Barbeque Roasted Nuts

These Barbeque Roasted Nuts would be a nice addition to any get together over the holiday weekend. Equally at home for watching baseball, having a grill out or evening cocktails. The original recipe calls for mixed nuts but I used peanuts, why? Say it with me now... because that's what I had on hand-right:@)

They're a little salty, a little sweet and mildly spiced. 

Barbeque Roasted Nuts-from The Kitchen Is My Playground

3 C mixed nuts

1 egg white

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/8 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1. In a small bowl combine salt, sugars, paprika, garlic powder, mustard, cumin and ginger, mix well.
2. In separate bowl whisk egg white until it's foamy. Add nuts and toss to coat.
3. Add spices and toss to coat. I transferred the nuts to a dry bowl with a fork to leave behind extra egg white before adding the spices.
4. Spread out in single layer on foil/parchment/silicone cover baking sheet. If using foil spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray.
5. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes stirring occasionally.
6. Cool on wire rack and store in an air tight container.

Notes: 

1. I forgot to spray the foil before I poured the nuts on it, I do recommend spraying it or using Reynolds Release, silicone or parchment so the nuts don't stick. 
2. You might want to hold out some of the salt and sprinkle it on top of the wet nuts after they're poured onto the baking sheet for a little salty bite.
3. I might try bumping up the spices under paprika and adding some cayenne the next time just for fun.

Have a happy day:@)

No Bake Lemon Cream Pie with Blueberry Topping

This Lemon Cream Pie is great for warm weather because it doesn't require baking and is light (as in "not filling", not in calories-sorry:@). And if you choose to use a canned pie filling for the topping you don't even have to heat up the stove. The whipped cream mellows the lemon pudding nicely, this really was a new and different dessert for me-we loved it!

I have to give the Dollar Tree another shout out, they had the Keebler crust and frozen blueberries!
I think the soft and creamy pie filling is good enough to be served as is, without fruit,
or that you could substitute any other type of berry for the topping.

Lemon Cream Pie with Blueberry Topping
Pie:
1 C heavy cream
1 package of Jello Instant Lemon Pudding (4 serving size)
3/4 C milk
1 graham cracker pie crust

1. Beat heavy cream until it turns into fluffy whipped cream.
2. In separate bowl mix pudding and milk, whisk together well.
3. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding and pour into pie shell. Smooth top.
4. Cover with plastic wrap touching the top of the pie and chill for at least 3 hours (longer is better).

Topping:
2 C blueberries, fresh or frozen
Juice from half a lemon
3 Tblsp sugar-add more if you'd like to
1/2 C water
4 tsp corn starch

1. Place berries, sugar and lemon juice in pan and heat until they thaw if frozen and begin to give off juice.
2. Mix water and corn starch.
3. Once the berries start to gently boil add the water/cornstarch and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until thick. It will get even thicker when it cools.
4. Spoon cooled berries over top of pie or into a serving bowl and let folks add as much as they'd like.

Have a happy day:@)

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Refrigerator Pickled Onions and A Bloggy Blooper

As we're heading into Memorial Day Weekend and the official start of grilling season, here's a tasty recipe for Pickled Onions my friend Carol adapted from Michael Symon. It's great with any grilled meat and especially on top of hamburgers. In hindsight (which is truly an amazing thing) using a red onion would have been best for pictures... But I like the flavor of sweet yellow onions. So I thought I'd add the ingredients to distract you from the blinding whiteness of this pic. Oh yea, I'm clever like that:@)

This recipe will fill a half pint jar, it can easily be increased. 

I'm guessing a half pint would be enough for 6-10 burgers. 

Refrigerator Pickled Onions
1 baseball sized onion, cut into 1/4" thick rings, then cut each ring in half (or quarters)
1 small bay leaf
1 small clove garlic, peeled and left whole
1/2 C water
1/2 C vinegar, either white or cider-I used white
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp mustard seed
3 black peppercorns, optional

1. Fill jar or bowl with sliced onion (use any that won't fit for something else), bay leaf and garlic.
2. Bring all the rest of the ingredients to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes.
3. Pour over onions and let sit out until it cools off. You'll have a little more brine than you need, try to spoon the mustard seed and peppercorns out and into the onions. 
4. Cover with a lid and store in the fridge.
5. Can be eaten once it cools off but is best by day 2.

Spice up your BBQ and have a happy day:@)

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Went Junkin! Red, White and Blue Corelle

Just in time for the summer holidays I found a set of 4 Corelle dinner plates and dessert plates with a red and blue border! They were $5 and will be my every day dishes from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

I'm sure they'll make my grilled hot dog taste even better:@)

Have a happy day!

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Seasonal Sunday

Lily of the Valley

April showers bring May flowers,

goes the nursery rhyme.

Coming home from work today,

the fragrance was sublime.

Gotta fill a vase and enjoy,

missing out would be a crime.

I see some weeding in my future,

really must take the time:@)

Stop to smell the flowers and have a happy day!

Chicken, Jalapeno and Black Bean Soup

Did you know that jalapenos can be tamed, I pinky swear it's true:@) And once tame the majority of us would really like the flavor they add. This Chicken, Jalapeno and Black Bean Soup is a great way to use up a few extra jalapenos from the big bag you get at the produce store!

I will say I find store bought jalapenos milder than ones grown in home gardens.

Don't know why that is, it's just an observation (same goes for radishes...)

How a fully cleaned jalapeno should look: 

The seeds have some heat but most of it is in the membrane. A melon baller works great!

Chicken, Jalapeno and Black Bean Soup-adapted from Old World Garden Farms
1 Tblsp olive oil-maybe a touch more if needed
1/2 lb chicken tenders cut into small cubes-I just used a boneless breast
Pinch of S&P for the chicken
1/2 onion diced
3 stalks celery diced-I came up short and added some celery seed
3 cloves garlic crushed
1/2 green pepper diced
4 C chicken stock
1 clove garlic minced
3 jalapenos sliced-mine were large and cleaned very well
1 tsp garlic salt-I used a pinch of kosher salt
3/4 C rice or ditalini pasta-I used half rice and added some rinsed canned black beans
1/2 tsp black pepper
Chicken Better Than Boullion, optional-just to bump up the flavor if desired, I added some
1 Tblsp cilantro, finely chopped

1. Sprinkle chicken with S&P then brown in olive oil.
2. Add onion, celery, crushed garlic and green pepper, saute for 3 minutes.
3. Add minced garlic, stock, jalapenos and salt. Bring to a low simmering boil.
4. Add rice or pasta and pepper, let simmer for 7 minutes or until rice/pasta is cooked. I used long grain rice and it had to cook longer.
5. I didn't see any notes about the cilantro, my guess is, it should be added towards the end of the cooking time, when there's maybe 5 minutes left. I forgot about it and sprinkled it on at the end.

Eat well and have a happy day:@)

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Great Grilling Accessories-Pig Alert!

Memorial Day is less than two weeks away so I thought I'd nose around the net looking for fun grill accessories... They had some beauties!

Now, I'm not saying you have to have one of these Piggy Bottles for your BBQ Sauce... 

but all the cool kids do:@)

I love this BBQ Accessory Organizer! It can be attached to the grill or a picnic table.

How many times have we tried to turn shish-ka-bobs over only to have the food spin on the skewer and the already cooked part stays "down" on the grill? These Grill Comb Skewers sound like a great solution!

My son gave me this fun Jalapeno Rack and Knife for Mother's Day, I look forward to using it!

And for the guy that has everything there's...

The Grill Master Grill Apron, he'll be the envy of the neighborhood:@)

Just for giggles:

Have a happy day:@)