Chocolate Sorbet

I'm currently on a huge sorbet kick! I love it! Especially Raspberry! Actually, maybe I'm just in love with my new ice cream maker. So far, we've made homemade ice cream and sorbet at least a dozen times! Recently, I tried coconut sorbet, which was good and thick and creamy, but nothing to write home about (or post on a blog). So, when I saw this chocolate sorbet, I had to try it!

Oh, and I wanted it to be soooo good. I mean, it's chocolate! How can it not be great? I even took lots of photos to document this dessert. But when I tried the finished product it left me wanting to eat something else and not something with chocolate in it.

It's made from a lot of semisweet chocolate and unsweetened cocoa powder. Because it's sorbet it does NOT have any milk in it. So there it is. I should have known I wasn't going to be in love with it. Semisweet chocolate and no milk. It tastes just like it sounds. Don't get me wrong. It tastes very chocolatey. Just the wrong kind of chocolate.

Chocolate Sorbet

2 1/4 cups (555 ml) water

1 cup (200 g) sugar
3/4 cup (75 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large saucepan (yes, you must use a large one or it will bubble over. Trust me.), whisk together 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) of the water with the sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Let it boil, continuing to whisk, for 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until it’s melted, then stir in the vanilla extract and the remaining 3/4 cup (180 ml) water. Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend for 15 seconds.

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If the mixture has become too thick to pour into your machine, whisk it vigorously to thin it out. 

*Recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs, Smitten Kitchen.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

My gouda! Jayson said that this was his favorite soup ever! In fact, he ranked it as the best dinner we've had in the last 2 weeks. The kids compared it to their favorite soup at Panera, and actually said it was better. But that's probably because my kids always say nice things about dinner.

I didn't take a picture until it was almost gone. Oops! Guess we'll have to make it again.

what's in it?

2 bunches of fresh broccoli [cut and chop the tops]
4 cups chicken broth

2 cup of shredded carrots

1 onion [chopped]
2 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2 cups half and half 

6 TBSP all purpose flour
6 TBSP butter

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp dried basilsalt and pepper, to taste

1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese, plus plenty extra for topping [freshly grated]

2 cups of regular gouda cheese [freshly grated, rind removed]

get cooking!Add your broth to a pot on medium-high heat, add your 2/3 of your broccoli [about 2 cups of florets] as well as your carrots, onion, garlic, and bay leaf.  Simmer on medium, covered, for about 15-20 minutes or until the veggies are tender. 

Once the broth is done, start your roux.  In a large pot, melt 6 tablespoons of butter on medium heat, whisking constantly.  Once melted, slowly add 6 tablespoons of flour as you continue to whisk.  Remove from heat and slowly pour in the broth from your veggie mixture  and stir to incorporate.  Next pour in the veggies and slowly stir in 2 cups of half and half.  Return to the burner on very low heat, uncovered.   Spoon out the bay leaf and season with the herbs and spices, adding a little extra of whichever you like to taste.  Once the soup has warmed back up, stir in the grated cheeses and remove from heat immediately.

Tortellini in Creamy Rosé Sauce

I really loved the flavor of this pasta sauce. It was very flavorful and smooth. The best part of it, though, was that I left to pick Jayna up from play practice and when I came home, Jayson was home and finishing dinner! I had to document it with a photo.

Tortellini in Creamy Rosé Sauce

Here's what you need to make it:

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups spaghetti sauce
• 1 pkg (20 oz) refrigerated tortellini
• 1 (10 oz) pkg Philadelphia Cooking Creme (I used Italian Cheese and Herb - see photo)
• 4  cups fresh spinach
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

 Heat oil in large saucepan on medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in broth and spaghetti sauce. Bring to a boil.
Add pasta; stir. Cover; cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally  Add cooking creme. Cook and stir 3 more minutes. Cover; cook 5 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
Stir in Spinach; cook covered 1 minute, or until wilted. Remove from heat, top with Parmesan.

Enjoy with a large slice of French Bread! Yum!

This sauce reminded me of another sauce that I love. Here's that recipe, too!

Farfalle with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

• 
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

• 1 pound farfalle (bow-tie pasta)
• 1/2 cup (packed) chopped fresh basil
• Freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage. Sauté until sausage is no longer pink, breaking up with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic; sauté until onion is tender and sausage is browned, about 3 minutes longer. Add tomatoes and cream. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sausage mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta to same pot. Add sausage mixture and toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, adding reserved cooking liquid by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry. Transfer pasta to serving dish. Sprinkle with basil. Serve, passing cheese separately.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos

I've seen this picture/recipe posted on Pinterest quite a few times, so I thought I'd give it a try. Except, instead of using my crockpot, I put all the ingredients in a pan with my precooked shredded chicken. It made up so fast! It was really good, and we finished it all off. I did add more lime juice than it asked for, and I thought it needed some salt.

Here's how I made it: (for the crockpot version, click here)

2 cups cooked shredded chicken
4 Tbs lime juice
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1(16 oz) bag of frozen corn
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

I put all the ingredients in a large saucepan and heated it on medium-low until everything was nice and hot.

When it was heated thoroughly, I served it on warm tortillas with cheese, salsa and sour cream. Jayson gave it 2 thumbs up and said it tasted a little like Chipotle w/o the rice (which, he added, wasn't missed). I don't think I would make this in a crockpot . . . but if someone does will you let me know how it turns out?

Weekly Menu

I love finding things that make life easier.

Before I go grocery shopping, I pick 7 meals for the week. This not only helps me with my shopping, it saves me money and makes it easier to decide what's for dinner. Win-Win-Win! What makes this even easier is a list of meals by season (summer vs winter). I keep a copy in my purse and one on my fridge. This makes picking meals for the week lots easier.

I find it easier to NOT assign meals to days, which gives me a little more flexibility if our schedules change. I found this cute weekly menu planner and thought I would share it. I don't know where I got it from originally, but if you want a copy I'll email you a PDF. Just let me know.

Raspberry Sorbet

Holy Cow! This was amazing!! I know that by telling you how much I absolutely loved this, that I'll be setting your expectations super high; but I think that this recipe will totally live up to it's expectations. It was so delicious!!

Forget that Lemon Sorbet recipe I gave you a while ago. It's no good. You are only going to want to make this Raspberry Sorbet every week from now until eternity! Wowza!

I made this in my ice cream maker, but if you don't have one, you could probably make this similarly to the instructions for lemon sorbet.

Makes 5 cups (ten 1/2 cup servings)

• 2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar

Prepare a simple syrup with the water and sugar by combining both in a saucepan set on medium low heat. Cook until sugar is fully dissolved.

• pinch of salt
• 4 cups frozen raspberries, thawed

Add the raspberries and salt. 

Blend until smooth. Strain the mixture (half at a time) through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Use a spatula to help. Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours (or overnight).

 

Pour into ice cream maker and let mix until thickened. (about 15-20 minutes). Serve!

Stuffed Blueberry French Toast

1 loaf of french bread cut into squares

8 eggs

8 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup of sugar

3/4 cup of maple syrup

1 1/2 cups of blueberries

1 tsp vanilla

cinnamon

6 Tbs butter

Coat a 13 x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. 

Layer one half of the bread cubes in baking dish.  

Cream together sugar and cream cheese and drop spoonfuls over bread.  Layer blueberries over cream cheese.  Cover the blueberries with remaining bread.  Sprinkle generously with cinnamon.  Mix remaining ingredients and pour over bread.  Press bread with spatula to help soak up mixture.  

Cover and refrigerate overnight.  

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.  Servers 8.

Chicken Enchiladas!

You have to try these! They were delicious!

Here's what mine really looked like - I blame the lighting in my house. 

• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded
• 2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles. Drained.
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 8 flour tortillas
• vegetable cooking spray
• 1 8-oz container sour cream
• 1 8-oz bottle green taco sauce (I used half a bottle of La Victoria brand sauce- see pic)
• Toppings: diced tomatoes, chopped avocado, chopped green onions, sliced olives, cilantro

Make it!

Stir together first 5 ingredients. Spoon chicken mixture evenly over each tortilla, and roll up. Arrange in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Coat tortillas with vegetable cooking spray.

1. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. (Mine didn't need this long. I would cook them 20 minutes and then check on them.)
2. Stir together sour cream and taco sauce. Spoon over hot enchiladas, and sprinkle with toppings.

My Latest Time Saving Tip

Sometimes life is just way too busy. And sometimes that means that dinner is the last thing on my mind. So I found a way to still get a good meal during the week - I cook my chicken ahead of time, so it's ready to be added to dishes without much prep time.

I know. It's nothing really new or innovative. But I thought it might help you, too.

First, I put all my chicken in the crockpot. Frozen. All at once. My crockpot can hold quite a bit, so I fill it full. I turn it on to high and let it cook about 3 hours. (*crockpot cook times may vary. Mine seems to run on the hot side). Without any effort at all, I have a crockpot full of cooked chicken breasts! Yay!

Second, I take the chicken breasts, trim them of any fat and stick 2 or 3 into my mixer. Then using the paddle accessory, I turn it on for a few seconds. This easily shreds the chicken.

Don't run your mixer too long, or the chicken will get shredded into small tiny pieces. It only takes a few seconds. Don't overdo it!

Then I take my shredded chicken and put it in a tupperware and repeat with the remaining chicken. I can put it in the fridge or freeze it.

Now, I can use my shredded chicken for all kinds of recipes cutting dinner prep time in half. *(Actual time saved has not really been measured. But I feel like dinner has been lots easier.)

Some dinner ideas for your shredded chicken:

• Fajitas (just saute some onions and peppers, heat up the chicken in a skillet with seasonings, and you are ready to go south of the border in seconds!)
• Chicken Salad Sandwiches
• Southwest Chopped Chicken Salad
• Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
• Chicken Enchilada Pasta - just heat up the sauce and cook the pasta. Add the chicken and you are ready to go!
• Chicken Noodle Soup 
• Teriyaki Chicken
• Chicken Pot Pie
• Haystacks
• These delicious Chicken Enchiladas

*also, I save the broth from the chicken and strain it and use it for homemade chicken noodle soup.  Win-win-win!

Brownie Volcano!

The other day to celebrate summer ending, we headed to the Rainforest Café. During dinner we discussed their dessert – the Volcano. It looks something like this.

 

It was $15. With tax and tip, we’d be up to almost $20 for dessert. So, we decided to make one at home. Ourselves. Here’s how ours looked. Yup. We even put a sparkler on top. Or two.

Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients:

• Box of Brownie mix
• Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce
• Sparkler. Or Two.

This is pretty self-explanatory, but here it goes. I made the brownies in an 8x8 pan. I let them cool and then sliced them in half. I put the two pieces on a plate in the freezer for about half an hour. or until they were a little firm. Then I took the 4x8 piece of brownie, set it on it’s side and cut in into 2 wedges by slicing lengthwise. I repeated this with the other side. Now, I have 4 brownie wedges. I put these back in the freezer for an hour until they were firm enough to work with.

When the brownie wedges were firm enough, I got out a plate and piled up 3 scoops of ice cream. One on top of the other.  Then I leaned three of the pieces against the ice cream, building the sides of the volcano. I put the thickest part down on the plate as the base. One more scoop of ice cream topped it off. Then I poured Hershey’s Syrup all over it and stuck in my Sparkler. We were ready to rock n’ roll!

Pass out spoons and enjoy!

I know the brownie cutting is hard to understand. Let me know if you have any questions.