Recipe: Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

There’s no better way to celebrate a scorching hot 4th of July than with a fresh batch of homemade ice cream…..which is exactly what we did yesterday! I’ve had several friends request this recipe that I’m sharing with you today. You may be getting this a little too late to include in your 4th of July celebrations, but lucky for you, July is National Ice Cream Month! I seriously need to hug whoever thought that one up. 🙂 Ice cream is my number one weakness of all time. I eat it almost everyday – at least once!

This recipe comes from a cookbook by Thomas R. Quinn called “Old-Fashioned Homemade Ice Cream”. My mom picked this up for me at an Amish store in Holmes County, OH a couple of years ago. These recipes are simply the BEST homemade ice creams that I’ve ever had in my life. Leftovers freeze amazingly well (anybody ever had the kind that turns hard as a rock when frozen in the freezer?) and scoop out just like store-bought ice cream.

If you try it, please let me know how much you loved it. 🙂

Strawberry Ice Cream

• 2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• pinch of salt
• 3 cups whipping cream
• 3 cups mashed, sweetened strawberries (about 1/4 cup of sugar will sweeten berries) OR you can use thawed, pre-sweetened strawberries from the freezer section of your grocery
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (not necessary if you use pre-sweetened strawberries from the freezer section)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• whole milk as needed (about 5 cups)

In a large pan combine the sugar, eggs, and salt. Add the whipping cream and cook the mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly to avoid scorching. Remove from heat when the mixture coats the back of a spoon (about 180 degrees). Refrigerate. When cool, add the vanilla.

If using fresh strawberries, either dice strawberries into very small pieces or slice and mash them. Add the lemon juice and enough sugar to sweeten (about 1/4 cup). Refrigerate at least 1 hour to allow the sugar to blend with the strawberries.

When ready to freeze ice cream, add the strawberries to the cream-sugar-egg mixture. Pour into an ice cream freezing can and add whole milk to bring the mixture up to 3/4 full. Freeze in a home ice cream freezer. Makes about one gallon.

Note: I use a 6 qt White Mountain ice cream freezer so I don’t fill to 3/4 full because this recipe is written for a 4 qt freezer. Also, I used raw milk from our cows which has a bit higher fat content than “whole milk” so I used 2 1/2 cups of whipping cream and  5 1/2 cups milk to compensate. In addition, I added the milk at same time I added the cream and cooked to 180 degrees. This is not necessary to do – I’ve made it both ways – BUT I felt this may have given the ice cream an ever creamier texture.

An Exciting Opportunity!!!

Last week I had the exciting opportunity to guest blog for the Friends of Elsie Borden Cheese Blog!

Borden Cheese is not only delicious,  it is 100% farmer owned – that means when you buy Borden Cheese 100% of the proceeds go back to American dairy farm families! Pretty cool, huh?

I would be so honored if you took a moment to read my post on the Friend of Elsie blog that was published yesterday. Click this link to check it out! http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends-of-elsie/blog

Many thanks to DFA for recommending me, and to Kelly Goss, Director of Public Relations at Sullivan Higdon and Sink in Kansas City for helping this blog post become a reality.

Recipe: Sour Cream Cookies

I had the pleasure of making cookies for my future sister-in-law’s wedding shower last Saturday. When I make cookies like this I tend to get VERY detailed. Ha ha! I had always wanted to make some cutesy cookies like this. The cookie cutters were just too adorable!

I have used the same cut-out cookie recipe my whole life! When you find a great recipe, no point in changing! The sour cream and nutmeg just add a very special element to the cookies.

Sour Cream Cookies
1/4 cup shortening
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream

Heat oven to 425F. Mix shortening, margarine, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients. Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Roll each part 1/4 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut with 2-inch cookie cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until no imprint remains when touched lightly, 4 – 8 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen cookies.

 

 

Recipe: Easy Homemade Biscuits

My sister-in-law shared this recipe with me a couple years ago and it has been a favorite ever since! These biscuits are a perfect complement to any breakfast – they’re easy to make and they come out of the oven hot and delicious. The men in your life will be impressed. 🙂

Easy Homemade Biscuits

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 450F.
2. Cut butter into flour using a fork.
3. Stir in milk to form a ball of dough.
4. Knead dough on a floured board 5 -6 times.
5. Roll or pat to 1/2 thick and cut out biscuits.
6. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 8 – 12 minutes.

Makes Approx. 8 biscuits

Saratoga Chips

Last night my hubby asked for me to fix a frozen pizza for supper. I excitedly asked, “are you sure?”. YES! An easy supper was in my future. It’s always fun to take a break from the norm and have something easy. I was trying to think of something to have with our pizza when hubs suggested Saratoga Chips. Oh yes, my favorite side dish from one of my favorite Cincinnati restaurants – Montgomery Inn. I have basically been addicted to their BBQ sauce (which is sold in stores, thankfully) since I was a little girl. It’s pretty much the only BBQ sauce I eat! Montgomery Inn serves these homemade chips called Saratoga Chips with their famous Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce to dip them in…….it’s heaven. Fortunately, they are very easy to make at home so we don’t have to break the bank to fulfill our craving. 🙂

I simply washed, peeled and sliced 3 potatoes about 1/8 of an inch thick.

Deep fry them in some hot oil for 3 – 5 minutes depending on the thickness of the potatoes. I prefer mine crunchy on the outer edges and slightly chewy in the center. Hubs prefers them crunchy all the way through.

Finish them off with a healthy (or should I say unhealthy) dose of salt and you’re ready to go!

To get the most authentic taste, heat some Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce in the microwave for 20 – 30 seconds. Warming it up really brings out the flavor.

Dip your chips in the sauce and you’ve got a very tasty treat! We devoured ours last night! YUM!

Recipe: Chicken Nuggets

These are the best homemade chicken nuggets I have ever had in my life! I originally found the recipe on Pinterest and loved it. I’ve made them a few times, one time even doing a slight variation for Breakfast Chicken. They are supposed to be a copy cat of Chick-fil-a nuggets. I personally don’t think they taste just like Chick-fil-a, but they are pretty fabulous anyway! Soaking the chicken in the milk and egg for a couple of hours before frying makes them AMAZING!

PS. Don’t be afraid of the powdered sugar in there. It just adds a subtle sweetness to the chicken.

Chicken Nuggets: (recipe from the My Name Is Snickerdoodle Blog)

2 skinless and boneless chicken breasts
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 1/4 cups flour
2 TBSP powdered sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
peanut oil (is best) or canola oil (I use vegetable oil and they are still very good. Peanut oil probably would make them taste more like Chick-fil-a .)

In a medium bowl whisk the egg and stir in the milk. Trim any fat away from chicken. Cube chicken into bite size pieces. Place chicken in milk mixture,and cover. Let it ‘marinate’ for 2-4 hours in the fridge. This will make the chicken very nice and tender. In a gallon size resealable bag combine flour, powdered sugar, salt and pepper. Seal and shake to combine. Place about 2 inches of oil in a medium deep pot. Over medium high heat (more towards the high side) heat oil until hot. If using a thermometer let the temperature reach 375°. If you don’t have a fancy gadget like most people, I always test my oil by dropping a few drops of water into it. You want it to sizzle and not pop too much. Adjust your heat if necessary. Using a fork or tongs remove cut chicken from milk mixture and place in the flour mixture. Seal and shake until nuggets are completely coated. Place about a 6-8 nuggets into hot oil and let them cook until golden brown, turning half way through once the edge of your chicken starts to turn white. About 1 minute each side. Always double check to see if any chicken you make is cooked through (it can take up to 4 minutes depending on how hot your oil is). I always just make a tiny cut to see if it’s pink. Remove and drain on a paper towel. Repeat until all nuggets are cooked. Serve with your favorite sauce!

***My mother-in-law got a Fry Daddy mini deep fryer for Christmas and it works great for these chicken nuggets! The oil heats quickly and it has a self-adjusting thermostat to keep it at just the right temp. It’s easy to clean and store which means you don’t have a big ugly deep fryer taking up space on your counter all the time!***

 

 

Cookies with Mom

Saturday I had the opportunity to help my mom decorate some Valentine cookies for her adult Sunday School class. It was a blast! She found a new icing recipe that dried shiny and tasted fabulous. The colors turned out so vibrant and beautiful. Baking and decorating cookies is one of my favorite things to do, but SO time-consuming. If my mom hadn’t baked the cookies the day before we would have been decorating until midnight!

My talented and beautiful mother writing on the cookies.

They were soooo pretty! I’m glad there were enough for me to eat a few. 🙂

 

Gingerbread and Chocolate Pudding

One of our favorite desserts growing up was what we called “Gingerbread and Chocolate Pudding”. My dad especially LOVES it. In fact, I think he thought of the idea in the first place! I know it’s an unusual combination, and may even sound gross, but I assure you, it is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.

I remember the first time I mentioned it to my hubby, Matt, he thought it sounded terrible. He changed his mind as soon as he tried it! Now a couple of years into our marriage it warmed my heart to have him request that I make this dessert for him last weekend. I won him over!

The best part is, this is a very easy dessert – both the gingerbread and pudding come from box mixes. There is something so homey and delicious about this combo. It is a must-try in my opinion!

Gingerbread and Chocolate Pudding

• 1 box mix of gingerbread cake (we use Betty Crocker)
• 1 large box chocolate pudding (NOT instant. You need the cook kind so that you can serve it warm.)

Prepare and bake the gingerbread according to the box directions. Remove from oven to cool.

Prepare chocolate pudding according to box directions. Let cool slightly then serve warm poured over pieces of gingerbread cake.

I would love to know if anyone has ever heard of or tried this dessert before. Anyone? Thanks for reading and taking time to comment!

Cupcakes for a Cause

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to make some cupcakes and donate them to a local cake auction supporting Teen Challenge, a home for troubled young men and women. I was a little short on time so I decided to make cupcakes as opposed to a layer cake. I had been inspired by a pin I saw on Pinterest and knew exactly how I wanted to decorate them (my decorating inspiration was actually used on a layer cake, but it worked on my cupcakes quite nicely as well!!!) They look gorgeous and were really not that hard – you don’t even need any special decorating bags or tips!

Berry Almond Flower Cupcakes

I used a Pillsbury white cake mix for my cupcakes. I considered making the cake from scratch, but I figured that a time crunch wasn’t a good time to start experimenting with cake recipes! 🙂

You could use a store-bought frosting if you wish to speed things up, but I chose to make a  half batch of my mom’s Almond Butter Cream Icing to frost the cupcakes with. I knew the almond flavor in the icing would be a perfect complement to those almond slices on top!

Berry Almond Flower Cupcakes

24 Cupcakes

Raspberries

Blackberries or Blueberries

Almond Slices

Almond Butter Cream Frosting:
1/2 cup Crisco solid vegetable shortening
1 tsp. almond extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 – 2 Tbsp. milk

• Make cupcakes according to your recipe or box mix directions.
• Wash berries and lay and paper towels to dry.

TO MAKE FROSTING:

1. Put shortening and  almond and vanilla extracts in mixing bowl. Cream together.
2. Add powdered sugar by spoonfuls to mixture.
3. Add milk and beat well (I used the wire whip attachment on my stand mixer to acheive a slightly lighter texture.)

DECORATE:

1. Frost cooled cupcakes (this recipe doesn’t allow for an excessive amount of frosting on each cupcake. If you like more frosting you may want to double the recipe).
2. Place a berry in the center of each cupcake.
3. Place almond slices around each berry to create a “flower” (as pictured).

You can also use blueberries instead of blackberries like my inspiration pin used. I just chose blackberries because hubby likes them better. 🙂 Super easy and beautiful!

Chicken Biscuits for Breakfast!

I had about 20 minutes to make breakfast before the guys came up from the barn this morning……..yes, they are extremely spoiled! Ha! Between my mother-in-law and I, they get a hot breakfast every morning. Of course, when they’ve been working since 4:00am, they’re pretty ravenous by the time 8:30 rolls around!

I was tired of the usual bacon, ham, or sausage deal when I opened the fridge and remembered that I had some chicken breasts that I needed to use before they went bad. Thus, the birth of the chicken biscuit! I didn’t measure out my ingredients so here’s my best estimate for the recipe. 🙂 They were delicious!

Chicken Nuggets for Chicken Biscuits

1 1/2 large chicken breasts (cut into chunks)
1 egg, beaten
2 heaping tablespoons flour
1 heaping tablespoon powdered sugar
Salt
Pepper
Crisco Oil
Biscuits of your choice

1. Start heating approx. 1/4 inch of oil in the bottom of a small skillet.
2. Cut chicken breasts into 1 1/2 inch (or smaller) chunks.
3. Beat egg in small bowl.
4. Stir together the flour, powdered sugar, salt and pepper in another small bowl.
5. Dip chicken chunks into beaten egg.
6. Roll chicken chunks in flour mixture.
7. Fry floured chicken chunks in oil until deep golden brown and cooked through (approx 10 – 15 min depending on size).
8. Serve on your favorite biscuits!