Kasey Likes It [Magic Bullet]

Over the past few months I've developed the habit of drinking at least one (if not two) protein shakes each day. At home, I mix it (Dymatize Whey Protein) with 8 oz milk and ice in a blender, which makes it frothy, cold and yummy.

At work, I use a shaker cup and just blend it with milk. Not nearly as yummy, but it works, and usually counts as either breakfast or lunch.

I'd been thinking about a Magic Bullet to keep at my office, but didn't think it was worth $69. So, when I was able to get one for $29 with some discounts, I jumped on it and put it under the Christmas tree (more to unwrap!).
I've been using it at least once a day since Christmas and love these things about it:

1) It is so much smaller and easier to pull in and out of the cabinet to use.

2) The blender is also the cup and makes for fewer dishes.

3) It's super easy to clean.

In fact, I've grown so fond of it that I now the thought of leaving it at my office makes me sad, because I'll have to go back to using the blender at home. However, I certainly am not going to spend another $49 to get a second one.

So, I decided to start looking around for a cheap blender for the office....you know, the $15 - 20 kind. Proctor-Silex. Something like that.

I dragged Jimmie to about 8 different stores over 7 hours today, researching scratch & dent refrigerators, so we also looked at steam cleaners and blenders. I'd read about a Hamilton single serve blender on Walmart.com for $18 and Walmart was the last place we stopped.

They had it for $12.88. Score! This is the one I'll take to the office.

I mixed up a shake for a late dinner, only to discover that the $12.88 blender works SO. MUCH. BETTER. than the Magic Bullet! I was very surprised. Here's what I like about it:
1) Mixing time is about half that of the Magic Bullet

2) It didn't leave a single chip/chunk of ice (the Magic Bullet doesn't quite crush all the ice, leaving me spitting little ice cubes back into the cup)

3) It's just as easy to clean.

4) What's not to love about the price??

I'm going to return the Magic Bullet and get a second Hamilton. It rocks!

POM in season

Did you know you can freeze pomegranates whole?

Yep, just put them in a ziploc bag.

Thaw before peeling.

YUM

On Following Directions

I'm usually a pretty good follower of directions. I also like my orange juice a little strong, so I always leave out about 1/2 can of the recommended water. But, all brands are different, so I always look at the directions to see if it suggests 3 cans, 3 1/2 cans, 4 cans, etc.

When I flipped the orange juice can around this morning to see how many of cans of water to add, I was surprised by the semantics:

CONTAINS 100% ORANGE JUICE WHEN MIXED ACCORDING TO DIRECTIONS.

So, if I add just a little too much, or not enough water, what it is?

Orange water?

Orange sludge?

Cinnamon Rolls

I've had one of these for 5 years.I have never used it to make bread dough. I know!

So, as we prepare to exit this decade and enter the next, I decided to give it a whirl. Since I didn't plan ahead, I was happy to find a 60 minute, fast-rising dough recipe. Is it bad that the 'warmest place' in my kitchen (other than my oven) is the heater vent on the floor?!

It was covered (and it totally worked)!
15 minutes later, the dough was ready to go.

I'd just watched Giada make an excellent hazelnut cinnamon roll recipe HERE. I used pecans.

The icing has a little mascarpone cheese in it - [not so] secret ingredient!

They. were. inhaled.

Bread = not so hard in a mixer with a dough hook. I think I'll make dough more often.

I'd better get my run on tomorrow....I just ate 3 of these bad boys! Good thing we gave away one of these pans.

Hazelnut Cinnamon Rolls recipe HERE.

I May Have Set A Record

I've made a home cooked meal THREE nights in a row this week!

It began Sunday with beef stew and sourdough.

Granted, it's hard to take an appetizing picture of stew, but it was SO thick and flavorful...and it appears to have cured whatever ailed Jimmie for the preceding 12 hours!

Monday night I made a caprese salad, which we had with italian grilled chicken and [more] sourdough. Jimmie raved about this one, too. Can't you just smell that basil??

Tonight I roasted a chicken - for the first. time. ever. I know! ...pick your jaw up off the floor. How can one have gone so many years without ever roasting a whole chicken?? I defy the odds.

I stuffed it with rosemary, sage, thyme and lemon. Jimmie said it was the best chicken he's EVER had!

I'm starting to think he just likes when I cook. ;)

After we ate I put the bones on the stove for 4 hours and made chicken stock. This will be used another night this week for Carrot and Pomegranate soup! My fridge overfloweth with goodness this week.

I also made fudge topped with candy cane tonight, to go with the toffee I made Sunday night. Ready to put together some goodies for friends.

Tomorrow I'll make fresh pomegranate syrup (for the soup). Also on the docket is Giada's Ricotta and Vanilla Bean Puddings (with cranberry orange sauce) for dessert on FENCE-tivus [Christmas Eve]! I may even sprinkle some pomegranate seeds on top...

A Greek Tragedy

Found this at Sam's Club two weeks ago...I heart it.
Fell in love with it...

...and then they took it away.

Sad. I hope it's just a supply issue (not a discontinuation). I think it's a very small dairy that may have been overwhelmed with the demand. At least I'm hoping that's the case. Since I started eating greek yogurt a few months ago I can't even think about Yoplait. It's way too sweet and not nearly as satisfying. And greek yogurt has ~13 grams of protein and no fat! Too bad you can't order yogurt on Amazon!

Pomegranate Cheesecake

Cheesecake. It's good. The Clines have a cheesecake tradition. Every New Year's Eve we baked a cheesecake - the good kind with several bricks of cream cheese. And it was always topped with cherry pie filling. Yum.

I hadn't made a cheesecake in years when I made this one last spring for a 'birthday cake.' It was SO good. I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed a good, homemade cheesecake with a graham cracker crust.
Fast forward 18 months and I was in the mood to bake another cheesecake. This time it was Thanksgiving and we decided to venture outside of our comfort zone and try something new. And so I bring you Pomegranate Cheesecake. The recipe came from Better Homes & Gardens, but was written so poorly that it took two trips to the store to obtain all of the ingredients and about 5 times reading through the recipe to figure out which portions went in what bowl when. You catch my drift. The recipe below is my re-written version that I'll use next time I make it.

Pomegranate Cheesecake (adapted from BH&G)

Ingredients:
· 1/2 cup butter, softened
· 1/4 cup (plus ¼ cup) packed brown sugar
· 4 eggs
· 1-1/4 cups (plus ¼ cup) all-purpose flour
· 4 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
· 1-1/4 cups (plus ¼ cup) granulated sugar
· 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. vanilla
· 1 16-ounce carton dairy sour cream
· 1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
· 16 oz pomegranate juice
· 1-1/2 cups pomegranate seeds (1 fresh promegranate – I doubled it!)
· 1 Tbsp cornstarch

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add 1 egg; beat well. Beat in 1-1/4 cups flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover and refrigerate one portion.

2. Spread unrefrigerated dough half on bottom of ungreased 10-inch spring form pan with sides removed, spreading dough to edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto sides to a height of 1-3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula to spread dough.

3. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F. For filling, in an extra-large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the remaining flour (1/4 cup) on low speed until smooth. Add remaining 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream, the lemon peel, and 3/4 cup (half) of the pomegranate seeds.

4. Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken (I ended up 75 minutes...probably depends on altitude). Remove from oven.

5. Stir together remaining sour cream (the entire 16 oz carton, less the ½ cup you already used), sugar (1/4 cup), and vanilla (1 tsp). Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes more (or until golden). Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.

6. Remove cheesecake and Pomegranate Sauce (recipe below) from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce. Makes 16 servings. I say go with 2 pomegranates if you like them...you’ll want more seeds to sprinkle over the top!

7. For sauce, in a medium saucepan bring 1-16-ounce bottle pomegranate juice to boiling; reduce heat and boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (10 to 12 minutes). Stir together 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon cornstarch. Add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to a medium bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving time.