Tag Archives: south

Healthy Hot Cocoa

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Filed under breakfast, snacks, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

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Today it snowed, and it is supposed to snow tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. As resident of South Carolina, it is not often that we see snow. And if we see, it is usually here for a day and then it vanishes. But today it seems that it is here to stay. I love snow, so I am happy. Moreover here in the South, the world shuts down when it snows so school is cancelled as well. Yeah;-) More me time.

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Anyway, with the cold temperature out there, there is nothing better than a hot cocoa to warm you up from the inside out. I love hot cocoa… but hot cocoa is one of those treats that is so so good, it is not really good for it.

So here is a substitute that tastes nearly as wonderful and is very good for you.

Ingredients for 1 cup:

  • 1 cup of expresso, or brewed coffee
  • 1 cup of light almond milk ( only 30 calories a cup)
  • 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder ( i used Muscle Milk)
  • 1/2 tbsp of dark cocoa from Hershey’s

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend it for a few minutes. It can be drank cold or warm. I like it both ways. YUM!!!

I love this treat because I do not feel guilty drinking this. the dark cocoa from Hershey really help masking the taste of the protein powder.

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Peach French Toast Casserole

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Filed under breakfast, Fleximolds, Recipe with Demarle Cookware

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We leave in the country of peaches so you would think that we would have the best ones!!! Well I don’t know if it was me just not picking the right peaches, but no matter where I went, no matter where I received them from, this year’s peaches have been quite disappointing. If you have been more lucky, please let me know where you have been:-)
Well I had so many peaches that i could not eat simply as it that i had to think of ways yo ” recycle” them.

One day I made a pork tenderloin with them, another day i made muffins and today i made a breakfast casserole. I am not much of a casserole, but my son loves them and  this way i can make sure he has a hearty breakfast before going off to school. My recipe was inspired by a recipe that I had seen on allrecipes.com, it looked so appetizing that  I had to try:-)
I did not follow the recipe that I had seen as it suggested using boxed peaches and stale bread.

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Ingredients for a large casserole for 8-12 ( depending how hungry your crowd is;-))

  • 1 loaf of old fashioned French bread ( without the crust or a loaf of challah bread)
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup of milk/ or half and half
  • 1 stick of butter
  • 2 cups of brown sugar
  • 2 cups of fresh peaches sliced in quarters
  1. In a large frying pan, melt the butter. When it is melted, add the sugar and bring the mixture to boil. Reduce the heat down and cook for 5 minutes.
  2. Add the peaches and cook them for 5 min making sure to turn them every so often. photo 1
  3. Place the peaches at the bottom of your pan. I used the sunflower mold. I make them look pretty but you don’t have to! photo 2
  4. Pour the caramel, photo 3
  5. Slice the bread in about 1 inch wide and place the slices above the caramel. photo 4
  6. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla and cream and mix well.
  7. Pour the mixture over the bread. Place a plate over the bread to keep it down or the bread will float up, and let the casserole sit for a few hours ( overnight is best).
  8. Turn the heat to 350 and cook the casserole for 30 minutes or until the bread is a nice brown.photo 5

9. Let the casserole cool a bit before serving. You may serve it straight out of the bowl, or unmold it. It is best eaten warm. photo 2

10. enjoy!!!photo

Bon Appetit and Happy Cooking!!!

Broccoli Slaw

Posted
Filed under vegetables, What's Up in Cecile's Kitchen

Whoah….  It was 103 yesterday already.  Summer is definitely here!!! What temperature are we going to get in July?!

If you are like me, you probably don’t want to spend time in the kitchen amid warm ovens, and steaming cook stoves. Instead I bet you like to grill things and have salads.

I love all kind of salads, but the one I particularly like is broccoli salad. I don’t get to fix it often because  I am the only one eating it here at the house. But I will fix it when we have company, and when we are grilling. I offered it on Memorial Day as one of the sides. It is a refreshing salad, and a good substitution for the regular cole slaw you generally see at cook-outs. The recipe I use is my own version of a recipe from a book called “Southern Memories” by Nathalie Dupree. That book was offered to me many moons ago by friends who wanted me to know the ” local southern recipes”. I have treasured this book, and use it often when fixing traditional recipes from the South.

Ingredients:

  • 1 bag of broccoli slaw,
  • 1 bag of broccoli florets( diced very thinly),
  • 1 pack of uncooked bacon ( lean bacon, cut in thin strips),
  • 1/2 cup of onion sliced very thinly
  • 1/2 cup of mayonnaise,
  • 1/8 cup of sugar,
  • 1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese,
  • 3 tbsp of cider vinegar,
  • 1/8 tsp of salt and
  • 1/16 tsp of pepper.
  1. First cook the bacon in a large frying pan until the bacon is fried and crumbled.
  2. Remove the bacon from the pan, and place it in a bowl covered with paper towels so as to absorb the bacon drippings. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, mayonnaise, salt and vinegar.
  4. Add the broccoli slaw and broccoli florets. Toss well.
  5. Refrigerate.
  6. Before serving, add the crisp bacon and 1 cup of sharp cheddar.
  7. Toss again.Serve.

This salad can keep for few days. It actually tastes better after a few days.

Bon Appetit! and Happy Cooking!