Spiced Nuts

Look, something without chocolate!  Something spicy - even just a half a teaspoon of Cayenne gives 4 cups of nuts a nice amount of heat - watch out if you're feeding these to kiddos.  My mom always has a bowl of nuts on the counter during the holidays, and this is a fun way to kick them up a notch, as Emeril would say.  It is his recipe, after all.    

M Loves M Guest Post ~ Favorite Healthy Snacks

by Mara at M Loves M...

Hi everyone!  My name is Mara and I blog over at M Loves M.  I'm so happy to be here guest posting for Siri as she's busy welcoming her baby into the world.  Siri has been such a great blog friend since the beginning and I'm so excited for her and her growing family : )  This baby is going to be so loved, and fed a lot of amazing food!  I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite, easy and healthy snacks with you today:

Growing up in California I've always loved avocados.  I've found that they are extremely delicious with goat cheese so my favorite little concoction is mixing 1 avocado with 2 ounces {or more if you like!} of goat cheese.  Spread that on some whole wheat bread and it's delicious!  If you're going to take it to work, or give it to the kids, add a tiny bit of lime so that the acid prevents the avocados from turning brown.

Greek yogurt is so rich and creamy, it's almost like a dessert.  While I eat ice cream a few times a week {maaajor sweet tooth over here!}, on the other nights I'll have some greek yogurt with fresh diced strawberries and honey.  It's so satisfying! 

As we're getting into fall I'm starting to make this roasted nut recipe that my Dad created.  It's always at my parents' house and it's the perfect midday snack because it's so flavorful!  To make: roast almonds for 10-15 minutes depending on size {turn and check frequently}.  Once toasted add olive oil, salt and lots of rosemary.  Make sure you have enough olive oil on to make the salt and rosemary stick.  For 1 cup of nuts I used a little less than 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 tablespoon of salt {you can always add more!}, and 2 tablespoons of rosemary {because it's so good!}.  

For the apples I cut them open, scoop out the centers, fill with peanut butter and top with granola.  So easy and so yummy!

These snacks are really easy and healthy, too.  If you try them let me know what you think!  I'm sure there are a bunch of great variations on all of them, as well.  Thanks for letting me keep you company today!  Feel free to stop by my blog and say hi anytime : )

Peach and Pecan Ice Cream

For the final day of Peach Week, I'm over at The Post Social with a delightful new ice cream recipe.  If you are a fan of sweet and savory, you will love, and if you are a fan of wonderful blogs, you must go to TPS and stay awhile.  They "postmark" great blogs from across the web, as well as create original content - everything from food, fashion, beauty, even something for the kiddos and the dudes.  

Hope you enjoyed Peach Week!  And Zucchini Week!  Next week is just going to be a week, ok.  Just a regular old week.  I hope you're ok with that friends.      

My Rules for a Great Chopped Salad

I'm a big fan of chopped salads, or garbage salads as I like to call them - basically an unattractive name for a salad with everything in it.  It's the easiest way to empty the produce from your fridge and it makes a great lunch, dinner side or even a main dish if a protein is added.  But I have some rules.  Oh yes, I always have rules.  Ask me sometime about the handbook I wanted to write as a child about The Etiquette of Christmas Lights.  Yup I named it that.  Ok onto my salad rules...

1. SIZE: Nothing bothers me more than a salad with giant pieces of lettuce (wedge excluded), or long, chunky pieces of vegetables that need to be cut with a knife.  Salads are meant to eat with a fork (like this).  So it matters to me that everything is proportional and roughly the same size...

2. HERBS: You know when you're at a restaurant and you're eating a great salad and there's that ingredient that's making you say, "what IS that??"  It's probably fresh herbs.  Basil, cilantro, mint, etc. - they can turn a good salad into a great salad by making everything taste fresh and vibrant.  My go-to is always freshly chopped basil.

3. CRUNCH: Texture is very important to me in a salad.  Some lettuces and vegetables offer a nice crunch but I need more than that.  I need nuts or croutons or crushed tortilla chips.  My go-to is toasted pine nuts.  I love their nutty flavor and of course, crunch.  

4. CITRUS: Carson's mom always squirts fresh lemon juice over her salads in addition to dressing, and now it's something I always do too.  Much like herbs, citrus adds a vibrancy and freshness to the salad and brings out all the flavors of the vegetables.  

5. DRESSING: I usually make my own dressing.  It's much less intimidating than it seems, and I'm sure you have the ingredients at home.  Olive oils, balsamic vinegars, mustards, herbs, garlic, etc.  You can mix and match just about any of those and come up with an excellent dressing.  Click here for what I've done in the past.

Fall Salad

My friend Katy introduced me to the BEST.SALAD.EVER.  She made it this past weekend while our moms were in town visiting, and because I spaced and didn't take pictures of it, I decided I had to remake it.  Of course I didn't have any of the right ingredients for the salad, but for the dressing I was set.    Balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, chopped shallots, olive oil and maple syrup.  I could bathe in the stuff.  Why is there an 'E' at the end of bathe?  I hate that.  Recipe found here.

Pesto Green Beans

Do you ever buy green beans in a bag?  Oh you don't??  Oh you hand select them and wash and trim each one??  Oh.  You're better than me.  Well, I occasionally (all of the time) buy the pre-washed, pre-trimmed beans in a bag.  So there.  And they're delicious, especially if you make them all fancy.  

Last night I melted a tablespoon of butter in a skillet, added a Dorot cube of garlic and a cube of basil (if you can't find these miracle cubes, you could use minced garlic and finely chopped fresh basil, about a teaspoon of each) and 1/4 cup of pine nuts.  I sauteed that until the pine nuts started to toast...

Then I microwaved the bag of green beans for 3 minutes (you heard me) and threw them into the skillet, tossing them until they were coated with the butter/herb/garlic/pine nut mixture.  A little salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese on top - Pesto Green Beans.  The perfect shortcut side.