janie-jean

Experiencing flavor you can savor!

White Chocolate Coffee

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White Chocolate Coffee

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Let me set the stage for you…

It’s 1 o’clock in the afternoon.  Toys are scattered across what used to be a floor but now it seems to be the largest shelf in your house.  Plates have piled up in the kitchen sink and you can barely think straight.

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BUT…the house is quiet…dare I say peaceful all because you announced those three magical words…”It’s Nap Time!” The blissful serenity of a slumbering child is nothing to scoff at…it is to be celebrated as you have 2 maybe 3 precious hours to do whatever your heart desires.  In preschool we called it “free choice” or “recess.”  Oh how I took those days for granted.

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This is the perfect opportunity to get a little therapeutic “Me Time” whether that’s taking a nap, a leisurely read, or ironing (yes it’s a thing!).  In my case, “Me Time” includes “The Chew”, a blanket and a tasty libation!  Today’s treat…White Chocolate Coffee!  A guaranteed way to put a pep in your step and sweeten any sourness lingering from the morning hours!

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Hey, it’s 1 o’clock somewhere…so CHEERS!

JJ


White Chocolate Coffee
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 Cups Skim Milk
  • 4 oz chopped white chocolate (I used Ghiradelli)
  • 1⅔ cups strong hot coffee
  • ½ cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
  • 2 tsp vanilla sugar
  • 1 tsp freshly ground cardamom seeds
Instructions
  1. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, warm the milk to almost boiling. Off the heat, stir in the chopped white chocolate. Take a moment to pause and reflect on the days’ events then continue to stir the white chocolate till it’s completely melted…your almost home free! Stir in the brewed coffee.
  2. In a medium bowl, whip the cream with the vanilla sugar. Vanilla sugar is actually really easy to make at home by taking 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar and one vanilla bean. Using a sharp paring knife divide the bean in half and scrape out the seeds. In a small bowl combine the sugar and vanilla bean seeds using your fingers. Massage the sugar to allow the oils from the vanilla bean to release and perfume the sugar. Use the 2 teaspoons for this recipe and save the rest for later.
  3. Pour the chocolate infused coffee into 4 mugs and dollop each cup with the vanilla scented whipped cream. Sprinkle with the ground cardamom and sip immediately. Guaranteed to melt those winter blues away! Enjoy your weekend!

50 Pastas Bacon Parsnip

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50 Pastas Bacon Parsnip

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OK, so this happened…

I drove my son and I to the local grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner that evening.  At this particular establishment you have to pay a quarter to use one of their grocery carts…which I am perfectly ok with.

So quarter in one hand and “Little Lew” in the other we start walking toward the store when an older couple unloading their cart asks if we needed one and if we would like to use theirs.  Why yes, that would be splendid. How nice, I thought to myself, it’s wonderful when fellow citizens like to help each other out by sharing the load of paying 25 cents for a shopping cart.  I loaded “Little Lew” in the front of the cart, placed our bags in the back of the cart and proceeded to thank the couple again for their generosity.

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“That’ll be a quarter” the woman said.

I proceeded to laugh it off like she was joking….she wasn’t joking.

“No seriously, it’s 25 cents” she said pointing at the small sign on the shopping cart.

Stunned and wide eyed I handed her the quarter I had been warming in my left hand unsure of how to respond.  She snatched the quarter from my hand and shouted “WOO HOO!”  THEN she skipped off and drove away in her BMW…

…ok so maybe it wasn’t a BMW but that would have made the story more funny…anywho, people can leave me a little miffed sometimes, but who knows…maybe she needed that quarter more than me.

So let’s make a pasta dish with bacon and parsnips and forget this whole thing happened…

Slices of thick cut bacon are chopped and cooked in a heavy bottom pan with some olive oil.  Make sure those tender morsels get nice and crispy…it’s the only way to eat bacon in my book!

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Toss in your chopped parsnip pieces and cook until softened.  According to the sign at Meijer parsnips can be used as a replacement for potatoes…so if you are in the mood to lighten up your mashed potatoes consider these cuties.

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Stir in some cooked orecchiette, grated parmesan and parsley till well combined.  Finish with a pinch of freshly grated nutmeg.  Paired with a side of roasted veggies like cauliflower and broccoli this dinner is served!

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It’s amazing what kind of flavor can be developed with such few ingredients.  This pasta dish is so simple yet so decadent at the same time and we didn’t even break a sweat!

Ready to move on from today’s scerfuffle, I raise my fork to you and say “Don’t sweat the petty stuff…and for darn sake DON’T PET the SWEATY stuff!” (Sheesh!)

Love you guys!

JJ

50 Pastas Bacon Parsnip
 
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Ingredients
  • 6 strips of bacon, chopped
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 Parsnips, chopped
  • 1 lb of orecchiette pasta
  • ½ cup parmesan, shredded
  • ½ cup parsley chopped
  • Pinch of grated nutmeg
Instructions
  1. Cook the bacon in the olive oil over medium heat till nice and crisp. Toss in the chopped parsnips and allow it to cook and soak in that bacon fat flavor. Meanwhile cook the orecchiette pasta according to the package instructions. (Remember, 1 minute less than the package directions equals “al dente”). Once the parsnips have softened stir in the orecchiette pasta, parmesan and parsley till evenly combined. Finish with a pinch of grated nutmeg and serve immediately.