Bananas, pecans, cinnamon, and honey blended together combine the flavors of summer and fall in this easy smoothie recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups low-fat vanilla yogurt
  • 2 large ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted pecans
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

  1. Process yogurt, bananas, ice, pecans, milk, honey, and cinnamon in a blender until smooth. Pour into glasses, and serve immediately.

Homemade Nut Butter
Come autumn, the harvest of almonds, pecans, and hazelnuts begins in earnest. Turning them into your own homemade nut butter not only makes storing easy, but also transforms an everyday snack into a rich, spreadable butter. A blender produces the smoothest results, but only a heavy-duty one is up to the task. As an alternative, use a food processor; the butter will just be a bit coarser.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups untoasted pecans
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1-1/2 to 4 Tablespoons canola, vegetable, or other neutral-flavored oil
  • 1 teaspoon honey

Preparation

  1. Put the nuts in a heavy-duty blender or a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.
  2. Add the salt and purée until the nuts become fairly smooth, adding only enough oil to help the nuts break down.
  3. Add the honey and pulse to mix.
  4. Transfer the nut butter to a sterile jar and store in a cool, dry place or the refrigerator.

Make Ahead Tips

The nut butter will keep at cool room temperature for up to 2 months, or in the refrigerator for 6 to 9 months.

Variations

Chunky Nut Butter: Coarsely chop 1/4 cup of the nuts. Make nut butter with the remaining nuts, and then stir in the chopped nuts by hand.

Flavors: You can adjust the flavor notes even more by adding additional honey, salt, maple syrup, cinnamon, or vanilla.

Serving Suggestions

Nut butter is delicious any time of day, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert. Here are a few tasty ways to use yours up:

  • Make banana and nut butter sandwiches.
  • Top a bowl of oatmeal with a spoonful of any nut butter.
  • Toss lo mein noodles with almond butter, soy sauce, sautéed snow peas, carrots, and scallions.
  • Dollop cooked green beans with hazelnut butter.
  • Swirl any nut butter into vanilla ice cream.
  • Spread pecan butter between two shortbread cookies.
  • Blend hazelnut or almond butter into smoothies.


Slice pickled Jalapeño pepper in half, fill with store-bought herbed garlic cheese and sprinkle with chopped pecans for an easy, 3-ingredient appetizer. You can make these a day ahead and keep chilled until serving time.

Ingredients

  • Whole pickled Jalapeño peppers
  • Spreadable garlic-and-herb cheese, softened
  • Chopped toasted pecans

Preparation

  1. Cut peppers in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds and membranes. Pipe softened cheese into each pepper half. Press peppers, cheese sides down, into chopped toasted pecans. Cover and chill up to 1 day.


Learn how to make deviled eggs with this easy recipe. Take your deviled eggs to the next level with creative additions such as bacon, shrimp, chives, crabmeat, pecans and pimiento.

Ingredients

  • 12 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup fat-free Greek yogurt
  • 2 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation

  1. Place eggs in a single layer in a stainless steel saucepan. (Do not use nonstick.) Add water to depth of 3 inches. Bring to a rolling boil; cook 1 minute. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 10 minutes. Drain.
  2. Place eggs under cold running water until just cool enough to handle. Tap eggs on the counter until cracks form; peel.
  3. Slice eggs in half lengthwise, and carefully remove yolks. Mash together yolks, yogurt, and next 4 ingredients until smooth using a fork. Spoon yolk mixture into egg white halves. Serve immediately, or cover and chill 1 hour before serving.

5 New Favorites

Try these innovative stir-ins to make your own signature deviled eggs. Prepare recipe as directed, stirring one of the following delicious combos into yolk mixture (Step 3).

  1. Creole Shrimp: 1/2 cup finely chopped cooked shrimp, 3 Tbsp. sautéed chopped green bell pepper, 1 minced green onion, 1/4 teaspoon Creole seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce. Top with cooked shrimp.
  2. Texas Caviar: 3 Tbsp. chopped roasted red bell pepper, 1 minced green onion, 1 Tbsp. minced pickled Jalapeño pepper, 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon Italian dressing mix. Top with canned black-eyed peas and fresh cilantro leaves.
  3. High Society: 1/2 cup cooked fresh lump crabmeat, 2 teaspoon fresh tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Top with cooked fresh crabmeat and watercress.
  4. Georgia Peach: 3 Tbsp. peach preserves, 1/4 cup finely chopped country ham, 1 teaspoon grated Vidalia onion, 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Top with sliced fresh peaches and chopped toasted pecans.
  5. Triple Pickle: 3 Tbsp. chopped bread-and-butter pickles, 2 Tbsp. chopped capers. Top with pickled okra slices.