Pecandies (Candied Pecans)

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 8 oz. pecans (about 2 cups)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS:

• Combine egg white, water, and vanilla and beat until slightly foamy.
• Add pecans to egg white mixture and coat well.
• Combine sugar, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg in a plastic bag.
• Lift pecans out of egg white mixture with a slotted spoon and put into bag; shake to coat well.
• Pour pecans onto baking sheet lined with parchment, greased foil, or a silpat; spread out evenly.
• BAKE at 300ºF for 15 minutes, then stir, then bake an additional 10 minutes.
• Let cool, and serve!

NOTES:

• Great on salads or as a snack.
• Be careful, they are very difficult to stop eating once you start!!!
• If you double the recipe, bake for a total of 40 minutes, stirring at 15 minutes into the baking, again at another 10 minutes, and finish baking for the remaining 10 minutes.
• Perfect for Christmas gift treats! (My family begged for more one Christmas).

Black Bean, Corn and Veggie Salsa

I got this recipe from a former colleague. I've been in love with this salsa ever since the first bite! It is most certainly not an ordinary salsa since it does not have a tomato base. I believe some may call it comparable to a cowboy salsa. This salsa is a dice, toss in bowl and mix kind of easy! It is perfect to have at home or take to large parties. 

Black Bean, Corn and Veggie Salsa

Ingredients:

2 cans black beans

2 cans shoe peg corn

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 red onion

1 small container of Feta cheese ( 4 oz.)

1 bottle of Newman’s Own Oil and Vinegar salad dressing

Directions:

Dice all veggies and place in a very large mixing bowl. 

Drain and rinse black beans and shoe peg corn then add to the mixing bowl. 

Add the feta cheese.

Add the oil and vinegar salad dressing. 

Mix together and set in fridge to chill before serving**. 

Serve with tortilla chips.

Notes: 

My recipe makes A LOT! Recipe may be cut in half. In fact, if you are serving a smaller group I would recommend that. BUT...Leftovers do freeze well. 

**Best to prepare the night before and let chill overnight. If you are short on time or don't have enough refrigerator space, at least let it chill for several hours (maybe 4) to get the greatest flavors. The longer it sits, the better the flavors congeal. 

Shoe peg corn is a white corn and is found in the canned section of the grocery store. It holds up better than kernel corn. 

Mousse Au Chocolat (Chocolate Mousse)

Mousse au Chocolat

The summer of 1995, our French exchange student, Élodie called up her dad in Paris, got this recipe from him, and I've been making it ever since.  One of my favorite desserts.  Looks and tastes fancy... and only 231 calories per serving!

INGREDIENTS:

• 4.5 ounces (10 Tbsp) semisweet chocolate
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, separated

DIRECTIONS:

• Melt chocolate in double boiler or in small sauce pan over extremely low heat, stirring constantly.  Set aside to cool.
• Meanwhile, separate the eggs.  Set yolks aside in separate dish.
• Beat the egg whites until firm (stiff peaks).
• Stir the water and vanilla into the chocolate, then add the egg yolk and combine thoroughly.
• Fold the egg whites into the chocolate slowly until completely combined; should be fluffy but a little runny.
• Pour the mixture into four separate dessert dishes (the size of individual casserole dishes), I used 8-oz (approx.) stainless prep bowls.
• Chill in refrigerator for 2-4 hours before serving.
• Garnish with chocolate chips, chocolate shavings, sprig of mint, raspberries, or your creative choice!

NOTES:

• Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days, covered.

Spaghetti Sauce

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp dry basil
• 1 tsp dry parsley
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder (or 6-8 cloves fresh garlic, finely chopped)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup dark balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 quart (24 oz.) canned tomatoes + their juice
• 1 cup water
• 12 oz. tomato paste
• 1 pound cooked ground beef

DIRECTIONS:

• Sauté basil, parsley, oregano, garlic, and onion in the olive oil until the onion is translucent (5-10 minutes).
• Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to very low and simmer the sauce for 1-3 hours to let the flavors combine properly.

Notes:

• Serve over your favorite al dente pasta or use in a lasagna.
• Freezes very well!

Homemade Garlic Rosemary Crutons

Homemade Garlic Rosemary Crutons

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 thick slices of that (previously posted) homemade crusty bread, diced (equals about 3 cups)
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1-2 tsp garlic salt
• 1/4 tsp ground dry rosemary

DIRECTIONS:

• toss the bread cubes & seasonings in a medium-size bowl
• slowly drizzle on the butter while tossing the bread
• BAKE at 300ºF for 1 hour on baking sheet lined with parchment paper

A great way to use your leftover homemade bread!  Impress your family and guests with a salad they'll never forget (all because of your handmade crutons)!

Garlic Chicken and Rice Salad

Garlic Chicken and Rice Salad

In our house we like rice. There are days when I want a quick meal and what do I toss together? Rice. Rice and chicken. I really like white rice with onion and mozzarella cheese with or without chicken. Well, as the days go on I try to make rice fancy. By that I mean more tasty. After all, colorful foods are the best foods. 

For this recipe, I used the multi-grain medley minute rice. This rice is hearty and crunchier in style than white rice. I added our household staple veggies of peppers and onion. I also happened to have a tomato and that acid brings the dish together. Of course, who doesn't love cheese! I topped mine with shredded mozzarella. My counter part used grated parmesan. If I would have had some smoke gouda in the fridge I would have used that! So pick the cheese of your liking but I do think a white cheese would be best. 

This recipe is perfect for feeding 2-3 people. Depending on your taste buds, this recipe may be served hot or cold. Steam up the veggies or leave them raw. 

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup onion

1/3 cup red pepper

1/3 cup green pepper

1 vine tomato

1 cup rice

2 chicken tenderloins

1 dollop garlic

2 tsp olive oil 

Salt

Trader Joe's Everyday seasoning

Shredded Cheese

Directions:

1. Dice the onion, red pepper, green pepper and tomato. 

2. Cook the 1 cup of rice. 

3. Dice the chicken, season with salt and trader joes everyday seasoning. On medium heat sauté the chicken in minced garlic and olive oil. 

Choose A or B...

A. Cold Version - Mix the veggies, chicken and rice in a bowl.  Toss some shredded cheese on top. 

B. Hot Version - Mix veggies and rice with the chicken. Then heat over the stove for a few minutes. Lastly, add shredded cheese on top.

Tips:

I've noticed this medley rice takes longer to cook than what the box says - at least in the pampered chef rice cooker that I have. About 2 minutes longer. The wild rice in this minute mix doesn't crack open and get all fluffy. It could be the quality of the wild rice or the water vs rice and the way it's cooked. However, the rice tastes good - hearty and crunchier. 

If you don't have trader joe's everyday seasoning, you may use your choice of shaker pepper. I do love using the everyday seasoning! 

Pictures from cooking...

Homemade Crusty French Bread

INGREDIENTS:

• 7 tsp active dry yeast
• 4 cups bread flour
• 1 1/4 cup water (115ºF)
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger (you won't taste it; yeast loves ginger)

• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp salt

Dough Conditioner:

• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

DIRECTIONS:

• put the yeast into a medium sized (2-quart) bowl.
• use a candy thermometer to measure the temperature of the water; most recipes say anything warmer than 112ºF will kill the yeast, but in my kitchen, I've found that the yeast likes between 115º and 119º; but maybe my thermometer's broken?
• pour the water into the bowl over the yeast and wait for the yeast to dissolve; will slightly bubble and look something like this (after about 10-15 minutes in a warm place; inside an off oven is a good place, or on top of a gas stove turned off, of course):

• add 2 cups of the bread flour and the ginger and mix thoroughly (bread flour has more gluten in it, which makes for a more elastic, softer bread, very important.  you can also buy gluten flour to add to the recipe, which I have yet to try, but it is said to make the bread even fluffier and more artisan in texture); this is called the "sponge method" and will start out looking something like this:

• at this point, let the mixture ferment for 4 hours (or, at least 2 hours, and up to 12 hours overnight; the longer the better); again, inside the oven is a great place to set the bowl; after about 30 minutes the mixture will double in size and look something like this:

• the longer it ferments, the larger the bubbles may become; and it will eventually deflate a little (and if you ferment it overnight, the mixture will become a little crusty and dry on top; don't worry, this is normal):

• then add the rest of the ingredients, including the dough conditioner items, and combine thoroughly.
• then tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough for 5-10 minutes, adding extra flour if the dough is too sticky.
• cut the dough in half, shape each half into long, thin loaves, and place on a baking sheet lined with foil, a silpat, or slightly oiled; (a silpat is my favorite).
• place the loaves into the oven (or other warm place, no need to cover) again to rise (oven turned off still), for about an hour or two.
• remove the raised loaves from the oven, and make short slashes into the top.
• BAKE at 425ºF for 35 minutes.
• place the loaves on a rack to cool; this prevent sogginess.

TIPS:

• never let salt touch the yeast while the yeast is dissolving, it will kill the yeast; water that is too warm will also kill the yeast; water too cool won't dissolve it properly.
• kneading method: fold the top side of the dough into the center and push down; turn the dough slightly, and repeat.  or look up a video on the internet.
• kneading is extremely important to the bread making process; it helps make the bread soft and elastic by utilizing all that good gluten in the flour.
• when the bread is done baking, it should have a nice hollow sound when you knock on the outside with your knuckles.
• fresh-baked bread is best eaten on the same day it is baked; the next day, and the days after, it is considered stale.
• save all stale bread to make: french toast, croutons, bread crumbs, or to feed wildlife.

*Thank you to my Chef-brother-in-law for giving me most of these tips.