Experimenting with simple desserts

This week my sweet tooth kicked and inspired me to play in the kitchen. My first experiment was a pumpkin pudding.

The ingredients go something like this:

1 package of instant fat free/sugar free vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
cool whip or redi whip
1 can of pumpkin
cinnamon to taste
all spice to taste
nutmeg to taste
and splenda sugar mix to taste(optional)

First I made my pumpkin mix. I played with the seasonings and taste tested until I got it right. Next I made the vanilla pudding according to the instructions on the package. I let the pudding set for a minute then used the mixer to add the pumpkin and pudding together. I chilled for an hour or so then served topped with some redi whip! A nice light, healthy dessert.

I just completed my second experiment this evening. Mike and I both ate two bowls, so I'd say success. This was inspired while I was strolling through the grocery store today. I saw a cherry fluff like dessert and thought I could make a healthy version!

Ingredients:

1 package fat free/sugar free vanilla pudding
2 cups of milk
1 can of cherry pie filling, I opted for the low sugar, splenda version
1 normal sized fat free cool whip thawed
red food coloring, optional

First I mixed my pudding according to the directions on package. Next, with the mixer I added the cool whip. I then folded in the cherry filling and added four drops of red food coloring to make it more pretty. Last, I placed it in the fridge to set for a while.

This was really tasty, one thing I need to work on is the consistency, it wasn't as thick as I would have preferred. Next time I need to possibly let let the pudding mix set a bit before mixing everything together, or fold in the cool whip in rather than use the mixer. It was still tasty and there's more for tomorrow! yumm....

i love my sweetie

mike and i have so much fun dancing together, we are really no good but definitely enjoy ourselves. this past weekend, while dancing at the lodge, my advice to mike was "just spin me a lot and we'll look great!" i doubt that is truly the case, but hey, it works for us! this afternoon Simple Minds, Alive and Kicking, was on my Internet radio. this was the last song played at our wedding. whenever i hear it it reminds me of how happy and lucky i am to have found mike.

Wow, do I heart Moby

2008 brought us a new Moby album. It's been on my list to download or purchase for some time. I just received it in the mail yesterday. Moby has a way with words, I read his blog daily have enjoyed his lyrical writing for years. I absolutely love the album "Last Night" and what I really love is Moby's inspiration in creating the album. Below is an excerpt Moby wrote in regards to the album, takes me back to my younger years, and not so younger years:

"i started going out in new york city in the early 80's. my friends and i would get on the train and sneak to manhattan and go to the mudd club and peppermint lounge and the fallout shelter and danceteria and CB's and a-7 and the ritz. we'd stay out until 7 a.m and then sneak back to conneticut on the metro-north train, sometimes getting back to darien in time for high school. i honestly don't think that a week has gone by in 25 years that i haven't gone out to a bar or a nightclub or a house party, sometimes to dance, sometimes to dj, sometimes to drink, sometimes just to be lost in an ocean of other people at 3 a.m. maybe that's depressing to you, i don't know, i think it's fantastic. daytime is nice. you can see things. birds are out. people are at work. but nighttime is, simply better. people look better at night. things are more interesting. you can hide better. you can get lost more easily. and music is different at night. this album is about going out(in nyc and anywhere else). it's me trying to take 25 years of going out in nyc and condensing it into a 65 minute record. it's also trying to condense an 8 hour night into just over an hour of music. a night out can ideally contain a multitude of experiences, from the celebratory to the despairing to the comforting to the frightening to the conventional to the transcendent. very simply to me this record sounds like a night out in new york, with all the sex and weirdness and the disorientation and the celebration and the compelling chaos. if you're out some night in nyc i'm sure we'll run into each other. see, i go out way to much and i always have."- moby, nyc 2008

A Great New Find

Last weekend Mike and I stocked up on some goodies from Trader Joes. I've been looking to try some organic wines and picked up a couple bottles. We pulled the cork on one Friday evening and just finished it off tonight with dinner. I have to say Well Red California Red Wine by Heartwork Winery was a great find at only $5.99 a bottle. I love that it is organic, less chemicals, and sulfite free, no headache. My only regret is that I didn't buy more. Next time!

A Depressing, Uplifting Must See Film

Mike and I were able to see Slumdog Millionaire over the weekend, it finally made it to our neck of the woods. Visually the film is so upbeat and colourful, it sweeps you away and almost makes you forget about the orphans, slaughter, poverty, enslavement, organized crime and police brutality featured. The film takes you on an exhilarating journey that leaves you breathless by the end. A must see!

That's So Emma and Julia

Click here to read more.

While I was blogging....

My wonder hubby brought me breakfast in bed! How lucky am I?



Mike makes the best eggs! Whenever I make them they are dry and rubbery, so the egg torch has been passed to him.

Today he added some Morningstar Farms fake bacon and swiss cheese to the eggs! yum! Served with delicious, perfectly undercooked cinnamon rolls. The low sugar splenda version, no guilt here!!

Our Favorite Almost Home-made Thai Dish

Mike and I started experimenting with some Thai sauces we found in the organic/ethnic food section at Hy Vee, our local grocery store. Thai is my favorite food so I was excited to stumble upon these! This dish has become a staple in our home. We make it once a week and it continues to be a fav!

Ingredients

1 package of extra firm tofu
1 orange pepper
1 red pepper (can you green or yellow if you prefer)
4-5 small potatoes
1 jar of Thai Kitchen Curry Sauce (Red and Panang are our favs but Green is good too)
Whole Grain Rice



Preheat oven to 425
Drain tofu and remove as much excess moisture by wrapping it in paper towels
Cube tofu
Line baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray
Arrange tofu on baking sheet in a single layer
Place in oven for 15-20 flipping halfway through

While the tofu is cooking, spray the bottom of a large skillet with cooking spray and turn heat to low.

Peel and wash potatoes, cube and place in skillet as you finish
Wash and cut peppers, add to skillet
Once all the veggies are cut turn hit up to medium pour in sauce
Cover and let veggies and sauce cook while the tofu continues to bake.

Remember to cook your rice, I use whole grain minute, which actually takes about 10.

After about 20 minutes remove tofu from oven, add to sauce and veggies.

Keep cooking until potatoes are done, if timed right this is usually about 10 minutes after the tofu is added. This gives all the flavors a chance to come together. Your rice will be done about the same time :)




Serve veggies over rice and enjoy!

A Little Pre-Inauguration Spirit

MLK Day

Early morning, April 4
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
(U2 Pride)

Finals Numbers Are In

George W.'s final approval rating is at 22%. Shocking? To put this in perspective, this is lower than Nixon's final approval and he was impeached!! His father and Bill Clinton managed to pull in 68%. Yikes... let's just be ecstatic that there are less than 40 hours to a regime change!

Perhaps the Perfect Sandwich

I finally got my Reuben! Actually, I had it the Saturday after New Years but never got around to posting this! I opted for the turkey Reuben (yes I'm dabbling in meat again) from my favorite, The Bier Stube, in Moline, IL. I still have yet to try the legendary Belgian Village(another local restaurant) Reuben, but I just can't get past my favorite at the stube!

Along with my turkey Reuben I had German potato salad, just like grandma used to make, and red cabbage. To top it all off I had the 4 beer sampler. I can't remember the exact beers I ordered but one was a delicious IPA, an excellent Oatmeal Stout, O, and a Porter. The perfect meal!

The Highlight of My Day

I just read this on one of my favorite blogs, perezhilton.com:

"With the end drawing near, President-For-Not-Much-Longer George W. Bush wants his final 15 minutes on television.

In what will be his last public appearance until he greets Obama at the Inauguration on January 20th, Bush wishes to address the nation on ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC to say good-bye."

Why? So he can apolgize for screwing the entire US??? You can guarantee I'll be throwing a party on this night!

I found a couple of funny pictures online, I thought I'd share and I post these with the utmost respect.

Blast from the Past

My Showbiz name inquiry in my previous blog inspired me to do a little internet searching!! I found the mother of all websites, sound clips and everything! It's all coming back to me ah, yes...the Rockafire Explosion. There was Fats Geronimo aka the gorilla who used to scare the crap out of me, Mitzi Mozzarella the girlie mouse, and Beach Bear just to name a few of my favs. They sure don't make places like this anymore! I blame it on video games. Have fun on the Showbiz site! I sure did!

Video Killed the Radio Star, Then Video Killed Itself

Being born in 78' I was a true child of the 80's. Aside from my rainbow brite dolls, trapper keepers, jelly shoes, scrunchies, spandex, polka dots, drive ends, arcades, jean jackets, breakdancing.. OK, I'll stop! There was the iconic MTV. I lived and breathed MTV. Living in Iowa I dreamed of the places where these people were from and where these videos took place. From new wave and synth pop to hair bands, this was the era when MTV played music and the era when I dreamed of what would come in my later years.

Today times have certainly changed. MTV turned its back on videos long ago. For a while there was MTV2, where you could still catch a decent video once in a while. Now MTV features pop tarty shows that are a dime a dozen and MTV2 replays the ones that have been cancelled. Belch

So, what do I do to get my fix nowadays? Youtube.com. Today I looked up one of my favorite new songs by MGMT and it made me think, now that I am in my "later years" I can still be swept away into an imaginary land, just not on the good ol' tube like in the 80's.

p.s. you gotta love the showbiz shout out in the video! how random, i only wish i remembered their names..billy bob and ....hmmmmmmmm

Motivation in 2009

I managed to get out of bed today for a few hours. What was my motivation? Well, I needed to work off my NYE sushi dinner, New Years Day breakfast...eggs, hashbrowns and ummm three blueberry muffins. My New Years Day Drunken Noodle dish from Exotic Thai and the coldstone we took home to eat in bed. YIKES!! So, Mike and I went to the gym this afternoon to alleviate some of the guilt. We both did an hour on the eliptical machine while watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. In the end I burned 617 calories and Mike over 1000...men suck! hahaha. I then diligently lifted my weights for about 20 minutes and added a twist this time. Between each rep I did jumped rope 30 times. It's been years since I jumped rope and let me tell you, at 6 it's cute, at 30 it aint pretty!! Hopefully this made up for my day of indulging...and hopefully this means I can eat a rueben sometime this weekend!!

NYE 2009