Moo is such a great girl. . . errr teenager. She has spent most of the summer taking care of Bob. She does a wonderful job. She takes him to story hour at the library on Thursdays, takes him to our local elementary school for the free lunch program some days, and tries to make things fun for him by putting the sprinkler under the trampoline, helping him get movies from the library, and many other things. Thanks Moo!!!
In addition to taking care of Bob she is always willing to help out around the house and to try new recipes (that's my girl). Recently she has made Granola (V), Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (II) along with several other recipes that we make regularly. She did a wonderful job with the granola. It is delicious. The cookie bars while delicious were a little (just a little) too done. Cookie bars are difficult to get right sometimes (at least in my world). There seems to be a fine line between jiggly not doneness and brown over doneness. It is difficult for me to choose which is better. Anyway. . . the best thing about Moo and recipes is she will try again. One mishap does not dissuade her from trying a recipe again--I can't always say the same for myself. The ice cream is delicious! The only thing I helped with was scraping the vanilla bean. She did everything else. This was not as thick and rich as The Pioneer Woman's version we made for the Fourth of July. I think this version would go better with stir ins. While delicious, adding the stir ins to the Pioneer Woman's Vanilla Bean Ice Cream was almost too much.
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Granola V
adapted from 24 Hour Menu
Print Recipe
1 1/2 cups uncooked old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups rolled 9 grain flakes
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup almonds, sliced
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup coconut
1 stick plus 2 Tbsp butter
3/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Add oats, flakes, wheat bran, brown sugar, cinnamon, almonds, pecans, and coconut together in a large bowl and mix well. Melt butter over medium heat, add in salt, honey, and vanilla extract. mix until all heated and add to oat mixture in large bowl. Stir until evenly coated. Pour onto lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or until golden. Let cool and break into pieces. Store in air tight container.
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Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
adapted from Nestle® Toll House® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels package
Print Recipe
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.
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Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
from Annie’s Eats
Print Recipe
3 cups heavy cream, or 2 cups heavy cream and 1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
Pour 1 cup of the cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the remaining 2 cups cream (or cream and milk) and the vanilla extract. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
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Showing posts with label Dessert - Frozen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dessert - Frozen. Show all posts
July 27, 2010
July 24, 2010
Fourth of July 2010
Only 20 days later. That works for me. We really didn't do anything for the Fourth of July--that is how we do things. . . we just don't. I did want to have a traditional type dinner for the day that we technically "celebrated" on the fifth. In my mind a good Fourth of July meal is grilled hamburgers/hotdogs, macaroni salad, and ice cream. But before the meal came some fun with KLB.
Since it was a day off KLB and I spent the day making decorative balls. I believe that was the first day of three or so that we spent making those damn things. Truthfully, overall they weren't too bad. There were a few however that decreased the enjoyability of the process. The worst one of all was the braided twine balls. If you have never braided LONG pieces of twine. . . DON'T. By LONG I mean like 10 feet or more and by DON'T I mean never, at no time, not under any condition, forget it. I am not even joking about this. Ask KLB. She is NEVER going to braid twine again either. Sure the balls came out nice looking but not sure if the nice-looking factor outweighs the pain-in-the-butt factor. I will post more about the decorative balls another time.
Our day of decorative ball making had a big, bright, fun middle. The bright spot in the day was dinner. PE grilled hamburgers, Carrots with Thyme & Onions, and green beans. I had made Macaroni Salad and then Vanilla Bean Ice Cream for dessert.
The hamburgers were delicious as usual. The carrots and green beans were crisp tender and perfectly done. The macaroni salad totally fulfilled my craving for a creamy, not sweet, relatively plain macaroni salad. The ice cream was a three day process--not a difficult process but a waiting process. I made the custard on day 1 then put it in the refrigerator. I made the ice cream day 2 then put it in the freezer to harden. On day 3 we enjoyed the creamy goodness with Oreos and M&M's.
It was fun to have KLB over for the delicious meal and sad that her sister and dog couldn't join us. Hopefully they will both be able to join us for dinner another time.
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Macaroni Salad
adapted from Food.com (previously Recipezaar)
Print Recipe
2 cups macaroni
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 cup celery
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons dried red pepper
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
Boil the macaroni and the eggs together in the same pot. Let cool. Dice the eggs. Throw it all in the bowl and mix together. Add chicken, tuna or shrimp to turn it from a side dish to a meal.
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Grilled Carrots with Thyme & Onion
from BigOven
Print Recipe
1 lb small carrots
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
4 tsp butter
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
salt and pepper
Divide carrots between two pieces of foil large enough to fold into packets. Sprinkle evenly with onion, butter and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste. Loosely wrap foil over vegetables, sealing tightly. Place on grill over medium-high heat; cook, turning once, for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender-crisp. Makes 4 servings
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Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Print Recipe
1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 cups half-and-half
2 cups sugar
8 whole (up To 9) large egg yolks
3 cups heavy cream
Heat half-and-half and 2 cups sugar in a saucepan over low heat, adding vanilla “caviar” to the mixture. (You can also drop in the scraped vanilla bean, just to extract all the flavor. Make sure to discard the bean before moving to the next step.) Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated. Beat egg yolks by hand or with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick. Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling into the 1 1/2 cups of hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into a bowl with the heavy cream. Stir to combine. Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. Place container in freezer to harden for at least eight hours. Serve with something chocolate such as M&M’s or Oreos (chopped).
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Since it was a day off KLB and I spent the day making decorative balls. I believe that was the first day of three or so that we spent making those damn things. Truthfully, overall they weren't too bad. There were a few however that decreased the enjoyability of the process. The worst one of all was the braided twine balls. If you have never braided LONG pieces of twine. . . DON'T. By LONG I mean like 10 feet or more and by DON'T I mean never, at no time, not under any condition, forget it. I am not even joking about this. Ask KLB. She is NEVER going to braid twine again either. Sure the balls came out nice looking but not sure if the nice-looking factor outweighs the pain-in-the-butt factor. I will post more about the decorative balls another time.
Our day of decorative ball making had a big, bright, fun middle. The bright spot in the day was dinner. PE grilled hamburgers, Carrots with Thyme & Onions, and green beans. I had made Macaroni Salad and then Vanilla Bean Ice Cream for dessert.
The hamburgers were delicious as usual. The carrots and green beans were crisp tender and perfectly done. The macaroni salad totally fulfilled my craving for a creamy, not sweet, relatively plain macaroni salad. The ice cream was a three day process--not a difficult process but a waiting process. I made the custard on day 1 then put it in the refrigerator. I made the ice cream day 2 then put it in the freezer to harden. On day 3 we enjoyed the creamy goodness with Oreos and M&M's.
It was fun to have KLB over for the delicious meal and sad that her sister and dog couldn't join us. Hopefully they will both be able to join us for dinner another time.
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Macaroni Salad
adapted from Food.com (previously Recipezaar)
Print Recipe
2 cups macaroni
3 hard-boiled eggs
1 cup celery
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons dried red pepper
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
Boil the macaroni and the eggs together in the same pot. Let cool. Dice the eggs. Throw it all in the bowl and mix together. Add chicken, tuna or shrimp to turn it from a side dish to a meal.
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Grilled Carrots with Thyme & Onion
from BigOven
Print Recipe
1 lb small carrots
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
4 tsp butter
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme)
salt and pepper
Divide carrots between two pieces of foil large enough to fold into packets. Sprinkle evenly with onion, butter and thyme; season with salt and pepper to taste. Loosely wrap foil over vegetables, sealing tightly. Place on grill over medium-high heat; cook, turning once, for 20 to 25 minutes or until tender-crisp. Makes 4 servings
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Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
from The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Print Recipe
1 whole vanilla bean, split and scraped
3 cups half-and-half
2 cups sugar
8 whole (up To 9) large egg yolks
3 cups heavy cream
Heat half-and-half and 2 cups sugar in a saucepan over low heat, adding vanilla “caviar” to the mixture. (You can also drop in the scraped vanilla bean, just to extract all the flavor. Make sure to discard the bean before moving to the next step.) Turn off heat when mixture is totally heated. Beat egg yolks by hand or with an electric mixer until yolks are pale yellow and slightly thick. Temper the egg yolks by slowly drizzling into the 1 1/2 cups of hot half-and-half mixture, whisking constantly. After that, pour the egg yolk/half-and-half mixture into the pan containing the rest of the half-and-half mixture. Cook over low to medium-low heat (depending on how hot your stove gets) until quite thick, stirring constantly. Drain custard using a fine mesh strainer, then pour into a bowl with the heavy cream. Stir to combine. Chill mixture completely, then freeze in an ice cream maker until thick. Place container in freezer to harden for at least eight hours. Serve with something chocolate such as M&M’s or Oreos (chopped).
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June 22, 2010
Coconuts and Cantaloupe
The food co-op has done it again--made me stretch my knowledge and find new ways to use fruits and vegetables.
While we had eaten the coconut I received from the co-op about a month ago I had my mother's in the refrigerator waiting for me to take care of it. Then I received two more coconuts a few weeks--that is a lot of coconut. PE and I don't love coconut but we have been able to enjoy this fresh coconut. The kids have also enjoyed it.
I followed my mom's directions that she found online (I didn't want to go find it online so I just went for it) to get the meat separated from the shell. First, I set the oven to 400 to preheat. Then I used a large nail to make holes in two of the three indentations/eyes on the top and then drained the coconuts of the liquid. Once drained, I placed both coconuts on a baking sheet and put them in the oven. I "baked" them for 20 minutes. When I removed them each one had a crack in it and I could see the meat was separating from the shell. I then took them outside because that meat separating business can be MESSY. I grabbed PE's hammer and gave each coconut a couple hard hits. Using a spoon I was able to separate the meat from the shell with minimal effort (I probably could have "baked" them a little longer and not had to exert any effort). I used a vegetable peeler to get the brown skin or whatever it is off the meat from where it was attached to the shell. Once all the meat was separated and peeled I washed it off. I used the slicer/shredder attachment for my Bosch Universal Mixer with the very fine grater blade and shredded the coconut from my mom and the two coconuts I had just prepped. I then spread the coconut on three baking sheets and dried it in my oven set to the Warm. I didn't time it or anything, I just stirred it periodically and when it felt dry I removed it from the oven and let it cool (it did take over one hour). One pan ended up as slightly toasted coconut. I dumped all three trays into a gallon-size zip top bag and put it in the freezer. This will be added to granola when we make it. I don't think our love of coconut has grown enough to venture into any other food realms with it.
While the coconut was drying I decided I should take care of the cantaloupe we received a week (or two?) ago. As soon as I sliced into it I knew it was too ripe to eat as is. It was a little softer than is enjoyable to eat and the flesh was starting to look grainy. So, I went to work looking for recipes for over-ripe (not fermented) cantaloupe. I settled on popsicles and granita. I have not made granita before but from this post on The Pioneer Woman Cooks site, I knew it wouldn't be difficult. (I will be making The PW's granita someday.) Both recipes were a cinch to whip up. I think both tasted delicious too. I really liked the orange juice with the cantaloupe in the popsicles. PE did not like either one but that can be expected since cantaloupe is not a favorite of his. Bug enjoyed both, Moo only had a popsicle and thought they were "okay," and Bob "didn't really like it but finished it anyway." (He is a funny kid.)
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Cantaloupe Popsicles
from About.com
Print Recipe
6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate (or other fruit juice concentrate)
3 cups balled or cubed cantaloupe (or other melon)
3/4 cup water
popsicle molds OR
10 paper cups AND
10 wooden popsicle sticks
In blender or food processor, combine fruit juice concentrate and cantaloupe and process until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until firm OR fill each drink cup with about 1/3 cup of this mixture, then freeze until partially frozen, about 1 hour. Insert wooden sticks and freeze until firm. To serve, peel away the paper cup. 10 pops
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Cantaloupe Granita
adapted from epicurious
Print Recipe
3 cups cantaloupe balls or coarsely chopped (from 1/2 melon, seeded)
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 cup ice cubes
Purée all ingredients in a blender until smooth, then pour into a 13 by 9 inch pan and freeze until mixture becomes a firm slush, at least 40 minutes. Scrape with a fork and serve in chilled glasses.
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While we had eaten the coconut I received from the co-op about a month ago I had my mother's in the refrigerator waiting for me to take care of it. Then I received two more coconuts a few weeks--that is a lot of coconut. PE and I don't love coconut but we have been able to enjoy this fresh coconut. The kids have also enjoyed it.
I followed my mom's directions that she found online (I didn't want to go find it online so I just went for it) to get the meat separated from the shell. First, I set the oven to 400 to preheat. Then I used a large nail to make holes in two of the three indentations/eyes on the top and then drained the coconuts of the liquid. Once drained, I placed both coconuts on a baking sheet and put them in the oven. I "baked" them for 20 minutes. When I removed them each one had a crack in it and I could see the meat was separating from the shell. I then took them outside because that meat separating business can be MESSY. I grabbed PE's hammer and gave each coconut a couple hard hits. Using a spoon I was able to separate the meat from the shell with minimal effort (I probably could have "baked" them a little longer and not had to exert any effort). I used a vegetable peeler to get the brown skin or whatever it is off the meat from where it was attached to the shell. Once all the meat was separated and peeled I washed it off. I used the slicer/shredder attachment for my Bosch Universal Mixer with the very fine grater blade and shredded the coconut from my mom and the two coconuts I had just prepped. I then spread the coconut on three baking sheets and dried it in my oven set to the Warm. I didn't time it or anything, I just stirred it periodically and when it felt dry I removed it from the oven and let it cool (it did take over one hour). One pan ended up as slightly toasted coconut. I dumped all three trays into a gallon-size zip top bag and put it in the freezer. This will be added to granola when we make it. I don't think our love of coconut has grown enough to venture into any other food realms with it.
While the coconut was drying I decided I should take care of the cantaloupe we received a week (or two?) ago. As soon as I sliced into it I knew it was too ripe to eat as is. It was a little softer than is enjoyable to eat and the flesh was starting to look grainy. So, I went to work looking for recipes for over-ripe (not fermented) cantaloupe. I settled on popsicles and granita. I have not made granita before but from this post on The Pioneer Woman Cooks site, I knew it wouldn't be difficult. (I will be making The PW's granita someday.) Both recipes were a cinch to whip up. I think both tasted delicious too. I really liked the orange juice with the cantaloupe in the popsicles. PE did not like either one but that can be expected since cantaloupe is not a favorite of his. Bug enjoyed both, Moo only had a popsicle and thought they were "okay," and Bob "didn't really like it but finished it anyway." (He is a funny kid.)
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Cantaloupe Popsicles
from About.com
Print Recipe
6 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate (or other fruit juice concentrate)
3 cups balled or cubed cantaloupe (or other melon)
3/4 cup water
popsicle molds OR
10 paper cups AND
10 wooden popsicle sticks
In blender or food processor, combine fruit juice concentrate and cantaloupe and process until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze until firm OR fill each drink cup with about 1/3 cup of this mixture, then freeze until partially frozen, about 1 hour. Insert wooden sticks and freeze until firm. To serve, peel away the paper cup. 10 pops
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Cantaloupe Granita
adapted from epicurious
Print Recipe
3 cups cantaloupe balls or coarsely chopped (from 1/2 melon, seeded)
1/4 cup sugar, or to taste
1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice, or to taste
1 cup ice cubes
Purée all ingredients in a blender until smooth, then pour into a 13 by 9 inch pan and freeze until mixture becomes a firm slush, at least 40 minutes. Scrape with a fork and serve in chilled glasses.
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