Formulating Foodie

It's still up and coming, but I figured it is far enough to invite you over to check it out! Leave a comment, say hi and add my new blog to your blogroll! :) I hope to keep it up on a very regular basis and go beyond just sharing food with you all. I want to share my passion. Check out my last post, if you are slightly confused!

This blog isn't going anywhere, but it also isn't going to be updated anymore. It will simply be here for product review references, dorm room food inspiration and whatever else you may feel the need to reminisce upon.

Come check out what this formulating foodie is up to...

http://formulatingfoodie.wordpress.com/

Now...back to working on my header!

Changes from Chicago

I went to Chicago this past week and times they are a changin'!
The city was flooded with random, artsy things...such as this:

And the abundance of beautiful skylines made the miles and miles and miles of walking so pleasurable.

Once, while walking along randomly, we spotted what looked like the remains of the city after King Kong had stormed through.

It turns out that they were filming Transformers 3, which we quickly realized when the loud sound of gun shots permeated throughout the air and three little race cars went zooming down the street. Awesome.

My First Cup of Caribou Coffee was consumed in Chicago. It's 183755X better than Starbucks! Why don't we have these in my neck of the woods?!

Some downward dogs and other yoga action was going on in front of the bean (What's the story behind this structure?). Hmm...magazine photo shoot perhaps? Look for that bright orange mat in the next Shape magazine! ;)

The skyline in the bean!! So cool!

BIKES! We took a bike ride from 8:30-9:30 and were on the train to the airport by 10:15.

Be spontaneous. It makes life more interesting!

Gino's East. Some legendary pizza was consumed!

Even the airport proved to be a culinary little gem.

So...After our burrito fest, my friend left to wander around and stretch out before we got on the 2 hr plane ride. She returns and tells me that she got an apple. "Cool." *Not really...It's just an apple, right?*

I took one look inside the white paper bag she was holding and..."What did you get?"... "An apple." ???

***

I look closer. Ohhh. You got an apple dunked in caramel and encrusted in coconut, pecans and chocolate chunks. Hand it over. hahah It was absolutely amazing!

Red Mango Pomegranate Frozen Yogurt.

What a way to end our fanatic foodie trip!

Alrighty, so who's ready for some change? I am! I was in Chicago for more than just food and fun. I had the pleasure of attending the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo. It was such an educational and fruitful experience and it has inspired me in a number of ways. One of those ways is in conjunction with this blog. In the coming days, I plan to reveal my new plans. I think that it will combine the food we all love to read about and drool over with the innate intrigue that is within us all. Stay tuned!

p.s. If headers were not such a pain to make, we'd be rollin' by now!

1 Pint, 4 Ways

Making a pint of ice cream last for 4 different bowls (I never said 4 different days...) is hard to do, no? Well, I made a point of making my last pint of ice cream do just that and I documented it along the way (of course!). It all started with this seemingly innocent pint of Blue Bell No Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream (only the best!).
While we are on the subject of ice cream, I have to share this cute add for Dreyer's Slow Churned Yogurt Blends, which was in a magazine that I was flipping through the other day.

Personally, I am more for the dating route. You? ;)

Anyways, let's check out my most recent 4 dates.

I already told you all about the first contender (here), but I didn't want to settle for his tempting cookie dough crumbles without seeing what else was on the market.

My second contender arrived in the mail, courtesy of mama N'nD, wrapped up super cute (along with everything else in my birthday package!).

I was expecting him to deliver a rock hard shell, but it was more like white chocolate chunks after mixing and mingling within the bowl. Don't judge a book by it's cover. Good, but not what I was expecting. Who's up to bat next?

Ahh, yes! The PB&J date was one of the best and I must say that this will not be solely a one night stand. It started out like this...

Then this...

Then things just got crazy! OMG! This was crazy good.

He's a keeper!

My final date was enjoyed straight out of the container and involved a simple drizzle of caramel. Sometimes simple is better. Sometimes not.

Alrighty, so what's your favorite ice cream topping? Those PB "cookie dough" bites have got to be mine...but you can put pretty much anything on top of ice cream and I'd probably eat it.

What's for dinner?

I came home from work, inspired by a bounty of vibrant veggies. Coming home to a stocked fridge, a cutting board and a sharp knife was just what the doctor ordered. Okay, so there was no actual doctor involved, but I'm sure that he or she would have obliged.

The yellow squash and red onions were sauteed to a golden perfection, the tomatoes were diced and tossed into a cheesy FlatOut 'dilla and the English cucumber went straight into my mouth. Hey, a hungry girl needs a cookin' snack, no?

Double the cheese. Double the delight.
It's my party, I can cry if I want to!
Thankfully, I don't want to. Unless, however, it's tears of joy. :)

Sizzzzzle. I love that sound.

Caa-runch! I'll have another please. Thanks.

Bon appetit!

No dinner is complete without dessert.

Do I need to repeat that or you got it?

I made some of the best chocolate soft serve ever.

Recipe here. Don't be a foo'! Check it out!

The final product included WOW peanut butter cookie crumbles, which you might as well just call peanut butter cookie dough bites. Get some. I am only looking out for your best ice cream interests. ;)

Alrighty, so what's the verdict?

What'd you have for dinner?

***

Here's a better question... If you could have had ANYTHING for dinner, what would it have been? A legit slice of pizza sounds good...or a big bowl of ice cream. Ahh...nutrition is obviously at the forefront of my mind. :)