Maryann’s Honey Roasted Nuts

September 4, 2012 By

 

 

Don’t you just love the smell of those Bavarian roasted nuts you find in malls across America? I do too. But you know me, I had to find a way to control the ingredients, so I decided to make some myself. I have been struggling to remain ice cream-free in an attempt to help control my weight but sometimes I still wanted something a little sweet in the evenings, enter the Honey Roasted Nuts. And I don’t know about you, but one of my all time favorite salads makes use of some wonderful Honey Roasted Nuts to dress the salad just perfectly, so this seemed like a win-win-win situation. I could make my own, control the ingredients and use them in several different ways.

For the following recipe I used pecans since they are one of my favorite nuts, but you could easily substitute walnuts, almonds or peanuts if you like. I enjoyed making them, they leave your home smelling amazingly fragrant and if your kids are like mine they will be begging to try some.


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Maryann's Honey Roasted Nuts
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
 
Easy to prepare Honey Roasted Nuts great for snacking, using in salads or giving as a gift during the holidays.
Ingredients
  • 3 Cups nut of choice
  • ¼ Cup sugar
  • ½ to 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ to ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¼ to ½ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp clove
  • ¼ to ½ tsp ground cardamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ⅛ cup honey
  • ⅛ cup maple syrup - or you could use all honey instead
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
  2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, I used a sheet with sides
  3. In a large bowl mix the nuts with the honey and maple syrup until nuts are well coated
  4. Spread nuts in a single layer on the cookies sheet and roast for 10 minutes in the oven
  5. While the nuts are roasting mix the remaining ingredients, the sugar and spices in a bowl
  6. Once the nuts have roasted remove them from the oven and let them cool 2 minutes
  7. Sprinkle the slightly cooled nuts with the sugar mixture making sure to cover all side
  8. Serve or store in an air tight container
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Jewelry Candles Giveaway

September 2, 2012 By

With Summer ending and Fall fast approaching my mind is moving towards the comforting scents of Autumn. I love when my house is filled with the smell of nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, walnuts and vanilla, it just makes the home feel warm and inviting on those cooler evenings. And of course with Fall comes Halloween. So when I saw Jewelry Candles’ Boo Berry Halloween scent I was completely in love. What a wonderful scent to fill my home with and then to have a really exciting surprise at the end, well that is just an awesome bonus.

Jewelry Candles is a candle company which produces the highest grade soy-wax candles (which burn for up to 150 hours!), with an added bonus. Buried inside the candle, a piece of jewelry is hiding, just for you!

From the Jewelry Candles website:

Inspired by the American Classic, Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory! Instead of a golden ticket in a chocolate bar, you get Premium Soy Wax Candles with jewelry hidden inside worth anywhere from $10 to $7500! You may get a ring, bracelet , necklace, pendant, anklets or beautiful pair of earrings in your candle! You just never know what you are going to get!

With over 30 different scents, Jewelry Candle is sure to have something you’ll love. These candles make a great gift for a sister, mom, or friend. Jewelry Candles are currently priced at $24.95 per candle, or $120 for a five pack. Plus, if you love what you get, you can sign up for their brand new Candle Club.

Whether it’s costume jewelry or the real deal, fans are delighted to find their little foil package, and unwrap their surprise. You can learn more at JewelryCandles.com. Become a fan on Facebook to enter their giveaways and stay up to date on new and exciting scents.

Because we love our fans, these blogs have joined together with Jewelry Candles to host a giveaway for a Mango Papaya Jewelry Candle! Visit these great blogs to read fun articles, enter more great giveaways, and get great tips on everything from eating Gluten Free, being Green, Recipes, Coupons, and MORE!

Enter by using the RaffleCopter form below.

This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses ONLY.

Giveaway ends at 11:59PM on SEPTEMBER 15, 2012

a Rafflecopter giveaway


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CLOSED Lunch Notes for the Lunchbox and Giveaway

August 31, 2012 By

 

Tara Ferry is our Winner!

Last year I sent a handwritten note in Matthew’s lunchbox every Friday. Unfortunately I didn’t have any nice paper so I put it on a sticky note from The College of Justice & Safety. Yeah, not the prettiest or most personal notepaper I could have chosen. This year I’m lucky enough to have Lunch Notes for Kids from Hallmark. They are small notes to add to your child’s lunch to brighten up their day, to let them know you love them and miss them, and to just show you care. They come in lunch-bag brown with vibrant drawing and cool, inventive sayings. They even have some that allow you to add your own spin so you can customize it for whatever your child is experiencing at the time. I dropped one in Matthew’s lunchbox on the first day and it really made him smile. I also slipped one into Nico’s lunchbox and he liked it so much he put it in his pocket and brought it home. There are 50 notes in a pack and if your child brings them home you can certainly use them again. I did, I just moved the one I gave Matthew over to Nico, the next day.

Sometimes Matthew gets nervous about school, and it can be hard to be away from us for so long. He works so hard, and I like to offer him encouragement even when I’m not there. This is a perfect way to do just that, and to do it a lot nicer than I ever could on my own.

Giveaway

Hallmark has generously offered a pack of Lunch Notes for Kids to one winner from Matthew’s Puzzle. To enter simply leave me a comment (with your email address!) saying why you want to win the Lunch Notes for Kids.

Additional Entries

Please leave a comment with the link to your action if appropriate. You may leave a link for each of the following items you do. Remember to include your email address so I can contact you should you win.

  • Like Hallmark on Facebook
  • Like Matthew’s Puzzle on Facebook
  • Follow Matthew’s Puzzle on Twitter
  • Follow Matthew’s Puzzle on Pinterest

The contest is open to US residents 18 yrs and older. The contest will run from August 31, 2012 to 11:59:59 September 16, 2012. The winner will be chosen at random by the wordpress plug in And The Winner Is… The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the notification email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours a new winner will be selected. Matthew’s Puzzle is not responsible for the fulfillment of the prize. There will be one (1) winner selected.

I was given the Lunch Notes for Kids for free to provide a review and a giveaway. All opinions are my own.

 

 

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Bubble Tea Smoothie Recipe

August 30, 2012 By

Our middle son likes JUNK. Just ask him, he will tell anyone and everyone that he likes junk food more than real food. Argh, no matter what I do that kid just doesn’t want to eat healthy. Every morning my husband, the ultimate smoothie maker in our home, whips up a delicious smoothie for us for breakfast. This is what my husband and I eat for our meal, but we use it as a supplement to the boys’ breakfast. Each one has a glass, our younger two get small juice glasses filled with the nutritious drink, while Matthew gets a much larger portion. He actually really enjoys his smoothie. Usually Nico just leaves his sitting there and won’t touch it until it is time to go to school, at which point I just have to give in and let him go without it. Then I got smart. I decided to introduce tapioca pearls like they use in bubble tea and create a Bubble Smoothie. I gave Nico a good size straw and boom! The smoothie was gone. Now I simply add a few teaspoons of the tapioca every morning and no more untouched smoothie glasses.

Tapioca Pearls

Tapioca bubbles in simple syrup

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Bubble Tea Smoothie Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Drink
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 - 6
 
A great smoothie enhanced with tapioca "bubble" make this a kid friendly, nutritious drink!
Ingredients
  • Tapioca
  • ¼ cup dry large tapioca pearls
  • ¾ cup water (or more)
  • Simple Syrup
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar, organic
  • Smoothie
  • 1 banana
  • 1 cup ice
  • ½ cup water
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder sweetened with stevia
  • 1 handful fresh spinach
  • 1 carrot
  • 5 strawberries
  • 1 Tbs natural peanut butter (optional)
  • additional fruit as you like (optional)
Instructions
  1. To make the tapioca bubbles place the tapioca and ¾ cup water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.
  2. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the pearls become soft, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
  3. While pearls are cooking, make the simple syrup.
  4. In another sauce pan heat 1 cup water and sugar, do not boil, until sugar dissolves.
  5. Once tapioca pearls have cooked and gotten soft and translucent, drain and immediately store in enough simple syrup to cover.
  6. Refrigerate until needed.
  7. In a blender or VitaMix blend all ingredients for the smoothie.
  8. Divide into glasses.
  9. Spoon 1 to 2 teaspoons of tapioca "bubbles" into the glasses and enjoy with a straw large enough for the tapioca bubbles to pass.
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