Kitty Deschanel | Food, Wine, and Travel Adventures Across the USA

When we crave ice cream, what comes to mind tends to be an unhealthy, albeit delicious, pint from the grocery store. Unfortunately, even the ones that market themselves as 'wholesome' are often full of chemicals. (I'm looking at you, Bluebell , with your phony baloney almonds.) Great news - it doesn’t have to be this way. Peanut Butter Banana Nice Cream   It looks so indulgent, doesn't it? But this homemade ice cream has a secret... It’s possible to create ice cream, or “nice cream,” out of whole ingredients and make it taste just as good (or better!) than the unhealthy junk from the store. What's a nice cream?   A nice cream is like an ice cream that is healthy. You don't need an ice cream maker and it comes together in minutes. Instead of thickening with cream, nice creams get their thick, creamy texture from frozen fruit. Bananas are the most popular fruit for making nice cream. With fresh bananas and good-for-you ingredients, it won’t leave y...

I slaved over these homemade crepes all day. Just kidding! My secret ingredient? Prepackaged crepes, which taste just as good, if not better, than homemade. Ham and Cheese Crepes For something so simple, don't these look so fancy? I have a fantastic recipe for you today. But first, behold the 50 calorie giant cookie...   Giant YUM! And only 1 measly gram of fat. Can you believe it? Best of all, with the help of your toaster oven, these mega-cookies crisp up in less than ONE minute! Prepackaged crepes, where have you been all my life? Of course, you can also devour these  Frieda's French Style Crepes (or other prepackaged crepes) as they are intended, with a fruit or mascarpone filling. It couldn't be easier to fancy up a crepe.  Filling them with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows before their party on the stove or in the toaster oven gives you smores crepes. Blueberries and whipped cream (skip the toaster oven!) is also yummy. ...

See this lovely Pinterest graphic? I'd appreciate your sharing it, partly because this Enchilada Rice recipe is amazing and partly because these Pinterest graphics don't just make themselves. Mostly because I am unable to share this recipe myself, as I seem to have locked myself out of my Pinterest account. (Oops!) I'm posting TWO Instant Pot recipes in a row? That should tell you just how yummy this Instant Pot enchilada rice recipe is. Also, both recipes contain quinoa. That should tell you just how much quinoa I bought when it was on clearance for 50 cents per pound. ( Last week's Instant Pot recipe for Cranberry Oatmeal can be found here.  It's my favorite breakfast, assuming chocolate cake is not an option. It usually isn't.) This recipe makes a big batch (6 cups), which is perfect because you're going to want to eat it for lunch and dinner, day after day. Ready to learn how to make my Creamy Enchilada Rice in your Instant Pot? I'll tell...

Lemon Lime and Bitters! This was my go-to drink while Sexy Nerd and I were visiting my family in Australia.  Interestingly, we were told this drink is often served to children because the alcohol content is fairly low. I really can't imagine that going over well in the US! Why isn't Lemon Lime & Bitters popular here? It's so good! While we're at it, the same question goes for Vegemite, Freddo Frog, and Violet Crumble bars. Me with my mum's cousin - we're like twins! Me with my SN - we're not like twins! (Thank goodness.) While I may not be able to recreate my beloved Vegemite (though I've seen a few disastrously messy blog posts where people have tried), making Lemon Lime & Bitters is easy peasy, lemon (lime and bitters) squeezy. See what I did there? Yeah, I'm pretty impressed with myself.   Lemon Lime & Bitters Recipe for 1 drink (8oz) Add the following ingredients to a glass, stir, and enjoy...

Update: Be sure to check out my Homestyle Salad , made with Knorr Homestyle Stock. It's one of my favorite recipes! You've probably seen  Knorr Homestyle Stock at the grocery store and thought it's no different from any other stock or even those little bouillon cubes. It can actually make things no other stock can. See the yumminess below? Chicken Mayo -  oooh, yumminess. Chicken Mayo Recipe Today, I have a recipe for you that is unlike any other you have ever tried. I owe it all to a tiny tub of concentrated chicken stock. My recipe breakthrough came last Tuesday. I had the day off from work and was faced with a long list of things to get done: nap, blog, watch TV, nap some more, read magazines, etc. It's a rough, child-free life! I read a blog post about an attempted home robbery and began to comment about the time I lived alone and an irate intruder tried to break down my front door. Just thinking about it makes me want to double check all our locks...

Cake mix for breakfast? Check out my 2-ingredient Cake Mix Pancakes . Cake mix custard! Here is a quick and easy and SO GOOD no-bake dessert recipe that can be made ahead of time for your 4th of July get together. You'll need a Vitamix, Blendtec, or other high-powered blender. A quality food processor, such as the Breville Sous Chef, can also work. Cake Mix Custard Vitamix Recipe Serves 6 or one sugar-addicted blogger and her husband 16 oz milk (Feel free to use whatever kind you have on hand. I've even mixed nonfat milk with coconut milk to great results.) 6 egg yolks (Feeling fancy? Save the egg whites to top your custards with meringue and torch them, Baked Alaska-style. Ooh, and then sprinkle with fresh chocolate shavings. Or rainbow sprinkles for a birthday cake custard variation! Folding crushed Oreos into the finished custard would be delicious too - the options are endless.) 1/4 C white sugar 1/4 C brown sugar 8 oz cake mix (Approximately 1/2 a box)(I...

You know that 1/2 can of coconut milk that's leftover after you make curry? The 1/2 can that is going to go to waste because your Sexy Nerd whined when dinner what served that he hates curry? (Maybe someone should not have pretended to love it just to impress me when we were dating...) Fellow thrifty-minded readers, don't you dare throw that coconut milk away! It's the secret ingredient to making a plain Jane instant chocolate pudding taste fancy. Especially fancy if you serve it inside a dainty Australian china teacup. This recipe couldn't possibly cost any less to make. $0.33 a box? You know there are about 20 of these in my pantry. While creating my fancy schmancy pudding, I decided to throw in a little bit of coffee. There was none left in our coffeepot, so I swiped the rest of Sexy Nerd's morning cup when he wasn't looking. I then confessed to my crime so that I could share his ridiculous coffee mug with the world. Is that frog......

From ages 16 to 18, yours truly worked at Taco Bell. I was there when the Grilled Stuffed Burritos were first introduced and received special training on how to make them. So, yeah, I'm kind of an expert. To this day, that annoying, high-pitched "beeeeeeeep" of the Taco Bell grill agitates me. The burrito is burning! I've been known to yell "get the grill" as a customer in the Taco Bell dining room, much to SN's mortification. This Copycat   Taco Bell Grilled Stuffed Burrito recipe  (courtesy of an actual Taco Bell employee) is a perfect example. I know I'm getting my fast food chains mixed up here, but let's supersize it and make ours XXL! SN will be quick to tell you that there are pros and cons of being married to a blogger.  On the plus side, I love to cook up tasty new foods to post on my blog. He never seems to mind this part. Can we make Grilled Stuffed Burritos at home? Sure, why not. Taco Bell Grilled Stuffed Burrito Copycat (Wa...