the ice cream gods

The Improv Cooking Challenge ingredients for this month were chocolate & chili. I decided to make Chipotlé Chocolate Fried Ice Cream. As I was beginning the task, I prayed to the chocolate gods that the process would be smooth.
The chocolate gods were smiling on me and I had a beautiful chocolate ice cream mix in the can!

I put the dasher in the can and the can in the bucket of the churn. (Sometimes I have a problem with remembering the dasher... :O )
It was when I went to start the motor that the ice cream gods began to frown upon me. There was noise in the electrical parts, but I've found that noise can't churn ice cream!

My ancestors were a resourceful lot, and I'll bet they made ice cream in a jar rolled in snow. If home-school mamas can make ice cream in a zip-lock bag kneaded with ice cubes; I could adapt & overcome!

So I did!

Thank the ice cream gods that I still own an orange Tupperware bowl. (it's great for dough-rising!)

It got quite cold

but never achieved true churned ice cream consistency, but after sitting in the freezer overnight, was usable for my recipe.

...and that was how I thwarted a curse from the ice cream gods!

Cinnamon Almond Caramel Corn

Busy times here! I spent the past two weeks stitching fairy costumes for the high school play at my boys’ school. (You can check them out in a future post…) During that time I was pondering what to create for the Improv Cooking Challenge deadline which was fast approaching. The challenge ingredients are sugar and cinnamon.

I decided to make something gluten free so I could enjoy it along with the family. What I really wanted was cinnamon rolls, but I decided to go with cinnamon caramel corn.

My oldest left late last night for a road trip with church college friends. I decided to make a double batch of the corn so he could take some to share. I intended to make it with pecans; but when I saw at Sprouts Market they were double the price of slivered almonds I quickly changed my mind!I decided not to toast the almonds because they would be baked with the caramelizing corn, and I didn’t want them to be too dark. So I tossed them into my waiting pans & covered them with the popped corn.So, you know how it is making caramel. Everything just seems to happen all at once so you can’t get real good pictures of the process. (Although, because I had to answer a few texts, I’m pretty sure a picture or two ended up on facebook & Instagram… )I turned the pans out onto freezer paper to cool.I filled a gallon zip-lock for the road trip & dumped the rest back into my big popcorn bowl.I did also manage to pack 3 sandwich-size bags full of caramel corn for my husband and younger sons’ lunches. I saw this on facebook:My favorite parts of this batch would be the kernels that have a bunch of almonds stuck to them…

never knew eggs could taste like this

The hubs & I have a new breakfast ritual.

It starts with me putting a small stainless skillet on medium heat.

I add a tablespoon or two of coconut oil.

We take four eggs out of the fridge and scramble them. (On Mondays we take out five, but give one to Auggie – he ♥s eggs!)

If the pan’s heated just right, it starts to form a little “skin” as the eggs are poured in. I use a silicone spatula to gently turn the eggs. Nothing really sticks to the pan.

When they’re done, the eggs are shuffled off to a waiting plate.

We eat them with a sprinkle of garlic salt & a dab of sriracha sauce.

YUM!

George Foreman, he's our man... ...wha'?

Nooooooooooooo -- he's our "Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine"!

So, we use "him" for ev.er.y.thing!

(frozen "Normandy" veggies from Costco + olive oil + Sriracha salt = 2die4)

Deee-lish!

I think Xander ♥s him best of all, 'cause he uses George every day!

He makes a mean quesadilla

corn tortillas, too...

But the fave, by far, is garlic butter bread

Spaghetti Carbonara a la Shingler

Here's another recipe going out to my friend Lori. She's only a PE teacher, so I have to make it visual for her. (Just kidding -- I took the pics a couple weeks before she asked how I cook the dish . . .)

We start with a pound of bacon.

To save stove-top space, I cook it in the oven.  Spread bacon slices out over your pan and put in a cold oven.

Set the oven to 400°.

Cook to desired doneness (about 20 minutes) turning once.

Drain bacon. Crumble.

Sauté onions & garlic in some olive oil.

Boil water (with a bit of olive oil) for noodles.

(We use whole wheat pasta from Costco.)

OK -- here's where stuff goes pretty fast, so I don't have pictures until the dish is finally done.  Here's what has to happen:

• In a large bowl beat 4 eggs, add cracked black pepper to taste
• Drain cooked pasta & mix with beaten eggs (the hot noodles will cook the eggs)
• Continue to "toss" so noodles don't stick
• Add bacon and onions & garlic
• Toss in 1/2 cup grated parmesan (or amount "to taste") or you could even use the kind from a can
• Serve!

This last time I chopped the bacon before placing in the oven. (It cooked more evenly & saved the crumbling time...) We also added basil fresh from the garden & raw garlic, instead of browned.  The hubs likes to sprinkle red hot pepper flakes over his...

hummus (sorta)

I ♥ hummus!

I ♥ it on flat bread

I ♥ it as a dip for veggies

I even ♥ this one with corn chips!

It's healthy & inexpensive to make -- what's not to ♥?

This one I made with a two pound bag of dried garbanzo beans.

Cooked them several hours (low) in my slow cooker.

Cooked them with 2 chipotle cubes.

(You've got to try this stuff! It's wonderful!)

Whirled them in the food processor with garlic (lots of garlic) cumin, olive oil & lemon juice. The hubs is not a fan of sesame, so I left out the tahini -- which is probably why it's not as smooth as I like...

But it sure was delish!