Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

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This is one of those recipes that not only does not qualify as a recipe, but it almost does not qualify as food. But it's yummy un-food. My kids really love this dessert and when we left them (with the 18-year-old) recently for a night out, I made it as a special treat. The funny thing is, adults love it too, and you would never guess what the ingredients are by tasting it. I usually don't eat any of these ingredients on their own, but I can't resist a piece of this dessert. You can double the ingredients and put it in a 13 x 9 pan, but I can't remember if you use all the ice cream sandwiches that way.

Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

9 servings

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1 box ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped (duh!)

1 small container Cool Whip

1 bottle Smucker's Magic Shell Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream topping

maraschino cherries, optional

In a 9 x 9 pan arrange a single layer of ice cream sandwiches, cutting a sandwich to fit where necessary. Spoon half the Cool Whip on the sandwiches and spread to edges. Drizzle with a layer of Magic Shell. Place another layer of ice cream sandwiches and the rest of the Cool Whip. Drizzle with Magic Shell. Freeze until ready to serve. Top with a cherry if desired.

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Lincoln Log

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Sorry to have two chocolate recipes in a row (I know it's a real hardship for you ::wink::), but I posted the picture of the Lincoln Log at Praying for Grace and I figured that I'd better follow up with a recipe here. No fair just sharing pictures, right?

This recipe is traditionally served by my husband's family on President's Day or President Lincoln's birthday. It's a yummy tradition to carry on, so I am happy to do it.

Lincoln Log

serves 8

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1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt
4 eggs, divided

1/2 t. vanilla

1/3 cup plus 1/2  cup granulated sugar, divided

2 cups whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup semi sweet chocolate (either chips or finely chopped pieces)

Grease and line a 15 x 10 jelly roll pan with parchment or waxed paper. Then grease and flour paper. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. In a mixer bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla at high speed for 5 minutes or so until eggs are thick and lemon colored. Gradually add 1/3 cup sugar, beating until sugar dissolves. 

In another mixer with clean beaters, beat egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg yolks into whites very gently. Sprinkle flour mixture over egg mixture and fold gently until incorporated. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes. While cake is baking, sprinkle powdered sugar over a clean tea towel. When cake is done, immediately flip cake out of pan and onto towel. Starting at narrow end, roll up cake in tea towel. Cool on a wire rack. (You can see the rolling process here.)

Beat cream to stiff peaks with powdered sugar. When cake is cool, carefully unroll cake and fill with sweetened whipped cream and re-roll (If cake begins to crack, try to re-roll it -- the cream will probably hold it together).

Place rolled cake on a serving platter and prepare glaze. Heat 3/4 cup cream to steaming and pour over chocolate in a bowl. Let sit for a minute (leave it alone). Stir until chocolate melts and then let it sit to cool for a few minutes. Pour glaze over cake from the top slowly drizzling, back and forth, so it will slowly drip down over sides. Chill until ready to serve.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

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If there is any ingredient which says love to my family, it is, chocolate. Like so many people today, my kids, and husband, are chocolate lovers, and so I knew I would have to make a chocolate dessert for Valentine's Day last week. I have made a flourless chocolate cake before -- technically a souffle, but flourless chocolate cake I think sounds less intimidating -- but somehow lost my favorite recipe. I hunted on the internet and thought Tyler Florence's recipe sounded almost identical to the one I made before. I'm not certain it was, after tasting it, but then it's been a while since I've made it. It was very delicious and received raves from all parties. I admit that I left it in the oven a little longer than it was supposed to be, as I kept thinking that it looked too wet. It was a bit dry as a result -- at least around the outside, so do not wait for it to look done to take it out. I did modify the time a little bit and I also added a pinch of salt.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

serves 10-12

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16 oz.  bittersweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces (I used semi sweet baking chocolate squares)

  1/2 cup unsalted butter
    9 large eggs, separated
    ¾ cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon

pinch salt
    whipping cream, for serving
        Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Put the chocolate and butter into the top of a double boiler (or in a heatproof bowl) and heat over (but not touching) about 1 inch of simmering water until melted. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light yellow in color. Whisk a little of the chocolate mixture into the egg yolk mixture to temper the eggs - this will keep the eggs from scrambling from the heat of the chocolate - then whisk in the rest of the chocolate mixture and salt.

Beat the egg whites in a mixing bowl until stiff peaks form and fold into the chocolate mixture (This takes patience. Do not stir, just fold until there are no streaks of egg left.). Pour into the prepared pan and bake until the cake is set, the top starts to crack and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes, then remove sides of pan.

While the cake is cooking, whip the cream until it becomes light and fluffy.

Serve at room temperature dusted with confectioners' sugar and topped with whipped cream.

Source: Modified from Food Network

       

BBQ Meatballs

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A couple of weeks ago I popped over to the Pioneer Woman Cooks and spied these tasty little meatballs. Nothing special, really --basically meatloaf mix cooked into balls and topped with a zesty homemade BBQ sauce. Inexpensive, homey, simple, yet delicious -- perfect middle-of-February-and-bored-with-the-cold-and-being-stuck-indoors food. Perfect for some friends and a college basketball game. Perfect for sitting around a nice crackling fire and a good family movie. Just good, old-fashioned simple food.

BBQ Meatballs

serves 6

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1 1/2 pounds ground beef

¾ cups oatmeal (I used old-fashioned)

1 cup milk

3 T. finely minced onion

1 t. salt  

black pepper to taste (I used about 1/4 t.)  

1 cup All-Purpose Flour (coating for chilled meatballs)

Canola Oil

1 cup ketchup

2 T. sugar

3 T. vinegar

2 T. Worcestershire

4 T. minced onion

dash Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes.

After 5 minutes, remove meatballs from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour.

Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish.

Combine all sauce ingredients*. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Serve with noodles or mashed potatoes to use up extra sauce.

* Double or one and a half times the sauce for enough to use as "gravy."

Source: Pioneer Woman Cooks

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Pork Chops with Country Gravy

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My family loves pork chops, but it seems to be one of those dishes that I fail to make very often, because I notice that when I do, they rave. Note to self: make pork chops.

This recipe for Pork Chops with Country Gravy came from Cooking Light by way of myrecipes.com and it was not only very easy and quick, but very delicious and quite a crowd pleaser. With a side of quick mashed potatoes and my family's favorite Pepper Corn, it was a great weeknight dinner -- low in fat and pretty nutritious. If you find pork chops on sale, you also have a budget meal.

I made the recipe exactly as directed except that I cooked six chops instead of four, and I modified the spices and other ingredients to compensate. The recipe for six is below, but you can go to the above link for the recipe for four.

Pork Chops with Country Gravy

serves 6

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1/3  cup  all-purpose flour 

1 t.  salt

1/3 t. dried marjoram

1/3 t.  dried thyme

1/3 t. dried rubbed sage

6 boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 3/4 inch thick)

1 T. olive oil

2 T. butter 

2 c. low-fat milk

Place flour, salt, dried marjoram, dried thyme, and dried rubbed sage in a shallow dish. Dredge pork in flour mixture, turning to coat; shake off excess. Reserve remaining flour mixture.

Melt butter and oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add pork to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Reduce heat, and cook for 10 minutes or until done, turning pork once. Remove pork from pan; keep warm.

Combine reserved flour mixture and milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended. Add milk mixture to pan; place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Serve with chops.

Source: modified from Cooking Light 

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Chicken Fried Steak Fingers and Jalapeño Gravy

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I saw this recipe at Homesick Texan a few months ago and parked it in my sidebar until it went on my menu a few weeks ago. My son's girlfriend was over and it was a Friday night, so everyone was in a fun food mood. These steak fingers did not disappoint. I admit they were pretty labor intensive with all the frying, but with the raves I  got at the table, I say they were worth it.

I started with cube steak, and I can't imagine adding pounding the steak to the prep, so do yourself a favor and start with cube steak. The jalapeno gravy is definitely a must with these steak fingers, but I did switch things up and make it after I fried the fingers, using a little of the frying fat instead of bacon grease. I don't doubt that bacon grease would make an awesome gravy, but I don't keep a can of bacon fat around (gasp!). I upped the quantity of cube steak to about 2 1/2 pounds for 6 people, but I wouldn't change any other quantity. I made just a few modifications in method, which I think make for a less complicated recipe.

Chicken Fried Steak Fingers 

with jalapeño cream gravy

serves 6

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Gravy:
2 jalapeños cut in half lengthwise, stems and seeds removed
2 cloves of garlic
2 T. bacon grease or oil
2 T. flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 t. ground cumin
Salt to taste

Steak:
2-3 pounds top round steak or cube steak
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t. kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 t. black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 t. cayenne
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk or buttermilk (I used buttermilk)

Oil for frying

Method:
To make the cream gravy, place the halved jalapeños skin-side up and the garlic on a sheet and place under the broiler for 5 minutes or until jalapeños and garlic are blackened (or, if you have a gas stove, place on top of your grate over the flame). Remove from the oven. Place in a plastic bag until cool. Rub off the blackened jalapeño skin and then dice. Mince the roasted garlic.

In a large heavy skillet, heat up the bacon grease or oil on medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook until fragrant and lightly browned, about a minute. Slowly pour in the milk and stir until thickened, which should take a couple of minutes.

Turn off the heat and stir in the diced jalapeños and garlic. Add the cumin and add salt to taste. If too thick for your tastes, add more milk. Reheat on low for serving.

To make the steaks, if you using top round steak, you’ll need to pound it with a meat mallet until flattened and doubled in size. If using cube steak, you can skip this step. Cut the tenderized steak into 1-inch strips.

Mix together the flour with the salt, black pepper and cayenne in a shallow dish. Whisk together the eggs with the buttermilk in a shallow dish. Lightly sprinkle the steak strips with salt and pepper then dredge each strip in the flour. Dip the flour-coated steak into the egg/milk and then dredge again in the flour.

Heat oven to 200 degrees. In a large heavy skillet, such as a cast-iron skillet, heat up an inch of oil to 300 degrees (until a small bit of flour dropped in bubbles up). Place 4 strips into the skillet and cook until you see red juices bubbling on top of the meat, about 2 or 3 minutes. With tongs, turn over the fingers and cook for another 3-5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel and place in the oven while you fry the remaining strips.

Serve with mashed potatoes and southern style green beans.

Source: modified from Homesick Texan. 

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Love Day: aka St. Valentine's Day

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This year I contemplated boycotting Valentine's Day. In case you don't this about me, I'm not much of a joiner. If every one does it, I don't do it. But how can you boycott Love Day? Besides, I love that it's a feast day and every one celebrates!

If you celebrate St. Valentine's Day but would like to boycott the Hallmark holiday that it has become, just make your beloved (and baby beloveds) a nice meal and a tasty dessert.

Below are a few suggestions in case you are stumped. They are all tried and true.

Sugar Cookies cut with heart-shaped cookie cutters and frosted with thick icing -- tint it pink or use red sugar

Shortbread Cookies

Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprints

Snickerdoodle Bars -- because to some people cinnamon says love better than chocolate

Chocolate Revel Bars

Tollhouse Pie -- rich and so sweet

Molten Lava Cakes

Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake 

Chocolate Supreme Cheesecake -- rich and decadent 

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake -- frost with whipped cream for a real treat






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Ham Salad

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When you grow up eating certain foods, it doesn't seem to matter how long it's been since you ate it, you go right back to your childhood at the first bite. Earlier this week I planned soup and sammies for supper and decided on Monday morning that Ham Salad sandwiches sounded good. I have no idea why, but I got a hankerin' for it and I had to have it. At first bite there I was, about six years old again, eating a ham salad sandwich in my childhood kitchen. Funny how foods do that. I don't often make ham salad, and I never buy it pre-made, but I really should make it more often. I have eaten every day for lunch and it's been such a treat. If you have a food process it takes under five minutes to make. If you don't have a food processor, take up a collection and getcha one.

I started with Isaly's Chopped Ham because it's a very tasty regional favorite, but any good tasting cooked ham will do. Check your deli -- you might be able to get Isaly's too.

Ham Salad

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3/4 to a pound of ham -- I just buy a chunk about an inch or so thick

1/3 c. roughly diced onion

1/4 c. roughly chopped celery

1 heaping tablespoon sweet pickle relish

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 eggs, hard boiled, quartered

Cut ham into large chunks and place in processor bowl. Add onion and celery and pulse until onion and celery are finely chopped (not pureed). Add relish, mayo, mustard and egg and pulse until egg is finely chopped. Serve on soft white bread or rolls with lettuce, if desired, with a side of pickle. Also good on white or wheat toast.

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Cinnabon Bread Pudding

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Earlier last week I had some dental work done and knowing that eating would be a difficult thing later in the day, I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and bought a few soft comfort foods (any old excuse to eat comfort foods, ya know). As I walked past the bread aisle I spied a loaf of Cinnabon bread and had the thought that Bread Pudding would taste awfully good made with Cinnabon Bread. I was correct, and my husband declared it the best bread pudding ever. I used my standby recipe, which is super yummy with sliced bananas in it if you and your people like bananas (unfortunately for me, my people don't). I left the cinnamon out of my standard recipe because I was using Cinnabon Bread. If you use a non-cinnamony bread see the note below.

Cinnabon Bread Pudding
serves 6 to 8 dessert servings


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4 cups 1" Cinnabon bread cubes*
¼ cup butter, melted
3 eggs
2 cups whole milk
½ cup sugar
2 t. vanilla
½ t. nutmeg
½ t. salt

Place bread cubes in a buttered 2-quart casserole.
Pour butter over bread and toss.


In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs;
add milk, sugar, vanilla, nutmeg and salt.

Pour over bread cubes and stir to coat.
Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 50 minutes
or until knife inserted in centered comes out clean (not wet with liquid custard).
Cool slightly and serve warm with vanilla sauce.


* Standard white bread can be substituted (day-old is best). If using white bread, add 1/2 t. cinnamon to milk mixture.








Vanilla Sauce:

3 T. butter
3/4 c. milk
2 T. sugar
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 t. vanilla

Melt butter in saucepan.
Combine sugar and cornstarch and add to butter.
Stir in milk and corn syrup.
Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a full boil.
Boil for one minute.
Remove from heat.
Stir in vanilla.
Serve immediately over warm bread pudding.


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Celebrate Candlemas with Crepes

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 This day offers us such a beautiful reason to celebrate. You can find the recipe here.


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Yogurt Maker

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It's been a little over a year ago that I learned I could make my own yogurt. I love homemade yogurt, love knowing that there is nothing in it but pure milk and yogurt cultures, but I admit I am not always successful in making my own. The last couple of times I made it -- it's been a few months -- it was a flop. I suspect it was my heating pad that was causing problems. I noticed when I was using it for an injury that it would alternately get very hot and very cool, and I'm sure the fluctuations in temperature were not good for growing yogurt.

After a few months of alternately not eating yogurt and then eating sub-par grocery store yogurt, I finally decided to buy a yogurt maker.

 

I have made two batches so far and am very happy with it. I like the glass jars, and I like not wasting so much plastic. And as silly as it sounds, I like being able to watch my yogurt while it grows. That was a problem with me and the hot pad -- I couldn't peek! 

I strained half of the first batch for Greek style yogurt, and I'll probably strain most of the second batch -- I love that thick creamy style. I use 2% milk because I like a little bit of fat in my yogurt and I think some dairy fat is good for us, and I used Greek Style yogurt for my starter (you use store bought yogurt the first time but then use your own yogurt after that). The first time I let it grow for about six hours, and the second time I only let it go a little bit longer because I was afraid the power would go out with the ice storms we've had. But it is pretty firm even after six hours.

If you are a yogurt lover, I would highly recommend looking into a yogurt maker. With 42 ounces of fresh milk -- about $2 -- you can make about 48 ounces of fresh yogurt. In no time at all this machine will pay for itself. You still heat the milk to 180 degrees and cool it off before adding your yogurt, but once the milk mixture gets poured into the little pots, your work is done.

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