Snow Day Specials...

 Thursday Recap:

Well, the snow came down almost until sunset yesterday...and since we had no place to go, I was OK with "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...."  (sorry, I know I'm the minority hereJ)

And since Scott was home, we knew it was going to be a breakfast of: 

Katie is OBSESSED with making pancakes.  NOT necessarily eating them, but just "helping" Scott make themJ  She gets really excited about it and we think SOMEDAY it will mean she'll eat more than four bites.  ...somedayJ  Although she probably did eat a big FIVE bites yesterday since these were made with corn (and flax) and she thought that was pretty coolJ

Lunch:  Leftover Double Dumpling Soup 

Felt under the weather AGAIN yesterday (and again-knock on wood, so far feel better today!), it must be some quirky Thursday thing!  So rest & SOUP were on the menu again for the day.

And soup by sight of the snow made it even better...

That and watching "Gone Girl" with Scott....which, I swear, somehow took about 4 hours.  I mean, I know the movie is long to begin with and we had to entertain Katie here & there, but we went from morning to afternoon in a beat.

Afterwards, I hung inside and rested while Scott, Katie & Penny all went out to play in the snow...BOO.  An hour and many trips in the snowtube later, Katie came back inside...looking like, ummmmm, she had a good time...J

...and I busted out one of my MUSTHAVEAPPLIANCES from when Scott & I moved in together about 8 years ago to help warm them up...that ummmmm....I'm not sure if this thing has seen the light of day in at least SEVEN of those years.  Ya know:  MUST HAVESJ 

But it came in perfect handy to whip up some Hot Vanilla Milk for a fun twist on Hot ChocolateJ

• 3 cups milk (used 2%)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Cinnamon

Our little machine whirled, heated & frothed it up a bit...

And it was a hit all-around, especially since Katie loved making milk mustaches...

J

Dinner:  Creamy Parmesan white bean stew + Jim Lahey Bread

OR, if we're being more accurate, it was really more like BREAD + STEW since the fresh out of the oven beauty was the main star of the show...

I'm not sure how many bites of the stew really made it past my lips without the help of that beautiful bread in lieu of a spoon...J

As for the stew, it may have stayed in the slow cooker just a bit too long since the beans REALLLY broke down quite a bit.  Maybe 6 hours on low would have been sufficientJ 

FYI-I just used the above recipe and tossed everything, sans the anchovies, in the slow cooker.  (Used only the 4 cups of chicken broth and skipped the water since I had soaked the beans overnight.  Just keep an eye that they don't dry out.  Ours didn't even come close to doing so.)  When we had about an hour left for dinner, I added the greens and they wilted perfectly.  Smooth, creamy & very filling, it definitely succeeded in warming the bones on such a cold night.

And that brings us to the big FRIDAY!  Weeeeeee!  Gearin up for another weekend of yoga school...and what, I'm sure, will be a lot of good eats to share with you on MondayJ  Never thought those 2 things would converge when I started school back in OctoberJ hahahhahha

Have a great weekend!!J