Saturday, December 13, 2008

Nutty recipes and a nutty giveaway!

Last Sunday Steph the CrockPot Lady posted a recipe for Roasted and Spiced Nuts. I made them that day, and I was immediately obsessed...uh, I mean, inspired. I've spent the last six days working on various CrockPot roasted nut recipes. I've eaten a lot of nuts. My DNA is now officially half pecan.

I now have the four recipes I'll be using to make a lot of my Christmas gifts this year, and I'm sharing. First I'll share the recipes...then I'll share some of the goodies. (Details on the giveaway are at the end of the post.)

A few notes: I'm using a combo of pecans and almonds, since that's what Costco had available. Use whatever nuts you like! I've written all these recipes for 4 cups of nuts, but you can easily make more or less. I am using kosher salt with a nice, coarse texture; you can substitute table salt if you really need to.

1. Curry Roasted Nuts
(This recipe is very similar to the Roasted & Spiced Nuts recipe from The CrockPot Lady's blog, though I made some minor changes.)

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Ingredients:
4 cups raw nuts
1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
cooking spray

Instructions:
Spray CrockPot with cooking spray. Put nuts, maple syrup, curry powder, rosemary, and cayenne pepper in CrockPot, and stir to coat nuts well. Turn CrockPot on high, and cover. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 10 minutes. (Set a timer!) Nuts are done when they are almost crunchy enough--but they will cook further after removing them from the CrockPot, so don't overcook. Before removing from CrockPot, spray nuts with cooking spray, add kosher salt, and toss so that all the spices stick to the nuts. Immediately put nuts on wax paper to cool.

2. Sweet & Spicy Roasted Nuts
(The original recipe can be found here; I've simply adapted it for the Crock Pot, and I used raw nuts instead of pre-roasted.)

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(Yes, that's paper under the nuts, since I didn't have enough to fill the bowl. They were really tasty; I didn't make that many; and, uh...I enjoyed them.)

Ingredients:
4 cups raw nuts
1/4 cup honey
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
cooking spray

Instructions:
Spray CrockPot with cooking spray. Put nuts, honey, and cayenne pepper in CrockPot, and stir to coat nuts well. Turn CrockPot on high, and cover. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 10 minutes. (Set a timer!) Nuts are done when they are almost crunchy enough--but they will cook further after removing them from the CrockPot, so don't overcook. Before removing from CrockPot, add sugar and kosher salt, and toss so that all the spices stick to the nuts. Immediately put nuts on wax paper to cool.

3. Cinnamon & Sugar Roasted Nuts

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Ingredients:
4 cups raw nuts
1/4 cup honey
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 c. sugar
3/4 tsp plus 3/4 tsp cinnamon (divided)
3/4 tsp kosher salt
cooking spray

Instructions:
Spray CrockPot with cooking spray. Put nuts, honey, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, and 3/4 tsp cinnamon in CrockPot, and stir to coat nuts well. Turn CrockPot on high, and cover. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 10 minutes. (Set a timer!) Nuts are done when they are almost crunchy enough--but they will cook further after removing them from the CrockPot, so don't overcook. Before removing from CrockPot, add sugar, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, and kosher salt, and toss so that all the spices stick to the nuts. Immediately put nuts on wax paper to cool.

4. Roasted & Salted Nuts

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Ingredients:
4 cups raw nuts
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (You may experiment with less if concerned about fat content. I used canola oil.)
1 tsp kosher salt

Put nuts and oil in CrockPot, and stir to coat nuts well. Turn CrockPot on high, and cover. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 10 minutes. (Set a timer!) Nuts are done when they are almost crunchy enough--but they will cook further after removing them from the CrockPot, so don't overcook. Before removing from CrockPot, add kosher salt, and toss so that the salt sticks to the nuts. Immediately put nuts on wax paper to cool.

Now, for the giveaway!

I'll send one lucky winner samples of all four types of roasted nuts. The rules...

1. Leave a comment, any comment. Last time the haiku comments were fun. Perhaps this time you'd like to leave a comment about why you're a nut. Maybe you'd even like to leave it in some sort of rhyming poetry form. And maybe you'll just leave a boring, prose comment. That's okay too.
2. Tell your friends, family, in-laws, outlaws, blog readers, etc. about the contest. Make sure when they enter, that they let me know they heard about it from you. If they win, you win too.
3. I'll accept U.S. and non-U.S. entries. as long as you live in a place with reasonably affordable international postage.
4. I will chose the winner randomly Monday afternoon or evening.

Good luck!

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

In elementary school I had to sing a song about being a nut. If I remembered the lyrics, I would "sing" them to you here but I don't :( I will, however, tell you that I love reading your blog!

Unknown said...

These look so yummy! They're NUTTIN' like I've ever seen. Of course, I've made the sweet & spicy ones before, but they did NUT turn out like yours! I'll bet you're NUT so happy that you asked us to be creative in our comments, because I'm pretty sure that I could go on like this forever. Or NUT.

Trudi said...

OK good - I will be the first to leave a boring comment.
There ya go!

forever folding laundry said...

I'm thinking the song Jean was trying to think of goes something like..."I'm a nut (knock knock) I'm a nut (knock knock) I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut (knock knock)." Clever lyrics, huh. I especially like how you were supposed to knock on your head during the song. Brilliant!

Stephanie ODea said...

oh my! You have been hard at work! LOL on your DNA being half pecan..

xox
steph

beckiwithani said...

I am a nut for thinking I even have a chance of winning this giveaway, but I'll try ... because at least it is cheaper than a lottery ticket (and slightly better odds).

Laurel said...

Okay Beth...I'm a nut because, well, because I'm just a nut. Who else would do what I've done in the last year and especially in the last three months. :-).

tholix said...

Oh, wow...those nuts look soooo good. Which I had some NOW !! I actually have a sign hanging on the outside of my house that reads, "Welcome to The Nut House!" and it's so very true. With four kids, and crazy nut of a husband, 2 dogs, 3 cats, 10 duck, 1goose, and lots of fish, this house can be nutty at times ! Thank you so very much for a yummy contest...and by the way, if I win, my hubby will love YOU forever ! While I love nuts, he is obsessed with them...really !
Thanks again and Merry Christmas !!
Cathy
tholix at pineland dot net

Call Me Cate said...

I keep trying to come up with something but I've got nuttin'. Bwahaha, yeah, that was bad.

They look delicous though. I love getting packages of toasted nuts when we go to hockey games. And it has been one of the great successes of my marriage that I have managed to convince my nut-hating husband to see the error of his ways.

d said...

Some say I'm not but
I'm sure I'm a nut?
Some say I am but my doctor says I'm not.
He's done all the tests
And they all come back not
But i know I'm a nut..I think!

I have a hard shell,
But maybe that's just a delusion, or maybe an illusion.
Or is it the truth?
Maybe I'm not an pecan but a peanut instead,
But that's not a nut but a legume, or is it?
Am I a nut or not?

Lyndsay said...

I am so impressed that you had the patience to experiment so much in your kitchen ... it would have driven me nutty.

Anonymous said...

You know I'm not creative enough to leave a poem here. But I sure would like to win your nuts!!!!

Anonymous said...

Okay, I know the lyrics to the nut song. Here is what I can remember:

I'm a little acron brown
Sitting on the cold, cold ground.
Everybody steps on me,
That is why I'm cracked you see.

Chorus:
I'm a nut :cluck cluck:
I'm a nut :cluck cluck:
I'm a nut, I'm a nut, I'm a nut :cluck cluck:

Took myself to the picture show,
Sat myself in the very first row.
Wrapped my arm around my waist,
Got so fresh I slapped my face.

Chorus

Okay so I think there is a 3rd verse (or maybe I'm missing the 2nd?) but that's MOST of the song! :)

I will go nutty for those nuts!

-Claire

Chris said...

There once was a nut.
C.Beth was her name.
Her recipes are great.
Put others to shame.

4 cups of raw nuts.
She's quick with a knife
For the best of the rest.
See the Engineer's wife.

Anonymous said...

Well, my dh thinks I'm a nut because I want a fourth. I think he's a nut because he doesn't. My kids are nuts due to genetics - so we're all a happy nutty family.

HorribleLicensePlates said...

Nuts can be salty.
Nuts and be sweet and crunchy.
well, some nuts at least.

Isabella said...

A short nutty piece, if you will:


To be, or not to be: that is the peanut;
Whether ’tis almond in the mind to suffer
The slings and walnuts of outrageous cashews
Or to take arms against a sea of brazil nuts,
And by opposing end them?

Omah's Helping Hands said...

Nuts!
Who says I'm nuts?
Oh yeah, kids, kids every where. One climbing the tree, get down from there. One hanging like a monkey, you know who you are. One running hither tither, another hanging from the chandelier.
Nuts!
Who says I'm nuts?
Hee hee, raising your own kids then your grandkids with three times the count; wouldn't you be a little nutty too?

Megan Fletcher said...

nothing funny b/c I know not how to write poetry (or what any of those forms of it are!)

but, I love nuts and definitely fit in that category myself. I was just going over my "to do" list and I am an absolute NUT for committing to all the things on my list...though 7 are just life (wife, mom, missionary) things, 4 are gift things that I want to really do, 1 is a fun job I've been given, 1 is a job I'm finishing, and 1 is an overcommitment. not bad to have 1 out of 14 being "over the top". at least in my book.

So, send me some nuts!

Scriptor Senex said...

Mouth is watering, juices flowing.
Sugar and Cinnamon and roasted Nuts
– hot.
Want to be cooking, creating, making.
But a crock pot – I have not!

Jenners said...

My husband and I are addicted to sweet warm almonds so I'm going to have to try these recipes out. Thanks for sharing!

ThrtnWmsFam said...

We are starting to eat a lot more nuts/seeds/beans because we're working to stay away from meat. However, 12-yr-old-Son doesn't like nuts besides cashews and peanuts. Perhaps doing the cinnamon and sugar will get him to eat almonds, walnuts and pecans (we buy at Sam's). Thanks for posting the recipe. Vikki

Christy said...

I am going to try to think of a rhyme, but in the meantime, your nuts look divine. HA!HA! It looks like I came up with one. Love your blog.

Our Scoop said...

Wow! Thanks for the last minute chance to enter this nutty contest. I'd go nuts later if I heard that I had had a chance to win some yummy nuts and lost my chance.

I love nuts.
Nuts are good for your brain.
Please let me win these ones
Or else I'll go insane.

I don't know what that was? I just didn't want to be called boring so I went out on a limb :)

Our Scoop said...

This is an entry for my hubby. He doesn't know. Don't tell him - he'll go nuts.

Nuts are fun
Nuts are great
Let's eat some nuts
and Celebrate!

EliandMe said...

Thanks for the warning

"May contain traces of nuts"

On packets of nuts.



It's a Monday, morning, best I could do I'm afraid!

Sandra said...

I am impressed with the other comments above -- some very creative "nuts." In fact, they're so good they've left me speechless! Oh, wait a minute -- that's not possible -- that's just nuts! (And Hubby will attest to that!) :)

Rachel Cotterill said...

I love nuts in all forms - thank you for these recipes, something fun to try over Christmas. I enjoy making this sort of thing anyway, and international postage is expensive - so if I win, can I pick a U.S. blog I've enjoyed and point you in their direction instead??

Bri said...

Glad I saw your post about the nuts... while I'm not a nut person (not to be confused with being a nutty person) but my husband is. I have official proof of this in card form given to me by my mother in law. It has squirrels on it and said something about "welcome to the nutty bunch" It had pictures of different types of nuts and I named them all after the people in our "nutty" family. Now I am going to have to look for that card so I can remember exactly what it said.

Becky said...

Sweets for the sweet and...well, nuts for the rest of us.

Thanks for the recipes! They look delicious.

Tony Escarzaga said...

Almond Joy Haiku
Sometimes you feel like a nut
Sometimes you don't - Mounds

Ok, it's plagiarized (from the commercial... not the actual Haiku... I put that together) but it's still good.

~pen~ said...

Sometimes you feel like a nut..sometimes you don't... :) thats one of my favorite phrases...Such is my life said to stop by and you know what, I'm glad I did... Let's go nuts! :)

Unknown said...

I lovvvvvvvvvveee Hemp Seed, an amazingly nutricious (sorry sp) seed, versatile, nutty and is great mixed in salads, savoury biscuits and sprinkled on breads.

Your nuts look super, will be trying them out :-)

Have a great day whatever you are doing :-)

Unknown said...

I loved reading all about the nuts, I mean the recipes that are on your blog!! Sounds so good; if I win, send them to the Fletchers which is where I'll be in January while they are in India.

Linda