Sour Cream Raspberry Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS

(for a 6 quart ice cream maker) 

4 CUPS FROZEN OR FRESH RASPBERRIES 

4 CUPS SUGAR 

2 CUPS SOUR CREAM 

2 QUARTS HALF & HALF 

1 CAN OF EVAPORATED MILK (IF NECESSARY TO FILL TO FILL LINE) 

Blend 1/4 of the 1st 3 ingredients at a time in the blender and pour into ice cream freezer, then add half & half and add canned milk if necessary. Do not over fill! Ice cream expands 4-5 inches. 

For a Cuisinart adjust ingredients to the following: 

2 CUPS RASPBERRIES 

1 CUP SUGAR 

3/4 CUP SOUR CREAM 

3/4 QUART OF HALF & HALF

Chinese Chicken Salad

1 lb chicken breasts

10-12oz farfalle pasta (optional, I use about 3/4 of a 1 pound box)

6-8oz wonton squares (I use about 1/2-3/4 of a 12oz package)

canola oil for frying

1 head romaine lettuce

6 stalks green onions, thinly sliced

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

DRESSING

1/2 cup canola oil

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

6 Tablespoons vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place raw chicken on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake for about 25-40 minutes (depending on size of chicken) or until chicken is baked through. Let rest for about 5 minutes and then shred or dice. Set aside. (or just use rotisserie chicken, like me!)

In the meantime, if you are adding the farfalle pasta, cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Fill a saucepan up to 1 inch, with canola oil. Heat over medium-high heat. Slice wonton squares into 4 strips, about 1/2 inch wide. When oil is heated, carefully place a few strips into the oil, not overlapping. Wontons should immediately start to bubble and cook. If they don't, your oil is not hot enough. Carefully cook in oil until strips are bubbly and cooked through, and barely starting to turn golden on the edges. Wontons will cook really quick if your oil is super hot. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove to a paper towel to cool and drain. (Make sure to remove wontons before they turn golden, they will continue to cook once removed from the oil.) Repeat until all wonton strips are cooked. If wontons start browning too quickly, turn down heat to medium or medium-low.

Wash and dry lettuce and shred. Set aside.

Pour cooked pasta, diced chicken, sliced green onions, and toasted sesame seeds into a large bowl.

Pour all dressing ingredients into a shaker bottle or large glass measuring cup. Shake or whisk dressing until combined and sugar dissolves.

Pour about 1/4 cup of dressing over the pasta and chicken mixture. Stir to combine.

When ready to serve add lettuce and wontons, reserving some wontons to garnish on top. Drizzle with dressing and toss until coated. Garnish with reserved wontons. Serve immediately.

NOTES

Toasted sesame seeds can be found at the grocery store on the asian isle. You can also use regular sesame seeds and toast them in a pan over the stove or use them un-toasted. Add wontons at the very end so they stay crunchy. This makes a big salad, perfect for a crowd when serving with other items. Half the recipe if you are making it for dinner for 4-6 people. Maybe just make some extra wontons if you are making half a recipe, everyone always likes extra wontons.

Rice Salad with tomatoes, cucumber and feta

7 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced (2 tablespoons)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups long-grain brown rice
1 pound small heirloom or cherry tomatoes, halved (3 cups)
3 medium Kirby cucumbers, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced crosswise (3 cups)
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
8 ounces feta, crumbled (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped if large
1 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped if large 

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high. Swirl in 2 tablespoons oil. Add onion, garlic, and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Return saucepan to medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon oil and rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until nutty and golden in places, 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir once, reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook until rice is tender and water has been absorbed, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

2. Transfer rice to bowl with onion mixture; let cool about 20 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, cucumbers, vinegar, and remaining 1/4 cup oil. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in cheese, parsley, and mint; serve.

Spinach Salad and Poppy Seed Dressing

Spinach
Strawberries
Kiwi
Mandarin oranges
Black berries
Apples
Craisins
Toasted almonds or cinnamon almonds or candied walnuts
Toasted coconut
Swiss cheese, sliced or cubed

Dressing:
1/2 to 3/4 c. Vinegar
3/4 c. Sugar
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
1-1/2 tsp salt

Blend all the above in blender.  As blender is going add 1-1/2 c. oil. After blending add 1 Tbsp poppy seed and 1 red onion-thinly sliced. Marinate dressing for 2 hours and toss over Salad right before serving. This Makes a lot of dressing.

Alternate recipe for use with this dressing:
Spinach
3/4 lb. Swiss cheese
1 c. rinsed cottage cheese
Sliced mushrooms
1/2 lb. cooked bacon

Microwave Lemon Curd

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup lemon juice
• zest of 2 lemons (you can omit this if you aren't using fresh lemon juice)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, lemon zest and butter. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after each minute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. This took me a total of 4 minutes.
2. Remove from the microwave cool for 1 hour. Store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator in a sealed container. It will thicken a little more once it has been refrigerated.

Recipe from www.realmomkitchen.com

Fresh Blueberry Pie

Fresh Blueberry Pie

3/4 C. sugar2 1/2 T cornstarch1/4 tsp salt1/4 tsp cinnamon2/3 C. water5 C. fresh blueberries1 tsp vanilla2 T. butter2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice1 tsp. lemon zest
10-inch pie crust, blind baked and cooled
In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and cinnamon. Blend in water and 1 1/2 cups blueberries. Bring to a boil, stirring and smashing the berries. Boil, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickens. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, butter, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cool.
Fold in 2 1/2 cups blueberries, coating them well. Scoop into cooled baked pie shell. Arrange remaining cup of fresh berries over top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 2 hours, or overnight if needed.
To serve, remove pie from refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature. Sift powdered sugar over top for pretty.

Chili Cheese Frito Salad

3 (14 oz.) cans of corn, drained
1/4 of a red pepper, diced
1/4 green pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 (9 1/4 oz) bag of chili cheese fritos

Combine corn, peppers,onion, cheese, and mayo in a bowl. Refridgerate until ready to serve. Just before serving mix in the fritos. Save a handful to sprinkle on the top.

Serious Vanilla Ice Cream

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2005

3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces vanilla sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place the half-and-half and the heavy cream into a medium saucepan, over medium heat. Bring the mixture just to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and remove from the heat.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg yolks until they lighten in color. Gradually add the sugar and whisk to combine. Temper the cream mixture into the eggs and sugar by gradually adding small amounts, until about a third of the cream mixture has been added. Pour in the remainder and return the entire mixture to the saucepan and place over low heat. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon and reaches 170 to 175 degrees F. Pour the mixture into a container and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Stir in the vanilla extract. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and once it is cool enough not to form condensation on the lid, cover and store for 4 to 8 hours or until the temperature reaches 40 degrees F or below.
Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer's directions. This should take approximately 25 to 35 minutes. Serve as is for soft serve or freeze for another 3 to 4 hours to allow the ice cream to harden.

Blueberry Boy Bait

2 C. Flour
1 C. Sugar
2/3 C. Margarine
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1 C. milk
2 C. blueberries

Beat egg whites stiff, then in a separate bowl, mix flour and sugar. Cut in butter until “pea size”. Take out ¾ C. of the mixture and set aside. Add to the remaining dry mix, the baking powder, unbeaten egg yolks, and milk. Stirring gently, fold in the egg whites. Spread in sprayed pans (2) 8-9 inch rounds. Arrange 1 C. blueberries per pan over batter. Sprinkle with extra mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Bowtie Chicken Salad

2 packages of bowtie pasta
2 -3 chicken breasts
1 - 2 lbs red grapes
celery, finely sliced
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar

Cook bowtie pasta, per manufacturer's directions. drain, rinse and set aside. Cook chicken breasts and cut/shred into bite-sized pieces. Add to pasta. Cut grapes into halves and add to bowl. slice celery and add to bowl as well. In a separate bowl combine mayonnaise, milk and sugar. Pour over pasta and mix to combine. Refrigerate before serving.

Poppy Seed Dressing

1 1/2 Tablespoons of poppyseeds
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 of purple onion, thinly sliced.

Combine all ingredients (except onion) and pour over the sliced onion in a container with a lid. Let sit overnight in your refridgerator. remove onion slices and serve. Great with spinach salad.

Spinach Salad

1 lb of bacon (cooked and crumbled)
1 package of fresh spinach leaves (baby spinach is best)
1 can sliced water chestnuts (drained)
1 block of swiss cheese
1 red onion, thinly sliced (use half in salad, half for poppy seed dressing)
1/2 lb of white mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

Combine all ingredients. Dress with poppy seed dressing just before serving. You can use Brianna's Poppyseed dressing if you are short on time or make it homemade. (see recipe on blog)

Julie's Blue Ribbon Winning Banana Blueberry Cream Pie

Banana Blueberry Cream Pie

• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 1 package (3.4 ounces - the small box) instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped (no sugar added)
• 1 medium banana, cut into thin slices
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 prepared crust
• additional blueberries for garnish

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the condensed milk and beat until smooth. Then add in the water and pudding mix. Fold in whipped cream.
2. Spread half of the cream mixture into prepared crust. Top with bananas and blueberries. Spread with remaining cream mixture. Refrigerate for 3 hours (or 2 hours if that is all the time you have before the pie contest!)

note: this makes a lot of filling. You need a deep dish pie crust, or you could always split it into two pies, and double the fruit. :)

Green Pouf

1 15 oz. can of crushed pineapple
1 large package of lime jello
1 lb container cottage cheese
1 pint whipping cream (whipped)

Put cottage cheese in bowl. Drain half of juice from pineapple and add to cottage cheese. Add jello, then whipped cream. Chill before serving.