On Monday morning, most of Georgia woke up to a winter wonderland! Everything here was covered with a thick blanket of white snow, and it was still coming down. We ended up with about 7 inches of beautiful, fluffy snow. But then, the icky sleet and freezing rain came and covered everything with a sheet of ice. Now I should tell you, ice is not my friend. Never has been, never will be! In the past, I've slid on ice in my car and was then hit by another car that started sliding and I've slipped and fallen while walking on ice. Neither event was fun. So now I cringe and stress about having to get out on the ice (in a car or on foot).
On Tuesday, I was beginning to get a slight case of cabin fever so Erin and I went outside and built a mini snow lady. She's a pretty cute snow lady with sweet gum balls for eyes (makes her look like she has eyelashes), a carrot nose, and she hasn't melted a bit over the past two days.
Trying to use my unexpected time off wisely due to the snow days, I did some organizing in my pantry, several loads of laundry, and worked on a few Francie Beth Boutique projects, and I cooked! In case you don't know it, cooking is absolutely one of my favorite things to do when I have plenty of time. Two new Gooseberry Patch cookbooks were added to my cookbook collection at Christmas and I have been browsing all the recipes and hints. So it was just second nature to try out some new recipes. It's been hard to find a granola recipe that has the texture and consistency I've been looking for but I think this one is pretty close (crunchy with some clumps of granola). We made the easiest snow ice cream recipe I've ever seen (thanks to Paula Deen's post on Facebook). It's especially yummy with a spoonful of Nutella on top! And I think I've found just about the best brownie recipe.
Unfortunately my snow days have come to an end even though our yard and decks are still covered in white frozen stuff. Dan drove me to and from work today, but I'm on my own for tomorrow. Hopefully no sliding is involved. And I'll be getting back to my Zumba workout to get rid of the extra calories I enjoyed.
Paula Deen's Snow Ice Cream
8 cups of fresh snow or shaved ice
1 can sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free!!)
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Pour condensed milk and vanilla over the snow (or ice). Mix well and serve immediately.
Granola (adapted from Sunny Anderson's recipe on FoodNetwork.com) Great for breakfast, as a snack, mixed in with yogurt, or on top of ice cream!
1/2 cup maple syrup* 1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil pinch Kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 egg whites
3 cups rolled oats 1 cup coconut (optional)
1 cup sunflower seeds 1 cup craisins (optional)
1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, almonds)
1/4 cup flax seeds (optional)
1/4 - 1/2 cup wheat germ (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In small pan, whisk syrup, oil and cinnamon. Cook until it bubbles. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
In large bowl mix oats, nuts, seeds, wheat germ, sugar and salt. Pour syrup over and mix well.
In small bowl, whisk egg whites. Pour over granola and mix well. Evenly spread the mixture onto prepared sheet pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, stirring three times during the baking time.
Remove from oven and place in a bowl and cool. Add remaining ingredients when cool.
*Substitution for Maple Syrup - 3/8 cup corn syrup, 2 Tbsp unsalted butter and 1/4 teaspoon of maple flavoring. Add these ingredients in place of maple syrup to the oil & cinnamon and follow recipe as listed above. I've tried the recipe with the maple syrup and this substitution and I like the substitution the best.
Brownies (I need to think of a more exciting name for this recipe, because these are more than just brownies!)
1 cup unsalted butter 2/3 cup cocoa
2 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup unsifted all purpose flour 1/2 - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Melt butter and stir in sugar and cocoa until dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Beat eggs and vanilla into the cooled cocoa mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Spoon into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until brownies spring back when touched in the center. Cool completely before cutting (if you can wait!).
