Easy Dairy-Free Ice Cream

Ice cream is a big comfort food for me, and unfortunately with baby's reflux I can't have it. My husband who loves me found a recipe for dairy free ice cream on the internet. Then I improved it. I have to say this stuff is pretty darn good. It doesn't give you the "full" feeling that a bowl of ice cream and chocolate give you, but it sure tastes like ice cream, which is good enough for me. It is also significantly better for you than regular ice cream, but you do have to plan for it at least a few hours ahead of time.

Dairy-Free Banana Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 banana
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
cashews (optional)
caramel (optional)

1. Select a ripe, but firm banana. Peel it and break into thirds. 2. Freeze chunks until solid (at least three hours). 3. Puree bananas and vanilla until creamy. You need a pretty good blender for this. Usually I blend them into a chunky mush and then I have to scrape the size of the blender to get the much all back and the bottom and then I blend again until I get the desired product. 4. Top with caramel and cashew if desired. (Honestly you can top it with anything that you please, but those are just some of the few things that don't bother and infant with reflux, so I take it.) Makes one serving

I'm taking a break for the next few weeks. We've got family stuff going on, Christmas, birthdays and I studying to become a Certified Pediatric Nurse. But rest assured that I have many more things to say.

Food Storage Friday: Cherry Pineapple Crisp

 One of my husband's favorite desserts is Cherry Crisp. Heather HATES cherries, but I do make some for him every year on Valentine's (and his mother makes it for his birthday). This year I decided to change it up a little bit, I liked it enough that I even ate a piece this year.

Cherry Pineapple Crisp
Food Storage Ingredients:
2 cans cherry pie filling
1 cup drained crushed pineapple
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup shredded coconut

Fresh Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons melted butter
Vanilla ice cream (optional)

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix pie filling and pineapple in a 9x13 pan. 2. Mix remaining ingredients and sprinkle over pie filling. Bake for thirty minutes.

Dinosaur Birthday Cake

So Thing 2's birthday was awhile ago and I decided on a dinosaur birthday cake. (Mostly because this cake only required one cake mix, and I was not interested in my family of four eating birthday cake for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week.) And my son who usually does not eat cake was so excited that it was shaped like a dinosaur, that he actually ate some.

First you bake the cake of your desired flavor in two 8" round pans.I used basic yellow. After the cakes have cooled, cut them as shown below.

Discard (or eat) shaded parts

Cover a piece of cardboard with foil and arrange cakes on cardboard. Then I poured jello on the cake to make it taste better and give it a bloody gruesome dinosaur effect.

Then I cut the top corners off the "rainbow" to give the head a better shape. Refrigerate for 3 hours. Next I made a frosting of chocolate pudding and whipped topping.

I used a tiny piece of fruit roll-up for the mouth, swirled chocolate chips for eyes, and let the kids decorate the rest of the cake with mint and dark chocolate chips.

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie

When I was in 8th grade, my US History teacher gave a research assignment. We were to make a portfolio about anything that we wanted, but the point was to teach us how to research. I chose The Beatles, but more importantly my classmate Liz Munk chose peanut butter. When presentation day came she made this peanut butter pie and peanut butter soup. The soup was meh, but the pie was amazing. I make it at least once a year, and to me it tastes like comfort food. (Of course I made a few changes to make it little easier and healthier, but still good.)

Frozen Peanut Butter Pie
Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup butter melted
Or just buy a Keebler crust, most often that is what I do.

Filling:
8 ounces neufchatel (reduced fat cream cheese)
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1&1/2 Tablespoons vanilla
1/2 cup white sugar
8 ounce tub of whipped topping
(Mix crust ingredients and press into a pie plate.) 1. Beat cheese, peanut butter, vanilla and sugar until smooth. 2. Gently fold in whipped topping into peanut butter in four additions. 3. Spoon filling into crust and freeze until firm. (About two hours.)

You can serve this with hot fudge sauce, but my kids also like it topped with broken candy pieces and whipped topping.

Easy Lemon Cake Truffles

I'm not going to pretend that these are healthy, but they are really fun, easy and tasty. It's the kind of project that is great to do with your kids. Just have them pull a stool up to the counter and dig in. My neighbor Charlie taught me how to make these a couple weeks ago. She makes them with neighbors, grandkids and kids in the daycare she works at. She used chocolate cake and frosting, but I have a general aversion to chocolate frosting and a serious weakness for lemon desserts. And as it is my blog we are doing it my way. (You're welcome to make yours however you please. :D Most flavors should work.)

Easy Lemon Cake Truffles
1 box of lemon cake, prepared per directions

1 container of lemon frosting
sprinkles, coconut flakes, dried fruit, colored sugar and small candies

1. Take baked cake and crumble in a bowl.

2. Dump in entire container of frosting. Mix thoroughly.

3. Using an ice cream scoop form balls from cake mixture. Roll into a more even shape.

4. Roll into toppings.

5. Refrigerate before eating.

When I made them with Charlie they looked AMAZING. This time I believe there were two
problems with mine. a) I think I should have let my cake cool off a little more, so the "dough" was less sticky, b) My two year old and five year old were involved. Things are not going to be picture perfect. I'm ok with that. We had fun. :)

Shared  on Themed Baker's Sunday link up party @ Cupcake Apothecary

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving: Apple Pie Filling

This year will be the first year that we're having Thanksgiving at my place. I'm trying to do as much as I can ahead of time so I actually have a chance at enjoying the holiday. This week I've been putting a little more effort into cleaning the house, bought a new shower curtain for the second bathroom (dinosaurs!), stocked up on a few baking items that were on sale and made apple pie filling. Aside from trying to get ready, with recent apple prices and then my Bountiful Basket we had more apples than we could possibly go through before they go bad. (And that's after I made a few batches of apple sauce.) Growing up my mom made apple pie filling every year, then when it's time to make pies you can just roll out a crust, dump in a quart of pie filling and you're done. Easy as pie. Not to mention it tastes significantly better than store-bought pie filling. This is the first time I have done it myself and I was very pleased with how it turned out. The only problem is that any recipe I get from my mom is not exact. Here was part of our conversation the other night:
"So how many apples do you use?"
"A potfull."
"How big of a pot?"
"A big one."
"How much sugar do you use?"
"Enough"
"How much is enough?"
"It depends on how big your pot is."

Apple Pie Filling

1.One potful of apples, peeled and sliced. I used mostly fujis, but there are a few granny smiths and galas too. I'm guessing around 16 cups of apples.

2. Mix 6 Tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 cups of sugar. If you don't do this you're more likely to get corn starch clumps.

3. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. How much depends on how big your pot is. I used about 3/4 teaspoon of each. Also add 1/4 cup of apple juice to prevent apple from burning to bottom of the pan while they start to cook. Also add 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice. (I also added 1/2 tsp orange juice concentrate.)

4. Cook over medium low heat, stirring occasionally for about an hour. When you're done it should like this:

5. Can according to you canner instructions. (For mine I just boiled it for 20 minutes after I put the filling into quart jars.) Makes about 3 quarts of apple pie filling.

Note: My mom usually only uses 2 cups of sugar and less corn starch, but I tasted it and felt that it needed more. It depends on your apples. But I will say that this stuff is going to make some pretty amazing pie.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert

Recently I discovered a large bag of stale pretzels in my pantry. Not being one to waste food this is what I made with it and it was sooo yummy. I combined a recipe for a pie that I made in high school for a girl's choice dance (which pie came out of my date's nose when he started laughing uncontrollably, yeah haven't made it since) and one I found in The Essential Mormon Cookbook.

Strawberry Pretzel Dessert 
2/3 cup butter, melted
2 1/2 cups thin pretzel sticks
1 package (8 oz) neufchatel
1 tub (8 oz) whipped topping
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup white sugar
2 cup water
1 large package of strawberry-flavored gelatin
3 cups of frozen strawberries or raspberries
1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained

1. Crush pretzels and mix with butter into a crust in a 9x13 pan. 2. Bake for 10 minutes @ 400. 3. Remove and cool. 4. Combine neufchatel, whipped topping, lemon juice, vanilla and sugar. Spread over pretzel crust. Make sure that all parts of the crust are covered and there are no gaps between the edge of the pan and the whipped topping mixture.  5. Bring water to a boil. Dissolve gelatin in water and cool until syrupy. 6. Puree strawberries in the blender. 7. Mix strawberries and pineapple into gelatin. 8. Pour over top of whipped topping mixture. Refrigerate several hours until firm.

It doesn't plate fantastic, but I would have to say this is pretty darn amazing for something that I threw together using just what I had in my freezer and pantry.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler and a Giveaway

Right now we are planning a extended family camping trip. Camping means cooking in a Dutch oven. :) And I thought I would share my favorite super easy dutch oven dessert recipe. I believed I learned this back at girl's camp...awhile ago.

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler
1 large (20 oz) can of peaches (don't drain)
1  (12 oz) can of Sprite/ 7-Up/ Sierra Mist (just make sure it isn't diet.)
1 box yellow cake mix
1/4 lb butter (1 stick)
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Prepare charcoals (10 for the bottom and 14 for the top). 2. Spray inside of dutch oven with non-stick cooking spray. 3. Dump peaches with juice into dutch oven. 4. Sprinkle cake mix over peaches. 5. Cut butter into small chunks and distribute over cake mix. 6. Pour lemon-lime carbonated beverage of choice over cake mix. Don't stir! 7. Sprinkle with cinnamon. 8. Place lid over cake, cover with coals and allow to cook until cake is lightly browned on top and the sides pull away from oven (About 30-35 minutes) Test center with a toothpick. Cold leftovers make a great breakfast, if there are any.

And it's giveaway time! This month's giveaway is another $40 CSN gift certificate that you can use towards anything you please from one of their more than two hundred stores! Here's how to enter: 1. You must follow SecretsofMom and leave a comment telling me how (RSS, blogger, etc). For additional entries you can 2. Share your favorite dutch oven recipe in a comment below. 3. Share a great camping tip that you have. 4. Follow me on twitter. 5. Follow me on Facebook. This giveaway is open until August 31st, 2010. The winner will be announced Sept 1st. The winner will be selected using a random number generator. Only open to residents of the US and Canada. Canadian residents must pay international shipping rates at CSN stores.

Strawberry Banana Pie

It's summer and that means that Heather makes strawberry banana pie. I believe that this pie originally came from my Aunt Margarett, and I always requested it for my birthday when I was growing up. And the best part is that this delicious pie is super easy to make. Because this makes two pies I usually make it for gatherings or when I plan on sharing one with a friend.

Strawberry Banana Pie
1 box Strawberry Danish Dessert
1 small box banana pudding
2 graham cracker crusts (or the ingredients and recipe therefore)
3 medium bananas
4-5 cups strawberries, rinsed, sliced & tops removed
2 cups milk
1& 3/4 cup cold water


1. Line bottom of pie crusts with banana slices. 2. Make banana pudding according to box directions and divide between crusts. 3. While pudding sets in fridge, make Danish Dessert according to box directions for pie glaze. (Pour mix into cold water. Stir occasionally and bring to a full boil for one minute.) 4. Add strawberries and stir to coat. 5. Divide between pies and return to fridge for 3-4 hours.

"Engagement" Lemon Bars

 

Random story about my mother-in-law and myself: When we were in high school my husband's house was the place to hang out. I think a part of this was because my mother-in-law is a such a cookie queen. (Slightly related secret: If you want to know what your kids are doing, provide food. The teenagers will show up and sometimes they'll even talk to you.) It certainly wasn't because their house was centrally located. Usually she made chocolate chip cookies and brownies, which aren't so much my thing. Then one day she made these amazing lemon bars. I told her that I would almost marry her son for the recipe. We weren't even dating at the time. She gave me the recipe and made me a batch of them for my birthday every year until I did marry her son. (Now she makes cheesecake for my birthday which is even better.) I heart my mother-in-law.
 I can not count how many times I have made these. It has become a tradition that whenever my best friend and I have a girl's night we make these. They are also my go-to thank you gift for anyone who has helped me move. They are so yummy, especially if you are of the persuasion who craves lemon over chocolate, like myself. When I make them I cut down the butter and white sugar from the original recipe. What you see is the lowest amount of butter you can get away with without changing the results. I also took out a 1/2 cup of white flour and substituted oat flour. It seems to work better. If you want your lemon topping to a slight crunch to it, substitute one tablespoon of wheat flour for one of the tablespoons of white flour (Don't worry you won't lose its characteristic yummy gooeyness, it will just have thin crunchy layer on top.)


Engagement Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 1/2 c all purpose white flour
1/2 cup oat flour
3/4 cup melted butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt


Lemon Topping:
Juice and rind of one lemon
4 Tablespoons all purpose white flour
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder


powdered sugar for dusting


1. Spray 9x13" pan with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit 2.Mix together crust and press into pan with a fork. 3. Bake for 8 minutes. (Crust won't be completely done, but it will cook more later.) 4. While crust is baking beat lemon topping ingredients with a hand mixer.5. When crust is done pour lemon topping over it and return to the oven for 30 minutes. 6. Once cooled dust with powdered sugar. Served best chilled.

Strawberry Cablams

A few nights ago there was a neighbourhood dessert potluck/goodbye party for a family that's moving. (Great idea, btw. Simple, low-key and effective.) I made these because I had everything for them and going to the grocery store was not on the agenda for the day. They're fast, easy, soft, and as my neighbour says "the cutest cookies ever". All the little girls loved them. I got this recipe from my sister-in-law.

Strawberry Cablams
1 box Duncan Hines strawberry cake mix*
2 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 cup white chocolate chips**

1. Preheat oven to 350. 2. Mix first three ingredients. 3. Stir in chips. 4. Drop by large spoonful onto greased cookie sheet. 5. Bake for 12 minutes. Makes about 16 large cookies.

*Usually I don't think it makes a difference, but I have discovered that for this recipe the Betty Crocker strawberry cake mix gives lesser results.
**She always uses white chocolate chips. I used swirl chips (or squirrel chips as my daughter calls them) because that's what we had.