Welcome to Foodie Friday! Foodie Friday is a freestyle segment of Easy Eats where I entertain you with a story or two, regale you with my latest successes (and failures!) in the kitchen, and provide reviews of my favorite new food products and gadgets!

This week has been ridiculous. I managed to work 45 hours in 4 days due to the Monday holiday, and boy am I wiped! Because of my crazy week, I took tonight to just relax, watch some TV (I scored the entire series of Boy Meets World from my little sister, hello!!!), and be a bum.

Part of my Friday night was making kale chips for the first time. My sister-in-law Allison tempted me to try them when she posted a simple recipe for them on her blog. I have to say, the texture and crunch were great, but the flavor left me flat. Don’t get me wrong, I love my greens! I think I overcooked them though, which gave them a slightly bitter aftertaste. I definitely think I will try them again soon, and maybe add some garlic salt and onion powder to the show to amp up the flavor.

In other news, I bought an ice cream maker a few weeks ago and I am in love. So far I’ve made pumpkin spice ice cream, strawberry ice cream, and chocolate toffee chip ice cream. I have so many recipes bookmarked in my recipes folder that I want to try.

The pumpkin spice tasted like pure heaven; it was sweet, it was creamy, and the pumpkin came through wonderfully. The strawberry was OK; it lacked a wow-factor that really makes me want to experiment to get the fruity flavors to come through more (what do you think? strawberry extract? more puree? less puree?)

The best of all three was the chocolate toffee chip which is funny because I literally whipped it up in 5 minutes once I realized I still had a ton of ice and salt left over from making strawberry! (Don’t judge me, I don’t like to waste stuff!)

I went for a 4-quart maker which means it’s gigantic, and I haven’t made larger than a quart at a time. It’s nice to know that I have the option to though! A pint seems to work just fine for 2-3 people though, and it isn’t like regular store-bought ice cream—you have to eat it pretty quick or the texture changes.

So, what’s up for your weekend, dear followers?  

Stay tuned for Sunday's Technique of the Week--it's oatrageous!

XOXO

Shauna E!