Repost: DGD Spreads MADE Love at Beat Me Halfway

More on Beat Me Halfway soon, but go check out Dead Girl Derby's participation on our website: http://www.deadgirlderby.com/?p=297

DGD Draft: My Photos

DGD Draft: KC Star Photos

Dead Girl Derby and The Royal Pains in particular welcomed some fabulous rookies into our family last Thursday. And I held the cutest baby.

Photos by Steve Yates, Kansas City Star Community Faces:
http://mingle.kansascity.com/photos/2012/dead-girl-derby-kc-2013-draft-and-party/

MellFire's PB Cheesecake: Put It In Your Mouth

I'm MellFire from Central New York Roller Derby, I have been playing roller derby since 2008. I love it. I cannot live without it. I'm currently on a break from derby and I am not pleased about it. My league is struggling to find a winter practice space. Our previous home burned down in March of 2012 and our spring/summer home is a hockey arena. As soon as we move out, the ice goes down. To fill the void that derby practice has left, I have been lifting weights, trying a few different cardio options, and hitting as many open skates as I can. Open skate isn't easy, as most skating rinks are 40 minutes to 2 hours away from me.

I am a fussy eater and a fussy baker. By fussy, I mean I don't eat or create tasteless food, and I certainly won't share a recipe that turns out crappy. That doesn't mean this recipe is foolproof though. Baking can be difficult. You may need to stalk your oven and make sure that your oven is actually at 350 degrees. My oven is wonky. The dial may say 350, but the inside temp is actually 425. So I've got a secondary thermometer that keeps me from burning everything. If you love peanut butter, give this recipe a shot. If you are on a low-carb diet, this cheesecake could work for you. Don't add the sugar to the filling; try an artificial sweeter if you wish; don't add the peanut butter cups; and for goodness sake do not eat the crust. The filling contains cream cheese and eggs: lots of fat, few carbs. I don't diet. I just make sure that what I eat is worth the calories I am consuming. If its a high-calorie food, it better be the tastiest food I've put in my mouth in a while. (For example, this cheesecake.)

MellFire’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Crust
1 package (8 oz) Nutter Butter Bites (they fit in the food processor easier)
5-6 plain graham crackers
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened (I use 1 fat-free, 1 1/3-fat and 1 regular)
1 cup sugar
1 container (16 oz) sour cream (I use fat-free)
Peanut butter to taste (1 cup to 1 jar; I used 3/4 small jar of Jif)
3 eggs
Peanut butter cups (regular size or mini)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Crush most of the cookies and the graham crackers. (You may have a handful of the cookies left to snack on while you bake.) Mix cookies and graham crackers with melted butter and 2 tbsp sugar. Press into a 8- or 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.
3. Beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer at a medium speed until blended. Add sour cream and peanut butter; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed. After it is well blended, get ready to pour over crust.
4. Arrange a layer of peanut butter cups whole or chopped on the crust before adding filling, then smooth filling. Add more peanut butter cups, push them into the filling, fill in holes with filling, and smooth filling.
5. Bake 50-60 minutes or until center is almost set.
6. When cheesecake is done, open oven, turn off oven, and cool both the oven and cheesecake for 30 minutes together. Run knife or metal spatula around the side of the pan to loosen cheesecake. Cool before removing side of the pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Keep refrigerated.

You can cover the bottom of the pan with parchment paper if you wish. I did this, it make serving the cheesecake pretty easy. Also, warm the knife and wipe the blade to make clean cuts for a nice presentation.

Contact MellFire on Twitter @mellokittie or www.facebook.com/mellfire.

Perfect Vegan Fall Dinner for Two

I made this last night. It is delicious. You should make it and eat it, too. The end.

http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2012/11/recipe-acorn-squash-boats-with-quinoa.html

Derby and Boobs

Today I'd like to talk about ... boobies. If you're an active woman, I'm sure you know how much boobies get in the way. Sports bras are unflattering and often uncomfortable. I decided to invest in a few good ones last week and about changed my mind after seeing the price tags. But you know what? So worth it!

Exhibit A:

Comfortable and useful during a 30-minute run! The run was painful, but I'm not a runner. This bra held up! And looked good for being a supportive sports bra!

And now I promise not to post a picture specifically of my boobs for a while. Like, probably a year.

The particular bra above is here, and I super-duper recommend it. http://www.movingcomfort.com/Juno/350025,default,pd.html

I also picked up this one: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12565219&ppp=27&lmdn=Price&cp=4413874.4413879

And this one: http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3968661&lmdn=Brand&cp=4413874.4413879

All winners! Take care of your boobies!

Coffee Float

A few months ago I was shuffling around my grandma's kitchen as I made my morning coffee. I reached for the milk and sugar when my grandma reminisced offhandedly, "I used put milk and sugar in my coffee when I first started drinking it back in high school."

"Really?" I asked. My grandma has drunk her coffee black for as long as I could remember.

"Yes. But then I realized that none of my friends drank their coffee that way, so I quit using milk and sugar. I didn't want them to think I was a sissy."

It was a few days later and I was back at home when it occurred to me that my grandma had, in a roundabout way, called me a sissy. Ouch! Ha ha.

This week I ran out of milk and didn't have time to stop by the store. Loath as I was to let my morning coffee habit suffer, I set about to find a suitable replacement. I was rummaging around my freezer for the milk ice cubes I'd prepared during a more plentiful week when I spied a better alternative. It reminded me of a Lifehacker article I read a few months ago because it contained the two critical coffee-topping components—milk and sugar—but in a radically different form. I present to you:

The Sissiest Coffee Ever



A note: Boiling water for coffee (such as the kind made with a coffee press) puts the served drink's temperature at about 200° F (or about 93° C) but your standard household coffeemaker probably only heats it to about 150° F (or about 66° C), so unless you want lukewarm coffee after adding ice cream, I suggest microwaving a coffeemaker-brewed cup for about a minute beforehand to counteract the heat loss.

PS: It would be remiss of me to not mention one of my mom's ingenious methods regarding coffee flavoring: Go With What Works

Instagram on the Web

Instagram photos are finally easily viewable for non-smartphone-users. I'm not sure how much functionality there is in the web version, but you can view my photos here: http://instagram.com/kellyvonlunen

Fall Outfits

Cheesy Pumpkin Black Bean Burritos

My diet lately has been embarrassing. Far too much takeout and other deliciousness, and I can feel it around my midsection. The problem with transitioning back to healthier eating (which I enjoy!) is making tasty, easy, healthy things that I'm not already tired of.

Cheesy pumpkin black bean burritos were born.

I've seen similar recipes in the past but don't think I ever got around to making this. It's a can of pumpkin, a can of black beans (drained) and some cubed cheese. Mix that up.

The cheese is a spiced mozzarella that was in my fridge and needing to be used. Yummy!

These are my staple whole-wheat tortillas. Also yummy!

These things wrap up adorably into a pan.

Just spoon/smash some filling into a tortilla and wrap it up.

I was able to fit six burritos in a 9x13 cake pan. Then I covered them with medium salsa and a little more cheese. This would be healthier and vegan without the cheese, but I couldn't make myself do it.

One burrito is the perfect size for a pre-practice dinner or leftovers for workday lunch. If my calculation is correct, each burrito is about 300 calories, with 9 grams fiber and 12 grams protein.

Cheesy Pumpkin Black Bean Burritos
(serves 6)

1 can pumpkin
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup cheese, cubed
1 cup salsa
6 wheat tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix pumpkin, black beans and cheese.
3. Spoon filling into tortillas and wrap.
4. Place burritos in a glass pan. Cover with salsa and additional cheese if desired.
5. Bake until cheese is melted/browned as desired.

Free DIY iPhone Bumper

I was debating whether to buy a case, bumper, or nothing for my iPhone 5. Then my friend sent me this: http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/10/repurpose-a-produce-rubber-band-into-an-iphone-grip/

Conveniently, I had a purple one nearby. It fit!

Ultimately, it stayed on less than five hours. It was a fun free experiment, but didn't seem to provide any extra functionality for me. I'm probably going to keep my phone "naked."

If you have a phone this trick will work on, give it a try!

Halloween Food From Old Recipes

I made my Vegetarian Buffalo "Chicken" dip, this time replacing half of the cream cheese with fat-free plain Greek yogurt. It worked!

Mr. Breakdown wanted to make mulled wine, but we didn't have wine and I didn't want to leave the house to get some. So instead, I put Louisburg apple cider in the crock pot with some spiced rum and bourbon. The crock pot was  bone dry by the end of the night!

Lastly, I made cake balls with the super-easy apple spice cake I made last week. The cake was so moist that I only used half a container of cream cheese frosting, but I think I could have gone entirely without. These came out a little more attractively than cake balls I'd made in the past, and I was happy with the flavor, but the texture was a little off.

What Halloween food did you make?