Holiday Egg Nog (adult kine ya)

Egg nog holds a special place in my heart. I always know the Holidays are coming when it becomes available. You can bet your tiny hiney that the moment I see it appear, it’s going in the grocery cart.

Sometimes, I like my egg nog to be an adult beverage. But for me, adding rum or brandy or what have you to grocery store nog just doesn’t do it for me. A few years ago, a friend that I worked with suggested that I just make my own.

So, I set out to do just that. I had tried a few different recipes. One required me to separate the eggs, combine the yolks with the milk and cream, whip the whites with sugar into a meringue, and fold the meringue into the yolk mixture. It was a bit time consuming, and considering I let my egg nog sit in the fridge to let the alcohol mellow for a few weeks, all that work ended up being for naught. That frothiness from all that folding and such just dissipated after a day or two. I found another recipe, which I didn’t try at the time, that required a pasteurization process. Essentially, it was a crème anglaise with nutmeg and added booze to it. Like I said, I didn’t try it because it wasn’t for me at the time.

 

Vanilla Iced Coffee

It’s the end of August, and it’s frickin hot out. Although, I’m not sure if I can be one to complain considering the majority of the contiguous United States has had temperatures in the high nineties and above, with humidity to match, for the entire summer. At least we have regular rainfall and trade winds to keep the heat down a bit.

Either way, I’m sure we can at least all agree that a cool and refreshing beverage is in order. Iced coffee anyone? Got five bucks for an iced latte at Starbucks?

Your alternatives are, of course, the super sugary bottled products found in grocers and convenience stores that barely taste like coffee. You know, the kind that are literally 300 or more calories a serving and has who knows what kind of ingredients in it.

Well, being the frugal (cheap) and health conscious (chubby) person that I am, I decided it would be a good time to make my own with the coffee and other ingredients that I already own (and paid for).

 

iPhone Update: Dinner and a night cap

During the weekdays, dinner tends to be simple and easy at our house. And after all the baked treats I’ve been consuming as of late, I think it’s time to go back to the high protein diet, saving my carb consumption for just dinner time.

Well, Japanese style noodle dishes are somewhat of a staple for us, as they are both simple to prepare and generally healthy. This iteration is no different.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons of white miso
• 2 chicken thighs, roasted at 400 degrees F for 25 minutes, cooled, and pulled apart
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 eggs, hardboiled and halved
• 1/2 carrot, thinly sliced on a bias
• 1/2 cup thin sliced cabbage
• 1/3 cup frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of liquid
• 1 package of fresh ramen or yakisoba noodles. If using dried noodles, pre cook them and discard seasoning packet
• 1 scallion, sliced thin

Directions:

1. whisk together broth, miso, and soy sauce and bring to a boil
2. Divide noodles in half and place in two large soup bowls.
3. Divide all ingredients in half and neatly arrange in bowls over noodles.
4. Ladle hot broth in each bowl. Garnish with scallion.

Later in the night? Hot cocoa! Now I have a use for the leftover marshmallow! Kind of defeats the point of a healthy dinner though 😉

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa
• 4 Tablespoons of sugar
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine in a sauce pot, whisk together, and heat!