I'm Back!!!!

As most of you know, I'm starting a new adventure in my life - moving to Rapid City!  Many people have asked how they'll be able to keep up on what's going on in my life now that I'm gone from Sioux Falls so I decided to resurrect my old blog in order to keep everyone informed on my adventure!

So, stay tuned in order to keep up on what's new...

I Scream. You Scream. We all scream, for...

Ice Cream!  At least I scream for homemade ice cream!

Every summer I make quite a few gallons of homemade ice cream and it's always a huge hit at whatever gathering I take it to.  Everyone assumes it takes me a long time to make it, but really it's quite easy.

Step 1:
Beat 4 eggs until frothy.  Add 2 cups sugar slowly and beat well until thick.

Step 2: 
Slowly add 4 cups half and half or whipping cream mixing at a slow speed.  (I always use half and half to try to save on a few calories.)

Step 3:
Add 2 Tbsp of a good, high quality pure (not imitation) vanilla extract.

Step 4:
Put ice cream mixture into a canister and add milk to the fill line indicated on the inside of the canister (the ice cream will expand as it freezes, so there has to be extra room in the canister - make sure you don't fill it with milk the entire way!)

Step 5:

Put canister in your freezing bucket and pack with alternating layers of ice and ice cream salt.  

Step 6:

Let the freezer run until it stops, adding more ice and salt as it melts.  When the ice cream is frozen, the canister will stop turning and will stall.  You'll know it when it happens.  Then simply unplug (or stop cranking if you're unlucky enough to be using a hand crank machine.) the freezer, remove the canister, wipe the salt and water off the canister, and empty the ice cream into a freezer safe bowl or ice cream container.  

Step 7:

Enjoy!  And, yes, it's really that simple! :)

Homemade Egg McMuffins

I love Egg McMuffins from McDonalds.  I usually get one every Saturday morning after my workout on the way home.  I was on Pintrest and found a link to Homemade Egg McMuffins and I absolutely had to try them.

I decided I would make them for my Sunday morning breakfast.  First, I sprayed 6 7" Ramekins with cooking spray and put 1 egg in each Ramekin.  I placed all 6 Ramekins on one cooking sheet and cooked them at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. (I forgot to take a picture of this step, but if you check out the original link about, there is another set of great step by step instructions with pictures at every step.)

While the eggs cooked, I prepped the rest of the sandwich.  I only made Canadian bacon sandwiches, but the link above also tells about making sausage sandwiches - so if you want sausage, check it out.  I took whole wheat English muffins and places a slice of Canadian bacon on one side of each muffin and a slice of American cheese on the other side of the muffin.  (Tip - next time I'm going to toast each muffin first.  I think that would make the sandwich better in the end.)

After the eggs were completely cooked, I ran a knife around the outside of each Ramekin and took the egg out with a mini spatula.  I added the egg and closed up the sandwiches.

I wrapped each sandwich in parchment paper and froze 4 of them.  When I want them, I can just put them, parchment paper and all, in the microwave and warm them up.  If you want to use these to feed a large crowd, you can make the sandwiches ahead of time, wrap them in aluminum foil, freeze them, and then reheat them all in the oven in large batches.

So my final verdict:  These sandwiches were good, but not as good as an Egg McMuffin, although I do think they're healthier.  I think toasting the muffin before assembling the sandwich would help.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Neko's Big Day

So as most of you probably know - Neko has been battling a torn CCL (basically the same as a torn ACL in humans) in her stifle (knee).  I finally just decided to have surgery and (fingers crossed) start the process to recovery!

Today was the big day and she had her surgery.  My vet called and said everything went well and looks good now.  I get to pick her up after work tomorrow.  I'm also taking Thursday and Friday off work so am preparing for a 5 day weekend spent at home caring for my pup!  I've started a new blog to specifically track her recovery in the hopes of helping someone else that's going through this issue.  If you want to follow along - check it out at http://www.neko-tightrope-recovery.blogspot.com/.

I should also have plenty of time this weekend to catch up on blog posts I want to write - so be prepared!!