Brant's Nuts

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 whole egg whites at room temperature
1 pinch salt
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups whole raw almonds (or any other nut you choose)

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Melt butter, place in jelly roll pan.
Beat egg whites with salt until frothy. Gradually add sugar, beating to stiff peaks.
Fold in cinnamon and nuts.
Pour mixture onto jelly roll pan, toss with butter.
Bake about 40 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes, until nuts are crisp.
Serve warm or at room temperature. Store cooled in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

If At First You Don't Succeed.......

I had the idea to put all my web pages, including blogs, onto Pinterest. No problem til I tried to pin my food blog. A photograph was required, so here is a favorite of mine, taken by me when I was visiting in Utah prior to Christmas 2012. This delightful little fella is my grandson, Grant Montgomery Cowart, baking Christmas cookies with his dad, my son Josh.

Love Pizza*

(Pizza Dough for 2 thick-crusted or 3 thin-crusted pizzas)
Take racks out of oven, then preheat oven to 250 degrees, turning off oven after reaching temperature.
1.5 c very warm water in a large mixer bowl
add:
1 T dry yeast
1 T olive oil
1/2 to 1 t salt
1/3 to 1/2 c sugar
stir in 2.5 c all-purpose flour, 1/2 c at a time. Do this with electric mixer.
Add 2.5 more cups of flour, a little at a time, either with kneading beater if using mixer, or by hand. Knead til soft and springy.

Place dough in a Pammed bowl and turn dough over once to grease both sides. Cover with a towel and place in warm oven. Let dough rise til doubled in bulk, or about 1.5 hours.

Take risen dough, place on floured or Pammed counter, punch dough down and divide into two or three portions, depending on crust thickness desired. Cover dough with towel and let rest for 20 minutes.

Pam pizza pans.

Roll out each dough portion and place in Pammed pan. Let crusts rise for 30-45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425. Prebake crusts individually on bottom rack. Watch carefully, as you only want to prebake until bottom crusts are barely tan.

Spoon sauce generously, followed by light layer of mozzarella cheese. Then load on your favorite toppings, followed by a generous layer of mozzarella and optional pizza spices.
We like fresh mushroom slices, sliced bell pepper, sliced Vidalia onion, spicy Jimmy Dean pork sausage (precooked, of course) and pepperoni.

Sauce recipe:
Hunts tomato sauce
Italian season
Pepper
Garlic powder.

Spices should be added to taste. If you have time to do so, bring prepared sauce to a boil and allow to thicken. Or just ladle it on as is.

Bake til browned and cheese bubbles nicely. Remove from oven and allow to set for a few minutes. This will help the sauce to cool enough to eat. Enjoy! This recipe is rather time-consuming, but it is Love Pizza* after all, which makes it worth it!

*Pizza made with love especially for your loved-ones

CHICKEN DIVINE

2-3 c. cooked, cut-up, boned chicken breast
2 pkg. froz. broccoli cuts or a bunch fresh broccoli, cut up

1 c. mayonnaise
3 cans cream of chicken soup
2 T lemon juice
½ t curry powder
pepper
paprika
Parmesan cheese


Cook broccoli, being careful not to overcook. Drain thoroughly. Lay in bottom of 9x13 pan. Lay cooked chicken on top of broccoli. Sprinkle generously with pepper and paprika.
Mix mayo, soup, lemon juice and curry powder until smooth. Pour on top of chicken. Sprinkle generously with paprika and Parmesan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 min. or until bubbly. Let stand 10 min. before serving. Makes 8 servings

Cornbread Dressing like Nanny's

2 onions
3 stalks celery
1 stick of butter
Corn Bread
32 oz. salt free broth
salt to taste, as needed
1 tsp. pepper
3/4 tsp. thyme

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Chop the onions and celery. Melt butter over med. heat in a large sauté pan. Add onions and celery cooking slowly until tender but without browning. Crumble cornbread into a large baking dish. Add the sautéed vegetables, broth, and spices. Your mixture should be fairly “soupy.” Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the dressing is golden brown on top and cooked throughout.

Scramble

3 c. each of Cheerios, Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, Corn Chex
4-6 c. pretzels (can be sticks, twists, bits or a combination)
Goldfish (opt.)
Cheez-its
2 lbs. salted mixed nuts
2 cups canola oil
2 T worchestershire sauce
1 T garlic salt
1 T seasoned salt

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Combine all but last four items in a large roasting pan. Whisk together oil, worchester sauce and spices. Pour over dry ingredients and mix gently. Bake for two hours in the oven, stirring every 15 minutes, until aromatic and crispy.

OLIVE GARDEN ZUPPA TOSCANA

Makes: 6-8 servings
• 1 lb ground Italian sausage
• 1½ tsp crushed red peppers
• 1 large diced white onion
• 4 Tbsp bacon pieces
• 2 tsp garlic puree
• 10 cups water
• 5 cubes of chicken bouillon
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
• ¼ of a bunch of kale
Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain and set aside.
In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic for ap.15 mins.
Mix together the chicken bouillon & water, then add to the onions, bacon & garlic.
Bring to boil.
Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated. Stir in the sausage.
Add kale just before serving. Delicious!