Spiced Nuts

Andrew and I went out to The Wine Shop last weekend. They served great spiced nuts. I tried to remember everything she told me was in them.

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh diced rosemary.
6 cups mixed nuts

Line a pan with foil.

Toast nuts in a skillet over medium heat. Place nuts on lined pan.

Melt butter in skillet. Stir in brown sugar and spices. Stir until a glaze forms. Stir in nuts. Continually stir for 2-5 minutes until nuts are well coated and there isn't much glaze left in the pan.

Spread glazed nuts on pan. Break apart any clumps. Cool until sugar sets. Store in air tight container.

Smoked Artichokes

Artichokes. tips trimmed and fuzzy choke removed (here are good instructions on preparing the artichokes)
Water
Steamer pot with basket
Smoker

Place about an inch of water in the bottom of your steamer pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Stand artichokes in basket. Place in pot. Cover. Simmer for 25 minutes. Rinse off with cold water. Dry upside down on paper towels.

Prepare smoker. Smoke artichokes for two hours. Remove and enjoy!

Fruit Dip

1 pkg 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temp
1 jar marshmallow fluff
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine above ingredients in blender. Scrape into bowl. Enjoy with fresh fruit.

Pimento Cheese Straws

2 containers Augusta's Pimento Cheese

3/4 cup Butter

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream together pimento cheese and butter with a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. To the creamed mixture add baking powder and slowly add flour until all ingredients are blended together. Place dough into a pastry bag with a star tip. Pipe two inches of dough. Repeat until out of dough.

Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on wire rack.

Coconut Pecan Chicken Tenders

1 package chicken breast tenderloins, cut each tenderloin in half

1 cup pecans

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 tbsp Tsar Dust Memories Russian Style Seasoning

2 eggs, beaten in a small ramekin

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Pulse pecans, coconut, breadcrumbs, and seasoning in a food processor until well combined and chopped fine. Pour mixture in a shallow bowl.

Dip chicken in egg then crumbs. Place in dish. Repeat until all chicken is coated.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until done.

Italian Chicken Meatballs

1 pound ground chicken
1/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons dried chopped oregano

2 eggs
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablespoon ketchup
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon Sandwich Sprinkle

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 350. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.

Mix above ingredients by hand in a large mixing bowl.

Using a cookie scoop make into balls.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Eat alone or simmer with your favorite pasta sauce.

Almond Crescents

1 can crescent rolls

Almond Paste

Powdered sugar

Divide crescent rolls into triangles. Spread 1 tbsp almond paste on each crescent. Roll up dough.

Bake according to package directions.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top.

Sweet Chex Mix

Recipe Adapted From One Lovely Life

I hope I have some left by the time it is dry. Makenzy keeps sneaking handfuls.
1 box Multi Grain Chex
1 box Cinnamon Toast Crunch
2 cups unsweetened coconut
1 cup slivered almonds
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups brown sugar corn syrup
3/4 cup butter
1 tsp almond extract

Combine cereals, coconut, and almond in a large bowl.

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in almond extract and pour over cereal mixture. Toss to coat well.

If packaging to give away, or if you don’t want it quite so sticky, spread Chex mix out over parchment or waxed paper to dry. Allow to dry up to 8-12 hours before packaging.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

6 cups baby spinach, chopped

1 block fat free cream cheese, cubed

1 8 oz container fat free sour cream

1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tsp garlic salt

Combine above ingredients in crock pot. Heat for 4 hours on low, stirring occasionally.

Cinnamon Nuggets

Recipe from Southern Living December 2008
3 tbsp melted butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 roll refrigerated thin crust pizza dough

Preheat oven to 400º.

Cut dough into 1 1/2- x 2-inch pieces; place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with butter.

Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle dough pieces with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Bake at 400º for 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Cheese Bites

Puff Pastry

Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 tbsp All Whites

I used scraps from the Wellington for this too. So I didn't list cheese amts.

Roll dough into a square. Cut dough into 2 x 2 inch squares. Place about a tsp of cheese in the center of each square. Brush edge with All Whites. Fold Dough to form a triangle. Crimp edges with fork. Brush top of triangle with All Whites.

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Spinach Pinwheels

Pinwheels are in center of dish

Puff Pastry Dough (I used scraps from wellington. But you can start with a whole sheet.)

Fresh Spinach, chopped (I used a handful. If using a whole sheet use 1 cup)

Shredded Mozzarella

Sandwich Sprinkle

1 tbsp All Whites

Roll dough into a rectangle. Brush with All Whites. Spread spinach evenly over dough leaving 1/2 inch on one of the short ends. Lightly sprinkle cheese on top. Sprinkle Sandwich Sprinkle on top. Tightly roll dough from small end with filling. Wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze 40 minutes. Slice about 1/2 inch thick.

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Beer & Cheddar Fondue

2-1/2 cups extra sharp cheddar, grated
1-1/2 cups swiss, grated
1 tablespoon flour
1 bottle beer
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dried mustard
few drops of Tabasco sauce

Combine cheeses and flour in a bowl and set aside. Bring beer to a slow boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer. Slowly stir in cheese mixture; stirring constantly. Once cheese is fully melted add in Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and Tabasco. Transfer to a warmed fondue pot.

Blueberry Salsa

Recipe from Southern Living July 2010

2 cups blueberries, coarsely chopped

1 cup blueberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 seeded & diced jalapeno peppers

1 diced bell pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Combine above ingredients in a bowl. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Whole recipe = 3 points

1/2 cup = .75 points

Roasted Blue Cheese Figs

2 figs
2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 400.

Remove stems. Slice figs in half. Sprinkle blue cheese on top.

Bake for 25 minutes.

Makes 1 serving: 2 points

Roasted Chickpeas

3/4 cup chickpeas (I make them in the slow cooker. You can also use a can.)
Olive Oil Spray
Seasoning

Preheat oven to 400.

Spray a small casserole dish with olive oil cooking spray. Spread chickpeas in bottom of dish. Spray tops with olive oil. Sprinkle desired amt of seasoning on top. Shake pan around. Add more seasoning if needed.

Bake for 15 minutes. Shake dish. Bake an additional 15 minutes.

3/4 cup (made from dry beans) = 3 points

Roasted Artichokes

The picture below is the first two artichokes from my garden. Woo-hoo!You need:
Artichokes
Lemon (1/2 per artichoke)
Seasoning (I use Sandwich Sprinkle)

I went to this website to figure out how to prep the artichokes for roasting.

After the artichokes are prepped follow the steps below.

Preheat oven to 425.

Place one artichoke on a large piece of foil. Squeeze 1/2 a lemon over the artichoke. Make sure you spread the leaves out so the lemon juice goes inside. Sprinkle with seasoning. Wrap foil around artichoke. Place in a dish. Repeat with remaining artichokes.

Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

I just ate these plain. They didn't not need any dips. The flavor was wonderful!

0 points

Pepperoni Bread

1 loaf frozen bread dough
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 egg, beaten
6 slices provolone cheese
Pepperoni

Let dough rise according to package directions.

Combine egg and Italian seasoning.

Roll dough into a rectangle.

Brush egg mixture on dough (save a little).

Cover with pepperoni and cheese slices.

Fold in sides about one inch. Roll dough into a loaf shape. Put back in loaf pan. Brush remaining egg mixture on top.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

Oven-Fried Onion Rings

1/2 cup flour, divided
2 cups pretzel crumbs (70 small pretzels)
4 handfuls kettle chips, crushed
2 medium onions, sliced in 1/2 inch rings
3/4 tsp black & red pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 450.

Combine pretzel crumbs and kettle chips in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl whisk together 1/4 cup flour, pepper, buttermilk, and egg.

Place remaining 1/4 cup flour in another bowl.

Dip onion in flour. Tap off excess flour. Drop into buttermilk mixture. Use a fork to lift and allow excess batter to drip off. Drop in crumbs. Use fingers to cover entire onion with crumbs.

Spray a sheet pan with cooking spray. Bake 10 minutes; flip. Bake an additional 10 minutes.

Note: We made one white and one yellow onion to see what we liked better. We liked the white one better. It has a stronger flavor.

Garlic Whipped Brie

1 wheel brie
Pinch of garlic salt

Remove rind. Place in mixer with paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed until brie is light and fluffy. Add garlic salt. Mix until well combined.