Chinese Green Tea Ice Cream

Yesterday I decided to go to Global Foods and take a look around to see what interesting thing I could find since I hadn't in awhile. I ended up going sown the ice cream isle and found a lot of different green tea flavored ice cream. It was awesome, I love green tea and was super excited!  I almost picked up just plain ice cream but last minute found these green tea ice cream balls and decided to take a chance. When I opened them up they were wrapped in a gelatin type coating to keep a scoop of delicious abd cream ice cream.
The oitter gel was a little different texture to get used to but the ice cream inside was absolutely delicious! 

I have attached some pictures for you to see and possibly try out yourself. 
The outter shell was also powdered with what seemed flour! Id assume rice flour but thats a bit odd, however I did see that ingredient listed in the ingredients on the box so who knows!

Try them out if you can and let me know what you think as well!

♡A

Sorry..

I have been way busy and not kept up with this the past month. I shall try harder in the future. ..

♡A

This morning...

When we get to school we are having a PAAAARRTTAAYYY! YAY food food food. I brought a cookie cake because I didnt have time to make food last night it was a crazy night!.
Hope everyone enjoys!

♡A

I have a food blog

This is it, everyone please check it out. Im a cool fun, momma & an awesome culinary student!

Yay finished out first phase of the AOS program

♡A

First Tomatoe from our Garden

So happy to be able to pick tomatoes and peppers from our garden so far!
This was the first cherry Tomatoe we picked. Mel was super excited to be a part of it, she has been watching everyday to see the progress. We teach her that they too need lovins to grow and biy big and strong. She made sure thwy were watered everyday it didnt rain. Of course that wasnt hard to do when she was allowed to run through the sprinkler as well ;)

♡A

Only in a Culinary School...

Will you find reminder notices on foil like this.....

Most people would use paper, but not the unique people in the culinary industry.  Whether the reason veggies was the closes thing to my chef when creating the notice or the intend to draw attention with the bright glaring foil.  Either way, it worked. Thumbs up to you Chef! Genius.  ;)

♡A

Baptism cakes

Had a two of my cousins got their baby boys baptized today and I was honored to make their cakes for the celebration!  :) they were the same day and together so they were similar themed but I changed them a bit. One is vanilla and the other is chocolate, both with vanilla buttercream icing. :)
So good, although I did have a problem with it being a little dense. I used a butter based cake recipe from scratch and I think the butter did this, what do you think? I need to experiment with more applesauce or oil cakes.

It was frustrating because I had to remake the chocolate cakes the morning of due to some issues. In the end, after all the chaos, it all turned out very well. :)

♡A

Food industry in general

Has change so much overtime...people are trying to take so many shortcuts now a days. They don't like to do things the traditional way but to take the easiest, cheapest & quickest way possible.  Its sad yet can be totally useful for something's. 

Take cakes, we have the remixed boxed cakes and even icing and if you actually know what real cake or icing taste like then the artificially flavored and colored products just don't taste as good anymore. Yet, we still have tons of people who do it this way.

What do you think?

♡A

End results

I was happy with my end results even though I did not win the burger competition.  Here is what I made. It was delicious.  Burger with guacamole and provolone cheese and sirracha mayo on the bottom. Yum! Try it out sometime this summer when you pull out the grill and decide to bbq! 

♡A

Burger Competition

Today is the burger competition at my school which the winner goes on to a competition at 5☆ burgers to compete for the July burger of the month at their new restaurant. 
Im super excited,  I am confident that I have a good burger and it is now up to what happens and my competition. 
We shall see, ill keep you updated!
Wish me luck all runs smoothly!

♡A

Stuffed pork chops!

Last night for dinner I made these awesome stuffed pork chops.

I went to slice the chops in half for quicker cooking and before I cut all the way I thought, "ooh yum! Stuff em!" So I did.

I looked in the pantry and fridge and just threw something together which ended up being super delicious. 

What you'll need:
(Measurement depend on how much you make, I had three chops and 1 cup of couscous)

Pork Chops
Couscous
Sundried tomatoes (sliced or chopped)
Mozzarella shredded cheese
Olive oil
Balsamic vinaigrette
Salt
Black mesh pepper
t Paprika
t Garlic salt
t Onion powder

Directions:

Cook couscous in pot with water as package directs.

While still hot mix in salt/pepper to taste, sundried tomatoes, cheese &  a bit of olive oil just to wet.

Mix paprika,  garlic salt, oil, onion powder and peper together with a tad bit of oil to blend. Coat the out sides of the chops.

I then after cutting  pork chops a bit to make the slit pan fried to get a good carmelization with butter and olive oil.

Next, place the pork chops in a baking dish and stuffed those suckers full with the couscous mixture. 

Drizzle a bit of olive oil and balsamic on top and bake off the rest of the way in oven, about 350degrees F for 30-40 minutes! Yum!

Enjoy!

♡ A

Beach time?

This is what you do when your family goes on vacation without you to the beach & you are stuck back home due to school &/or work...

DRINK ALONE! lmbo.
But really I just had one....

;)

Yay finals! & family is at Orange Beach.

♡A

Food Flipagram!

So I made a little flip video woth current foods that I have made and presented and put it to a fun little music! Check it out! :)

#flipagram made with @flipagram Music: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Can't Hold Us (feat. Ray Dalton) http://flipagram.com/f/CwmWCwx9CV

Morning Coffee

It's one of those morning's. ....one that I desperately need a coffee. Now im not the hot coffee drinking kinda gal, but give me a frape or an ice coffee and im happy!
However,  I love mine with the whipped cream and chocolate/carmel drizzle. I DO NOT want to even think about how many calories are in this. It is a necessity for this morning.

I'll go for a walk later when I get home.

♡A

Have a great day yall!

Today is my friday! Whoop! Whoop!

Cat food=Dog food?

Why does my dog eat the cat food nor than she eats her own dog food?  & as for the cats, well they are...fluffy, they eat both. It's crazy, my dog will literally let them just eat hers so she can go to the cats food. We have tried all flavors, types, brands and consistency of dog foods and yet she still prefers the cat food.

Odd....
I guess it'll just have to remain a mystery. .

♡A

Bbq. Shish kabobs

For our bbq this Memorial weekend we did chicken & steak with veggies shish kabobs. So good we grilled them and then due to rain finished them off in the oven. We marinated the chicken in an Italian dressing overnight and the steak we  marinated in a bbq sauce.

For dessert we decided to sitck with the kabobs theme and I made pound cake and strawberries on the stick then grilled them. They were so delicious, especially with some fresh cool whip on them! :)

♡A

Thank you veterans, all this celebration because of you. :)♡

Frozen & Tangled

Made these Frozen & Tangled themed cupcakes for a birthday party today. Also, the Frozen theme ice cream cake. It went over really well and had tons of compliments!
The inside of the cupcakes are funfetti. I added blue, purple and white sprinkles to fit the themes. :) so good!

Minimum wage for minimum work

Yesterday in my human resources class we debated about the topic of raising minimum wage to $15 an hour. My thoughts on this is like many others, why the heck wpuld we do that?! Most people making minimum wage are doing minimum amount of work? Why should you get paid more for doing a job that a computer or piece of technology already most of the work for you? Also, you are most likely in a job that doesn't require hardly or any experience and is there just as a stepping stone, not to stay forever and expect to get paid more. However,  I do understand that life is rough and curve balls do get thrown at us which makes it that much harder to find a decent job in today's world. This doesn't give you an excuse or reason not to try to further your education to get a better job that is worthy of being paid above minimum wage.
It can be done people. I have a daughter and I am in school trying to better myself and set a steady future for us.
There are many people like myself.
Don't get stuck in that rut.

Just my thoughts on this topic, whats yours?

♡A

No Egg & No Cook Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe

The recipe I have been using and very happy with when making my homemade ice cream and ice cream cakes is worthy of sharing. I really wanted a quick and egg free recipe so I started looking around and found one similar to this, but of course tinkered with it a bit and this is the final outcome recipe.
I used my kitchenaide mixer with ice cream machine bowl attachment to spin and takes about 20-30 minutes to spin. =] ENJOY! & let me know how yours turns out if you try.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Mix cocoa and sugars together, add milk and cream. whisk until sugars are dissolved. add vanilla in and mix well.
2. Pour mix in already frozen mixing bow with attachment and spin for about 20-30 mins.
3. After spinning, put ice cream in air tight bowl and freeze overnight.


<3A

First Place-Noodlerama Ramen!

So every month my school holds a competition for all current students to compete in for a chance to win first place bragging rights, cool gear & $100 towards our tuition.  I have competed since my first phase and opportunity to enter and have done quite well before with winning and placing in different spots like third, second and even first before. Most recently thwy had a gourmet ramen noodles competition that was today. I went in with a steady mind of a stir fry style ramen that I had previously tested put on my guinea pig family members at home.
To get to the point, I am happy to announce I was awarded first place and very happy with what I presented.  Simple but so delicious :)
I have attached some pics so you can see the first place winning ramen! ;)

♡A

Chocolate Mousse Cake :) & Ice Cream Cake

Yay first time making chocolate mouse cake and its delicious! Homemade. Its Jonny's birthday and were having a bbq grill out! I decided to make this cake and ice cream cake, yum!

I really liked making everything from scratch and learning the techniques of how to freeze everything together.
I even had to do a make shift heat gun by using my blow dryer! Hey! For something as small as this, it worked and got the job done! :)

I realized that you definitely have to work fast and I have to work on my layering and make sure it is even. It was a bit hard to work timely, because with the ice cream cake you have to have the ice cream made, frozen then softened to just the right temp. Too much it'll be melting anf out of the spring form pan, & not enough it won't spread.

You should try it!
Good luck and let me know how you do and any tips you might have!

Oh, plus have fun mommies with the little ones running around and wanting to help and taste it every five seconds!
They are a blessing :)
It was very fun but you definitely need patience ;)

♡A

Homemade ice cream using my kitchenaide mixer!

I love mu kitchenaide mixer!
I have a six quart stand lift mixer & for
The first time I madea homemade ice cream in the new ice cream maker attachment I purchased for myself! 
I also tried some new recipes for eggless no cook ice cream and it has turned out great! :) im so excited and its delicious.  I made chocolate and vanilla.  I will post the recipes in my next post for yall to try as well!

I purchased this attachment at Bed, Bath & Beyond and I highly recommend it. It was on sale for about $70 & I got to use their discounts. 
You freeze the bowl overnight and you're ready to pour in your mix and turn on stir. Super easy!

Needless to say, best purchases I've made esp due to the fact o have recently started making ice cream cakes and I have an order for one next weekend.  Very happy about this! :)

Duck pastrami

Walking up to school and a wonderful smell hits my nostrils.  What is that glorious and mysterious smell? I walk in to find where it is coming from, garde manger lab. Of course something smoked, so I look around to find smoked duck pastrami. Yum! Of course I had to try some so I asked the chef in charge and I got a little taste. Deliciousness!
Be on the look out for sharing on how to make this yummy treat! :)

♡A

Fast Eddies Bon Air

Cold beer, big shots & great food!

Mmm their dry rub for their wings is so dang good!
Been there before but never had their wings. They were the perfect kind of spicy. I usually dont like dry rub rings esp without ranch dressing to dip in but dang these were delicious!!!!:)

We went today for a friend's birthday celebration and had a blast! They had a two man band who I played a wide variety of music to dance to. Oh and they had free popcorn! 

Not only was it a nice time with good food it was nice to go out there in day time to sit on the patio with the fans and see what else is in the area.

I have posted some pics to show how much of a good time we had and the great food.
We also too an exchange student from Spain with us to an Illinois/Missouri tradition and he had a great time experiencing the traditional kinds of foods we have here in the states. :)

♡A

Mother's day

Happy mothers day all you mommas out there!
Its so nice to have ppl making food for me for a change or taking me out to dinner. Its nice to be appreciated every once in awhile.  I love my family and love doing things for them, but sometimes it gets a lil much and momma just needs a break! :) when the please & thank yous stop comin and the expectations and lack of manners arrive thats when this momma starts to fume!

I will make dinner for my family all day and night but all I ask is for a little appreciation and help with the clean up maybe....

Food can be such a comfort thing, we celebrate, there's food. So celebrating mothers day this year I was taken out to brunch and dinner on seperate days. It was very nice. And my man bought me some earings to match the necklace he bought for xmas this year. It has been a great and busy weekend so far.
Oh, & dad just gave me the traditional gift of chocolate covered strawberries!  Yum! :)

Hope you all enjoy your day.

♡A

Schools & Baked Goods

You know what sucks?!
Being a culinary student, & passionate baker & wanting to share those baked goods but your child's school doesn't allow home baked goods in school. Whenever they have parties for their class and you're asked or offer to bring in treats it has to be store bought sometimes so sugar filled its crazy. I know their are allergy problems but also they are worried because of all the crazy things happening in this world. I think thats crazy, what happen to the trust days where our kids could have baked sales and bring homemade treats to school? Those days are sadly gone from what I've seen and heard.

♡A

An observation...

Have you realized when dining out, not a lot of establishment's seem to be using treys anymore to carry out beverages or food to the customers.  They have brought them out at different times or with another person lagging behind.  To me this is actually a little un professional and not as high quality or dining experience.  When I think fine dining or dining out I want it to be good and a different experience then if I were at home. Yes, we may have had a good experience but where is the traditionalism, the background of dining out in a restaurant.....some places the simple answer is it just isnt there....

So I challenge you to go out and see the different pattern changes at a handful of restaurants in you area.

Let me know what you find and think!

♡A

Boys Fishing Trip

Fresh fish is popular in our household. 
The guys just got back from a weekend of trout fishing & we have a freezer full of it now.

Now its up to mommy to figure out kid and adult friendly meals using all this fish! :)

Fish nuggets seem to be popular and even better for the adults to put in a pita pocket with some lettuce, homemade guacamole and a little sirracha mayo sauce, yum! 

We recently just got a smoker and im thinking of different ideas on how and what to smoke in it, maybe I can come up with an idea for the fish.

I'll keep you updated;)

♡A

Ice cream

Every mom has those times where they are totally stressed out, the kid just got into the biggest mess ever and you just have had enough. Its time to indulge in some ice cream.....well that was the answer for me this weekend at least.

Thank the lord for Ben & Jerrys.

Chunky Monkey is a creamy banana base ice cream with chunks of bittersweet chocolate & walnuts. :) every spoonful is another blast of heaven. 

So instead of diving into a pint of ice cream next time, help me out momma! What else can I do to ease my mind and relax?!
Take a walk? Nap? Cucumbers on the eyes?! Lol help me out here!

♡A

Fruit smoothie!

This morning my daughter and I decided to make fruit smoothies! (Strawberry,  mango & blueberry)  :) little loud for the AM but eh, we did it and had SO much fun. Shes so silly, she was dropping in the strawberries and would make all sorts of funny sound affects.  I would laugh and smile which would make her giggle and every time a little more, it eventually came to her barely breathing by how much she was cracking up! 

It's these litrle moments that we cherish and need to just step back anf enjoy that much more. Our little ones are only going to be little for so long. & trust me, I can't believe how fast it has gone so far!

I am thankful everyday, no matter the stress that comes along with our overall and every day tasks. Thankful for this blessing of life and all the people who support me surrounding me in my life.

So please, just breathe and enjoy the ride of life. :)

♡A

Oh & just realized she snuck in a few snapshots of food art and a selfish this morning...

Dinner

You know whats nice......after coming home from a long and hard day not having to lift a finger in the preparation of dinner. When you are the person making dinner for everyone every night it is so nice to have dinner made for you once in awhile.
Tonight my dad made dinner, now granted it was just a simple beef strogenoff, but it was so delicious and relaxing. I appreciated that act of kindness so much and it made my evening that much easier to deal with, settle down and unwind.

So please, if you have someone in your life working hard in everything and for everyone, make sure they know they are appreciated inc in awhile.  A simple act of kindness goes a long way! :)

♡A

Red Velvet Oreo Cream Dream on a Stick

Yay! 2nd place...
Red Velvet brownies topped with oreo cream and then a chocolate gnash and Oreos crushed on top.

I made this for a Sweets on a Stick competition today at school.
I was delicious but a total mouth full. Really rich. 

I was happy to come in second although it didnt not place first I am satisfied with the out come all from scratch and will definitely be making this dessert again.

♡A

Success

Since the success of my mind ion cake I have had a handful of people approach me from social media, my family, friends and even through work to see if I will make cakes for them and their special occasions.  I am thrilled that my hard work is paying off and people like my work. It is bringing all new possibilities and opportunities. 

I will be experimenting in my free time (HAH!) more with rolled & pourable fondant, marzipan,  & modeling chocolate.  Have a few events coming up and my mond is racing with ideas! :)

Also, if anyone has tips on how to price and scale the sizes, please contact me! :)
Thanks!

Back to thinking about baptisms, mario & hunting....hmm quite a bunch watta ya think??

;)
♡A

Ps: Sweetology

It's totally a struggle to eat healthy when I have an awesome job like this!
Being surrounded by yummy cakes, cupcakes,  cookies, an awesome candy wall & sprinkle dispensers how could it not be? I work at this new place where you get to create and design your own decorations to a cake, cupcake or cookie. It is really a neat idea, we being the "sweetologist" get to teach you the basics of icing and then its free range to you and your imagination! A DIY vibe with a sweet drinkery to relax in as well.
Wish me luck!

♡A

Weekend hunger

With eating healthier lately as it gets to the weekends it can get a little tricky. With no steady schedule,  work, family to cook for. Its hard. Although,  I am proud to say that surprisingly thus weekend I tried to stay on track and didn't do too bad. :)

How was everyone's weekend? :)

♡A

Minion Cake!

So it was a success but slight fail, overall it came out good for my first time for normal fondant. I tried a few different recipes and for some reason I dont know why and will do further research on the ways to get my fondant not so soft and where when I picked it up to drape it it would fall apart, almost crumble. 

But through hard work and help from my bf we made this cake.
It is a white cake with vanilla buttercream icing and strawberry & cream filling between layers. :)

Fajitas

Mmm my bf had the brilliant idea to bring home all the fixins' for homemade fajitas tonight for dinner.  We like cooking in the kitchen, it is fun and we appreciate it more. We communicate, joke, decide together new ways to make things and usually come up with something great! & tonight this was our twist, we had pineapple  teriyaki steak, garlic/butter chicken & scam style shrimp with a variety of peppers and onions.  :)

We really enjoyed making dinner tonight, hope it inspires yall to cook more with you significant others. :)

HAPPY COOKING! 

♡A

Fondant problems

Working with fondant can be tricky.  I have found this out the hard way myself with fondant.  Working with marshmallow fondant I found out came out okay but when I wrapped it around the cake it sweat really bad. I tried making homemade fondant for a birthday cake im making and assembling this weekend & it tasted great but was really soft and wouldn't roll out and wouldn't crumble if I tried to pick it up. I amd going to test some more ideas today and see if I can fix this.

They say that you should use Crisco on your fingers while working/kneading the fondant. Also, I was adding more and more powdered sugar to enhance the flavor and try to thicken up. However,  they do say cornstarch works better, so maybe if I knead a little in it will stiffen up but not too much or change the flavor.

I will keep yall updated if you're there....
;)

♡A

White cake

Experimenting with different recipes to homemade scratch white cake. Some have been horrible, let hope this one turns out better! :) have a minion birthday cake to make this weekend! 
I have in this one made a meringue with my egg whites to fold in after all the other ingredients have been mixed well with my kitchenaide stand mixer which I love! :)

WISH ME LUCK!

♡A

Snack Time! To indulge or not indulge...

Getting close to the time of after lunch hunger but before dinner can be hard sometimes when you have had a small lunch. For me there is that tempting bag of chips, or popcorn or maybe even candy. Mmm I love candy!  STOP! No Easter candy for me. I have found a sweet alternative that is a better, healthier choice for me.
They are adult fruit strips I have found at Target. Made by Archer Farms Simply Balanced they come in a variety of flavors and today I am having the Pomegranate real fruit strip.

They have all sorts of healthy snacks and I am always trying something new, I encourage you to do the same. Take out that little "harmless" extra snack for a slightly healthier version at least. Thats my thoughts on it at least.

♡A

Product Review-Hutzler

So as I have previously said, we are trying to eat healthy so bringing a lunch to school has been helping.  I do not like to put my dressing on before because by they time I get to eat it it gets soggy. YUCK! no thank you!
So, at the grocery store the other day I found this cute little ball for my dressings. It is by a brand named Hutzler & you open put the condiment of choice in and then ready to use open the small cap side and the bottom is rubber so you just push or squeeze it out. Its awesome!
I was afraid it would leak so I put it in a plastic baggy this morning but nope, no leaks and now I (& you) know it is study as well!

I have attached pics and a link to where you can purchase online of your store doesn't offer these nifty little contraptions for you yet.
Enjoy!

♡A

http://www.gourmac.com/flavorball.html

Eating Healthy

We don't eat horribly but we do need to eat better. So we decided to start taking salads to school & work everyday now.  They are hardy enough with different variations of vegetables that they fill us up. That along with taking daily walks is my plan to start getting back in shape. 

NACHOS

The blues game is on & we made homemade nachos with real cheese and not artificial creamy cheese. When you make nachos at home I suggest using these lime tortilla chips to add a little twist! Even with the homemade salsa the lime chips give it a zing that is sweet and sour at the same time with the spicy flavors.

Well I'm missing the game so ttyl8r!

GO BLUES!

♡A

Food scented products

Food is such a big thing in our world we even have food scented bubble soaps and lotions. 

You find food inspired products in everything. 
Of course little ones love these kond of things due to they make them so artificial & sweet smelling.

Candy

When they want easter candy for breakfast & you don't have a valid reason as to why they can't because you did the same thing when you were younger. .....
It happens, & stinks when you go to many easter parties. This should be fun....

Easter! Jalapeno & Prosciutto Deviled Eggs Recipe

Hey y'all!
Hoppy Easter!

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weather! Just wanted to post a simple recipe to deviled eggs with a twist my boyfriend and I decided to whip up today for our families!
He loves spicy food and we decided to do something a little different along with the traditional versions. 

I have posted some pics to help show you how we did it

To make:

-Boil your eggs then let then chill in fridge for a while.
-Once they have cooled peel and slice.
-Get all the yolk out.
-Mix with mayo or miracle whip ( we like the olive oil miracle whip its a little sweeter), mustard of your choice & chopped jalapenos.  We used the jar kind because to add a little more spice we added the juice its in as well!
-Make and mix to whatever consistency you like.
-After this step you are ready to pan fry the Prosciutto slices in a skillet just like bacon. Cut into small pieces for toppings later on.
-Now, you can either use a pastry bag with a tip of choice or if you dont have one you can also do like I did below and make shift one with a zip lock & cut the bottom corner:) easy as pie.
-fill eggs, top with Prosciutto & paprika
-chill & lastly, ENJOY! :)

Hope you have fun like we did and you and your family enjoy this recipe. 

Oh & ps: if you get tired of chopping or topping just have your boyfriend be your commis like I did;)
Hehe! Jk. He likes to help & we had fun

♡A