Peanut-raisin-cashew Clusters

This month’s recipe is a little unconventional and for that I apologize. I’ve been super busy with Allrecipes.com and the Cookies Across America campaign. In December, I also took a trip up to the Allrecipes headquarters in Seattle and toured their office. I was really impressed.
This is the #1 (Numero Uno) recipe website on the internet and it’s also where I got my blogging start. If you head over there, look me up. I am the one and only witchywoman on Allrecipes. We have the “Buzz” over there and it is a forum where you can post questions and get answers from some of the best home cooks in the world.
The blogs are also a great source of information and humor. It is the one website that I will actually pay to support because they have opened up a whole new world for me, cooking-wise and I’ve made some dear friends from around the world due to Allrecipes.
I’m not sharing an international recipe with you this month, although we did receive some from readers. I’ll save those for next month.
Instead, in light of the Christmas baking and candy making that I have done, I created a new recipe that will surely fix any sweet tooth you may have during the rainy, cold winter season. It can be as simple as only using 2 ingredients or as complex as you want to get.

Peanut-Raisin-Cashew Clusters
24 ounces chocolate confectioner’s coating (or commonly known around these parts as Almond Bark)
2 cups roasted peanuts, unsalted (use salted if that’s your gig!)
2 cups multi-colored raisins (I buy mine in bulk at Winco)
1 cup roasted cashews (I had a cup hanging around from a recipe I did a few weeks ago)
*Melt the confectioner’s coating in the nuker (microwave) in 30 second intervals, stirring until it is completely smooth and no lumps.
*Stir in peanuts, raisins and cashews until everything is well-coated.
*Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
*Stick it in the fridge until the chocolate is set.
*Store in the freezer or refrigerator.
Now, I don’t know about you, but with me, I like to have something chocolatey hanging around because living where we do, tons of people suffer from seasonal depression. I, sometimes, get those wintertime blues myself. What is a better way to beat the blahs than with a piece of homemade candy??? That and hot chocolate and a good comedy in the ol’ DVD player and you’re all good to go!
I’ve made it through more countries from around the world. I did take a break over the Thanksgiving holiday for 2 weeks, but it felt like 2 years! This last month, I have made meals from: Rwanda, Ukraine, The Federated States of Micronesia and Bahrain. I have some giveaways coming up on Life in an RV, so make sure that you sign up to follow the blog to be able to get in on those.
http://lifeinanarv.blogspot.com
Peace!
**Note: All of your “International Recipes” qualify for an experiment in my RV kitchen, don’t you think? Submit to the Valley Bugler, and include your “tips and tricks” so I can cook my way into the international cuisine you send my way!
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