Malted Waffles

A lot of times my travels will inspire me on the recipes I'll cook when I'm at home. Recently we went to Miami for a short vacation and we had a fabulous breakfast at the Delano.

And when I got home I knew that I would find a way to re-create their Malted Waffles. The great part about adding  malt powder to a waffle unlike adding cocoa is that it  gives a delicious flavor without being too rich like a normal chocolate waffle can be.

And hubby couldn't have been happier because not only did we have a three day weekend but that also means three big breakfasts. Now I can go back to work and relax a little...

I kid..I kid...

Malted Waffles

2 cups self-rising flour

2 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

1 cup ovaltine (malted version)

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and put into your waffle iron. Cook in a greased waffle iron according to instructions.

Serve with strawberry jam on the side and imagine you are in Miami...

Healthier Stuffed French Toast Recipe

Sundays are great for relaxing breakfasts...

This morning we took it easy and decided to get caught up on some French Open coverage. So while we watched tennis I decided to make French Toast...

No I did not plan it that way...

The thing is I've discovered how versatile Greek Yogurt can be. Its a newer ingredient that is finding its way into more recipes and I've incorporated it into more of mine.

And since I wanted to make French Toast with no cream cheese I decided to use some 0% Greek Yogurt and homemade strawberry jam as the filling. It was a healthier option to the traditional stuffed french toast and perfect for a lazy Sunday morning.

Stuffed French Toast

(Makes about 2 servings)

4 slices (1 inch) french bread

3 eggs

1 cup 0% Greek Yogurt

1/2 cup Strawberry Jam

Mix the yogurt and jam together in a bowl. Spread mixture generously between two slices and make a sandwich. In a separate bowl beat the eggs. Dip the sandwich on both sides in the egg mixture. Place in a heated frying pan on medium for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Star Wars Pancakes

Hello my name is Tiffany and I'm married to a Star Wars fan...

In many ways its helped us. We learned to compromise early in our marriage. When we first bought our house I knew the housing of his "collectibles" would be an issue. Hubby came to me and said, "I'll make you a deal. If you give me a room for my collection you won't see them around the house."

It was the easiest decision I ever made.

So while his collection resides in one of the guest rooms, there are the other concessions I have made. We went to the midnight showings of both Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith in which I saw certain other fans recreating scenes from the movie and in costume while we waited in line....

Wow.

But while we were on vacation in Miami his concession was going into Williams Sonoma...And while I was looking through some cookbooks, I heard my husband take a deep breath and say "OMG, turn around" and we found a Star Wars display with pancake molds and cookie cutters...

It was the only time he had a good time in Williams Sonoma.

Easy Pancake Batter for your Star Wars Pancakes

2 cups Self Rising Flour

2 cups Buttermilk

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

1 large egg

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix together with a whisk. If using the pancake molds I suggest you grease them with some vegetable oil to prevent sticking. I used my own squeeze bottle with the top cut off (larger than normal) and poured the pancake batter in it, so you can be more precise when you put the pancake batter in the molds. You can also buy a special "pancake pen" for $20 at Williams Sonoma.. Whatever...

The Knitting Circle Takes On Sex and The City 2

You can't keep the knitting circle down.

It's been a while since the knitting circle reconvened. And it was a welcome opportunity when we decided to go to the midnight showing of Sex and the City 2 on Wednesday. We didn't knit but we did have fun. We had a great time catching up and drinking cosmopolitans.

We were set and had our tickets ahead of time. We arrived early and could not wait. Then we read the New York Post's review of the movie.

Ouch...

You know when you read a review and then you see the movie anyway and you realize how out of touch the pretentious critic was? I mean not everything can be Lawrence of Arabia, right?

Yeah, that didn't happen here. To put it succintly the movie review called it "Bitchtar" And he was dead-on. I'm not sure if the writers of the movie were trying to see how many silly puns they could actually fit into a feature film, or if they simply had nothing relevant for the characters to say. Which is sad because in my opinion none of the main characters grew from the first movie.

It was a movie that didn't really need to be made.

But it gave us a great reason to get together and have a great time and drink Cosmopolitans on a Wednesday night which was a great way to to usher in the long weekened.

And even if you don't see the movie for yourself - make yourself a Cosmopolitan and call it a win-win situation.

Classic Cosmopolitan

Yield: Makes 1 drink

Ingredients

1 1/4 ounces Absolut Citron vodka (about 2 1/2 tablespoons)

1/4 ounce Rose's lime juice (about 3/4 tablespoon)

1/4 ounce triple sec or Cointreau (about 3/4 tablespoon)

1/4 cup cranberry juice

1 cup ice cubes

Garnish: lime twist

Preparation

In a cocktail shaker combine all ingredients. Shake well and strain into a Martini glass.

Garnish drink with lime.

Gourmet, July 1995

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

There is no amount of chocolate that can ever get you through the week after you get back from vacation.

It's not a cakewalk. No matter how much you try to keep up on your crackberry or PDA it's never enough. Something invariably goes awry or the world ends in your work universe and you come back to the cold hard facts: that you have a long time before your next vacation and you must grab and shovel and just start digging...

But you still drag out your mixer and make something chocolate because it's the closest thing to comfort that you can get....besides alcohol. And at least your head won't hurt in the morning.

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

8 oz softened unsalted butter

3/4 cup self rising flour

3 cups quick cook oats

3/4 cup cocoa

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

Beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes) Add the large egg and vanilla. When you have them  incorporated add the cocoa and then the flour. Mix in the 3 cups

 of quick cook oats by hand. Use a 1 tbsp cookie scoop and put on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes.

Strawberry Thumbprint Cookies

You find an amazing recipe and you just want to use it over and over. Take strawberry jam for instance. I'm clearly in a strawberry jam phase and definitely interested in beating dead horse. But I have fresh strawberry jam and I'm going to use it in as many ways as possible.

But you can only have so many PB&J's.

So I was trolling around on my IPhone Epicurious App and found this interesting recipe for a cornmeal based strawberry thumbprint cookie. Some of the reviews hated it, some thought it was too complicated to make.

I didn't find it was too complicated. And it had an interesting texture. But if you don't like grits or polenta you won't like this recipe. Its a texture thing. And worse case scenario, you eat another PB&J.

There are worse situations you could be in.

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

1 teaspoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel

1 large egg, separated

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

Strawberry Jam

Preparation

Using electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and lemon peel in large bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg yolk, lemon juice, and vanilla.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, cinnamon, and salt in another bowl to blend. Beat dry ingredients into butter mixture in 2 additions. Gather dough into ball, wrap tightly in plastic; chill for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk egg white in small bowl until frothy. Place 1/2 cup sugar in another small bowl. Form dough into 11/2-inch balls. Roll each in egg white, then drop into sugar, tossing to coat. Place balls on prepared sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Using thumb, make deep indentation in center of each (if edges crack, push together to smooth).

Bake cookies 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Using wet thumb, immediately press indentation of each cookie again to reshape. Bake cookies until lightly browned and set at edges, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven and immediately press indentation of each cookie again. Cool cookies completely on sheet.

Spoon jam into thumbprint of each cookie. Arrange on platter.

Strawberry Cobbler

The end of strawberry picking is upon us.

We've made the most of it with Strawberry Pie, Strawberry Ice Cream and even Strawberry Jam.  And I'm also a big fan of Cobblers. Not Crisps but Cobbler. And you never really see recipes for Strawberry Cobbler. You see peach, blueberry, blackberry and definitely apple but strawberry is a little more rare. Which is sad  because its probably my favorite fruit.

Coincidently enough we are also at the end of our vacation. And while I prepare myself for a busy week at work without wanting to drink a bottle of wine in the process let me leave you with this easy, and delicious recipe for Strawberry Cobbler.

Strawberry Cobbler (Adapted from Cooks.com)

1 qt. fresh strawberries

1/4 lb. butter

1 c. milk

1 c.self rising flour

1 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Whipped cream (optional)

Heat oven 400 degrees. Hull the strawberries. Melt butter in an 8x12 inch baking dish in preheated oven about 4 minutes. Remove dish from oven. Add milk, flour, sugar and cinnamon to the baking dish and stir until just mixed. Arrange strawberries, tips pointed up, on top of the batter. Bake cobbler in oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 8 servings.

Breakfast Bruschetta

When you're trying to enjoy the last few remaining days of your vacation you want something easy to make for breakfast. And since I've been been back from Miami I've been craving bruschetta. So why not create an easy breakfast version.

I've got 2 days left and counting and I'm looking forward to it.

Breakfast Bruschetta

1 pint cherry tomatoes quartered

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 tbsp olive garlic

4 eggs

1/4 cup chopped mozzarella

8 inch Country Loaf sliced and halved

Salt and Pepper

Put the bread slices in a frying pans with two tablespoons of olive oil and fry on both sides.  Remove from pan and then add 2 more tablespoons. Saute olive oil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Beat eggs in a mixing bowl and add to the frying pan. Scramble and remove from pan. Add on top of the bread slices and top with chopped fresh mozzarella

Enjoy the remaining moments of vacation.

Finale Dinner in Miami - Joe's Stone Crab

 Its safe to say that the residents in Miami know their Stone Crab season...  

(Stone Crabs)

 The story goes like this:  my husband's favorite place to eat in Miami is Joe's Stone Crab. However, everytime we had vacationed there, Joe's was closed...I took it as a sign that maybe I just wasn't meant to eat there... This time we triple checked and Joe's was only going to be open the last night we were in Miami. Already the window of opportunity was closing and every time we told someone that we were eating there on the first day of their summer season we got the following reply: "You know that Stone Crab season will be over by then."  

(Lobster Mac N Cheese)

 The day after the last day of stone crab season we were eating at Joe's... Miami residents are honest yet cruel... But as we sat down, our waiter replied: "Don't worry, even though yesterday was the last day of the season they are still REALLY fresh"  Suck it,  killjoys... And so I decided to definitely have the Stone Crabs. But before this we had the Crab Bisque. So rich but so delicious that I finished it under five minutes.   

(Crab Bisque)

 Along with the fresh and delicious Stone Crabs which had plenty of meat and paired perfectly with their mustard sauce,  I ordered the Lobster Mac N Cheese and the hashbrowns which we shared. And for dessert even though I couldn't fathom another morsel of food we shared the Key Lime Pie. I couldn't have chosen better. But for me the true gem of this historic restaurant in Miami was the service. The wait staff never let our water get until half full, was helpfull but not pushy and so pleasant.   

(Key Lime Pie)

 The experience was definitely worth the wait. But if you can't, make sure you make this Key Lime Pie recipe straight from the Joe's Stone Crab cookbook. It really is the best Key Lime Pie. Key Lime Pie1 graham Cracker Crust (or 1 cup Graham Crakcer Crumbs combined with 5 tbsp melted butter amd 1/3 cup sugar) 3 egg yolksGrated zest of 2 limes14 ounce can of Condensed Milk2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (if you can use Key Limes) Topping1 cup heavy whipping cream2 tbsp confectioners sugar For the filling: in a mixer beat the egg yolks and lime zest on high until very fluffy (5 mintues) Gradually add condensed milk and continue to beat until thick, 3 or 4 minutes longer. Lower the mixers speed and slowly add the lime juice mixing until combined.. Pour mixture into the crust and bake for 10 minutes or until the filling has just set. Cool on a wire rack then refrigerate. Freeze for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Whip he Cream and sugar until stiff. Top each wedge with a large dollop of whipped cream. 

The Best Breakfasts In Miami

(Brioche French Toast with Rum Caramelized Banana at The Raleigh)

When you are going to lay in a deck chair all day and relax you really really need a good breakfast to give you energy.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

You wouldn't really think that Miami would have some stand out stellar breakfasts. I expect some great fine dining, fresh seafood and new ideas but breakfast has really stood out during our trip.

 From Brioche French Toast with Rum Caramelized Bananas at The Raleigh Hotel to Malted Waffles with Strawberry Compote and Marmalade stuffed French Toast with Marscapone at The Blue Door at The Delano, they have been one better than the other. Breakfast has been so good that we haven't had lunch one time since we've been here.

(Orange Marmelade French Toast - The Blue Door at The Delano Hotel)

One of my favorites and most interesting dishes was the Malted Waffles with Strawberry Compote.

It reminded me that a little creativity can inject some life into regular breakfast recipes.

(Malted Waffles with Strawberry Compote at The Blue Door in the Delano Hotel)

Breakfast in Miami has renewed my Weekend Breakfast creativity again. So stay tuned for some fun and creative weekend breakfast recipes (I think you just heard hubby breathe a sigh of relief) And if you wind up in Miami, just enjoy a big breakfast, skip lunch and go straight to dinner...

Dinner at Prime 112

One of my husband's favorite restaurants in Miami is easily Prime 112.  It's the "It" place right now in Miami. However, we are not "It" people so we made an early reservation to get in.

No doubt, its a great restaurant with a menu that boasts a variety of aged meats and fresh seafood along with sides that include Sweet Plantains and Truffled Mac N Cheese.

Its decadent to say the least.

I miss the fresh seafood of Florida. And so I was determined on this trip to eat plenty of it. Enter the Grouper stuffed with Crab. It was rich and wonderful and extremely delicate. My husband got the 8 oz Filet with a Goat Cheese Chapeaux and then there were the sides....

The sides....

We did get the Truffled Mac N Cheese and from now on I will not rest until I learn to make this at home...

As you are my witness I will never go hungry again from not having Truffled Mac N Cheese.

And if that isn't enough we also had Chocolate Pudding Cake...We clearly don't know when to say when...

Taking My Love of Food To Miami

(Chicharron de Calamari)

I had the chance to take a short trip to Miami on my vacation (when I planned to stay home and get chores done) and I took said chance...

And after the first day I can really say I'm glad I did it. Yes its just for a couple of days but I get the best of both worlds - a few days to vegetate and the rest to get stuff done. Because after a couple of days I get antsy... Like making to-do lists in my head antsy and checking my work email antsy until my husband confiscates said PDA and then takes my fun along with it...

Sigh.

So while I'm here in Miami food is a major part of why of I love this place. But I'm on hubby's turf now...He travels here a lot for business and knows the restaurant scene well. So this is where he makes the plans and I follow along... Its a nice change of pace.

Our first foray in eating was a snack at The Raleigh by the pool. We ordered the Chicharron de Calarmai and the Mussels & Frites. The mussels had a wonderful lemongrass flavored sauce that was perfect with the crispy frites and the Chicharron de Calamari was served with a Piquillo Pepper Aioli & Cayenne Glazed Cashews. The spiciness and aioli were perfect together just like vacation and Miami.

(Mussels & Frites)

It was an unfussy laid back beginning to our couple of days here in South Beach and I'm looking forward to sharing the rest....After dinner.

Lemon Thyme Cream Biscuits

I was up early this morning. One of the benefits of prednesone (due to my poison ivy outbreak) is that you are ready to go in the morning. So I was in my garden before my first cup of coffee. I got to fertilize my roses, water the garden and cut some of the many peonies that are blooming away.

And when I came back in I realized I had one egg for breakfast... FAIL.

But since I'm still enjoying the strawberry jam I made a few days ago, I thought biscuits with thick cut bacon might be a nice substitute. So I can now get back to the garden.

Lemon Thyme Cream Biscuits

 (A slight variation on Alice Water's Cream Biscuit recipe)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

6 tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 heavy cream

Grated lemon peel from 1 small lemon

4-5 sprigs of lemon thyme

Cut butter into small pieces into the flou until they are size of peas. Take 1 tbsp of the heavy cream and set aside. Lightly stir in the reaminder of the cream with a fork until the mixture just comes together.  Lightly knead the dough a couple of times in the bowl and roll out about 3/4 inch thick. Cut out the biscuits and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and lightly brush the tops with the reserved cream and sprinkle with some of the lemon thyme and lemon peel for garnish.  Bake for 17 minutes at 400 degrees.

Strawberry Jam

The greatest part about Strawberry picking last Saturday is that I ran out of store bought jam this week. Which lead me to the decision to finally try making my own jam.

Canning veggies, making jams and apple butter have always looked really really.....tedious. All the boiling and the sterilizing...

Please...

But there is a certain charm to making your own jam. Most of the recipes I saw made large quantities and since I did have a single pint jar in my cupboard, I knew I wasn't using those recipes. So I felt around and made my own knowing which consistency that I needed to get.

I really never knew how inifinitely better that jam could be.

I'm going to find those large quantity recipes because I have a feeling I'm going to need alot of jars to put up some jam.

Rosy's Strawberry Jam

2 lbs fresh picked strawberries (hulled and quartered)

1 cup sugar

1 meduium lemon (zest and juice)

1 tbsp Cointreau

Take the strawberries and combine with the sugar in a saucepan. Mash and crush the strawberries with a potato masher. Heat mixture to a medium simmer for about 12 minutes. Add zest and lemon juice and then heat for another 10 minutes. Stirring ocasionally Put a plate into the refrigerator and after you've cooked the mixture for 22 minutes add a tsp of it on the plate and check the consistency. If it appears runny still cook for another 10 minutes. When finished the mixture should mound up on the plate and not run all the way down the plate.

When finished add the Cointreau and pour into your jar.

Find a piece of toast and some tea and enjoy.

Italian Style Pot Roast

Slow cooking roasts are great for Sundays. You just throw them into the oven and go about your chores. Like say for instance, cleaning out the brush in your backyard which is really riddled with posion ivy and poison oak....

Those kind of chores...

Only this roast will not disappoint unlike the itchy reminder of that clean-up duty. The first actual Pot Roast I made my husband was not actually looking forward to.  He was thinking of the dried, chewy type pot roast variety he had in his past...

Please....

Anyway this time I wanted to make a Pot Roast that was more my style. So I browned the Chuck Roast and then poured in my special marnara and wine and  let it cook for a couple of hours. It was amazing. And for leftovers just cook up some pappardelle  with the sauce and leftover pot roast and you have an easy meal. Espeically when you don't feel like cooking - because you have poison ivy.

Italian Pot Roast

6 cups of Marinara

1 cup red wine

1- 5 lb Chuck Roast

5 med carrots sliced

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

3 tbsp olive oil 

Season the Chuck Roast with salt and pepper and brown in olive oil on all sides. Remove roast from the pan and then add the onions and garlic. Then add the marinara and wine and add the roast back in along with the carrots. Cook in a 300 degree oven for 2 hours or until roast is done (it will be falling off the bone)

Leftover alert! - take the leftover meat and sauce and add to pappardelle pasta or any type egg pasta and top with parmesean cheese.

Bloomspotting - A continued progression of my garden

When you have limited time you fight the battles you can win.

It's rare that you will have a perfectly clean house, done all your weekly list in the garden and cooked and baked all in one weekend. I mean where is the sleep in that equation?

So you pick and choose what needs to be done and you leave the rest to fight another day.  Lately I've been fighting my battles outside in my garden. This year its really come into its own. My mother-in-law, a master gardener in her own right even said how beautiful my garden looked from the street.

"The three year mark is always a turning point in a garden," she said.

Its been six years...

Better late then never.

Strawberry Picking Season

The early bird gets the strawberry.

This weekend was "opening day" for strawberry picking season at Crabtree Farms in Chattanooga, TN. I was pretty excited about it. But not excited enough to get up at 8 a.m. to get there when the farm opened. I got there aroud 11 a.m. and the pickins were slim. In fact the actual quote from the farmstand was, "You going to have to work for your strawberries, everyone else was here early."

Rub it in why don't you?

Either way hubby and I hunted down every reddish strawberry we could find. It was like the adult version of hunting Easter Eggs.

But hubby and I were up to the challenge and we got a whole pint of strawberries...

Good enough...

The weather was so beautiful the actual picking of strawberries was the recreational portion of the day. A great first weekend for strawberry season.

The best part was that we had enough for Strawberry Pancakes the next morning...

Strawberry Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 cup well shaken buttermilk

1/2 pint sliced strawberries

Whisk the first 5 ingredients together. Pour 1/4 cup batter into a griddle. then place the sliced strawberries into the pancake (push slightly so that the batter starts to rise up and cover the strawberries slightly. Flip pancake.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Breakfast Scramble for Strawberry Picking

Its been a busy week folks...And probably the longest I've gone without blogging since I started.

It started with a very busy week at work and ended with a Mother's Day Dinner on Friday for my mother-in-law, Lynn since they were busy this weekend. Which means all of the chores I normally do on Saturday had to be done during the week.

Ouch...

But now that chores are done and its Saturday morning, we are going Strawberry picking.

So I at least have to make a good breakfast to inspire hubby to prime picking condition. I'm sure many recipes will come out of this picking excursion. Which is good. Because I need some inspiration of my own.

Sausage & Peppers Egg Scramble

6 eggs

1 cup frozen or fresh sliced peppers

8 oz breakfast sausage

1/4 grated parmesean cheese

Fry up peppers and sausage. In a separate bowl beat eggs and then add to the sausage/pepper mixture. Top with parmesean cheese.

Enjoy your fresh strawberries once picked.

Easy Chocolate Cake to Start Your Week

Sometimes you need chocolate as much in the beginning of the week as you do to celebrate the end of the week. So when you are in need of chocolate (I'm in serious need of chocolate therapy) and it's not the weekend, the easiest way to make a chocolate cake is without flour, baking soda or powder, and salt. I've seen a few recipes from various cookbooks where you combine chocolate, sugar and separated eggs to make the most wonderful chocolate cake. Just a few ingredients with great results - hopefully good enough to get you through to the weekend.

Cracked Chocolate Earth  (From the new Tyler Florence Recipe App on Iphone)

16 oz bittersweet chocolate

8 oz unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

9 eggs separated 

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Separate the eggs and mix the yolks with the sugar. Take the eggs whites beat on high in a mixer until stiff.  When the chocolate is melted take a little of the chocolate and put in the egg yolks to temper the eggs. Combine slowly together so not to scramble the eggs. When eggs whites are stiff, fold into the chocolate mixture. Pour into a buttered Springform pan and place into a 350 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes. Wait 10 minutes to cool before you unmold.

Birthday Breakfast

I can count on my husband for a lot of things but making me breakfast for my birthday isn't one of them.

Unless I want grilled cheese for breakfast, then it's no problem.

So in an effort to continue to use my gems from the Farmer's Market, I made French Toast (classic with some leftover French Bread) and drizzeled some of my fresh local honey over it...I'm not a big syrup fan (why hide the taste of the French Toast when its homemade?) but this was amazing... And easy. I did not really slave in the kitchen this weekend...(tsk tsk, Nesting Project...)

And then (for the fun part) I got to do some of my birthday present shopping at the Sunday Chattanooga's Farmer's Market...

The Dahlia Society was there selling new and interesting varieties - I picked up a few.

I also got some new varieties of sage and a couple of large raspberry and blueberry bushes.

I'm off to plan all the pies and desserts I'm going to make with new berry bushes....

The eating will be so good.

Frozen Chocolate Yogurt Recipe - Chocolate Fridays

Well Chocolate Friday was a little late this week - about 20 minutes late.

You can blame it on the power tools. In my quest to get my overgrown back yard back in shape I worked outside until dark. My neighbor let me use his leaf blower. It changed my life. In fact the past few years the trees have been winning by burying me and my yard in their cast off leaves. But the offensive today with the leaf blower changed the tide.

I can actually see my driveway... Score.

And back to our regularly scheduled program...

You would think this recipe is for a rich chocolatey ice cream. You would be wrong.

This recipe actually has only two ingredients. And still this recipe is just wonderful. I love Greek Yogurt and I love bittersweet chocolate. And so I experimented to see if I could make a chocolate frozen yogurt.

And frozen chocolate yogurt I made. It's rich, and you will truly enjoy this as much as chocolate ice cream.

1 17 oz container 0% Greek Yogurt (room temperature)

8 oz bittersweet chocolate (melted)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave for about 2 minutes - 3 minutes (stop every minute or so to mix) until just melted. Combine with room temperature yogurt and place into ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions until done.

Enjoy the fat and calories you're not eating.