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I love, love, love pecans!

Georgia Pecan Blue Cheese Ball

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
2 5-oz. jars Kraft Old English sharp cheese spread
1 8-oz. bottle creamy blue cheese salad dressing
1 tablespoon minced onion
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped Georgia pecans
Dash Worcestershire sauce
Garlic salt to taste

With an electric mixer, blend cheeses, salad dressing, Worcestershire sauce, onion and garlic salt until smooth. Divide mixture into two balls and wrap in plastic. Chill at least two hours. When cold, roll cheese balls in chopped pecans and serve with crackers.

Apple-Pecan Tenderloin Medallions
Brought to you by America’s Pork Producers.

1 pound pork tenderloin
2 tablespoons butter
1 16-oz can sliced apples, drained
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Trim fat from pork. Cut pork into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until it sizzles. Reduce heat to medium. Arrange pork slices in skillet. Cook for 2 minutes; turn slices. Spoon apples over pork. Sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans. Cover and cook for 4 to 6 minutes more until internal temperature on a thermometer reads 160 degrees F.

Serves 4

Pralines
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Ingredients

* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons dark corn syrup
* 1 cup evaporated milk
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Directions

Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Put the sugars, salt, corn syrup, milk, and butter in saucepan. Over medium heat, stir mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until sugars have dissolved and mixture comes to a boil. Continue to cook to a soft ball stage, approximately 236 degrees F on a candy thermometer. (If you do a cold water test, drizzle a drop of candy into a glass of cold water, the ball of candy will flatten between your fingers when you take it out of the water.) Remove from heat and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.

Add the vanilla and nuts, and beat with a spoon by hand for approximately 2 minutes or until candy is slightly thick and begins to lose its gloss. Quickly drop heaping tablespoons onto waxed paper. If the candy becomes stiff, add a few drops of hot water.

Sugar Coated Pecans

Ingredients:

* 1 egg white
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon flour
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 1/2 to 3 cups pecan halves

Preparation:
Beat egg white until foamy; slowly beat in the brown sugar mixed with flour. Add salt and vanilla flavoring, then fold in pecans. Transfer pecans to a greased baking pan and bake at 250° for about 45 minutes.

Whiskey Pecan Cake

Ingredients:

* 11 tablespoons butter (1 stick plus 3 tablespoons)
* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 6 eggs, beaten separately
* 4 cups sifted self-rising flour
* 2 teaspoons nutmeg
* 4 cups pecans, broken
* 4 1/2 cups raisins
* 1/2 cup whiskey

Preparation:
Cream butter; add sugar and egg yolks. Combine flour and nutmeg in a bowl. In a small bowl, coat nuts and raisins with a little of the flour mixture; set aside. Alternately add flour mixture with whiskey and beaten egg whites to the creamed mixture. Stir in the coated nuts and raisins. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan or Bundt pan for 2 hours at 275°. A wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center should come out clean.

Lemon Pecan Green Beans

1 lb. fresh green beans
Salt to taste
1 T. olive oil
¼ c. green onions (sliced)
¼ c. pecans (chopped, toasted)
1 t. dried rosemary
2 t. fresh lemon juice
2 t. lemon rind (grated)

Wash beans and remove ends. Sprinkle with salt. Arrange beans in a steamer basket and place over boiling water. Cover and steam for approximately 10 minutes, or until crisp-tender. Plunge green beans into cold water to stop cooking process. Drain and set aside. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add green onions and cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes. Add green beans, pecans, rosemary and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with lemon rind and garnish with lemon slice or fresh rosemary sprigs if desired.

Courtesy: Georgia Pecan Commission