Month: April 2012

Workout Wish List

SadieLeave a comment

Shopping for workout clothes is one of my favorite pastimes.  Here are a few things that are on my wish list right now:

For obvious reasons.

Under Armour has put a lot of hype around this new bra, I want to give it a go!

These look fun too!

I’ve heard good things about this bra from Champion.

Whenever I need to motivate myself to get my rear in gear, I think about some of these things to get going.  Sometimes the right words can be just the spark I need!  Have a happy workout!

PS- full disclosure, some new athletic socks would also be a step in the right direction.

Lazy Saturday Pizza Bake

CarrieLeave a comment

Today, I woke up at 11 and decided to clean the house.  After a thorough cleaning, I was starting to get hungry for a good meal.  I had some over ripened bananas, so I whipped up my favorite Banana Coconut Bread to have for the week.  I know the busy week that lies ahead because the bakery opens on May 5th.  I wanted to ensure that I had breakfast on the run.

After finishing the bread and while I still had the oven on, I decided that I needed to make lunch to appease my hunger pangs.  I immediately thought pizza.  I had a Pillsbury Pizza Crust in the fridge and only needed to figure out the rest of the toppings to make a delicious pizza.  Here’s what I came up with.

Blue Cheese and Canadian Bacon Pizza

Ingredients

Pillsbury Pizza Dough, Ricotta Cheese, 1/2 diced red bell pepper, 3/4 cup grape tomatoes, 6 slices Canadian bacon (diced), 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, salt & pepper, italian seasoning, balsamic reduction (optional)

Directions

1. Spread pizza dough onto a greased sheet pan.

2. Spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese over the dough.

3. Sprinkle on peppers, tomatoes, and bacon.  Then top the pizza with the cheeses.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning.

4. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

5. Enjoy your pizza! I topped my slice with balsamic reduction which complements the blue cheese wonderfully!

Something Different but Something Special

Sadie2 Comments

The other day I saw Ina make an interesting cake on her show on the Food Network: Mocha Icebox Cake.  The great thing about it is that it’s not the typical mix the batter, bake the cake kind of deal.  This cake is layers of chocolate chip cookies, and a filling that is the consistency of something between whipped cream and mousse.  It also is somewhat reminiscent of a really light and creamy cheese cake because it’s make with mascarpone cheese (Italian version of cream cheese).  In general it’s a great light dessert that is different than your run of the mill cookies or cake.  Plus it’s no bake, even Ina bought the cookies to use in it!  This cake was definitely a crowd pleaser!

Mocha Icebox Cake

From Ina at the Food Network

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cold heavy whipping cream
  • 12 oz. mascarpone cheese
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup Kahlua (optional)
  • 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 tsp instant espresso powder (or instant coffee)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 24 oz. store bought chocolate chip cookies (preferably thin and crispy from the bakery section of the store)

Method

  1. Use electric mixer to whip together all of the ingredients except the cookies.  Beat until the mixture has stiff peaks like a thick whipped cream.

    The Set Up
  2. To assemble the cake use a spring form cake pan.  Cover the bottom of the pan with cookies, break pieces of cookie to cover the whole bottom.  Spread a layer of the batter on top of the cookies.
    Bottom Layer

    Work in Progress
  • Repeat the process of a layer of cookies then batter until you run out of batter or space.  I made about four layers (I also added a layer of plain whipped cream on top with the left over heavy cream, mascarpone, and sugar that I had).

    Into the freezer we go…
  • Chill cake in fridge overnight or freezer for several hours to set.  Remove spring form right before you serve it.  Use a serrated knife to slice it in order to get through the cookies.
    Ina’s photo

    I forgot to take a picture after the unveiling, but mine actually looked very similar to Ina’s.