Candy Brandy Pecans

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar
5 tbs brandy
2 tbsp Gingerbread Spice Mix
10 oz-bag whole shelled pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. 

Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with non stick spray.

Melt butter in sauce pot on medium heat.

Add brown sugar, brandy and Gingerbread Spice Mix, cook for 1 minute until bubbly stirring constantly.

Add pecans and stir until all coated.

Spread out in an even layer on cookie sheet with rubber spatula and bake for 20-25 minutes stirring several times throughout.

Remove from oven to cool and in medium bowl combine:

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp Gingerbread Spice Mix

Pour pecans in bowl and stir until all coated with sugar mixture. 

Let cool completely and store in airtight container. I put mine in decorative mason jars for Christmas gifts. This would also be good for birthday gifts, hostess gifts, parties, baby showers, Thanksgiving snacks, mother’s day gifts, and father’s day gifts

 

 

This recipe is being shared at Foodie Friends Friday

 

Homemade Breadcrumbs – Because it’s too easy not to!

You know those pesky ends to the bread no one eats? Or when you have a toddler who is on a kick of I won’t eat the crust on my sammich!? What a better way to make use of those left overs is to make them into bread crumbs. Throughout the month I toss ends and left over bread scraps into a bag in the freezer and once a month I get out the food processor and the frozen bread and go to town for the morning making bread crumbs. I freeze them so they don’t get moldy before I am ready to use them. You can make plain ones or seasoned ones just like you can buy in the store. But the best part is you make them with natural ingredients and they types of herbs and seasonings YOU like. You are not limited to what is supplied in the supermarket. This could not be a simpler project to take on, in fact my 2 year old loves to whirl the food processor in what he thinks is his all acclaimed part of helping in the kitchen 😀

INGREDIENTS:

• Left over bread ends, scraps, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, whatever bread product you have that you won’t use.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to  375 degrees F.
2. In a food processor tear up bread and pulverize until consistency you like for bread crumbs. I generally use a medium to smaller consistency. 
3. Line a sheet pan with foil and toss about 2 cups worth of the mixture (which for me is 1 container full from the food processor) onto the sheet pan.
4. Bake for   12 – 15 minutes.
5. Watch it your first time to make sure they don’t over cook. I have made extra crispy ones and the flavor was not all that great. 
6. Halfway through the baking process I toss and break up the bread crumbs to ensure a nice even browning.

 

ITALIAN SEASONED INGREDIENTS:

• 2 teaspoons dried ground thyme
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried ground oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried ground basil
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or to taste)

ITALIAN SEASONED DIRECTIONS:

Follow the steps above for the plain crumbs, except before placing in the oven toss with the ingredients above.

You can create whatever seasoning suits you. I make a lot of Italian food, so this is my go to mix.

Store in an airtight container or zip lock bag in freezer for several months.

Cornbread Toaster Bites

This is it…all the ingredients needed for this recipe, only 9 of them! Love easy, love convenient, love quick & YUMMY!

Do you remember the days when your mom was making homemade cornbread and as it was baking away in the oven and the odor of that sweet corn traveled through the house and made its way to your room? You emerge from under a pile of clothes that has been strewn about your room for weeks even though your mom has asked you to pick it up every time she walks by, to see what was for dinner. I love cornbread in many things and with many things. Now that the weather is getting cooler I can’t think of anything better than to get cooking on finding a new use for them.

I have had cornbread for lunch and dinner…how about breakfast? I can’t remember a breakfast that I have had that included fresh-baked cornbread. The vest part about this recipe is it is quick to assemble and a quick bake for the morning. You can get up throw everything together and bake. When you make you can eat it right as it is out of the oven with melting butter and drizzled honey and a few sprigs of freshly toasted rosemary leaves! You will not be able to stop at 1 piece!

Since this makes an entire sheet pan, you most likely will have left overs. Pop these in the toaster in the morning and repeat the process of butter, honey and rosemary. Enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea and you are in sweet cornbread bliss.

NOTE TO SELF: If possible get a plate, put your feet up and zen out!

INGREDIENT LIST

1 stick butter, melted
1/2 c + 2 T sugar
2 eggs
1.5 t vanilla
1 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 c + 2 T cornmeal
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 c milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. and
In a medium-sized bowl mix together the melted butter & sugar.

Stir in the eggs and vanilla.

Add the baking powder, cornmeal, flour & salt. Mix until everything is moistened. 

Add milk & mix until smooth

Line a 10″ x 15″ baking sheet with 1/2″ sides with foils and a piece of parchment paper. Spray a little non stick cooking spray on the parchment and throw a small handful of cornmeal over the top (this is optional) Pour your batter onto the parchment paper and spread it out over the entire sheet, getting it in each corner. If the mixture is uneven just give the cookie sheet a couple shakes to even it out.

Bake for about 25 minutes. The edges should be brown & pulling away from the side of the pan & the top should be set and not jiggly.

Allow to rest in the pan 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into. This helps keep the shape you want for making the taster bites. Using a sharp knife cut into individual pieces. 

Store the toaster bites in plastic wrap or in a re-sealable bag in the refrigerator. For longer storage keep them in freezer bags in the freezer.

 

 

Shown on Foodie Friends Friday!

Zucchini Fries

That moment in the day when you’ve realized you haven’t taken anything out for dinner, it’s too late to un-thaw anything…now what? Luckily I have a large zucchini from my mom’s garden on the counter, because I don’t know what I’m going to make with it, but THAT is dinner tonight! 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup fine whole wheat bread crumbs 
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
salt/pepper
3 tbsp Italian garlic and herb seasoning
2 eggs
1/2 lemon or lime juiced
2 med sized zucchini, washed, sliced into fries

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. In one dish combine whole wheat bread crumbs, panko, parmesan cheese, pepper flakes, poppy seeds, salt/pepper and Italian seasoning. Mix well until all combined.
3. In a second dish combine 2 beaten eggs and juice of 1/2 a lemon or lime.
4. Take a cookie sheet and line with foil drizzle olive oil over it.
5. Take zucchini pieces and dip in egg mixture, then dip in bread crumb mixture.
6. Place on cookie sheet and continue until all are coated.
7. Drizzle olive oil over top of zucchini fries and place in oven for 25 minutes turning 1/2 way through or until fork tender. 
8. Serve hot and dip in Chipotle Ranch Sauce.

My kids and hubs HATE and I mean HATE zucchini. I have tried so many ways to get them to eat it, by disguise by coating it, by any means possible. They won’t have it and some…(clearing throat) hubs, won’t even try it anymore. Ok, it’s either my cooking or he just doesn’t like it. Since I KNOW I am a good cook, I prefer to think the latter of the two 😀

I decided to hurriedly cook these so that my kids wouldn’t see what I was doing.  Chopping, washing, dipping, and coating in a serious hurry. A mess? YES! But I was unseen by the kids, whew! I will trick them into calling these yummy things into veggie fries! Yes, I’m a genius, VEGGIE FRIES!

I get them all cooked and set out nicely on a plate and sit them on the table and continue with the rest of the meal. My younger son, Max comes in and sees the plate and asks, is it dinner time? I say, in a minute. He sees the plate on the table and I hear him mumble…MMMMM. I am thinking ok, I wonder what he thinks these are right?! My daughter comes in and say OH what are these, my first instinct is to say they are fries, ok I go with it..FRIES I reply. WAITING…WAITING….finally, she says can I try 1? I say, sure! She takes a bite and I hear it again…MMMMM. Inside my head I am SO doing the happy dance. She says, these are good, but I don’t think they are fries. I say, well they are veggie fries. She says ok, I like them. Now out of all the kids, her and my other son I mentioned before, Max are the ones that are going to HATE these. So I am feeling really good right about now. I call everyone now to the table, excluding the hubs, he is working. They all try the veggie fries and devour them in nothing flat. I didn’t even have time to get out the dipping sauce. I ask them, so…were the veggie fries good? My oldest son, Chris says ya, I really liked the zucchini. IMMEDIATELY I am like WHA? Wait SSSSHHHHHH! the rest of the table says, MOM, we knew they were zucchini. I guess I’m not nearly as smart as I think I am at concealing  the fact this was zucchini, but I was pretty smart to come up with a recipe that finally was a hit for the picky ones in  my home. Not 1 crumb, not 1 zucchini bite left standing. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!