I'll Be Back!

(I'm saying that in my very best Terminator voice)

You may or may not have noticed, but I've been kind of MIA this month. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you probably saw my explanation that I am moving to a new apartment at the end of the month and my brother is also getting married out of state next weekend. Basically all of my spare time has been spent packing/preparing/being on the phone with my cable company for ridiculously long periods of time, etc. As soon as I get back from my brother's wedding I will be moving, so unfortunately I'm not going to have any time or unpacked dishes to cook or blog with through the end of the month. Sorry :/

The exciting news is that my new apartment is going to have a DISHWASHER (!!!) which I don't currently have. This addition is most certainly going to make my passion for food blogging and hatred of washing dishes mesh together a little better.

Anyway, for those of you who don't follow me on Facebook or Twitter (why not? Do it!), I just wanted to let you know where I am and reassure you that I will be coming back with lots of delicious new recipes, straight out of my new kitchen in June. I have a long list of recipes I've been waiting to try, so I can't wait to get back in the kitchen and share them with you.

Thanks for your patience and for following my blog and cooking along with me!

Zucchini Tots

I love zucchini. It’s one of my favorite vegetables and it’s so versatile. I’ve made Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins, Zucchini Squares, Parmesan Zucchini Rounds, Sausage-Stuffed Baked Zucchini and Baked Zucchini Fries. I’ve also used it in collaboration with other yummy vegetables in recipes like my White Vegetable Lasagna and Barley Beef Skillet. Zucchini goes with everything, but my favorite pairing has always been Parmesan cheese. Zucchini and Parmesan are the new peanut butter and jelly, trust me. The original recipe for this used sharp cheddar (which is one of my favorite cheeses), so I decided to make a double batch and try it both ways. Parmesan was so much better. You can use any cheese you want really, but I highly recommend you go with Parmesan.

This recipe comes together very quickly and makes a perfect side dish or hors d’oeuvre. The tots are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside and they make a great healthy replacement for tater tots. If you have kids who usually turn up their noses at vegetables, these zucchini tots could be a great solution. At only 27 calories each, these are tots you can feel great about!

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

Sweet, tart, and oh-so-creamy, this frozen yogurt recipe is a perfect healthy treat for the hot summer days ahead. I’ve always loved raspberry and chocolate together, and I have been craving frozen treats lately, so this seemed like the perfect solution. With only four ingredients, this recipe is simple and refreshing with nothing artificial or hard to pronounce. Using mini chocolate chips ensures chocolate in every bite, and the combination of tangy raspberries and sweet chocolate is a real treat. I will definitely use fat free Greek yogurt to make similar recipes again, because it produced a really smooth, creamy, thick consistency. This dessert tastes too decadent to be so healthy. Go ahead and fool your taste buds!

I absolutely recommend the ice cream machine I have. I use a Cuisinart model (available for purchase through Amazon – see the “My Store” tab at the top of the page to add the exact model to your Amazon cart) and it’s so fast and easy to use. You simply keep the machine’s bowl in your freezer and whenever you want to make ice cream, frozen yogurt or sorbet you mix up the ingredients, put the bowl on the machine, start it up, pour in mixture and in less than 20 minutes you have ice cream! No rock salt or ice required.

Churning/freezing in the Ice Cream Maker