Strawberry Ice Cream

This weekend I finally busted out the ice cream maker that we got for our wedding. We have only used it twice in the last 7 years.  Insane, I know. It wasn’t my idea to register for it. And the hubs used it twice before getting bored.  But I’ve been seeing so many ice cream recipes posted lately that I finally busted out to give it a try!

I found a recipe for strawberry ice cream on Annie’s Eats which had a very odd ingredient.  Sour cream.  It reminded me of a snack my mom used to make me when I was little – basically strawberries with sugar sprinkled on top and then mixed with sour cream.  It was creamy and not too sweet and a great summertime snack.  This ice cream brought that taste right back home to me.  I loved it. It was the best strawberry ice cream I’ve ever had.  The taste of the fresh strawberries really came through and it wasn’t an overly sweet ice cream.  And the pink!!  To channel Steel Magnolias, it was the most glorious shade of pink!  And I don’t know why I haven’t been busting out ice cream in this ice cream maker more. It’s super easy and I can make whatever flavor I want without waiting for sale prices!

Recipe can be found here.  I highly recommend this site – every recipe I have tried has been fantastic!

It’s Friday night and I’m cooking dinner

What is going on here? I can’t believe I’m making dinner on a Friday night but I’m really trying to stick to the eat in challenge.  I’ve done very well this week and I couldn’t believe that I could do it.  For breakfast, I’ve been making my own coffee at work (I have a travel Keurig on my desk) instead of going to the cafeteria.  I bought some multi grain bread and ground my own peanut butter at the grocery story so I’ve been relying on that as a staple for breakfast. For lunch, I have been bringing leftovers or other easy things I can throw together. 

Dinner has been more complicated but I’ve been sticking through. I went grocery shopping on Monday and stocked up on goodies and I’ve been surprised at how much my husband has been liking the things I’m cooking.  I made whole wheat pasta on Monday and tossed it with pesto, a bit of ricotta and grilled chicken and made a side salad for that.  That was a ton of food so we had leftovers for Tuesday.  Wednesday, I made these beef rolls up with peppers and onions and pepperjack that he also loved. He asked if we could make them for dinner every night forever and then yelled at me for not making more.   Tonight I am making chicken drumsticks with this seasoning my mom picked up at the Polish store – she loved it when she made it for my dad so she picked me up some to try. I am making a side of mac and cheese and steamed veggies.  Hopefully the hubs comes home soon because I am hungry!

Normally my husband doesn’t love my cooking. There are very few things I know how to make and I’m kind of a neurotic recipe follower.  I’m a scientist for a living so following recipes comes naturally to me. And as long as you follow the instructions, you can’t really screw it up. That usually means my food can be a bit bland. (Salt and pepper to taste?? TO TASTE?  That’s not an amount! You have to give me an amount!)  And I’m highly unadventurous.  I mastered a sloppy joes from scratch recipe and made those once a week for a while because it was what I was good at. When I ventured into new things, he would clean his plate but would never comment on it.  That’s how I know when it’s bad (well besides the fact that I can taste it).  If he doesn’t comment, he doesn’t like it. But if he likes it, he is full of praise. He always eats it though!  That’s love. 

But I hope that this exercise helps me become a better cook.  I think I’m already getting there. I have made some half hearted efforts in the past to cook more.  And there I have discovered some great recipes (like the one I found for lettuce wraps – that’s another one he’d eat every day).  And when I throw parties, I can make some really delicious things. I’ve discovered a new onion dip recipe that everyone raves about. I make a mean quiche and french toast casserole for brunch.  But those recipes are super fatty-fat recipes and so I can’t rely on those every day. I have to learn to cook delicious and healthy meals! 

Also, I’ve felt more free while cooking lately. I eyeball my seasonings.  And I taste as I go to make sure that the food doesn’t go out bland.  My husband still usually adds his own seasoning twists to my meals but it’s getting to me less and less. (He used to COVER my meals in salt or pepper or Emeril seasonings… yikes!)

I’m proud that I’m starting to get better at this and branch out more! And I’m definitely starting to try more foods at restaurants and experiment with that too.  As I start to like different types of food, that will mean I can expand what I cook for dinner. Gone are the days of chicken every. single. night. of. the. week.  (And I wonder why he was merely polite about my meals? What a snore I was!)

I don’t think this will ever be a food blog, but hopefully I can start posting some pics of my meals that I am making and any faboo recipes I come across.  In the meantime, I’m off to check on my chicken. Bon apetit!

PS After writing this, he came home and we had dinner. The chicken was a success! It was very moist and delicious and he was full of praise which means he actually liked it! Yay!

Eat In Month Challenge

Diana at The Chic Life is hosting an Eat In Month Challenge and I’ve decided to play along. As part of my 101 in 1001 list, I wanted to start cooking more at home. We rely on take out far too much. First of all, it’s unhealthy. We don’t always make good choices with our take out and I’ve gained even more weight because of this. Secondly, we are spending a lot of money going out to eat or getting food at the drive thru.

I’ve noticed that when we MUST buckle down (like right before we were buying our house, or before Christmas shopping or when we want to make a bigger purchase), we are able to save a lot of money every month just by cutting back on how often we eat out. Why shouldn’t we do that normally? Why should I throw my money away every month on food that makes me fat and sluggish?

For my birthday, my friend bought me this weekly planner and this Feed Me notepad and this food shopping notepad. All these are sure to help with menu planning and I’ve already been organizing and planning my meals for this week for when I go food shopping tomorrow night. Hopefully, by the end of this month, I will have developed some new habits which will help us save money, be healthier and lose weight! Wish me luck!