Monthly Archives: August 2012
Sunday Sundae and The Pig’s Trough
I have some alarming news: health nuts eat dessert too. And it isn’t always sugar-free non-fat soy protein jello either.
Sometimes, I splurge on an indulgence. My weakness? Ice Cream. A favorite I inherited from my dad and grandpa. I can turn down a doughnut anyday; I’ll say “no thank you” to cake, cookies and candy. But ice cream? The obvious answer is DUH!
I’ve been to Dairy Queen, Cold Stone and Thrify’s exactly zero times this summer…that is a first. So since my summer vacation is ending in less than a week, we planned a trip to Farrell’s Ice Cream Parlour where the story of the pig and the trough begins:
Farrell’s is an adorably-themed restaurant with an old fashioned ice cream parlour and many one-of-a-kind desserts that come with not just a spoon but a song and dance too. There’s this thing called the “Pig’s Trough” and for whatever reason, my dad thought that sounded enticing.
Oink Oink!
That is TWO banana splits: 2 bananas, 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream stacked with strawberry sauce, 2 scoops of chocolate ice cream with pineapple sauce, and 2 scoops of strawberry ice cream with chocolate sauce. Don’t forget the can of whipped cream, almonds and cherries. When you order a trough, you are accepting a challenge: finish the entire pig’s trough and receive a prized blue ribbon. Not to mention the HILARIOUS song the entire staff sang, an ice cream version of I Like Big Butts (“I like pig’s trough and I cannot lie”). My father, I am proud to say, found his inner swine and devoured that ice cream trough :)
The Proud Pig
My mom and I were not attracted to anything on the menu that compared it’s customer to a farm animal. Look at what I found though!
When I saw the title “Mocha Nut” I knew I wouldn’t find anything else more perfect for me. Coffee ice cream, Mocha Almond Fudge ice cream, and Butter Pecan ice cream. It’s like I designed it myself! Aside from the whip cream and cherry which I promptly plopped off, I finished the whole thing. Sadly this earned me no ribbon though..
I’d rather be a Nut than a Pig!
My family had a great time at this cute restuarant, though I can’t say we’d come back often – this was a rare splurge but totally worth it. (How many times do you come away from a restarant with a ribbon for finishing dessert?!) We had made small efforts through out the week to offset this huge diet deviation. This was our lunch AND dinner for the day, after a week of skipping desserts and adding in extra evening walks. I don’t feel too guilty about the indulgence but we are definitely back on oatmeal, smoothies and salads today ;)
Ice Cream Trifecta
Last Minute Stuffed Zucchini Boats
Saturday night we had company, a last minute dinner we threw together with our two neighbors (and their dog!). We decided to cook up a tried-and-true recipe that was healthy, colorful and easy – Zucchini Boats! My mom first saw these on Pinterest from Recipe Girl, and since then we’ve been creating a variety of our own fillings.
Honestly, once you’ve got your hollowed zucchini “shells” the filling can be anything you want it to be (like my empanadas). In the past we’ve created a Southwestern Zucchini boat with ground beef, beans, rice and cheese. A Vegetarian Boat with lentils, onions, bell pepper and celery. The “Original” with marinara sauce, onions, garlic, turkey sausage, mozzarella cheese and basil.
Last night we made a Couscous Veggie Medley boat to go along with some BBQ’d pork chops and green bean salad (to be featured later). They were bright and light and colorful!
To start: Cut your zucchini squashes in half lengthwise and chop off the ends. Use a spoon to scoop out the “meat” of the zucchini – put this in a separate bowl to be used later!
Prepare your filling: Diced bell peppers, onion, carrot, and celery.
Make couscous over stove-top. We used the tri-color to add to the brightness of the boats. Couscous is one of the healthier grain-based products with only .25 grams of fat and 175 calories per 1 cup. Plus it is so fluffy and has the perfect texture for this veggie mixture. Add in some chicken broth to the water when making the couscous for some extra flavor.
Mix all of the diced vegetables into the couscous once it is cooked; also add the zucchini that has been removed from the “shells” and combine. Then stuff the mixture in the zucchini boats and bake!
Even Missy and her friend Lucky were jealous of our summer dinner…
Fresh out of the oven!
This is a great vegetarian/vegan recipe, but if you are a carnivore like me and my family, I suggest adding some ground turkey and parmesan cheese. Mmm!
The night ended in a competitive and silly game of Apples to Apples…obviously I won ;)
It’s Sunday night meaning Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition is on! Who else is watching?
Couscous Veggie Medley Zucchini Boats:
makes 10 boats
5 zucchinis
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 orange bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 cup uncooked couscous (to make 3 cups cooked)
1 chicken flavored bullion cube
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees; chop ends off of zucchinis and cut in half length-wise.
2. Using a spoon, remove the “meat” of the zucchini from the inside and set aside in a bowl.
3. Cook couscous over stove top by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil, adding the bullion cube and couscous. Remove from heat, cover for 5 minutes, then fluff.
4. Combine the vegetables, zucchini middles and couscous. Evenly divide the mixture into the zucchini boats.
5. Bake for 30 minutes.
Hot Summer, Spicy Empanadas
Muy Caliente (Homemade!) Empanadas
Hey, Autumn? Cool, crisp autumn….you can start any time now. Really, feel free to take over. I am SO ready for fall weather. And fall flavors. Mmmm pumpkin, cinnamon, apple, sweet potato. Not that summer cooking isn’t exceptional too – grilling and fresh fruits and ice cream. But who else is counting down til the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte?
This recipe doesn’t contain any of that. In fact it is non-seasonal. It’s EMPANADAS! The first time I had an empanada was four weeks ago in Manhattan at a tiny, colorful, Cuban restaurant called Empanada Mama. (How cute is that name!) Dinner inspiration comes from all over and when my family was planning our week’s menu, we decided to recreate our own empanadas.
They looked easy enough to make: a “crust” and filling of your choice. We made a cornmeal crust and spicy chili filling with cheese, onions and tomatoes topped with avocado and more tomatoes. Good call on the cornmeal! There are literally unlimited ways to make and fill these things though…pizza-stuffed, veggie-stuffed, seafood, cheeseburger, fajita – it doesn’t have to be Cuban! (In theory, you can even make a dessert empanada. THINK about the possibilities!) Haha basically, have fun with them :)
The dirty work
Stuffed and ready to bake!
Baked Chilli Empanadas:
For the crust:
1 cup non-fat milk
1 package active dry yeast
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 cups white or wheat flour (we’ve used both and both are great!)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
For Filling:
1/2 lb. or ground beef or ground turkey
1 packet of chili seasoning
diced onion
diced tomatoes
shredded cheese
Tomato, avocado and light sour cream to top
1. Warm milk in a saucepan to 110 degrees. (Watch carefully, it happens fast!) Stir in yeast.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together olive oil, brown sugar and cornmeal. Add in the milk and stir. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface, shape into a ball, place into the bowl and cover with a towel. Allow to sit for 1 hour. Meanwhile, prepare your ground beef or turkey with the chili mixture or seasoning of your choice.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
5. Roll out dough to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a circular cup or small bowl, cut out discs of dough to fill for your empanada (ours were about 6 inches in diameter)
6. Fill the middle of the dough disc with chili meat, cheese, onions and tomatoes. (If you are a bean-eater, those might be well-suited in this mixture as well.)
7. Dip your fingers in water and dampen the edges of the dough disc; then fold in half to a half-moon shape and pinch closed.
8. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden delicious. Top with avocado, tomatoes and/or sour cream and enjoy :)
Like an EXTREME hot pocket
What would you fill your empanada with?
