Chipotle and Rosemary Roasted Nuts

Every year for Thanksgiving I always make a spiced nut mix to serve with drinks. Everyone always gobbles them up. No matter how much I make there are never any left! I am not sure why I only make them for Thanksgiving so when we were making our menu for Chanukah this year, Ellen asked if we could have them again. They are so easy to make I volunteered to make them again. I actually found this version in The Food Network magazine from Ina Garten who is one of my favorite Food Network stars.

Ingredients:

Vegetable oil

3 Cups whole roasted unsalted cashews (14 oz.)

2 Cups whole walnut halves (7 oz.)

2 Cups whole pecan halves (7 oz.)

1/2 Cup whole almonds (3 oz.)

1/3 Cup pure maple syrup

1/4 Cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

3 T freshly squeezed orange juic

2 tsp. ground chipotle powder

4 T minced fresh rosemary leaves

kosher salt

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a sheet pan generously with vegetable oil. Combine the cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, 2 T of the the vegetable oil, the maple syrup, brown sugar, orange juice and chipotle powder on the sheet pan; toss to coat. Add 2 T of the rosemary and 2 tsp of salt and toss again.

Spread the nuts in one layer. Roast for 25 minutes, stirring twice with a large metal spatula, until the nuts are glazed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with 2 more tsp of salt and the remaining 2 T of rosemary. Toss well and set aside at room temperature stirring occasionally to prevent sticking as they cool. Taste for seasoning. Serve warm or cool completely and store in airtight containers at room temperature for up to one week.

Roasted Tilapia with Rosemary and Tomatoes

 We seem to alway have fresh herbs and heirloom tomatoes on hand in my house lately.  So here is another healthy fish recipe that is big on taste without feeling guilty.  My 8 year old daughter loved this so much that she requested that I make it 2 days in a row.  Of course I happily agreed, especially since I did not really love the pictures I took the first time.  Round 2, much better light!

Ingredients:

1 lb Tilapia filets (4 filets)
2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, halved (I prefer heirloom)
Juice from half a lemon
salt and pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  In a small bowl combine chopped rosemary and the chopped garlic with olive oil and stir to combine.  Place halved tomatoes in a baking dish and spoon half of the rosemary, garlic, oil mixture over tomatoes and toss to coat.  Lightly season tilapia filets on both sides with salt and pepper and then add to baking dish and spoon remaining rosemary, garlic, oil mixture over the fish and spread evenly.  Squeeze the juice from half a lemon over fish and tomatoes.  Roast in oven for 25-30 minutes.