Coffee Ice Cream

Coffee ice cream has been on my to do list since I got my ice cream maker. It is National Ice Cream month so that's why you're going to see a bunch of ice cream pop up on the blog. After trying this, I can't wait to add chocolate to this recipe to make it mocha ice cream!

Coffee Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 cups whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups coffee beans

pinch of salt

1 cup heavy cream, divided

5 large egg yokes

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon espresso powder or finely ground coffee

Directions:

Combine milk, sugar, coffee beans, salt, 1/2 cup heavy cream in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir to combine until it is warm and the mixture starts to bubble. Turn off heat and let the beans seep for one hour at room temperature.

Return mixture to medium heat. In a medium bowl whisk egg yokes. Once the coffee mixture is warm, pour it over the yokes and whisk constantly. Return the coffee and egg mixture back to the saucepan.

Cook on medium heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom until mixture thickens or reaches 170*-175*. Mixture should be able to coat the spoon. In a medium bowl, pour the remaining 1/2 cup of cream and place a strainer on top. Pour mixture through the strainer.

Press on coffee beans to extract all the liquid with a heavy bottom glass. Discard coffee beans. Mix vanilla and espresso into the custard. Chill for about one hour in refrigerator. Freeze in cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Keep in an airtight container in the freezer.

Source: Annie's Eats "Coffee Ice Cream"

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

This is by far my favorite pizza to make and eat. It is spicy and flavorful. My mouth is watering just thinking about this pizza. It literally tastes like buffalo wings and a pizza had a baby. You must try this very, very soon.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

one homemade pizza crust, thawed if frozen

1/4 cup ranch dressing

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup cheddar cheese

four green onions, diced

1 tablespoon white onion, diced

1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded (I use some from my crockpot chicken)

1 handful of cherry tomatoes

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/4 cup hot sauce*

*I use Franks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450*. Combine hot sauce and butter in a medium bowl. Toss chicken in the hot sauce mixture to coat. Next, roll out pizza dough and spread ranch dressing over pizza. In this order, sprinkle the onion, mozzarella cheese, chicken with half of excess sauce, cheddar cheese, tomatoes and green onions.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in preheated oven. I use the excess buffalo sauce to dip my pizza crusts in. Yum!

Homemade Instant Pancake Mix

Store bought pancake mix is a thing of the past in this household. I do believe I have found THE perfect homemade pancake. Not to mention this is a mix so you can make your instant mix then make batches of it when needed. I can never make a perfectly round pancake or the perfectly golden brown pancake yet somehow my husband looks past this fault of mine and loves me anyway (especially when I make these pancakes).

Homemade Instant Pancake Mix

Ingredients:

6 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a lidded container or ziplock bag. Shake well to mix. Use within 3 months.

Homemade Instant Pancakes

Yield: 8-12 pancakes

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated

2 cups buttermilk

4 tablespoons melted butter

2 cups of your homemade instant pancake mix

some butter for greasing the pan

Directions:

Heat an electric griddle or non-stick pan to 350*. Whisk together egg whites and buttermilk. If you don't have buttermilk then combine two cups of milk with two tablespoons of lemon and let it sit for five minutes before using. In another bowl whisk butter and egg yokes together. Combine buttermilk mixture and egg yoke mixture in a large mixing bowl. Add pancake cake mix and stir to just combine. Don't worry about all the lumps.

Ladle pancake batter onto buttered, preheated griddle (or pan). When the pancake begins to form bubbles, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Sometimes I cool them on a greased cooling rack and freeze them to eat at a later date or slowly over the work week. Just pop them in the microwave a minute per pancake and they taste like you just flipped it out of the pan.

Source: Alton Brown "Instant Pancake Mix"

Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream

Usually, if ice cream doesn't have chocolate or cookie dough in it, I don't want to eat it. I've never really been a fan of strawberry ice cream but I came across this recipe and I was super curious how the heck sour cream and strawberries would ever taste good together. This is ice cream is the answer. I changed it up and put lemon in it after a friend said she only ate strawberry ice cream with a scoop of lemon sherbet. I must admit it is a really nice flavor combination!

Strawberry Lemonade Ice Cream

Ingredients:

16 ounces strawberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vodka, optional

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup whole milk

the juice and zest of one lemon*

* You can add or take away depending on your preference. My friend would have preferred more lemon flavor yet I was satisfied with this amount.

Hull and slice the strawberries. In a medium bowl combine sugar, strawberries, and vodka (optional). Cover and set aside for one hour. In a blender, put the sugared strawberries, sour cream, cream, milk, lemon and zest. Blend until nearly smooth yet still slightly chunky. Chill for one hour. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Keep in an air tight container in your freezer.

Source: Adapted from Annie's Eats "Dreamy Creamy Strawberry Ice Cream"

Frozen Cokes

Icees are very addictive and a must during summer. Last summer I'm pretty sure I consumed my weight in them. I ran across the homemade version on Bake at 350. So simple yet so very brilliant. You simply put 3 cans of coke or a liter of coke in your ice cream maker and let it freeze up for 10-15 minutes. This of course can be done with any drink of choice (minus artificial sweetened drinks). Easy peasy!

Linguine with Broccoli

Can you tell I like broccoli? In preschool we did a coloring project about all our favorite things and the teacher wouldn't believe me that my favorite food was broccoli. I must really branch out to other vegetables before this blog becomes "Lots of Broccoli"!

Linguine with Broccoli

Ingredients:

1 pound broccoli cut into florets

1 pound linguine

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2- 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1/3 cup parmesan cheese

1 clove garlic, diced

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Steam broccoli until tender. Cook pasta until al dente then drain and return to the pot. I usually boil my pasta in the same pan that my steamer sits over so it saves me time and I cook the pasta and broccoli at the same time. Just be careful your water doesn't boil over.

In a frying pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli, garlic, and chilli flakes and stir for about five minutes or until broccoli is well coated and is coming apart. Add broccoli to the pasta. Gently, toss the broccoli and pasta while adding the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. I usually top each serving with a little more cheese for good measure.

Fried Rice

Everyone needs a good fried rice recipe to fall back on. This one is basic and I simply added whatever vegetables we had on hand. This wasn't my first attempt at this but it was my first adding all the vegetables. I lightly steamed my vegetables and added an extra tablespoon of soy sauce. Just be careful not to over cook your rice. This will not work with soggy rice!

Fried Rice

Ingredients:

2 large eggs

4 tablespoons oil

4 cups cold, cooked rice

1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

Various vegetables, if desired

Directions:

Cook rice and let cool. Place in a bowl and refrigerate until completely chilled. In a pan, cook eggs and set aside. Heat oil in a large pan on medium. Add garlic and onion, cook until onions are almost translucent. Add cold rice to pan and stir and break it up to coat rice in oil. Add soy sauce, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. When rice is nearly all warm, add the cooked egg (and vegetables if desired) stir until egg is incorporated. Serve promptly.