DULCE DE LECHE ICE CREAM

Why do I always feel like a crazy woman in the summer?  I know I am not alone... Taking the kids here and there, canning vegetables, freezing vegetables, making jam, going places.  I am not complaining but it is precisely around this time that I start looking forward to taking a breath in September when the kids go back to school.  I will say, though, it takes like a good month to just be able to sit down and relax.  I kind of twitch because I am used to so much running around.

Do you like Werther's Hard Candy?  This is what this ice cream taste like to me.  Scumptious!


Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vodka
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 can Dulce de Leche

In a saucepan heat the milk and cream just until it almost boils.  Remove from heat.  Stir in dulce de leche with a whisk until it has all been melted.  Add vanilla and vodka.  If you make your own vanilla extract with vodka, omit the vodka part.

Brown Sugar Banana Pop

I saw this one Whole Foods You Tube Channel.  I changed it up just a bit but still mainly the same thing.  Its very good.

Brown Sugar Banana Pop

3 bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon brown sugar

layer
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Pour some of the banana mixture into your mold.  Spoon in brown sugar mixture.  Layer more banana mixture.  Spoon in a final layer of brown sugar mix.  Finally, the last of the banana mixture. Freeze for at least 8 hours.

Ice Cream Cake

At the end of school I usually make the kids some special treat to mark the day that school ends and summer begins.  (Yes, I am way behind posting this.) This was the quick and easy ticket! They agreed.

Grab your 9 x 13, lay your ice cream down, smoothing it out the best you can.  Chop up some chocolate cookies or use chocolate rice cereal or do like I did and chop up some granola bars into little pieces and sprinkle over top.I found after a while that a icing knife is a great way to smooth it out.

Lay down your next layer- I used vanilla.  Make it smooth. Then for a final layer, use whipped cream (like I did) or use non dairy whip creamer. Decorate with sprinkles or cherries. Or whatever your little heart desires.  Pop it in the freezer.

 

My husband bought my one daughter roses to celebrate her winning an award at her "Moving Up" ceremony. We are so very proud.  She went from struggling to read and write to being an avid reader and a darn good story writer.

Strawberry Buttermilk Ice Cream

I am so loving all of these strawberries that Driscoll has bestowed upon me.  Thank you so much!  I made some strawberry ice cream over the weekend as well.  I love this ice cream because it is lighter and the taste of the strawberries shines through like nobody's business.

Aren't they just super beautiful?  I think so.

Buttermilk Strawberry Ice Cream

2 cups strawberries, washed and stemmed
2 cups buttermilk
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor, process strawberries just barely- liquid-y but chopped into smallish chunks. Pour into a bowl and stir in buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. Chill overnight or at the very least a couple hours.

Following the manufacturers directions, process through ice cream maker.

Hey USA- Happy Fourth of July

This weekend we went to visit our relatives in Pennsylvania. They live up on a mountain surrounded by lots of land and trees. For my husband, children and I- it's an adventure compared to suburban life/urban life. We had a great weekend and so did our dog! The first day we arrived we drove down to where our cousin was going to have her graduation party. On the way there, in the middle of the road was a black bear. A fairly huge black bear- staring at us, in surprise. We were surpised too. I knew the bears had moved in around the area some time ago but I never thought I'd see one. We looked at the bear for a while and the bear looked at us for a while in disbelief. If our dog could have wheedled out of the two inch window opening, she would have bolted for that bear. Maybe it's in her blood as she is part Akita (once used for bear hunting in Japan). I really don't want to think of her going up against a bear though.

We decided to sleep at my relatives cabin- no running water, no electricity and an outdoor bathroom. Kind of glorified camping. We wanted our girls to check out the experience. It was a lot of fun. They really enjoyed it. We told stories before bed time from our imaginations. The girls really liked that part.

The last night we were there I woke up to a bunch of coyotes yipping, probably for some meal. If my girls weren't so tuckered out, I think I would have woken them up so they could hear it. I thought it was pretty neat. Not something we hear in our neighborhood.

One of the highlights of our weekend was seeing our dog run out into the woods without a leash and then come back to us.  We were a bit afraid that she might not come back but were kind of sure she would return.  She did.  And boy did she have a blast coming and going and exploring.  I love seeing that.  A little independence for our big pup!

Someday it will be our children running off and us hoping they come back again.  Safe and a little more confident...  Right now I really don't want to think about that though.  I just want to hold them.

This sorbet will really make you pucker.  If you love lemons- this is the sorbet for you.  But if you are turned off by the sour don't even bother to make this.  Once you get into a few bites the pucker factor will decrease.  I find it to be very refreshing.  Next time I make it I think I will do lemon and ginger for a different flavor.

Lemon Mint Sorbet

Adapted from this recipe at Eating Well

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup chopped fresh mint

Zest of 1 lemon, removed with a vegetable peeler

1 cup water

1/2 cup lemon juice, (4-6 lemons)

In a saucepan bring water, sugar, mint and lemon zest to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let steep for 20 to 30 minutes, then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Stir in lemon juice. Chill until cold.

Pour into the canister of an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s directions. You can also place it in a 9 x 13 dish. Remove from freezer periodically to scrape and loosen as it freezes.

3/4 of a cup 308 calories

This is basically what we saw.  Picture source:   Wildlife Management and Habitat Management

Graham Cracker Frozen Treats

This is a crazy easy one.  Of course you can get all kind of creative with this one- 1000's of options and combinations.  No recipe really.  Easy Peasy 1-2-3.  Mix a 1/2 bag of mini marshmallows with a 1/2 of a container of cool whip- or even better whipped cream (with some kind of stabilizer in it). I say half because you will end up with a ton of these sandwiches if you do the whole bag and container. Next you fold in some mini chocolate chips.  Sandwich the mixture between two layers of graham crackers.  Freeze and eat!  Ungodly sweet to eat before freezing I must say.  Something about the freezing action makes it a bit less sweet. 

Frozen Treats: Jello Pops

Hard to snap a good picture of a waving hand. She was so wanting to eat it instead of photographing it.

These pops are like, wow, easy and fun and very lip slurping delicious.  Very versatile too.  So many diffferent flavor combinations and things you can do with them.  I love that you can control the sugar in these.  You can even make them sugar free if you like. 

I have two more frozen treats that I want to share with you over the next couple days.  Stay tuned...

Jello Pops

I used cherry flavored jello with strawberry flavored kool aid for a berry pop.  So many flavor combinations and so easy on the pocket book.

1 (3 oz.) pkg. Jello, any flavor

1 (.14 oz.) pkg. unsweetened Kool-Aid

1/2 to 3/4 c. sugar

2 c. boiling water

2 c. cold water

Dissolve Jello, Kool-Aid, and sugar in boiling water. Add cold water. Pour into ice cube trays or popsicles molds. Insert sticks. You can wait until mixture is partially frozen to insert sticks. Freeze until firm, about 2-3 hours. Makes 20-24 pops.

I stored the extra juice in the fridge until the popsicle containers were empty.  Yup that didnt take too long. It did become a little gelatinous but it still froze well.