Apple Pie Ice Cream

As much as I love chocolate, sometimes, I've just got to have some chocolate-less ice cream. Don't get me wrong, I would never turn it down if you offer me some chocolate ice cream, but sometimes I crave ice cream with fruit in it. And homemade ice cream with fruit in it is 100 times better!

Just a couple weeks ago, I entered a giveaway over at Life on Dahlia Lane, and won a $40 gift certificate for CSN Stores. I searched and searched for what I would buy, and eventually decided on a Cuisinart ice cream maker. I've been itching for an ice cream maker for a while, and figured, it's practically free, so what the heck?

My package arrived yesterday, and this morning, Mr. Z and I went to the bookstore to buy Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book, because several people had recommended it to me. The base I used for this ice cream came out of that book. Believe it or not, the other ingredients I thought up on my own while walking around the grocery store thinking of ingredients I could throw in. This ice cream was delicious! The only problem I had was that it was not hard enough...maybe I should have read the directions before I started making it! I guess next time I'll leave it in for a bit longer.

Apple Pie Ice Cream
base is Sweet Cream Base (pg. 28) from Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
3/4 c. sugar
2 c. heavy or whipping cream (I used heavy cream)
1 c. milk
3 sheets cinnamon graham crackers, finely crushed
2 tbsp. caramel sauce
1/4 c. walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 can apple pie filling, chopped into small pieces

Whisk eggs in a bowl until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Whisk in sugar and whisk until blended completely. Pour in cream and milk and whisk until blended. Pour in ice cream maker, and freeze according to ice cream maker directions (mine was about 25-30 minutes), until desired consistency.

Five minutes before ice cream is ready, add graham crackers, caramel, walnuts, and apples.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

You should see my freezer. It is absolutely full of virtually every type of frozen fruits and vegetables I can find. I much prefer using frozen over canned, and often times, even over fresh. The problem with us buying fresh fruits and vegetables is that our schedule is so unpredictable that some days we are home during the day, some we are home at night, and some we barely make it home in time for bed! By time I am able to use them all, they are going bad. More often than not, half of what I buy goes to waste. Not on purpose, but still, that's a lot of money I spend going into the garbage!

Anyway, I'm always looking for recipes that call for or can easily use frozen fruits and vegetables, and this recipe was one of those. These bars were pretty amazing. But pretty unhealthy too, with all the sugar and shortening. And pretty messy to eat. I ate one (ok, two!), then packed the rest of them up for Mr. Z to take to work tomorrow, because I know exactly what will happen if I leave them around my house!

Blueberry Crumb Bars

from AllRecipes.com, written as I made it

Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. white sugar, divided
3 c. all purpose flour
4 c. frozen blueberries
1 tsp. baking powder
1 c. shortening
1 egg
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
3 tsp. cornstarch

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. Stir together 1 c. sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, until well mixed. Add shortening and egg, then use stand or hand mixer to blend. Dough will be crumbly. Divide dough in half.

Pat half of the dough into the bottom of greased pan. In a separate bowl, mix remaining 1/4 c. sugar and cornstarch together. Add blueberries, and toss to cover all blueberries. Pour blueberries over the crust in pan. Crumble remaining half of dough over blueberries. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until top is starting to brown. Let cool before cutting into squares.

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Burgers

If you give me buffalo chicken anything, I'll be your friend. That has quickly become one of my favorite foods...or, rather, food groups. If I'm at a restaurant and something buffalo flavored is on the menu, 9 times out of 10, I'm getting it. I love all kinds of chicken wings, but the best is just plain ol' hot. As far as wings go, the spicier the better. And let's face it, bleu cheese makes anything better!

I took a package of ground chicken out of the freezer for dinner last night, and knowing that we wouldn't be home until pretty late, I decided we would have some type of chicken burger. Well, it didn't take long to decide what kind of chicken burger it would be. These were so good, but for my taste, I had to add extra sauce to the patty after it was done. Mr. Z thought it was perfect the way it was.

Bleu Cheese Stuffed Buffalo Chicken Burgers
Original Recipe

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground chicken
2 oz. bleu cheese crumbles, plus extra for serving
1 egg
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce, plus extra for serving
pepper, to taste
Weber Gourmet Burger Seasoning, to taste
4 hamburger buns

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix ground chicken, egg, bread crumbs, Wing Sauce, pepper, and seasoning in bowl with hands, until well mixed. If it is too wet, add extra bread crumbs. Divide mixture into four even pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Add 1/4 of bleu cheese crumbles to the middle of the disk, then wrap meat around to cover. Roll into a ball again, and flatten into a patty. Place burgers on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for ~18 minutes, flipping halfway through. Top with extra bleu cheese, and serve on a bun.

Tip: I also like to toast the buns for a few minutes. Slice buns in half, spread a little butter on each side, and bake for about 5 minutes, or until buns start to brown.

Chicken Lo Mein

Here we go again with my Chinese food obsession. I just can't help it! I've been wanting to make lo mein for a little while now, but have had little luck finding lo mein noodles in the grocery stores around me. Then, three days ago, I happened to walk through the Oriental aisle of the grocery store and whaaaat? Lo mein noodles!

Right away, I set out to find a good recipe for lo mein. After a little while spent searching, I picked up the box again and well, what do you know? A great recipe right there on the box! I really liked this recipe. It wasn't a difficult recipe, but I have a small problem multi-tasking in the kitchen. This sent me into a small frenzy because there are several things going on at once, but in the end, it came out good! Not the healthiest of recipes, although again, it has to be healthier than the lo mein from the Chinese takeout place!

Chicken Lo Mein
from the China Boy Lo Mein Noodle box, written as I made it

Ingredients:
1 lb. bonless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small chunks
1-8 oz. box of lo mein noodles
1 1/2 c. frozen stir-fry vegetables
1 tblsp. canola oil
4 oz. baby corn
2 tbsp. cornstarch
5 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. dark brown sugar
3/4 c. chicken broth
4 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic

Combine cornstarch, soy sauce, brown sugar, chicken broth, sesame oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Mix very well. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry chicken until almost done. Add frozen vegetables and baby corn. Stir-fry until everything is hot. Meanwhile, in another pot, boil lo mein noodles until al dente, or about 4 minutes. Add cooked noodles to chicken and vegetables. Add sauce to pan; mix well until everything is coated in sauce.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

I'm not a fan of peanut butter. Or a fan of pretzels. But I am a fan of chocolate, and surprisingly, a huge fan of these truffles!

I have definitely had my fair share of problems making truffles. Like this past Christmas, when I had the grand idea of making about 10 different types of cookies/truffles to give to family and friends. I quickly discovered that I obviously did not know a thing about melting chocolate. I threw three (yes, three!) whole bags of chocolate chips away after scorching them in the microwave.

I have since learned how to properly melt chocolate (for the most part), and tried my hand at truffles again last night. I must say, though, that these are the simplest truffles I have ever attempted. Super easy + super good = definite winner in my book! Plus, the came from Eating Well, so they can't be that bad for you. At least, that's what I keep telling myself!

Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles
from EatingWell.com, written as I made it (I doubled the recipe)

Ingredients:
1 c. peanut butter (I used smooth)
1/2 c. finely chopped salted pretzels
1 c. milk chocolate chips

Mix pretzels into peanut butter in a small bowl. Freeze for about 15 minutes, or until partially firm. Roll dough into small balls-about 1 tsp. each (my double batch made about 30 truffles). Freeze on a cookie sheet with wax paper for about an hour, or until balls are very firm. Melt chocolate according to package directions and coat each ball well. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm.