summer

awesome homemade ben and jerry’s chocolate ice cream.

July 3, 2020 by Becky Spoon

This ben and jerry’s chocolate ice cream recipe is so good!! I love to make homemade ice cream. This is actually the first time I have ever made chocolate. This is fudgy and velvety, luscious best describes this ice cream.

I actually have a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream recipe book which I got this recipe from. I have tried many of the recipes and they are great! Here’s a link for the recipe book: https://amzn.to/3iszWuG. It’s a really inexpensive book but has some great ice cream recipes.

awesome homemade ben and jerry’s chocolate ice cream.

Homemade ice cream obviously for those my age brings back memories of the hand crank machine. Ice, ice cream salt….all required. I remember my dad making ice cream and when it got almost ready, dad would put a towel over the ice cream maker and we’d sit on it to help in turning I guess. Wow! wonderful memories.

These days I use an attachment for my Kitchenaid. I’ve had it for a long time but they just keep on. My 91 year old mother actually has a Kitchenaid that was my Grandmother’s and it still works great. I have a Kitchenaid Professional. All of the mixer’s come with the ability to add attachments. That’s where the ice cream making with my Kitchenaid comes in because I have the attachment. If you will look, you’ll see this mixer go on sale and try to grab one when you can. Here’s a link for a great price and a great mixer: http://awesome homemade ben and jerry’s chocolate ice cream

and, this is the ice cream maker that I use: https://amzn.to/3dSq2Px.

awesome homemade ben and jerry’s chocolate ice cream.

The chocolate ice cream calls for unsweetened chocolate and cocoa. I try and have a good quality cocoa on hand. Here’s one of my favorites: https://amzn.to/3eYkFQm.

Here is another recipe I have on the blog for ice cream! https://the2spoons.com/homemade-french-vanilla-ice-cream/.

There are so many recipes out there that don’t require even an ice cream maker, so let’s make ice cream! Here’s the recipe for this delicious chocolate ice cream! Enjoy!

Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate ice Cream

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course: Dessert, Ice Cream

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot but not boiling water.
Gradually whisk in the cocoa and heat, stirring constantly, until smooth.
The chocolate may seize or clump- the milk will fix this when it's added.
Whisk in the milk, a little at a time and heat until completely blended.
Beat the eggs in the bowl of your mixer until light and fluffy using the whisk attachment if you have one. Add the sugar, a little at a time, then continue beating until completely blended, about 1 minute more.
Add the cream and vanilla, whisk to blend
Pour the chocolate mixture into the cream mixture and blend.
Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 to 3 hours, depending upon your refrigerator.
Transfer the mixture to you ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

Perfect Lemon Parmesan Salmon with Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad

August 16, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

This Lemon Parmesan Salmon with Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad was on Halfbaked Harvest Instagram page and I thought it looked delicious! Well, I had to make it and it is delicious! The salmon turned out perfect!

I was very careful to not overlook the salmon. The salmon was moist and delicious! This was Wild Salmon I purchased from Sam’s Club. Here’s the link for the salmon: https://www.samsclub.com/p/members-mark-wild-caught-alaskan-sockeye-salmon-frozen/prod22761070?xid=plp_product_1_3. The salmon is immediately frozen so this is fresh, many times fresher than the unfrozen salmon in the fish market.

Perfect Lemon Parmesan Salmon with Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad

The base of this dish is a yogurt, lemon and garlic sauce. There is no need for another dressing. Then I added a little peppery arugula, the Corn, Tomato and Avocado salad, topped with perfectly cooked salmon.

Want other salmon recipes? Check out this link: https://the2spoons.com/toast-with-cream-cheese-and-salmon/.

Hope you enjoy this recipe!

Lemon Parmesan Salmon with Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad

Print Recipe

Servings: 4 Servings

Course: dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

For the Salmon

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
4 salmon filets
2 tsp smoked paprika
4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
zest of one lemon
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

For the Corn Salad

1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
1 can chickpeas, drained
4 ears grilled or steamed corn, kernels removed from the cob
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or 2 chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup crumbled feta or cotija cheese
1-2 avocado, diced

For the Lemon Yogurt

1 cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
salt

Method

Place the salmon in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Add the paprika, garlic, lemon zest, crushed red pepper flakes, parmesan, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, rubbing the seasonings and oil evenly into flesh.
To make the yogurt sauce, combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.
Heat your grill, grill pan, or skillet to medium high heat. Place the salmon on the grill, skin side down. Cover and cook until skin is lightly charred, 4-5 minutes, carefully flip and grill another 3-4 minutes until opaque.
Meanwhile, add the basil, cilantro, olive oil, lemon juice, chives, and a pinch each of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to a large serving bowl. Add the chickpeas, corn, tomatoes, feta, and avocado, toss to combine.
To serve, spread the yogurt sauce onto plates. Add the corn salad, then the salmon.

Delicious! Grilled Mexican Street Corn

July 11, 2019 by Becky Spoon

Jump to Recipe

I love Mexican Street Corn and it is so easy!! Fresh corn on the cob grilled slathered with mayonnaise, Cotija Cheese or Feta Cheese , lime juice, fresh cilantro, chile powder or tajin as I like to use……what’s not to love?

If you haven’t been to Mexico or seen the street carts selling Elote, or familiar with the dish, here’s what Wikipedia has to say about Mexican Street Corn ” Elote, or corn on the cob is a popular street food in Mexico, although it is frequently served at home prepared in the same way. It is customarily consumed on a stick, or by grasping the husk of the cob that has been pulled down to form a “handle”. Condiments such as salt, chile powder, butter, cotija, lemon juice or lime juice, and mayonnaise are usually added to the elote.” There you go! Good Stuff!!

Delicious! Grilled Mexican Street Corn

I’ve made this will the husk still on, but this time I removed the husk then I par boiled the corn, then placed on a hot grill. This cuts down on the cooking time. If you don’t have a grill, lodge makes a great cast iron grill/griddle that works great and I use a lot! Here’s a link for that grill/griddle that you can use for so many things. https://amzn.to/3guuqpA

This reversible Lodge grill/griddle is great!

Here’s a photo of Mexican street corn I’ve made before grilling in the husk and in that case I used feta cheese:

I used cotija cheese this time. Traditionally, Cotija cheese was made with raw milk aged for three to twelve months. But the commercial productions add an enzyme to speed up the ripening process. This need for acceleration gives the commercial produce a slight change in flavor compared to the artisanal variety.

Since, Cotija cheese is very salty, strongly flavoured, firm and does not actually melt, it is used for grating on salads, soups, casseroles, tacos, tostadas and chilli. In Mexico, it is also widely used to enhance the flavour of many savoury dishes by mixing directly into the casserole or recipe. In the U.S. it is increasingly popular on pasta. It is typically shredded onto cooked foods, also in salads and with fruit.” https://cheese.com/cotija

Here’s the brand of cotija I used, but there are various brands available. https://amzn.to/2C7I2Iu

Delicious! Grilled Mexican Street Corn

I made this the other night as a side dish for my barbecue chicken. Here’s the link for the chicken. https://the2spoons.com/best-summer-barbecue-chicken-on-the-grill-with-my-1-go-to-sauce/. The grilled corn was perfect while I already had the grill going.

Here’s the recipe for the corn! Enjoy!

Mexican Street Corn

Print Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Course: easy side dish, easy side dish, vegetable, mexican, Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

enough mayonnaise to brush on each ear of corn
cotija cheese or feta cheese, crumbled
1 -2 limes
Chili powder or tajin, which I used
cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper

Method

Par cook your corn. My simple way is to place the ears of the corn, still in their husk into the microwave and hit the fresh vegetable button. When complete, they are perfectly cooked and they peel so easy! If you don’t have a microwave, remove the husks and silks and cook in a pot of boiling water until tender, about 8 minutes. For presentation purposes I prefer the microwave method, because you can peel the husk to the bottom and tie with a piece of husk, and just remove the silk.
Remove the corn and completely dry. Either start your outside grill or your inside grill pan works great. This corn is already cooked, so you just want to add some flavor and char.
Liberally oil each piece with some canola oil and lightly salt. The cheese is salty so don’t add too much. Grill until nicely charred on all sides.
Remove from the grill plan, and place on a platter for serving. Brush mayonnaise on all sides of the corn. Sprinkle with the crumbled cheese on all sides. Sprinkle with chile powder and squeeze lime juice over the corn. Top with chopped cilantro.