Homemade Marshmallows

If you're on Pinterest at all, you've no doubt seen these:

Hot Chocolate Sticks!

I fell in love with these and since I'm not able to indulge in these while nursing Baby M, I settled for making them for my family to enjoy:)

The first step was deciding to make the marshmallows vs buying them & then deciding on a recipe...

 

 ...I chose this one, adapted from an Alton Brown recipe, as the tutorial is great with preferred pics...

...and they came out well despite the fact that I cooked them a bit longer than necessary due to my candy thermometer being off:/

Note to self: calibrate candy thermometer BEFORE baking!

Glossy & thick...it was a pretty sight...

...until my kitchen was covered in powdered sugar- the above pic is after I cleaned the counters! 

(Insert Bing Crosby singing "White Christmas")... if you can't have the real thing, make marshmallows!

Here's the complete tutorial that I followed:)

Stay tuned for part 2 of my homemade hot chocolate sticks:)

Tiffany

Crispy GF Potato Croquettes

 

I found myself left with a large quantity of mashed potatoes this week as my little Ms weren't eating them (sigh...) so I decided to make up some potato croquettes with whatever I could find in the fridge...

I started by chopping some ham steak finely and browning slightly with some red onion & garlic- I was lacking any fresh green produce and thus sad to not have a 'green' element but made due...

...next I pulsed some Udi's GF bread in my handy dandy food processor to fine crumbs & placed in a shallow dish...

...then I combined the ham steak & onion mixture with my cold mashed potatoes, 2 eggs (beaten), raw milk bleu cheese crumbles & some salt & pepper and mixed gently...

...then scooped the croquette mixture into patties, coated them with the GF bread crumbs and placed on a greased baking sheet...

...and baked at 400 degrees for approx 30 mins until browned.

The house smelled divine as these cooked & then cooled slightly and tasted like a rich treat- not bad for a few minutes prep:)

The combinations are endless for this dish so have fun creating from what you have vs going out to buy multiple ingredients.  "Ricky" didn't mind the lack of a 'green' element in these croquettes as I paired them with a big spring mix salad:)

Enjoy,

Tiffany