Cinnamon Sugar Almonds... Or Really Any Nut Of Your Choosing

So most people during the holiday season think of cinnamon sugar nuts... They are a favorite of mine and I am sure most of you enjoy them well enough too... However... A little secret... I make them all year... What makes something a seasonal food anyhow... If you like it at Christmas or what have you... Why not any other time... I have already discussed how I do not label my foods into breakfast/lunch/dinner blah blah blah.... I too do not agree with seasonal foods... If I want soup in July so be it... I will have my soup... I will just turn the AC a little cooler while enjoying my yummy soup... Food is food and should be enjoyed any time of day and any time of year!!! Rant over! ***By the way this is an old picture and look there is a Christmas tree in the back ground... hahaha That is a rant fail... I should have taken a pic next to a palm tree.***

Ok so I love these little things but I wanted ones that did not use corn syrup... so I found a few recipes that used egg white instead... so this is an egg white recipe... They are not going to taste just like they do at the fair because most of those are made w/ corn syrup... but they do taste great nonetheless.

Cinnamon Sugar Almonds

1 egg white

1 tsp cold water

3 cups whole (raw) almonds

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 250 F... lightly grease cookie sheet (I line mine w/ parchment instead but you can do what you want).

In a large bowl lightly beat egg and water until frothy... do not over beat it to where it becomes stiff (ayyy watch it)... Toss in the almonds and stir (or toss if adventurous) to coat... Mix the cinnamon, sugan and nutmeg together and then pour into the bowl and mix until all almonds are coated... Spread out onto the baking pan.

Bake for 1 hour stirring occasionally until golden. Allow them to cool and store them in an air tight container.

Danish Butter Cookies

So here I am a year later looking at the recipies I promised and thinking to myself... It is about damn time to deliver... So I found an old picture on my phone of these cookies and the recipe is one I got from another fellow blogger so here we go... These cookies are a hit... They go super fast and melt away right in your mouth... They use a lot of butter so if you are a dieter... Don't make them (BUTTER IS THE KEY DO NOT TRY SUBSITUTION)... In fact if you are a dieter... You probably shouldn't be on this site at all... Just saying.

Real Danish Butter Cookies

Adapted from Gourmet, Dec 2008... Made from Orangette's blog 2009 and tons of times since ;)

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 lb unsalted Lurpak butter- at room temp for at least an hour

3/4 cup sugar

1 lrg egg- beaten

3-4 Tbsp coarse-grain sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 F and place the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven (Middle should have no rack- Come on people!!) Line two cookie sheets w/ parchment paper.

I am all for hand mixing... I do it on a lot of my recipies... This however is NOT one of the ones I hand mix...

In a bowl mix the flour and baking soda and set aside.

In a stand mixerbeat the butter until fluffy (I hate that term by the way... it makes me think of a cat or something... so just mix it until it is smooth and looks good). Add the sugar (NOT THE COARSE KIND) and beat to combine. Now add the flour mixture and beat to combine. ** Make sure you cover the top of your bowl while mixing... towel or plastic cover as the flour will get everywhere if you do not. The dough will seem crumbly but when you take it into your hand and squeeze it should hold.

Divide the dough in half between sheets of plastic wrap until about 1/8 inch thick) transfer (in plastic wrap, to a cookie sheet and refrigerate 30 mins. Remove from fridge and remove top layer of plastic wrap and cut dough into squares... arrange them 1 inch apart on a prepared baking sheet (if the dough becomes soft place in fridge or freezer to harden before transferring so the cookie does not break).

Brush the tops of the cookies very lightly w/ the beaten egg and sprinkle w/ coarse sugar. Bake the cookies 2 sheets at a time, alternating from top shelf to bottom and bottom to top halfway through baking. 12-15 minutes (until pale golden). Let cookie sit on cookie sheet for 5 mins after removing from over before transferring to wire rack to finish cooling. Cool completely. Only re-roll scraps once.

I know I have been neglecting you...

But I promise this week to post these recipes...

1. Alfredo sauce & Ravioli dough

2. Danish Butter Cookies

3. Cinnamon & Sugar Almonds

This coming Saturday I will be having a dinner party and I will try to post the recipes for everything I make... I am still working on the final head count so I can make my full menu... but when I have it I will let you all know. :D

Zuppa... Zuppa Tuscano...

Spicy Italian sausage... potatoes... bacon... Come on... What is not to love! I first fell in love with this soup at Olive Garden... I am not a fan of their salads so the waitress talked me into trying a soup... this is the one I chose...After the first bite my fate was sealed... I was in love with a soup... I had already started envisioning our future life together... laughing at family reunions... sitting around the dinner table with the family... special occasions (baby blessings & graduations)... it was like my life was finally complete...

After that first meal together it took a long time before we saw each other again... I thought for sure after spending so much time apart things would be different the next time... but no... we just picked up where we left off... it was as if no time had passed between our last rendezvous... When I left that night my mind was made... I would not rest until I found a way for us to be together...

I had tried many of times but everything kept falling through... Until one day... Christmas to be exact... I received a gift that made it possible to be together... a recipe book with the exact recipe I was looking for... Since that day we have enjoyed all the things I envisioned... I was not let down...

So here it is for all of you to try as well... Hopefully you too fall in love... But be warned it is addicting... and it gets better over time...

Zuppa Tuscano

1 lb spicy Italian sausage

1/2 lb smoked bacon, cooked and chopped

1 quart water

29 oz (2 14.5 oz cans) chicken broth

3 large potatoes, cleaned and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped (I am not an onion fan so I just put a teaspoon of onion powder)

2 cups kale, rinsed and chopped

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet brown the sausage, breaking it up as you cook it. Once meat is cooked all the way through drain it and rinse it well (if you do not rinse well the soup will turn red instead if the creamy white color). Cook the bacon in a skillet until fully cooked. drain the bacon and then chop it into small bite size pieces. Place water, broth, potatoes garlic and onion in soup pot and simmer until potatoes are tender. Add the sausage and bacon then simmer for 10 more minutes. Add the heavy cream, kale and salt and pepper. Heat through and then it is ready...

***FYI this soup tastes even better if it has had a while to sit... I usually will make it the night before whenever possible***

Dare I say it.... Shredded Beef!

I have always tried finding a decent shredded beef recipe so I could make shredded beef sandwiches... but they have always been too dry... or bland... or just plain Toss-it-in-the-trash-and-burn-the-recipe bad... So when I found this recipe I must say I was a little... ok a lot... skeptical. There were just so many things that made me nervous... first it uses no liquid of any type... second you don't have it sit in some marinade overnight... and third it cooks for 6-8 hours... so I was thinking... dry, bland and overcooked... but I read reviews and they all said the same... it was an amazing recipe one to keep in the family recipe book... blah blah blah... come on if so many people (3 lol) were giving it 5 star reviews it has to be good.... right?!

Well..... I tried it.... and.... yeah it was great... I dunno about 5 stars... but well up there... like 4.5 or something... if it was 5 stars I would have expected some fireworks or something to go off when I bit into the sandwich... **Note to self... Make for 4th of July**

Now I did not change anything in the recipe... so I am just going to put a link.... here ... for it. I would strongly suggest making it... BTW I just ate two sandwiches while typing this up... I told you I do not stick to the breakfast lunch and dinner guidelines. ;)

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Soup....

Yes Soup....

It has already started to snow so it is now officially soup weather in my book....

Though truth be told I could eat soup anytime of the year... I could eat most any food any time of the year... I do not like to box my food up in any way (well unless it is Chinese take-out) ... Hamburgers for breakfast... breakfast burrito for dinner... lunch works for anything really... I mean... is there really a strictly lunch category for others... I do not know....

But back to the soup... I fell in love with Chicken pot pie soup when I lived in Minnesota... This grocery store carried it and I used to get it quite often (multiple times a week to be honest)... I have never been able to find anything that tastes just like it... but this recipe comes very close to it so I have decided to post it for you all...

A last minute tidbit for you... It was not as thick (creamy) as I would have liked so keep in mind you might want to add more flour or some corn starch if you want it creamier...

*

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Adapted from recipe by Aaron McCargo Jr.

• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 quarts water
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, split
• 1 tablespoon bouillon flavoring
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 small white onion, diced **I used dehydrated chopped onion**
• 2 stalks celery, diced **I omitted this from mine but used celery seeds for flavor**
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Pinch sea salt (or Kosher)

Bring water to boil in large pot and add chicken bullion and let simmer until reduced by half.

Pan fry the chicken, onion and celery in butter and Italian seasoning until cooked all the way through.

Remove chicken and add flour mixing to make a roux. Pour the roux into the pot of chicken broth.

Also add the mixed veggies, chicken, heavy cream, potato pieces, salt and pepper. Simmer until potatoes are done, about 30 minutes.

I like to serve mine with buttery crackers or even biscuits... This helps to give it more of the pot pie flavor.

I will give it another go....

So many have asked why I have quit blogging in general... not just on my cooking one but on my personal blog... well let me shed some light on my cooking blog... I am really bad at taking pictures... What I mean is that as soon as I bake/cook my little yummy treats I always forget to take pictures before we eat them... Now I do not know if you all are like me but I need the picture to go along with the recipe... No one really wants to make/eat something that resembles a pile of poo... no matter how good it tastes... so here is my new resolution...

I WILL TAKE PICTURES OF MY TREATS/FOOD.....

I WILL POST ABOUT IT IF IT TASTES GOOD.....

I WILL DO ONE POST A WEEK.....

I WILL GIVE THIS ANOTHER GO!!!!!

**Please note this resolution does not apply to my personal blog... There I make no promises