Category: Snack

Baseball Park Style Candied Cashews

Dax Phillips 2 Comments

Unfortunately we were not able to get out to a ballgame this year. It is one of those things we love to do as a family. Everything from the tailgate, walking into the stadium, and enjoying the game (and more food). If there is one thing my wife loves it is the candied style nuts that they serve. The smell of them cooking is intoxicating, and they are as good to eat as they are to smell. It’s one of those things we typically buy together when we go. So with that being said, and a bit disappointed that we were not able to get to a game this year, I was not going to let that stop me from coming up with a batch of these baseball park style candied nuts for my wife and kids to enjoy.

Baseball Park Style Candied Nuts Recipe
Baseball Park Style Candied Nuts Recipe

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of whole cashews
  • 1 whole egg white, beaten
  • 1 tsp ice cold water
  • 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
  • generous pinch of salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • cooking spray, or parchment paper

The trick to getting that candied effect on the nuts is the egg white. It adds just the awesome crunch and serves as the glue for the seasoning.

Baseball Park Style Candied Nuts Recipe
Baseball Park Style Candied Nuts Recipe

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the egg white and water in a bowl until it is nice and frothy.

Add the nuts to the bowl, along with the spices, and mix very well.

Baseball Park Style Candied Nuts Recipe
Baseball Park Style Candied Nuts Recipe

Lay the nuts evenly on the baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until everything begins to caramelize and get nice and toasted. Once that is achieved, remove from the oven, and slide those nuts into a serving bowl. Let cool for about 5 minutes (if you can resist), and dig in.

You want to talk about not only a great ballpark snack, but these nuts are perfect this time of year, especially around the holidays! Hope you enjoy and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone!

Chocolate Cake Waffles

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Do you know that time when you wake up and you immediately think of how much you love your kids? Yeah, me to. Granted parenting can be a very difficult thing in anyone’s life, but getting those ‘I love you Dad’ on a daily basis, especially, and personally nowadays it means everything to me. I love my kids and it is probably one of the reasons I cook and come up with recipes to hopefully continue to build memories and get them thinking about family, food, and all kinds of different cuisine. I mean what kid doesn’t love Thai/Lao larb, right? I know mine do.

My kids love breakfast, and I know how they roll. Chocolate chip whatever is how they roll. Me? I am not a fan of the sweet breakfast, but if you throw in a breakfast hash, some toast, and an easy egg, well then I am all in. But it is about them, and so are these super easy to make chocolate cake waffles.

Chocolate Cake Waffles Recipe
Chocolate Cake Waffles Recipe

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • Waffle iron
  • cooking spray
  • 1 box of your favorite cake mix
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/4 cup of water

It doesn’t get any easier than this. Read the back of your cake mix box if you want and take if from there. I go chocolate because that’s how my kids roll, but think of the endless amounts of waffles you could be making!

Heat your waffle iron. During this time mix the cake mix, oil, eggs, and water, and make into a smooth batter.

Chocolate Cake Waffles Ingredients
Chocolate Cake Waffles Ingredients

Once your iron is heated, lightly coat it with cooking spray.

Ladle in some of the cake mix to fill into the waffle iron. Close, flip, and cook until your waffle iron tells you so. The waffles should easily be removed from the iron. Repeat and get ready to see smiles on your kids faces.  The result? No clue, but what I can tell you is they LOVED them. Enjoy!

Kiwi Chips

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

This past summer I was doing my best to get a good intake of fruits, vegetables, and try to heal my body as best as I could. My appetite was there, but typically only in small amounts. Not a bad thing I suppose, but it was not the same as it was in the past. One of the things I was thinking about was how could I get great nutritional blasts with a depleted appetite? I was eating yogurt like it was going out of style, probably more for the probiotic impact, as well as smoothies, but there were those times I simply wanted a snack, and a good one. That’s when that dehydrator came into the game.

As you may know, I recently posted on making apple chips, and those were a huge hit, but when these little kiwi chips hit the table, well, they were like nutritious candy.

Dehydrated Kiwi Chips Recipe
Dehydrated Kiwi Chips Recipe

This recipe is way too simple to make and only takes a few minutes to get the skins removed from the kiwi, and yes there are a couple of different ways to remove the skin.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 3 whole kiwis, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
  • Food dehydrator

Whoa! Yep, pretty much only one ingredient and how awesome is that!

So your options for getting the skins off of the kiwi are up to you. You can use a pairing knife and work your way around the kiwi to remove the skin, or you can cut the ends of the kiwi off, and take a spoon and carefully insert it under the skin, working your way around staying close to the skin and the fruit, and wedge the whole kiwi out that way. It’s up to you.

Once the kiwi is out, cut them into 1/4 inch rounds.

How to dehydrate kiwi
How to dehydrate kiwi

Lay the kiwi onto the dehydrator racks, keeping an inch or so apart. Once all of your kiwi are on the racks, cover, turn it on, and let it go from 5-8 hours. Feel free to touch and feel to the desired texture you are going for. I liked a little spring or chew for that matter, so my time dehydrating was less.

The result is a bunch of not only cool looking kiwi chips, but a chip that is so delicious it’s seriously like candy. The great thing about eating these is knowing how good they are for you. I should really just keep my dehydrator out and on at all times. That thing is not just for beef jerky you know!?

Sopa de Ajo (Bread Soup with Garlic)

Dax Phillips Leave a comment

Lately I told you that I was making a lot of homemade bread lately.  It was a process that kept me occupied while I fought my time with cancer. I was probably making it so much that my kids were getting slightly bored with the fact that there would be a fresh loaf of bread waiting for them when they got home. Sure, everyone would tear off, or cut off a piece of the bread, swipe it in some softened butter and move along their way, but there were a few times where I was left with too much bread. That’s when the lightbulb went off in my head to use the leftover bread and make a Spanish style soup called sopa de ajo. This is not only a great and tasty soup loaded with flavor, but it is a great use of day old bread!

Sopa de Ajo Recipe
Sopa de Ajo Recipe

I’ll admit that it is not the prettiest of soups but the flavor and simplicity make up for it.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 head of garlic, skin removed, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 loaf of day old French or country bread, torn into 1 inch pieces, lightly toasted
  • 4 cups of chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup of pinot grigio or some version of dry white wine
  • 2 whole eggs, beaten
  • salt, to taste
  • cracked black pepper to taste
What is not to love about this, right?
Start by heating up your soup pot on medium heat. Add in the oil, then add in the garlic, cooking for a couple of minutes. After a couple of minutes, add in the Spanish paprika and give it a good stir. Add in the bread and give another good stir. Keep stirring the bread until it begins to get a little bit of crust on the bread. The day old bread should already be a bit hard but trying to get a little color on it works.
After a few minutes, of cooking that bread, add in the wine, and give that a good stir. Cook for a few minutes to get rid of some of that alcohol, then add in the stock.
Sopa de Ajo Ingredients
Sopa de Ajo Ingredients

Bring the stock to a boil, then drizzle in the beaten eggs, stirring along the way. Cook for a few more minutes, then season with about 1 teaspoon of salt, and a few cracks of black pepper. Taste and season with more salt and pepper should you desire.

Ladle into a soup bowl, and dig in. This sopa de ajo is so comforting. Yes, it’s way too simple, but it is super hearty and a great use of that leftover bread. If you are looking for a great and easy soup, and one that is perfect during these rainy and cold fall days then give this one a shot. Hope you enjoy!