One Thousand uses for Pecans
One thousand uses for Pecans, that’s what I’m gonna need this year.
We have two large pecan trees in our backyard, and two small ones in the front.
Pecans are unpredictable. In 2002, we had loads of pecans. So many you couldn’t walk from the garage to the house without crunching on them. In the years since then, we didn’t even have enough to bother picking up.
We’ve heard that trees only produce every other year. We’ve heard they produce every third year. I don’t really know what’s true, but I know this:
This year is a good year for them. They are on our patio, our driveway, in the yard, on the sidewalk, and on the street. When we walk or drive, we crunch pecans. The squirrels must think they are in heaven!
Taken from a Taste of Home magazine years ago, today’s recipe is one of many ways to use pecans:
Cattleman’s Spread
1 cup chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 packages (2-1/2 ounces each) dried beef, chopped
4 teaspoons diced onion
Toast the pecans in butter in a hot skillet. Careful - they burn easily and I have done that several times! Set the nuts aside.
Mix the cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, and onion together with a mixer. Add the chopped beef and mix that in, too.
Spread the cheese mixture into a greased 8 inch square pan. Top with the toasted pecans. Bake for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Serve this warm with your favorite crackers or breadsticks. This makes a great appetizer for a football party, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve.
Check out these other recipes for ways to use pecans:
Pecan-Crusted Chicken Breasts
Cinnamon Pecan Waffles
Banana Nut Muffins
Add comment October 30th, 2006