Coconut Cookies N' Cream

Coconut Cookies N' Cream

Hi, everyone! So it's been beautiful in Seattle the last couple of days.  I dare say hot even! Now if you know anything about Seattle, you know that we cherish over 70 degree weather like none other! I remember when I had school during warm weather, over 65 degrees meant students in the quad wearing bikinis! And believe me I wish I was kidding!

Haha so anyways back on topic, the hot weather made me think of making some good old ice cream in my ice cream maker! It's been a while since I have made any ice cream, but I saw this really easy recipe online (from twopeasandtheirpod.com) and decided, alright what the heck, let's give it a go!  It turned out so delicious! In fact, my best friend came over and she might have ate about half of the batch.  I didn't make too much, because I still have yet to get a legit ice cream tub to store my ice cream after making it, so I like to make enough to just stay in the freezer for a couple days.  More days in the freezer without a proper container means more frozen ice than ice cream! Anyways, so here is the delicious and SUPER easy recipe that is absolutely DELICIOUS!

Ingredients (6-8 servings): 

13.5 oz of coconut milk (Chaokoh brand is what I used)

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

10-12 Oreos

Instructions:

1. Crush the Oreos into tiny pieces.

2. In a blender, blend the milk, sugar, and cocoa powder together until they are all well combined. 

3. Pour mixture in the canister of your ice cream maker.
4. Follow instructions according to your ice cream maker (each maker is slightly different).  This is where you will need ice and rock salt for your frozen yogurt to properly form (the measurements for this was according to the ice cream maker that I have, yours might be different).

5. Ice cream maker will churn the mixture for about 30-40 minutes before your mixture is turned into frozen yogurt. During the last 5-10 minutes of churning (mine starts to slow down slightly which is when I know it's time) add the crushed Oreos to the canister.   

7. You can eat the ice cream right away or store it in a air tight container in the freezer.
8. ENJOY!

Coconut Curry

Coconut Curry

So this is odd that I am posting on a Tuesday, but this is the request of a friend/co-worker who wants to try to make this.  I thought it would be better that I just went ahead and blogged since it's been again forever since my last blog.  My new goal is twice a month?! No, I need to start blogging once a week again! Anyways, this curry was a friends recipe that I slightly modified.

This turned out to be really good! I am not a fan of coconut, but this tasted pretty darn good! With the mix of all the different veggies, it turned out to have everything you need.  I served this over some rice, which complimented the curry very well. You could also very well make this a little more liquidy by adding a whole can of the chicken/vegetable stock instead of just half and eat it over some pasta.  Either way it's very yummy!

Ingredients for Curry

Ingredients (6-8 servings):
1 tsp vegetable oil

1 medium onion

3 garlic cloves

1 tsp of ginger

1/2 red bell pepper

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 head of broccoli

8 oz of vegetable/chicken broth (about half a 14.5 oz can )

13.5 oz of coconut milk (Chaokoh brand is what I used)

1.5 lb chicken breast

3 tsp curry powder

1 tsp chili powder (or to taste)

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

Instructions:
1. Slice the onion, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, and broccoli.  Also, slice the chicken breast into square pieces (about 1-2 inches).
2. In a large skillet or wok heat oil on medium heat. Fry the onions, garlic, and ginger for about 5 minutes on medium-high or until the onions appear to be clear and translucent.
4. Add the bell peppers and broccoli to the wok. Stir for about 5 minutes.
5. Add the chicken to the wok and stir the mixture for an addition 8-10 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked through.

6. Add the coconut milk to the wok and mix up everything.
7.  Pour the chicken/vegetable broth into the wok and mix up everything.  (If you want a little more curry (liquid) add more broth to the wok.)

8.  Add the curry, chili, and salt powder to the curry. Simmer for about 20 minutes on medium-high.  Do a taste test and see if you need to add more curry, chili, or salt to your curry.

9. ENJOY!

Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes with Strawberries and Blueberries

Cheesecake Yogurt Cupcakes with Strawberries and Blueberries

It has been over a month since I have blogged! I feel so terrible about it! I need to get back to the rhythm.  I have been cooking, but I am always rushed and do not have the time to take pictures and record the process.  But I am going to try to find my routine of cooking again!  I am back at it and I hope that I can keep my promise of updating at least once a week. 

It’s been a crazy couple months, with starting my new job and getting into the groove of everything.  I love how my schedule is and having evenings and weekends free of everything.  It’s also wedding season with my friends which makes my extra time filled with wedding festivities! Life is good J

Okay back to the cooking! Tomorrow is Fourth of July, and I thought as a way to celebrate that I would post a red, white, and blue inspired recipe! I made this a while ago, but it was very yummy and I can’t wait to make it again.  I only made 12, but I feel as if the less amount I make of something, the bigger the hit it is in my household! Anyways, have to thank SkinnyTaste for this marvelous recipe! Try it out and I promise even though it may be low calorie, it will not disappoint!

Ingredients for Cupcakes

Ingredients (12 cupcakes):
12 vanilla wafers

8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 oz fat-free vanilla Greek yogurt

2 large egg whites

1 tbsp flour

8 oz strawberries

8 oz blueberries

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Place a vanilla wafer at the bottom of each cupcake liner.

3. Gently beat, with an electric mixer on low speed, the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth.

4. Slowly add in the yogurt, egg whites, and flour to the mixture in step 3.  Make sure and beat until everything is incorporated, but do not overbeat.

5. Pour mixture from step 4 into each cupcake liner, only filling the liner halfway.

6. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until the center is set and does not move.

7. Cool for at least 20 minutes before refrigerating it for at least an hour.

8.  Cut off the tops of strawberries and slice them.

9. After the cupcakes have cooled, top with fresh strawberries and blueberries. (Optional: I had some marshmallow sugar glaze that I had made which I also put on top of the cupcakes and fruits, but this is not needed!)

10. ENJOY!