Wassail

*My favorite wassail spice blend!

*A snowy evening outside the Biltmore Home in Asheville, NC!

Fall is here!! I'm so excited that the weather has finally gotten a little cooler...and the leaves are starting to change colors. It just makes me want to surround myself with pumpkins and the smell of cinnamon and cloves. Since I have been a little under the weather this week I decided to break out the slow cooker and steep some wassail. It is so warm and comforting to a sore throat...and the cinnamon is a great antioxidant!
On our vacation to the Biltmore Home in Asheville, NC we picked up a bunch of their wassail mix. It is a really great blend of mulling spices with a little extra orange zest flavor. I usually mix several tbsp fulls with apple juice or apple cider (my fav is the Simply Apple Juice) and let it steep for a few hours on low in the slow cooker. You can also just pick up a package of mulling spices at your local grocery store to blend with the apple juice/cider. I still place a few extra cinnamon sticks in...just for a little added cinnamon~ey taste :)

Crockpot Cajun Boiled Peanuts!

This is another recipe from my fall cooking that I forgot to post! Sorry again!!

I am from the South. And being from the South I LOVE me some cajun boiled peanuts! They are such a great snack. But they can really be a labor of love. I found this recipe while searching around on Recipezaar.com. I added a good bit of cajun seasoning and hot sauce to spice things up a bit! I have a large crock pot with a lid that locks in place for transporting. It really came in handy with this recipe. As the peanuts cook and water fills the shells...it will begin to lift the lid!
**Original recipe from PugsandHugs on Recipezaar.com**

1 1/2 quart green uncooked peanuts (I used 1 lb peanuts in shell)
1/2 cup salt
2 1/2 quarts water (I just added enough water to cover the peanuts)
*4 tablespoons cajun seasoning
*hot sauce to taste (I like things spicy so I added just over 1/2 cup of Franks Red Hot)

Wash peanuts until water runs clear. Place peanuts in crock pot. Add salt, seasoning, hot sauce, and water. Cook on high for 6 hours. Then cook on low an additional 4-5 hours.
Add additional water during cooking to keep peanuts covered.