This has become a tradition.  He likes to have the same color as me and Mr. Blu but can never decide on which flavor since he likes them all.  Do you remember bomb pops?  I was always so mesmerized by the tri color  So, I decided to make some homemade red, white, and blue popcicles.  

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping  convenience.  As an Affiliate, I earn a small portion from qualifying purchases.

When my kids were small, I purchased these popcicle molds.

Of course, I still had them in the garage.  A few weeks ago, Gbaby Blu and I made some orange Gatorade popcicles.  He said, “Wow, Mom Mom?  You can drink the juice with these!” 

So I decided to go patriotic and bought 3 small bottles of Gatorade-one red fruit punch, one white, and one blue raspberry.

Remember that your liquid will expand as it freezes so only add about 1/2 of what you want the final level to be.  I started with the blue, forgetting that when the popcicles are removed this will actually be the top of the popcicle.  So I guess these are technically blue, white and red popcicles???  Anyway, I let them freeze for 2 hours. 

Then I added the white.  And allowed that to freeze for 2 hours.  Finally I added the red and placed the stick holders into the juice.  Two more hours in the freezer and they were ready.

Be sure to allow the layers to freeze completely or the liquid will fall under the previously frozen layer and cause it to float to the top!  Although the taste will not be affected, popcicles are popcicles, they won’t have the pretty separated colors.  I did have to practice this! 

Aren’t they just the cutest??  And the Gatorade makes tasty popcicles too!

I can’t wait for Gbaby Blu’s reaction to these.  He will surely want to make some of his own so we will definitely improve on the process.

Stay cool my friends!

Here are some other Red, White and Blue Patriotic posts:

The post Easiest Red, White, and Blue Popcicles! appeared first on Shop at Blu.

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping  convenience.  As an Affiliate, I earn a small portion from qualifying purchases.

I selected some vintage dessert cups for my red, white and blue dessert.   

I also wanted to make a parfait like treat and found these drinking glasses with handles at the Dollar Tree. 

To make the bright Jello colors visible, I selected clear glass.  But, I’m a vintage lover so I couldn’t resist the milk glass variety as well.  Why not make a big batch?  I mean, can you ever make enough Jello?

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Make the Jello!

Start with the blue jello as it is the bottom layer.  Follow instructions and fill your dessert cup about 1/3 full.  Move the dessert cups to the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours. 

Add the Layers!

Remove the dessert cups from the freezer and add one layer of Cool Whip.  Spread it around to completely cover the previous layer of Jello ensuring the Cool Whip extends around the entire cup.  I placed these in the freezer for 2 hours.  This allows the Cool Whip to harden.  This way the Cool Whip stays put when you add the last layer of red Jello.  In my first attempt, the Jello sunk below the Cool Whip.  Since the Jello was heavier, the Cool Whip to floated to the top. 

Yes, this was my mistake on the first batch.  You can see that the Cool Whip in the photos of the finished clear vintage dessert cups aren’t as pretty.  But it was just as delicious!! 

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After 2 hours, remove the dessert cups and add the red Jello.  Place the dessert cups back in the refrigerator for 4 hours. 

Garnish and Serve!

The final step is to garnish with your choice of toppings.

This is a fun little dessert that is quick and easy if you don’t mind the multiple steps.  I can’t wait for Gbaby Blu to try these on Friday!  

I don’t know about you but these bright and vibrant colors make me so happy.  And the bonus is that it is a sweet refreshing treat!  You can even use low sugar Jello!  

Do you have any quick and easy dessert recipes?  Share them over on my Facebook page!  Or tag me on Instagram.  I’d love to try your recipes too!

The post Easy and Patriotic Red, White, and Blue Jello Dessert appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Last month, in the middle of my “I want to bake an apple pie” stupor, I asked my SIL for two of my MIL’s cookie recipes that I remembered oh so clearly.  They were the best cookies.  One was a rolled sort of cookie with a sugary walnut filling.  The other was a pecan shortbread type cookie.  Tracie gladly emailed me the recipes.  So what better holiday cookie recipes to make than what Mr. Blu and his sister remember as Hunky Cookies!  

My Holiday Cookie Recipes

I’d never heard of Hunky Cookies and I smiled when the recipe came through.  Handwritten in my MIL’s beautiful cursive writing, the sight of this recipe made my heart light up.

The actual name is Hungarian Cookies.  And I snickered at the thought of Mr. Blu and his younger sister as kids trying to pronounce that word.  I can only imagine that the cookies fondly adopted the name Hunky as a shortcut or meme for Hungarian.  Seems logical, right?  Unfortunately, the two women who would know for certain are unavailable for questions.  But somehow, I am sure that my sweet MIL and her dear mother were watching with smiles from the other side of the clouds as my episode of Great Cookie Baking Failures unfolded in my kitchen.  

Commence the Mess

I carefully read the recipe and actually had almost all of the ingredients on hand.  Here is when the first warning alarm exploded in my head…when I read the word YEAST.  Hmm…just that word made me think that I am not remotely qualified to master this recipe.  But, if you know me and my DIY can-do demeanor…nothing is sacred or off limits.  Nothing is in any way, shape, or form remotely impossible for me to attempt.  And so, I gulped the alarm away and assembled the ingredients.  I needed to purchase walnuts and yeast.  After a quick trip to my local Publix, I was ready to go.

Warning number two went off when the recipe called for 1.5 lbs of ground walnuts and I had purchased three 6 oz. bags of chopped walnuts.  Now this is really just a simple conversion.  The amazing iphone in conjunction with Google makes such conversions nearly effortless.  Except that they make me nervous and something inevitably falls through the cracks (walnut shell pun not intended).  I was never a wiz though I always did well in math.  I still have nightmares of Trigonometry from my senior year in high school  I feel like I plowed through that entire class without any real comprehension of what I was doing.  Am I the only one?  Anyway, I thought I had made all of the conversions properly but who knows???  I do know that I did my best.  I used my small food processer to grind the walnuts. 

Exploration into Yeast

I did some Googling on yeast.  Activated yeast, quick yeast, self rising flour, wheat flour.  What’s the difference in all of these yeasts and flours, and how do they affect one another?  Better yet, why are there even several types of yeast?  And what in God’s green earth is a yeast cake, as noted as an ingredient in my MIL’s recipe?  I mean, really?  I did find a jar of bread making yeast in my cupboard.  But, it expired in 2015.  Yikes. 

More Googling revealed that it’s probably ok but should the fact that I’d even considered using this ever got out to my 5 kids, my life would be ruined.  I could picture the expression on #1’s (the attorney) face.  I’d just seen it on Thanksgiving as he stood at my new fridge with a cup of expired yogurt in hand.  “I’m further wondering how you can have a cup of yogurt that expired in 2019 in your fridge when you just bought a new fridge in 2020???”  Fear not, I had an answer.  Funny, nonetheless.

This photo is from Red Star Yeast’s website.  You can read about yeast cakes and conversions here.

At any rate, I determined that 2 1/4 tsp of activated yeast is similar to a yeast cake.  It needed to be added to warm water to soften.  So that’s what I used.  

Moving On

The actual mixing of the dough went smoothly as I’ve made cookies and dough before.  Eventually everything blended although initially the dough seemed dry.  

When I went to roll out the mixture, there were small but noticeable bumps in the dough.  I’ve seen similar bumps in homemade rolls, etc. so I’m pretty sure this was the yeast, at least I hope so!   Therefore, I continued on even though the dough wasn’t smooth like dough I have previously made for cookies.  

The recipe called for powdered sugar to be sprinkled on the work surface so that the dough could be rolled.  In rolling out the dough, it became increasingly more gooey.  I liberally sprinkled the powdered sugar on the rolling pin many many times to prevent the dough from sticking and ripping.   Eventually, I switched to a flour and powdered sugar combo thinking that this alternative would better prevent a sugar induced coma in any individual trying these Hunky cookies.  Next time I will use the flour and sugar mixture from the beginning of the rolling of the dough.  In retrospect, I realize the powdered sugar contributed to the gooeyness…sometimes I’m my worst enemy.

Placing the filling in the center of the squares was by far the easiest part of this process.  But I did use too much filling in some cookies.  I figured I would vary the amount and see how they turned out.  

There is also, apparently, an art to rolling the cookies into shape.  This art definitely entails the process of ensuring you have rolled your dough to the proper thickness, or in this case thinness.  My first section of rolled dough was obviously too thick.  Consequently, the size of some of these hunky cookies resembled small croissants or Crescent rolls.  Okay, lesson learned.  The second section of dough was rolled thinner.  But, as time progressed, the dough was harder to roll because it was warming to room temp.  This caused the dough to stick to the rolling pin and the table surface.  So, of course, more powdered sugar and flour was sprinkled.  

At this point, let me pause to give my seasoned baker friends complete and humble permission to laugh at my experience.  I know that the learning process is very humbling.  I also know that you have to make mistakes to improve.  It’s okay…enjoy the show!  I did!  Mr. Blu and I were laughing the whole time!

What the ?????

I successfully loaded all of the baking sheets, lined of course with parchment paper, into the oven and carefully watched the cooking process so as not to over cook my hunky masterpieces.  

This is probably a good time to mention that this is really my first actual true baking experience with my new oven.  I updated my kitchen earlier this year.  As part of My Tuscan Inspired Kitchen update, we replaced all of our kitchen appliances.  I absolutely love my new Samsung oven!  It has a convection option and the result is a more even cooking of your food.  A convection oven also cooks faster so I was cautious to watch my cookies carefully.

When the timer went off, I was disappointed at what I saw on the first tray.  My hunky cookies looked like sausage rolls!  The filling didn’t darken in the cooking process and it resembled, well…sausage!  Some of the cookies were very large, which I expected.  And some were odd shaped due to my amateur rolling skills and inconsistent loading of filling.   Though disappointed in the appearance of my masterpieces, I am wise enough to know that the proverbial proof is in the pudding…rather in the taste of the pudding.  So…

Eureka!  They were delicious!  Scrumptious!  Flakey and sweet!  The dough was incredible, almost like a shortbread.  The filling was sweet but not overpowering.  There was a faint hint of lemon rind.  Absolutely incredible.  Holiday cookie recipes success!

Family Treasures

You know I can’t do a blog post without sharing something vintage and special.  While I was working on my Dining Room Reclaimed project for the recent ORC, I found this treasure in the bottom of my sideboard.

It was in the original box.  And here is the tag…

This beautiful 3 tiered vintage glass server was apparently a gift from my Dad’s sister, my Aunt Kathleen, and her family for Christmas!  Such sweet memories of visits with my aunts, uncles, and O’Brien cousins during the holidays.  I’m so glad I decided to clean out the sideboard!  And I’m even more glad that I’m a saver just like Mom.  

Life Lessons Learned

And so my friends, here is what I learned from this baking experience:

• From dry to gooey, life is like dough.  You must constantly adapt and add a little less sugar and a little more flour. 
• You must adjust your recipe if you desire a different outcome.  If nothing changes, nothing changes!
• Things don’t always go well on your first try.  The next time, you will use what you learned from the first go around and things will progress more smoothly with better results.
• Sometimes, even though you follow the recipe, your cookies still might look like sausage rolls.  But the important thing is that they taste like incredible hunky cookies and not like sausage rolls!
• Look at how pretty my 3 tier display is!  Remember, the process may be messy but the end result can still rock!
• Most importantly, though your loved ones may be gone, they have left you incredible memories and reminders that you will find at special times when you need them the most…just like Mom and Pop, Aunt Kathleen and Uncle Bill McCloskey, and my sweet MIL Flo. 
• And finally, though you carefully follow the recipe and are quite pleased with the end result, your version of your MIL’s cookies will never ever ever ever be as tasty, as delicious, or as treasured as hers!  

Here’s to Flo and her Hunky Cookies!  

Print

Flo's Hunky Cookies

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 3 dozen

Author Florence Edinger

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/2 pint sour cream
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 pound butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 yeast cake can substitute 2 1/4 tsp dry activated yeast

Filling Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds shelled walnuts ground
• 1 cup brown sugar
• little lemon rind
• 3 egg whites stiffly beaten
• 2 tsp 4X sugar confectioner's or powdered sugar

Instructions

Dough Instructions

• Add first 6 ingredients to a bowl.
• Add 1 yeast cake softened in 1/4 cup lukewarm water.
• Mix just enough to hold together, Do not knead.
• Divide into 3 parts for easy handling.
• Set aside for 15 minutes

Filling Instructions

• Mix together all filling ingredients.
• Roll out dough on 4X sugar very thin.
• Cut in squares and put filling on each square.
• Roll each square from corner to opposite corner.
• Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet.
• Bake for about 20 mins. at 375 degrees.

Please join my friends Juliet at A Loverly Life

The post Holiday Cookie Recipes and Flo’s Hunky Cookies appeared first on Shop at Blu.

I Found it on Pinterest!

This recipe was found on Pinterest from Two Sisters.  I was particularly impressed with the time they took to explain the importance of butter to the recipe.  And if it is possible, I believe I have found the perfect sugar cookie recipe.  This is my new favorite recipe.  The dough is manageable and not sticky or crumbly.  This is important for a sugar cookie.  It’s a nightmare when you’ve painstakingly followed the recipe only to have the dough ripping and sticking to your rolling pin.  That’s the worst.  And that did not happen with this recipe!  Nor did I have to chill the dough.  I don’t mind chilling the dough.  But if I’m ready to make cookies, I want to keep the process moving and not delay for 3-6 hours while the dough cools.  Alot can happen in my household in 3-6 hours.  If we are baking cookies, we need to get at it now!

And so, I crown this the BEST sugar cookie recipe ever!

Mixing was easy.

Rolling was easy.

Baking was easy.

I do believe this really is the BEST sugar cookie recipe. 

But my favorite is still my moms!  Try it and let me know what you think…it’s really good!

12 Days of Christmas Treats

Here are the recipes Juliet from A Loverly Life and I are sharing for the 12 Days of Christmas Treats.

Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

Fleur de sel Honey Caramels

Unexpected Toffee Cookies

Peppermint Merangue Wreaths

Cranberry Orange Martini

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Caramel Chocolate Covered Pretzel Logs

Mama’s Eggnog

The post The BEST Sugar Cookie Recipe – Really! appeared first on Shop at Blu.

A Brief History of Eggnog

Eggnog screams Christmas like cookies for Santa!  Eggnog is known as an American term introduced in 1775 in Maryland.  But the origins date back hundreds of years and most agree eggnog originated from the early medieval British drink called posset.  According to Wikipedia, records show that the first US president, George Washington, “served an eggnog-like drink to visitors” which included “rye whiskey, rum, and sherry.” President’s recipe called for a variety of alcoholic beverages along with the dairy and egg ingredients: “One quart cream, one quart milk, one dozen tablespoons sugar, one pint brandy, 1/2 pint rye whiskey, 1/2 pint Jamaica rum, [and] 1/4 pint sherry.” The recipe instructs cooks to “mix [the] liquor first, then separate yolks and whites of eggs, add sugar to beaten yolks, mix well. Add milk and cream, slowly beating. Beat whites of eggs until stiff and fold slowly into mixture. Let set in cool place for several days. Taste frequently.”

My Recipe – sort of

My recipe is super simple.  I jotted it down years ago from a tv show and have been making it ever since.

Turns out my recipe is Paula Deen’s Mama’s Eggnog.  Apparently, I was watching Paula when I wrote down the recipe.  Of course it was Paula!

The recipe is super easy.  You make three small batches and then combine them. 

Whip the egg yolks with sugar, the whites with sugar, and whip the heavy cream. 

Then add the milk.  Set in the freezer to chill.  Super simple. 

You can add bourbon or whiskey or simply drink it plain.  It is delicious either way.

Remember to sprinkle some nutmeg or cinnamon on top for some extra flavor.

Some folks like their eggnog warm.  But I’m a fan of thick and frothy.  Sometimes I even allow the eggnog to freeze and I eat it with a spoon.  Have some fun trying it different ways.  

If you have time, check out all of our recipes for the 12 Days of Christmas Treats!

Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

Fleur de sel Honey Caramels

Unexpected Toffee Cookies

Peppermint Merangue Wreaths

Cranberry Orange Martini

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Caramel Chocolate Covered Pretzel Logs

Mama’s Eggnog  (You are here!)

The post How to Make the Best Eggnog appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Making Pecan Rolo Pretzels Video

This recipe is so easy.  Place the pretzels on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Place a Rolo on each pretzel.  Bake in 300 degree preheated oven for 3 minutes.  Remove from oven and push a pecan into the Rolo.  Allow to cool.  Enjoy.  It’s that simple!

These treats are the perfect size…one small bite.  They combine the savory pecan with the salty pretzel and the sweet chocolate in a delightful burst of flavor.  

When I ran out of Rolos, I substituted milk chocolate chips and they worked perfectly!

Not only is this a delicious treat, it is super fast!  

Here are the links to the previous days 12 Days of Christmas Treats!

Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies

Fleur de sel Honey Caramels

Unexpected Toffee Cookies

Peppermint Merangue Wreaths

Cranberry Orange Martini

The post Rolo Pretzel Turtles appeared first on Shop at Blu.

• 1 shot orange vodka
• chilled cranberry juice
• add a touch of seltzer if desired
• garnish with fresh cranberries and an orange slice

Keep in mind that the true martini, the classic martini, contains gin and vermouth.  Seems to me the trendy and contemporary martini more likely than not contains vodka and a fun additive like chocolate, peppermint, etc.  Thus, my twist with this cran-orange martini. 

The traditional liquors of gin and vermouth see a bit lost in today’s contemporary society.  The likes of Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Junior, Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe mastered the smooth ambiance of the martini.

Who knows, maybe we can bring them back.  

Video:  Cranberry Orange Martini

Whether traditional or contemporary, it’s a nice fruity cordial to sip on after a long day.

Enjoy!

The post Cranberry orange Martini appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Three ingredients!

No eggs.  No mixer.  No fancy gadgets.  Just simple.

Dump. 

Mix. 

Heat.

Pour

Spread.

It’s a little messy at the end.  Once the sugar sets, it is difficult to get a straight cut on the cookies.  So I just break them.  It’s so much easier.  

And that’s that for another easy cookie recipe!

Oh, and it WAS Center Church Cooks!  McMurray, Pennsylvania!

This is still probably my favorite decadent treat.  I try not to make these toffee cookies often because, well, I simply eat them all.  They are irresistible.  I’ve seen this recipe on Pinterest labeled as Crack Cookies.  Enough said.

Enjoy!

Here are links to the previous days of 12 Days of Christmas Treats in case you missed them.

The post Unexpected Toffee Cookies appeared first on Shop at Blu.

So I headed to Pinterest and checked out a few recipes.  Many recipes use canned apple pie filling.  But I wanted to use fresh apples.  I mean, we want a truly authentic fall feel, right?  So here is my first try a Easy Crockpot Apple Cobbler!

Getting Started

The recipe card with ingredients is at the end of the post.  I’ve always loved delicious red apples.  My kids are granny smith fans.  I’ve had gala and fuji and apparently there are countless more varieties of apples.  Growing up in Philadelphia in the 70’s and being the daughter of a Depression Era born fiercely Irish father (Pop) with 7 sibilings, we ate plain old traditional red apples. 

Did the Acme in Roxborough even carry Granny Smith, Gala or Fuji back then?  What would have been the response in the produce aisle if Mrs. Boyce (fiercely Italian) had spotted a Cotton Candy apple??  Our only spices on our eye roast, chicken, pork chops or ham was salt, pepper, and the occasional Shake-N-Bake.  The only Chinese food Pop would eat was Chicken Chow Mein.  Mom loved eggrolls but I never saw Pop touch one.  I never had Mexican food until the Taco Bell opened (sorry Andrea).  My Dad had his first breakfast burrito circa 2018.  It was quite memorable.  

So Many Apples!

Where was I?  Oh, so of course, in the produce aisle I grabbed red apples.  But none of the recipes that I had viewed called specifically for Delicious Red apples.  Of course I grabbed 5 Delicious Red because I am nothing if not a woman of tradition.  Then I grabbed a bag of Fuji as they were very small.  And of course 5 Gala apples were loaded into my cart.  Why not experiment?  All of the apples! I remembered buying a Pampered Chef Apple slicer years ago.  It was probably when we first moved to Alabama.  I remember using it once and thinking…that’s too much work.  Guess what?  I found it in the coat closet which is where I put it almost 20 years ago!  This time, I absolutely love it!  

Step by Step

I took 1 tablespoon from my stick of butter and put it into the crockpot to melt while I prepped the apples.

Wash, peel and slice the apples.  This gadget does both at the same time.  Now I remember why I wanted one!  I sat the apples in a bowl of warm water after peeling so that they would not brown.  I don’t know if it matters if your apples are brown but it creeps me out so into the bath they went.   Add the apples along with the water (about 1.5 cups) into the crock pot and then all of the other ingredients except the cake mix and stick of butter, stirring to mix everything together.   Make certain the crockpot is on low and sprinkle the cake mix on top of the apple mixture and lay the stick of butter on top.  Replace the lid and walked away for 90 minutes.  After 90 minutes, remove the lid and gently mix only the cake mix and butter that are sitting on top of the apples.  Set the timer for another 90 minutes.  At this point my masterpiece seemed ready, though the cake on top was little gooey. 

Give a Girl Some Tips

When I added the apples from the water bath, I dumped the water (approx. 1 cup) in as well.  In retrospect, I believe the slow cooking creates it’s own moisture.  Next time perhaps I will omit the water and uses a white cake mix.  This batch almost looked over-cooked.  But maybe that was because of the brown Coconut Palm sugar?  I do feel like dark sugar will take over all of the colors.  But who knows?  Seriously…give me some tips as I’m new at investigative baking.  Why is it wet?  How to fix this or that?  What would happen if…? My husband loves gooey home-cooking, so he was thrilled with this dish.  I will be trying this again but will alter some steps to attempt to make that cake on top a little more visibly pleasing.

A Great Baking Tip

Here’s a great tip for you if you are going to do any baking or experimental cooking…limit your tasks to a time when your taste and smell are in prime condition!  I had Covid back in January.  It was very mild, thankfully.  But I still haven’t completely regained my senses of taste or smell.  It’s really strange.  Some days I can smell and taste a good bit.  Sometime nada.  I can usually taste sweet.  But not always.  So why not test a few recipes???  Because that totally makes perfect sense???!!!  Join a blog hop to bake apple recipes!  The funny part is that I still proceed through my days and tasks like it isn’t an issue.  I buy the Coconut Palm Sugar to try to lower the carbs in a recipe and am knee deep in the project before the light bulb goes on…Will I be able to taste this?? 

Well, while I couldn’t enjoy the sweet aroma of the baking apples, I could smell them slightly.  And although I could not get a true taste of the coconut palm sugar, I could tell that it was sweet but not overly sweet.  I call that a win.  And, Mr. Blu loved it so BOOM! 

Seems I have a few more test runs to make.  I think I will wait until my taste and smell are completely restored.  I am rather impatient though…so who knows! 

Check out all of the apple recipes and crafts below as part of the Apple Picking Blog Hop!  If you have similar posts, feel free to add them to the Inlinkz collection at the end.  Here are the posts from my wonderfully, creative and talented friends…

Happy Apple Picking! 

The post Easy Crockpot Apple Cobbler Recipe appeared first on Shop at Blu.

Do You Suffer from FOMO?

Do y’all have FOMO?  I do!  My blogger buddies have been planning a little blog hop in honor of the Super Bowl.  They are featuring appetizers on their blogs.  I am not really a food blogger but being a mom with a ton of kids…I love appetizers.  So, my FOMO kicked in!  I have been crazy busy this week with a furniture contest, cleaning up my store The Blue Building Antiques and  Consignment, and rooting for my youngest daughter’s (IV) high school bowling team.  Last week they placed in the top 4 in the state finishing runner up in the Alabama State High School Bowling Southern Regional Championship. Tomorrow they bowl for the State Title here in our little hometown of Pelham AL.  Whoohoo!  Go Panthers!

Even with this excitement, my Fear Of Missing Out kicked in.  So tonight I am throwing together something to share in the appetizer blog hop!

Two days ago Pop and I stopped at Publix on our way home from The Blue Building.  What did I see?  These beauties:

I just can’t resist a beautiful eggplant!  Bahaha…not your everyday phrase!  You can quote me on that!  

So tonight…I fried them up and realized that these would make great appetizers!  

Ingredients

• one fresh eggplant
• 2 c. vegetable oil
• 3 c. bread crumbs, plain or Italian, fresh or store bought

Recipe

• Pour about 2 cups of vegetable oil into a frying pan and start heating it on medium heat.
• While your oil is heating, peel your eggplant with a vegetable peeler.
• Cut off the ends of the eggplant and discard the ends.  Slice the eggplant into about 1/8 to 1/4 inch slices depending on your preference.

• Beat 4 eggs in a round bowl.  Set aside.
• Pour about 2 cups of Italian (or plain, Italian has spices) breadcrumbs into another bowl.

• Dip each eggplant slice into the breadcrumbs, flipping to ensure both sides are breaded.
• Dip the same slice into the eggs and then repeat the dredging in the breadcrumbs.
• Place the breaded eggplant slice into the hot oil and fry for just 1-2 minutes.  

• Flip the eggplant over and fry the other side for about 1-2 minutes or until the breading is golden brown.
• Repeat for all of the remaining slices of eggplant.
• Serve plain or with tomato sauce or ranch dressing.

I just love the crunch of the breading coupled with taste of the soft eggplant!  I like to think this counts as a vegetable serving…even with the not so healthy frying.  But, either way you see it, this little snack says Yum!  

Check out all of the amazing appetizers in our Appetizers and Snacks to Feed a Crowd blog hop!  Hopefully you can find a new snack to try!

The post Fried Eggplant: Not your normal appetizer appeared first on Shop at Blu.