Road Trip Recap

I have actually never taken a long road trip—usually I am flying or taking the train. A.k.a. the fast way of getting to a destination. However, the slow way, or driving, is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding!

And we’re off!!

Day 1

My mom and I left a day early so we could enjoy Wisconsin Dells a bit since we have never made it over there. I definitely recommend going there..it reminded me a lot of Florida with all the touristy shops and attractions!

Who knew driving could work up such an appetite? We found a Ponderosa’s which is one of my favorite restaurants/buffets. I ordered the grilled shrimp and baked potato—delish!

Then it was time to explore!!

Hotel Rome

All homemade saltwater taffy.

I seem to meet up with my favorite thing everywhere!

Day 2

Both my mom and I got so excited when we spotted a Dunkin Donuts—Minnesota doesn’t have any!!

 

Coffee and donuts anyone? Hey we’re on vacation..

The morning consisted of driving, driving, and oh..more driving.

Sunflower field!

Our next destination was the House on a Rock. It was the most amazing place I have ever been to in my 19 years of living. And we took about 300 pictures, so I am going to dedicate one whole post on it once I get home—so definitely stay tuned for that.

Only three more hours till Chicago, so we took our time and stopped at the Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, Illinois which is a casino on an old river boat.

The original reason we stopped though was to eat at the Grand Victoria Buffet!

Steamed tilapia, green beans, sautéed mushrooms/onions, and a baked potato.

Broccoli, peel and eat shrimp, artichoke hearts.

Overall, the buffet was a really nice spread and the selection of food would really cater to a lot of taste palates. If you are ever on your way into Chicago, you should make a pit-stop for sure!

With full bellies, we finally made it to the city!!

Stay tuned for more Chicago shenanigans and recaps of all the Healthy Living Summit events!

Have you been to Chicago? If so, what do you like to do here?

Mid-Week Mishmash

Lately, my days have been running into one another, and things are all over the place. Whoever said summers in the “real world” are relaxing, obviously has not worked a full-time job. Speaking of jobs though, here’s some of the meals we’ve been serving lately…

Loved the mango relish—so many compliments on it. The recipe simply contained equal amount of cubed cucumbers, cubed mangoes, and cubed pineapple—olive oil and lemon juice to taste. Glorious!

Meat loaf, summer squash salad, tossed green salads, and white rice.

Honey olive oil cakes with honey-drenched berries.

Chicken and rice soup, rye sourdough bread, crackers, and very veggie salads.

Spicy black bean soup (recipe here), sour cream cornbread with honey butter, and tossed salads with poppy seed dressing. You must make this dressing—it’s fabulous and it was very easy for me to make in large amounts. (recipe here)

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So needless to say, I’ve been keeping myself quite busy which means I've been eating out a bit more than I usually do just because it’s more convenient to grab-and-go. My current new favorite place is the Pita Pit.

I don’t know how many times I’ve driven past this gem in the three years I’ve been living here, but I am overly happy that I finally decided to stop! I scanned the menu, finally deciding that their “breakfast served all day” caught my attention. So I decided to order the Chicken Classic.

“Scrambled eggs, chicken breast, hash- browns, grilled green peppers, mushrooms & onions and your choice of cheese and sauces.”

I got it without cheese, salsa as the sauce---this was one of those meals that I am going to be craving all the time now. Too bad they are like $6 something a pop. I will have to start making my own!

I really like how the Pita Pit website allows you to “Build-Your-Own-Pita” and get nutritional info on it before you go. Try it out here!

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How is the weather in your neck of the woods? It has been one of the hottest Minnesota summers that I can remember. I am not complaining one bit, mostly because I’ve had the chance to try some great cool-me-down treats!

Great Value Double Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Parfait

At just 160 calories for the whole cup, it’s a great way to fit in a cold and creamy craving! It has a generous layer of strawberries on top, and I like to add some blueberries too!

So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk

Dairy Free / Lactose Free

Soy Free

Gluten Free

Rich in Medium Chain Fatty Acids

Excellent Source of Vitamin B12 (vegetarian friendly)

Formulated for Maximum Calcium Absorption

Cholesterol Free

No Trans Fats

Certified Vegan

I would still label myself as a soymilk girl. The coconut milk was definitely different than anything I’ve tried before, and I don’t think I could drink it straight on a daily basis. However, in smoothies it was a hit!

Northern Lite Vanilla Blended Coffee from Caribou Coffee

These are SO great, but I almost wish I wouldn’t have liked it due to the fact that they are five dollars. Yes, five dollars. That’s one expensive habit…so I am trying to formulate something similar in my own kitchen.

What’s your favorite keep-you-cool treat in the summer??

First Two Days of the Rest of My Summer

For those of you who don’t know about my new summer job, read about it here and here.

Thursday was basically the first day of work, and the first day of what I will be doing the rest of the summer. I work 6 days a week—days spent cooking, learning new things, cleaning, and just enjoy being around all things food! The kitchen I am working in for the Concordia Language Villages is in charge of preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the adult campers, who are actually here for a seminar to learn to teach the language they teach in a better and more effective way—and like I mentioned before, they are coming from all corners of the world.

Here’s my new kitchen I’ll be cooking in probably more than my home kitchen:

 

This is the dining hall where the students will be eating.

Meals don’t start being served until today, so Thursday and Friday were brutally long days (8-9 hours on my feet) spent stocking the kitchen with everything. During the actual school year, the kitchen is used for other purposes, so we came into a completely empty kitchen. A huge truck load delivered numerous boxes filled with everything from utensils to kitchen appliances. And all things that came through the door had to be washed, so needless to say many many loads of dishes were done.

 

Friday, I was pretty much in charge of all things going on. More unloading, and another delivery from the food distributor.

When the food is delivered, everything needs to be checked on the inventory sheet and put away immediately—it’s quite the process, but I will get the hang of it!

Stay tuned for more job adventures—glad you’ll be around for the ride!! :-)

During this job, I can definitely see I will need to snack a lot to keep up my energy, so it’s the perfect opportunity to try out my outrageously growing bar collection.

Kashi Go Lean Cinnamon Coffee Cake Bar

“This all natural vanilla coffee cake flavored snack bar is infused with the dreamy combination of cinnamon and roasted hazelnut chunks.”

Chew Review: This bar was great! It's made its’ way into my top 5 favorites. I loved how it had the sweet coating both on the bottom and also drizzled on the top. It was the perfect crunch as well. And as far as keeping me full, I don’t think it would as a meal replacement, but it works perfect as a sweet ending to a meal.

 

Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there! :-)

Spring Sweets & Sips

Do your eats tend to change seasonally?

Mine usually do—fall and winter are filled with comfort foods, hearty casseroles, baked goods that fill the house with a spiced aroma and an array of winter produce. Spring and summer are a variety of grilled fare, lighter and colorful mixed salads, and a rainbow of produce ranging from yellow summer squash to deep purple eggplants.

But one taste palate that never seems to change throughout the year is my sweet tooth—yes, it changes from fruit-studded tarts and back again to rich carrot cakes, however, it never seems to disappear throughout the 12 months of the year. I like to try a different  dessert once a week to switch things up, and every so often, I’ll make a recipe that deserves to be made once, twice, or in this case, three times within a three week period! I almost considered dedicating one whole post to this first strawberry-studded sweet treat, but figured if a little persuading and a few pictures couldn’t convince you, then a whole post certainly wouldn’t. So instead, I’ll give it the honor of being featured first, and then followed by a few other sweets I’ve been enjoying this spring.

Enjoy!

Springtime Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt Pie

Serves:6

Ingredients:

• 1 Fiber One pie crust (recipe here) or a store-bought piecrust
• 2 c thinly sliced strawberries
• 2 Tbsp strawberry jam—I used sugar free
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1-8 oz package of fat free cream cheese
• 1 (6 oz) container of strawberry cheesecake yogurt(from Target), pictured below
• 2 Tbsp sugar—I used Splenda
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 c frozen (thawed) fat-free whipped topping

Directions:

• Add sliced strawberries, 1 tsp sugar, strawberry jam, and 1 Tbsp water together in a small saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil and then lower to a simmer until thickened, about 10-12 min. Remove from burner—let cool completely.

• In large bowl, beat cream cheese with electric mixer on high speed 30 to 60 seconds or until fluffy. Beat in sugar until blended. Add yogurt, vanilla and almond extract; beat on low speed 30 to 60 seconds until well blended and smooth. Fold in whipped topping just until blended. Spoon into crust; spread gently to edge.

• Refrigerate at least 4 hours or until chilled.

• Top pie with strawberry sauce. Store pie in refrigerator.

By far one of the best pies that I’ve ever tried/made..and if you make it with my Fiber One crust, it’s clocks in at just about 150 calories per huge slice!!

Cinnabon Clone with a Twist

Ingredients:

• 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1/3 cup margarine, melted
• 4 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast
• 1 c apple pie filling—I used sugar free
• 1 cup brown sugar, packed
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened—I used fat-free
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.

After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Spread the apple pie filling evenly across dough, leaving enough of an edge so it doesn’t squeeze out.

Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, confectioners' sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

The addition of the apple pie filling really adds a lot to these Cinnabon clones and takes them from delicious to out-of-this-world.

Chocoholic’s Scotcheroos

Ingredients:

• 1 c light corn syrup—I used Lite, see below

• 1 c sugar
• 1 c dark chocolate dreams peanut butter (from PB & Co.)

• 3 c Rice Krispies cereal
• 3 c Envirokids Leapin’ Lemurs PB and Chocolate cereal

• 1 c semi-sweet chocolate morsels
• 1 c butterscotch chips
• 1/4 c Reese's Pieces for garnish, if desired

Directions:

• Place corn syrup and sugar into 3-quart saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to boil. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter. Mix well. Add cereals. Stir until well coated. Press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Set aside.
• Melt chocolate and butterscotch chips together in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Spread evenly over cereal mixture. Sprinkle with Reese's Pieces if desired. Let stand until firm. Cut into 2 x 1-inch bars when cool.

I loved coming up with this recipe—using the dark chocolate PB and the PB and chocolate cereal really separates these from the original Scotcheroos, and makes them more gourmet.

And now onto my latest favorite springtime sip…

A few weeks ago I decided to drop an insane $4 on a Starbuck’s Lite Vanilla Frap—big mistake. It was so good, and I could see that a possible bad habit could be formed. Instead, I figured out how to make an almost identical version for only a few cents! Here’s my mock Starbucks Lite Vanilla Frap tutorial:

1. Fill a blender or a Magic Bullet with 1/2 c ice.

2. Pour in 1 cup of cold coffee—I keep a pitcher in the fridge.

3. Add in about 2 Tbsp of milk—I use unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze—I recommend a vanilla flavored milk.

4. Add in sugar free vanilla syrup, about 1 Tbsp. I use Sugar Free Vanilla Torani Syrup—found at Wal-Mart.

5. Blend by pulsing about 5 times.

6. Stick in a straw if desired, and slurp!