Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Pie

My little sisters favorite combination is peanut butter and chocolate of any variety. I challenge myself every year to come up with a special chocolate and peanut butter cake for her birthday. This year I made Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Pie! To my surprise it was a big hit. 

Being on a diet, 25lbs and counting, I decided to modify the recipe so I could indulge. I have written the recipe as a basic ice cream pie, but I modified it with fat free, sugar free ice cream, low fat peanut butter cookies and fat free whipped topping.

Feel free to use this recipe as a guideline... switch it up create new things. Maybe add some bananas or use chocolate cookies and vanilla ice cream. How does strawberry ice cream, sugar cookie crust and almond whipped topping? Or coconut, pineapple ice cream, oatmeal cookie crust and a cinnamon whipped topping? Ok, enough drooling on to the recipe.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Pie 

Ingredients:

1 bag of peanut butter cups

1 package of peanut butter cookies

1/2 gallon container of chocolate ice cream

1 container of whipped topping

1 tbsp of melted butter

Directions:

Remove the ice cream to let soften while you make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add 4-6 cookies, depending on the size of cookies and pie plate, to the food processor and the tablespoon of melted butter. Pulse until finely crushed. Dump the mixture into the pie plate, using your fingers or the flat bottom of a cup, I use a juice cup/finger tip method, press the crust firmly into the bottom and up the sides. Bake for 15-20 min or until the crust starts lightly browning. Remove and let cool completely before putting ice cream into it.

While the crust is cooling you should make the filling. Start by unwrapping the peanut butter cups and roughly chopping them. Set one cup aside for garnishing. Add the rest and the chocolate ice cream to a mixing bowl and combine. Add the mixture to the cooled crust and place in freezer. 

About 10 minutes before serving remove from freezer, spread whipped topping on top and sprinkle with reserved peanut butter cups. ENJOY!

 

Day 30

Today is day 30. Yesterday was weigh in day. I'm down a total of 19 pounds!!! I have been busy and not writing. I will work on balancing life better, but I feel great. I'm hoping for another 19 pounds in the next 30 days. I'm going to look like a whole new person.

I have recipes and photos from last weekend that I'm dying to get up but I have been mentally checking out after work. Fortunately my desk jockey, mentally stressful like does not prohibit me from mindlessly ellipting away at all hours. A little OCD yes but in a good way. I am entering the busy season at work. I'm trying very hard to keep up with this social networking, work and the diet.

Check out some fun links while I'm working on recipes and yummy pictures.

V-day Love
 How to buy and store bulk foods
I'm intruged by theInfluenza Sorbet
bathroom to brighten up your day
BLOATED?
Photoshop shortcuts
What I want for my birthday party!
NEAT RUG
I just ordered... great coffee table reading.
to make your mouth water...

Book Review - Quick & Easy Korean Cooking

I can see why Gourmet selected this beautiful book as part of their cook book club. Quick & Easy Korean Cooking (Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee, Chronicle Books) is an eloquently written and deliciously styled user friendly take on modern Korean food. The book is broken down into nine basic chapters covering appetizers and snack through sweets and drinks while touching everything in between. 

I love the way the glossary of Korean ingredients is causally written as if Lee is personally walking you through an Asian market explaining the subtleness of each ingredients. I have tried several of the recipes with much success. I love the green onion pancakes (page 34), seasoned tofu (page 61) and kimchi fried rice (page 122). 

A good cook book has delicious pictures to inspire your cooking adventures. The mouth watering photography by Toy and Lee is a great visual representation of Lee's idea that modern Korean food can be simple while maintaining the yin and yang of the traditional Korean cuisine.
 

Over all, Quick & Easy Korean Cooking is more than just a great introduction to Korean food. With its great flavors and simple recipes it is sure to become a staple in your everyday weeknight repertoire! Check out the book review on Gourmet.com. You can even log in to get a few of the yummy recipes. ENJOY!

Day 22

 

I love watching the shadows as the sun is rising in the morning when I'm working out. I love the sheerness and fluidity preserved in the curtains; and the detail and obscurity of everything else.

It's weight in day and another two pounds gone. Even with my little incident Superbowl Sunday. Ok, it wasn't that big of a deal and I did an extra half hour on the elliptical to compensate a little. Just a piece of Italian sub minus to top roll and half the ham/salami, two teriyaki wings, a small scoop of chocolate parfait and one by maybe two-inch cheese cake brownie. No alcohol and no yummy rice pudding which makes me a little sad.
I did an extra hour of cardio yesterday in fear of the scale today, but I did have a little more than a  half cup of frozen yogurt too. I have two more modules to go till the 28 days. I'm far from my goal and really have to think about if I'm ready to wing it or if I need the structure. It has only been 22 days and I do feel that I have already reformed my eating habit and have learned a great deal about nutrition and how it all works. I just need to keep it up and success will be mine!
I still have a long way to go but I really do think I can do it. I'm excited for the summer sun and fun. 21 weeks till my birthday and hopefully my goal. I think I need to step it up a little. In the last two weeks I have lost 2lbs/week which is good but to reach my goal I really need to lose 3lbs/week. Any suggestions?