Kiwi Lime Sorbet

After participating in last month challenge, I was excited when it came time for Bridget at Bake at 350 to unveil August's theme. Lemon or Lime. I was at work so sent an email to Mike telling him what the theme was for this month and all he wrote back was Kiwi Lime Sorbet. So I was like okay, is that a hint. He said that when he was younger there was this ice cream shop in town that use to make the best Kiwi Lime Sorbet. So picking this months recipe was easy!


Kiwi Lime Sorbet

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lime zest
10-12 ripe kiwis
juice of 2 limes
1/4 cup limoncello (optional)

Wash and dry the limes. Using a microplane grater, remove the zest from the limes until you have about 1 tablespoon of zest. Place water, zest and sugar into a small saucepan and boil gently for 10 minutes to reduce mixture and extract lime.


Peel the kiwis and remove the hard ends and even the whitish core, if desired.


Place kiwis in blender. Juice 1-2 limes and add to blender. There's plenty of lime flavor from the zest, so avoid the temptation to add a lot of juice. Pour in the reduced lime syrup and puree the mixture just until smooth. Pour into a sieve and gently filter out the lime zest and kiwi seeds. Pour this into ice bath and stir in 1/4 cup of limoncello Until blended.


Chill mixture in ice bath until less than 45F. Pour into ice cream maker and freezer according to your maker's instructions. Once chilled, remove from ice cream maker and place in a container to set in freezer.

Enjoy!!

My Review: The only problem I had was with the first step of boiling the water, sugar, and zest. Do not boil it for 10 minutes. What happens is that it because a hard syrup that sticks to the side of the pot and doesn't come out. So when I made it the second time, I just brought it up to a boil and then shut off the heat. At one point I though this recipe was cursed because when making it the second time we were have a bad thunderstorm and the power went out. I'm glad it only went out for a few seconds, because I think I would have started throwing kiwis around the kitchen in protest. But I was able to finish it with no other problems. If you like lime flavored things, you'll like this recipe. It was a little tart for me, but Mike loves lime flavored stuff so he really enjoyed it!

Homemade Ice-Cream!

For my birthday this year, my mom and dad bought me a Cuisinart Ice-Cream Maker. I have been wanting to get one for the last year. Of course, I didn't realize how many calories it takes to actually make your own ice-cream, so I am in search of lower cal ice-cream recipes. But in the meantime, I had asked my hubby to pick up some heavy cream and half-and-half on the last trip the supermarket.

I started by making the mixture for the ice-cream maker (ingredients and directions below). After it was made, I put it in the maker and expected to watch magic happen! After 25 minutes, it still looked like milk. Huh?! I pull out the directions (you know, the paper that comes with the box, that no one really reads, except for seeing what ice-cream recipes they suggested?!). Little did I I know, you actually need to freeze the bowl FIRST! haha

Ok, so put it in the freezer and after 4 hours, I thought let's try again. (Note, instructions said that it usually takes 6-22 hours to freeze the bowl, but I put it in the back of the freezer as suggested and somehow thought that a miracle would happen), umm, yeah, still milky. Hmm! Does this really work?

This time, I left the bowl to freeze overnight, got up this morning and said, ok, third time is a charm. Put the machine together, put in the mixture, turned it on and went upstairs for 40 minutes. Came downstairs and hmm, what is that coming out of the top?! OH MY GOD! It's ICE-CREAM!

Just because it looks like ice-cream, does that mean it actually tastes like it?! What are the chances that this actually works? Well, let's just say Breyers and Turkey Hill have nothing on me! Holy cow! I think this is some of the best ice-cream I have EVER tasted! Even the hubby was impressed! YUM-O! as Rachel Ray would say. Sooooooooo good! I think it cost more to make than to buy a 1/2 gallon at the supermarket, but hey, it may just be worth it!

Next I'll try to make a lower cal one (may half-and-half and skim milk or 1%) and see how that comes out. But let's just say, I am IMPRESSED! If you have an ice-cream maker, you need to try this out...


Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

PREP TIME 45 Min
READY IN 45 Min
Original recipe yield 1/2 gallon (16 servings)

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups half-and-half
1 ¾ cup heavy cream
¾ skim milk
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or ½ vanilla bean (seeded) - or combo of both
1/2 pinch salt

DIRECTIONS:
Combine half-and-half, heavy cream, and sugar in saucepan to dissolve sugar. Add vanilla bean and salt at end and let cool. Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

For Cuisinart ice-cream maker, freeze bowl overnight. Ice cream mixture can be made 2-3 days in advance and stored in fridge until ice cream bowl is frozen.

Original recipe called for 4 cups of half and half and ½ cup of heavy cream. I used what I had available.

New Twist to an Old Ice Cream Cake Recipe

For Kevin's birthday I always make him an ice cream cake since he's not a huge fan of regular cakes. This year I thought I'd do something a bit different...since Kevin loves ice cream sandwiches I thought I'd incorporate them into his cake. I was given this recipe by a friend of the family and it turned out AWESOME!!

I first sprayed my spring form pan with pam cooking spray so the ice cream sandwiches wouldn't stick to the sides. Then I cut each ice cream sandwich in half long way, then in half short way giving me 4 pieces about 3 inches tall by 1 inch wide. Line the whole outer edge of the spring form pan with the small ice cream sandwiches. Then in a seperate mixing bowl, take your chocolate ( or oreo ) pie shell and mush to crumbs. Melt some butter and stir in until it holds together. Using half, press with a fork to the bottom of the spring form pan. Then using the first ice cream of your choice, fill the pan half way. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate crumbs over that then fill with your second choice of ice cream ( I always use vanilla as the top ice cream, that way you can decorate with candles, icing etc. ). Put in freezer to harden.

Watermelon ice pops - August recipe

I know Im posting this a bit late...but heres my August recipe. I had bought a whole seedless watermelon to bring up to Shinhopple one weekend and nobody cut into it. I searched all over for something to do with it. I couldnt eat a whole water melon by myself..LOL. I thought something cool would be good, since it was in the middle of summer. I found a recipe on the kraft food site for these ice pops. They are so simple to make:


2 cups water
1/2 cup COUNTRY TIME Lemonade Flavor Drink Mix
3 cups chopped seedless watermelon
1 cup ice cubes


Now, instead of making the drink which was the original recipe, I though freezing them would make a yummier treat.

My first attempt with this was horrible...the country time lemonade made this so sour I couldnt stand it. Kevin who likes sour ( and lemonade ) said he couldnt eat it either. Way way too sour =(. I had to throw the whole batch right down the drain. My second attempt instead of using lemonade mix, I used raspberry ice mix from crystal lite. What a difference. The second batch came out great!! Kevin ate them very quick on those hot summer days. I'd definally make these again next summer. They turned out to be a nice cool summer treat.

Happy Father's Day

I knew this weekend was going to be a busy one with a birthday party to attend way down in NJ and then the next day have bbq at my house for father's day. I decided I needed to make a dessert that was easy, good and something I can prepare ahead of time.

I made the ice cream sandwich cake that Kath made last year around this time from the Kraft food magazine (please visit her post of the recipe). It was in fact very easy to make and everyone LOVED it.

I decided to use the Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches just to give it a little extra something. The picture I took isn't the best but it will have to do. Since everyone ate it and I don't have anything left...

Frozen like a Polar Bear would like...

Mike talked to his mom last night and the were having a sort of funny conversation. A little background on the story first. When I first started to date Mike they had a dog named Howie who was the funniest "little" dog I have ever known (he passed away a few years ago). The way to his heart was food and he loved his food. Every time we came home he would take me over to the cabinet where his treats were stored. ..ok everything time I came over he would take ME to the cabinet. I loved giving him treats which he knew and used that to his advantage. There are so many funny stories about Howie I could tell but I will end there for now.

They currently have a dog named Randy (see picture below)...who is starting to bring my mother-in-law to the same cabinet for treats. I said to Mike that I think Howie is possessing Randy or at least his ghost is giving Randy some pointers. She said that he won't stop eating and wants to eat all the time. He will really eat anything you put in front of him which we have sort of tested a little big. He was eat all kinds of vegetables and fruits. When we lived there last year you had it made with all the food Jacob would drop on the floor.

I was telling Mike last night that his mom is going to have to start freezing stuff inside a block of ice so it will take him some time to get his treats. Like they do at zoos when it is really hot for the polar bears and other animals. I once saw a product out there where you could do this for your dog but I forgot where and I can't seem to find it again.

In my search for a frozen treat for a polar bear I came across this recipe which I might have to try out.

Nesquik Polar Bears
Estimated Times:Preparation - 5 min Yields - 2

Ingredients:
1 cup fat free milk
1/2 cup ice cubes
1/4 cup NESTLÉ NESQUIK Chocolate or Strawberry Powder
1/4 cup Chocolate or Vanilla Fat Free Frozen Yogurt
2 tablespoons instant (aerosol) whipped cream

Directions:PLACE milk, ice, Nesquik and frozen yogurt in blender; cover. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses; top with whipped cream. Serve immediately.

Ice Cream Yum!!

It's that time of year again when the Girl Scout flavor ice cream hits the supermarkets. They are only available January thru April, so you have try them while they last. It's funny depending where you live you either have Edy's or Dreyer's brand ice cream. I think it's the same company just a different name. Not sure why the different name in different regions, but it doesn't matter to me. Here in NY we have Edy's. I have bought my first gallon today, Samoas. My husband's favorite. My favorite is the Thin Mint Cookie flavor. I must say it's the best chocolate mint ice cream flavor EVER!!! I highly recommend it. It's a cure all remedy to whatever is bothering you. Defiantly a must at any girls night gathering.

Ice Cream Cake

Heres the recipe for that ice-cream sandwich cake. Jenn- its so easy, take no time at all to make. Nothing melted on me at all. Let me know what you think when you try it!!


1/2 cup hot fudge topping, warmed
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
8 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches, unwrapped

POUR fudge topping into medium bowl. Add 1 cup of the whipped topping; stir with wire whisk until well blended. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. or until well blended. Gently stir in chopped cookies; set aside.

ARRANGE 4 of the ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long piece of foil; top with half of the whipped topping mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches. Frost top and sides of dessert with remaining whipped topping. Bring up foil sides. Double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.

FREEZE at least 4 hours before serving. Store leftover dessert in freezer.

It serves 12
prep time is 10 mins

Ice cream sandwich cake

I made that ice cream sandwich cake that was in the last kraft foods magazine I recieved. All I can say is OH MY GOD...it was soooooo good. It was so easy to make. Kevin who doesnt eat sweets loved it. If you guys dont have that recipe let me know and I'll post it.