Spiced Up Candied Pecans

I can't believe its been 3 weeks since I've posted something...Not the best way to begin a blog! I have been so busy with all of my holiday plans that the blog posts came to a stand still. Thankfully, I have the next 2 weeks off of work (Yay for a normal teaching schedule!) and I will have lots of time to work on my blog! =) 

Here is a quick and delicious recipe that I made yesterday and wanted to share. 

I made the mistake of buying the bulk sized bag of pecans, even though I only needed a cup and a half for my Christmas pecan pie, so I was in desperate need to use up 32 ounces worth of pecans. Thankfully, I came across a simple recipe for Candied Pecans from another blogger, Kevin & Amanda. (http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/appetizer/candied-pecans.html)

This great recipe served as such a quick and easy way to use up my extra supply of pecans! Not only that, but its was a perfect way for me to give something sweet and delicious to a neighbor of ours that is lactose intolerant. The only adjustment I made was to add a touch of Pumpkin Pie Spice that I had to jazz it up a bit.  

The only ingredients needed for this recipe are white sugar, pecans, egg whites, water, ground cinnamon, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Keep in mind, I had a giant bag of pecans so the recipe here is doubled what was suggested. I gave a lot of it away with Christmas cookies so if you are planning to make a small batch for your family, I recommend dividing the quantities in half. (See the original post from Kevin & Amanda for the recipe).

First thing, whisk white 4 egg whites and 4 tablespoons of water in a large bowl just to mix. 

Add your pecans to the egg whites & water mixture. 

 In a separate bowl, combine 2 cups white sugar, 2 teaspoons salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice. 

Now add the sugar mixture to the pecans. Be sure to gently pour the mixture over the pecans and stir to assure even coverage. Almost done!

Spread the pecans onto a greased baking sheet. I didn't have any cooking spray in the house so I ended up just spreading out my pecans onto parchment lined baking sheets, which worked fine and helped me avoid any mess. The pecans need to be baked at 225 for an hour and you should toss them every 15 minutes. 

Even after they were done, the pecans were still a bit sticky so I let them sit overnight before I transferred them. The next day they were crunchy and nicely coated, ready for sharing!

I'm so glad I found such a great solution for my excess pecans and 

will definitely be making these again!

Enjoy!! 

It's Officially the Holiday Season!

I absolutely LOVE the holiday season! The smell of cinnamon and pine trees, bright lights, holiday decorating, wrapping paper, baking, gift giving... I could go on and on...

With the holiday season also comes traditions that families continue or start to add excitement and memories to this special time of year. My husband and I haven't started any new ones yet since its still just the two of us but I am thankful that some traditions from my side of the family have continued.

The most memorable tradition would be our annual visit to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco to see The Christmas Carol. The tradition started many years ago when I was a child and my dad would take me to the local theater to see the play. Teenage years halted our trip for awhile but it started up again about 5 years ago.

If you haven't seen this play, I highly recommend it, especially the cast at ACT if you live in the SF Bay Area. The ACT is right in the heart of downtown San Francisco so the day out to see the play always includes dinner, shopping and a trip to the Union Square Christmas tree. The play truly is the best story about family, friends and the holiday spirit of giving to others. For me, it is the perfect way to kick of the holiday season with my family and it's a great reminder about what this time of year is really about.

Whatever traditions you and your family have, I hope that they are as memorable as the ones I have with my family.

Happy Holidays!

Spin on an Ornament Centerpiece

To kick off the holiday season, I'm hosting a table at my church's Women's Christmas Dinner and I needed a festive but inexpensive centerpiece as my table's focal point. I went with a gold color scheme after I found this amazing gold burlap at the Joanns so wanted to incorporate it into the idea. I've seen so many ideas using ornaments so I just tied the two concepts together! 

This is what I used to create my centerpiece: 

Apothecary jar, leftover strip of burlap and 

shatterproof ornaments

I wanted to add some texture to the overall look so I created a ruffle using the strip of burlap. The strip I had was about 3 inches wide and maybe 30" long. To create the ruffle, I just found a strand along the center and gently pulled. Clearly I'm off center but those gold dots were impossible to deal with and I liked that it wasn't so symmetrical. 

As you are GENTLY pulling the strand, move the material to spread out the ruffling that you are creating and to help avoid any breaks in the burlap strand. 

Once you have completed a portion of the ruffle, identify the opposite end of the burlap strand and pull it out from the other end. I neglected to think of this beforehand so the end of the ruffle  isn't much of a ruffle at all... =) Keep moving along the burlap until finish the strand and complete your ruffle. 

I didn't take pictures as I constructed the actual centerpiece since it was a bit of a juggling act but all I did was layer the balls as I spiraled the burlap ruffle around the jar. I placed 4 balls in first and then tucked in the ruffle to secure it. Then I continued to put in more balls and wound the burlap around the jar until I reached the top. Simple enough! Quick, easy and inexpensive but provided me with the sparkle and appeal that I wanted for my centerpiece. 

I'll be sure to follow up with an overview of my completed table from the Holiday Dinner soon! 

Finally!

After much talk, skepticism and procrastination, I finally just took a leap and started my first blog!

I am cautiously optimistic about this new venture but really hope that I can turn this into a resource to collect my thoughts and ideas when it comes to my life. And if all goes well, I would love to extend my reach to encourage and inspire readers to add some more beauty, fun or creativity into their lives.

Erica

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on” – Albert Einstein