National Pizza Month

I adore coffee, I’m drinking a latte right now. I almost think it’s more of a habit now than it is an addiction because I get up and get dressed, wake up one of the kids and then make my way down the stairs. From there I turn on the coffee pot and make myself a cup of coffee.

Since I like coffee so much I figure most of you must like coffee too right? My guess would be at least half of you. So here goes, here is a fun coffee recipe you can try.

Fancy Italian Coffee Recipe

3 cups strong black coffee

1 cup milk

1 tbsp. light brown sugar

Whipped cream

Ground cinnamon

Add coffee and milk to a large sauce pan, and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Moisten just the top edges of four coffee mugs with water, and then dip into shallow dish of brown sugar. Pour coffee mixture into mugs. Place whipped cream on top with a dash of ground cinnamon to garnish, if desired.

So I discovered ricotta pancakes Mother’s Day weekend and now I am obsessed. I haven’t decided if I am naming these ‘Keto Mother’s Day pancakes’ or ‘Keto lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry syrup’. I will probably go with just Keto Ricotta pancakes and likely start mixing up my flavor profile and fruit game. I have difficulty naming Keto recipes, as you might have noticed.

My husband and I are attempting to be on a keto diet and he is doing fairly well where I am crashing and burning hard. I am generally offended by the levels of carbs in kale ect, but I digress. I bought a bunch of different kids of cheeses, ricotta included in hopes to use them in keto friendly meals. I was thinking about using the ricotta in a frittata, but we discovered Mack hates frittatas.

So as I am laying in bed at night doing the mom thing (what is our schedule tomorrow? Oh I should add that to the grocery list….what are we making for breakfast and dinner?) I thought of ricotta pancakes. I had heard of these things before, surely they exist- to pinterest! Pretty soon I found a few recipes and was excited going to bed knowing a new culinary adventure awaited me at breakfast.

The morning of I started cross comparing the recipes and found that I was too lazy to separate eggs and was displeased at some of the levels of cheese in my chosen test recipes. Hungry and with a toddler waiting on me for his breakfast I decided to wing it. These may not be the fluffiest pancakes you have ever made but they definitely have just the right amount of decadence to comfort ratio, and lemon and blueberries only make everything better. The lemon in the cake itself is faint, and as with cream cheese it mostly just enhances the ricotta in that weird way coffee helps chocolate become more magical but not coffeeish. Usually I use a whisk with most pancakes once again out of laziness, but with this recipe it is really better with a hand mixer so you can get the eggs super mixed and the ricotta super smooth with no lumps.

I think the fresh blueberry syrup helps take these to the next level. I tried my first batch with regular syrup and the blueberries cooked in, and they were good but not crave worthy like these. And really, it is just a matter of throwing a few things in a small saucepan as you flip the cakes so not too much more labor intensive. I love using vanilla sugar on the fly from Nigella Lawson, my home cook soulmate (https://www.nigella.com/ask/vanilla-sugar), but regular sugar is just fine for the syrup as well. But seriously, make vanilla sugar, it is the gift that will keep on giving. I have even made variations of it for stocking stuffers- but that is another post.

Can you totally make this recipe with healthier swaps like swerve and coconut flour? Totally, and it will still be tasty. Am I going to do that? Never. Looks like I will start on my diet next week!

Keto Ricotta Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 3-4 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• Grated zest of 2 lemon, plus the juice of one

Mix eggs in the bowl with the hand mixer, add ricotta, sugar, salt, vanilla, lemon and mix till smooth. Add in milk, mix, then add in all dry ingredients. Cook on medium heat on your favorite griddle.

Blueberry syrup:

1 cup blueberries

2-3 tbs of vanilla sugar (or regular)

Juice of one lemon

1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

Whatever lemon zest bits may remain on your zester from the pancakes

Throw everything into a small sauce pot and cook/simmer on medium heat until the blueberries are partially cooked down. Remove from the heat and let cool and thicken for about 5 minutes before serving.

adapted from https://prettysimplesweet.com/ricotta-pancakes/

This is a partnered post and by posting I’m entering to win a family trip to Orlando.

Last week before I went on my Star Wars Press Trip, I received a surprise box from the people over at Pup Star World Tour. Miles and I did a box opening video of the Pup Star World Tour contents.

After making the video we realized we could enter to win a vacation for our family to go to Orlando, and noticed that there are a few ways you guys could win as well. But first, let me share this Pup Star World Tour inspired recipe that Zoe made with a tiny bit of unorganized help from her brother Miles.

Chinese Not Almond Cookies Recipe:

So these cookies were supposed to be made with Almond Extract which we do have, but I was busy working so the kids made them with Vanilla instead. Then Zoe made RUM Buttercream icing, with Rum Extract.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, 1 egg white
1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup water
optional 1 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Beat egg white and water in a small bowl and set aside


Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy then beat in egg and almond extract

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a different bowl. Add to creamed mixture and beat until thoroughly combined.
Take a tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Gently flatten with the bottom of a drinking glass. Or roll them out and cut out different shapes

Sprinkle each cookie with almond slices gently pressing almonds into dough (We didn’t do this step Zoe has friends with nut allergies).
Gently brush egg white mixture over cookies
Bake 14-16 minutes or until edges and bottoms are lightly browned. Let sit for 2 minutes before placing on wire racks to cool completely.

Then she made an icing recipe we found of Food Network, but she added a teaspoon of rum extract.

Icing Ingredients:

4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup whole milk
2 egg whites

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat all of the ingredients in an electric mixture until thick and glossy. Add more powdered sugar if the icing seems to thin.

My kids have seen every Pup Star and Air Bud made movie. They love every one of them, I think they have seen them more than once even. So I know they will be watching Pup Star World Tour during their next sleep over.

How You Can Win:

Now, To share with you how you can win prizes thanks to Pup Star World Tour on Netflix. Pup Star World Tour has partnered with Extended Stay America Hotels to offer an awesome prize. The pet-friendly hotel chain is proud to always roll out the welcome mat for pets, and it is even more proud to roll out the red carpet for this exciting partnership! The spin on pup-ular TV singing competitions invites families on an action-packed adventure alongside the series’ beloved talking (and singing) dogs. ‘Tiny,’ the adorable singing Yorkie pup, packs her bags for an epic trip and Extended Stay America is along for the adventure as the hotel makes its on-screen debut in several scenes throughout the film, which you can see here. Proud pet parents can submit photos of their beloved pooch at www.ESA.com/pups.

The PUP STAR celebrity panel of judges will narrow down the entries to 26 finalists, with the grand prize winner to be decided by consumer vote. The grand prize winner will receive star treatment, including a trip and a walk on role in an upcoming Air Bud Entertainment movie where they will visit the set, meet the cast and enjoy a backstage tour. The contest’s 25 first prize winners will receive free hotel stays at Extended Stay America, and of course, their pups are invited too!

Pawsome Pet Photo Tips

Pet parents know it can be ruff capturing a pawsome photo of their four-legged family member. Extended Stay America has teamed up with Air Bud Entertainment and PUP STAR: WORLD TOUR on tips for capturing the perfect pup photo and avoiding any photo faux-paws:

• Focus the eyeline: Can’t get your dog to look where you want? Hold up a treat to guide their focus while you take the shot.
• Turn off your flash! The flash may alarm your pet, so try to use natural light. If you’re shooting in the middle of the day, look for a well-shaded area.
• Let your pets get comfortable: Move slowly, give commands calmly, and don’t be afraid to get physically down on their level to make them feel safe. And if they’re curious about the camera, it never hurts to let them examine (smell) it for themselves.
• Go for the eyes! You know how much emotion your dog can convey with just a glance, so get those expressions – and especially those eyes – front and center.
• Auto focus: Set your auto-focus to servo mode if your pet is moving. And they probably are.
• Relax: If you’re not relaxed, your dog won’t be either. This should be fun for both of you!
• Pay your talent: Don’t be stingy with snacks! Reward your dogs for cooperation, and a photo shoot can be fun for both of you.
• Tell a story: Is it a photo of a dog sitting next to a door, or a photo of a dog patiently waiting for their beloved owner to return? A good photo inspires a story in the viewer’s mind. Look for situations, actions, and compositions that accomplish this.