Congratulations to Our Recipe Contest Winner!

The Winner of our Annual Holiday Recipe Contest is Diane Keasler of Satsuma, AL. Here is her recipe for a delicious Pecan Wafer Pound cake . It was quite difficult to pick a winner and we had lots of input from many tasters of all ages. Congrats, to our winner and special thanks to all the people who took the time to post their delicious recipes.

Pecan Wafer Pound Cake
1 box vanilla wafers (crush using rolling pin or food processor)
1 cup butter or margarine (softened at room temperature)
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
½ cup milk
1 -7 oz. package flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Grease and flour bundt cake pan.
Preheat oven to 275 degrees

Cream together sugar and butter
Add eggs one at a time – blending well after each egg
Alternate adding milk and vanilla wafer crumbs – blend well after each
Fold in coconut and pecans
Pour batter into pan and bake for 2 hours at 275 degrees.
Allow cake to cool completely before removing from pan.
It's one of my family favorites every holiday! Enjoy!

posted by The Pecan Diva @ 11:11 AM

Chicken Salad with Roasted Tomatoes

Yield: 2 Servings

½ cup pecans, finely chopped and toasted
½ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons butter
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 tablespoons olive oil½ pound cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cups mixed greens
Red onion slicesCucumber slices
2 ounces blue cheese
Ranch or balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix together pecans, panko, salt, cayenne and black pepper.

Melt butter and oil in ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Dredge chicken in pecan panko mixture. Sauté in skillet until brown on bottom – about 2 minutes. Turn chicken over and place skillet in oven. Bake 15 to 18 minutes until cooked through. Set aside. Slice when cool.

Lower oven temperature to 350°F. Arrange tomatoes on baking sheet and toss with olive oil. Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

To assemble, divide greens between two plates. Arrange red onion, cucumber, roasted tomatoes and chicken over greens. Top with blue cheese, if desired. Serve with ranch dressing or balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Recipe courtesy of the National Pecan Shellers Association.

posted by The Pecan Diva @ 12:03 PM

Pecan Praline Cheesecake

When I recently came across this recipe for Caramel Pecan Cheesecake in one of my favorite cookbooks, I knew exactly who I would be inviting to share this delicious dessert. My oldest son is a huge cheesecake fan. I knew the combination of his favorite ingredients caramel and pecans; would be hard for him to resist a visit to his momma’s house. How could I resist making this? With pecans, caramel and cheesecake all rolled up into one; there was no way that I could. One thing I really liked about this recipe is that it was so easy to make and turned out so good! The caramel and pecan flavor combo was simply amazing! My son thoroughly enjoyed this cheesecake and I will be sure to make it many times.

Now I would like to share this recipe with you.

Pecan Praline Cheesecake

Ingredients:
1 ¼ c. crushed graham crackers
¼ c. sugar
¼ c. pecan meal
½ c. melted butter
24 oz. softened cream cheese
1 c. packed brown sugar
1 (5 1/3 oz.) can evaporated milk
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 ½ c. toasted pecan halves

In small mixing bowl, combine cracker crumbs, granulated sugar and finely chopped pecans. Stir in melted butter. Press in the crumb mixture over the bottom and 1 ½ inches up the sides of a 9 inch spring from pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat together cream cheese, 1 c. brown sugar, evaporated milk, flour, and vanilla. Add eggs; beat just until blended. Pour into baked crust. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Cool in pan 30 minutes. Loosen sides and remove from pan. Cool completely; arrange pecan halves atop cheesecake.

Topping:
1 c. dark corn syrup
½ c. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 ½ Tbsp. vanilla

Before serving, combine corn syrup, cornstarch and brown sugar in small saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool slightly. To serve, spoon some of the warm sauce over the pecans on the cheesecake.

posted by The Pecan Diva @ 3:20 PM

Caramel-Pecan Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup chopped pecans


• 1 (18.25-oz.) package yellow cake mix


• 2 1/2 cups uncooked quick-cooking oats


• 3/4 cup butter, melted


• 1 (11.5-oz.) package milk or semisweet chocolate morsels


• 25 caramels


• 1 tablespoon water

Preparation

1. Place pecans in a single layer in a 13- x 9-inch pan.
2. Bake at 350° for 4 to 5 minutes or until toasted, stirring occasionally. Remove nuts from pan.
3. Line bottom and sides of pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2 to 3 inches to extend over sides; lightly grease foil.
4. Stir together cake mix and oats in a large bowl. Stir in butter with a fork until mixture is crumbly and dry ingredients are moistened. Press half of oat mixture evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate morsels and toasted pecans evenly over oat mixture in pan. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture.
5. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
6. Microwave caramels and 1 Tbsp. water in a microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until caramels are melted. Drizzle evenly over warm bars in pan. Let cool on a wire rack 1 hour or until completely cool.
7. Lift baked bars from pan, using foil sides as handles. Place on a cutting board, and cut into 24 bars.

Recipe Courtesy of southernliving.com

posted by The Pecan Diva @ 4:37 PM

Tailgating Time

Football……Food…….Fun


September brings cooler weather, beautiful skies and of course football.
Here in the south football season is what we look forward too after summer
vacation. And what would a Saturday of football be like without wonderful food.

If you hit the campus to tailgate or just enjoy watching a game on TV, the
food served is always important. I know everyone has their favorites but
maybe you can try some of our favorites this year.



Ribs with Peach Grilling Sauce

Ribs (2-3 slabs)
Priesters Peach Grilling Sauce
Brush ribs with ½ bottle of Peach Grilling Sauce
Place ribs on a baking pan and bake on 350 degrees
For 30-45 minutes.
Remove ribs and brush the ribs with the remaining Peach Grilling
Sauce and cook on medium on the grill for 20-30 minutes longer.

The ribs will have a wonderful flavor, not spicy but a unique taste.


Baked Potato Salad

6-8 potatoes (baked in the oven until soft)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
Chopped dill pickles (add as many or few as you like)
6-8 pieces of precooked bacon (chop into small pieces)

Take skin off of potatoes and cut up in small pieces, add all other
Ingredients and mix well. You can add more mayonnaise and sour cream
for your taste.




Pecan Shrimp Spread

1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 cup finely chopped pecans
1 ½ cup chopped boiled shrimp

Mix together all ingredients. Chill
Serve on crackers.




Macaroni Pecan Salad

1/3 cup salt
2 ½ gal. boiling water
3 lbs. elbow macaroni
¾ cup vinegar
1 ½ cup salad oil
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 ½ cup chopped ham
¾ Cheddar cheese strips
1 cup chopped green peppers
2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup chopped green onion

Add salt to boiling water. Gradually add macaroni so that water continues to boil.
Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water and drain again. Chill

In a large bowl, combine vinegar, oil, paprika, salt and pepper; mix well. Add cooked macaroni and toss lightly. Cover and chill for 1 hour. Add ham, cheese, green pepper, pecan and green onions to chilled macaroni. Cover and chill thoroughly to allow flavors to blend. Better if made a day ahead. Serves 20 to 25 people.





Pecan Cheesecake Brownies

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Brownie Mix
2-8oz. pkgs. Cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs (total in recipe)
½ cup water
1 cup chopped pecans

Cheese Layer: Allow cream cheese to soften at room temperature. Mix cream cheese, sugar, 1 egg and vanilla in small bowl until well blended. Set aside

Brownie layer: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare brownie mix according to chewy fudge package directions. Add pecans to the brownie mix. Spread brownie batter into greased 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and top evenly with cheese mixture. Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

posted by The Pecan Diva @ 4:56 PM

Super Summer Salad

Choose your combination of
Leafy Salad Greens

Add any of these to your salad that you like:
Strawberries
Purple Onion
Avocados
Carrots
Dried Cranberries
Mandarin Oranges
Honey Glazed Pecans
Feta Cheese on Top

*For a complete summer meal add boiled shrimp or
baked chicken breast to your salad.

Vinaigrette Dressing

½ cup olive oil
½ cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoon water
¼ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon garlic
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Put in a dressing mixing bottle and shake
to mix well. Can refrigerate and keep about 3-5 days.

posted by The Pecan Diva @ 3:23 PM

Baking with Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Summer is a wonderful time for fresh fruits and vegetables. With food cost climbing so many people are going back to their roots and planting gardens. I think we all can enjoy putting seeds in the ground and watching the wonder of God develop these into healthy food for our family.

Many young adults are enjoying the art of gardening. It is so refreshing to see the hard work and self satisfaction that they get from producing food for themselves. My boys have all planted some type of garden whether big or small, and they are getting so much enjoyment from sharing there vegetables with family and friends. They are also realizing how much better the vegetables taste straight from the soil.

Most gardeners plant some type of squash, peppers, okra and of course tomatoes. We have in our garden lots of yellow or crook neck squash and zucchini. I have cooked the squash in many different ways and continued to look for more recipes, when I found a Zucchini bread recipe. This is really good for breakfast with cream cheese or serves with salads. I also found a Strawberry bread recipe which is so good with fresh strawberries, which seem to be really good and sweet this year.

I hope you will enjoy both these bread recipes. They are quick to put together and takes about an hour of cooking time.


Zucchini Bread

3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups grated zucchini pealed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped Pecans

Beat eggs with mixer until foamy. Add sugar, oil, zucchini and vanilla; mix well. Add mixture of flour, salt baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda; mix just until moistened. Stir in pecans. Pour into two greased loaf pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until bread tests done. Yield about 26 servings.





Strawberry Bread

1 16 oz. package frozen strawberries, thawed
or 1lb. fresh strawberries chopped
4 eggs
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped Pecans


Combine strawberries, eggs and oil in medium bowl; mix well. Mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and pecans in large bowl. Add strawberry mixture to dry ingredients; stir just until mixed. Pour into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans for several minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely. Yield 24 servings.

posted by The Pecan Diva @ 10:23 AM