Amy's Nana's Spiced Pecans

These are, in a word, scrumptious! My friend, Amy, shared her recipe with me and I loved them so much I wanted to share them with all of you. Crunchy, sweet, salty, roasted, nutty goodness ready for the holiday season. Perfect to give as gifts to friends, family, teachers and anyone else you think is extra special. Just be sure to keep a batch for yourself at home. With only a 1/4 cup of sugar per 3 cup batch, the kids can have a special snack without blowing their daily sugar budget. These are delicious alone or as a topping for pumpkin pancakes(just add 1/2 C. canned pumpkin puree and 1-2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice to your favorite pancake batter) or Greek yogurt. Happy holidays from my kitchen to yours!

1 egg white
1 TBS. water
3 C. Pecan halves
1/4 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cloves*
1/2 tsp. nutmeg*
1/2 tsp. cinnamon*

*I used 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice which also has ground ginger. Delicious! You could also add 1/4 tsp(or more) cayenne pepper to add a little spice to the season.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly coat a cookie sheet with non-stick spray or with aluminum foil. Combine spices and sugar in a small bowl and set aside. In a bowl, lightly beat egg white and water together. Add in nuts to coat. Then pour spiced sugar over the top and toss to coat evenly. Spread on the cookie sheet in an even layer and bake for 30 minutes. Stir once or twice while cooking to dry evenly. While warm, spread roasted nuts on a sheet of wax paper to cool.

Mommy's Secret Weapon--Revealed!

As a parent, you can't leave the house without being fully prepared for anything to come your way, even if it is just for a quick trip to the grocery store. I remember the days when I would check and recheck Jack's diaper bag to make sure I could handle ANY emergency. Diapers and wipes, check. Change of clothes, clean bib and burp cloth, check. Bottles, teethers, rattles-check, check and check. When he was old enough to eat snacks on the go, things got a little trickier. I have always been super careful about what I feed him and being in a hurry didn't qualify as an excuse to give him something less than healthful, but let's face it. It is hard to find a huge array of nutritious items that will keep well in your diaper bag without refrigeration(which doesn't last long in AZ) that will also satisfy your child without making a HUGE mess! Well, the answer to this is Just Tomatoes freeze dried fruits and veggies! I have been giving these to Jack since he was about a year old and now we are coming up on his 4th birthday and I am still never without these snacks for days on the go. Our favorites are the strawberries and bananas. These fruit and veggie snacks are sweet and crunchy and have absolutely no salt, sugar, or preservatives of any kind. They make it easy to make sure your child gets all the nutrition they need even when you can't be at home at snack or meal time. Just Tomatoes now offers conventionally grown or organic versions of their products. I purchase mine at Sprouts locally, but most health food stores stock them regularly. WARNING: Highly Addictive!

Shrek Soup

When I was a little girl, my mother used to make this soup. She called it Spinach and Broccoli Soup, but since my little boy doesn't want anything to do with broccoli, I had to give it a new name and puree it to hide the evidence. It worked and the soup was a hit! This soup is a nutritional powerhouse full of fiber and antioxidants that will keep your sweet little ogres healthy during cold and flu season. I like to serve it with grilled ham and cheese or on salad night in little coffee cups.

3 green onions, chopped
3 Tbs. butter
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, defrosted
10 oz. frozen broccoli spears, defrosted
24 oz. chicken stock
3 Tbs. flour
1 chicken bouillon cube
Pinch red pepper flakes
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg(or more to taste)
1/2 C. half and half
salt and pepper to taste

Saute green onion in butter until soft, but not browned. Add a bit of salt and pepper and mix well. Add other veggies, stock and bouillon cube. Cover and simmer for 5-8 minutes until heated through. Sprinkle with flour and stir well. Add half and half, nutmeg, pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer 3-5 more minutes. Add to blender or food processor and blend until fairly smooth. Serves 6.

You can even serve with a little parmigiano reggiano or other cheese to suit your taste.

A Thanksgiving Classic

While this isn't a typical Mommy Chef recipe, I wanted to share my closely guarded Sweet Potato Casserole recipe with all of you for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. It is a sweet and lightly spiced concoction of heavenly sweet potatoes and toasted pecans in lieu of your typical burned marshmallows. When it bakes up, it puffs slightly giving it a souffle-life appearance and texture. Seriously, this is so good, you can skip the pie and offer it as dessert! Just remember to cool for several minutes after it comes out of the oven so you don't light your guests up...literally! Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours.

Sweet Potato Casserole
3 C. mashed sweet potato(bake, cool and then peel)
1 C. brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. milk
1/2 C. melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 freshly grated nutmeg seed
OR 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Topping
1/2 C. brown sugar
1/3 C. all purpose flour
1/3 C. melted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 C. chopped pecans


Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and set aside. Then in a large bowl, combine all of the casserole ingredients and beat until smooth. Pour into a greased casserole dish and top with the nut mixture. Bake for 35-45 minutes until puffed and set and nuts are lightly toastedd. Serves many.

Mmmmm...Pot Roast!

Just in time for fall! I love making pot roast. It takes very little energy since the oven does all the work and it tastes like you have been slaving all day long. It is also a great opportunity to include extra veggies in your family's diet since they taste extra yummy covered in a simply pan gravy! This recipe is adapted from one that Emeril makes(so you know it is good!) and we love it so much that I don't deviate from the program....EVER! The best part about it is the simplicity of it and you can be as versatile as you like with the veggies you include, although we find that root vegetables are the most popular in our home. So if you like meat that is so tender it simply falls apart and melts in your mouth, simply mouthwatering gravy and perfectly roasted seasonal veggies then this is the recipe for you. It is perfect for Sunday dinner or any time you want a big plate of love!


1 4-5lb. chuck roast
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3-4 large carrots, cut into 2" chunks
1-2 lbs. of potatoes or other root veggies, cut into 2"chunks
2 stalks of celery, 2"s chunks
1 bay leaf
1 14.5oz. can of tomatoes(diced, whole with juice, or crushed)
1 bottle of beer(seriously, don't skip it, the alcohol cooks out)
1 14.5 oz can beef broth, separated
2 Tbs. all purpose flour
4-5 large cloves garlic, cracked and peeled
Sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
In a heavy saute pan, heat olive oil to nearly smoking. Meanwhile, generously salt and pepper the outside of your roast. Add to hot pan and brown well on all sides to lock in the flavor and moisture. Put roast into large roasting pan and place veggies and garlic all around the roast. Pour in 1 Cup of the broth(reserve the rest for gravy), the tomatoes,beer and bay leaf. Cover and put into the oven at 500 for 30 minutes. Then turn the heat down and cook for another 21/2-3 hours depending on size. Roast should be easy to shred when it is done.

Remove the meat from the pan and let it rest. Pour veggies and pan juices through a colander to pour juices into the same pan you browned the roast in. Set heat to medium high and bring to a simmer. Add in the remaining broth(and more if you want additional gravy) and sprinkle with the flour. Whisk until smooth and until thickened, about 3-5 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve roast with veggies and a portion of gravy. Mmmmm.....

Note: You can leave out the potatoes and serve over mashed potatoes, or our favorite, parmesan polenta for a little different take on it! Enjoy.

Honey Lime BBQ Chicken

I know I have mentioned that I really love Eating Well magazine. I even have several of their magazine covers framed in my kitchen that I have gotten scores of compliments on over the years. Recently, I discovered the yummiest recipe for bbq chicken(Eating Well's recipe pictured) that is not only easy and healthful, but super flavorful which is the most important thing to my boys. The honey and lime provide a sweet, tart and deliciously sticky glaze that turns any humble piece of chicken into a culinary treat. We like this recipe best using boneless chicken thighs. Try it and I promise you will want to eat it over and over again. Sometimes, I even make extra sauce and serve it with stir-fried veggies over brown rice. Delish!

6 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons freshly grated lime zest
6 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional-we usually leave this one out)
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Whisk marinade together to combine and pour into a gallon zip lock bag. Add chicken and gently massage marinade around it. Turn the bag occasionally and marinate for no more than 2 hours or the chicken can become stringy and spongy in texture from the acid.

Start your charcoal grill with the briquets on one side of the grill. When the grill is at medium heat(you can hold your hand above it for 5 count), place chicken on the unheated side of the grill and close the lid. Meanwhile, pour remaining marinade into a saucepan and reduce for about 8-10 minutes until thickened. Baste chicken a couple of times while on the grill. Grill for about 15-20 minutes(until chicken is still moist, but not pick in the middle), moving around the grill a bit to make sure each piece is cooked through.

Serve with my Mexican Street Corn and some buttered green beans to round out your meal. Serves 4-6.

No Recipe Required

Mashed potatoes are a staple in the American household and why shouldn't they be? They are inexpensive and easy to make. They are SUPER duper yummy and creamy and they go with nearly anything you can put on a plate at dinner time. One way to up the ante the next time you bless your family with a steaming helping of buttery mashed potatoes, why not include a bit of cauliflower? Cauliflower is a cruciferous vegetable like broccoli, kale and cabbage which contain loads of cancer-fighting properties, but unlike the others, it's milky white color makes it a perfect stowaway in mashed potatoes. It also contains huge amounts of vitamin C(1 Cup is 91% of an adult's RDA) folate, fiber and the list continues! The next time you make your taters, throw in about half as much cauliflower and make as usual. You will thank me and your kids who have declared war against this crunchy white veggie won't even know they cavorted with the enemy.

Mashed Potato-flower
Potatoes(cubed)
1/2 as much Cauliflower(cut into florets)
butter
milk or greek yogurt
salt and pepper
Parmeggiano reggiano or other cheese(optional)

I boil the cauliflower right along with the potatoes until everything is a little more than fork tender. Mash, mix or use a food processor to get your desired texture while adding in milk or yogurt, butter and salt and pepper. We like ours with a helping of parm cheese to give it a little bite and some extra calcium. Enjoy!