Surviving At Home

Yes, that was my mantra as a child! Ice cream is still my favorite summer treat and with the temps climbing into the 90s this week what better way to stay cool than to talk ice cream.

A few years ago we received a Cuisinart ice cream maker for our anniversary and we’ve discovered that it’s a super way to get our girls into the kitchen to help. Anything having to do with dessert and our girls want to be front and center so as not to miss a thing! They can each take turns pouring the ingredients and the recipes that came with the machine are super easy with minimal ingredients. The only downfall is that we ALL love ice cream so one batch is very quickly devoured by the four of us.

Here’s our favorite, kid-friendly recipe from Cuisinart:

Chocolate Fudgsicle Ice Cream
Makes 8 1/2-cup servings

7 cups whole milk & 1 4-oz package chocolate instant pudding

Place ingredients in a mixing bowl and combine until well-blended. Pour into freezer bowl, turn machine on, and mix until mixture thickens, about 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately or transfer to an air-tight container and store in freezer.

And you’re certainly not limited to making the recipes in the maker’s instruction manual. Do a quick google search and you’ll discover over 2 million websites with ice cream recipes!

If you own a maker but have lost your instruction booklet, check out MakeIceCream.com  They have downloadable instructions for a variety of ice cream makers.

I also just discovered that you don’t need a maker in order to make all-natural, homemade ice cream. Check out Cooks.com  for complete instructions. 

If all of this is overwhelming and requires too many ingredients or steps, simply pull out your favorite juice drink, an ice cube tray, and some toothpicks. Fill the tray with juice, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 5 minutes. Your toddler will love poking the toothpicks through the plastic into the little juice pops. Once the tray is completely frozen pull out a mini pop and enjoy. This trick involves a lot less time and a lot less mess for your toddler.

Another reason why I have ice cream on the brain is because a local bakery which also makes ice cream is holding a make-your-own-flavor contest and the deadline is Saturday. The winning recipe gets a pint of ice cream every week for a YEAR!! There’s nothing better than FREE homemade ice cream!!

So far I’ve concocted a Pina Colada flavor, Banana Split, and something called The Kitchen Sink. That one has every single favorite topping mixed into it but the number of ingredients is getting a little out of control.  A contest like this is a great way to get the family involved in developing a recipe together (can you say Team Work?) as well as milking the kids’ creative and competitive spirit to develop their own individual recipes.

Have fun being creative in the kitchen with your kids!

Although I am a self-declared “non-cook”, I do love food. I love getting my FREE issues of this magazine because it’s FREE (always a good thing!) and I’m always on a quest to find easy recipes that my kids might actually eat (the picky little buggers).

The recipes aren’t exactly healthy but they can be adapted using low-fat items and the pictures are great.

Now, if only I had a personal chef who would cook for me everyday!

Greetings to all of you visiting me for the first time! I look forward to getting to know you.

Let me preface my plan by saying…I am not a cook. In fact, I couldn’t be more opposite of the definition of cook. I need a recipe for nearly everything (except boiling water); I skip any recipe that has unpronouncable ingredients; I either over season or under season our meals (there’s no in between for me); I love caterers; AND I have an incredibly picky family. So needless to say, cooking is definitely NOT a favorite thing to do and our meal plans are incredibly boring! I look forward to seeing some of your plans and being inspired.

Monday: spaghetti & meatballs
Tuesday: Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken& rice *see below for recipe*
Wednesday: turkey club sandwiches & salad
Thursday: turkey burgers (shhh…don’t tell my hubby!) & roasted potatoes
Friday: BBQ chicken & cornbread

I know, I know…we need veggies added to this plan. Our usual is putting the baby carrots on the table and letting the girls help themselves. My youngest likes her version of salad (everything but the lettuce) but my oldest thinks we’re poisoning her by even offering such a thing.

Here is the recipe for the Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken. It’s from Cooking Light but I think you need to be a member to see the online recipes, so I’m not sure if my link will work. Just in case, here it is (and it’s delicious!!):

1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 (6-oz) skinned chicken breast halves
8 (4-oz) chicken drumsticks, skinned
1/4 c honey
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
3/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1-1/4 c finely crushed cornflakes (about 4 c uncrushed cereal)
1/2 c finely chopped pecans
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400. Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken; set aside. Combine honey, mustard, paprika, and garlic powder in a small bowl. Stir well. Combine cornflakes and pecans in a shallow dish; stir well. Brush both sides of chicken with honey mixture; dredge in cornflake mixture.

Place chicken pieces on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray, and bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until done.

Thanks for stopping by, have a wonderful week, and come back to visit soon!!