Ingredients

• Cairo nut & spice mix
• thick sliced bacon
• maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Take the thick cut bacon and lay it out on a wire rack placed over a baking tray lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Elevating the bacon on a rack allows the air to circulate around and creates crispier bacon. Lining the tray with foil allows for a quicker cleanup.
3. Place in the lower third of the oven and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.
4. Remove from the oven and pat the oil off the bacon strips with a dry paper towel. Using a pastry brush, brush each slice, on the side facing up, with a good amount of maple syrup. Carefully sprinkle each slice with Cairo nut & spice mix then place the baking sheet back into the oven and continue to bake until the slices are nicely browned and crispy. Remove from the oven, allow to cool and serve.

Ingredients

For the vinaigrette dressing:
• 2 teaspoons Cairo nut & spice mix
• 2 tablespoons brine (vinegar liquid) from kalamata olives
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• ½ teaspoon salt
For the bean salad:
• Cairo nut & spice mix
• 1 can black beans, rinsed
• 1 can red kidney beans, rinsed
• 1 can pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed
• 1 red onion, small, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, medium sized, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, medium sized, chopped
• 1-2 jalapeño, fresh, chopped
• 3 oz kalamata olives, chopped
• 1-2 oz green olives, chopped
• 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• ½ cup parsley or cilantro, fresh & chopped
• 1 tsp salt

Instructions

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dressing and set aside.
2. After rinsing all the beans thoroughly, place all 4 varieties into a large mixing bowl. Add chopped red onion, all 3 chopped peppers, both chopped olives, chopped parsley (or cilantro), salt, 1 tablespoon Cairo nut & spice mix & crumbled feta cheese. Mix well and store in refrigerator until ready to serve. Can be made the day before.

Notes

Ingredients

• Cairo nut & spice mix
• 3-4 yellow squash, sliced
• 6-8 zucchini squash, sliced
• 1-2 large sweet yellow onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 pinches sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¾ cup shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°. Prep & slice all the veggies. Chop the onion in a large, loose chop & set aside. Chop both the yellow squash & zucchini & set aside in a large bowl (I like to cut these in circles, rather rustically). Chop the garlic and set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, measure out ½ cup of the panko bread crumbs (feel free to use regular bread crumbs, but not seasoned), add ¼ cup parmesan cheese, add 1 tablespoon of Cairo nut & spice mix, add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Using your hands, massage this mixture until it is well combined. This will be your bread crumb topping which goes on last. Set aside.
3. In a large pot, sauté onion in 1 tablespoon olive oil until wilted and slightly brown. Add chopped garlic and brown both for about 3 minutes. Add both squashes, salt, pepper & pinch of sugar. Cook over a med - high heat until the veggies are slightly tender (keep them a bit firm because they will cook more in the oven). Remove from heat and let the squash cool.
4. When slightly cooled, drain the excess liquid from squash in a colander. Pour the squash back into the large pot & mix in the whisked eggs, ½ cup bread crumbs and ½ cup parmesan cheese. Pour the entire squash mixture into a buttered 9 x 13 casserole dish. Cover with foil and place into a 350° oven for 30 minutes.
5. After 30 minutes, remove the foil, top with the panko/parmesan/Cairo mixture and bake another 10-15 minutes or until the topping is lightly browned and toasted. Remove from oven and serve. *Can be prepared the day before and refrigerated. I would not bake until the day it is served and leave off the panko topping. Add the bread crumb topping the last 15 minutes of cooking - this will keep your topping nice and crunchy.

Ingredients

• Cairo nut & spice mix
• 2 acorn squash
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup quinoa, cooked
• 6-8 oz. pork, chicken or turkey sausage, not flavored or spicy
• 1 apple, diced into small squares
• 5 scallions, chopped
• ½ cup whole walnuts, lightly chopped
• 1/3 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 1 cup Italian leaf parsley, fresh, roughly chopped
• sea salt

Instructions

1. Slice the two acorn squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds to clean the cavity. Using your hands, rub a bit of olive oil on the inside & outside of each squash. (You should have 4 shells). Season with sea salt and a sprinkle of Cairo nut & spice mix . Assemble the squash on a baking sheet, face up, and bake in a 375° oven for 1 hour or until golden brown. When ready, remove and cool.
2. While the squash is baking, in a medium sauté pan, cook the sausage as directed, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks (a potato masher works well). If you are using a low fat sausage such as turkey or chicken, you may want to add a bit of water during the cooking to keep it moist and from burning the bottom of the pan. Just before it is cooked through, add 1-2 teaspoons of Cairo nut & spice mix . Taste and add more depending upon how spicy you like the sausage. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In another pan (I like to use cast iron), heat 1 tablespoon butter and a drizzle of olive oil together. When hot and slightly browned, add the chopped apple, spread in the pan and let it sit on the heat not moving it around so it will brown the small pieces of apple. Toss in the scallions, sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt, heat just until wilted and remove the apple/onion mixture placing it into a separate bowl to cool.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cooked sausage, quinoa, walnuts, dried apricots, apples and scallions. Add the fresh parsley and toss together.
5. Stuff each acorn half with the sausage mix, top each with another sprinkle of Cairo nut & spice mix and serve at room temperature or if you prefer to serve warm, return to the oven for 15 minutes or just until it is heated through.