Spiced Pecans

A close friend makes these every year, and they are so tasty that the husband and I need our own jars, because there's no sharing - they're just that good. They also go really well with a pre-dinner cocktail, which makes them even more irresistible. 

A few years back, she shared the recipe with me, and now there's no holding back. It's a Christmas miracle if they last more than 3 or 4 days before disappearing, especially since the boy loves them too. 

They are so simple and easy to make, that I thought I'd share the recipe so everyone can enjoy the deliciousness that is spiced pecans! 

Spiced Pecans 

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Dash hot pepper sauce

1 lb (4 cups) Pecans

Preheat oven to 300

In a heavy skillet melt the butter

Add the spices and mix well

Add nuts and stir well

Place on a cookie sheet in a single layer

Place in oven, turn regularly until brown and crisp - about 20-30 minutes. 

Chocolate Beet & Apple Muffins

So it's been a while (a long while) since I've posted, and I don't have anything really exciting to say about the boy, except to share a fantastic recipe he and I have made a few times.

We've gotten beets quite a few times in the last little while and I was running out of things to do with, especially since husband is not a huge fan. So I created a recipe for muffins that used them up, and they were a hit! The boy loved, I loved them, husband eats them, and quite a few friends have had them and enjoyed them too (or were too polite to tell me that they didn't!). So if you've got beets that need using up, or if you want to sneak some veggies into your breakfast, here's an easy way to do it:

Chocolate Beet Apple Muffins by victoria banfield

4-5 medium sized beets
1/2 c - 2/3 c apple sauce ( I made my own with 5 medium apples and it was just enough)
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c hemp seeds (optional)
3/4 c cocoa (you can use less if you don't want a really rich chocolate taste)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c oil
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 c chocolate chips (or more if you like - or less if you're trying to be healthy. I also find that dark or semi sweet chips work best for the flavour)


Preheat over to 400
Line 18 muffin cups

Peel the beets and then purée them in a food processor/blender. You can make them as coarse as you would like (or fine if you're trying to hide them from people!)
Mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl.
In a separate bowl combine beets, apple sauce, eggs, oil & vanilla

Mix wet ingredients into dry ones. If the mixture seems too dry, add a splash more oil/apple sauce until mix is combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Spoon into muffin cups, bake for 13-15 minutes, muffins are done when a skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Where does the time go?

It's hard to believe it, but 5 years have flown past and my tiny little baby is now a great big kid. 

Never was this more in evidence than this past weekend. We held the boy's birthday and invited all his classmates. 13 5 year olds all playing mini golf. It was a blast! The boy loved it, His friends seemed to enjoy themselves and the parents did too. 

It was the first time he'd had a party that wasn't just family, and he revelled in it. Now that he's in school, the boy has become a real social butterfly, making the rounds of play dates, birthday parties and afternoons at the park with friends.

I'm so happy to see how much he's grown, but sometimes I really do wish for the little bundle that fit in my arms, not the nearly 40 lb boy that I have today. Especially when we're having one of those days where nothing is right and we all have frayed tempers by the end of the day. But then he'll turn to me and say, "You know what Mummy, I really love you" and it makes me so glad that I have a happy, healthy, chatty 5 year old. I can't wait for the next 5, 10, 15 years (and more) with my boy.

From this...

to this.. in 5 short years!

Just like it used to be

Now that the boy is in school full time, I feel like I don't get to see him nearly as much as either of us would like, and the time we do spend together is not always the best as he's often tired & cranky from long days at school. (As an excuse, it means I don't have as much to say over here)

This weekend though, his Dad has to go to work, very early, on Saturday, so I said to the boy that because Daddy wouldn't be home, maybe he and I would go for a walk and get a treat for our breakfast. He was really excited by the idea and couldn't wait. Tonight as I was tucking him in, he reminded me that it was just he and I tomorrow, and he was really looking forward to it. Then he said, 'yeah, Mummy, it's just like it used to be when it was just you and me, I like that". 

My heart melted, and now, apart for the fantastic weather, I really can't wait for summer so I have 2 months to spend with just my boy. (Although check back with me in September to see if I really did enjoy it or if he managed to drive me crazy!)

Easter Decorating

The boy has been very keen to decorate the house for Easter, my version of Easter decorating is normally some fresh flowers or plants on the table, but that wasn't enough for him!  So we've hung some the crafts he's made at school, and we've gotten the Easter baskets out, but he wants more .

I remembered how much fun he had making the wreath at Christmas and thought that I could use plastic eggs instead of balls to modify Lindsey's Amaze-Balls wreath. I figured that I could buy a couple of packs of eggs from the dollar store and if it didn't work, it wouldn't be a big deal.

So just like at Christmas, I used the glue gun and the boy was the artistic director and guided the layout. And I have to say, it looks really cute. I'm quite pleased with how well it turned out. It's bright and cheery - a perfect spring pick me up, and it was a fun afternoon crafting with the boy. A definite win all around!

And now we're decorated for Easter!