Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Breakfast: Zucchini Bread

Lunch: Baked Lemon Pasta

Snack: Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Dinner: Chicken Cordon Blue

Dessert: Vanilla Ice Cream

With the summer warming up fast, making your own ice cream is definitely a trick to know.  You know exactly what is going in your ice-cream and you can customize it from the beginning:

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 cups half-and-half cream
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, combine the heavy cream and the half and half.
2. Gradually whisk in the sugar until blended.
3. Whisk in the vanilla.
4. Refrigerate, covered, until very cold, at least 3 hours or as long as 3 days.
5. Whisk the mixture to blend and pour into the canister of an ice cream maker.

Enjoy!

Happy Father’s Day!  I hope you have all taken the time to honor the important men in your life.  Today we will be having Curried Coconut Shrimp, a yummy treat to enjoy by the pool or on the patio.

Breakfast: Pumpkin Bread

Lunch: Curried Coconut Shrimp

Snack: Yogurt and Graham Crackers

Dinner: Honey Baked Ham

Dessert: Fruit with Sorbet

Curried Coconut Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 egg whites
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Lime wedges, for garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a food processor, pulse the coconut until coarsely ground and transfer to a shallow bowl.
3. Mix coconut with bread crumbs, curry powder, and salt, and set aside.
4. Beat egg whites until slightly foamy.
5. Dip shrimp in egg whites and coat with coconut mixture.
6. Repeat to form a double coating.
7. Place shrimp on rack placed within a sheet pan and bake for 10 minutes.
8. Garnish with lime wedges and serve.

Enjoy with a pina colada or a nice cool lemonade.  Have a wonderful Father’s day!

Happy Monday!  Today’s menu is simple and sweet.  The ceviche is a cool and tasty treat with a great flavor and really interesting overtones.  Sure to please the whole family!  I love ceviche any time of the year, I hope you feel the same way!  Here it goes:

Breakfast: Eggs Florentine

Lunch: Pork Salad

Snack: Fruit and Graham Crackers

Dinner: Creamy Fish Choriander

Dessert: Cheesecake with lime poached pears

Tuna Ceviche

• white fish fillets, cut into 2 cm cubed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• zest and 1/2 cup lemon juice (~3 lemons)
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 tomatoes diced and seeded
• 400ml coconut milk (light works just as well, or you could go all out and use coconut cream)
• large handful of coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 small red chilli chopped
• 1 capsicum diced
• 1/2 cucumber, seeded and diced
• red onions
• 1 large red onion, very finely sliced (use a mandolin if you are lucky enough to have one)
• 2 Tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (or 1/2 teaspoon normal salt)
• 3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar (or lemon juice)

Preparation

1. In a large bowl, add the fish, 1 tsp salt, lemon juice and lime juice.
2. Mix well and let it sit in the fridge for 1 – 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the red onion, sugar, salt and rice wine vinegar/lemon juice and let that sit for an hour as well.
4. Add the coconut cream, tomatoes, chilli coriander, capsicum and cucumber to the marinated fish.
5. Add the red onion and all the juices of the picked red onion.
6. Mix well and serve cool over rice with a fresh leafy salad.

There you go!  Enjoy!

Happy Sabroso Saturday, Everyone!

What is Sabroso Saturday?   It’s undoubtedly the best day of the week! Every Saturday, thousands flock to twitter and share their most delicious Latino recipes with the rest of the world.  By adding or searching #SabrosoSaturday on twitter you will be amazed at what great recipes and kitchen secrets people share.  If you have a twitter you should definitely check it out- it is quite an event!  While you’re at it, you should follow me as well!  I’m always tweeting fun and interesting updates with KidsFunPlaza.  It’s a great way to stay on top of what’s going on in our offices.  Just add KikiLightbourn

Here is today’s menu:

Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito

Lunch: Go Out For Lunch!

Snack: Fruit and Sting Cheese

Dinner: Sea Soup

Dessert: Dulce de Leche

It’s an easy menu today with very little cooking, but that’s because of the Sea Soup!  While it is still mild outside, I thought it might be a great time to introduce the sea soup- a beloved Colombian dish.

Sea Soup

It sounds weird, trust me, it is the tastiest soup you will find!  A Columbian soup packed with herbs, spices seafood and even coconut milk, this is a great way to sneak some nutrients in to dinner for your kids while they enjoy a unique treat.

Ingredients:

• · 2 tablespoons olive oil
• · 1 cup diced onion
• · 1 cup grated red bell pepper (grated on the large holes)
• · 2 pounds raw shrimp, cleaned and deveined
• · ½ pound raw squid rings, cleaned
• · ½ pound piangua or clams, cleaned
• · ½ pound raw conch pieces or oysters
• · 1½ fish bouillon cubes
• · 2 tablespoons garlic paste
• · 1 teaspoon color or Sazón Goya with Saffron
• · 1¼ teaspoons salt
• · ¾ teaspoon pepper
• · 4 cups coconut milk
• · 2 cups milk
• · 4 tablespoons flour
• · ¼ cup white wine
• · 1½ tablespoons minced cilantro
• · 1 tablespoon minced parsley

Preparation:

1. heat, place the oil, onion, red pepper, seafood, bouillon cubes, garlic, color or saffron, salt, and pepper In a large, heavy pot over medium-low.
2. Cook for 12 minutes.
3. Mix the coconut milk, milk and flour together to a smooth consistency.
4. Add them to the pot;
5. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes more.
6. Add wine and simmer for 15 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with cilantro and parsley and serve.

Voila!  A beautiful creamy soup for you and your family to enjoy.

November ’10 – Week 3

Breakfast: Fill Your Own Popovers

Morning Snack: Banana Bread and Mango Lassi

Lunch: Shrimp Tacos with Creamy Chipotle Slaw

Afternoon Snack: Fresh Fruit with String Cheese

Dinner: Slow Cooker Jambalaya

Dessert: Rice Pudding

Recipe of the Day:

Popovers

My mom used to make these all the time- she still knows the recipe by heart! They’re perfect with a dollop of butter and jam inside, sophisticated with a smear of Nutella, or satisfying with a poached egg! They really can be filled with just about everything, and their huge bubbles and nooks and pockets are an open invitation for yumminess. (*Orange text indicates easy steps that kids can do!)

Ingredients:

2 Eggs
1 C Flour
1 C Milk
1/2 t Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°. Grease and flour a muffin or popover tin.

In a medium bowl beat eggs lightly, then beat in flour, milk and salt until just smooth, being careful not to over-beat.

Fill cups halfway. Bake for 20 minutes. Decrease oven temperature to 350° and bake for 20 minutes more. Serve immediately with different fillings- here’s some ideas:

Peanut butter and jelly.
Butter and cinnamon sugar.
Cream cheese and ham.
Poached eggs and hollandaise.
Nutella!

October ’10 – Week 2 – Friday Dinner/Entree

This recipe is my own, based off of a meal an old friend used to tell me about but never got around to cooking for me. My version is elegant, worthy of an anniversary dinner, and reminiscent of meals I ate during my summer in Germany. This meal is also very versatile. It could be rendered into a soup, the potatoes could be removed and mashed with the cream, butter and herbs in the pan, or it could be served exactly as it is, straight out of the oven.

Ingredients:

4 Salmon Fillets
1 lb Fingerling Potatoes
1 lb Asparagus Spears, trimmed
Fresh Dill
1 Pint Half & Half
1 Stick of Butter
Zest of 1 Lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In the bottom of a baking dish, arrange the asparagus spears into a mat for the salmon to sit on. Arrange salmon on top, and potatoes off to either side. Pour half and half into the bottom of the dish, and cut the butter into bits and scatter them throughout. Roughly chop the dill and sprinkle it over the top, along with the lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Tent with foil and bake for 60 minutes, or until fish is tender and flaky and potatoes are cooked through.

October ’10 – Week 2 – Thursday Dinner/Entree

I discovered the secret to a killer cheesy shepherd’s pie, and the answer might surprise you. Save time and calories by using boxed potatoes au gratin instead of using a layer of mashed potatoes. The cheesy sauce cooks down into the meat and veggies, completely changing your perceptions of what a shepherd’s pie is supposed to be.

Ingredients:

1 Package Potatoes Au Gratin
Water
Milk
Olive Oil
1 lb Ground Beef
1 Onion, diced
1 Clove Garlic, minced
Frozen Vegetables of choice (I usually use peas.)
Worchestershire Sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.

Add a touch of olive oil to a med-large skillet and heat to med-high. Cook onions and garlic until translucent and tender. Remove from pan and set aside.

Cook beef in the same skillet until browned WELL. Drain off any fat before reincorporating the onion mixture and adding your veggies, worchestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

Add contents of the skillet to a casserole dish. Prepare “sauce” for potatoes au gratin (cheese packet, water and milk,) omitting the butter component. Arrange potato slices across the top of the beef mixture in the casserole dish, then pour the cheese sauce overtop. Sauce will thicken and potatoes will cook as the casserole bakes.

Bake for 60 minutes, or until the top has browned and potatoes are cooked through.

October ’10 – Week 1 – Friday Dinner/Entree

I have become something of a genius at whipping up mock fast food to sate my husband’s sudden crises for drive-thru fare. These sandwiches are no exception, but instead of a heap of fries, we’re serving them up with BIG SALADS- but don’t let the name fool you.

“Big salads” are something my mother makes and they’re just what the name suggests. She fills a plate with whatever greens we happen to have on hand, and then anything else we happen to have on hand goes right on top. It’s pretty easy to invent interesting, sometimes cafe-quality salads with things you find in your fridge and pantry- from nuts, dried cranberries and shredded cheese to olives, beans, cold cuts and a little onion or tomato. Kids will have a blast designing and adding things to their plates, even making faces with vegetables. Whip up a vinaigrette from anything you happen to have around, the ingredients for my favorite are listed below.

Ingredients:

2 Packages (or 1 lb) Deli Sliced Roast Beef
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper
8-12 Slices Cheddar Cheese
4-6 Kaiser Rolls
1/3 C Favorite Steak Sauce

Directions:

Heat a medium nonstick skillet to med-high heat. Put slices of roast beef on the skillet and fry until they curl up and become ruffly and darkened. Push them aside as they finish cooking, and crack fresh black pepper over them. Once finished, you should have a heap of hot, tender beef. Toss with steak sauce and heap on a roll while still hot. Melt 1-2 slices of cheese over the steak before topping with the rest of the bun.

Ingredients for my Favorite Salad Dressing:

1/3 C Rice Wine or Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 C Olive Oil
2-3 T Honey
1 t Chipotle Powder*
Salt to taste

Whisk together and douse salad generously in deliciousness.
*If you don’t like spicy, opt to use brown mustard instead.

October ’10 – Week 1 – Dessert (W, Th.)

The delicate spice and flavor in these cookies just screams Christmas! to me, but they’re pretty good any time of year. Of course, being me, I always jump the gun and start thinking my Christmas thoughts now, in October. Putting together a batch of these is usually enough to tide me over until the real cookie baking grind begins! (*Orange text highlights easy steps that kids can do.)

Ingredients:

3/4 lb Butter, softened
1 C Sugar
1 t Vanilla Extract
3 1/2 C AP Flour
1/4 t Salt
1/4 t Ground Cloves
1 Orange, zested
1 T of Orange Juice, reserved
2 T Melted Butter
1 C Confectioner’s Sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, mix together the butter and 1 cup of sugar until they are smooth. Add the vanilla, clove and orange zest. Sift in the flour and salt. Mix until the dough starts to come together. Dump out onto a floured surface and form the dough into a solid, flat disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a half an hour.

Roll out the dough to about 1/2″ thickness and cut, either with a knife into squares or rectangles, or use a biscuit cutter to make rounds. Place the cookies on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges just begin to brown. Allow to cool completely.

Whisk together orange juice, butter, and confectioner’s sugar. Glaze cooled cookies, using a spoon or pastry brush, and allow glaze to set before eating.

October ’10 – Week 1 – Tuesday Dinner

I have been known to spend a lot of money on Italian food, eating out at restaurants. Never again! Since I really learned how to cook, I’ve found it way easier to stay home and spend the same amount of money that I would have paid for my dinner alone, and make dinner enough for five people! These shells are no exception. You can feed an army with this pan of burgeoning, cheesy pasta. This recipe utilizes the leftover meatballs from last night’s dinner. (*Orange text highlights easy steps that kids can do.)

Ingredients:

1 Package Large Pasta Shells
2 Eggs, beaten
1 32 oz tub Ricotta cheese
1 lb Shredded Mozzarella
8 oz Grated Parmesan
1 lb Meatballs, crushed
1 t Dried Oregano
1 t Dried Basil
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Jar Pasta Sauce of choice (our family’s favorite is Newman’s Own Organic in Traditional Herb.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add shells and cook until according to package directions, drain.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, ricotta, half the mozzarella, half the parmesan, crushed up meatballs, salt and pepper and herbs until well combined. Stuff cooked shells with ricotta mixture and line up in a 9×13 inch baking dish.

In a medium bowl, stir together pasta sauce and reserved mozzarella and Parmesan. Pour over stuffed shells, covering them evenly.

Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until edges are bubbly and browned.