Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart.

2 cups whole milk
1 tbls. plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 ounces (3 tbls.) cream cheese, softened
1/8 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbls light corn syrup
1 vanilla bean (I used vanilla bean paste)

PREP:
Mix about 2 tbls of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a slurry.
Whisk the cream cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

COOK:
Combine remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and vanilla (seeds and bean) in a 4 qt. saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat and boil for 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about one minute.  Remove from heat.

CHILL:
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a gallon zip-loc and submerge in an ice bath until cold - about 30 minutes.

FREEZE:
Remove the vanilla bean.
Pour ice cream base into frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.
Chill at least 4 hours.

MY NOTES:
I used the equivalent of vanilla bean paste (read the jar for the amount)
I chilled it in a tupperware in the fridge instead of the zip-loc (too much trouble)
Source: Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

The Buckeye State Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart.

2 cups whole milk
1 tbls plus 1 tsp cornstarch
1 1/2 ounce (3 tbls) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted, natural peanut butter
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt (less if using salted peanut butter)
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
2 tbls light corn syrup
2 tbls honey
4 ounces chocolate (55%-70% cacao), chopped

PREP:
Mix about 2 tbls of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a slurry.
Whisk the cream cheese, peanut butter, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

COOK:
Combine remaining milk, cream, sugar, corn syrup, and honey in a 4 qt. saucepan and bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat and boil for 4 minutes.
Remove from the heat, and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about one minute.  Remove from heat.

CHILL:
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth.  Pour the mixture into a gallon zip-loc and submerge in an ice bath until cold - about 30 minutes.

FREEZE:
Pour ice cream base into frozen canister and begin to spin.
Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a double boiler.  Remove from the heat and let cool until tepid but still fluid.
When the ice cream is thick and creamy and almost finished, drizzle the melted chocolate slowly through the opening in the top of the ice cream machine and allow it to solidify and break up in the ice cream for about 2 minutes.
Chill at least 4 hours.

MY NOTES:
I used plain ole' Jiff of whatever I had around and just reduced the salt
I chilled it in a tupperware in the fridge instead of the zip-loc (too much trouble)
Source: Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Lemon Frozen Yogurt

Frozen Yogurt Base:
1 qt. plain low-fat yogurt (or 1 1/4 cups Greek Yogurt)*
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 tbls. cornstarch
2 ounces (4 tbls.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
zest from one lemon (reserved from below)

Lemon Syrup:
2-3 lemons
3 tbls. sugar

Advance Prep:
*Strain yogurt through 2 layers of cheesecloth for 6-8 hours (covered in the fridge).
Discard the liquid, and measure out 1 1/4 cups of the drained yogurt.

Prep:
For the lemon syrup:
Using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife, remove the zest in large strips from 1 lemon; reserve for the frozen yogurt.  Juice enough of the lemons to make 1/2 cup.Combine the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

For the Frozen yogurt base:
Mix about 2 tbls. of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.
Whisk the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth.
Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Cook:
Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and lemon zest in a 4 qt. saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes.  Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Remove from heat.

Chill:
Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the reserved 1 1/4 cups yogurt and the lemon syrup and whisk until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon zip-loc and submerge it in ice.  Let stand until cold, about 30 minutes.

Freeze:
Remove the zest from the frozen yogurt base.  Pour into canister and spin until thick and creamy.  Freeze at least 4 hours.

MY NOTES:

• I used the immersion blender to mix the parts together (slurry, cream cheese, yogurt, etc.)
• I tried the zip loc idea to cool it quickly once but not the second time.  It was too pesky to get it all out of the bag.
• Source: Jenni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home

Baked Salmon

2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons light olive oil
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

In a medium glass bowl, prepare marinade by mixing garlic, light olive oil, basil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Place salmon fillets in a medium glass baking dish, and cover with the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator about 1 hour, turning occasionally.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Place fillets in aluminum foil, cover with marinade, and seal. Place sealed salmon in the glass dish, and bake 35 to 45 minutes, until easily flaked with a fork.

NOTES:

• Good and easy.
• I used dried parsley.
• Source

Macaroni and Cheese 2

8 oz. elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp. butter, divided
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard (I omitted this because I didn’t have any)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup swiss cheese, divided
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1) Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.

2) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3) Melt 2 T. butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and salt and stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in dry mustard. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly.

4) Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 5 minutes.

5) Stir in 1/4 cup of the cheddar, 1/4 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of the swiss. Mix cheese sauce and macaroni in a large bowl. Spoon into a 9 x 7 inch baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar, mozzarella and swiss.

6) Melt remaining butter in saucepan over medium heat. Combine bread crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle on top of the cheese. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 15 minutes.

MY NOTES:

• This is almost identical to my go-to recipe, but the variety of cheeses makes it a lot better.
• I added a small amount of ham - a good choice.  (Bacon would also be pretty outstanding, but I didn't have any thawed.)
• Instead of bread crumbs, I just sprinkled garlic croutons on top of it all.  Very good!
• Recipe source.

Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 medium bananas, mashed
½ cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup buttermilk
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x4-inch loaf pan and then line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the two long sides.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the banana, peanut butter, sugars, buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth.

4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until completely combined and there are no spots with raw flour. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.

5. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top into an even layer. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick or thin knife inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. If your bread appears to be browning too quickly, place a tented piece of foil over it (I did this at the 45-minute mark).

6. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The cooled bread should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap; it can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.

NOTES:

• Recipe credit
• This definitely made enough batter for two smaller pans.  I thought it might overflow and put a pan under it just in case.  (It didn't.)
•  In my single pan, it took a lot longer to bake.  I kept going until the internal temperature was 190.
• I used mini chips so mine looks a lot more chocolaty.  Fewer minis would also work.
• It tastes yummy and is staying moist, even after a few days.

Easy Quinoa

aka: Keen-Wow!

1 tbls. butter
1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tbls. dried parsley
1/4 tbls. dried thyme (estimated)
1 dash lemon juice

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the quinoa, and toast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, or until quinoa is tender.
2. In a bowl, toss quinoa together with garlic, parsley, and thyme. Sprinkle with lemon juice, and serve.

NOTES: 

• The original recipe is here.
• Browning it in the butter first gave it a bit of a rice-a-roni quality that we all liked.  Really, if there were no other seasoning besides this and the broth, it would've been good.
• I think this would freeze really well and will probably double the quantity I make next time for that purpose.
• The original recipe called for vegetarian broth and while our crunchy score would've spiked by using it, I happened to have a carton of Aldi chicken broth around so that's what we used.
• This was really, really good.  I'll definitely be looking for this product for a better price.
• Thanks to Holly for the suggestion to try it and thanks to Jen for the subtitle. ;-)