Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Ingredients:

1 family sized box brownie mix (18.3 oz.)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

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2 – 1.5 quarts vanilla ice cream

Candy pieces
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1 12 oz. package mini Reese’s peanut butter cups, wrappings removed

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Syrup for topping

Directions:

Part I- Make brownie batter according to packaged directions. Pour into greased 10 inch spring form pan. Melt peanut butter in microwave for 30 seconds or so. Drop by the spoonful onto brownie batter. Using a butter knife, swirl peanut butter into brownie batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Let cool completely.

Part II- Scoop vanilla ice cream into large bowl and break apart as best as possible. Microwave ice cream for 30 second intervals, stirring until ice cream is easier to stir and is smooth. Mix in chopped up candy pieces. Pour over top of cooled brownie and smooth the top. It should be filled completely to the top of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze until solid, at least 2 hours.

Part III- Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until firm peaks form. Remove ice cream cake from freezer. Run a long skinny knife along edges of cake to loosen and then unlatch and remove sides of springform pan. Frost cake with whipped cream . Crumble chopped Reese’s into the top of the cake. Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the entire cake. Store in freezer until ready to serve.

To serve, remove cake from freezer 5-10 minutes before serving. Dip your large knife into a cup of very hot water to help cut through the cake easier.

Servings: 16 slices, at least!

Chili's Queso Dip

I found this Queso Dip recipe and I think it turned out pretty good. It makes a great snack for watching football :) Enjoy!


Ingrediants
16 ounces Velveeta cheese
1 (15 ounce) can hormel chili (no-bean chili, not Chunky)
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin


Instructions
1.Cut the Velveeta into cubes.
2.Combine the cheese with the remaining ingredients in medium sauce pan over medium heat.
3.Stir frequently until cheese melts then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
4.Serve with hot tortilla chips for dipping.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

INGREDIANTS:

3 cups white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
4 eggs
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 bag miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 9x5 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill cans 1/2 to 3/4 full.

Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from pans.

Homemade Burnt Almond Fudge

“SNELGROVE'S” BURNT ALMOLD FUDGE - HOMEMADE

BY: Kolby Day

3c. Half & Half
1c. Heavy whipping cream
1/2c. High quality baking powder (Ghirardelli recommended)

In large saucepan, pour in 1 cup of the half and half, whisk in baking powder. Once a
nice, thick liquid forms (no chunks!), place over medium heat. Add rest of dairy, heat
slowly to scald dairy until it barely bubbles - do not allow skin to form on top! While
heating, mix the following:

8 Large Egg Yolks
9 oz Sugar by weight or 1¼ C. - (actually just a little less than ¼)

Whisk yolks until creamy & light. SLOWLY add sugar - continue to whisk eggs
vigorously until eggs fall in ribbons off whisk.

When dairy bubbles, temper dairy into eggs - it will take about ⅓ of the dairy to bring up the egg temperature. Pour in rest of dairy. Return mixture to the saucepan. Heat over
low heat, stirring often until 170 degrees F is reached. Remove immediately from heat.
Custard should be nape (coats back of spoon). Place in a storage container. Allow to
cool for a while on counter. This prevents rapid dissipation of extract flavorings.

Once mixture has cooled add:
1t. Almond extract
1t. High quality vanilla extract

Store in fridge at least 8 hours! Do NOT skip this step.
Custard should be below 40 degree before you churn - ideally you want the mixture as
close to 32 degree before you churn - this will create small ice crystals preserving the
creamy texture of the ice cream.

Churn in small batches - fill the custard to about half your churner's capacity. It should
double in size as air is mixed into the custard. Do not allow to over-churn! (about 20
minutes depending on your churner). Note about churning - do not leave your freezing
unit in freezer more than 10-12 hours before churning. Do not churn a double batch!

Clean and refreeze your freezing unit at least 8 hours before churning another batch -
the quality will not be the same otherwise - trust me ;)

Once custard starts to appear like ice cream add a handful of roughly chopped roasted
& salted almonds (I prefer Trader Joe's roasted and salted almonds - they are pretty
close to the ones Snelgroves used.

Transfer soft-serve ice cream into freezer safe storage container. Place a small piece of
plastic wrap over ice cream, then cover with lid - this prevent freezer air from ruining the
texture of the ice cream. Freeze at least 3 hours before serving.
Enjoy!

Yummy Party Slush

This is the slush drink that was served at Grandma's birthday party. Enjoy!

Party Slush
12 oz. apricot nectar
12 oz. pineapple juice
12 oz. frozen orange juice
3 bananas
2 c. sugar
8 c. water.
1 (2-liter) sprite

Combine all ingredients except sprite. I usually mix the apricot nectar, pineapple juice, orange juice, and bananas in the blender then dump it in a large bowl and mix in the sugar and water.

Pour into a 9x13 pan, or two 1-gallon ziploc bags and freeze.

Remove from the freezer for 1-2 hours before serving, mix with sprite, and enjoy!

Cheesecake Factory Pumpkin Cheesecake

This year for Thanksgiving I wanted to try Pumpkin Cheesecake instead of the traditional Pumpkin Pie. I'm excited to try it! Hopefully everyone likes it.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
5 Tbsp. butter, melted
1 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:
3- 8oz.pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup canned pumpkin
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
Whipped Cream

Mix crust ingredients together, just till coated and crumbly. Press onto the bottom and 2/3 up the sides of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 min. at 350. Set aside.
Combine cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl, mix until smooth with an electric mixer. add pumpkin eggs, and spices, beat till smooth and creamy. Pour into the crust. Bake for 60-70 min. or till the top turns a bit darker. Remove from oven and allow to come to room temperature, then refrigerate. After it has thoroughly chilled, remove the pan sides and cut. Serve with whipped cream.

Lion's Lasagna

Here is the lasagna that I am going to be making for the Lions game day. wish me luck :)

Prep Time:
20 min

Total Time:
1 hr 35 min

Makes:
12 servings, one piece each

What You Need

1 lb. ground beef

1 egg, beaten

2-1/2 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1 container (15 oz.) POLLY-O Natural Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

1/2 cup KRAFT Grated Parmesan Cheese, divided

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 jar (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce

1 cup water

12 lasagna noodles, uncooked

Make It

HEAT oven to 350°F. Brown meat in large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, mix egg, 1-1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, the ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and the parsley until well blended; set aside.

DRAIN meat; return to skillet. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Add water to empty sauce jar; cover with lid and shake well. Add to meat mixture; stir until well blended. Spread 1 cup of the sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish; top with layers of 3 lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture and 1 cup sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining 3 noodles and the remaining meat sauce. Sprinkle with remaining 1-1/4 cups mozzarella cheese and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover with greased foil.

BAKE 45 min. Remove foil; bake an additional 15 min. or until heated through. Let stand 15 min. before cutting to serve.

if you head to http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/simply-lasagna-69196.aspx there is a lovely video to show you how to make it. much better than a picture if you ask me ;)

Cafe Rio from Dad

cafe rio pork

3 lbs pork roast [ask your butcher where it is if you don't know.. one time i came home with ham instead of pork..]
16 oz chunky salsa [or you can blend if you don't want chunky]
1 can coke
2 cup brown sugar

place pork in crock pot + fill half way up the side of the pork with water. cook on high for 4 hours. drain water. cut pork into thirds, then mix sauce [coke, brown sugar, + salsa] and pour on top. cook 4 more hours on low. shred pork. mix back in with sauce if you want it saucy or not.

cafe rio rice

3 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillion
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 can green chili's diced
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp zest of lime
2 tbs lime juice
2 tsp sugar
1 tbs butter
1/2 onion, chopped

saute onion, garlic + butter until the onion is soft. add water, rice, and remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. after it begins to boil rapidly, reduce the heat to low and cover with the lid + simmer for about 20 minutes.

cafe rio creamy cilantro tomatillo salad dressing

1 package dry hidden valley ranch salad dressing
1 cup mayo
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 large clove garlic
3 small-medium tomatillos, husk off [like tomatoes but green and has a husk on it]
1/3 cup buttermilk
juice of 1 lime
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or 1 small jalapeno) - optional
place all ingredients in a blender + blend until smooth. chill in fridge at least 1 hour before serving, then it will thicken.

black beans
[i just used a can of black beans without anything else, but this recipe looks good too]

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 cup tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbs fresh chopped cilantro

in a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. add beans, tomato juice, and salt. continually stir until heated through. just before serving stir in the cilantro.

assembly

salad- order of assembly
tortilla - i use the tortilla land brand of uncooked flour tortillas from costco or sams. they are awesome and taste like cafe rio's homemade tortillas
shredded colby +monterray jack cheese
rice
beans
pork
lettuce
pico de gallo - [or chopped tomatoes, diced onions, cilantro, lime juice]
guacamole
feta cheese crumbles
cilantro
lime wedge [for lime juice]
tortilla strips
cilantro tomatillo dressing

burrito

toritilla
rice beans
pork
shredded cheese
any other toppings wanted
roll it up

cafe rio chicken

1 small bottle of kraft zesty italian dressing
1 tbs chili powder
1 tbs cumin
3 cloves garlic-minced
5 lbs chicken breast

cook all together in a crockpot for 4 hours on high, shred, then cook for an additional 1 hour.

ENJOY!

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Lindsay actually found this recipe, so she should get the credit for it. I'm just posting it because I already had it on my blog and it was easy to copy & paste. oh, and just so you know, this cake is calorie and fat free! We can think that anyway :)

Cake
1 Package Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Chocolate Cake Mix
1/2 Cup Chocolate Milk
1/3 Cup Melted Butter
3 Eggs
1 Pkg. Chocolate Fudge Instant Pudding
1 Bag Semi Chocolate chips (set 1 Cup aside for glaze)
16 oz cream cheese

Pour into a Bunt Pan & Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes. Cool for 2 hours before removing from pan.

Glaze
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
2 Tbsp Butter
3 Tbsp Light Corn Syrup
1 1/2 tsp water

Melt all ingredients together and drizzle over cake. Top off with mini Chocolate Chips and enjoy.

*You can replace the chocolate chips with peanut butter chips for a different variety.

Speedy Salsa-Chicken Quesadillas

1 Cup salsa
4 Tablespoons Miracle Whip
1 Teaspoon chili powder
8 Flour tortillas
1 1/2 lb. cooked boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced
2 Cups Kraft Mexican style shredded four cheese

• Mix salsa, dressing and chili powder

• Spread salsa mixture evenly onto tortillas

• Layer chicken and shrerdded cheese evenly on each tortilla

• Put another tortilla shell on top

Heat large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium heat. Add quesadillas, 1 at a time. Cook 4-5 minutes on each side or until lightly browned on both sides. Repeat with remaining quesadillas. Cut into wedges

Serves 4