Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Eggnog and Squats

I found a tempting eggnog recipe on punchbowl.com.  Since my daughter and I were baking cookies, I thought we could make this as well.  We put the cookies in the oven and began stirring the egg/milk/sugar mixture over the stove.  The goal was for this mixture to stick to the back of the spoon, but it was slow going.  The cookies came out, my daughter went downstairs, and I was still stirring....and stirring...and stirring.  I started doing squats while stirring to detract from the calories I would be putting in my body while eating the fresh baked cookies and drinking the eggnog.  The recipe said, "be patient", and "Set your burner on the lowest possible setting".  After my squats, the stove setting slowly went from Low to 2 to 3 to 5.   I was doing toe raises, leg lifts, my arms were getting tired from stirring.  Doing leg lifts while stirring a pan is like walking and chewing gum.  I almost lost my balance, and I hadn't even had any spiked eggnog yet.  Finally, after about 1/2 hour total stirring time, and turning the burner to 6, thickness occurred!  I was elated, and it made the whole experience worthwhile.  The verdict on the taste...My husband and I loved the spiked version, my daughter liked the regular version, and my son was napping after a busy day of playing.  Will I make it next year?  I think I might, however, I do see why there are so many ready made versions on the shelf of the store.  For those of  you who may like to do my eggnog exercise regimen, the recipe follows...
Use an electric mixer to beat 6 eggs in a large bowl. Gradually add 3 cups milk and 8 tablespoons sugar to your mixture until it has thickened slightly. Set your burner on the lowest possible setting and heat your ingredients in a pan until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Be patient! Next add 3 teaspoons vanilla essence and ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled. To make the low-fat version of this easy eggnog recipe, you can substitute with egg beaters, skim milk, and artificial sweetener.
Now to spice it up! To make an eggnog recipe with alcohol, add 1 ½ ounces spiced rum per glass to 4 ounces of eggnog, stirring together. Top with a pinch of either nutmeg or cinnamon. Serve and enjoy!
You can, of course, make non-alcoholic eggnog for kids and other guests by using rum flavoring from the spice aisle. Another delicious eggnog recipe is eggnog punch. This is typically made by mixing a quart of eggnog with a pint of vanilla ice cream. Then, slowly add a quart of 7-Up or Sprite.

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