Another Tuesday Post

Today I have a couple of things to share. First off, check out this awesome blog/website that I follow, Kevin & Amanda! I have been looking for desserts to make while we are without oven for the next few months. I came across this recipe, BEHOLD! If you know me (and David) we LOVE our ice cream.

I read through Amanda's recipe and the majority of the comments from here readers versions. The first time, I made her recipe for Smore's ice cream. It was wonderful around the 2nd day, when it had all set and been mixed well. I am in a hotel right now and do not have access to a mixer, nor did I even have a whisk. I struggled to get the cream whipped up and finally gave up on it. I decided I would try to use what I had in my ice cream. The only mistake I made was not whipping the cream into the SCM and toppings. The cream froze a lot faster and separate from the rest. This was not good. Finally, when it had all froze, it got mostly combined.

Needless to say, I wanted to give myself a second shot at it. I walked around Walmart in a daze trying to decide what flavors to put in it. I finally decided on strawberry and chocolate. I bought strawberry ice cream topping and dark chocolate chips. David helped me whip the cream, but it still wasn't whipped to soft peaks. I put most of the strawberry topping in and about a 3/4 or a cup of the chocolate chips. NOW, differently from the original try, when we added everything together, David whipped all the ingredients until combined. It made a world of difference when it finally froze! David loved it!

I also wanted to share another cute trick I did today in the kitchen... I am truly a child in the fact that I love mac and cheese with hot dogs.  Well I found out today you can boil the pasta and hot dogs at the same time! That's great in my book!

All for now folks!

Ice Cream Cake!

I have a new recipe to share with you! This one is all my own. David's birthday was yesterday, and we celebrated it last week. I told him to tell me anything he wanted me to bake/make for him and he said an ice cream cake. Now, let me be clear this cake has NO CAKE in it. Just ice cream and other treats =)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 flavors of ice cream [1.5-1.75 qt containers]
• 1 pkg oreo cookies
• 1 container Hershey's Chocolate Frosting
• Candies or cookies of your choice

1. I used a greased 9x13 pan, with a fitted lid (this will help prevent freezer burn).  First you need to crush up the oreos, not too finely. I used about 2/3 of the package. Heat about 1/2 to 2/3 cup of the frosting to semi-liquify it. Mix the frosting in with the oreos to make the crust. Add more frosting if needed. Press the mixture in the bottom of the pan evenly. Freeze this for about an hour or until firm in the bottom.

2.  Now is time for your first layer of ice cream. You could put candy down first, but I put ice cream next on the crust. You will need to sit it in the fridge for 10-15 minutes prior to putting in the pan so it is easy to smooth out. Take most of the ice cream out of the container and into a bowl. Use a spoon to mix it up and make it easier to spread. Use the spoon to scoop and spread the ice cream evenly. Put the lid on and place in the freezer for 2 hours, or until the ice cream layer is firm.

3.  This next layer I had some fun with. You can do whatever candy or flavors you like here. Get creative! I crushed up Reeses Peanut Butter cups (2 bags of the mini-minis) and scattered them on top of the ice cream layer. Then, because David loves PB, I melted peanut butter and 'spread' that on top of the reeses cups. Freeze this next layer for an hour or until toppings and vanilla ice cream are both firm.

4. Repeat step #2 with another flavor of ice cream. I used Rocky Road, per David's request. Even if you choose a flavor with stuff in it, you still need to mix it up good. It will level out on the cake. Once again freeze for 2 hours or until firm.

5. This top layer is also up for your interpretation. David wanted the cake 'iced' in something, so I melted the rest of the frosting and used a plastic baggie to lighting frost the cake. Then I crushed the rest of the oreos and put them on top, with some sprinkles on top for fun! Obviously, store in the freezer, with the lid! =)

mmm, look at those layers!

Enjoy!