Month: May 2015

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

ice cream sandwich cake

 

The easiest dessert you will ever make…the ice cream sandwich cake.  You could literally make this cake with two ingredients but it’s much prettier when you top it with pretty and tasty toppings.  I usually keep the toppings simple but you can add as much many as you like.  You will not have to worry about the cake melting because it will not be around long enough to melt.

 

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 - 12 count box ice cream sandwiches
  • 2 (8-oz.) containers Cool Whip
  • Toppings of your choice: examples: caramel; chocolate syrup; mini M&M's; chopped nuts; chopped candy bars; cherries
Instructions
  1. Cover the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with unwrapped ice cream sandwiches. Cut to fill in gaps.
  2. Cover with one container of Cool Whip.
  3. Top with another layer of unwrapped ice cream sandwiches. Cut to fill gaps.
  4. Top with second container of Cool Whip.
  5. Top with topping of your choice.
  6. Freeze until ready to serve. Let stand at room temperature about 10 minutes before serving.

 

Root Beer Barbecue Sauce

Root Beer BBQ Sauce copy

I have a last-minute post for your Memorial Day barbecues!  This is barbecue sauce that young and old will enjoy. It taste just enough like root beer that your guests will know something taste familiar, but they will not quite be able to put their finger on it.  You will find the root beer concentrate near the extracts in your store.

Root Beer Barbecue Sauce
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 (12-oz.) cans root beer, (not diet)
  • 1 c. bottled chili sauce
  • ¼ tsp. root beer concentrate
  • Hot pepper sauce, to taste
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. black pepper
  • ½ tsp. onion powder
Instructions
  1. In a medium saucepan combine root beer and chili sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce heat.
  2. Cook over medium low heat and boil gently, uncovered, until mixture has reduced to 2 cups. Add hot sauce, salt, pepper, and onion powder. Remove from heat and cool. Serve with your favorite barbecued meat.

 

 

Smoky Gouda Grits and Shrimp

Smoky Gouda Shrimp and Grits

We were in Pensacola recently for a long weekend. It was fun and relaxing! We went to the Crawfish Festival, met up with some old friends, visited a favorite antique shop, went to a few of our favorite restaurants and drove by our old house. Most were unchanged, except for some major road work in front of the subdivision and some horrendous apparatus on the back of my house! Yes, my house! We put everything we had in that house, completely changing the floor plan, going out to the site every day, & picking out every single thing that went into it. Miranda Lambert even wrote a song about it! If you’ve built a house, I’m sure you know. It made me a little homesick. I can still call it home, right? After all, there’s a piece of my heart in every city that I have ever lived. We have been fortunate to live in some outstanding places, and I have wonderful memories of each and everyone, not to mention awesome friends.

Our trip would not have been complete without a visit to Joe Patti’s! We loaded up the cooler and have been able to indulge in some wonderful seafood since we returned to the farm. I have taken a very simple Shrimp and Grits recipe and changed it up by using smoked Gouda. This recipe is fast and simple enough for a weeknight dinner, but serve it to guests at your next dinner party and they will be asking for the recipe.

Leftover smoked Gouda grits make a special breakfast treat. I like to heat the grits in the microwave for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes on high. Then stir in a small amount of water, the amount will depend on the amount of grits you have leftover. Warm another 1 to 1 1/2 minutes and top with a sprinkling of cooked and chopped bacon, chopped tomato, chopped scallion.

city grits

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Smoky Gouda Grits and Shrimp
 
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Serves: 4
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Ingredients
  • 32 oz. chicken broth
  • 1 c. uncooked quick-cooking grits (not instant)
  • ½ tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 2 c. (8-oz.) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
  • 6 slices bacon, chopped
  • 2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
  • 6 green onions, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
Instructions
  1. Bring chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in grits. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat; stir in salt, pepper, butter, and shredded Gouda. Stir until the cheese melts. Set aside and keep warm.
  2. While the grits are cooking, start cooking the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp; remove bacon from pan.
  3. Cook shrimp in the same pan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or until almost pink, stirring occasionally. (I do this in batches)
  4. When all shrimp are to the almost pink stage, add all back to pan, if you have removed any to cook in batches. Add lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, chopped parsley, green onions, and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Stir in bacon.
  5. Spoon grits onto individual serving plates or shallow bowls; top with the shrimp mixture. Serve immediately.

 

Bananas Foster Pancakes

2015May04_5400

 

I , like most mothers, love flowers and thoughtful gifts on Mother’s Day.  I enjoy going out for a lovely meal and the calls and cards are nice too.  However, I would love a day of pampering.  By pampering I do not mean that I want a gift certificate for a mani, a pedi, and a nice long massage.  Yes, that would be nice too, but what I’m referring to is a day sitting in my chair watching Lifetime all day long!  The television would not be on Nascar, or baseball, or anything remotely close to an ESPN channel!   I’d watch sappy chick flicks like You’ve Got Mail, While You Were Sleeping, and The Notebook, with a box of tissues and several diet Dr. Peppers.  I could laugh and cry all day long.  Oh, and no Criminal Minds marathons!  All the while Greg and the kids will be doing the laundry…all the laundry…which includes folding and putting away.  They could dust and vacuum, cook and clean up, and my most dreaded job, clean the bathroom!  Oh my, that sounds like the most perfect day ever!!!

Whether you plan to do all of the above for mom or not you can still start her day with a nice home-cooked breakfast, maybe even breakfast in bed.  This is a wonderful recipe for Bananas Foster Pancakes.  This bananas foster syrup is very simple, even the younger kids can help out with a little supervision from dad.  You can use the buttermilk pancake recipe or simply make Bisquick pancakes, which always turn out good.  Mom will love it!

Buttermilk Pancakes
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 c. all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3 tbsp. sugar
  • 2 lg. eggs, beaten
  • 3 c. buttermilk
  • 4 tbsp. melted butter
Instructions
  1. Heat griddle to 350°.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, and melted butter. Gently fold egg mixture into dry ingredients. Some lumps will remain. Too much mixing makes tough pancakes.
  4. Butter griddle and pour batter by ¼-cup measure. Cook until edges look dry and there are bubbles on the surface. Turn and cook 2 to 3 more minutes. Serve warm with Bananas Foster Syrup, with whipped cream, if desired.

Bananas Foster Syrup
 
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Ingredients
  • ½ c. unsalted butter
  • ¼ c. light brown sugar, packed
  • ½ pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 4 medium bananas, peeled and sliced
  • ½ c. chopped pecans
Instructions
  1. Heat butter, brown sugar, and maple syrup in a medium sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves.
  2. Add bananas and pecans and heat through (2 to 3 minutes).
  3. Serve warm over warm buttermilk pancakes.