Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 416

Iced Whiskey Coffees with Whiskey Syrup and Whipped Cream.

We’re making dreams come true.

Remember the time when I used to write full blown blog posts about hating coffee?

Ha.

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

I’ve crossed over to the dark side.

Last week we did hot breakfast-style coffee and this week we’re doing cold treat style coffee. You can have both in one day. I allow it.

If we’re being real, I never actually NEEDED coffee or anything until nearly 15 months ago. I drank a lot of it while I was writing my cookbook, sometimes drinking it at 3 or 4PM which would then make me feel like I was on drugs. You know I started drinking it because I “wanted to be cool” aka, I wanted to go to a coffee shop and actually order coffee. I liked the IDEA of drinking coffee.

It sounded fun.

My love affair started with iced, it was the only way I could take it down. And I would make it taste like ice cream, of course, because after all – I always loved coffee ice cream even though I didn’t like hot coffee.

I still can’t do it black, but I CAN do it less sugary now. Less sugary. Key emphasis on LESS. I still need a hint of sweetness. Not like starbucks-cup-on-crack sweetness, not like please-give-me-diabetes-coffee or half coffee/half syrup, but you know… just a touch.

And in this case, just a touch of whiskey syrup. YESSSSS.

Whiskey syrup. We’re going there. Actually, we’re going here: BROWN SUGAR whiskey syrup.

I’m all about the caps lock today, I know.

I’m just so excited!

Speaking of excited, I saw a funny meme on instagram yesterday about a teacher telling their student to cut back on their exclamation point use and to save them for something exciting. And the student said, but I think everything is exciting!

Um hello. Welcome to my life.

I’m either 124% OMG-I’m-so-excited Jessie Spano style, or I just do not care at all. Absolutely uninterested.

So. Not only did I add whiskey syrup to the iced coffee, I added whiskey too. Straight whiskey. So note to self: this is probably a weekend coffee? A brunch date coffee. A party coffee!

It’s not an afternoon pick me up coffee, unless you want your afternoon to consist of a only good vibes and maybe a big fat nap.

Doesn’t sound so bad I guess.

Also, I swear I did not have four of these coffees before writing this nonsense. I’m sure of it.

My grandpa would probably have loved this coffee, even though he would have loved it more minus the… coffee. True statement. He was super Irish! In heritage and in behavior.

A shot and a beer was usually included in his afternoon plans but he was well into his 90s, so it was okay. Before that he spent a good amount of time at the Ugly Mug in Cape May. In fact, I’m pretty sure he has a mug on the ceiling. Winning?

I didn’t TECHNICALLY use Irish whiskey in my coffee so I don’t know if we can really call this Irish iced coffee, but heck, I’m Irish enough and I like whiskey, so it’s my Irish iced coffee version and what I want instead of green beer,

I used a Knob Creek Reserve that a wonderful blog reader gave me on the book tour, only I was like 54 months pregnant and couldn’t do much with it. And I didn’t want to waste it by putting it in baked goods or something – it’s so special that I wanted to drink it!

So I’ve been doing just that. (Not today. Not right now.)

I used my favorite cold brew recipe, a touch of cream and(!) coconut whipped cream. For a few reasons: 1. I adore coconut whipped cream. Adore it. But also 2. I was out of heavy cream, at least I didn’t have enough for coffee drenching and whipped cream. But I did have cold cans of coconut milk, so I rolled with it.

Such a good choice.

Dreamy. I want to drink it forever.

Iced Whiskey Coffees with Whiskey Syrup and Whipped Cream

Yield: recipes makes 1, is easily multiplied

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

crushed ice
8 ounces cold-brewed coffee
2 tablespoons whiskey syrup
1 tablespoon whiskey
3 tablespoons cream
coconut whipped cream for topping
sprinkle of cinnamon

whiskey syrup

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup whiskey
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

coconut whipped cream

1 (14-ounce) can COLD full-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons powdered sugar



Directions:

Fill the glass with ice. Pour in the coffee, syrup and whiskey, stirring well to mix. Stir in the cream, top with the whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon. This is my favorite proportion for the coffee, but you can easily change it up!

whiskey syrup

Combine the sugar, whiskey and water in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to bubble. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and let cool completely. Stir in the vanilla extract and use!

coconut whipped cream

Take the can of coconut milk out of the fridge. Open the cans and discard the liquid (save it for a smoothie!), then scoop the firm coconut meat into the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until completely whipped and thick. Beat in the sugar. Set the bowl in the fridge until ready to use.

 

if you make this recipe, be sure to post a photo on instagram and tag it with #howsweeteats to share!

I’m going to go decaffeinate myself.

Lobster Corn Fritters with Truffle Herb Mayo.

It’s times like this that I wish I could eat my computer screen.

Look at these dreamy little buttery lobster bites! How can we survive one more moment simply looking at them on screen? They must appear in our faces ASAP.

I make lobster mac and cheese twice a year, every year. Usually on Christmas Eve and again on good Friday or around Easter (but not FOR Easter) – it tends to be one of our lenten meals. It’s a staple! We wait for it. Always.

Don’t punch me, but I’m getting sick of it. I mean, I absolutely love it. But in usual millennial fashion, I’m just finding myself bored. I want something new, something fun, something different.

Isn’t that terrible? It’s so indulgent and wildly delicious, yet I’m STILL searching for something just as wonderful. Story of my life, also one of the worst flaws ever.

So I’ve been thinking about maybe skipping the lobster mac this Spring and if we’re all desperately craving it, I can bring it out in the summer. And in the meantime, finding something else for our good Friday dinner. I’m not opposed to still using lobster, in fact I’m welcoming it. For once I just want a break from the cheese.

It will probably last for 23 seconds, don’t worry.

Contender number one: lobster corn fritters.

They might not *technically* be fritters. They aren’t deep fried. They are pan fried though, and they stick together and are perfect with dip. I guess they are more like a lobster cake with sweet corn. Lobster CAKE.

Sounds too good to be true.

I like fritter better though. Sue me.

Funny enough, my mom always makes crab cakes for that same meal where I’m trying to shut out the lobster mac. I’m hoping to convince her that fresh, buttery lobster chunks will taste better in 2016 because… it’s 2016. And I want a new bite. The mac and cheese was tasting very 2007. Time to step up our game.

For the truffled mayo, I used my favorite black truffle sesame sea salt. I have talked about this stuff now forever and it is RIDICULOUS. We love it so much. I got Eddie hooked and he can’t eat popcorn without it. I use it on eggs, avocado toast, all the basics and the not-so basics.

You definitely don’t need that exact salt, as I’m finding black truffle salts are more widely available at grocery stores these days. You just want a touch of the truffle flavor. And if you reeeeeally don’t want to shell out the cash or aren’t a huge fan of truffle flavor (oh hi, mom), then forget it! Just do an herby mayo. It’s delicious too.

Aside from serving these as your main dish (maybe with a big house salad and some zucchini on the side), you can totally do mini cakes for parties or an appetizer. You can even make sandwiches (like these crab cake sliders!) topped with the mayo and maybe a quick cabbage slaw. Or throw them on their own salad with caramelized pineapple and arugula. And a champagne vinaigrette.

Great. Now I’m stahhhhving.

But really, these adorable bites are not only a great way to finish off the last few Fridays of lent, but also an ideal way to transition into spring and summer. They pretty much TASTE like summer, and I’m all about that. We spent a few hours outside yesterday running around like lunatics to get all the winter wiggles out and I started day dreaming of my favorite grilling recipes, fresh seafood dishes and lots of chilled white wine. Like, lots.

This is a start. WOOHOO.

Lobster Corn Fritters with Truffle Herb Mayo

Yield: makes about 8 to 10 fritters

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound fresh lobster meat, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup sweet corn kernels
8 saltine crackers, crushed (I used multigrain)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons olive oil

truffle herb mayo

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon black truffle sea salt



Directions:

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add butter. Add the lobster meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it's just opaque. Stir in the garlic and turn off the heat.

Place the lobster meat (and any oil/contents of the skillet) in a large bowl. Add the corn, crackers, egg, mustard, yogurt, mayo, tarragon, chives, salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Stir until combined (bringing it together with your hands when necessarily) and form the mixture into 1-inch thick cakes that are about 2 inches in diameter.You can obviously make whatever size you'd like!

Heat the same skillet over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the cakes and cook until deeply golden on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove each cake and place it on a paper towel lined plate. Serve hot with truffle herb mayo!

truffle herb mayo

Whisk all ingredients together until combined.

[inspired by food and wine]

pour the bubbly.

Tuesday Things.

1. A lucky charms cake steals my heart but better yet, it has lucky charms chocolate bark. Whaaaaat.

2. Guys. Birthing a child has made me so emotional about life. I cried about 34 times at a wedding this past weekend. In my previous (before child) life, I never even cried at a movie. Who am I?

3. My life is practically made because Dunkin Donuts currently has PISTACHIO(!) iced coffee. It’s way too sweet, but if you get it with 1 pump of pistachio, it’s so much yes.

4. Who is your all-time favorite actress? Mine is Meryl Streep and well… if you agree, you need to see this instagram account. I cannot.

5. Current book you’re reading now: go.

6. What did you watch this week? I thought Billions was great but kind of a filler episode. Same with The Walking Dead, but I’m petrified. I can’t handle it. Totally forgot to talk about GIRLS last week. I love Elijah, love Ray, even like Adam and weirdly enough want him with that certain love interest even though it’s terrible. We are on episode 3 of House of Cards. Cue desperate desire for Claire Underwood’s haircut, wardrobe and height. Very emotional about it too, whyyyy.

7. Fuller House! Last week I totally forgot to include my thoughts. Um, five minutes in I wanted to die. So cringeworthy. Like more secondhand embarrassment than GIRLS. I kept watching though because Eddie was away and Max was asleep. The 90s references were adorable and by the end, it kind of grew on me. But eek. Cringe cringe.

8. 12 habits of productive people. I’m struggling lately and NEED THIS.

Irish Ale Potato Cheddar Soup with Beer Battered Leeks.

Can I convince you to chat over a soothing bowl of soup?

Moments before writing this post, I was having a full scale meltdown about all the things I need to do. Things I want to do, have to do, need to do out of necessity and need to do because I create them for myself, and felt so overwhelmed that I almost retreated to my car to eat a peanut butter stuffed chocolate egg in peace while throwing my own personal pan pity party and take seven deep breaths.

But then. I started peeking at these soup pics and I was like THERE. Right there. I instantly (and oddly) felt at ease, like I was virtually eating my emotions and it was fantastic.

Potato soup was one of those little luxuries when I was growing up, passed on to me by my mom. There were a few other gems that we’d indulge in, like gravy smothered French fries, scrambled eggs and fried ham on a sandwich, mashed potato pancakes fried in bacon grease and hot bacon dressing on spinach salad. All of these delicious dishes – she’d talk about like they were gold (they sort of were…) and we’d MAYBE get them once a year.

This is like that! Except it’s better, because cheese.

Potato soup might have been on the menu more than once, but I’m talking about one of those loaded baked potato soups: tons of bacon, tons of sour cream.

I guess this is, in a way, my semi-trashed up Irish version of that. Surprise!

Here’s the thing. We always joke about how ridiculously Irish Max is. Eddie has lots of Irish roots and so do I, but neither of our families cooked any traditional Irish foods or held tons of Irish traditions. Unless you count a large amount of Irish whiskey and frequent appearances at the Saint Patrick’s Day parade?

But yep, that’s it.

I want to change this and am actually dyyying to go to Ireland (I wrote about this in my Tuesday Things last year, so I really think we should plan a trip NOW!)… so I just need to bite the bullet.

The soup though. The soup!

I covered it in beer battered leeks. They kind of look like calamari, no?  Don’t let ’em freak you out. They are so lightly battered in beer and fried until crunchy that they nearly melt in your mouth. Like fried shallots, but leeks. In adorable little rings. Piled on top of soup.

Can you say a texture lover’s dream?

And I definitely don’t discriminate against soup. I’ll eat it pretty much any time of year, but I think it’s safe to say that what’s regularly viewed as “soup season” is coming to an end. Especially a rich, comforting potato soup.

Hence me sneaking in one more itty bitty recipe here, made with two favorites: beer and cheddar.

Guys. I think we need to take stock in Kerrygold. Eddie is a butter snob and basically refuses to use any butter other than their grass fed unsalted. Whenever I can find the reserve cheddar, I end up with an embarrassing amount in my grocery cart. And this is no exaggeration, but it’s also not a shock that I’m frequently self-conscious about the amount of cheese in my cart.

Seriously.

Sometimes I have, like, six blocks of cheese? Thank god for self-checkout. Keeping me from being an adult and having confidence in my decisions since 2005.

The beer and the cheese? It’s not a secret that I’m no beer connoisseur. I just cook with what I like to drink. Occasionally I like a dark stout, but usually for drinking ONE frosty glass or making a rich glaze with beef or salmon. And always when the words “double chocolate” are included in the title, even if it doesn’t really taste like the big, fat chocolate bar I’m expecting.

Often, I take the words “double chocolate” quite literally. Hello world, I’d like my actual beer to taste like a cold glass of hot chocolate please.

See also: I’m the worst.

But that’s why there is no chocolate here, just lots of potatoes and cheese. Swirled together with the lighter ale, topped with the crunchy leeks, a drop of cream, some heat and herbs. I’ll be eating it up until the 17th, thankyouverymuch.

Irish Ale Potato Cheddar Soup with Beer Battered Leeks

Yield: serves 4 to 6

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 pounds yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock
12 ounces irish ale or your favorite beer
8 ounces irish sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated, plus more for topping
3 to 4 tablespoons cream, for drizzling
fresh herbs for garnish, like oregano or basil
red pepper flakes for garnish

beer battered leeks

1 cup sliced leeks
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
12 ounces irish ale or your favorite beer
vegetable or canola oil for frying



Directions:

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Stir in the onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are soft and even begin to caramelize slightly, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add in the potatoes, stock and ale. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to medium-low and let it simmer until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat.

Carefully pour the contents in a high-powered blender (if needed, you can do it in two batches). Blend until smooth. Pour the soup back into the pot and heat it over low heat, stirring well. Stir in the grated cheese, one handful at a time, until it completely melts. Make sure you add the cheese SLOWLY over low heat, so it melts right into the soup. Taste and season additionally if desired - you may want a little more salt and pepper depending on the saltiness of your cheese!

To serve the soup, drizzle 1 tablespoon of cream over top. Top with a handful of the beer battered leeks, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, some fresh herbs and pepper. Serve immediately.

beer battered leeks

Cover a large plate with a paper towel or two.

Heat about 2 to 3 inches of oil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan. You want the oil to be about 350 degrees F. In this instance, I don't always use a candy thermometer - I test it with one of the leeks! Just don't let the oil burn.

Whisk together 1 cup of flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Whisk in the beer until the batter is smooth. Place the other cup of flour in a plate. Add the leeks to the beer batter in batches, covering them. Remove them from the bowl and place them in the flour on the plate, tossing to coat. Add to the oil and fry until the batter is golden brown and flakey. Remove the leeks with a slotted spoon and place them on a paper towel to drain and excess grease.

if you make this recipe, be sure to post a photo on instagram and tag it with #howsweeteats to share!

Now bring on the Baileys.

Weekend Snapshots.

we took the quickest trip ever this weekend to rochester, new york for a family wedding, and aside from the wonderful reason we were there, highlights included a lunch at dinosaur BBQ (um, eddie went TWICE. what?!) and my first wegman’s experience. hello, can i live inside?

what did you do this weekend? tell me all about it! it’s going to be 70 (SEVENTY!!!) degrees here this coming week, so i’m already in the best mood ever and plan on spending half of every day outside. yesssss. xoxo

Currently Crushing On.

{via}

Hellllo. It’s MARCH. This is wild. Before we know it we will be swimming and drinking coconut cocktails.

What are your weekend plans? We have a family wedding in New York which will be oh-so much fun. I’m writing this from a big hotel bed and I love big hotel beds. Have a fab one!

P.S. I shared our 15 month baby favorites riiiiiiight here. All the things we’re loving.

this week’s internet loves:

how absolutely stunning are these rainbow marshmallows?! i feel like they represent the colors of my life.

the green monster bloody mary, otherwise known as the best thing i’ve ever seen on the internet.

five words: DIY lisa frank easter eggs. my life is made.

this weekend needs to include a bomb ass bagel sandwich, for sure.

this is what perfect no bake nutella crunch bars look like.

crispy smashed potatoes that are oh-so pretty.

craving these yogurt granola and honey popsicles. gorgeous.

brussels sprouts pizza. what the world needs now.

do you know what kind of salt to use?

beauty is a tex mex breakfast casserole.

banana split ice cream cake. don’t mind if i do.

have you ever tried these bacon, ham and swiss sliders? they make SUCH a delicious appetizer and everyone goes crazy.

how about this cookies and cream affogato? omg.

Cereal Milk Chia Pudding with Lucky Charms Crumbs.

Or, how much can I possibly embarrass myself.

With classy breakfast with trashy cereal. Together. In one bowl! It really is magically delicious.

Three lucky charms posts in three years may be a bit much. This might be it. I feel as if I’ve exhausted the lucky charms options.

First, boozy lucky charms milkshakes. How can you say no?

And then, one bowl whiskey chocolate cake with lucky charms. Never saying no, ever.

Both of them are made with booze, so I figured it was time to make something that was (more) acceptable for breakfast.

It’s no secret that I’m a ridiculously huge chia pudding fan. I’ve shared a million versions (or, um, five) here on the site and have made even more in my kitchen. I love the texture, I love how satisfied I am after eating it, I love how much energy it gives me and I LOVE the variety of flavors that can turn into chia pudding.

So… why not!?!

I want to frame this marshmallow picture. Maybe make it my phone background. I liked lucky charms when I was growing up but it wasn’t my all time fave (that title goes to cinnamon toast crunch) – however, the marshmallows are just adorable. So bright and artificially neon.

They’ve totally changed them though. Right? I finally bit the bullet and bought the marshmallow-only version from amazon (you guys have been telling me about this for YEARS) and those marshmallows look much more like the old school lucky charms from my tween days. They are oddly shaped, definitely don’t have rainbows and certainly aren’t anywhere near as BRIGHT. I mean, some of these new marshmallows look downright fluorescent! Mmmm. Delicious. Radioactive marshmallows.

Delicious in moderation for sure. Once a year, we can do this.

Anyhoo.

I’ve been fascinated with momofuku’s cereal milk for years. The true version is made with cornflakes and is super delicious. It’s just special, and that’s saying a lot considering I NEVER drank the milk out of the cereal bowl. Not then, not now, not ever.

Probably in the minority, but I just couldn’t do it.

But I CAN drink some cereal milk that’s made to just be cereal milk. I make no sense in life, I know.

For all you regular cereal milk drinkers, like pick-up-the-bowl-every-morning-after-cereal and chug it down, you’ll probably love the flavor. It’s slightly sweet from the cereal steeping and has just enough flavor to enhance something that normally would call for sweetener. With my favorite coconut almond milk, it’s fantastic. I still like to add a touch of honey here, but the chia pudding only requires three “real” ingredients: cereal milk, honey and chia! Plus a little vanilla extract, if you’d like.

For those of you who are weird about texture? This could certainly be your worst nightmare. Not only do we have the bubble-like chia pudding, but we have those styrofoam-like, squeak-between-your-teeth marshmallows. Apologies! Have some cinnamon toast crunch.

Now all I want to do is make one massive layered lucky charms chia parfait. Maybe sneak in some banana soft serve. Some coconut whipped cream. Some sprinkles! A chocolate drizzle. Some peanut butter?

Okay I’ll stop.

Cereal Milk Chia Pudding with Lucky Charms Crumbs

Yield: serves 2 to 4

Total Time: 4 hours

Ingredients:

lucky charms cereal milk

3 cups milk (I used coconut almond milk)
2 cups lucky charms cereal

chia pudding

2 cups cereal milk
1/3 cup chia seeds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey
1 pinch of salt
1/2 cup lucky charms cereal, some crushed, some left whole
1 banana, sliced
fresh mint leaves for garnish



Directions:

lucky charms cereal milk

Place the cereal in a large bowl and cover with the milk. Place a bowl or plate over top of the cereal so it's all pressed underneath into the milk. Let it sit and steep for 45 minutes. Strain the cereal out of the milk. Now you have cereal milk!

chia pudding

Stir together the milk, chia seeds, vanilla, honey and salt in a large bowl. Cover and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, stir and separate any clumps. Cover again and place it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight. When ready to serve, scoop out some of the chia pudding and place it in a bowl or jar. Cover with sliced bananas (or other fruit of yourself), some crushed or whole lucky charms, and a fresh mint leaf. Devour!

if you make this recipe, be sure to post a photo on instagram and tag it with #howsweeteats to share!

This will surely bring you luck.

How to Make an Oatmeal Latte.

Um, hi. We’re doing this.

I feel like this is a post for Monday because CAFFEINE but this is also a post for the weekend because it’s heaven in a cup that you can sit and enjoy while you read the paper. And by “read the paper,” I mean scroll through your instagram and snapchat and newsroom app updates. You know, the 2016 paper.

My mom still reads the paper though. She might be the only one.

Can I just shout from the rooftops how freaking in LOVE I am with this drink-breakfast hybrid?!

And oatmeal isn’t even my… thing.

From the moment I saw this oatmeal latte – an article written on bon appetite – late last summer, I was dyyying to make it. Seriously, it’s been on my list for at least six months and I’ve considered it every single week.

Finally, we’re doing it. It’s a hug in a mug.

First, I love the reactions to the oatmeal latte – the “should I sip or scoop” – because apparently the answer is both! And it totally is. It’s a caffeine boost with brown sugar oatmeal and if you’re a breakfast lover, it might be everything you’ve ever wanted.

You whip rolled oats with some steamed milk and brown sugar. And salt! A little touch of salt. Salt is key here. Scoop it into your mug and hit it with a shot (or two) (or three) of espresso. aka, life blood.

The whole thing mixes together and it LOOKS like a drink, and it sort of is – you can certainly sip it to get that first morning jolt. But it’s best consumed with a spoon, so you get bites of brown sugary oatmeal and creamy milk and coffee.

Together in one bowl.

I simply cannot.

The whole thing is topped with a sprinkling of granola which may sound weird, but it’s not granola sitting on straight liquid. Obviously. It’s like crunchy granola on top of your cappuccino-flavored oatmeal. I used this maple nut crunch granola from Nicole and it was to die for. It has cashews! It’s the most addictive thing ever, right next to this oatmeal latte.

Which is probably why I paired them together.

You neeeed to try this if you love coffee and oatmeal. You can adjust the flavors accordingly – do you like more or less sweetness in your breakfast? Do you drink espresso shots or prefer lattes? Heck, make it into a Starbucks-version with tons of hazelnut syrup. It make take a time or two to figure out YOUR perfect oatmeal latte combo but it’s 1. worth it and 2. definitely worth it since you can eat all the first (couple of) tries.

Now I’m going to drink one of these and tell you how much I love you. Sometimes caffeine makes me feel drunk.

Oatmeal Latte

Yield: serves 2

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup old fashioned oats
2 cups whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 (or 4!) shots of espresso
granola for topping



Directions:

Place the oats and 11/2 cups of milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the salt and cinnamon. Stir to combine. In the meantime, froth or steam the remaining 1 cup of milk. Add about 3/4 cup of the steamed, frothed milk to the oats. Cook, stirring often, until the oats are super creamy and milky. Remove from heat. Stir in the remaining milk. Stir in the brown sugar and vanilla extract.

Spoon the oatmeal into two mugs equally. Top each with a shot or 2 of espresso. Finish off with some granola on top. Sip and spoon!

[adapted from bon appetit]

It’s true.

baby favorites: 15 months.

Hi hi! Max is just shy of 15 months, but I figured… no better time to share a new round of stuff we are loving. And certainly close enough to 15 months, cue the waterworks.

This month, I categorized things to make it slightly easier. You can find other favorites here:

six weeks

ten weeks

six months

nine months

one year

This is a list of some of the things we use often (most, daily!) and what I’ve been keeping track of since our last favorites post.

Also, Max says: please don’t judge my mullet/combover since my parents’ are struggling with my first hair cut. WAH.

 

clothing

If possible, I might be into baby fashion more right now than my own fashion. WHO AM I. Ugh.

h & m slim jeans. I’ve probably received more questions on the jeans Max wears than anything else! We absolutely lovely these h & m slim jeans – they are so stretchy and comfy. Um, and he lives in them. We have them in three colors and… he can still fit into the 4-6 month size. He is a peanut. Also, most 9 and 12 month pants are HUGE on him, so we are wearing the heck out of these until he grows into his new pants. I also bought them in a size up because we’re obsessed.

patagonia coat. Since Max is on the teenier side, I’ve had SUCH a time finding him a comfortable, versatile winter coat that doesn’t swallow him whole. I bit the bullet for this Patagonia (in hopes of passing it down in the future) and it is fabulous. It fits perfectly, snugly and the hood stays up. Ideal in our freezing winter weather. Also, can we please discuss the cold weather coat + car seat issue? If you live in the suburbs that require driving everywhere, what do you do in the winter? We are still really active and go somewhere every day if possible, sometimes a few places. But you’re not supposed to wear the coat in the car seat. I get the whole “bundle them up and put them under a blanket” but 1. bundling him up is too many clothes for the car seat and 2. he is old enough to throw the blanket off. So I put him in his regular outfit. We get to our destination. I get in the back seat, remove him from the car seat and put his coat on. We go do our thing. Get back in the back seat. Remove coat. Back into car seat. Is this the only way if you live in a frigid, must-drive area? Halp me.

hanna anderson sleeper pj’s: this is a repeat but we love the PJs the most! out of all the others. it’s nice that the feet are out so he can walk around (we certainly have our PJ days… ) and better than the separates that ride up over his belly. Love them!

zara leggings: another repeat, but oh ma gosh. Max LIVES in these. We have every pair imaginable. I have to thank Cindy for sending me a pair back when Max was born – I would never know how wonderful they are if it weren’t for her! If Max isn’t in his h&m jeans, he is in these.

 

diapers, wipes, etc

Pretty simple here – just the basics. We still use the honest shampoo and body wash, along with the healing balm on his skin if needed.

honest overnight diapers. We’ve used honest since Max was in size 1 diapers. They didn’t work as newborn diapers for us, but after size 1 they have been wonderful. He’s never had a diaper rash (this is shocking to me, I guess I just assumed all babies got diaper rashes?) and they very rarely leak. However, sometimes first thing in the morning, right before he wakes up, they leak because they are so heavy. So I added a pack of overnights to our bundle last month and we have loved them.

water wipes. while we love the honest diapers, we really don’t like the honest wipes. They are so dry. They just are so… blah. Water wipes are lifesavers. We use them for EVERYTHING.

honest toothpaste. This is the only toothpaste we’ve tried so far, but Max seems to love it! Or should I say, it doesn’t bother him at all.

 

food & accessories

We did baby led weaning with Max at six months, so he has been eating whole finger foods since then. He eats pretty much everything I give him and has tasted every flavor and texture imaginable so far. We haven’t reached the picky toddler stage yet! Right now, I still put food on his high chair tray. If I give him a plate, he just wants to throw the plate after a few minutes. We are just starting to introduce baby silverware, so recommendations please!

tommee tippee insulated straw cup. I know I know, there is currently a huuuuge issue on mold and the tommee tippee sippy cups. I know! I’ve checked these straw cups and mine are fine so far. No mold. We love these. We started using them back in November and they are the cup that taught Max how to use a straw. They don’t leak. He loves drinking from them. I even put smoothies in them.

munchkin 360 cup. This is another cup we introduced in December, just as another option. Max also loves drinking from these. We alternate between one of these and a straw cup (or one of each, ha), as he is totally off sippy cups.

earth’s best organic blueberry pancakes. When we first started baby led weaning, I would make a bunch of baby pancakes once or twice and week for Max to snack on. I still do that sometimes. I love that he is eating all food, but it’s also easy for me to do because I’m already in the kitchen a bunch, you know? I don’t want to sound pretentious like *oh my baby only eats things I cook!* While that is mostly the case due to our situation, there are a few convenience foods we’ve tried and loved. These are one of them! They are so simple, delicious (um, Eddie and I have tasted many) and sometimes I’ll make a baby pancake PB and J sandwich. He LOVES them.

ella’s kitchen nibbly fingers: I always stash a few of these “baby granola bars” in my bag when we are gone for hours. Max is a great shopper so far and a great stroller rider. He gets so excited to eat one of these!

stonyfield whole milk yogurt pouches. You might remember that Max has had zero interest in purees or pouches… but he has always loved yogurt. I’ve started giving him a few of these whole milk yogurt pouches and he adores them. They are great since he is self fed – he won’t take anything off a spoon from us unless it’s like ice cream, of course. He sucks them down like a champ. And bonus toy: he loves screwing the top on and off.

 

toys

A few of our favorites below, and by that I mean “actual” toys, and not remote controls, stand mixer attachments, iphones, whisks, colanders, wooden spoons, lip balms, brown paper bags, shoes or anything else that Max would rather play with. Books in general are a huge favorite, and if there are books around he will usually pick them up and read through them a few times. Or bring them to us to read, which is adorable.

babies r us toy box. Eddie was set on getting a “nice” toy box from pottery barn, but the minute I saw this one with the book shelves on the side, I was sold. I love that the books can always be on display for Max to grab, without having to be IN the box. Makes me hope he will reach for books first. (< book nerd forever.) This is also a great size. Not too long. And completely safe for fingertips.

mega bloks first building legos. Max is obsessed. Not only does he love building with these, he loves dragging around the bag, dumping out all the blocks and putting them all back in the bag.

melissa and doug standard blocks. Eddie and Max build these all the time. He loves simple holding these blocks. They are super sturdy and nice. But heavy. So be careful!

janod pyramid family blocks. This is a fairly new gift I bought Max for Valentine’s day, but has quickly become THEE favorite. He loves stacking these and having other people stack them, then knocking them down like a wild man. I found mine at Barnes and Noble. They have the BEST toys.

9 cube block puzzle. I feel like this should have a disclaimer, because these are cardboard. So that means by this point, pretty much all of the paper is peeling off. But Max ADORES these blocks. I swear he is always carrying one of them around.

fisher price little people super friends, Not sure I’m including this for Eddie or Max, but these are a definite favorite. He loves every version that the fisher price little people come in, but these super heroes are the ones he and Eddie play with every single day. And most of the day, you can find Max carrying around one of two. He flips over them.

fisher price crawl around car. There is not much that Max will sit still for these days, but this car. Oh this car! He sits inside and plays so nicely. He also loves… climbing over it. In fact, I think he climbs in and out maybe more than he sits inside.

happy kids TV app. We downloaded this app on Apple TV and it’s full of nursery rhymes and songs. It’s kind of a parent’s worst nightmare (you will be singing these in the middle of the night while your mind is racing) but Max gets SO giddy when we put the songs on. He loves to dance and sing along. He even mimics some of the dances now. Eeeep.

{none of these items are sponsored and they were all purchased by us or given as gifts by friends/family. there are a few amazon affiliate links above. thank you so much for reading!}

Easy Honey Dijon Skillet Chicken.

Hello, my name is Jessica and I’m a mustard freak.

It’s kind of like bacon. It makes everything better.

We make a ton of chicken in this house. I’ve rambled at length about how these days, we so prefer boneless, skinless thighs over chicken breasts, how I barely ate chicken for a year while pregnant and then got back in the game and how Eddie makes chicken every Sunday like clockwork. We love to roast a whole chicken, we broil chicken for quick meals, we smoke it, grill it and I am FOREVER in search of the nonboring chicken recipes.

If you make a lot of chicken, you probably also suffer from scary chicken boredom syndrome.

In fact, I think it’s one of my goals to never have boring chicken, ever. I’m very much living on the edge. I know.

Plus! My mustard collection is still out of control, in case you were wondering.

(just teetered off the edge.)

That always means good things.

Truth: the only boring chicken that I love is semi-plain whole roast chicken – like all I need is salt, pepper, olive oil and maybe butter. But maybe not. About three ingredients and I’m good to go because it’s so tender and flavorful.

But… what if we added some dijon flavor to that?! I think my taste buds would run a marathon to get a bite.

My adoration for skillet dishes runs deep. My mom makes nearly everything in a cast iron skillet that is about 100 years old. Every chicken dish, pork chops, tacos – you name it, it’s in the skillet. And anything that is baked, actually STARTS in the skillet.

That’s my kind of cooking because you throw it in the skillet and finish it in the oven if needed and boom, you’re done. You can clean up while it’s cooking. Or eat a handful of cereal from the box like the hungry savage that you may be. Or have a glass of wine. Pick your poison.

SO.

This is one of those all-purpose chicken dishes that we use for everything. It’s fabulous right out of the skillet, drenched in the mustard sauce and served next to roasted potatoes and asparagus or quinoa and green beans. But it’s even better in things like salads, lunch time wraps, a quick flatbread pizza or even sliced on a sandwich. I like to say that it elevates everything it comes it contact with. There is tons of flavor. It’s simple! You might even have most of all of the ingredients right at your fingertips.

Elevate your life, please and thank you.

Honey Dijon Skillet Chicken

Yield: serves 4

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (or both!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
3 tablespoons honey
fresh chopped herbs for topping



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Pat the chicken completely dry with paper towels.

In a bowl, whisk together the salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder. Sprinkle it liberally all over both sides of the chicken pieces.

Heat a large over-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook on both sides until deeply golden, about 5 minutes per side. One finished browning both sides, add the sherry to deglaze the pan. Reduce the heat to low.

In a bowl, stir together the stock, mustards and honey. Pour the mixture over the chicken and turn the chicken a few times to coat. Cover the skillet and place it in the oven for 15 minutes, just until the chicken cooks through.

Remove the skillet and before serving, sprinkle the chicken with the herbs. Serve immedaitely! We love this over salads, in wraps and served over rice and veggies.

Leeeettle slice of perfection.