OH! NUTS Review and Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars Recipe

One of my favorite things to do during the month of December is my family’s traditional holiday baking.  We buy tons of supplies including many bags of chocolate chips, Flour, Sugar, and nuts. Good nuts can be hard to find. They are also really expensive to buy. I love all kinds of nuts. My two favorite are Pecans and Walnuts.  I had the opportunity to work with OH! NUTS. OH! NUTS sells all kinds of nuts from walnuts to pistachios, even Hazelnuts. They also sell chocolate and candy. They have great prices too.  Everything is so fresh, you don’t have to wonder how long it has been sitting on the shelf at the grocery store.  I was asked to share a recipe with you guys using an OH! NUTS product. Even though I received both Walnuts and Pecans, I decided to be different and not use Pecans.  I used things I had in my home and created a delicious masterpiece.  It was odd making a dish without buying any ingredients because usually there are some special items. I had chocolate chips and caramels in my cabinet. This is my recipe.

Caramel Walnut Crumbly Bars

14 ounces of Caramels unwrapped

2 cups of flour

1 and ½ cups of Brown Sugar

½ teaspoon of salt

1 cup of Butter (softened)

1 cup OH! NUTS Chopped Walnuts

1/3 cup milk

2 cups oatmeal

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

12 ounce bag of Chocolate Chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13 pan. Heat caramels and milk in a 2 quart pan over low heat until smooth.  It does take a while for them to melt.

Mix the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, baking soda, salt and egg in a large mixing bowl. Stir in butter with a fork or hands.  Press half of the mixture in the bottom of the pan. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Sprinkle on chocolate chips and walnuts. Drizzle the caramel. I just used a big spoon.  Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture on top and bake 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown on top.

Cool completely and enjoy!

OH! NUTS provided me with nuts to help me create my recipe. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tasty chocolate recipes for fall

Fall is one of my favorite times of year to whip up some delicious goodies in the kitchen and I love nothing more than the smells of spices and baking in my home!

One of my favorite ingredients - and I know I’m not alone in saying this – is chocolate. I mean, who doesn’t love something deliciously moreish like chocolate brownies or a divine chocolate fudge cake to indulge in?

I’ve been doing some online searches to find some fabulous fall recipes that use chocolate. Here’s what I came up with:

Chocolate, Pumpkin and Stout Brownies

In the weeks after Halloween, you can pick up pumpkins from the supermarket for pennies! I’m always tempted to buy a few and experiment with them in the kitchen, and I couldn’t be happier to find a recipe – courtesy of Organic Garden -  that makes use of this abundant, cheap ingredient.

The only thing I have reservations about is using the stout in this recipe. I imagine that it will give the brownies a wonderfully deep flavor, although I’m not sure kids will enjoy it. Depending on how many discount pumpkins I pick up, I might have a go at making several variations!

Chocolate and Ginger Cake with Bourbon Sauce

What could be a better combination than chocolate and ginger for fall?! This is one of Martha Stewart’s recipes, although again it uses alcohol as an ingredient, which I’m not sure kids will like. In place of the bourbon sauce, I was thinking of making a traditional ganache - which is made using melted chocolate and heavy cream. For decoration, I think some whipped cream and strawberries would really bring this cake to life.

I’m always been keen to use as many Fair Trade ingredients as possible when I’m baking, so I was delighted when my research brought me across a company where I could buy loads of supplies in one place. You can find a full selection of FairTrade ingredients perfect for making cakes, including essential items like sugar, online at Traidcraft. They stock a wide selection of organic and Fair Trade products, and they even offer free delivery.

However, in my excitement at finding a supplier that has lots of Fair Trade goodies, I didn’t realise that this was a UK company. Unfortunately, their free delivery doesn’t include transatlantic travel, so I’ll have to find another source. Those lucky British bakers!

Chocolate Pots

 I don’t know what’s going on, but I seem to be intrigued by all things British when it comes to chocolate recipes! Gregg Wallace is famous in the UK for hosting the popular cookery show Masterchef and he is responsible for this gorgeous chocolatepot recipe. This takes little preparation, but makes a fantastic sweet treat for the end of dinner parties. The recipe has been created specifically for a brand’s website, although you could make this with any kind of chocolate – including Fair Trade brands!

Gorton's Seafood Review

One of the things I really enjoy eating is fish sticks. I have always liked them. When I was young I used to get a TV dinner with fish sticks and chocolate ice cream for dessert. My favorite brand of fish sticks is Gorton’s. I haven't tried a product that I didn't love. My favorite product is the Original Battered Fish Tenders. It's just so good with a mountain of ketchup. It's such an easy meal to make. I occasionally have it for lunch or dinner when I don't feel like cooking anything elaborate. I know that it will taste great every time. I cook 98% of frozen stuff in the oven. I think that it tastes better even if there are microwave instructions. The Gorton’s Fish Tenders take a while but they are so worth the wait.  When they don't have my tenders I buy the bags of 44 fish sticks. They are good and they are a great deal. I can buy one of those and have 5 or 6 meals easy. I am still trying to convince my fish loving son to try fish sticks but so far it's not working well. I hope someday he will try them and love them.

I want to start trying some new recipes using Gorton’s products.   I love that there is a recipe section on their site. There are quite a few of them I want to try. It’s great when a company comes up with recipes using their products. Not everyone is creative. I know that they are tried and true.

Be sure to enter to win the Wicked Good Seafood Sweeptakes! You could win a trip for 4 to Boston.  It includes airfare, lodging and even spending money. I have only been through Boston, I have never stayed there. It looks like a wicked awesome town.  As long as I don’t remember that my two rival teams are from there. 

Enter to Win the Wicked Good Seafood Sweepstakes  The sweepstakes ends October 18, 2013 so hurry and enter now!

You can download special coupons for Gorton’s Seafood to save on your next purchase.  Get your coupon here.  

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I received free product coupons for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.