I scream .. You scream .. We all scream for homemade ice cream!

Alex and I purchased an ice cream maker this weekend and i was able to put it to use yesterday and today. I made chocolate covered strawberries with cream for me and chocolate chocolate chip cookie dough for his. They turned out wonderful! With both recipes i churned the ice cream in the machine for 30 minutes, poured it into a Tupperware container and then stirred in the add-ins.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Cream


2 cups fat free half and half
1 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons sugar (add more if you like it sweeter)

1/2 cup chocolate chips
10 strawberry's sliced and macerated in 2 tablespoons for sugar for 2 hours

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough


2 cups fat free half and half
1 cup whole milk
4 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup Hershey's chocolate syrup

for the cookie dough i simply halved my go-to recipe and did not add the eggs

Potato Pancakes

These were so yummy. My family always eats potato pancakes with butter beans on top, weird i know but so good!

• 3 large potatoes, peeled
• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon grated onion
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• vegetable oil

Finely grate potatoes. Drain any liquid. Add eggs, onion, flour, salt and baking powder. In a frying pan, add oil to the depth of 1/8 in.; heat over medium-high (375 degrees F). Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls in hot oil. Flatten to form patties. Fry until golden brown then turn and cook other side. Serve immediately.

Waffle Waffle Waffle

Alex and I recently purchased a waffle dipper maker over the internet for a steal ... only $20 ! Alex told me to make myself some waffles for breakfast today .. so that i could perfect them for this weekend when he and i have our weekend breakfast feast! So i put it to the test and they came out wonderful. I used a basic waffle recipe that i adapted from allrecipes.com

Soft and Fluffy Waffles

• 2 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoon white sugar
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat waffle iron. Beat eggs in large bowl with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in flour, milk, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.
2. Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot and enjoy!
3. 

Cinnamon and Sugar Crepes

Cinnamon and Sugar Crepes
adapted from allrecipes.com

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/3 cups fat free evaporated milk
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  

1. In large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, flour sugar and salt until smooth.
2. In a small bowl mix 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
   
3. Heat a medium-sized skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Grease pan with a small amount of butter or oil applied with a brush or paper towel. Using a serving spoon or small ladle, spoon about 3 tablespoons crepe batter into hot pan, tilting the pan so that bottom surface is evenly coated. Cook over medium heat, 1 to 2 minutes on a side, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture and roll into a log. Serve immediately and Enjoy!
   

Beer in the rear chicken

Alex and i made our first beer can chicken last night .... and it was amazing!!!! I used Weber Grill dry rub on the outside and Sam Adams summer ale as our beer of choice.

Pasta, Heirloom Tomato and Chickpea salad with a Lemon Basil Dressing

I created this recipe in my head during the day and was so excited to make it for dinner last night. I was so sure that i moved the orzo pasta i had from PA to IN but was wrong ... i improvised and used the bucatini pasta that i had on hand but next time i will make sure i have orzo.


Dressing:
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons olive oil
7 basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper

6 cherry heirloom tomatoes
1/4 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup orzo pasta - cooked, drained
salt and pepper

The Newlyweds move to Indy

Well there we were married only nine days and picking up to move to Indiana ... over 600 miles from home. Saturday the 17th we packed and packed and packed the budget truck ... we slept at Alex house that night and headed out early in the morning, just around 8 am. We arrived at the apartment in State College around 10 .. ,just as it started to rain, to pack up the last of our belongings ... it was torture ... we ran back and forth from the apartment to the truck in the pouring rain ... with a pissed off cat trying to hind in, behind, or between anything she could shimmy her little body into. Finally soaked and sore we got back into the car/truck and set out for a seven hour drive .... through Ohio we hit 60 degrees and sunny then 44 (no lie) and horrible hail storms. We finally arrived in Indiana around 8 pm, 12 hours after we had left PA.

I tried to get Kinsey somewhat settled but she was having none of that. Alex went to the house to pick up his dad and uncle who had dropped the truck off, they then went to dinner at TGI Fridays and he finally got back to the room at 11:30 .... Kinsey in the mean time had found a hole in the wall under the sink and became obsessed with trying to hide in the wall ... for her own safety we put her in the bathroom (which was separate from the sink area) only to realize within seconds the door didn't latch and she pulled it right open ... so we strapped her in ... it honestly looked like we had caught an alien in the movie Signs and trapped it in the bathroom. We used Alex bag strap and hooked it around the handle and then pulled it tight and hooked it to the ironing board ... within minutes and the breaking of our hearts from her crying i decided to spend the night in the bathroom with her ... minutes seemed like hours ... my hips felt like they were going to break from the few moments of sleep i got in the tub... finally at 6 am i couldn't take it anymore, i needed a bed and i needed sleep. I stuffed the hole as tight as i could with bags and pillows, i hit the bed and thats the last thing i remember .. we woke at 8 only to not find kinsey anywhere ... crap! i started pulling out the pillows from the hole and out drops kinsey. I have no idea how she wedged between two pillows or why she didn't go further but thank god! We again strapped her in the bathroom, quickly went to the lobby to eat breakfast and were on our way to closing!

The closing went very well, we met Joe the owner (now old owner) of the house we bought, he was so nice and funny ... we all laughed the whole time during closing. Both the real estate agents commented on how alex and i for jayne and joe for karen had been amazing to work with and mentioned that they are not usually as fortunate to have such great clients :-) Around 11 we walked out, keys in hand and home owners!!!! We went back to the hotel picked up the family and kinsey and headed over to the house.

I was amazing, better than i remembered and everyone was floored and so proud! We put Kinsey in alexs closet, which is the size of a bathroom and has a window .. and we began the unloading ... within two hours the truck was empty! Amazing !! Alexs dad and uncle spent the night at the house and left the next day to fly back to PA. My parents came over around 10 my mom and i set up the kitchen and my dad and brother went to Ball State for the day. That night we all went to Weber Grill in downtown Indy and walked around for a bit. We came home and had a little birthday party for my dad. They left the next day at 8 am ... and Alex and I sat around and relaxed all day. The next few days consisted of organizing and shopping trips. I took my first solo shopping trip on Friday, and drove around the round about all by myself ... oh and i did it all GPS free!


So far Indy had been great, they weather is nice but breezy, and the neighborhood is quite. Kinsey is finally relaxed which is a great relief to alex and i , she is running around, sleeping on her house, and adventuring all over. Her favorite spot is the screened in porch she rolls on her back and just just loves life out there.

We still have touch up painting to do and pictures to hang but we are getting there. I really do like it here, i think once we are settled and make some friends we will have a great time but right now i am filled with so many emotions.

Alex and i were engaged for three and a half years .. i spend so long planning our wedding and thinking/dreaming about our day ... we found our we were moving to Indy in August so i spent 9 months planning our decor and thinking about the move and our new town, plus Alex, after six years in college graduated the Friday after the wedding ... then one two three it had all happened and there we were ... left thinking .. now what...?

I feel like i have planning withdrawal because it all happened so fast, may 10th was the wedding, 16th was alexs graduation and 19th we moved to Indiana ... phew... I just wish i knew what i do next ... i feel a but lost like everything i was looking forward to for so long had happened and now i am just living...

Wedded bliss was great .. i wish i could go back to Atlantic city when we were still on the wedding high ... It ended shortly after we got back when alex picked up the xbox controller ... now we are back to normal, he yells over xbox live, plays for hours on end without the slightest realization of the time lapes and i sit, usually on the internet, but its different now, its harder now, because he is the only one i have within 600 miles and he play and plays... wedded bliss was so much better or should i say no xbox on the mind was so much better.

But all in all i have nothing to complain about! I have an amazing husband with a great job, a wonderful family and in-laws, a great brother and sister, beautiful and funny 4 year old nephew, the cutest and funniest cat you'll meet, and an amazing house ... my life is pretty darn good!


My next task is trying to find a job ......