Frozen Custard at Hodgman’s

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Kellie

As windy as it was today, we followed through with our plan to ride our bikes to Hodgman’s for our first frozen custard of the season.  Today’s special flavor was Maple Walnut.

I have to give credit to my better half for getting pictures of the stand, and actually remembering to get a picture of the frozen custard!  After riding there, and seeing the deliciousness before us, we started eating the custard and almost forgot to get pictures!  The Roadfood.com link gives a much clearer picture of what the frozen custard looked like prior to it landing in our hands…

Posted in Foodie Field Trips | Tagged | Leave a comment

Seedlings

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Kellie

This is the first time I’ve tried starting seedlings indoors.  So far the zucchini and cucumber (the long, gangly plants) seem to be growing the fastest.  The basil is showing signs of survival (the two right front), and one of the four canteloupe seeds I planted seems to be doing well.  The beets (red-pink strands in the front) are really an experiment.  Last year’s beets didn’t produce outdoors, though we were able to eat the greens.  So far no success with the peppers–another experiment since I dried seeds from a green pepper I used about a month ago…

While I’m under no illusion that my two 3 x 8 raised gardens will produce enough veggies to live off of, I’m hoping for  a much better gardening year than last!  Maybe the we’ll actually have some sun this June?

Posted in From the Garden | Leave a comment

Mango Habanero Shrimp

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Kellie

This is another easy dinner using Red Monkey Mango Habanero rub.  Simply skewer the shrimp, and sprinkle with Mango Habanero seasoning.  Broil, or grill, a few minutes on each side until done.

We served the shrimp with parmesan risotto (link to recipe–just omit sundried tomatoes) and roasted asparagus.

Posted in Seafood | Tagged | Leave a comment

Thai Coconut Curry Carrot Soup

Posted on May 11, 2010 by Kellie

This is the easiest recipe, thanks to College Inn’s Culinary Broth in Thai Coconut Curry flavor.  It actually hardly qualifies as a “recipe” but it’s so good that it seems as though it would require one!

Just scrub 1 lb. of fresh carrots and chop into 1/2 inch thick slices.  Cook over medium high heat in 1 tbsp. roasted sesame oil for about 5 minutes, then add one carton of the Thai Coconut Curry broth and simmer until the carrots are soft.  Puree in a blender or food processor and serve.

Posted in Soups and Stews | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Chocolate Banana Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Kellie

This ice cream cake is fairly easy to make using homemade chocolate banana ice cream and a store-bought brownie mix.

Prepare brownie batter as directed on the package, then pour half of the batter into a greased (I used Pam) springform pan.  Pour the other half of the batter into a slightly smaller cake pan.  To avoid sticking, and make for easy placement into the ice cream cake later, line the smaller cake pan with parchment paper.  Bake the brownies as directed, minus a few minutes since these brownies will be thinner than usual.  Cool the brownies completely.

Prepare one batch of  Chocolate Banana Ice Cream (recipe at ~ https://www.kelliesbelly.com/?p=699).  As soon as the ice cream maker is done, pour half of the ice cream into the springform pan on top of the first brownie layer.  Then carefully place the smaller brownie circle into the springform pan and top with remaining ice cream.  Freeze overnight.  Garnish with shaved dark chocolate, cocoa powder, or hot fudge sauce before serving.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Penne w/ Spinach and Roasted Grape Tomatoes

Posted on May 4, 2010 by Kellie

This was a quick weekend lunch that will also provide several easy meals during the upcoming week.

Ingredients

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 box of penne pasta

3 tbsp. olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped

a handful of chives, chopped

1 bag of baby spinach

Cavender’s Greek Seasoning

crushed red pepper

Toss grape tomatoes with about 1/2 tbsp. olive oil and roast at 400 degrees for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile boil pasta as directed on package.  In a large pan, cook the garlic and onion over medium heat in the remaining olive oil.  Once the onion is transparent, add a few shakes of crushed red pepper, and then add the baby spinach and chives, tossing to coat with olive oil and cook evenly.  Turn heat down to low so as not to overcook the spinach.  Drain the cooked pasta and toss with the spinach, adding about 1/4 c. of the pasta water to the pan.  Lastly, toss grape tomatoes into the pasta mixture and season with Cavender’s Greek Seasoning to taste.  Top with feta cheese and serve.

Posted in Pasta Dishes, Veggies & Grains | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Homemade Yogurt-Part 2

Posted on May 3, 2010 by Kellie

I am pleased to say that the homemade yogurt was a success!  I was nervous about tasting it, and had braced myself for the worst possible flavor/texture and a dry heaving experience, or worse…  Fortunately no such experience was had!  The yogurt thickened nicely and has a similar consistency to Yoplait custard style yogurt.  It also has a very mild flavor–not nearly as tart as store bought plain yogurt.  After determining it “safe to eat” I used some of it to make a batch of Mango-Mint Lassi.  I didn’t have cardamom or star anise, so I just used the other ingredients the recipe called for.

This was very easy to make–one diced mango, about 15 fresh mint leaves, 1 tbsp. of lime juice, 3 tbsp. brown sugar, 3 ice cubes, and about a cup and a half of homemade plain yogurt into the blender.  The end product was very thick, and could either be enjoyed like a smoothie, or eaten with a spoon.

I wonder if this concoction would freeze nicely to make frozen yogurt or popsicles…

Posted in Beverages | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Homemade Yogurt-Part 1

Posted on May 2, 2010 by Kellie

Yogurt is something I eat almost every day, yet somehow I have never made my own.  I have had a Moulinex Model #379 Yogurt Maker sitting around for about nine years.  For a while it was in an apartment that I once lived in, then it was stored in a rolling closet in my classroom.  I thought that I might use it for something biology related with my students…  I brought it home about a week ago when I found it behind a bunch of other supplies, and remembered it existed!  The recipe I tried can be found at 101 Cookbooks.  Since I didn’t have any low fat milk on hand, I used 2 c. whole milk, and 2 c. skim milk in place of the low fat milk.  Aside from that, I followed the recipe very carefully in hopes of having yogurt as an end product and not some sort of gross rotten milk mess…

After preparing and heating the yogurt ingredients, letting the ingredients cool to the proper temperature, pre-heating the yogurt maker, washing the jars, and setting the filled jars into the yogurt maker’s warm water bath, I’m wondering if the end product will be worth the effort.  I also should have planned this out differently, since the yogurt needs 4-8 hours (no more than 8 hours) in the warm water bath and then needs to be transferred to the refrigerator so it does not begin to spoil.  That means I need to wake up between 12:30 a.m. and 4:30 a.m.  to transfer the yogurt to the fridge.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Easy Coconut Vanilla Ice Cream

Posted on May 1, 2010 by Kellie

This is a very easy ice cream recipe that does not require any heavy cream.  Unlike my last batch (using a different recipe, not to be posted here), this one froze quite nicely while remaining scoopable.

Ingredients

1 c. skim milk

1/8 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. sugar

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

14 oz. can light coconut milk

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Combine skim milk, salt and sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat until very hot and steaming, but do not boil.  Whisk half of the hot milk mixture, a little at a time, into the beaten egg.  Be sure to whisk constantly to avoid scrambled egg pieces in your ice cream!  Then whisk the egg mixture into the remaining hot milk mixture and cook 3-5 minutes over medium heat.  Again, the mixture should be hot and steaming, but should not boil.  This mixture should also thicken slightly.  When thickened, remove from heat, and chill in refrigerator about 2 hours.

Whisk the coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla extract into the chilled egg/milk/sugar/salt mixture, and pour into an ice cream maker.  It took about 25 minutes before this batch really thickened up.  Its consistency was much like a milkshake, but it reached the proper consistency after freezing overnight in an airtight container in the freezer.

Posted in Desserts & Sweets | Tagged | Leave a comment

Easy Vegetarian Lasagna

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Kellie

Sometimes when I’m in a hurry and looking to use up different leftovers I stumble upon an recipe idea that I end up actually planning to make again!  This is one such example.

I was actually making sundried tomato and ricotta filled ravioli for dinner that night, but found I did not need nearly as much filling as I had made.  So while waiting for the ravioli water to boil, I used a little pasta sauce to coat the bottom of a 9-inch square baking dish, and layered the remaining ricotta and sundried tomato mixture between some Barilla Oven Ready lasagna noodles leftover from another evening.

Three layers of noodles, and two layers of ricotta/sundried tomato mixture later, I realized that this dish would need a little something else…  So I opened a can of quartered artichoke hearts which, along with a little mozzarella cheese, made the next layer.  One more layer of lasagna noodles, and I realized I would need more sauce to cover the top layers of pasta.  Since I had no more sauce available, I used a 14 oz. can of petite diced tomatoes with garlic and basil, covered the lasagna tightly with foil and baked it about 40 minutes.  In the last few minutes of baking, I sprinkled a little more mozzarella over the concoction, and put it in the oven long enough to melt the cheese.

Posted in Casseroles, Pasta Dishes | Tagged | Leave a comment