Yum: Cinnamon Twisties

After a failed attempt at making banana chips this weekend, I decided to whip up a batch of my favorite Cinnamon Twisties. I usually make these around the holidays, but really they're good all year long!

These are incredibly easy! In total it probably takes 10 minutes prep and 15 minutes cooking. Seriously you can't beat that...and everyone loves these!

All that you'll need is:

Puff Pastry Sheet

1 Egg

Cinnamon Sugar

(If you do not have any cinnamon sugar you can simple mix equal parts cinnamon and sugar in a bowl)

Go ahead and preheat your oven to 400 degrees while you're getting these ready. First, I cut my sheet of Puff Pastry into strips. (Sometimes I make tiny bow ties with these, and they're adorable!) Next, I brush the egg onto each twist and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar onto each one.

Pop those bad boys into the oven for 15 minutes or until golden and flaky. Enjoy!

Yum: Peach & Pineapple Salsa

If you checked out my meal planner on Monday you would know that I made tuna steaks on Sunday and brightened it up with some fancy pants salsa. Hellllo! Maybe this is just my feeble attempt to make it Spring time here, but whatever. It was good. The salsa, that is. I wasn't the biggest fan of the tuna steaks. I have never tried a sweet salsa like this before, so it was really stepping outside of the box for me - Craig was in heaven. He loved it!

Here's how you make it (makes enough for 3 servings):
5 peach slices
1/5 of a pineapple
1/3 red onion
Cilantro - to your preference

Okay, so I sort of just made up the proportions of this recipe, but its probably about accurate. I used frozen peaches because they're really hard to find fresh this time of year. If you do this just make sure that you let them thaw out first. The pineapple was fresh, and muy delicioso! I'm not a fan of red onion, but let me say this...it makes sense. If you've never tried a fruit salsa like this its hard to wrap your head around, but once you taste it..you get it. Just do it. I didn't use a ton of cilantro because I'm not the biggest fan, but I find it nice in moderation. It paired nicely with the fish, but maybe I should have cooked the fish differently (also why I'm not doing a recipe on the whole dish! haha)

I would also think that this could be a great idea on a salad in place of dressing...maybe add in some dried cranberries or cherries. Sweet decisions. Enjoy!

Yum: Spicy Kale Chips

I never liked kale before, but I've been seeing all the buzz about making chips floating around the internet. A few weeks ago a friend of mine whipped up a batch while I was at her house....they lasted maybe a minute fresh out of the oven before we devoured them. They melt right in your mouth, which is a strange thing to say about a vegetable.

I decided to put my own spin on these and make them spicy! And man...they really had a kick! I have made these several times now and have found that whether you keep it simple with just a little bit of salt, add in a mixture of spices or sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese these are going to turn out great!

You'll need to heat up your oven to 350 degrees, drizzle your kale with some olive oil (I massage it into the leaves to make sure that all of the crevasses are covered), lay out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with spices. These will bake for 8-10 minutes, flipping at 5 mintues.

I'm looking forward to trying out some Italian spices and Parmesan cheese too! Next up: brussel sprouts!

Yum: Vanilla Cinnamon Walnuts

This snack might be the best thing I've ever made and maybe even the easiest. I found the recipe on Pinterest (I mean really, how did we ever cook/decorate/get dressed with out this site?!) I made a big batch as a thank you gift for a friend who watched my Kennedy-Buttons while Craig and I had a night in the city. I might have kept a small bowl for myself too :)

I always felt a little intimidated by recipes that had anything to do with ''candy'' for fear that I might have to stir with just the right amount of speed or break out the ol' candy thermometer. But this recipe only took about 20 minutes and made a huge batch!

Here's what you'll need:
4 cups of Walnuts
1 1/2 cup Sugar
2/3 cup Water
4 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Cinnamon

First, you're going to want to spread out all of the nuts onto a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Then, combine all of the nuts, sugar, water, vanilla and cinnamon into a pot and allow to boil. Once the mixture has started to heat up you'll want to start stirring. Keep stirring until all of the liquid has been absorbed - this process will only take about 5 minutes or so.

Lastly, lay out the mixture onto the baking sheet to cool. If you don't do this they will clump!

Eat the whole batch immediately!