hopefulandhungry

My kitchen has been filled with the aroma of baking…..my favorite!  Every year, I like to make these spicy n’ sweet pecans.  They are super easy to make, store easily and make perfect little gifts for the holidays.  I usually share them with my hair stylist, massage therapist, friends and family.  Also, these nuts are great on salads, they add a little kick of sweet and spice and add some crunchy texture.  I love them with a salad of mixed greens, pears, gorgonzola, and a citrus vinaigrette.

Spicy n’ Sweet Pecans

Ingredients:

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Grease one baking sheet.  (I usually use a jelly roll pan, the sides prevent the pecans from going all over.)

2.  In a mixing bowl, whip together the egg white and water until frothy.  In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, salt, cinnamon and cayenne.

3.  Add pecans to egg whites, stir to coat the nuts evenly.  Remove the nuts, and toss them in the sugar mixture until coated.  Spread the nuts out on the prepared baking sheet.

4.  Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour.  Stir every 15 minutes.

This week has finally been less busy with holiday events, but I’ve been doing all of my last-minute stuff around the house.  Baking, wrapping gifts, getting stocking stuffers, preparing for our early Christmas gathering with my in-laws and packing to head out-of-town to visit my own parents for Christmas.  I’ve definitely been getting into the spirit of the season, I’ve got my Pandora radio set to the holiday station and have been singing along while I work away!

I’m heading back to my clinic this Friday for my estrogen blood test.  I started Vivelle dot patches a few days ago.  I’ve dropped my dose of Lupron from 10 units to 5 units and have been wearing one Vivelle patch that I change every other day.  I’m hoping my estrogen levels are where they need to be and that I don’t have to do further supplementation.  So far this cycle has been nice, especially with the holidays coming up, we are able to visit family out-of-town without the interruption of office visits for ultrasounds and blood tests.  I am really hoping 2013 is the year of the baby!!!

Tomorrow my office is doing our annual cookie exchange, I’ll be posting my recipe soon.  I’m eager to see what yummy creations my co-workers have been busy baking!