flakey

My dad is a firm believer that mint chocolate chip ice cream is for "sissy's" (his words, not mine) and that the only way to enjoy chocolate chip ice cream is if it's vanilla, and only vanilla. Meanwhile, whenever my dad would make an outrageously ridiculous comment like that, my mom, my four sisters and I would all immediately get into a heated battle that went far beyond ice cream flavors.

Truthfully, mint chocolate chip is one of my absolute favorite flavors of ice cream, and I intend on making it soon. But as an homage to my dad, and all the non-sissy's of the world, this one's for you. Happy Father's Day dad!

Have you ever had Italian gelato (called Stracciatella) and wondered how the chocolate "chips" were perfect little flecks? I thought they used shaved chocolate, but actually they pour melted chocolate into the almost-finished ice cream while it's still churning. The coldness of the ice cream hardens the chocolate, while the churning breaks it up into little pieces. And that, my friends, is the method I used in this amazing ice cream. So instead of biting into a large, frozen chalky chocolate chip, these little chocolate flakes melt on the tongue as the vanilla ice cream melts with it. It's sooooo good.

a sweet blend

I love this smoothie so much, I mean, who doesn't want to eat a rainbow (okay, I know I have to give that one to Skittles)? I have this smoothie almost every time after I workout because I freeze almost all the ingredients, so it's nice and cold. And let me tell you, when my pale skin gets worked up my face is the color of a cherry tomato for hours, so I need everything, going in my body post-workout, to cool me down fast. 

                                         

It's so delicious and sweet that it feels like a treat, but it's deceptively filled with nutritious ingredients that are really good for me. 

The wonderful thing about a smoothie is the ability to customize a healthy, filling meal that includes so many essential nutrients. Do you like smoothies? If so, what do you normally put in yours?

Rainbow Smoothie for One

Makes 1 serving

Recipe Notes:

- Feel free to replace or add anything. I use apple juice because it’s pretty neutral in terms of flavor, but adds a little sweetness to the plain yogurt. If I have pomegranate juice on hand, I like that too. I think orange juice overpowers the flavors, but if you love that then by all means…

- If you’ve got banana’s that are bruised, dark brown, or you’ve only eaten half and the rest is at risk for being tossed (or attracting those annoying fruit flies!) than it’s time to put it into a baggie and place it in the freezer for your next smoothie.

- The same rule applies for any fruit or vegetable. Of course you can buy a lot of these items in the freezer section of your grocery store, but if strawberries are on sale, and I know I won’t eat all of them, I wash them, trim the tops off, dry them and place them on a wax paper (or parchment) lined baking sheet and place that in the freezer. Once the fruit (or veg) is frozen I then place it in a freezer-safe zip top baggie.

Ingredients:

1 Cup water (or juice, if you prefer it sweeter tasting)

½ cup non-fat Greek yogurt (optional)

about a ¼ cup of each frozen fruit/veg: carrots, spinach, banana, berries, mango, pineapple

1 Tbs. ground flaxseeds, or Chia seeds

protein powder (I use the scoop included in mine- it’s probably 2-3 Tbs. worth)

Directions:

1. Start off by pouring the water into the blender, then the yogurt (if using). Follow with the fruits and veggies and top that off with the seed of your choice and the protein powder. Blend until smooth, about a minute. Serve immediately and enjoy!

ooey gooey pizookie's

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all had a nice Valentine's weekend (even if you got a lot of snow like we did, here in the Northeast). As some of you may have noticed I've slightly redesigned the blog- I'm trying to customize it a bit more and this has been on my to-do list for a while, so I'm happy to check it off the list! Anyway, on to cookies...

My mom has a gas range that she loves as a cooktop, but is unimpressed with the oven. She says that every batch of cookies comes out really flat or burnt and she's tried adjusting the temperature and times (I don't think the higher elevation is doing her any favors either). Regardless, she's completely given up on making cookies the traditional way and is now only making them as pizookie's. Pizookie's are a weird name for a pizza cookie but basically it's cookie dough usually in a skillet-type pan and served hot with ice cream to cool it off. They're basically an easier, cleaner way to eat a warm cookie sandwich. 

I don't know about you, but I love a warm dessert in the winter. You're basically just taking a ramekin and stuffing it with cookie dough, baking it so it's almost set, but still soft in the center- after all, you need a place for the ice cream to sink into. My dad is obsessed with pizookie's and makes them every time guests are over for dinner. My mom, the smart lady that she is, makes cookie dough in advance, freezes the cookie dough balls and then is able to pull them out anytime my dad feels the need to impress people with his "cooking" skills.

So I took the cookie dough I made from my Chocolate Chip Cookie Perfection recipe and did what my mom did: formed the dough into balls, froze them, threw them into a freezer-safe bag and now I can have pizookie's anytime I want too (of course I can also use this dough to make regular cookies too. If using frozen, just give it a little extra time in the oven and try to flatten the frozen dough a little, otherwise it's too thick and the outer edges get too brown while the inside is uncooked.).

Step 1: Form the cookie dough into balls and freeze on a sheet tray, then transfer to a storage container and keep frozen

Step 2: When ready to make a pizookie, take the frozen dough ball and place in a ramekin- depending on the size of your ramekin you may need 1 1/2 to 2 cookie dough balls. Sprinkle a little Fleur de Sel on top.

Step 3: Place ramekin in a 350 F degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until top is brown and center is still gooey.

Step 4: Serve warm with your favorite ice cream flavor or top with fresh whip cream.

I have tweaked the Chocolate Chip Cookie Perfection recipe to make it pizookie-friendly. Recipe is after the jump: