Spiced Pecans

Whenever I buy a huge bag of pecans from Costco, I almost always make Spiced Pecans with half of the bag. They're always tasty, freeze well, and perfect to give away to family/friends. Plus, they're super easy to make and make our home smell absolutely devine! I've been making spiced pecans using the recipe from Cooks Country for a while now, but realized I never shared the recipe on my blog! So I'm sharing the recipe now :o)

Spiced Pecans

(Source: Cooks Country)

2 large egg whites

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons salt

2 pounds unsalted raw pecans, cashews, walnuts, or whole unblanched almonds

1 1/3 cups sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ginger (omit if you don't like ginger)

2 teaspoons coriander (omit if you don't like coriander)

Adjust oven racks to upper­middle and lower­middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites, water, and salt in large bowl. Add nuts and toss to coat. Drain in colander for 5 minutes. Mix sugar, cinnamon, ginger, and coriander in large bowl. Add drained nuts and toss to coat. Spread nuts evenly on prepared baking sheets and bake until dry and crisp, 40 to 45 minutes, rotating and switching position of baking sheets halfway through baking time. Cool nuts completely. Break nuts apart and serve.

***NOTE: I always stir the pecan mixture every 10 minutes while they're baking to prevent them from burning!!!***

Shish Kebabs

Until this year, I've never grilled anything in my life. I've usually had Dr. Sweetpea grill all our food. However, since he's so busy with Cardiology Fellowship, I've been grilling our food and I absolutely love grilling now! It's super easy to do and I have dinner on the table in about 30 minutes. Plus, I absolutely love the smell of food grilling and looove hearing the sizzling sound as soon as the meat hits the hot grill. Anyway, I decided to try another kebab marinade for our dinner and it was wonderful. This is another keeper recipe for us! 

Shish Kebabs

(Source: All Recipes)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon coarsely cracked black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 pounds lean beef, cut into 1-inch cubes

Mix of vegetables cut into chunks (We use zuchinni, summer squash, and bell peppers)

Whisk the vegetable oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, black pepper, and salt together in a bowl; pour into a resealable plastic bag. Add the beef, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and seal the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight.

Add the vegetables into the bag, coat with the marinade, squeeze out excess air, and reseal the bag; marinate in the refrigerator another 8 hours.

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate. Remove the beef an vegetables from the marinade, shaking off any excess liquid. Pour the marinade into a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes; set aside for basting.

Thread pieces of vegetables and beef onto metal skewers, repeating until all ingredients are skewered.

Cook the skewers on the preheated grill, turning frequently and brushing generously with the reserved marinade until nicely browned on all sides and the meat is no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes.

TonKatSu

One of my favorite childhood meals is the Korean Pork Cutlet (TonKatSu). It's super easy to prepare and an easy weeknight meal. Plus, who doesn't love something that's fried? The pork is super tender and who doesn't love a crispy coating?! Dr. Sweetpea took one bite of the port cutlet and told me this needs to be in our regular rotation.

Korean TonKatSu

(My rendition after watching my mom make it for many years)

4 boneless pork chops (slice pork chops in half horizontally if super thick)

Eggs, whisked

Cornstarch

Panko 

Salt

Pepper

If the pork chops are super thick, slice them in half horizontally so they are about 1/2 inch thick. Then use a meat mallet to pound the slices of pork down to about 1/4 inch thickness. Salt and pepper both sides of the pork. Set aside. 

Dredge each slice of pork in cornstarch on both sides. Then dip both sides of the chops in the eggs. Dredge both sides of the pork again in cornstarch. Then dip both sides of the chops again in eggs. Then generously cover both sides of the pork with panko. Set aside. 

Heat about 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Pan fry the panko crusted pork chops in a hot skillet on both sides until they develop a golden brown color. Serve with rice and TanKatSu sauce. 

Cincinnati Chili

I'm a huge fan of eating a hot bowl of chili when it's cold outside. Unfortunately, it's warm in Houston for most of the year, so I rarely make chili at home now. However, I've heard so many good things about the Cincinnati Chili that I decided to make this for the Super Bowl. It does have cocoa powder as an ingredient but you barely taste it. This chili turned out amazing and Dr. Sweetpea really liked it too!!

Cincinnati Chili

(Source: America's Test Kitchen)

2 teaspoons table salt or more to taste 

1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck 

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

2 medium onions, chopped fine (about 2 cups) 

2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 teaspoons) 

2 tablespoons chili powder 

2 teaspoons dried oregano 

2 teaspoons cocoa 

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice 

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 

2 cups water 

2 tablespoons cider vinegar 

2 teaspoons dark brown sugar 

2 cups tomato sauce 

Hot pepper sauce 

Accompaniments 

1 pound spaghetti, cooked, drained, and tossed with 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter 

12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 

1 can red kidney beans (15-ounce), drained, rinsed, and warmed 

1 medium white onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup)

FOR THE CHILI: Bring 2 quarts of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the ground chuck, stirring vigorously to separate the meat into individual strands. As soon as the foam from the meat rises to the top (this takes about 30 seconds) and before the water returns to a boil, drain the meat into a strainer and set it aside.

Rinse and dry the empty saucepan. Set the pan over medium heat and add the oil. When the oil is warm, add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are soft and browned around the edges, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the chili powder, oregano, cocoa, cinnamon, cayenne, allspice, black pepper, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, water, vinegar, sugar, and tomato sauce, scraping the pan bottom to remove any browned bits. 

Add the blanched ground beef and increase the heat to high. As soon as the liquid boils, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chili is deep red and has thickened slightly, about 1 hour. Adjust the seasonings, adding salt and hot pepper sauce to taste. (The chili can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat before serving.) 

TO SERVE: Divide the buttered spaghetti among individual bowls. Spoon the chili over the spaghetti and top with the cheese, beans, and onion. Serve immediately.