I'm Baaaaaack with Eggnog!

The problem of being cut off from the world has been solved. Cable man disconnected wrong neighbors services! Oops. Oh, well. I'm happy now.

While out grocery shopping last night I discovered that Eggnog is back!!! Yay! Oh, how I love it! I can still remember being so tickled as a child when my dad would bring home the first green and white carton of the season. Hard to explain the appeal of the flavor for me at the time. Now as a grown-up, I am just downright ga-ga for it. You can just imagine how I felt when I saw that Hood has come out with SUPER DUPER Limited Editions: Sugar Cookie, Gingerbread, and Pumpkin Eggnog. Oh, yes...Cub and I went back and forth before finally choosing Sugar Cookie.

But we are definitely test driving all the others.

Not only are the flavors genius, there are incredibly yummy recipes on the carton..."Sugar Cookie Creme Brulee," and "Gingerbread Pancakes," just to name a few. Ohhhhhhhh!

After drinking a glass of the straight stuff (tastes just like a sugar cookie in a glass, uh...is that good? Yup!) I set to work to make Easy Eggnog Pudding.

I don't know about you, but I think My*T*Fine kicks Jell-O's butt! Besides, that box is classic and makes for adorable tree ornaments and holiday cards. (Tutorial coming soon.)
All ya do is follow the recipe on the box for pudding, only substitute the eggnog for the milk. See? Easy. This made one delicious Sugar Cookie tastin' pudding! However, I think I'm going to make my next batch with plain old 'nog. As per my usual, I generously sprinkled my pudding with freshly ground nutmeg before I dove in. Now that I'm on the subject, there is nothing like freshly ground nutmeg. On the spice aisle, Badilla brand is a less expensive choice and is fresh and fragrant. Just grab yourself a microplane and you'll never go back to the other stuff.
I use fresh nutmeg on all of my roasted squash, dark greens (Thanks, Rachael Ray!), and most recipes that call for a mild, white, melted cheese. So, so, good.

My love of nutmeg has me thinking about those handmade holiday crafts again. For my second Christmas with Cub, I used the tons of babyfood jars we had lying around the house, to make small batches of baths and soaks for my loved ones. I think I even made some pretty bath oils, too. But the milk baths were a big hit. They were labelled, "Holiday Eggnog Milk Soak," and guess what the (not so) secret ingredient was? Yes, nutmeg!

I'm going that route again, only this season, I will use these

for the bottles. How perfect are they? I make a pretty label and then cut a circle of vintage fabric to cover the bottle top and secure it with a pretty ribbon. Charming.

Here's the recipe for Easy Milk Bath:
2 cups dry milk powder
1 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp. fragrance oil of your choice

Blend all ingredients using a whisk. I use vanilla oil and then add fresh nutmeg for my Eggnog version. You can play around with this however you'd like. Sometimes, I add epsom salt
for soothing sore muscles, depending on who I'm giving it to!

I add a little sticker with directions: Add 1/2 cup scoop to one bath and RELAX.

PS: Kristin, I want to play Make Something Monday!

...And I tag this lovely lady to play along, too.