Rosemary Cashews

People keep asking me if I'm eating anything since I'm on this "crazy diet."  Well, honestly, I've been eating a TON of food... not to the point where I'm stuffing myself, but I'm just eating when I'm hungry!  The best thing is that I'm not counting calories or tracking the grams of protein or even really worrying about how much I'm eating.  I'm just making sure that it is all healthy and yummy.   One of my favorite snacks is roasted nuts... almonds, macadamias, pecans, and ... CASHEWS!  Being a teacher, I can't always get away to make grab a piece of fruit or make a smoothie.  It's super easy, though, to grab a handful of roasted nuts and pop a few while I'm walking through the halls.

I found this recipe on an awesome website:  www.health-bent.com.  This couple creates healthy and yummy recipes.  I decided to give it a try, and now... I'm addicted!

Rosemary Roasted Cashews

* 1 1/2 c raw, unsalted cashews

* 2 Tbs honey

* 2 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped

* 3 Tbs olive oil

* 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

* 1/2 tsp salt

I didn't have a little honey bear, but my mother in law had given me this delicious buckwheat honey a while ago, so I used that.  You can see in the picture that it's this dark, molassas looking type of honey.  It's got a stronger flavor, but it's really really good!

Basically, this is the easiest recipe ever!  You throw all of the ingredients in a bowl and toss them together so there is an even coating on all of the cashews.

The first time I made this, I threw everything in a bowl and mixed, but it was hard to make sure everything had an even coating.  This last time, I mixed all of the ingredients except the cashews.  I then took a whisk and made sure that everything was well mixed, then I added in the cashews.  This time, everything was nice and evenly coated.

Next, I just lined a baking sheet with some aluminum foil and spread the coated cashews in an even layer.  

I must say that I did have help here.  I had a little helper bee buzzing around the kitchen to help in any way that she could.  (It was halloween, so she had to have her outfit on!)

Honestly, how cute is she?! Anyway, I popped the baking sheet in the oven, which was preheated to 350.  You just bake them until the cashews have browned, which was about 14 minutes.  You have to set a timer to make sure you don't forget about them!  Also, you'll want to check them about half way through.  Swoosh them up so that all of the sides can get nice and brown.

Then VIOLA!  Here you have delicious rosemary roasted cashews.  They are slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and VERY fragrant.  They were so addicting that I had to package them up and put them in my car (to take to work) so that I wouldn't eat the whole tray of them in 1 sitting!   Thanks for the recipe Brandon and Megan!!!