Baking with Basil

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to my cousin, Kayla, for the new header!  She did such an awesome job!!  She asked me what I wanted or if I had any ideas in mind, and I told her not really, she could be creative.  She knows me too well because she came back with this simple and clean design which is exactly what I had in mind.  Kayla….you are so creative and talented!  Thanks so much!!!

On to the recipe…..

Do you ever buy something for a recipe, use the required amount and then have a ton of that one ingredient left over?!?  I bought some pepitas for my pumpkin granola a few weeks ago and every time I opened my cupboard the big bag of raw, unsalted (boring) seeds were staring me in the face.  What am I going to do with all these??  Why not spice them up!!  You know me…I love my spicy snacks!  No joke guys, these took about 15 minutes to make start to finish.  If you are carving pumpkins or have extra pepitas on hand like me, try these out.  They are simple and tasty!  They would be really good mixed in with some cajun party mix too!

If you are looking for a non-baked good way to get some more pumpkin in your life, try this Pumpkin Black Bean Soup I made last year.  Soo good!!  I think I’m going to make it again this week.  Thanks for stopping by!!

(Printable Recipe)

Spicy Pepitas

Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw, unsalted hulled pepitas
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 3/4- 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 1/2-3/4 tsp salt

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Toss all ingredients together in a bowl.  Stir until pepitas are coated with seasonings.

3.  Spread on baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes (mine took about 10 minutes) or until lightly browned, shaking pan once or twice.

4.  Serve and enjoy!