Strawberry-Banana Ice Cream

In my world, anything with fruit in it is automatically healthy. So I can totally assuage the ice cream guilt when I dish out a hefty bowl of this Strawberry-Banana Ice Cream (found on Crazy in Minnesota and originally from Sweet and Savory Eats).

I usually turn up my nose and any ice cream that doesn't contain chocolate, but this was really good (especially if you add chocolate syrup!). A perfect, fresh, "summery" ice cream!


When I was photographing this, Ryan wanted to "help." He took the shot below. Not too shabby for a two-and-a-half-year-old!


Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced (I used about a cup and a half, plus two sliced bananas)
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/3 cup of the sugar; stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.

In another bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, the vanilla and any accumulated juices from the strawberries.

Turn on your ice cream maker and pour the mixture into the frozen bowl. Let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes.

Add the sliced strawberries during the last 5 minutes of freezing.

Corn, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

We had our families over to grill last weekend, and I was looking for a yummy side to go with everything else. I headed over to Colleen's blog, intending to get the recipe for the Tri-Colore Orzo she made when we got together a couple of weeks ago, but instead found this Corn, Tomato, and Avocado dish.

It was super quick to prepare, looked awesome on the table, and was delicious. I did think that the lime was a bit too overpowering for my taste, so next time I would just use slightly less. But there for sure WILL be a next time!

Ingredients

• 10 ounces frozen corn, thawed completely
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 tablespoon good quality olive oil
• kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper, to taste

Combine corn, tomatoes, scallions in large bowl. Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour over vegetables. Chill for 1-4 hours.

When ready to serve, add gently fold in avocado and allow salad to come to room temperature. Season again with salt and pepper if needed.

Happy Birthday to Me! Chocolate Overdose Cake

In just 365 days, I will hit the big 3-0... sigh...

I usually take my birthday off from cooking, but as soon as I saw this amazing Chocolate Overdose Cake on Annie's blog, I knew that's what I wanted for my birthday. So I spent the morning in the kitchen on the day we had our families over to celebrate the day I entered this world!


In the interest of time, I did take one major shortcut - I used a brownie mix instead of making the brownie layer by hand (I am still posting Annie's original recipe in case anyone else wants to do the whole shebang). But I did everything else, and I'm pretty freaken proud of myself! This was definitely the most involved dessert I've made, and it was absolutely delicious.


My cake obviously does not look as pretty as Annie's, but it sure tasted great. And pay no attention to the ugly photo below. I almost didn't even post it, but I did want to show the layers in the cake.


Ingredients
For the brownie base:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. cake flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
• 1 1/8 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the chocolate mousse filling:

• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces
• 1 7/8 cups heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. sugar

For the chocolate cake:

• 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/8 cup Dutch-processed cocoa
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 7/8 cup sugar, divided
• 7/8 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, soft

For the ganache:

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 18 oz. semisweet chocolate, broken into 1/2-oz. pieces

Directions:
To make the brownie base, line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a round of parchment paper and spray the sides with nonstick cooking spray. Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, salt and baking powder. Stir with a fork to mix. Melt the chocolate and butter in a large heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of almost-simmering water, stirring occasionally, until smooth.

When the chocolate mixture is completely smooth, remove the bowl from the saucepan and gradually whisk in the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition until thoroughly combined. Whisk in vanilla. Add in the flour mixture in two additions, folding with a rubber spatula until completely homogenous.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth with a spatula. Set aside, prepare the cake batter, and bake the two layers at the same time.

To make the cake, line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with a round of parchment paper. Grease and flour the sides of the pan. Combine the chocolate, cocoa and hot water in a medium heatproof bowl; set the bowl over a saucepan containing 1-inch of simmering water and stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes. (Note: at this point, my mixture was pretty thick and I thought I had ruined it, but mixing in the sugar was like magic and it made it smooth and liquidy again.) Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the chocolate mixture and stir until thick and glossy, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and set aside to cool.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Combine buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and yolks on medium-low speed until combined, about 10 seconds. Add remaining sugar, increase speed to high, and whisk until fluffy and lightened in color, 2 to 3 minutes. Replace whisk with paddle attachment.

Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the egg/sugar mixture and mix on medium speed until thoroughly incorporated, 30-45 seconds, pausing to scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add softened butter one tablespoon at a time, mixing about 10 seconds after each addition. Add about one third of the flour mixture followed by half of the buttermilk mixture, mixing until incorporated after each addition (about 15 seconds). Repeat using half of remaining flour mixture and all of remaining buttermilk mixture (batter may appear separated). Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add remaining flour mixture; mix at medium-low speed until batter is thoroughly combined, about 15 seconds. Remove bowl from mixer and fold batter once or twice with rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour. Pour into prepared pan; smooth batter to edges of pan with an offset spatula.

Bake the brownie and cake layers at the same time: the brownie for 25-30 minutes and the cake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each comes out clean. Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack. Allow the brownie to cool completely in the pan. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto the wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Once the brownie layer has cooled, run a knife around the edges to separate it from the pan. Remove the sides of the springform but leave the brownie layer on the springform base. Form a ring of parchment paper around the brownie layer and extending up the sides of the springform pan – reclose the springform so that the parchment is fitted tightly to the sides.

To make the chocolate mousse filling, place a stand mixer bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer or fridge. Heat 1-inch of water in the bottom half of a double boiler over medium heat. Place the semisweet chocolate in the top half of the double boiler. Tightly cover the top with plastic wrap and allow to heat for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Transfer the melted chocolate to a stainless steel bowl and set aside until needed.

Place heavy cream and sugar in the well-chilled bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the chilled whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the bowl from the mixer. By hand, whisk to combine 1/4 of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate until smooth and completely incorporated. Add the combined whipped cream and chocolate to the remaining whipped cream and use a rubber spatula to fold together.

Spread the mousse over the top of the brownie base evenly. Use an offset spatula to smooth the top. Place the cooled cake round over the mousse, pressing down lightly. Chill for at least 1 hour.

To make the ganache, heat the heavy cream and the butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Place the semisweet chocolate in a 3-quart stainless steel bowl. Pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Chill 1 cup of ganache for 1 hour. Allow the remaining ganache to come to room temperature (about 40 minutes).

Remove the springform ring and parchment collar from the assembled cake. Carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter, removing the springform base and parchment round. Use a spatula to smooth the room temperature ganache over the cake top and sides, covering evenly.

Place the chilled ganache in a pastry bag fitted with a shell tip and pipe a shell border around the base of the cake. Pipe 12-16 rosettes around the top of the cake to indicate servings. Serve chilled and store leftovers in the fridge. Cut the cake with a hot, dry knife.

Hummus

First of all, I can't say "hummus" without thinking, "Hummus! I got the Hummus!" I love Friends.

I first spotted Katie's hummus recipe on Colleen's blog and thought it would be a perfect little appetizer for our Memorial Day Weekend barbecue. I followed the recipe to the letter (well, sort of - the can of chickpeas I had was 15oz, not 12. Also, my garlic cloves were kind of little so I used 4) and was really impressed with how easy this was to throw together.

As is usual for a hostess, I didn't get to each much of this (just a little finger dip when it was fresh out of the food processor!) but it was quite a hit. It was definitely very garlicky, but that was quite alright with the crowd we had.


Ingredients

• 1 12-oz can chick peas
• 1-2 large cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp+ tahini (sesame paste)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Drain water from the can of chick peas into a small bowl and reserve.

In a food processor (or blender), mix together the chick peas with the remaining rest of the ingredients, being careful to add second half of lemon juice and tahini slowly, stopping to taste.

Slowly add some of the reserved liquid from beans and a bit of water for correct consistency,(about 1-2 minutes) until a smooth, slightly fluid paste is formed.

Refrigerate for at least 30 mins before serving. This changes the taste of the hummus by allowing the flavors to form.

Note: to dress the hummus up for the table, the traditional way of serving is on a plate, with an extra drizzle of olive oil on top and a sprinkle of paprika and chopped parsley.

Banana Peanut Butter Granola

I have made this granola (courtesy of Annie's Eats) a few times, but this is the first time that it has lasted long enough for me to photograph it!

I used to eat a yogurt for breakfast every morning. Then, early on in my pregnancy with Ryan, I had such an aversion to it. I don't know if it was the texture or what, but it would make me gag. Long after Ryan was here, I still couldn't bring myself to eat yogurt.

About 3 weeks ago, I grabbed one of Ryan's yogurts when I made the first batch of this granola. I took this breakfast to work, and it was unreal. I'm not only psyched to eat yogurt again, but doubly thrilled to have found this delicious accompaniment.

I love that it's so versatile; each time I make it, I throw different things in there. This time, as you can see, I added some mini-M&Ms, which made my vanilla yogurt full of colorful swirls!


Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 2 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal (I don't know if this is the same as Rice Krispies, but that's what I've used!)
  
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/3 cup applesauce (I have used a single-serving cup of cinnamon applesauce - yum!)
  
• 1/3 cup mashed bananas
• 1/3-1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, warmed slightly (I have been using Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter)
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1-1 1/2 cups dried banana chips (I've omitted)
• 1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts
• 3-4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats and puffed rice cereal. In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, mashed banana, peanut butter, salt, cinnamon and brown sugar until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until the oat mixture is evenly coated. Spread onto the prepared baking sheet in a thick even layer.

Bake for 30 minutes. Then, using a large spatula, turn the granola over in segments. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Depending on the size of your baking sheet, the center may not be fully dried. If necessary, remove the edges of cooked granola and bake the remaining granola for 10-15 minutes more or until done, being careful not to over-bake. Cool on a wire rack.

Once the granola has cooled, crumble it into a large bowl or plastic bag. Add in the dried banana chips, honey roasted peanuts and bittersweet chocolate, if using. Mix well to combine. Store in an airtight container.

Chicken Parm Pizza Balls

This was a scrumptious dinner inspired by Dish It Up. I used fresh whole-wheat pizza dough, which definitely gave it fabulous flavor, but also made it a bit more difficult to stuff and roll. I think that a tube of dough may be easier to work with, although not as yummy and fresh-tasting. In an effort to add some more protein, I also chopped up some grilled chicken and stuffed into the balls.


These were delicious, and I think they'd make a really fun appetizer. You could stuff this with anything at all, which makes this such a versatile dish.

I do wish that I doubled the recipe. I only got 16 balls to feed all three of us!


Ingredients

• 1 ball of fresh pizza dough
• 1-2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1-2 cups of diced chicken
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning (combine oregano, basil, parsley, and garlic)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• pizza or marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease pie pan.

Grab a walnut-sized piece of dough and flatten. In each dough piece place a couple pieces of chopped chicken and a tablespoon of cheese. Seal dough around meat and cheese and place seam side down in pie pan.

Repeat, placing approximately 16 dough balls in each pie plate.

Once assembled, drizzle oil over the balls and sprinkle with the herbs.

When ready to bake: bake at 400°F for 16-20 min. Serve with warm pizza or marinara sauce.

(You can also cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze.)

Ice Cream Brownie Cupcakes

This past weekend, Sarah, Colleen, and I went to poor bed-ridden Brooke's house for lunch. Whenever we get together, we all bring a dish so that it's never extra work for the hostess (unless you're me and you suddenly find that you have a clean your house because you haven't cleaned it in about 3 months because your 2-year-old just destroys everything you clean).

I volunteered to bring the dessert, and I could not decide what to bring. Nothing seemed exciting or special enough. Finally, the day before our lunch, I sat down to make my grocery list and forced myself to just make a decision.

To procrastinate, I decided to check out my Google Reader, and lo and behold, fate intervened. The very top post was a recipe for Ice Cream Brownie Cupcakes from Annie. It was different, interesting, and very delicious sounding. Perfect.


I ended up with a few changes; I decided to keep the chocolate them going and used Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream instead of strawberry. I also ran out of time to make the ganauche (we were out getting Ryan his big boy bed!) so I had my husband run to the store and grab me a bottle of Magic Shell. Perfect.

Overall, I very much enjoyed the concept of this recipe. The only thing I didn't like was the actual brownie. I was skeptical about it from the beginning, because the batter was very dry and didn't really "spread" in the oven. I also thought it had kind of a weird taste to it... I'm sure it's the fault of the baker and not the recipe! I would for sure try these again.

(Annie later informed me of a typo in the original recipe. It should be 3/4 cups of flour, not 3 cups! No wonder... I fixed it below. Thank you, Annie, for salvaging this yummy dessert for me!)


Ingredients
For the brownies:

• 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 1/8 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the ice cream:

• 1 batch of chosen ice cream, slightly softened

For the ganache:

• 3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

To garnish:

• Fresh strawberry slices (I omitted)

To make the brownie bottoms, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two cupcake pans with foil liners. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl; stir together and set aside. In a heatproof bowl set over simmering water combine the butter and chocolate. Heat, stirring occasionally, until melted and smooth. In a large mixing bowl combine the eggs, egg yolk, sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk to blend. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture, and then the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

Scoop 1 tablespoon of batter into cupcake liner. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 6-8 minutes. Leaving the brownies in the cupcake pans, cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Freeze for at least 30 minutes. Top with strawberry ice cream until the cupcake liner is full. (If the ice cream is freshly made, it is just the right consistency for filling the cupcake liners.) Return the cupcake pans to the freezer for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

To make the ganache, place the chocolate chips in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a simmer in a small saucepan. Pour the cream evenly over the chocolate, let stand for 1 minute. Stir until smooth with a rubber spatula. If the ganache is too thin, allow it to stand at room temperature to cool and become more easily spreadable. Once the ganache is at the correct temperature, scoop it by the teaspoonful on top of the ice cream cupcakes and spread over the tops. Garnish with fresh strawberry slices, if desired.

Remove cupcakes from the freezer 5-10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Pasta Salad

Brooke has made this Pasta Salad twice in my presence, and it's too good to not try to make myself!

Pat has a few cousins who live somewhat locally, and we try to get together a few times a year. We went to Jane and Jeff's this past weekend for a barbecue (and for TWO new pregnancy announcements!), and I decided to make Brooke's pasta salad.

I changed around the amounts a tad based on what I had on hand. And there was definitely WAY too much!! I've been taking it to work for lunch all week and throwing some chopped grilled chicken on top.


Ingredients

• 24 oz uncooked tri-color pasta
• 1 can sliced black olives
• 1 jar roasted red peppers, chopped
• 1 jar artichoke hearts, chopped
• 1 ball fresh mozzarella, cubed
• 2 1/2 cups bottled fat-free Italian dressing

Cook pasta according to package directions. Place in bowl and toss with 1 cup dressing. Allow to cool. Toss in all other ingredients and additional 1 cup of dressing. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Just before serving, toss with the final 1/2 cup dressing.

Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole

When Brooke first posted this recipe for a Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole, I was instantly intrigued. Anything that is described as "white trash" has to be good, no?


It was actually even better than I expected! While it's not the classiest dinner I've made, and while I wouldn't use it for company, it was a pretty delicious and easy weeknight meal.


Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
• salt and pepper to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• burger seasoning to taste
• a few shakes of Worchestire sauce
• 1/2 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
• 3/4 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 (16 ounce) package frozen French fries
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Bake french fries on baking sheet for 10 minutes while preparing beef.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the beef. Cook, stirring occasionally until beef is no longer pink. Drain off excess grease, and add seasonings and Worchestire sauce.

Return to the heat, and stir in the mushroom and cheese soups until well blended. Heat through, and remove from stove. Transfer the mixture to a 8x8 inch baking dish. Cover the ground beef mixture with a layer of partially cooked French fries.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven (mine took much less - maybe only 15 minutes?). When the fries are golden brown, remove the casserole from the oven, and sprinkle cheese over the top. Return to the oven, and bake just until cheese has melted.

American Sandwich Bread

I am very slowly breaking my way into the yeast world. The hamburger rolls were a relative success, and I decided to try another of Annie's recipes. After work the other day, I headed into the kitchen to make her American Sandwich Bread.


Though there are a lot of steps, this was really easy and didn't require much work for me at all (yay for stand mixers!!). And my house smelled so fantastic while it was baking!

I do think that it wasn't as light and airy as it could have been; perhaps too much mixing? But it was still really good, and I'm pretty damned proud of myself.


Ingredients

• 3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup warm whole milk (about 110°)
• 1/3 cup warm water (about 110°)
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 1 envelope (about 2 ¼ tsp.) instant yeast

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 200°. Once the oven temperature reaches 200°, maintain the heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.

Mix 3 ½ cups of the flour and the salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix the milk, water, butter, honey and yeast in a 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid. When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping the machine two or three times to scrape dough from the hook, if necessary, about 10 minutes. (After 5 minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time and up to ¼ cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form a smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.

Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat lightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven until the dough has doubled in size, about 40-50 minutes.

On a floured work surface, gently press the dough into a rectangle 1 inch thick and no longer than 9 inches. With a long side facing you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20-30 minutes.

Keep one oven rack at the lowest position and place the other at the middle position and heat the oven to 350°. Place an empty baking pan on the bottom rack. Bring two cups of water to boil in a small saucepan. Pour the boiling water into the empty pan on the bottom rack and set the loaf onto the middle rack. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim into the center of the loaf reads 195°, 40-50 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan, transfer to a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Slice and serve.