, and Parmesan rind (if using). Increase heat to medium high and simmer until liquid thickens, about 5 minutes. Add pasta, partially cover pot, and cook for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is done. Add in beans until heated through. To serve remove cheese rind, serve with grated cheese. 

Shrimp Corn Chowder

Is the winter's storms getting you down? Need something warm to cuddle up with while you celebrate not having to work? I have just the winter dinner for you to try! Its easy to make (always good when you want to couch it on your day off) and inexpensive! While I would usually freeze soups that yield this amount, this one doesn't freeze well, so make sure you are in the mood for several corn chowder lunches!

Shrimp Corn Chowder
makes 8 servings


Ingredients
1/2 sweet yellow onion, small dice
1 large or two small Idaho potatoes, 1 inch dice
2 cans no-salt-added creamed corn
1 Cup milk (do not use skim, but any other percentage will work)
2 Tbsp butter
salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp fresh or 1/2 Tbsp dried parsley
4-5 raw shrimp per serving 


Place onions and potatoes in a pan and just cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil. Remove lid and salt, cooking about 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Add both cans of creamed corn and heat through. Add the milk and butter and heat again, do not let this boil. Once the chowder is hot through taste and adjust your seasoning. 


Because there are only two people in my house hold I will not add the shrimp to the whole batch of chowder, I will cook it in individual servings. Peel the shrimp and rough chop them into 1/2 inch pieces. While chowder is hot and ready to serve stir in the amount needed for servings and let cook about 3 minutes, til opaque and pink. Garnish with parsley. 

You always want large pieces of lettuce for a Caesar salad

I served this up tonight with a big Caesar salad. My quick trick for croutons is to use up any crackers or left over bread you have hanging around. I used a focaccia cracker broken into smaller pieces. If you want to make your own croutons toast cubes of day old bread sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt, pepper, and garlic. I have not attempted my own dressing, maybe later this year!