New Recipe: Spicy BBQ Peanuts

I love food gifts. Making them, giving them, receiving them, all of it. So I'm always happy to find a recipe that can be used that way. This recipe comes from my Aunt Betty. She made a batch of these yummy peanuts for our 4th of July cookout. Husband loves spicy stuff and he loves BBQ sauce so I had to have the recipe, which she gladly shared with me...so I'm going to share it with you!

I spelled spicy wrong. Oops.

I think my favorite part of this recipe was that the only thing I actually had to get was the peanuts. Every other ingredient I had on hand. I love when that happens.

That's all you need!

Mix together everything but the peanuts

Then add your peanuts

Mix 'em up until all your peanuts are swimming in BBQy goodness

Spread them out on a greased baking sheet (or pan)

Mmmm...look at 'em. How great would those look in
a special package to give to someone for the holidays?

Spicy BBQ Peanuts

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup BBQ sauce (I used Kraft original because it's what I had)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 jar (16 ounces) dry roasted peanuts

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine sauce, butter, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.
2. Add peanuts, stir until evenly coated.
3. Transfer peanuts to a greased 13"x9"x2" baking pan.
4. Bake [uncovered] at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
5. Spread on wax paper; cool completely

Store in an airtight container.
Yield: 3 cups
Recipe Source: Aunt Betty :)

Notes/Suggestions:

• I followed the recipe exactly, only using 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne because these were for my in-laws and I'm not entirely sure how spicy they like stuff. I tried a couple - not being a huge fan of spicy - and I didn't find them too spicy. If you want them with more heat definitely use more than 1/4 teaspoon.
• Use the full teaspoon of garlic powder, I didn't find them overly garlicky (however, I'm a big fan of garlic so take that into consideration).
• I can't wait to experiment with other BBQ sauces!
• I put it in the recipe, but be sure to grease your pan! It makes life easier.
• My 13x9x2" baking pan had brownies in it at the time, so I used a jelly-roll type pan instead and it worked fine. I just had to be a little more careful when stirring the peanuts.

Enjoy!!



New Recipe: Louis Osteen's Pimiento Cheese

I knew nothing of pimiento cheese before my move south. And even then I kept away from it for years because...well, it just didn't sound good. My first taste of pimiento cheese came by way of a sandwich from The Square Rabbit and I was hooked. And since they are located in downtown Raleigh and I happen to work in downtown Raleigh...I have enjoyed many a yummy lunch from there! And after Husband informed me that he had never had homemade pimiento cheese, I had to bring him home the good stuff (which they sell by the 1/2 or whole pint). He reminds me every so often that I can bring some home any time.

So, having planted southern roots (ish) I have subscribed to Southern Living - which is usually a rather depressing magazine. More depressing than Martha Stewart Living. They're both like "Hey, look at how pretty your house could be and how yummy your meals could be if you'd stop being lazy!" But anyway, one issue of Southern Living came that made the whole subscription worth it. It was loaded with a bunch of pimiento cheese recipes! So I decided to try this one over the weekend.

Here's what you need:

Mix up everything in an electric mixer EXCEPT the pimientos:

Mix until blended but not smooth. Then add the pimientos:

Then mix in the pimientos until the mixture is blended and somewhat smooth.

Then smear it on top of anything edible and enjoy!

Louis Osteen's Pimiento Cheese

• 6 cups freshly grated sharp Cheddar cheese (1 1/2 lb.)
• 1/2 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon grated yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (7 oz.) jar whole peeled pimiento, drained and cut into fourths

Garnish: freshly ground pepper, if desired

Directions:

Beat Cheddar cheese, cream cheese, mayonnaise, yellow onion, and ground red pepper with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer at medium speed 1 to 2 minutes or until blended but not smooth. Add pimiento; beat 1 to 2 minutes or until pimiento is shredded and mixture is blended and somewhat smooth. Garnish, if desired.

Recipe Source: Southern Living Magazine

Notes/Suggestions:

• I only used a 1/2 teaspoon of the ground red pepper and then added another little sprinkle. That was more than enough "kick" for me and even Husband agreed that it had an over-all strong flavor. I would maybe cut back some on the onion next time too.
• Instead of the 7 oz. jar of whole peeled pimiento, I used a 4 oz. jar of diced pimientos. I blame that on my decision to "skim" the directions instead of reading them thoroughly before heading into the store. But what I bought ended up working out great and seemed like enough pimiento in my cheese.
• This recipe makes a LOT. Be prepared to eat pimiento cheese for days. Which, in our house, will never be a problem.
• Grant didn't like it. But he did like that he was in the kitchen while I was grating the cheese. He kept gesturing wildy saying "sheese? sheese? SHEESE!" until I hacked off a chunk and gave it to him. He is so his mother's son :)

Enjoy!

Eating Habits

We've been joking lately about how snack time at day care must be a little bit like feeding time at the zoo. They do have regular meal times, of course, but in between meals (like when the kids get there before breakfast or between 3:00 snack time and when the kids get picked up) they put out little snacks on the table for the kids. Some cheez-its, or fruit loops, or something like that they can just pick up and snack on. Husband has seen it when the snacks get put out and the vultures descend upon the table. We sort of do the same with Grant between meals - crackers to munch on while dinner is getting ready or some cereal to snack on before he goes to school.

Lately Grant has become pretty territorial with his food. Not with us...but with Brodie. Apparently he doesn't feel that we pose much threat to his snack time but seems to have realized that Brodie is very much aware and ready to pounce on opportunity enjoy the snack as well. 

The other morning I put out a handful of fruit loops on the coffee table for Grant in the living room while we got ready for the day. If Brodie moved a muscle Grant would yell "Ooooh!" and go running for the pile and then put his arms around it so Brodie couldn't get them. And he's even started telling Brodie "No!" when he tries to get at his food. But the other day I guess he decided to just set up camp to protect his snack. I put out the cereal and gave him his sippy cup with milk. Grant immediately went to get his little stool (that came with his drum set), plopped it in front of the coffee table, and enjoyed his pre-day care snack while warding off Brodie's attempted thievery.

*Side Note: I realize some of my posts lately sound a little anti-day care and I'm not trying to sound that way at all. We are both quite happy with the facility that we use and we, so far, have had no problems with how they run things. They are so much more involved and helpful and I, for one, am so glad we decided to switch from the place we started out in. I really am amused by the thought of what snack time must be like there. But I do know that they make them sit down for the real meals (breakfast & lunch) at a little table and all eat together. We've been trying to do that more often at home too (rather than the "shift eating" we've become accustomed to) and I think that's part of the reason Grant now feels the need to pull a chair up to the coffee table. That, and we have a very greedy dog who will steal anything you're eating if you're not careful about it. Grant may only be 1, but he's not stupid.