Cinnamon Ice Cream

Looking back over the recipes I made last month, I realize I made lots of things with cinnamon in them.  Strange.  One Sunday I had some leftover whipping cream so I decided to make homemade ice cream.  It was a little stormy outside so I felt like something "fall-like."  I looked up some ice cream on my All Recipes app and found this cinnamon one.  A review mentioned that they had added some chewy oatmeal cookies to compliment this and so I did the same.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 c. white sugar
1 1/2 c. half and half
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
2 t. cinnamon

Directions:

Stir together sugar and half and half.  Cook on medium low.  When it begins to simmer, remove from heat.  Whisk 1/2 into eggs quickly.  Pour egg mixture back into saucepan.  Stir in heavy cream.  Continue cooking over medium low, stirring constantly until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.  Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and cinnamon.  Cool.  Put in fridge for several hours.  Freeze in electric ice cream machine.  Serve with oatmeal cookies!

In my test kitchen:

Some reviews said that it was too sweet and to reduce the sugar.  So I took mine down to 3/4 c. and it was great.  I also think 2 t. cinnamon is very over-powering.  So I reduced the cinnamon to 1 t. Perfect.

I think this recipe would even be good served with apple crisp or break up the oatmeal cookies into large chunks and while the ice cream is still soft, mix them into the ice cream.

~Happy Cooking!

Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds

This was being shared on Facebook a few weeks ago.  I love the smell of these almonds at the mall kiosks during the holiday season.  So when I saw this recipe I thought it might be fun to try.  It was really easy to make so...neighbors and friends...be prepared.  This is what I think I will be giving out for Christmas this year!

Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. cinnamon
1/8 t. salt
1 egg white
2 t. vanilla
3 c. almonds
1/4 c. water

Directions:

In medium bowl, mix sugars, cinnamon, salt.  Set aside.  In another bowl, whisk egg white and vanilla until a little frothy.  Stir in almonds until thoroughly well coated.  Add cinnamon mixture to almonds.  Toss until well coated.

Spray crock pot well with cooking spray.  Add almonds.  Cook on low, covered 3-4 hours, stirring every 20 minutes.  During last hour, add 1/4 c. water.  Stir well.  Cook another 45 minutes - 1 hour.

Line baking sheet with wax paper.  Spread almonds to cool.

In my test kitchen:

I added about 1/8 c. more water to the crock pot in the last hour.  I also feel like there was a lot of extra cinnamon mixture so I think I will probably put 4 1/2 cups of almonds in the mixture next time.

These tasted wonderful warm.  And they made the house smell really good while they cooked too!

~Happy Cooking!

Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts???

I know. I know.  This is not a picture of the doughnut.  That is because this recipe (to me) was an EPIC FAIL as a doughnut.  But it worked out pretty well as a muffin.  So that is what I'm going to recommend you use this doughnut recipe for.

Pumpkin Cake Doughnuts 
(or muffins)

Ingredients:
1/2 c. vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 c. canned pumpkin
1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 3/4 c. + 2 T flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease two standard doughnut pans.  (I searched all over for mine and finally found some at Michaels.)  Beat together oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, spice, salt, and baking powder until smooth.  Fill the wells of the doughnut pans about 3/4 full.  Bake the doughnuts for 15-18 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes.  Remove the doughnuts and transfer to a rack to cool.  While the doughnuts are still warm (but no longer fragile) gently shake them in a bag with cinnamon-sugar.

In my test kitchen:

I have read countless recipes/reviews about making homemade cake doughnuts that you fry in oil.  The general consensus is that the batter is very thin so it's almost impossible to cut the dough into a doughnut shape.  So then I came across these baked doughnuts.  I thought, "Why not try to bake them first and then fry them afterward for a few seconds to get that yummy crunchy outside that I love so much."  Ummmmmm, didn't really work so well.  It didnt' taste horrible but it didn't taste the way I wanted it to.  I also tried the doughnut exactly as the recipe stated and baked, then coated them in sugar.  They were so-so. 

The site where I pulled this recipe actually suggested that you could make these into  muffins.  So when my first few doughnuts didn't taste amazing, I just added about 1/2 chopped chocolate chips to the batter and put it in a greased muffin tin. (I floured the chocolate chips first to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.)  Then I added some mini-chocolate chips to the top of the muffins just before baking.

If you make muffins, they will need to cook for 23-25 minutes.

~Happy Cooking!

Grilled Peaches and Cream

A fabulous neighbor dropped off some peaches at my house tonight.  I really have the most thoughtful neighbors.  This summer I've noticed a few different recipes in my cooking magazines for grilled peaches so I decided to try my hand at it tonight.  What a fun, fresh, and quick dessert! 

Ingredients:

4 ripe peaches, sliced in half, pits removed

1 oz plain cream cheese, softened
1 T. chopped pecans (optional)

vegetable oil

brown sugar
honey

Directions:

Brush each peach half with vegetable oil.  Sprinkle with brown sugar.  Pour a few tablespoons of vegetable oil on a paper towel and rub the paper towel on a warm grill.  Place the peaches, pit side down on the grill.  Cook on low for 5 minutes.  Turn peaches and cook on the other side for an additional 3 minutes.  Sprinkle peaches with additional brown sugar and place a small dollop of cream cheese on top of the peach.  Drizzle with honey.

In my test kitchen:

I really do love a good crunch so some chopped pecans mixed into the cream cheese would have been so yummy!  I also think honey (maybe 1 T.?) mixed into the cream cheese rather than just drizzled across the top would have been better. 

Overall this was a pretty fun dessert to experiment with!

~Happy Cooking!

Crock Pot Sweet Garlic Chicken

I love how people can easily share recipes and meal ideas on Facebook.  A friend shared this recipe yesterday.  Even though I already had a Sunday meal planned, I already had all the ingredients for this dinner so I decided to try it instead.

Crock Pot Sweet Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken breast

1 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. vinegar
1/4 c. lemon-lime soda

2-3 T. minced garlic

2 T. soy sauce

1 t. pepper

2 T. cornstarch

2 T. water

red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Spray a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.  Place chicken in slow cooker.  Mix together sugar, vinegar, soda, garlic, soy sauce, and pepper.  Pour over chicken.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4 hours.  Remove chicken from crock pot and shred with a fork.  Pour remaining sauce in a saucepan.  Mix together cornstarch and water.  Whisk cornstarch mixture into the sauce.  Bring sauce to a boil for 2-3 minutes.  Reduce heat to simmer and let sauce thicken.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

Serve over rice or noodles. 

In my test kitchen:

Why is it that chicken dries out sooooo much in a crock pot?  I used thawed, smaller pieces of chicken in this recipe and cooked it on low for 3 hours.  The chicken was PLENTY done.  Next time I'll cook it on low for 2 hours instead and see how it is.  Despite the fact that the chicken is dry, the sauce that goes along with it is great.  So it makes a great meal.  I only had a tiny bit of apple cider vinegar (which the original author recommended) so I used it up and added additional regular white vinegar.  I'll try all apple cider vinegar next time because I think it would have suited this recipe a little better.  I also really like garlic but decided to only use 2 T.  That was more than enough!  You've got to really love garlic to put all 3 T. in this sauce.  And my husband just LOVES spice so I sprinkled quite a bit of the red pepper flakes on his chicken.  I only did a light sprinkle of red pepper on mine and it was almost too spicy for me.  But I really think it added to the flavor of the meal so I would say it shouldn't be an optional ingredient unless you absolutely hate that kind of heat.

Great recipe that I will make again!

~Happy Cooking!

St. Nick's Lime Fizz

I found this fun, refreshing drink in the LionHouse Christmas cookbook.  Truthfully, I think it is more of a summer drink so that is when I usually make it. 

St. Nick’s Lime Fizz

Ingredients:

5 fresh limes, juiced (about ½ cup)

½ c. sugar

1 ½ c. pineapple juice

1 quart lime sherbet

1 16 oz bottle lemon-lime soda

Maraschino cherries, for garnishing

8 thin half-slices lime, for garnishing

Directions:

Place lime juice, sugar, and pineapple juice in a blender and process for 30 seconds.  Add half of the lime sherbet and process again for a few seconds.  Pour mixture into eight 10 oz glasses (two-thirds full.)  Fill glasses almost to the top with lemon-lime soda.  Top each cup with a scoop of sherbet.  Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a half-slice of fresh lime.  Serve with straws.

In my test kitchen:

I highly recommend using a handheld lime or lemon squeezer to juice the limes.  The first few times I made this drink I squeezed them by hand and it took FOREVER!   Plus my fingers were so numb afterward.  Buying the lemon squeezer was the best $5 I ever spent!  Also, I don’t like maraschino cherries so I never garnish the drinks with those.  We keep a little more than 16 oz of Sprite on hand for this drink as well.  It’s nice to be able to top off a drink with a little bit more soda. 

~Happy Cooking!

Potato-Ham Chowder

I got the recipe for this chowder from my mom.   She made it all the time when I was growing up.  I make it a lot during the cooler months of the year but we had a particularly overcast day with some rain last week and I hadn’t made this in awhile so I decided to put this on the table for dinner.  I’ve tweaked a few things to my own liking and I serve it with French bread or rolls. 

Potato-Ham Chowder

Ingredients

3 T. margarine or butter (I use butter and always use 6 T. instead)

¼ c. chopped onion

3 T flour (I use 4 T.)

1 t. chicken flavored instant bouillion granules (I use 2 t.)

¼ t. thyme leaves

¼ t. pepper

2 c. milk

1 c. water

2 c. potatoes (diced and cooked)

9 oz. fresh/frozen vegetables

1 c. cubed cooked ham

Directions:

Cube potatoes and put them in a pot to boil.  Meanwhile, in large saucepan over low heat, melt butter.  Stir in onion.  Saute until tender.  Stir in flour, bouillion, thyme, and pepper.  Cook 1 minute, whisking constantly, until smooth and bubbly.  Gradually whisk in milk and water.  Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture boils.  Be sure to whisk along the bottom of the pan so it doesn’t burn.  Drain potatoes.  Stir in potatoes, ham, and vegetables.  Reduce heat; simmer stirring occasionally for 10 minutes until the chowder has thickened.

In my test kitchen:

I cook my potatoes until they are just barely softened.  Otherwise they will fall apart in the soup once they are added in.  Also, I like to use fresh carrots in the chowder.  So I will chop those and add them to the pot of potatoes to boil.  I use frozen peas and corn at the end when I’m adding in the ham.  I used to use canned corn but I have found that it is a little too sweet and changes the taste of the chowder.  Frozen corn is better.  In this most recent attempt to make the chowder, I don’t think I let it simmer long enough.  Which is why it looks more like a soup broth than a chowder.  So be sure to let it simmer long enough to thicken up.

~Happy Cooking!