This Gingerbread Spiced Nuts recipe is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

‘Tis the season…for so much, right? The holidays for my family feel very low key this year, and I have to admit, I kind of like it. Between a new baby and transitioning into a new house, there just isn’t much extra time (or let’s be honest, energy) for stuff that really isn’t all that important as it has been in the past. For example, our tree, our stockings, and a few decorations are up, but I am wondering what’s in the 3 other large plastic bins sitting in the garage marked Christmas and if I really need all that “stuff”. I’m not missing anything so I guess I don’t need it right? Maybe next year it’ll come back out…but for now, I’m truly enjoying Simple. I’m also a little (a lot) behind on Christmas shopping (hello Amazon Prime), Christmas cards and pretty much everything else relating to the holiday..although I’m proud that I did get manage to get about 1/3 of my Christmas lights out in the yard. 😉

Like I said, the theme for this year’s holiday for me is truly…Simple. And it’s ok.

Speaking of simple, this spiced holiday nut recipe is pretty simple – just the way I like it! Although I mentioned our holidays are more low key this year, we are still spending time with family and friends and of course when people get together there is usually food involved. Spiced nuts are always a welcomed treat at any get together and they can’t be easier to make – take it from a slightly sleep deprived mom who is not spending a lot of time in the kitchen lately. These nuts take less than 20 minutes to put together and that includes oven time. You can package them up in a pretty holiday tin to take with you to a holiday party, or set them out for guests that are stopping by. Of course you can just treat your kids to some as an after school snack, I’m sure they won’t mind. 🙂

I was inspired by the flavors of the season when I made these nuts using Fisher’s Nuts. I used a blend of Walnut and Pecan Halves but any combination of nuts will work. These bake up in just 10 – 12 minutes, you know they are done when you start to smell something delicious in the air!

Happy Snacking!

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“That fish looks exciting…”

Those are the words my my father-in-law said when he saw me preparing this tilapia for dinner last night.  And I’ll tell ya, it was pretty exciting.

I pulled this recipe out of Liz Weiss and Janice Bissex’s newest cookbook, No Whine with Dinner.  I’ve been following these ladies since I started blogging almost 3 years ago.  I have always been impressed by Liz and Janice and their dedication to keeping things interesting and healthy at mealtime for the family.  They are always busy with projects, from their weekly podcasts, to their awesome blog and now their second published cookbook No Whine with Dinner (The Mom’s Guide to Meal Makeovers was their first)!

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I stumbled onto this wing recipe on A New York Foodie right before Super Bowl Sunday.  Wings were on the menu, but I hadn’t decided how I wanted to cook them yet.  I loved the flavorful list of ingredients that went into the marinade.  Don’t be intimidated by the length of the list…what’s great about marinades is you do most of the work ahead of time, then the marinade does rest of the work while you go on with your day.  I let the wings sit in the marinade in the fridge for about 8 hours.  They baked up nicely and we enjoyed them alongside some crunchy veggies for dinner.

Caribbean Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

• 1 habanero, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons fennel seed
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons allspice
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 7 pounds chicken wings

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend together all the ingredients but the chicken until smooth. Reserve 1 cup of marinade. Place chicken wings into a large resealable plastic bag and pour remaining marinade over them. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator 4 to 6 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 sheet trays with parchment. Remove chicken from bag and place on the baking sheets. Bake 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan bring reserved marinade to a boil. Reduce by 1/3 until it thickens slightly, about 10 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove chicken from oven. Brush chicken with the glaze. Raise the heat to 400 degrees F and cook chicken until cooked through, another 20 minutes.

Recipe from Sunny Anderson, Food Network

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We are…it’s back to pre-school for my son and back to work for my husband Monday…so that means back to normalcy around the house for me (and Gina!)! Not that I didn’t enjoy having us all home for the last two weeks, I did, but I’m ready to get back to our regular routine. There was lots of togetherness going on here the last couple of weeks…;)

I know I mentioned that I have the same 4 New Year resolutions every year…well tonight I decided to add one more to that list. I would like to plan our meals better. There are so many nights that I just have no idea…or I am floundering around the kitchen trying to throw together a must try recipe and am out of everything I need. (Sounds like this may be related to the “get organized” resolution?)

Anyway…I’ll take any suggestions from you on how you plan your weekly menus…if that’s what you do. I just bought my new 2009 weekly planner today and I’m ready to rock and roll.

I want to share with you this AWESOME dinner I made the other night. This will definitely be making it to our weekly menu more often. My sister in law passed it on to me with rave reviews. I couldn’t wait to try it out…I love Asian food and have little experience cooking it at home. This is definitely a start for me, it was extremely basic and tasted just as good, if not better, than any bourbon chicken you would get at a restaurant. I was a little unsure about using all of that sugar, I think next time I will reduce it down to 1/4 cup…also, I made sure to use the low sodium soy sauce. I served it with a healthy medley of stir fried vegetables with chopped garlic and ginger and some Kashi 7 Whole Grain Pilaf.

Bourbon Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove chicken. Add remaining ingredients, heating over medium Heat until well mixed and dissolved. Add chicken and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with stir fried vegetables and brown rice.

Recipe found on Receipezaar

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Hope everyone has a great week!!

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