Chocolate Fudge Peanut Butter Ice Cream

Ever since I purchased an ice cream maker last year, I have been on the hunt for the "perfect" ice cream recipe. I have noticed that many recipes aren't creamy enough or become a chunk of ice once placed in the freezer. This recipe is practically perfect. It is quite rich, but super creamy, chocolatey and peanut buttery. Mmmmm.

What You'll Need

For the Ice Cream

2 cups half-and-half

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

½ cup sugar

Pinch of salt

½ cup smooth peanut butter

Fudge (recipe follows)

Peanut Butter Patties (recipe follows)

For the Fudge

½ cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

½ cup water

6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon vanilla

For the Peanut Butter Patties

6 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons icing sugar

Make It

Fudge

Whisk together the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cocoa powder in a medium saucepan.

Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture begins to bubble at the edges.

Continue to whisk until it just comes to a low boil.
Cook for 1 minute, whisking frequently.

Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let cool.

Chill in the refrigerator before using.

Peanut Butter Patties

Mix together the peanut butter and icing sugar in a small bowl.

Line a dinner plate with plastic wrap or parchment paper.

Pinch off small pieces of the peanut butter mixture, and drop them onto the dinner plate.

Once you’ve used all of the mixture, freeze the patties.

Ice Cream

Whisk together the half-and-half, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt in a large saucepan over medium heat.
Heat the mixture, whisking frequently, until it comes to a full, rolling boil (it will start to foam up).
Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, stirring until thoroughly blended.

Chill mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions. Fold in the Peanut Butter Patties when it has finished churning.

Just before you remove the ice cream from the machine, spoon some of the Fudge Ripple onto the bottom of the storage container.

As you remove the ice cream from the machine, layer generous spoonfuls of the sauce between layers of ice cream.

Avoid stirring the Fudge, as it will make the ice cream muddy.

Chicken & Dumplings

Does it get any better than homemade chicken & dumplings? I don't think so.

What You'll Need

For the Stew

2 chicken breasts or 3 cups of cubed chicken

I onion, diced

2 large carrots, diced

3 celery stalks, diced

3 medium potatoes, diced

¾ cup flour

4 cups chicken stock

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup frozen corn

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper
a few sprinkles of thyme

For the Dumplings
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk (I used 2%)
3 Tbsp. butter

Make It

Saute the onions in butter for 5 minutes.

Add the celery and carrots and allow it to sweat for 5 minutes.

Add flour and stir.

Allow the flour to cook for a few minutes.

Add the stock and potatoes and bring to a boil to thicken.

Add salt, pepper and Thyme.

Stir in the chicken, peas and corn.

Once the stew is bubbling and cooked through, you may begin to make the dumplings.

Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Microwave the milk and butter on high until just warm (do not over-heat), about 1 minute.

Stir the warmed milk mixture into the flour mixture until smooth. 

Drop golf-ball-sized dumplings over the top of the stew, about 1/4 inch apart (you will most likely have about 16-18 dumplings).

Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the dumplings have doubled in size, 15 to 18 minutes.

Serve.

Banana Pudding

About a month ago, I had a real craving for banana pudding. I went out to the store, bought a package of banana pudding, came home, made it and almost immediately threw it all in the compost bin. It was AWFUL!! In fact, it didn't taste like banana at all. Yuck!

So, instead of torturing my family by feeding them chemically created, somewhat banana resembling goop, I tried this recipe. Wow! It is absolutely fantastic. My family loved it and I was happy knowing that the ingredients were fresh from my kitchen.


What you'll need

2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup table cream
2 large eggs
2 small ripe bananas, pureed
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. butter

*I'm sure the recipe would turn out just as good if you use 2 cups of milk instead of 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of cream. I would use 2% milk instead of the low fat.

Make it

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch and sugar.

Slowly whisk in the milk until it is smooth.

Over medium heat, cook the mixture until it is thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.

Turn heat down to low and cook for 2 more minutes while constantly stirring.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs.

Pour a small amount of the milk mixture into the eggs and stir quickly - you don't want the eggs to cook.

Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and whisk together.

Bring the pudding to a gentle boil over medium heat.

Once it starts boiling, cook for one more minute.

Remove from the heat and stir in butter, vanilla, and banana puree.

Transfer the pudding into bowls and allow them to cool.

This pudding is great on it's own, but if you want to fancy it up, add some chocolate chips or chocolate shavings.

Newspaper Pots

Every year around this time I really get the springtime itch. All I want to do is get outside and mess around in my garden. Unfortunately, March in Ontario isn't exactly the best time to do much of anything in any garden. So, instead I get a head start on my vegetable garden from my window sill.

This year, I have decided to make my own pots instead of using the plastic seed starter kits. This little project not only saves money, but it also saves the landfill. These newspaper pots will break down in the ground...awesome!

All you need is a newspaper and any type of cylinder. Today, I will be using a can of soup as my cylinder.



The first thing you need to do is cut your newspaper into smaller squares. I used a small newspaper, therefore only had to cut it into two pieces. For a regular sized paper, cut each sheet into four squares.

Take one square and place it on a flat surface.

Fold the square in half, creating a long rectangle.

Lay the soup can (or whatever object you have decided to use) on it's side. I prefer to have the can lying on the folded edge rather than the loose edge. This merely creates a smoother finish when the pot is finished.

Next, roll the newspaper around the can.

It is up to you how big or small you want your pot. I prefer to make them fairly tall so the plants have lots of growing room.

Set the can down, without letting go of the newspaper.

Now, fold the bottom of the newspaper to create the bottom of the pot.

Flip the can around so the bottom of the pot is on the table. Push down on the can to strengthen the folds.

Voila! You now have a pot just waiting to be filled with soil and seeds.



When it is time to plant these pots in the ground, I have read that it is best if you pull or loosen the newspaper from the plant before planting it. This just ensures that your plant can stretch it's roots even if the paper hasn't fully broken down.

DIY Multicoloured Crayons

What do you do with the broken pieces of crayons that litter the bottom of your kid's crayon box? I used to pick them out and throw them in the garbage. Not anymore...

Make your own multicoloured crayons out of left over crayon bits.

Simply, take the wrapping off the crayons and break them into small pieces. Next, place the pieces into any type of mould. You can use cupcake tins, or anything you have around the house that you think would make a nice crayon and can handle the heat of the oven.

I tried putting the crayon pieces in cookie cutters on a baking sheet but, as you can clearly see in the next picture, they leaked all over the place and made thin crayons. I'm sure if I had found a way to weigh the cookie cutters down to the cookie sheet, they would have turned out better.

I have seen other people use silicone ice cube trays. I think I'll try that next time.

When making your own crayon creations, make sure you use only one brand of crayons. I used mostly Crayola Crayons, but a few dollar store crayons were thrown in the mix. The dollar store crayons didn't really melt, so they stuck out and looked funny.

Be creative, have fun and have your little ones help you out with this one. Mine loved this activity, and their fingers are the perfect size for peeling crayons.

Granola

Granola is such a versatile food. It's good with yogurt, fruit, parfaits or to eat on it's own. This recipe is fantastic once it comes out of the oven, but also freezes well for up to 6 months.  

What you need:

3 cups rolled oats
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla

Make it:

In a large bowl, stir together the rolled oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.



In another bowl, stir together the honey, oil, and vanilla. Pour this over the oat mixture and combine thoroughly. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. I prefer to use my hands to mix the granola at this stage.

Heat the oven to 300 degrees F.



Spread the mixture in a thin layer on a baking sheet and place on the centre rack of the heated oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then stir the mixture up. Continue to bake for another 10 - 20 minutes or until the granola is beginning to brown. Don't let it get too brown or it will taste burnt.



As the granola is cooling off, mix it up so it doesn't harden into one chunk.

Once the mixture is cool, add whatever you like to it. I like to add slivered almonds and other nuts, coconut or dried berries (raisins, blueberries, cherries, strawberries). I have even used spelt flakes instead of rolled oats before. Be creative and use your favourite ingredients. I promise, you will not be disappointed.



Like I mentioned earlier, you can freeze the granola in Ziploc bags or mason jars. I prefer mason jars mostly because I dislike using plastic. If you are making a large batch, freeze the granola that you know will not get eaten within a few weeks. This keeps the granola tasting fresh.