Simply Living and Loving Each Day: July 2012

Friday, July 27, 2012

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Making: Coffee Ice Cream

Easy Ice Cream Recipe If you Love Iced Coffees- You will Love this
-We used Fresh Farm Milk and our own eggs-

Makes 3 1/4 cups of Coffee Ice Cream

2/3 cups espresso - cooled

2/3 cups whole milk

1/2 cup light brown sugar

5 large egg yolks

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

Combine the coffee and the milk and allow to cool slightly.
In a heatproof bowl, beat the sugar and the egg yolks, using an electric whisk, until thick and pale. Stir in the milk mixture and place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Continue stirring until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, cover and allow to cool.

Stir in the heavy cream and churn in an ice cream maker, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately or transfer to a freezer container. Cover the surface directly with waxed paper or foil and put in the freezer.

Can stir in coarsely ground coffee beans to the ice cream before freezing for even more coffee flavor!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Chocolate Mint Brownie Bites- Dangerously Good

Chocolate Mint Brownie Bites

Ingredients

50 whole Andes Mints
1 stick 1/2 Cup Butter, Softened
1 cup Sugar
2 ounces, weight Unsweetened Chocolate
2 whole Eggs
3/4 cups All-purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Mint Extract
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 ounce, weight Bittersweet Chocolate, Chopped Fine

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray mini muffin pan generously with baking spray.

Melt unsweetened chocolate in a bowl in the microwave. Remove from microwave and stir in 8 Andes mints until all melted. Let cool slightly.

In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream 1 stick of butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. With the mixer on low, drizzle in the cooled chocolate mixture slowly, mixing until it's combined. Add flour and mix thoroughly. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, add mint extract, then mix again.

Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, scoop batter into mini muffin tins. Bake until done, about 13 to 15 minutes. Turn upside down out of pan and allow to cool.

Combine 25 unwrapped Andes mints in a bowl with the tablespoon of butter and chopped bittersweet chocolate. Microwave and stir until melted and smooth.

Dip the brownie bites in the chocolate, concentrating on the top "cone" part. Allow to set for a few minutes. Chop the remaining Andes mints and sprinkle them on the top.

Set in the freezer for 10 minutes if you need them to set right away. Yum!

Recipe from the Pioneer Woman

My Garden in Late July

This Hot Dry Weather has made it Challenging to keep everything looking good. Lots of Watering! I took a few Photos early this morning before it gets too hot.