Saturday, January 25, 2014

Hot Chocolate & Saturday's Mish-Mosh

Today we ran a bunch of errands and made our Costco run. I snapped a few photos of some of our Costco finds today -- don't worry, I didn't photograph all of them!  ;-)  I also snapped a photo of my lunch and weird dinner (it was our "clean out the refrigerator night" meal) and my delicious cup of hot cocoa I had for dessert made with unsweetened almond milk, Scharffen Berger unsweetened cocoa (my favorite cocoa) and confectioners Swerve with a pinch of Celtic sea salt for good measure! The hot cocoa was absolutely delicious, especially on this chilly evening. Check out the photos below. Enjoy!

2 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa, 2 slightly rounded tablespoons of confectioners Swerve mixed with a few tablespoons of water to form a smooth paste; whisk in 1 cup of hot unsweetened almond milk and a pinch of Celtic sea salt...it's like drinking a chocolate bar w/ almonds (adjust cocoa and sweetener as desired)
Lunch - Greek yogurt mixed with mashed strawberries and a dollop of fresh cranberry sauce
I love pink yogurt!  ;-)
This is what "clean out the fridge" dinner looks like! "Baked Cauli-roni & Cheese" with "Stir-fry Beef, Broccoli & Brussels"
Last but not least...a few of my Costco buys today...
This will go into my crock pot this week -- Tri-tip roast ($6.99/lb)
4 pounds of brussels sprouts -- my sugar-free M&Ms (the green ones always were my favorite)...LOL ($4.29 each)
Have been wanting to try this so finally picked some up...($15.99)
Hubby's favorite ($7.69)
Until I can find fresh wild salmon, canned wild Alaskan salmon will have to do ($12.99)
My favorite flax and a great price, too. ($6.99)


10 comments:

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

I love clean-out-the-fridge night. More often than not it turns into a real "feast." :-) Sometimes we'll have a breakfast like that too, although not normally on as "grand" a scale. Makes for a nice change from the "usual" sort of breakfast.

Still looking at our Costco for the tri-tip roast. And yes, it will be mighty nice to get the wild Alaska salmon when it becomes available again. Meanwhile, I have some of the canned variety that you have pictured; it's quite a nice product.

The hot cocoa is really inviting on this cold night. It's 6 degrees right now. We're expecting "sub-zero" wind chills and even colder temps next week with another one of those "polar vortex" things descending. How many does that make now ... ? I've lost track. Excuse me while I go fire up the stove. Cocoa would be perfect with your "Chocolate Chip Coconut Pecan Cookies" that are cooling on my counter right now! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi CyberSis...Brrrr I now know what 6 degrees feels like (since we actually had a chance to experience that a week ago down here!). I really need to make some cookies, too -- I took a little hiatus after all the holiday baking. I need to make some muffins and cookies! Maybe tomorrow if there's time. Stay warm. :-)

Unknown said...

That pink yogurt looks yummy! Let us know how you like the coconut oil. I saw that tri tip at Costco but didn't buy cuz I'm never sure how to cook it. So I bought a chuck pot roast at Safeway for the crock pot for tomorrow!!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Jan! I'll let you know how the coconut oil is. I am hoping it will at least be decent, considering there is a LOT of it in that container! LOL. I usually wait to buy the tri-tip when they have only 1 in the package -- most of the time there are 2 and that's too much meat for us. This is the perfect "roast in the crock pot" weather! :-)

unter der laterne said...

Hi GG, while you make cocoa, we make lemonade! Our temperature was summery the whole week and my daughter removed the cover from the swimming pool so that the kids could swim! Crazy, crazy, crazy indeed! But please do not envy us, we have had no rain, consequence is that we are facing the second year without adequate rain, the reservoirs look scary with their bare shores. We are

saving water and *schlepping* water buckets from the kitchen and shower to the garden. I do not use the dishwasher anymore and our showers are 3 minutes short, no running water while soaping up!
Our lemons and grapefruits are half their size.
We drove to the Napa Valley and observed many dying trees, we are scared .Restaurants are serving water only when requested !
By the way, you could add some cream to your cacao for a richer taste!
I am sorry to admit (not really) that I cheated for the first time in 10 months on my diet. We visited the famous *Mustard grill* in the wine country. I ordered a few appetizers instead of a regular meal, I started with a Lobster Bisque, a lovely salad with a molasses dressing(fabulous) and crab cakes. The chef was ueber talented Cindy Pawlcyn .And yes I shared a rich dessert full of carbs with my husband," chocolate cake with a rich Hazelnut cream. I forgot the proper name of that dessert. Strangely I finally lost some weight after that carb rich adventure.
GG, I still read your blog faithfully and enjoy it, I just can not keep up with all the recipes!
WARM wishes to you ! Barbara.

"

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Barbara! It's so nice to hear from you. Wow, I had absolutely no idea your rainfall amounts were that bad. I can't even imagine it being warm enough to open the swimming pool, either! I just remember when we were in San Francisco in August (years ago), we froze to death and had to buy sweatshirts and jackets. While we have experienced drought here in the past...it was nothing compared to your conservations efforts! We just were not allowed to run sprinklers on our lawns or wash cars. So sad, too, about loss of trees in the Napa Valley -- that along with San Francisco were 2 of my favorite places.

LOL...I had to laugh about you being "sorry (not really)" about straying off of your diet a bit. It isn't the end of the world and life is way too short for regrets about something like that. If you regret it, you take away from your moment of bliss...which seems like a waste of that moment! I'm glad you enjoyed it and everything sounds really delicious! If you were ever going to stray from your diet...you definitely did it with style! Lucky you for losing weight on your little "culinary journey"! Crab cakes are one of my favorites -- I ate many crab cakes when I lived near the eastern shore of Maryland for so many years (the slogan was "Maryland is for Crabs". I'm glad you still enjoy reading my blog. I guess I need to sent you "wet wishes" instead of "warm wishes". As you like to say... Bis Bald! ;-)

Sami said...

I'll have to try your Hot chocolate in winter. I tried a Paleo recipe I got in another blog, made with coconut milk and it was far too rich for me, yours sounds much better.

Cannot imagine living with those freezing temperatures, I think I would have to hibernate!

MonaT said...

Hello Gourmet Girl. I recently discovered your blog and I love it! Your food photography is beautiful. Last night I made your cheesy, creamy cauliflower mash, and the southwestern meatloaf. Both were excellent. I just went to Costco too. If I had known how low I was on coconut oil I would have bought another jug...that is a good price! Take care. :)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Mona -- so glad you enjoyed the meatloaf and cauliflower mash! There is always next Costco's visit for the coconut oil. I go every week! LOL Thanks for the kind comments, too! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Sami -- I'm sure if you used the canned coconut milk it probably was rich. Almond milk worked nicely and if you wanted it more rich, you could probably add some rich coconut milk to it also. Someone else suggested a bit of sour cream, too, if you use dairy. Thanks! :-)