Dark Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream

I have been having so much fun with my ice cream maker. And with the privilege of living on a cherry farm, I knew I would have to take advantage of the fresh fruit for ice cream. Last week, Katie and I made this delicious creation! We each enjoyed a bowl or two and the rest went in the freezer to satisfy my sweet tooth every now and again.

Dark Chocolate Cherry Ice Cream
2 cups half and half
1 cup whipping cream
3/4 cups sugar
4 tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh sweet cherries, pitted and quartered
1 dark chocolate bar

1. Coarsely chop chocolate into chunks and quarter cherries.

2. Mix together remaining ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Place frozen mixing bowl and turn ice cream maker on. Pour all ingredients, except cherries and chocolate in, and let the ice cream maker make for 25-35 minutes, until desired consistency is reached.

4. Add cherries and chocolate and mix for 10 minutes more.

5. Serve immediately as soft serve, or place in the freezer in freezer safe containers for at least 2 hours to allow ice cream to harden.

I tried this ice cream both ways, and personally, I thought that the hardened version was much better.

Spring Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

I was never really a fan of fruit in my salad until I was introduced to this salad by Aunt Linda. It is so fresh, so easy, and most importantly so delicious. I haven't specified amounts for the salad ingredients because that really depends on how much salad you are making. It can be adjusted for one serving or for a large bowl to serve to a group, just use your judgement.

Spring Salad
Spring mix greens
Bartlett pear
Strawberries
Pecan pieces *it is especially good with toasted, spiced or candied pecans.
Crumbled goat cheese

Place greens on a plate or in a salad serving bowl. Top with pear, strawberries, pecan pieces. Toss gently. Add crumbled goat cheese to the top. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette dressing (recipe below) and serve.

Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing - from Emeril
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a sealable jar and shake to combine. Use immediately or store in refrigerator for future use. Shake well before pouring. Makes one cup.

Crustless Bacon and Cheese Quiche

My mom made this delicious breakfast dish for our family on Christmas morning. It was the perfect accompaniment to Peameal bacon, cinnamon buns, and fruit salad.

Crustless Bacon and Cheese Quiche
1 cup chopped green onion
1 cup chopped tomatoes
12 slices bacon
1 cup sliced mushrooms**
12 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese
**Sweet peppers would also make a delicious addition to this dish

1. Cook bacon and crumble into small pieces. Cook mushroom in small amount of reserved bacon grease.

2. Combine green onions, tomatoes and cheese. Stir in crumbled bacon and mushrooms.

3. Beat the eggs and mix in the sour cream. Stir egg mixture into the bacon/mushroom mixture.

4. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes, or until eggs are set.

Makes 9 servings.

Baked Brie

Baked Brie - from Mumma
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup brandy
2 lb ring of brie

1. Mix together brown sugar, walnuts and brandy.

2. Pour over cheese.

3. Cover and chill for at least two hours.

4. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes.

Serve with crackers.

Bacon and Cream Cheese Dip

Bacon and Cream Cheese Dip - from Mumma

1 8 0z brick cream cheese
1/2 cup mayo
3 green onions, chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup grated cheese

1. Mix all ingredients and place in small casserole dish.

2. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly.

Serve with crackers.

Black Bean Dip

Look for a quick, easy, and delicious appetizer to take to a New Year's Eve party? Here it is!

Black Bean Dip
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 jar salsa
1 can corn, drained
2 green onions, chopped
Chili powder, to taste
Tortilla chips

1. Mix together first 5 ingreidents. Taste, add more seasoning if necessary.

2. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.

Makes LOTS of servings!

Taryn's Spinach Dip

A few weeks ago, my girl Taryn, posted this awesome recipe for homemade spinach dip. On Christmas eve, my mom always prepares a lunch of snack-y type foods for their staff before closing for the holidays. This year, since we were all home by then, we joined in. I decided to make this dip as my contribution. It is so yummy. Thanks Taryn!

Creamy Spinach Dip - From Taryn

2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 (8-ounce) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 loaf of pumpernickel bread
**Next time, I will also add in one jar of chopped artichoke hearts

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and next 5 ingredients (through spinach) in a large bowl; stir until well blended.

3. Spoon mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

5. Serve in a pumpernickel bread bowl, with cubes of bread for dipping.

Butternut Squash Soup

My sister told me about this recipe earlier in the fall when she made it. Her little guy devours it (well, he devours mostly anything) so she considers it a keeper. She made it for us during the few days that she and I, and her little man, were hanging out at my parent's house waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. With the evaporated milk, it's quite rich. It's not for the faint hearted. All of the girls, and Little H, loved it, but my dad said he would have preferred it served in a smaller portion as an accompaniment to a meal, rather than a large bowl as the meal itself. If you are looking for something less rich, I would suggest replaced the evaporated milk with regular milk or cream.

Butternut Squash Soup - from my lovely sister (who doesn't have a blog but really should)
EVOO
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
8 cups butternut squash, chopped and peeled
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 or 3 apples, peeled and chopped
1 carton of vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp thyme
1 cup evaporated milk (or make your own)
Some skim milk (if needed)

Heat EVOO. Fry onions and garlic until soft. Add remaining ingredients except for milk. Add water until squash is just covered if necessary.

Bring to a boil and simmer until squash is very tender.

Puree, adding skim milk to thin veggies, if necessary. Do NOT comb your hair before doing so. Trust me, this is a crucial step. Sorry, Mom, I just had to. :)

Add evaporated milk and heat and serve.

Little H and Aunt LiLi gives this soup two thumbs up!

Herb Roasted Chicken

This week's chef for the Food Network Chef's Cooking Challenge was Emeril. I wish Emeril had come at a different week because there were so many recipes of his that I would have liked to try, but I had to find something that would fit into my weekend menu because I knew I was leaving for holidays and I wouldn't be doing much cooking. I ended up finding this recipe for herb roasted chicken and decided to make it for our Christmas dinner.

I am sure Emeril would be disappointed because I used dried herbs rather than fresh. But I had to. It would have been a huge waste to buy fresh herbs, knowing that I was leaving for holidays and wouldn't get a chance to use them up.

The chicken was very flavourful and tasty. However, we didn't really feel like it fit in with our Christmas dinner - the taste just didn't meld well with the gravy, stuffing and other fixin's. But definitely a good chicken rub to try another time when we're making some roasted root veggies on the side (as Emeril recommends).

Herb Roasted Chicken - From Emeril
1 small chicken (or a variety of chicken pieces)
Salt
Pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lemon

1. Wash chicken and pat dry. Place in small roast pan.

2. Season with salt and pepper on both sides (or inside and outside of cavity if using a whole chicken).
3. In a small bowl, mix together garlic, thyme, sage, parsley and EVOO.

4. Rub all over chicken (inside and out).

5. Cut lemon in quarters. Squeeze over chicken and place rinds inside (or around chicken). Place bay leaves in as well.
6. Cover and roast at 350 for about an hour, until chicken is no longer pink.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

This recipe came from what I think was a Cooking for Two magazine ... or it might have been Light and Tasty. I can't remember. I found it a few years ago and made them for Thanksgiving. Everyone loved them so I've kept it around since then. If you are pressed for time or are too lazy to actually do the twice baked thing (which I often am), you can just scoop out the flesh, mix in the remaining ingredients and then heat it up like that rather than transferring it back to the skins. But, if you're interested in presentation, go for the twice baked look.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup light cream cheese
2 T milk
1 T brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans, optional

1. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Poke holes in the flesh and arrange cut side down on a cookie sheet lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray.

2. Bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes, until soft.

3. Remove from oven and cool enough to touch. Scoop flesh into a medium bowl, leaving enough skin for shells to remain in tact.

4. Add cream cheese, milk, sugar and cinnamon to sweet potatoes.

5. Mash until well combined.

6. Scoop sweet potato mixture back into skins.

7. Top with pecans, if desired.

8. Return to oven and bake 15-20 minutes until heated through.

This recipe is being linked at the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

Ginger Beets and Carrots

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love me some roasted veggies. I'm a huge fan of vegetables - there aren't many that I don't like (thanks to my mom, I think). I've still got a bunch of beets and carrots from a really great sale a while back so last night I mixed them together for this warm, wintery side dish.

Ginger Beets and Carrots
4 large beets
6-8 large carrots
Garlic Powder
Salt
Pepper
Ground Ginger

1. Wash and trim beets well. Although most recipes call for peeling the beets, it's not necessary when roasting them because they get very soft. Just make sure you scrub them good. I find it's so much easier not peeling them - because that can get quite messy. Cut into quarters. Arrange on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Season with salt and pepper. Close foil around beets to form a pouch. Roast at 425 for 35-45 minutes, until beets are beginning to soften.

2. Meanwhile, peel and cut carrots. I decided to cut them lengthwise, but next time, I would cut them the same shape and size as the beets.

3. When beets are beginning to soften, remove from oven, discard foil and add carrots to the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt, pepper and ginger. Return to oven and cook for 20-30 minutes, until both carrots and beets are soft.

Serve immediately. In the photos my veggies look a bit shriveled because I was waiting for SOMEONE (no names) to get home so we could eat up. I served with teryaki pork chops and twice baked sweet potatoes (recipe coming tomorrow).

Makes 2-3 large servings.

White Chocolate Raspberry Bark - updated with pictures

This was originally posted for a recipe swap but now I have pictures so I decided to repost.

If you know me at all, you know how much I love love love the Christmas season and all it brings with it. I decided to let the fabulous dude decide which recipe I would share. So I asked him the question and let him fill in the blank. When I said "It wouldn't be Christmas if we didn't eat..." he said Chocolate Coated Almond Toffee and White Chocolate Raspberry Bark. Since I've already posted the Chocolate Coated Almond Toffee I decided to go with the Raspberry Bark.

Every year, I join together with my mom to do our holiday baking. As you might remember, I have an excellent reason for doing so. I like to put together tins of baking to give away to friends and family members as well as have enough sweet treats kicking around to help me gain 50 pounds enjoy. The recipes tend to stay the same from year to year but occasionally we try something new. The following recipe is one of our tried and true ones. It is very quick, simple and delicious.

White Chocolate Raspberry Bark - from Lucy and her Mumma
1 bag white chocolate chips (or you can use baker's squares)
1 tbsp Shortening
4 tbsp raspberry jam
Mint flavouring

1. Melt chocolate and shortening in a double boiler over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once smooth, add a few drops of mint flavouring (you can omit if you are not a fan of chocolate mint). Pour chocolate onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

2. Meanwhile, melt jam in a 1 cup measure for 30-45 seconds, or until runny. Pour jam over chocolate. Using a toothpick, drag jam to blend in with chocolate. Get creative here and make fun designs!

3. Refrigerate and cool for 5-6 hours, until chocolate is hardened. Break into small pieces and enjoy!

This recipe is being linked at the Ultimate Recipe Swap: Christmas in July Edition