Activia Dessert- Vanilla Bean Strawberry Parfait

After dinner tonight I was in the mood for something sweet. Since we had pot roast and potatoes with gravy, I definitely wanted something light. This was the perfect time to try out Activia's new Dessert product. I obtained a coupon from their website http://www.activia.us.com/dessert.aspx for $1.00 off my purchase and while I was at the store I picked up some strawberries and cookies to go with it. Almost any cookie will work: gingersnaps, graham crackers, shortbread, wafers, etc. With this blog post I am entering a contest sponsored by Foodbuzz. Blog post, contest and dessert all in one...yay me for multitasking.
Recipe:
Vanilla Bean Activia Dessert, you will need at least 2 containers depending on how big your martini glass is
1-2 cups strawberries diced
1 cup of cookies crumbled
Layer all ingredients in whatever order you prefer in a martini glass, top with a strawberry and whole cookie and enjoy. If you don't have martini glasses (which I think makes the dessert look romantic and indulgent) feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

Apple Bread and In Need of Running Advice.....

Delicious, wonderful, warm and cozy apple bread. I found this recipe on http://goodthingscatered.blogspot.com/2010/08/apple-walnut-flax-bread.html I will definitely be baking it again soon. I like to make these types of recipes on a Sunday so I have breakfast for the week all ready to go.

Ok, on another note.....does anybody have lower back pain when they run or your shins really hurt? I can't figure out if it's my posture, my shoes or I'm just getting old (sad face). Sometimes the pain in my shins gets so bad I have to stop. What is up with this?

Summer BBQ

I brought dessert for our Saturday night BBQ with friends. I made graham cracker cake with whipped cream. It's from the cake cookbook I blogged about earlier and it turned out fantastic. I may just have to try every recipe but I don't think the Wii Fit will be very nice to me if I do.

On the grill....yum!

I must have many pickles on my burger. Anybody else feel passionately about their burger toppings?

Since the hot dogs looked super yummy, I had one of those too. Food coma began shortly after this photo was taken.

What is your favorite BBQ treat? Sometimes I crave popsicles when we have BBQ. I had a lot of popsicles during summer bbqs as a kid.

Things I Love In My Kitchen

I have a lot of plants in my kitchen, but I don't take care of them. I'm definitely not a "green thumb." My husband is in charge of all the plants and flowers in the house and outside. Otherwise, everything would be watered too much or not enough. Thankfully he doesn't mind this task since I love plants.

My sister gave me these measuring spoons for my birthday and they are so pretty I can't bring myself to use them. They are hanging on the wall in my kitchen.

My refrigerator is covered with photos, letters, cards and invitations. The Flower of Blessings card is from my grandma. I smile every time I see it. I got my cooking/baking gene from her.

My beloved KitchenAid. I don't know how I ever got by without one. This was another gift from my sister. She gave it to me as a wedding gift. Best gift ever.

My coworkers got me this Le Creuset pot for my birthday. I plan to invest in a whole set one day. If only they weren't so expensive. It is the best pot I've ever had.

I keep this kitchen caddy by the stove at all times. Has the essential salt, pepper, EVOO and a few other favorites ready whenever I need them.

My cookbook shelf. It has several shelves below but the top one holds my favorite cookbooks and photos with my family.

Finally, my kitchen buddy Minute. We actually have 3 cats, but Minute can usually be found in the kitchen with me. He's been known to sneak off with food if I don't watch too carefully. I've caught him licking salsa out of a bowl once. What kind of cat does that?!?

What are your favorite things in your kitchen?

Chocoholic Giveaway

Fashion Meets Food is doing an awesome Chocoholic Giveaway. Check out her blog
http://www.fashionmeetsfood.com/2010/08/walk-with-knowledge-that-you-are-never.html

Quick Wednesday Night Dinner

Red/Green Lettuce Salad with lots of croutons (I can't eat a salad without croutons), Baked Noodle Chicken Casserole (this was my own creation and my husband declared it "almost perfect" LOL)

Has anyone alse tried this dressing from Trader Joes? It's super yummy. I especially like it drizzled on pears with walnuts and feta cheese.

I'm trying to get my husband away from diet coke (he's addicted), plus he's known to drink some before bed and then wonders why he can't sleep. Sooooo....how about decaf green tea with juice and a little honey?

Iced Tea- Delicious.

Any other drink ideas to curb a soda addiction?

I found out there is a McConnell's Ice Cream in Ventura. YAY! Here's a link to their website. http://www.mcconnells.com/They were having a fundraiser to support FoodShare so I stopped by and picked up some Pumpkin Ice Cream. Delicious. I sampled the Island Coconut (I'll be getting some of that soon)

What I Wore Wednesday

My new apron. Thank you to my best friend for bringing me this great gift all the way from Hawaii.

Work

Work

Work

Training for my 5k

Work

Work

Dinner with Family.

Casual Friday at work.

Lunch and Errands on Saturday

BBQ with Friends Saturday Night

Work....hmmmm I wonder what happened to Sunday's clothes. I'm pretty sure I got dressed that day. LOL

I got the idea for this blog from the blog http://danielleandmikeblissful.blogspot.com/

I decided to try it out in the hopes that it would cure me of my morning laziness. Normally, I get up so late that I'm in such a rush to get ready for work that I look like a frump. Hair in a ponytail, minimal makeup, comfy clothes and no jewelry. Well, the week-long experiment worked. I got up earlier and even changed purses a couple times. I'm hoping to continue the experiment. Maybe old bad frumpy habits will be destroyed. I can only hope. The only downfall, some of my clothes hadn't been worn in so long that I noticed a few were a little too tight. Time to stop baking cakes.
If you decide to try this out please check out the blissful blog above. She does a much better job than I do. I love that she lists which store her items are from. Honestly, most of my clothes came from either Old Navy, the outlets, as gifts/donations (I get a lot of donations from friends, I think they are trying to tell me something) or are so old I don't remember where I bought them. Can you sense I'm not a fan of clothes shopping? Oh, and if you feel really self-conscious about the photo taking part, it will pass. I was really nervous about it and felt quite shy; but after a couple of days it was fun.

Meatless Monday

Meatless Monday = Bean & Cheese Nachos with avocado, tomatoes and sour cream. Delicious.

Let's Eat Cake

Blueberry/Cranberry Buckle.
I made this for breakfast yesterday (well, actually lunch since I didn't get out of bed til 11) and served it with eggs and bacon. It was delicious. The top was crunchy from the streusel topping and the cake was moist and not too sweet. I loved everything about it. Plus there is lots left for breakfast for the week.

You'll need a springform pan to make it. I found a cheap one at Target.

Mississippi Mud Cake with Bourbon-Espresso Glaze. Oh My Goodness.......Fantastic Cake. Goal for next week: read the manual and learn how to properly use my camera. The photo does not do justice to this cake.

These cake recipes are found in this cookbook. I checked it out at the library and have now added it to my Amazon which list. It's a keeper.

What is your favorite type of cake?
Oh and I've totally been slacking on my 5k training. Motivation, where have you gone?

The Melting Pot- Fondue Date Night- YUM!

Have you been to the Melting Pot?

If you haven't, you must.

We brought our own wine. $15 corkage fee. Trivia question: do frog's really have teeth?

Cheese.....so delicious. This was their Feng Shui cheese. It was a little spicy since it has horseradish in it (which I love)

We each had a different salad. This is Cesar.

My House Salad (with extra croutons and dressing) Yes, I was super indulgent.

Mushroom salad.

Meat course- this is the French Quarter. We cooked our meat in the Vegetable Broth.

Delicious dips for our meat and veggies. I loved all of them.

Ying Yang Melted Chocolate. TOTAL BLISS!

Strawberries were the best with the chocolate but major recognition goes to the rice crispie treats as well.

Do you have a favorite restaurant that you go to when you want to feel pampered and indulgent? We spent 3 hours at the Melting Pot and the bill was about $120, not bad for a group of 4.