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Archive for the ‘Cooking’ Category

Dairy Free Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on September 24, 2011| 6 Comments »

In trying out new flavors of dairy-free ice cream, I have tried to make something for everyone around me.  C loves Oreos, so I decided to make this version for him.  It turned out really well and the only thing that I would do differently is to add 2 tablespoons of vanilla instead of one.  We did notice the flavor of the coconut milk more in this since there wasn’t a lot of strong flavors to mask it, but it was still good on a hot summer day!

I started with the basic vanilla recipe that I published here, and added crushed Oreos to it.  So easy! 

1 14oz. can full-fat coconut milk

1 1/4 cups soymilk or other nondairy milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar (or agave syrup-I just bought some and will try this, too.  The agave syrup lowers the glycemic index which makes it better for diabetics.)

1.5 tbsp. real vanilla extract

14 Oreo cookies, crushed

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Place all of the ingredients except the cookies in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 

I crushed the cookies by putting them into a zip-top bag and break them up with a rolling pin.

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Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the vanilla base into it.  Process for 20 minutes.  Add the cookie crumbs in the last five minutes of processing.  Pour this into a lidded freezer-safe container and let it harden for 2 to 3 hours.

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Cooking, Menu Planning, tagged , on September 19, 2011| 2 Comments »

Hello, my lovely readers!  It is Monday again which means another weekend has flown right by.  Where does it go?  The weather was wonderful and perfect for getting out and doing something.  Our “something” on Saturday was pressure washing the front of the house.  Yay. (That was some sarcasm for you if you couldn’t tell.)  C & I learned a neat little trick though.  C wondered if the dirt and mildew would come off easier if we sprayed on some soap first and let it soak for a few minutes.  I happened to have an empty spray bottle so we tried it.  Score!!!  In fact, it worked so well we had C’s dad stop at the local store and pick us up a one gallon pressure garden sprayer.  Why hadn’t we learned this before?  The work went so much faster.  We will hopefully finish the back this week and do our tall north end in the next couple of weekends.  It already looks so much better with what we have done.

Also this weekend, our little hometown had its annual fall festival with a very special guest.  A young man who graduated from our high school just a few short years ago was recently awarded the Medal of Honor for his brave acts in the war in Afghanistan.  He was honored locally by being the grand marshal of the parade and having a street named after him.  We weren’t able to attend, but from what I have heard, the ceremony went great and there was a huge crowd to greet him.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week with some good food and fun!

Bubble Up Pizza

Cheesy Steak Sandwiches with Oven Baked Fries (2 nights)

Parmesan Herb Pork Chops (new) with Oven Baked Fries

Spicy Vegetable Soup

Takeout Pizza night

Chicken Fried Steak Strips (new) with butter roasted potatoes

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies (new)

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Dairy Free Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on September 17, 2011| 6 Comments »

Y’all might get tired of seeing all of the dairy free ice creams that I am trying to make, but hopefully this will help someone else that is lactose-intolerant enjoy a homemade frozen treat!  Butter pecan is right up at the top of the list of my favorite ice cream flavors, so I was anxious to give it a try.

I began with Paula Deen’s regular butter pecan recipe and tweaked it to make it dairy free.  The results were very good!  I shared this with my co-workers and they said it was just as good as regular ice cream and that they couldn’t tell the difference.  Success!

 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk

1 (3 3/4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups plain soy milk

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Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Cook the pecans over low heat until they are lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Place on a paper towel to drain and cool.

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In an 8-cup measuring cup with a spout, combine the remaining ingredients. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturers’ instructions. Add the pecans 10 minutes into the freezing.

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged on September 12, 2011|

Happy Monday, everyone!  I just have to announce that my wonderful co-worker, A, had a beautiful baby girl last Thursday night and they are both doing great!  Baby B was 8 pounds 15 ounces and 20.5 inches long!  Congrats to A and her wonderful family.

We finally got some much needed rain last week from the leftovers of a tropical storm that hung around for several days.  This past weekend was glorious though.  I was able to sow more lettuce and carrot seeds and do a little more cleaning in the garage.  Hopefully slow and steady wins the race because I try to clean out there for a couple of hours at a time until I get so bored with it that I have to find something else to do.

Here is this week’s list…

Salisbury Steak with Butter Roasted Potatoes and Basic Coleslaw

Cinnamon Bun Pancakes with Bacon

Grilled hamburgers with Oven Baked Fries

Pizza night

Beef Roast Italiana

Southern Plate’s Apple Orchard Cake (new)

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Southern Plate’s Yellow Cake with Peanut Butter Icing

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on September 10, 2011| 9 Comments »

This recipe was a tease for a few weeks on the Menu Plan Monday posts because I just couldn’t seem to get it made. Well, I finally did and it was very good!  The cake part is just a plain yellow cake made from a mix which is good, but the boiled icing made it great!  The cooked frosting sets up until it is almost fudge like in consistency, so work fast after you take it off the heat.

The story behind this recipe in the Southern Plate cookbook is so cute.  I won’t pass it on here since it is not my family story to share, but go get this book and read it!  It is really sweet!

1 box yellow cake mix

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

7 Tbsp. milk

2 Tbsp. shortening

2 Tbsp. butter

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

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Prepare the cake mix according to package directions, baking it in a 9×13” baking dish. (Note: I used 2 square 8” dishes because I was taking this to 2 different places.)

While the cake is cooling, combine the sugar, milk, shortening, butter, and salt in a medium heavy saucepan.  Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.  Once it reaches a rolling boil, stop stirring and let boil for 1-2 minutes, or until it reaches the soft-ball stage.

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Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the vanilla and peanut butter.  Beat until smooth and quickly spread over the cake.

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged , on September 5, 2011|

Happy Labor Day to everyone!  I hope all of my readers have had a great long weekend and are looking forward to a great week ahead!  My little “staycation” is about over, but I have enjoyed every minute of it.  On Thursday, my nanny, Aunt M and I traveled to Bowling Green, KY to visit Jackson’s Orchard and do a little shopping.  I bought a peck of Jonathan apples, a basket of peaches, a seedless watermelon (or 2), and 2 jars of Apple BBQ sauce that I used on my shredded BBQ this weekend.  All of their produce is so good and I wished I lived closer so I could visit more often. 

On Friday, I began the garage clean-up and made some good progress.  It was getting pretty hot out there so I only was able to work for a few hours.  Hopefully, I will get more done today since it is supposed to be much, much cooler.  The office has been cleaned though, and so has the electronics closet in the living room.  Little by little, I seem to be getting rid of some of the clutter in our house. 

I did change last week’s menu a little bit.  On Thursday, I fixed a bubble-up pizza which was a new recipe that I will be sharing with you in the coming weeks and I changed my dessert recipe as well.  I had more time to cook on Sunday than I was expecting so I fixed an Apple Cream Cheese Bundt cake instead of the bars.  They will be moved to this week’s list so I can use more of those delicious Jonathan apples. 

Oh, I almost forgot.  Our little town has a main street committee and they hosted a gospel singing concert on Saturday night.  There was also a pie and cake auction with the money raised going to the local food pantry.  My co-worker, K, is on the committee so I volunteered to make an Italian Cream Cake for the auction.  It brought $55!!!!  I was shocked.  I hope the lady who bought it enjoys every last bite!

Shredded BBQ with oven baked fries (I made enough BBQ over the weekend to carry over to Monday.)

Italian Sausage Bake (like regular sausage bake but with Italian instead of breakfast sausage) 2 nights

Grilled Pork Chops with Butter Grilled Potatoes

Pizza night

Grilled pork loin with Butter Grilled Potatoes

Apple Butterscotch Brownies

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Blackberry Sauce

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , on September 3, 2011| 8 Comments »

My nanny has some thorn-less blackberry vines growing on her farm and I have been diligently picking some every time that I am up there.  These berries are big and plump, and, yep, full of tiny annoying seeds.  I wanted a sauce to go with the dairy free vanilla ice cream that I posted about last week, and I found this recipe at delish.com. 

I tweaked it just a little and it was so good!  The color was out of this world, and the flavor went perfectly with the ice cream.  I bet this would also be great with angel food cake.  I might have to try that, too!  Angel food cake, homemade vanilla ice cream, and homemade blackberry sauce sounds pretty good to me.

2 cups fresh blackberries (You can also use frozen.  Just let them soften up a little.)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/8 cup water

1/2 tbsp. lemon juice

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Bring the blackberries, sugar and water to a simmer over low-medium heat in a saucepan, stirring occasionally.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  While this was simmering, I mashed the berries with a potato masher.

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Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a bowl.  Add the lemon juice.  Chill until ready to use.  I made mine the night before and the color really developed over night.

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged on August 29, 2011|

Good Monday morning, folks!  I am so glad you could join me today for our little menu planning adventure.  This is a short work week for me because I am taking off Thursday and Friday to have a little extra holiday break before Labor Day.  My co-worker, A, is scheduled for a c-section at the end of next week so I decided to have a little “staycation” before she goes on maternity leave.  Good luck and God bless to A and baby B for a safe delivery and a healthy baby and mama!

On Thursday, I plan on going to Bowling Green, KY with my aunt and nanny to visit Jackson’s Orchard again.  I am so looking forward to some fresh apples!  On Friday, it is all about garage clean-out.  I have a few organization ideas to implement out there, but first there is a bunch of stuff that needs sorting and cleaning.  Wish me luck!!!  Hopefully, there will be before and after photos of the success.

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven baked fries

Taco ring (2 nights)

Burgers and fries

Pizza night

Shredded Pork BBQ with basic Cole slaw

Apple Butterscotch Brownies (new)

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Dairy Free Vanilla Ice Cream

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , on August 27, 2011| 10 Comments »

I tried to warn you last week that the dairy free ice cream recipes were going to come hot and heavy here for a few weeks.  It is my new favorite thing!  I asked my nanny and dad what ice cream flavor they would like to try and they chose good ol’ vanilla.  This makes a great base for a decadent sauce, like, maybe a homemade blackberry sauce from freshly picked blackberries perhaps? Yes, that is a tease.  Check back next week for some berry goodness.

1 14oz. can full-fat coconut milk

1 1/4 cups soymilk or other nondairy milk

1/2 cup granulated sugar (or agave syrup-I just bought some and will try this, too.  The agave syrup lowers the glycemic index which makes it better for diabetics.)

1.5 tbsp. real vanilla extract (The fake stuff would probably work, but I am a real vanilla snob.  Sorry!)

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Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until well combined.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. 

Turn on the ice cream maker and pour the vanilla base into it.  Process for 20 minutes and you will have amazing soft serve vanilla ice cream.  Pour this into a lidded freezer-safe container and let it harden for 2 to 3 hours. 

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Please join me and many other great bloggers at Miz Helen’s Country Cottage for Full Plate Thursday.

Come join the fun at the My Baking Addiction and GoodLife Eats Holiday Recipe Swap sponsored by Beanilla.

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Menu Plan Monday

Posted in Menu Planning, tagged on August 22, 2011|

It is Monday again?  The calendar says it is so I guess I had better work out my menu for the week.  I hope everyone had a great weekend.  We sure did!  C and I took my dad to a Bowling Green Hot Rods baseball game on Friday night and then we stayed home on Saturday to catch up on a few chores.  Even though we have had some extreme heat. the grass sure doesn’t seem to be affected.  It has grown like crazy all summer long.  I got out early Saturday morning and trimmed back the Knockout roses and Compacta holly shrubs that are in our front yard for the last time this year.  Did you know that you weren’t supposed to trim roses or shrubs any later than this in Kentucky? 

If you cut them now, the ends have time to heal over before cold weather.  If you wait too late, the moisture in the air (rain or dew) will settle down in the open cuts, then when it frosts or freezes, that liquid expands and bursts the stems.  Not good!  So if you live in South Central Kentucky, get out there in August and trim those shrubs.  It is safe to cut them back hard during March to encourage new spring growth.  Just a little gardening lesson for you!

This week’s menu is pretty straightforward.  There will probably be only one new thing this week, but that’s ok.  I might change my mind and whip up something new and unexpected!  C’s cousin is getting married in a couple of months and we are going to their wedding shower this weekend.  Congrats to them!

Southern Plate’s Deep Dish Pizza

Grilled Hot Dogs & oven baked fries

Country ham & biscuits with butter roasted potatoes

Pizza night

Homemade sloppy Joes with oven baked fries

Hot Fudge Pie (new) with dairy free vanilla ice cream

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