wafflez

Spiced Nuts

Adapted from Cooks.com

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pecans (or other nuts)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• coarse salt to taste (optional)
• 2 egg whites
• 1 tbsp water

Directions

Preheat oven to 300°F. In a bowl, mix spices and sugars. Set aside. Beat egg whites with water until frothy. Put nuts in bowl with egg whites and mix to coat nuts' surfaces. Add sugar/spice mixture and toss well with spatula. Spread nuts in one layer on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake for 30 minutes, shaking the pan or flipping nuts once or twice. Remove from oven. Toss nuts with any spices sticking to the bottom of the pan. Let rest for two hours before packing away.

tags: holiday, pecans, vegetarian
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Fruity Chicken

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp or more butter
• ⅓ cup flour
• 1½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp paprika
• ⅛ tsp pepper
• 2½-3 lbs chicken (about 2 packages)
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp honey or brown sugar
• 1⅓ cup (1 lb can) or more fruit cocktail, drained (reserve ½ cup juice)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°. In 9x13" pan, melt butter. In plastic bag, combine flour, salt, paprika and pepper. Shake to mix, then throw chicken in a few pieces at a time to coat it. Arrange chicken in pan, making sure butter coats both sides. Combine juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice and brown sugar and pour over the chicken. Bake for about 50 minutes, basting occasionally, then pour drained fruit cocktail over dish. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

tags: chicken, fruit cocktail
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Spinach, Tomato and White Bean Pasta

Adapted from EatingWell

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 cups chopped spinach leaves
• 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
• 1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• ½ cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• pasta (gnocchi, cavatappi or other fairly large pasta recommended)

Directions

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, put oil and onion into the pan and cook, stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes (add up to ½ cup water as needed). Add spinach and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cooked and drained pasta and sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover and cook until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling.

tags: beans, garlic, mozzarella, olive oil, onion, pasta, spinach, tomato, vegetarian
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Monkey Bread

Adapted from Pillsbury

Ingredients

• ½ cup sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cans refrigerated biscuits
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ¾ cup butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°. Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in a Ziploc bag. Separate dough into 16 biscuits; cut each biscuit into quarters. Put the dough-pieces into the bag with the sugar-cinnamon mixture and shake around so it's coated. Grease bundt pan, then put coated biscuit lumps into pan. Mix brown sugar and melted butter in a bowl; pour over biscuit lumps. Bake 28 to 32 minutes or until golden brown and no longer doughy in center. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Turn upside down onto serving plate; pull apart to serve. Serve warm.

tags: biscuits, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, dessert, sugar, vegetarian

Chocolate Kahlúa Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 box devil's food cake mix
• 1/3 cup Kahlúa
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs

Glaze

• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup Kahlúa

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and flour bundt pan. Mix all cake ingredients together, then pour into bundt pan. Bake approximately 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan, then put plate on top and flip. Poke holes in the cake with a fork or toothpick. Mix glaze ingredients together (adjust amounts to taste). Drizzle glaze on cake.

tags: butter, cake, cake mix, dessert, egg, kahlua, oil, sugar, vegetarian
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