Lucky Charmed Life

I've never been so excited to wake up in the morning. My last sight of the day on Wednesday: Lucky Charms dissolving into milk.

Ok, maybe to some that sounds a bit strange. You have to remember that I, too, am a little bit strange. Soggy cereal for the win!

It was hard not dive right into that delicious bowl of marshmallow goodness, but the end goal was in sight: Cereal Milk Chia Pudding with Lucky Charm Dust, another goodie by the one and only Jessica Merchant of How Sweet It Is. Over the years she has delivered some real winners when it comes to breakfast-themed desserts.

Like this puppy.

[McDonalds has nothing on this]

I had to give her latest a try despite my general wariness of chia seed pudding. The consistancy is bizzare and not unlike boba, gelatenous and flavorless. I've really tried to get behind chia pudding over the years, but have had a hard time given my general distaste for the texture. With the promise of General Mills goodness, however, I gave it a try. The preparation was pretty easy, the only issue was that I decided to make the recipe right before bed. Thankfully I have a rockstar fiance who was willing to help out in the name of delicious food... and maybe love too ;)

You begin with three cups of milk. I used a mixture of almond and lite coconut milk (would have used all almond milk, but again in true Beth fashion, I forgot to check how much almond milk we had left... ). The resulting combination was heavenly. I might even try all coconut milk next time because it ended up being so creamy!

Plunge two cups of Lucky Charm cereal into the milk and make sure it is completely submerged (Jessica recommends placing a cup or bowl on top to aid in this process).

After 45 minutes, the marshmallows should be dissolved. Strain out the remaining cereal pieces and add 1/3 cup chia seeds to the milk. Stir well and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Stir the mixture one more time to eliminate any clumps (chia seeds have an annoying tendency to do this) and return to the fridge for four ours or overnight (I'd recommend overnight). In the morning, top your pudding with additional cereal pieces, banana slices, you name it, and enjoy! I added a generous helping of cereal and loved every bite.

[Don't be fooled, more cereal was added after this picture]

I was pleasently surprised to find that I actually wasn't turned off by the texture! I think the crunchiness of the cereal does something to offset it. And the cereal milk added a deliciously sweet taste to the bland chia. This recipe makes 2-4 servings (I'd say more like two). Try it out and let me know your thoughts!

Needless to say, with dessert for breakfast, St. Patrick's day was already off to a good start. It only got better when I realized I had leftover homemade shepherd's pie for lunch. I stumbled upon this recipe about a month ago and let me tell you, it's a winner. Matt has even said he would like to eat this shepherd's pie every day for the rest of his life. I think that says it all right there. Stay tuned for that recipe next week :)

The evening was spent in the traditional fashion, sharing a homecooked meal (and a few beers) with the family. Monica was particularly pleased because this was the first year since they've been back in California that she's gotten to enjoy the family corned beef. She missed out last year because of this little leprechaun.

Crazy to think that a year ago Monica was about to pop! How is it possible Jamison is already going to be one?! Cue emotion. We ate our fill of corned beef and cabbage, stewed carrots, and homemade Irish soda bread courtesy of my mom.

[Mother Crocker]

The bread was dense and chock full of dried currants. Lathered in butter, it was exactly what I needed (and helped soak up the alcohol, besides).

After an Irish Car Bomb, a St. Patrick's Day must, we ended the extravagant meal with a little something from yours truly. Feast your eyes.

I've been itching to use my creme brulee torch again, and found the perfect opportunity when I stumbled upon this Irish Coffee Creme Brulee by Allie of Baking a Moment.

I had a few friends to assist me in the making of this recipe.

[Meet Murphy's & Jameson... ]

What I like about creme brulee is its both a rich and decadent dessert, but comes in portions that simultaneously leaves you satisfied, but not weighed down. This was no exception. The espresso flavor was bold, the creamy texture rich, but I felt more like a jolly Irishman from the booze than the brulee. If you have access to some espresso (thank you, Brain, barista extroardinaire!), give this a go. You don't even need a torch!

Irish Coffee Creme Brulee (makes four)

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks

• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

• a pinch of kosher salt

• 2/3 cup heavy cream

• 1/4 cup brewed espresso, cooled

• 2 tablespoons Irish whiskey

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (extract may be substituted), or the seeds scraped from one vanilla bean

• Additionally: 2-4 tablespoons granulated sugar, for bruleeing

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F and line a baking dish with a clean kitchen towel. Set ramekins on top.

2. Place the yolks in a mixing bowl, along with the sugar and salt. Whisk together until combined.

3. Heat the cream in a small pot until simmering. Slowly add the hot cream to the egg yolk mixture, while whisking. Stir in the coffee, whiskey, and vanilla.

4. Transfer the mixture to the ramekins and carefully fill the larger baking dish with very hot water, about 1 inch up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 40 minutes, or until just barely set in the middle.

5. Cool completely, then top each ramekin with 1 tablespoon of sugar and brulee with a torch or under the broiler. Serve immediately.

I was about to say that I am now strictly on a green smoothie diet after yesterday's feasting, but that's a total lie. Because....

TOMORROW IS PIE FEST!!!!

Also known as my favorite day of the year, when Claremont turns into a treasure trove of all things pie - demos, samples, contests galore. Definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a fun weekend activity. Click here for more. In the meantime I am prepping a little something special for the festivities. Stay tuned for the recipe on Monday!