Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

Yesterday I went to a friend's house for our monthly crochet club get together.  My friend that hosted is an amazing cook and she made this for dessert.  Everyone was in heaven!  It was so delicious and so easy!  She found the recipe on Pinterest but it reminded me that I had actually made a cake like this a few years ago but I made it in a loaf pan.  I believe the recipe for the one I made came from a Kraft magazine.

I think the flavor combinations with this are endless.  You could vary the flavor of ice cream sandwiches, the sauce and/or syrup you layer it with and the topping.  My friend made it with regular ice cream sandwiches, caramel and toffee bits and it was fabulous.  I made it with regular ice cream sandwiches and Smucker's Milk Chocolate Sauce.  I think it would also be good with mint ice cream sandwiches and hot fudge or neapolitan sandwiches.

My friend made this with 24 sandwiches in a 9" x 13" pan.  I used 12 sandwiches and made it in an 8" x 8" pan.  Either works.

Ice Cream Sandwich Cake


24 ice cream sandwiches
1 jar hot fudge sauce (or any other ice cream topping)
8 oz. Cool Whip
Candy of your choice, chopped fine (toffee bits, snickers, butterfinger, chocolate chips, etc)

Place 12 ice cream sandwiches in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan, cutting as necessary to fit.  Top with half to Cool Whip and half the ice cream topping.  Place the remaining 12 ice cream sandwiches on top of the cool whip mixture.  Top with the rest of the cool whip and ice cream topping.  Sprinkle chopped candy over top.  Cover and freeze until ready to serve.

Just An Apology

So I logged on to blogger to look up my hamburger recipe and discovered that my main page (don't know what the technical name for it) was completely different.  So as I'm trying to navigate my way through it to find out how to get to my blog I see that there are 39 comments waiting for my approval.  WHAT??!!  How did that happen??  Anyway, I discovered I had it set to always wait for moderation of comments before posting them.

So I feel horrible!  Horrible that people took the time to write a comment that I never even knew existed!  Sorry, fairly new blogger here.  I had no idea that so many people were even reading my blog, let alone commenting!  I am so humbled and appreciative.  I have changed my settings so that hopefully the comments will show up immediately (and you won't even have to type in that funny word).  I am also going to be working hard to get some new posts up in the next couple weeks.

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to read my blog, and of course for all of your wonderful comments!  I hope you will continue to follow even though I appear to be quite the space cadet!

5-Minute Macaroni and Cheese

I made this a couple months ago and I loved it.  It was really easy and actually really good considering how fast it was to make.  The only thing I think I would change is to put less pepper than the recipe says.  I thought the pepper was a bit overbearing for my taste.  Otherwise this recipe has become a new staple for me!

5 Minute Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Via: Picky Palate

1/2 pound cooked pasta of choice (I used small shells)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup whole milk (I used 2%)

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1. Place pasta, cheese, milk, salt and pepper into a microwave safe bowl. Stir to mix. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and microwave for an additional 2 minutes. Stir until creamy and smooth. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

Southwest Chicken Chili

This was a very easy and very tasty chili.  It makes quite a bit so if you don't have a lot of people to feed you could halve the recipe or freeze some of it.  It tastes great reheated!  I made a few changes to the recipe, which I noted in parenthesis.  Enjoy!

Southwest Chicken Chili
Source: In Katrina's Kitchen

Ingredients:

·        1 medium onion, chopped

·        2 Tablespoons olive oil

·        3 Tablespoons taco seasoning (1 envelope)

·        1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix

·        2 Cups water (I used chicken broth)

·        2 cans pinto beans, drained (I used one can of pinto and one can of black beans)

·        2 cans diced tomatoes

·        1 can chilies

·        2 Cups cubed or shredded chicken, cooked

·        Cilantro (to taste)

Directions:

1.   Sauté onions in olive oil in the bottom of a large pot until tender.

2.   Add remaining ingredients and heat through. Simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Glazed Carrots with Rosemary

Oh these carrots were yummy!  They make a wonderful side dish to chicken or beef.  I drizzled mine with some honey when they came out of the oven to add a little extra sweetness.  


The original recipe says to use the long carrots, not baby carrots.  Honestly, I think these would be just as good with baby carrots.

Glazed Carrots with Rosemary
Source: Jamie Cooks it Up

Yield: 6 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

10 long carrots 

2 T salted butter, melted 

4 T brown sugar

1 sprig fresh rosemary chopped

4 T fresh orange juice

1/8 t cracked pepper

1/4 t cracked sea salt

1. Peel the carrots and chop off the tops and the very tips. Cut each carrot into sticks.

2. Combine the butter, brown sugar, rosemary and orange juice together in a small bowl.

3. Place the carrots in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the butter mixture over the top.

4. Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Check them after about 20 minutes and give them a little stir.

5. After taking them out of the oven crack the pepper and salt over the top. Stir to incorporate, cover and let sit for a few minutes before serving.

Funfetti Pound Cake

This recipe, from Mrs. Happy Homemaker was a big hit.  It was super easy to make and was quite delicious.  I am not usually a huge fan of boxed cake mix and canned frosting so I was a bit resistant but was pleasantly surprised.  This is definitely a great way to doctor up a cake mix!

Funfetti Pound Cake
Source: Mrs. Happy Homemaker


Ingredients:

• 1 box funfetti or rainbow chip cake mix
• 1 tub rainbow chip chip or funfetti icing
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/3 cups water

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Combine everything minus the tub of icing together using an electric mixer or whisk.  Gently stir in the icing.  
Grease & flour a bundt pan - or spray with Bakers Joy.  Fill the pan with the batter.  Bake for 50-60 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack & cool for 10 minutes in the pan.  Then invert it onto the rack, and cool an additional 10 minutes before slicing.

Sesame Chicken

I found this recipe on Cully's Kitchen and decided to give it a try.  I am so glad I did because it was really good.  It tasted like it came from a Chinese restaurant, but better because I knew exactly what was in it!  I loved it and will definitely be making this again.

I did make a few minor changes to this which I have noted below in the recipe.  I don't love the taste of ginger so I only put in half what the recipe called for and I think next time I will leave it out completely.  I also think next time I will use low sodium soy sauce to cut down on some of the saltiness.  Other than that this is a great recipe and definitely worth making!

Sesame Chicken
Source: Cully's Kitchen

Ingredients:

Sauce:

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup chicken broth
1-2 tablespoon sesame oil (to personal taste)
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
1 dash red chili pepper flakes (I omitted this)
2 teaspoons cornstarch (or more is you want a thicker sauce) (I used 2 tsp and thought it was perfect)

Chicken:

4 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon sherry wine (I omitted this because I didn't have any)
1/2 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder (optional) (I omitted this)
2 drops sesame oil
cornstarch, to coat chicken
Vegetable oil or Peanut oil (for frying)
Sesame Seed (to garnish)
Sliced Green Onion (to garnish)
prepared Rice, to serve.

Directions

Combine chicken ingredients except cornstarch and let marinate for at least 30 minutes in the fridge.

Remove chicken from marinade and toss in cornstarch then cook chicken in hot oil on the stove or deep fryer until cooked through.  Keep warm in pan while making the sauce.

Combine all sauce ingredients EXCEPT cornstarch in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over med. heat.
Mix cornstarch with a little water (about 1/4 cup) in a cup until dissolved- then slowly add to the sauce mixture on the stove and heat until thickened to the consistency of gravy.

Add the sauce to the chicken. Heat thoroughly.  Serve over hot rice.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.