Chocolate Malt Milkshake

 

Today is a pretty special day for a few reasons:

1. I have the day off and we are out in PA snowmobiling and building snowmen in the frigid temps! We are heading home today, but it's nice to have a long weekend getaway.

2. It's Secret Recipe Club reveal day! Wooot! I always love SRC because not only is it fun to try a new recipe from a fellow blogger, but it's a great way to interact with others in the blogging community!

3. It's Madison's virtual baby shower! I have been following Madison's journey to get pregnant and now through almost until her due date (just a few weeks!) and am so happy to participate in her celebration today. She couldn't be sweeter and I always love reading her blog.

It was a coincidence that both the Secret Recipe Club and Madison's Baby Shower fell on the same day but I really wanted to find a way to participate in both. After searching through Jane's blog, The Heritage Cook and through so many of her incredible recipes, I knew that I could easily join the two for a sweet celebration of Madison as well.

My original plan was to make the brownie pudding because, well, it's brownie pudding! And it looks amazing. But after not really having the right ingredients or the right pan for when I was going to make this, I had to go back to the drawing board and find something else. Luckily, there were so many amazing recipes to choose from!

 

I went with this gorgeous Chocolate Malt Shake because milkshakes are just one of my favorite things in life. And because though it's like -10 degrees out, isn't this such a sweet little dessert regardless of the weather? I bet Madison would love to sip on one of these at her baby shower, especially when made into a mini version like I did here. So cute in a little mason jar with a pretty soda shop straw.

This recipe was simple and even Penelope absolutely loved it. I think I'm now going to keep all of these ingredients on hand for a no-bake late night treat, especially once it starts warming up.

Chocolate Malt Milkshake

*Adapted from The Heritage Cook

1/2 C cold milk

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbsp malted milk powder

4 scoops chocolate ice cream, slightly softened (about 1 pint)

Blend all ingredients together. Serve in a pretty glass with straw.

Serves 2.

So thanks to Jane for this absolutely delicious recipe! And Madison - a million congratulations! You are going to love being a Mom and, as I've told all of my friends and family who've recently had babies...your life is about to get infinitely more amazing!

Be sure to check out all of the other sweets for Madison's shower!

Thin Mint Cookie Cake from Keep It Sweet Desserts

Mini Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes from Greens & Chocolate

Gingered Pear Coffee Cake from Food Loves Writing

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chippers from Urban Wife Diaries

Lemon meringue pie cupcakes from Heather's Dish

An InLinkz Link-up

Gooey Cheddar Bacon Bread

Happy Monday!

Do you have work/school today? Shaun, Penelope and I are all home from work and school today and it is truly glorious to have this long weekend. I don't know about you, but I've had a bit of a tough time getting back into the swing of real life since the holiday. I just had such a great Christmas and truly adored being home with Penelope. It's nice to have some extra time home, even if it is just one extra day!

Did you watch football this weekend? We drove out to my aunt's house in western Jersey for the day to watch the games. This included lots and lots of food, lots of football, and lots of dogs for Penelope to chase. When we made plans to watch the game all together, I knew that this gooey cheddar bacon bread would be an awesome dish to bring to the party. It was crispy, gooey, cheesy, bacony and my favorite part: simple yet delicious. 

I chose this recipe as part of this month's Secret Recipe Club. I received Authentic Suburban Gourmet and had so many incredible recipes to choose from (like salted caramel chocolate chunk cookies and spaghetti fritters) Though my photos do not do Lisa's justice (hers are truly the gold standard!), I hope that they capture how good this bread turned out! Though the original recipe called for making this into a crostini, I chose to make it as a butterflied baguette since we were traveling with it and I thought it would reheat better. I simply butterflied the bread, spread the mixture all over, baked, covered, rebaked at our destination and then cut into slices. I love how it turned out not too crispy from being crostinied ---> does anyone else have a sensitive mouth where crostini kinda cuts up the roof and sides? Just me? Oh ok. In any event, I'm sure this is great as a crostini, but it was super easy and awesome as a bread! So try it either way!

 

Gooey Cheddar Bacon Bread

Adapted from Authentic Suburban Gourmet

12 slices of bacon, crisped & finely chopped

4 Tbsp white onion, minced

2 C cheddar cheese, grated

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp Worcestershire

4 Tbsp mayonnaise

pinch of salt & pepper

1 baguette

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butterfly the baguette and place on foil-lined baking sheet. In a bowl, mix together the bacon, onion, cheese, garlic powder, worcestershire, mayonnaise, salt and pepper until combined. Spread all over the top of the butterflied bread. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until cheese is melted. If desired, place under broiler until browned a bubbly. If reheating (like I did!), cover loosely with foil and rehead, uncovered, in 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until heated through. Slice and serve!

I hope you give this a try! I'm definitely going to be making this one again!

Did you watch the football games this weekend?

What are your favorite party foods?

An InLinkz Link-up

Apple Pie French Toast

 

Hi!

How was your weekend? Mine was really nice, but very busy and just went by a little too quickly. On Saturday, we were fortunate to attend an event at the Food Network Wine & Food Festival and I'll have a bunch of pics and a wrap up later this week! Meanwhile, today is one of my favorite days of the month...Secret Recipe Club reveal day!

For this month, I was assigned Get Off the Couch and Cook. Sashi started her blog to track her journey of eating less processed food. She cooks recipes that are simple and can be made in the same amount of time it takes to order and wait for a pizza. She has so many great recipes that I had a hard time picking just one! Since I still have apple fever, I went with her apple pie French toast because, well, apple pie French toast! 

 

This was a great fall recipe. It's an eggless French toast batter, which I really liked since it didn't risk having an eggy flavor or consistency. The compote came together very simply {although, I will admit that every time I make an apple recipe, I remember why I hate making apple recipes --->so much peeling and chopping!} and made the apartment smell like apple pie and fall and deliciousness all rolled into one. 

 

I made the apple pie compote/filling in advance, which really helped me get breakfast together on Sunday morning. The night before, I peeled and sliced the apples and cooked them down. Then I refrigerated the cooked mixture until the next morning, when I simply threw it back in a pan with a little butter and heated it up. For Penelope's portion, I cut up the finished toast and apples and tossed it all together in a bowl for her. She ate it right up! Mostly the sweet apples, but still ;)

 

Apple Pie French Toast

*Adapted from Get Off the Couch and Cook

For the apple pie filling:

3 tart apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored & sliced

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 C sugar

1/4 C all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 C water

For the French toast:

Apple pie filling

1 C milk

1/4 C all-purpose flour

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 Tbsp butter

Thick bread, such as white or wheat

To make the filling:

Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Pour into a large sauce pan on the stovetop over medium heat and whisk in the water. The mixture will thicken quickly, so continue whisking until it begins to bubble. Add the apples and stir to coat.

Simmer the apples, stirring frequently, until the apples are condensed and tender. Remove from heat and let cool. If making the night before, let cool and pack into a storage container and refrigerate. On the day you want to eat your French toast, heat in a pan on the stovetop with a small pat of butter.

To make the French toast:

In a mixing bowl, whish together the milk, flour, cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Lightly dunk the bread in the milk mixture and coat both sides without soaking through. Cook on each side until browned. Top with the apple pie filling, dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Serve immediately. 

 

This was a really rich breakfast, but so nice for a special Sunday in the fall!

What is your favorite decadent breakfast?

An InLinkz Link-up