Candied Nuts

I did these with walnuts but I imagine they would work just as well as pecans or almonds for that matter. These are amazing, just ask the lucky ladies that got to try them.

1 lb walnuts whole, shelled

1 c sugar

2t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground nutmeg

1/4 t salt

6T milk

1t vanilla extract

heat oven to 350, toast the nuts for about 10 minutes or so. (as soon as you can smell them, remove them from the oven)

heat sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and milk in a saucepan until soft ball stage, 236 degrees (I really did use a candy thermometer for this because I was afraid of the sugar not melting all the way and being grainy on the finished nut).

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Stir in nuts and spread them on waxed paper being sure to seperate well.

Serve when cool.

Baked Oatmeal

Found this on MDC. This is good stuff, especially for lazy winter mornings or as part of a festive brunch. It's kind of a breakfast dessert--like an oatmeal cake. It's nice to prepare it all the night before and then all you have to do in the morning is put it in the oven and wait 35 minutes. I especially like baked oatmeal with cooked apples on top. You can just peel and slice a bunch of apples and put them in the crockpot with some sugar, cinnamon, and butter (or just by themselves) and put it on high for an hour and the apples are done. But I wouldn't do that in the morning--I would have the apples made ahead of time. Anyway, the baked oatmeal:

1/2 cup applesauce or vegetable oil (I use organic cinnamon applesauce)
3/4 cup sweetener (I use a little less and use a combination of honey and sugar)
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I use light plain soymilk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups regular oats
1/2 cup raisins (or other dried fruit, I like cherries)
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions: Beat together applesauce and sweetener. Mix in eggs, milk, salt, baking powder, oatmeal. Beat well and then stir in raisins. Pour into a lightly greased pie pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350. Bake in preheated oven until firm, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.