Sweet and Spicy Nuts

With my husband being deployed, I am constantly looking for new recipes of treats to send him!  This is something I sent him around Christmas time, and his friend requested I send more. I thought I would post this now since I failed to around the holidays. I make these every year, and everyone loves them! You can go lighter or heavier on the red pepper, and if you don't have pumpkin pie spice or chai spice (I never have either) you can mix your own, or just do cinnamon with a pinch of nutmeg. The recipe says to bake at 275, but I always end up baking it longer, and sometimes at 300, otherwise it never gets solid enough to break apart and stays sticky.

Sweet and Spicy Nuts


1 large egg white
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice or chai spice blend
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 cups assorted mixed nuts
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 275.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.Whisk the egg white with 1 Tbs. water in a large bowl until frothy. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, salt, the spice blend and cayenne pepper. Toss the nuts in the egg white mixture, then stir in the sugar-spice mixture and Worcestershire sauce.

3. Spoon the nuts onto the prepared baking sheet in small cluster and bake until golden, 30-35 minutes. Cool completely, then break into pieces.

Cilantro Lime Tuna Salad

Okay, so almost every sunday I make tuna salad, and keep it in the fridge for a busy day. It makes a fast lunch or dinner, it's good on toast, in a sandwich, on crackers (I love it on Triscuits with feta cheese, I think it grosses my husband out, but I love it), in a wrap, or as a tuna melt. I usually keep it simple..tuna, minced onion, chopped celery, dried dill, salt & pepper, and just enough mayo to hold it all together. But today I was wanting something a little different. So I went online, and found a recipe that appealed to me on Epicurious, called "Crunchy Tuna Salad". I used the idea for the dressing, however I didn't have the jicama or celery that it called for, so I changed it up a bit, and it turned out fantastic! It was a nice change from the traditional tuna salad, and it had such a bright flavor! The next time I make it, it will be going into a panini with tomato and monterey jack. So here's the recipe...

Cilantro Lime Tuna Salad


12oz can of solid white albacore tuna
5 Tbs. mayo
3 Tsp. dijon mustard
a good squeeze or two of lime juice
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 Tbs. minced red onion

Mix mayo, mustard, lime juice, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Taste to see if you need more lime, salt or pepper. Mix drained tuna, pepper, onion. Add dressing.

Raisin & Oat Scones

I got this recipe out of Everyday Food.  I'm not sure what I was expecting before I made these. They turned out good, but not what I expected. I really liked that the recipe called for whole wheat flour since most of the time I substitute at least half whole wheat. I did not add the fennel seed, I wish I would have, I think it would have given them that special something. Next time I make these I will use a combination of golden raisins and dried cranberries, or use all dried blueberries. If you are like me and hardly ever use buttermilk, there is a dried buttermilk powder you can buy. It comes in a can, that you can refrigerate after using some of it. You add a few tablespoons to milk and it works the same as buttermilk. These come together quickly, so they would make a good weekend breakfast.

Raisin & Oat Scones:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
3 Tbs. packed dark-brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
1/2 cup raisins or dried cherries
2 tsp. fennel seed (optional)
3 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, oats, raisins, and fennel seed, if using. In a small bowl, whisk together butter, egg, and buttermilk until combined, then add to flour mixture. Stir until batter is evenly moistened-do not over mix! Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls, 2 inches apart, onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, 15 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through. Let scones cool on a wire rack, 5 minutes.

Cheesy Chickpea and Sesame Crackers

First of all, my apologies for neglecting this blog...again! The last 6 months have been rough for my husband and I...had surgery, moved closer to family after he got orders to deploy, and have had continuing issues, however I am back home now! The hubby isn't due home for awhile yet, but I hope to be able to post some stuff in my free time (haha).

With that said, here is my new recipe!

I found this one recently and thought it sounded tasty, and the fact that is only had two steps made it all the more appealing since my time is limited these days! Thought I would give them a test run, and if they turned out good I would send some to the hubby, thought it would be nice to send something different for a change...and he will be receiving these!! They are quick to make, the longest part is the baking, which takes about 30 minutes.

Cheesy Chickpea and Sesame Crackers

1 can (15.5-16 oz) chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

3/4 tsp coarse salt

3/4 tsp ground pepper

1 1/2 cups flour, plus a little more for dusting a surface

5 Tbs cold unsalted butter (I used salted, but went a little light on the salt then)

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1 egg white

2 Tbs white sesame seeds

1. Preheat oven to 350, with racks in middle and lower third of the oven. In a food processor, pulse chickpeas until coarsely chopped. Add coriander, salt, pepper, flour, and butter and pulse to combine. With machine running gradually add 3 tablespoons cold water until dough forms a ball. Add parmesan and pulse to combine.

2. Divide dough and form into two 1-inch thick disks. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each disk to an 1/8-inch thickness. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. With a knife, cut into 1-by-3-inch rectangles and place 1/2 inch apart, on two parchment lined baking sheets. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let crackers cool on sheets, then transfer to airtight containers and store at room temperature, up to two weeks.

Homemade Raspberry "Pop Tarts"

Okay, so I'm a little behind on blogging. Life, and my gallbladder-which I recently had removed, have been getting in the way! But after a slow recovery, I am getting back into the swing of things and have been cooking again!
This past weekend I was feeling a bit ambitious, and decided to try this recipe I found in Bon Appetit magazine for "Pop Tarts".  I thought it sounded like it would be a pain, but it was much easier than I anticipated, and they turned out so great that they are worth the work! They also seemed time consuming, but most of the time spent is the dough chilling in the fridge, and then the freezing before baking. Recipe called for strawberry preserves (preferably homemade organic...I didn't have that much time...) but I had raspberry (Smuckers), and they are just heavenly. Any fruit preserves would work. These are so much better than the crap you buy......!!!

Homemade "Pop Tarts"

2 cups plus 2 Tbs. all purpose flour, plus additional for shaping and rolling
1 tsp. coarse kosher salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 Tbs. ice water
12 Tbs strawberry (or any fruit) preserves

Whisk 2 cups plus 2 Tbs. flour, coarse salt, and sugar in large bowl. Add butter. Using fingertips or back of fork, blend in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. add ice water by the tablespoonfuls, tossing until moist clumps form. gather dough into ball. Divide in half; shape each half into disk. Wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour.

Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment. Working with 1 disk at a time, roll out dough on floured surface to about 13x11 inches. Trim to 12x10-inch rectangle, then cut into eight 5x3-inch rectangles.

Arrange 4 rectangles, spaced apart, on each sheet. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons preserves in row down center of each rectangle. Top preserves with second dough rectangle. Using fingertips, gently press all edges of each tart to seal; press all edges with tines of fork to double-seal. Using toothpick, poke a few holes in center of top dough rectangle. Cover; freeze tarts on sheets at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 375. Bake frozen tarts uncovered until golden, reversing sheets after 15 minutes, 25 to 30 minutes total (some preserves may leak out). Immediately transfer tarts to rack. Sift powdered sugar light over. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies

I almost always use the recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies that is provided on the oatmeal box, but I found this recipe and stuck it in my recipe binder. My mom is out here visiting since I recently had surgery and we decided to make these. In the middle of making these, we realized we did not have enough brown sugar, so we improvised, and they turned out awesome!  So I am posting our version of this recipe since they turned out so good!

Oatmeal Craisin Cookies:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbs. molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups oatmeal
1 cup craisins (or you can use 1/2 craisins, 1/2 raisins)

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter, shortening, and sugar until well blended. Add the eggs, molasses, and vanilla, and blend well. Blend flour, baking soda, and cinnamon, and add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Add the oats and craisins. Stir until meed well. Drop rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Confetti Pancakes

As many of you may already know, my husband recently found out that he passed his test to become a Staff Sgt! We found out first thing in the morning, and had to celebrate! So I made pancakes that I jazzed up with some jimmies, and they were a huge hit with everyone!

Homemade Confetti Pancakes:
1 egg
2 Tbs. vegetable oil or melted butter
3/4-1 cup milk
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup flour
2 Tbs. sugar

1/4-1/2 cup sprinkles aka "jimmies"

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Whisk together milk, oil or butter, and egg. Mix both combinations together and stir just until mixed. Stir in sprinkles aka "jimmies"
Preheat your griddle, it is hot enough when you drip a few drops of water on and the quickly "dance" and bubble away. For medium sized pancakes, drop about 1/4 cup of batter onto the griddle.  (For small pancakes, pour about 2 Tbs onto griddle) Cook until cakes are full of bubbles on the top and the undersides are lightly browned. Turn with a spatula and brown the other side. Place on a warm plate in an oven at 200 to keep warm until all are done and ready to serve.
*You can make these with some whole wheat flour.
*For blueberry pancakes, add 1/2 cup blueberries. *For any other fresh fruit, sprinkle a pancake with diced fresh fruit before you flip it.