Caramel Sea Salt Ice Cream

• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 1/4 cups heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt such as Maldon
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 large eggs

Heat 1 cup sugar in a dry 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring with a fork to heat sugar evenly, until it starts to melt, then stop stirring and cook, swirling skillet occasionally so sugar melts evenly, until it is dark amber.

Add 1 1/4 cups cream (mixture will spatter) and cook, stirring, until all of caramel has dissolved. Transfer to a bowl and stir in sea salt and vanilla. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, bring milk, remaining cup cream, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar just to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring occasionally.

Lightly whisk eggs in a medium bowl, then add half of hot milk mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly. Pour back into saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard coats back of spoon and registers 170°F on an instant-read thermometer (do not let boil). Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl, then stir in cooled caramel.

Chill custard, stirring occasionally, until very cold, 3 to 6 hours. Freeze custard in ice cream maker (it will still be quite soft), then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to firm up.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salted-Caramel-Ice-Cream-354517#ixzz1HjoIzD2U

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salted-Caramel-Ice-Cream-354517#ixzz1HjoBadiM

Fluffy French Toast

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 12 thick slices bread

Directions

1. Measure flour into a large mixing bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk. Whisk in the salt, eggs, cinnamon, vanilla extract and sugar until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
3. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

Homemade Household Cleaners

Cleaning the Old-Fashioned Way
A good guideline is that if you wouldn’t want it in your mouth, don’t use it to clean. Whenever you use products with toxic ingredients, some of those toxins will likely end up in your body through skin contact and inhalation anyway. In many cases, a bucket of warm, soapy water and a little elbow grease are all you need to clean and disinfect most of your home. However, there are a few other effective products you can use as well.

Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is extremely versatile, and has been used for generations as a natural way to clean. It effectively dissolves dirt and grime, eliminates soap scum, cuts through grease, and unclogs drains. Use it anywhere you would use scouring powders or odor-eliminating sprays. This natural deodorizer has so many uses, you may want to buy it in bulk.

White distilled vinegar is perfect for dissolving soap scum, cleaning windows and mirrors, disinfecting surfaces, and can even serve as fabric softener (but be careful never to use bleach and vinegar in the same load — toxic fumes can result). The strong smell will dissipate as soon as the vinegar dries, and while the fumes don’t smell very sweet, they certainly won’t do you any harm. Avoid apple cider or wine vinegars because they can leave stains.

Lemon juice has mild bleaching properties that make it a great stain remover and whitener. It can be used to polish brass and copper or remove hard water stains. If you use fresh-squeezed lemon juice, try putting the peels down the garbage disposal to make the whole kitchen smell fresher. Or put lemon slices in your dishwater to enhance the grease-cutting power of natural soaps.

Water is a universal solvent, and won’t leave lingering VOCs behind for you and your family to inhale. If you find that warm water isn’t enough to get the job done, think about investing in a steam cleaner. They are available in larger sizes for carpet cleaning, or in hand-held sizes for smaller jobs. You’ll find both are very powerful, non-toxic alternatives to cleaning with chemicals, as long as you don’t use the carpet shampoo they often come with.

Grandma’s Cleaning Recipes
Next time you clean house, try one of these natural cleaning recipes:

Window Cleaner: Add 3 cups of water, plus ¼ cup of white vinegar and 1½ tablespoons of lemon juice. Try wiping this mixture off of windows with crumpled newspaper instead of paper towels to avoid leaving lint on the surface. If the glass appears streaky or has residue on it afterwards, it’s probably buildup left from those synthetic blue window cleaners you’ve been using for years. Try washing with vinegar a few more times and the residue should come right off.

Drain Cleaner: Pour half a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by half a cup of white vinegar. Wait a few minutes, then pour a pot of boiling water down the drain to flush out any remaining clogs caused by food particles, soap, and grease.

Stainless Steel Polisher: Use baking soda and a soft-sided sponge. Toothpaste works, too.

Carpet Stain Remover: Baking soda combined with water or club soda.

Heavy-duty Cleaning (for large jobs): Add 1 teaspoon baking soda and 2 teaspoons liquid soap to 1 gallon of hot water. If it’s a particularly stubborn project, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of borax.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Flush the toilet to remove as much water as possible, then pour 1 cup vinegar around the inside of the rim and scrub to remove buildup. Repeat if needed.

Refrigerator Cleaner and Deodorizer: Mix a few teaspoons of salt with two cups of soda water to clean your fridge without getting synthetic chemicals close to your food.

Basic Gelato Recipe

Makes 1 quart / 4 cups (so for half batch mix 12ish minutes -- keep an eye on it)

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, mix milk and cream. Warm until foam forms around the edges. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until frothy. Gradually pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture gels slightly and coats the back of the spoon. If small egg lumps begin to show, remove from heat immediately.
3. Pour the mixture through a sieve or fine strainer into a bowl. Cover, and chill for several hours or overnight.
4. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to a sealed container, and freeze until firm. If the gelato is too firm, place it in the refrigerator until it reaches the desired consistency.

Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread (recommended: Nutella)
• 1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, crushed, for garnish

Directions

In a saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custardmixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and hazelnut spread until it dissolves. Chill mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze. To serve, scoop gelato into serving bowls and top with hazelnuts.

Cathy's "Can't Leave Alone Bars"

NOTE FROM GINA: I have found that if you try to get creative with the chips (using peanut butter, white chocolate, etc), the top of the bars remains pretty gooey. I prefer to stick with the straight chocolate chips for a firmer texture.

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, cubed

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the dry cake mix, eggs and oil. With floured hands, press two-thirds of the mixture into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Set remaining cake mixture aside.
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the milk, chocolate chips and butter. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 45 seconds; stir. Microwave 45-60 seconds longer or until chips and butter are melted; stir until smooth. Pour over crust.
3. Drop by teaspoonfuls of remaining cake mixture over top. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool before cutting.

Emma's "Bread & Butter Pudding"

1 can of coconut milk
1 tub of blueberries
4 Ripe bananas
5 left over pancakes from breakfast
4 eggs
2tsp cinamon

Mix coconut milk, eggs and cinamon and stir into a custard
Get toddler to squeeze bananas between fingers to mush them up
Get toddler to pour blueberries into bananas
Get toddler to rip up pancakes into small pieces
Put bananas/blueberries & pancakes into a buttered cake pan
pour over the custard

Cook for 1hr at 375F or until tooth pick doesn't have any goo on it.

Note you can use standard milk not coconut and can use any fruits - its just a twist on the british bread & butter pudding!

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Gina's notes: Took about 12 drops of green food coloring to make it a pleasant color. Makes slightly less than 4 cups. Only mix it for approximately 12 minutes.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Recipe

Note that if you do not have fresh mint, you can make this mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe with peppermint extract. Skip steps 1 and 2, instead heating 1 cup of milk with 1 cup of cream and the sugar and salt until steaming. Continue with step 3. Add 2 teaspoons of peppermint extract in with the chilled custard mixture in step 6.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups of fresh mint leaves (not stems), rinsed, drained, packed
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups heavy cream (divided, 1 cup and 1 cup)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• A pinch of salt
• 6 egg yolks
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate or dark chocolate, chopped fine, keep in the freezer until used

METHOD

1 Put the mint leaves in a heavy saucepan with the 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of the cream. Heat until just steaming (do not let boil), remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 30 minutes. Reheat the mixture until steaming, remove from heat and let stand for 15 more minutes.

2 While the mint is infusing in step 1, prepare the remaining cream over an ice bath. Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a medium size metal bowl, set in ice water (with lots of ice) over a larger bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowls. Set aside.

3 Strain the milk cream mixture into a separate bowl, pressing against the mint leaves with a rubber spatula in the sieve to get the most liquid out of them. Return the milk cream mixture to the saucepan. Add sugar and salt to the mixture. Heat until just steaming again, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

4 Whisk the egg yolks in a medium sized bowl. Slowly pour the heated milk cream mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm mixture, but not cooked by it. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

5 Return the saucepan to the stove, stirring the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spoon so that you can run your finger across the coating and have the coating not run. This can take about 10 minutes.

The custard base does not coat the back of the spoon, it is not ready.

The custard base coats the back of the spoon. You can run your finger across the coating and have it not run. It is ready and should be removed from heat immediately, and poured through the sieve over the ice bath to stop the cooking.

6 Pour the custard through the strainer (from step 2) and stir into the cold cream to stop the cooking.

7 Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (at least a couple of hours) or stir the mixture in the bowl placed over the ice bath until thoroughly chilled (20 minutes or so). Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

8 Once the ice cream has been made in the ice cream maker it should be pretty soft. Gently fold in the finely chopped chocolate. Put in an airtight container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If it has been frozen for more than a day, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.

Note that there is no alcohol in this recipe. A few teaspoons of some spirits such as rum or bourbon will help keep the ice cream soft over several days. Even the alcohol in vanilla extract will help. If you have no added alcohol in a homemade ice cream recipe, we recommend that you eat it up quickly, in a day or two; beyond that point the ice cream will quickly get very very hard.

Makes 1 quart.

Candied Bacon Ice Cream

Bacon Ice Cream
About ¾ qt (¾l)

If you don’t have half-and-half, simply mix together heavy cream and whole milk in equal proportions. I’m not sure about dairy alternatives, but since this doesn’t fall into the vegan category, I think this time I’m off the hook. ; )

For the candied bacon;
5 strips bacon
about 2 teaspoons light brown sugar

For the ice cream custard:
3 tablespoons (45g) salted butter
¾ cup (packed) brown sugar (140g), light or dark (you can use either)
2¾ (675ml) cup half-and-half
5 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons dark rum or whiskey
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
optional: ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. To candy the bacon, preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

2. Lay the strips of bacon on a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, shiny side down.

3. Sprinkle 1½-2 teaspoons of brown sugar evenly over each strip of bacon, depending on length.

4. Bake for 12-16 minutes. Midway during baking, flip the bacon strips over and drag them through the dark, syrupy liquid that’s collected on the baking sheet. Continue to bake until as dark as mahogany. Remove from oven and cool the strips on a wire rack.

5. Once crisp and cool, chop into little pieces, about the size of grains of rice.

(Bacon bits can be stored in an airtight container and chilled for a day or so, or stored in the freezer a few weeks ahead.)

6. To make the ice cream custard, melt the butter in a heavy, medium-size saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and half of the half-and-half. Pour the remaining half-and-half into a bowl set in an ice bath and set a mesh strainer over the top.

7. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks, then gradually add some of the warm brown sugar mixture to them, whisking the yolks constantly as you pour. Pour the mixture back into the saucepan.

8. Cook over low to moderate heat, constantly stirring and scraping the bottom with a heatproof spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula.

9. Strain the custard into the half-and-half, stirring over the ice bath, until cool. Add liquor, vanilla and cinnamon, if using.

10. Refrigerate the mixture. Once thoroughly chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Add the bacon bits during the last moment of churning, or stir them in when you remove the ice cream from the machine.

Kate's Rice & Raisin Breakfast Pudding

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup
• 1 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup toasted and chopped almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan bring water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until rice is tender.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine cooked rice, raisins, maple syrup, soy milk, almonds, cinnamon and cardamom. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Immediately reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until thickened about 5 to 8 minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve.

Wilton's Buttercream Frosting

Wilton’s Buttercream Frosting

½ c butter, softened

½ c shortening

1 t vanilla

4 c powdered sugar

2 T milk

In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla.

Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape

sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will

appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl

covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in

an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

For thin (spreading) consistency icing, add 2 tablespoons light corn syrup,

water or milk.

Janae's Marshmallow Fondant

Marshmallow Fondant

16 oz. white mini marshmallows

2 - 5 Tbsp water

2 lbs. powdered sugar

½ c Crisco shortening

Pour marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle 2 Tbsp water on top.

Microwave on high for 2 – 2 ½ minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Pour ¾ of

the powdered sugar in the bowl with the marshmallows and stir. Generously

grease your hands and the counter with Crisco. Dump the contents in the bowl

onto the counter and knead. Careful as it may be hot, and definitely sticky! Add

the rest of the powdered sugar. If your fondant starts to tear or becomes too

dry, add more water. If it is too sticky, grease your hands and the counter again.

Continue to add powdered sugar, water, and Crisco as needed. This usually

takes between 5-10 minutes. To color, knead in food coloring paste or gel.

It’s best to make it ahead and store overnight. To store, form the fondant into a

ball and coat it with a good layer of Crisco. Seal in a Ziploc bag and squeeze out

as much air as possible. Store in the refrigerator. Can store for a few weeks.

Pretzel Jello Salad

2 cups crushed pretzels, 3/4 cup melted butter, 3 Tbs. sugar - Mix into 9x13 pan. Press flat onto bottom. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Let cool.

8 oz. softened cream cheese, 1 cup sugar, 8 oz Cool Whip - Mix together until smooth. Spoon over pretzel layer.

6 oz strawberry jello, 2 cups boiling water, 20 (or so) oz frozen strawberries - Mix jello with water. Add strawberries. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes until soft set. Pour over cream cheese layer, and refrigerate until set.