Cookies and Milk Martini

It's Thursday and do you know what that means? It means that it is ladies night and at most establishments ladies get to drink free! WooHoo! Oh wait, I forgot, I'm married and a homebody and not 20something anymore, so ladies night doesn't actually mean anything to me. But in case you want to partake in Thirsty Thursday here is an an easy and delicious cocktail.

I actually came up with with this on Christmas Eve. I was excited earlier in the day when I discovered that Pinnacle vodka was on sale at my local liquor store. I stocked up on my favorites and decided to try out the cookie dough flavor.  So, it was after 11:00 I had cookies baking in the oven, I was wrapping presents and watching my favorite Christmas movie, Die Hard and I decided I had to have a cocktail and Santa might want one too. And Voila, the Cookies and Milk Martini was born.

Some notes before I get to the recipe.
*Use equal parts of all the ingredients if you want to make more than one drink.
*You can also rim the glass with cookie crumbs
* I happened to have milk at home, but you can use half & half or cream, or whatever you use in your coffee.
*If there are any typos it is because I had to drink a martini before writing this entry.



Ingredients
1 shot Pinnacle Cookie Dough Vodka
1 shot Godiva Chocolate Liqueur
1 shot Milk
Soft Cookies for Garnish






Directions

Take one shot of the Pinnacle Cookie Dough Vodka.



Take one shot of the Chocolate Godiva Liqueur.



And finally take one shot of the milk.


Combine in a shaker.

Add Ice.


And Shake,Shake, Shake, because I like my martinis shaken not stirred.



Pour into martini glass.

Garnish with Cookie.


Toast yourself and enjoy!

Hash Brown Casserole

I am sitting here dreading going to work tomorrow and watching a new reality show on the Food Network, Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook Off.  I'm hoping it is a good show. Joey Fatone is on it and I loved *Nsync, maybe Justin will make a guest appearance. Don't tell anyone but he is one of my secret boyfriends.  Coolio is on the show too, I think he may be a little crazy. This show has the potential to be very entertaining.

Tomorrow everything gets back to normal, back to work and back to school. This is a great recipe for breakfast on busy mornings. It can be assembled the night before and baked in the oven in the morning.  It also reheats well.  My mom actually made this dish for Thanksgiving and I begged for the recipe so I could make it Christmas morning. It turned out pretty tasty. The original recipe was a copy cat recipe for Cracker Barrel's Hash Browns.  I made a few adjustments to the recipe.




Ingredients
20 oz bag of Southwest Style Hash Browns
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
8 oz Sour Cream
2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup butter, melted

Seasonings to Taste
Salt
Pepper



Directions


Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.

Add hash browns dish.



Mix in sour cream, cream of chicken soup, cheese and seasonings.





Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Happy New Year: Healthy Fish Sticks

I hope everyone had a happy and safe New Year. We had a completely wild and scandalous New Year's Eve. OK, not really we just sat at home with cocktails and a movies. But we could have if we wanted to.  I did whip up some Jell-O shots that turned out pretty good. I will have to post a recipe soon.

Have you made any resolutions this year? I tend to make my resolutions on birthday. Last year I resolved to quit smoking and I am proud to say that on December 19, 2011 I was officially one year smoke free. This year I resolved to continue to be the best wife and stepmom I can be, to lose about 15 pounds and to do what makes me happy no matter what anyone else thinks.

For my blog I resolve to write at least three recipes a week and to post updates in Facebook daily.  Tell me what you would like to see more of?

Since it is New Years and I know so many people have vowed to adopt healthy diet I will restrain from posting my coconut cake recipe. I will give you a few weeks to earn a treat.  This is a healthy version of the kid's favorite, Fish Sticks.  You can use any type of white fish in this recipe, I happened to have Swai in my freezer.




Ingredients
1 lb White Fish
1 cup Fiber One Cereal
2 Egg Whites

Seasonings to Taste
Garlic Powder
Old Bay Seasoning
Red Pepper Flakes
Salt
Pepper







Directions


Preheat oven to 400 F

Add Fiber One Cereal and seasonings to the blender. Blend until well mixed and crushed.




Cut fish into strips.





Dip the fish into the egg whites. (Ignore the bit of yolk that slipped through.)



Coat with "bread crumbs".





Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.





Nutritional Info
Serving size 4 oz

Calories: 126 Carbs: 14 Fat: 2 Protein: 19