Obsessions + Confessions

Time for my latest obsessions + confessions!


This may be the best thing I've ever laid my food-loving eyes on. JALAPENO CHEDDAR BUNS!!!

Or fill it with a hot dog. 

This recipe and these photos have me re-thinking my supposed dislike of cucumbers. That is the prettiest green gazpacho I've ever seen!

Now this is just foodie art right here. Early Girl Gazpacho.

Obsessed with A Cozy Kitchen's instagram. 

Speaking of A Cozy Kitchen, these Frozen Pineapple Daiquiris are everything.

I'm loving everything about these sweet and savory popsicles.

More popsicles... this time with booze. 

I love summah foods! These Reese’s Frozen Ice Cream Cups are the perfect size... mini and yet so satisfying I bet!

I could certainly hop on the healthy board with this Peaches & Cream Green Smoothie.  

Best ice cream of all time. 

Or is this?

Maybe this? I can't choose! I want all the ice creams!

Love this pregnancy foodie project idea! I just may have to borrow this if and when I ever get pregnant...

I shouldn't be laughing this hard at kids getting hurt. Oops.

This past weekend, me, my brother and niece celebrated my brother's birthday at the Columbus Zoo! Um, packed. For one, it's connected to a water park. First mistake. Who makes zoos connected to water parks? What about us people who just wanna take a simple trip to the zoo? Nope, be prepared for chaos on a Saturday! It took an hour just to get out of the parking lot!! Probably never going there again lol, but we had fun! 

(Yep I'm doin the booty tooch  :) I didn't say I was doing it correctly though....)

And look at all the cool animals we saw!


































Aw look at his polar bear butt peeking around the corner! Polar bears are so cute and look so cuddly. The brown bear was looking up because he was about to be fed a giant watermelon!

































Spots and stripes! Isn't the photo of the tiger in the water so mystical and fantasy-like? I like, I like.

The zoo was really cool because they have an African safari area that is HUGE and all the giraffes and zebras and other African wildlife can roam free. It was amazing. 



































Some of the animals were sleeping or hibernating so I wish I could have seen more. Or some zoo babies! Baby elephants please!!! 

The festivities continue this weekend with a birthday dinner for my bro. Cuz he deserves it. 

That's all for now. Come back soon, ya hear? 


Peace, and bacon grease!

Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake in a Glass

Secret Recipe Club time!

 


























































This month I was assigned to Manuela's blog, Manu's Menu. She lives in Australia! So cool! Her blog is filled with wonderful Italian recipes... lots of which were new to me and I had never heard of! I learned a lot perusing through her recipe archive (a visual recipe archive!). I was tempted to try my hand at macarons, this lamb curry looks magnificent, and omg look at this gorgeous dessert! But in the end I was intrigued by her adorable Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake in a Glass and decided to make that.

 





























































We loved the pairing of tangy, tart lemon and sweet strawberries and cream in these cutie no-bake cheesecakes! PJ claims he doesn't like lemon, so I made sure to only add a little bit of the lemon layer. He said it wasn't too much lemon and he really liked it! I love me a good graham cracker crust or crumbs, so that added a nice sweet crunch to all the creaminess. 


 



















































I have some of both the lemon and strawberry mixtures left because I only made 2 mini cheesecakes, 1 for each of us. I used a mini 9 oz dessert glass for each of us. So we've got lots of filling left and I know I'll be whipping up a couple more cheesecakes for us tomorrow, and the next day!

Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake in a Glass
adapted from Manu's Menu

For the Crust:

• 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and press the mixture into the glasses. Chill for 30 minutes. 

For the Marinated Strawberry Garnish:

Meanwhile, slice some strawberries and add with sugar to a bowl to let marinate for 30 minutes.  

For the Lemon Cream:

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup whipping cream + 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar

Put the softened cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and lemon juice in the mixer bowl and whip it with an electric mixer until smooth. 

Whip cream and caster sugar until stiff peaks appear. Gently combine it to the lemon mixture. Set aside.

For Strawberry Cream:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 4 tablespoons caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 8 oz strawberries
• 3 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 cup whipping cream + 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar

Whip the whipping cream and caster sugar and set aside. 

Puree the strawberries with the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons caster sugar.

Beat the cream cheese and 4 tablespoons caster sugar until smooth. Beat in the strawberry puree until smooth. Gently fold in the whipped cream.

To Assemble:

Gently spoon the strawberry cream on top of the chilled base up to 2/3 of the glass. Top with the lemon cream. Garnish with the marinated strawberries and additional graham cracker crumbs. Serve chilled.

Printable Recipe

I know I've thrown 2 strawberry recipes at you recently (check out my Strawberries and Cream Pancakes!) but can you really go wrong with strawberries???


Check out my past Secret Recipe Club posts!

An InLinkz Link-up

Linking up here.


Peace, and bacon grease!

 

Strawberries and Cream Pancakes

Hello there, long lost friends!

I'm back and I've brought you breakfast.

Well, if you want to call this breakfast. 

Maybe dessert is more fitting?

Whatever you call it, you'll call it YUM.








































You can easily make homemade pancakes, or go the Bisquick route like I did. 

The strawberries are a nice sweetness from soaking in the sugars, and the whipped cream isn't sweet since no sugar was added to it. So it does make it more appropriate for breakfast. Feel free to add a little sugar to your whipping cream if you're used to sweeter whipped cream.


Strawberries and Cream Pancakes
from Betty Crocker

• 3 cups sliced strawberries
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups Bisquick mix
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, whipped

Mix strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar and set aside. Heat skillet over medium heat and grease with cooking spray.

Stir Bisquick, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, vanilla, and eggs until blended. Pour by slightly less than 1/4 cupfuls onto hot skillet. 

Cook until edges are dry. Flip and cook until golden. To serve, layer pancakes, strawberries, and cream. 

Printable recipe

What have you all been doing this summer? I've been grilling lots, drinking milkshakes, eating ice cream cones, and gaining weight I'm sure. 

Now I need to incorporate some summer salads and refreshing fruits into my diet. And when I say diet, I don't mean that kinda diet. Because me and diets just don't get along. They try to tell me not to eat all kinds of glorious foods. Foods that I live for. Psssshhh, I do what I want. 

I'm hoping to get back to blogging more often. Not as often as I used to, but more than I have been. Stay tuned! I'll definitely be posting an SRC recipe on Monday  :) You won't wanna miss that.....

Linking up here.


Peace, and bacon grease!