it's the end of the year already?

I've been MIA for some time lately. I've had a whole lot of things going on in my personal life and I've not spent much time in the kitchen. Not to say I haven't been cooking and baking, b/c I have, but I've not been creating my own recipes. :( My divorce will be finalized in just a couple of weeks and that has taken a lot of my energy. I'm doing well...adjusting to single life well and making healthy choices for my life. It's hard to cook for just one person, so I've been snacking a lot and eating a lot of sandwiches (on Kinnikinnick's Tapioca Hamburger Buns, which are amazing, btw).

Yesterday I decided I needed some pecans. Not just your average roasted or even honey roasted pecans but those really delicious cinnamon-sugary ones you can get at Hockey games or fairs/festivals? They are usually still hot too when you get them! Yeah, I love them to pieces. I've seen them called cinnamon glazed nuts or german nuts. Whatever you call them, they are good and deserve to be eaten whenever they are desired!

So New Years Eve is here and 2010 has potential to be amazing. I'm excited about what it has to bring. And to usher in 2010, I have nuts!

Cinnamon Pecans

1/4 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
4 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Vanilla
3-4 cups Pecan halves (as desired)

(warning, be ready with strong arms, you'll be stirring for a long time!)

Put Butter, Sugar, Cinnamon and Vanilla into a large sauce pan and heat over medium heat. Stir constantly so it doesn't burn. Mixture will begin to boil softly and thicken after 10-15 minutes...it's a slow process to keep it just hot enough that it doesn't burn but not so hot that you can't get it all done in time. Continue stirring and add pecans once it's boiling softly and thickening. Mixture will appear sticky as you stir in the pecans. Stir over heat until most of the "sticky" is gone. Immediately remove from heat and continue to stir for another 5-10 minutes. Pecans will begin to separate from one another and start to look dry. Spoon pecans off into a large heat safe bowl and continue to stir until nuts are mostly separated.

ENJOY!