Spiced Pecans

Sugar and Spice scream Christmas! when combined with toasted pecans

If you were to shop one of the nation's most popular purveyors of mail order gifts, you might find yourself paying up to $30 a pound for totally run of the mill nuts. That makes me say "Awwwww Nuuuuuuuuuuts."Hopefully by the end of this post you'll be saying "Ah! Nuts!" As in, Oh, wow, I must make these.

Impress your friends and family with home-made delicious and exotic flavored nuts. Its ridiculously simple, and takes only ONE hour! 

I did one pound of nuts this afternoon just to confirm that my recipe was truly as great as I thought it would be (and it was :) ) But you can definitely do more than one pound of nuts at a time by doubling or tripling the recipe. I get two pounds of beautiful whole pecans at Costco for around $15. Once I account for the egg, sugar, and spice, THIS pound of nuts will come in around $8.00 a pound, leaving plenty of money left over to make lovely little packages to give them in. (Although, I have a secret for that as well, that will save  TONS of money by using things you probably already have! See our Living Generously page for a quick and wasy craft that doubles as a unique gift package)

Gg's Spiced Pecans

1 lb whole pecans

1 egg white

1 T water

1 C sugar

available in the Gg store

3/4 t kosher salt

1 t Wise Woman of the East gourmet spice blend by Chef Tess

Beat egg white and water together until foamy.

Combine Sugar, Salt, and Wise Woman of the East gourmet spice blend in a large bowl.

Toss whole pecans with  beaten egg whites, stir to coat. Empty coated pecans into Sugar and Spice combination. Toss until well coated and no sugar remains in bottom of bowl.  

Spread nuts evenly across jelly roll pan covered in parchment paper ( use a jelly roll because it has sides so when you stir the nuts during baking they don't fly all over the oven!) in a single layer.

Place pan into a preheated oven (250 F) and bake one hour, stirring every fifteen minutes.

Let cool (nuts will crisp as they cool) and Enjoy! (the giving, enjoy the giving! Get out of the nuts, they're for the neighbors!)

Sugar and Spice are very nice, aren't they?

~Gg

Kids in the kitchen

When kids visit the kitchen, mom puts perfectionism away

I am passionate about bringing kids into the kitchen.  Its funny, because I'm also somewhat of a perfectionist, and will admittedly get frustrated when my vision for a project does not end up matching the vision of the child I am working side by side with. But that's ok, we're creating memories, not perfection.  My 9 year old son LOVES with a capital L Gingerbread.  And I love to make it with him, but its tricky, heavy, doesn't always remain even remotely in one piece. One year I cut double of each shape just to be sure we would get at least one structurally sound Gingerbread House.  It was a pain, but the little boys and girls my son made were darling and delicious.  This year, Chef Stephanie Petersen aka Chef Tess has another idea: build your houses out of something a little less delicious, and spend more time on the fun part. This year, I think we'll do it Chef Tess' way, and save the yummy gingerbread for boys and girls and little trees and bells.  They'll be darling, and the house will be a dirty trick for anybody who tries to eat it.  These are terrific inexpensive gifts, and your kids will love you for the time you take with them to complete these.

Chef Tess' "Gingerbread" Houses

Are you going to make Gingerbread this year? Post your pictures to our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you!

~Gg

Gourmet Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Welcome back to Gg's Kitchen, we're having so much fun testing out recipes using products from our brand new Generous Giant Pantry.  With winter brings Cranberries! Healthy, nutritious, delicious Cranberries. We love them in our home and have developed just for you the most delicious spiced cranberry sauce you'll ever make.  And what makes it extra spectacular? For me, its the fact that this recipe is so easy my 16 and 6 year olds were able to make it all by themselves!

Spiced Cranberry Sauce

Original recipe from Gg's Kitchen

1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries *frozen will work too
1 orange
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Gourmet Spice Blend
8 whole cloves
2 whole cinnamon sticks

Place cranberries, sugar and water in heavy saucepan, zest orange and add freshly grated zest to the pan. Quarter the orange, and push whole cloves into orange quarters. Add cloved oranges to pan.  Place cinnamon sticks in pan, and add 1/2 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Gourmet Spice Blend.

Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cranberries will begin to pop and thicken. When mixture is consistency of jelly, remove from heat.

Remove orange quarters and cinnamon sticks from mixture, and place in serving bowl, mason jar, or plastic tub to cool.  Serve with poultry, on sandwiches, or over cream cheese with crackers for a quick and easy appetizer.

Want 

Pumpkin Fudge

Pumpkin Fudge

When we brought Chef Tess' Gourmet spice line into the Generous Giant pantry, we knew we'd get to have some fun and so we have! Here is the first in what we hope is many Generous Giant endorsed recipes using the Chef Tess line of gourmet spices. This recipe calls for the amazing "Wise Woman of the East" blend, using classic sweet spices and that extra little "something" that makes it deliciously unique.

Pumpkin Fudge 

(Adapted from the original "spicy pumpkin fudge" recipe from allrecipes user Ranger1)

Quick, easy and perfect for gift giving this holiday season.

2 cups white sugar
1 cup light or dark brown sugar
5 oz evaporated milk
1 cup coconut oil or butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Gourmet Spice Blend
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 10.5 oz bag mini marshamallows

Pecan Halves (optional)
Additional Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Gourmet Spice Blend (optional)

Prepare a 9x13 pan with parchment paper.

Combine first six ingredients in heavy pot, bring to boil while stirring constantly.  Boil and stir until mixture reaches 234 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove mixture from heat, immediately stir in white chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, stirring until completely melted.

Poor hot mixture into prepared pan and let rest overnight before portioning.

Sprinkle a small amount of Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Gourmet Spice Blend as Garnish with whole pecan halves.

Buy Chef Tess Now

Wise Woman of the East

$9.00

Choose your charity Gingham Project

Product Announcement- Chef Tess Seasoning Blends

As our facebook fans already know, Gg's and Chef Stephanie Petersen of Chef Tess Bakeresse have joined forces for good, or as the Chef would say "for evil...goodness".  What's so evil, or good about this new arrangement?  The bright, bold flavors of Chef Tess' Original Blends.  Manufactured with the strictest quality, these bottles  of pure joy promise to delight.  They are in stock and ready to ship now in singles, custom 4 packs, or a very special 8 pack, with full size bottles of each Chef Tess blend.

Chef Tess Blends are easy to use, just add them to your favorite pasta, potato, egg, or veggie dishes.  Our friends with Allergies should be made aware that the "Amazing Wok Star" blend does contain wheat, and all the Chef Tess blends are processed in a facility that also processes wheat.

~Here's one of our favorite tips for using Chef Tess herbal blends in your everyday cooking~

You'll need:
Ripened Tomato or halved grape tomatoes
Cottage Cheese
Chef Tess Seasoning Blend of your Choice

Arrange sliced tomatoes atop cottage cheese and sprinkle with herbal blend of your choice. Enjoy the benefits of an herbal blend designed to work with your body to calm, comfort, and delight the senses.

Want more information?  Descriptions of each blend and pricing are available in the Generous Giant store.
Want to try Chef Tess with a discount? enter chef10 at check out for 10% off your entire order.

Welcome to the Heart of the Home

We're so excited you're here.  Do you have a tendency to show love and appreciation with food?  We'll be sharing some of our favorite recipes for giving! You're going to love this feature. We can be kitchen generous on any budget, join us for recipes, tutorials, and links to our favorite kitchen giants.