Category Archives: Seeds and Nuts

Everything Seasoning…Copy that

 

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Everything seasoning is my new obsession. I have been adding it to everything (No punt intended)! It is all the rage right now. Every store sells their own version. From ALDI to Wegmans to Trader Joes to Costco. Recently my boyfriend and I married our kitchens and spices. Which means it is getting pretty serious (smiles and hearts). With the blending of the two pantries we discovered over 300 spices, grains, and more for our culinary adventures.

Which made me realize, we have a elite pantry but also that I can make my own Everything Seasoning Blend.

I spiced it up a bit with using black Hawaiian Sea Salt and Fleur de Sel; however, use what you have on hand. Mix it up!

Everything Seasoning Ingredients

4 TB poppyseeds

2 TB white sesame seeds

2 TB black sesame seeds

2 TB minced dry garlic

2TB minced dry onion 

2 teaspoon of Black Sea 

2 teaspoons fleur de sel 

Directions: 

Place all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix it up with a spoon, until well blended. Place all the ingredients using a large funnel into a 8 ounce ball jar (fits perfectly in this size here). Secure the lid & shake it up. Sprinkle generously on “Everything”. My favorites are hummus on a whole grain tortilla, winter spaghetti squash, hard boiled eggs, salads, and more.  So much more….

Salt & Pepper Cashews

 

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The holidays are here! That brings the cold weather. Friday was winter solstice the shortest day of the year. Warm up and bring in the holiday cheer with these spicy cashews.

I love making homemade gifts for the holidays. I made these for my mom and dad in mind. They love salt and pepper pistachios and I thought they would love salt and pepper cashews just as much since it is their favorite nut. These look super cute in mason jars with holiday trim or you can set out at your holiday party for the guests to snack on.

Ingredients :

1 tablespoon of canola oil

2 teaspoons of ground garlic & pepper blend ( or 1 teaspoon of ground garlic & 1 of ground pepper)

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 pound of raw cashew pieces ( Trader Joe’s is a good place to find nuts)

Directions

1. Heat a large sauté pan to medium heat. Add oil, spices, and salt. Let the spices heat and become aromatic. ( This takes about one minute). Continue to stir to prevent the spices from burning.

2. Turn the stove to low heat, add cashews and continue to stir for 4 minutes on low heat.

3. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. Once cooled completely place in air tight container. Fits perfectly in a pint mason jar.

Honey Lemon Poppyseed Dressing

Spring time is the perfect time to make homemade dressings for salads. This recipe pairs really well with a strawberry, pineapple, yellow sweet pepper, craisins, sunflower seeds, & spinach salad which we made last night for dinner. I’m looking forward to making it again with fresh local strawberries and adding feta cheese next time.

This recipe yields: 1 cup (16 servings of two tablespoons)

Ingredients:

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (able one medium lemon)

2 teaspoons of poppyseeds

1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt

2 Tablespoons of apple cider vinegar

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a sealable container and shake well before each use.

Store in the refrigerator after each use.

Kitchen Sink Trail Mix

I know I’ve been on a kick with Trail Mix. There are 1000s of variations. I like it because you can easy put together leftovers of bits and pieces of goodies that you don’t have enough of for a full recipe. For example when that one recipe calls for only a half bag of chocolate chips….

This recipe yields 13 cups of Trail Mix

Ingredients:

1/2 cup peptia seeds

2 cups of chocolate chips ( semi sweet or 60% cacao)

1/2 cup of Dehydrated blueberries

1/2 a cup of Craisins

1 1/4 cup of M&Ms ( 10.7 ounces)

2 cups of peanut butter pretzels

2 cups of Cheerios

2 cups of banana chips

2 cups of roasted peanuts

1/4 cup of roasted & lightly salted sunflower seeds

Directions

1. Throw everything in the largest bowl that you possibly have. Mix thoroughly and place in a sealable container.

Buckeye Trail Mix

My mom, sister & I went to Amish County in Berlin, Ohio in late November for holiday shopping. The weekend getaway was a new tradition for Black Friday. During our ladies day weekend, I think we found more gifts for ourselves vs holiday shopping for others.

When we were shopping we ran across Buckeye Trail Mix. I thought what a clever idea.  My grandpa loves Ohio State Buckeyes. This blend for trail mix intrigued me. I reviewed the ingredients, and thought well I can make this at home for a Christmas present for him for half the price. Plus I love making homemade gifts. Win, win!

This recipe yields: 8 cups of Trail Mix

Ingredients:

1 cup mini buckeyes (Trader Joe’s sells these)

1 cup roasted salted Peanuts

1 cup of roasted unsalted peanuts

2 1/4 cups craisins

2 1/4 cups roasted lightly salted sunflower seeds

1 cup roasted Peptia seeds

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Use a spatula to mix and incorporate all the ingredients together thoroughly. Portion out the mix as you wish.

I like to place the mix in either snack size ziplocks or mason jars.

Festive Holiday Trail Mix

I came across this recipe by having leftover holiday baking chips during food prep for Chirstimas. I enjoy making gifts during the holiday. I found this one very colorful and fun for the festive season. You can make it and place the blend in 1/2 pint mason jars or place it in a bowl at your next holiday party.

Perfect gifts for the holiday! Nothing says I love you like a homemade edible gift during the holiday season.

Yields: 11 cups and fits perfectly in 1/2 pint mason jars

Ingredients:

2 cups roasted sunflower seeds salted

2 cups craisins

1 1/3 cup dried blueberries

10 oz bag swirl morsels (red, green,white)**

1 cup roasted Petita pumpkin seeds salted

2 cups roasted salted Peanuts

Directions:

Place all the ingredients into a large bowl and toss until well incorporated. Portion out in individual mason jars. 

**I found the decorative holiday baking chips at ALDI. 

Pumpkin Spice Trail Mix

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I love making gifts for the holidays, lately I have been on the kick of making trail mix. Trail mix is so versatile. This one is a new favorite, especially if you like pumpkin. I also incorporated some of my grandpa’s homegrown dehydrated apples for a new texture and natural sweetness.

This recipes yields 12 cups.

 

Ingredients:

  • 10 oz bag of white chocolate baking chips
  • 2 cups of dehydrated apples slices
  • 1 cups of roasted lightly salted sunflower seeds
  • 1 cup of roasted pepitas seeds
  • 2 cups of pumpkin flavored cheerios
  • 1 1/3 cup of cinnamon baking chips
  • 2 cups of craisins

Directions:

Place all the ingredients into a large bowl and toss until well incorporated. Portion out in individual mason jars. I placed them in individual pint size jars. You could also portion out in individual snack size sealable bags.

Pumpkin Spice Chia Overnight Oats


Now that it is October I feel like I can pumpkin it up. I started the day with this delicious treat. 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup of pumpkin purée

3 tablespoons oats old fashioned

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/4 teaspoon ground pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk 

1 1/2 cups water

2 teaspoons Chia seeds

1 teaspoon sliced almonds 

2 packets truvia or your favorite non-calorie sweetener

1/2 -1 tablespoons vanilla protein powder 

Directions:

Place everything in a 32 ounce mason jar. Secure with lid. Shake it up. Let the oats rest overnight in the refrigerator. Shake well before serving. 

The oats will thicken up slightly however if you want a Thicker consistency reduce the amount of water. 
Hot oatmeal alternative: 

Place all the ingredients listed above in a microwavable glass bowl. Give a good stir & microwave on high for six minutes. Be careful all the contents will be very hot.  Stir the oats place back in the microwave and microwave again for another six minutes. Enjoy!

Topsail Trail Mix

Yep it’s that time of year we load up the car and head to to the beach. Just when you think you cannot fit one more thing in the car (and trust me, my dad is good at packing a car) you find a spot for homemade baked goods and nonperishable snacks! 

Trail mix is my go to for road trips! This one is special since we are taking it to the beach! Look out NC…here we come! 

Ingredient:

1 cup roasted whole cashews

1 cup roasted whole peanuts 

1 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup roast lightly salted sunflower 

3/4 cup Dark chocolate chips 

1 cup dehydrated apples slices 

1 cup lightly salted roasted whole almonds 

Direction:

1. Mix everything in a sealable container and give a good shake or two. Enjoy! 

Mashup Nut Butter Bars

Recipe yields 3 dozen bars

It’s been too hot for the oven in Pittsburgh these last few weeks in July. Yet I have not turned on the air conditioning in the house. In turn, I know I have been taking it easy with the baking. These bars are super easy. Plus soft but crunchy with a blend of two different nut/seed butters.  Plus an extra bonus of a wide variety of seeds and nuts to pack in the protein. 

Ingredients:

3 1/4 cup of Cheerios (I used the pumpkin flavored ones)

2 3/4 cup of Brown rice cereal

1/4 cup of sliced almonds

1 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup of peptia seeds

1/4 cup milled flaxseed

1/4 cup of quinoa, uncooked 

1/4 cup dried mixed fruit ( I used a variety of blueberry and cranberry)

1 1/2 cup of local honey

1 Cup Smooth Cashew Butter

1 Cup Smooth Sunflower Butter

 

  1. Line a 1/2 sheet pan with parchment paper, make sure to place the parchment over the sides to make for easy removal of the bars. Set aside.
  2. Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
  3. In the meantime mix together the nut/seed butters and honey in a medium microwavable safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second and stir. Continue to microwave and stir in 30 second intervals until smooth and creamy. The mixture should appear melted. 
  4. Add the melted nut butter mixture over top of the dry ingredients and incorporate thoroughly with a rubber spatula. 
  5. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared half sheet pan. A nice trick to this is to spray your spatula with nonstick cooking spray. Another pearl of wisdom, you can also use wax paper to push the bars down into the pan to make the even. 
  6. Place bars in the refrigerator covered and allow the bars to set overnight. 
  7. After the bars have hardened overnight in the refrigerator cut in to three dozen bars.  For optimal results and extended shelflife, store the bars in an airtight container  in refrigerator.