Homemade Cake Batter Ice Cream

Since the boys are gone for the week - read all about it on our other blog One State Two Boys - we decided we would stay up late and try out a new recipe. This recipe is borrowed from a fellow blogger, Kelly, over at The Pink Apron. Be sure to check out her blog, that is, after you have made your own Cake Batter Ice Cream. We love baking, so this easy and delicious recipe is a salute to our favorite kitchen creation...CAKE!

What you will need:

3 1/2 cups of half and half

1 cup white cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

3 egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

What you'll need to do:

Begin by separating three eggs. We will use only the yolks.

Add the half and half to a medium sauce pan with the cake mix, sugar, and salt. Mix thoroughly.

Whisk in the egg yolks. Heat on medium while whisking constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan. The mixture will thicken slightly. Heat until it reaches a temperature of around 140. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.

Pour the mixture through a mesh sieve.

Cover with plastic wrap so that the wrap touches the top of the mixture. This will prevent the mixture from forming a thick film while chilling. Put mixture in the freezer until well chilled (we let it stay in for 20 minutes).

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's directions.

 The hard part is waiting for it to finish!!

As you can see, we didn't wait for our finished product to harden!! 

It is smooth, creamy, and the perfect dessert for a hot summer day!

Paula Deen Inspired Squash Casserole

We love to watch the Food Network and we often check the site to find new recipe inspiration. We came across this one searching for a way to use some leftover squash we had in the refrigerator. Paula's recipe calls for a combination of 6 large yellow and zucchini squash. We only had four large yellow squash and we loved the way it turned out.

 

Ingredients:

4 large chopped yellow squash (but feel free to mix it up with some zucchini)

1 small onion, chopped

4 T + 1 T butter

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cup grated cheddar (the sharper the better)

1 package crushed crackers (buttery crackers work best, but any cracker will do)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Chop squash and onions.

 We added all three of these "squash chopping" pictures to show how we prefer the squash chopped in our casserole. Feel free to chop the squash any way you like - we think it cooks just a bit faster chopped finely.

3. Saute the squash and onions in 4 T butter over medium low heat (about 20 minutes) until onions are translucent and squash is broken down.

4. Line a colander with cheese cloth (if you don't have cheese cloth use a thin tea towel - just be sure it does not smell strongly of fabric softener). Place cooked squash and onions in the lined colander. You may need to let it cool for a few minutes. Squeeze excess liquid from the squash.

If the squash and onions are cooled you can squeeze the liquid out by hand.

If you don't want to wait for it to cool use the back of your spatula to squeeze out the liquid.

5. Mix all ingredients together, except cracker crumbs.

6. Use remaining 1 T butter to coat a small casserole dish (we used our pie plate).

7. Pour mixture into the dish and spread evenly.

8. Crush your crackers and pour over the top of the casserole.

Since the only crackers we had were saltine crackers we topped the casserole with a few pats of butter.

9. Bake for 25-30 minutes in the center of your oven.

This is an easy recipe and a great dish to take to your next family gathering or fellowship meal. It will pair well with pork chops or some southern fried chicken. I think its a great stand-alone dish too!

Beefy Jalapeno Cornbread

This is a recipe we have tweaked over the years and were inspired to bring it out after yesterday's trip to Pie Lab. Read about our visit here: One State, Two Boys - Pie Lab. Their savory pies left us wanting to perfect our own "pie-like" recipes. Look for future Pie Lab inspired posts. 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion (chopped)

1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup + 1 T canola oil (corn or vegetable oil will work as well)

2 eggs

1  16.5 oz can whole kernel (drained) or creamed corn - creamed corn makes the cornbread sweeter if you prefer

1/4 cup chopped jalapeno peppers (more or less based on your preferences)

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Chop onions and jalapeno peppers. Set both aside separately.

We took this opportunity to teach the boys about proper chopping techniques. As you can see in the pictures above neither of them are using the "chop with the back of the knife" technique we tried to teach them. Don't you just love their protective coverings. Goggles - not just for swimwear!

Finely chop the onions.

3. Brown the ground beef with the chopped onions.

4. Drain the cooked ground beef and onions and set aside.

5. In a large bowl combine corn meal, baking soda, salt, sugar, buttermilk, 1/2 cup oil, eggs, and corn.

6. Use the remaining 1 T oil to thoroughly coat a 9" casserole/cast iron/stoneware dish.

7. Pour just under half of the cornmeal mixture into the dish.

This is a terrible picture, but you get the idea.

8. Layer ground beef, jalapenos, and cheese evenly over the mixture.

 NOTE: In this picture we are using deli slices of cheddar cheese because we did not have any more grated cheddar. Either one works!

9. Cover with remaining cornmeal mixture.

Yes, I really should have taken these pictures from the same angle, but Christy kept casting shadows!!

10. Bake in the middle of your oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

11. Take out of oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.

12. Run a butter knife around the edges then flip out of dish onto a serving plate.

Christy says this dish is best served with pinto beans and, if you're a true southerner, greens. I think a nice mixed green salad with light Italian dressing would pair perfectly with the jalapeno.

Christy prefers to have a homemade sweet pickle with hers, but has not perfected that recipe yet. 

If you have a good recipe please send it on! 

We had fun making this today as we watched this much needed rain fall lightly on our quiet Small Town, Alabama neighborhood.

The overcast sky casts a lovely glow on the trees and houses on our street.

 Your homework...go out and find your grandmother's grandmother's Sweet Pickle Recipe and send it to us!