A Peek in My Cart – December 14 – 20

We’re going away next week for Christmas so I plan meals that will either use up food in the fridge or be made with pantry staples.

Monday – Potluck

It’s a Christmas party potluck. I eat a huge variety of yummy foods and desserts. I brought Sweet & Spicy Nuts, which are great because I could make them the day before.

Sweet and Spicy Nuts

 I clipped this recipe from a magazine many years ago. Unfortunately I didn’t include the mag’s name so I can’t give credit.

These nuts are easy to make and amazingly good.

1 cup raw almonds or cashews (or a combination of both)

1 cup raw pecans

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon curry powder

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
2. On a large cookie sheet, spread cashews, almonds and pecans. Bake 5 – 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. 
3. In a small bowl combine sugar, salt, pepper, and spices. Mix well.
4. Heat a large frypan on medium-high heat. Add nuts and sprinkle with spice mixture. Stir well, cooking about 5 minutes or until the sugar turns a caramel colour and sticks to the nuts.  
5. Allow to cool before serving.

 Note: be careful with the nuts and pan – sugar gets extremely hot when it melts.

Tuesday – Pesto pasta

Made with cannellini beans, frozen rapini and frozen bell peppers

Wednesday – Steak, roasted potatoes and squash

This is a great meal made of long-storage veggies and a defrosted steak. I always cook a big squash and extra potatoes – it’s just a tiny bit more work for 2 days worth of meals. 

Thursday – Instant Indian and squash

Today I paired my stand-by Instant Indian with leftover squash from last night.

Friday – Salathai

W and I meet up with some friends for Thai food across from the movie theatre before we catch a movie. 

Saturday – Pizza, apples, pears, almonds and chocolate

I didn’t feel like cooking so we tried another pizza place near our new house. We have yet to find a favourite – luckily there are more places to try. Afterwards, we head out to a friends’s place for a Christmas get-together. They put out a simple, tasty spread of thin slices of fruit, almonds and chocolate bars cut into bite-size pieces.

Sunday – Seven vegetable stew with brown rice

I pulled some leftover stew out of the freezer and matched it with brown rice.