Layered Ice Cream Cake

15 Oreo Cookies

1 Tbsp. Milk

8-9 ice cream sandwiches

3 pints of any flavor ice cream you would like

(I used chocolate, vanilla, and cherry chunk)

1 8 oz. container CoolWhip topping

1 jar hot fudge sauce

1. Coat bottom and side of a 9-inch round springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line side with waxed paper, using spray to help adhere to pan. Trim Paper to height of pan.

2. Finely crush 12 of the cookies in a food processor or smash in a plastic bag. Add milk and mix, set aside.

3. Unwrap 4 ice cream sandwiches. Working quickly, cut each in quarters. Stack strips of sandwiches on end, packing them snugly together, around waxed-paper-lined pan. Repeat with remaining sandwiches to form a stand-up edge. Spoon cookie crumbs into center of pan; press firmly over bottom. Freeze 1 hour.

4. Remove all 3 flavors of ice cream from freezer and let soften for 15 minutes at room temperature. Transfer first flavor to a small bowl and stir until good but firm spreading consistency. Repeat with remaining two flavors. Remove pan from freezer. Spread fudge sauce on bottom, then top with the three ice creams, spreading all layers level. Top with thawed whipped topping, swirling top decoratively. Crush remaining 3 cookies and sprinkle over cake. Return to freezer; freeze overnight.

5. To serve, remove side of pan, then waxed paper. Cut into wedges and ENJOY!

*I did not let it set overnight and it was still fine. You really do need to work fast and perhaps break the steps up a but more so all does not melt. Make sure to put a plate under the pan as ice cream will leak through before it is totally refrozen.

Phyllis's Orange Creamo Salad

1 small orange Jell-O (used 3-ounce non sugar-free)
1 small cook vanilla pudding
1 small American tapioca pudding (used fat-free)
1-2 cans mandarin oranges, drained (used 2 15-ounce cans)
8 oz. Cool Whip (used fat-free)

Stir first three ingredients into three cups water. Bring to a boil. Stir one minute beyond. Cool. This cooling could take about 1-2 hours. You just want it to be cool enough so that it won't melt the cool whip.

Fold in 1-2 cans mandarin oranges and 8 oz. cool whip. Place in bowl and refrigerate overnight. This is a nice, light, summer-y salad.

Summer Strawberry Cake

Cake

1 white cake mix
1 6oz. strawberry yogurt
¾ cup water
3 egg whites
1/3 cup applesauce

Frosting
1 6oz. strawberry yogurt
1 8oz. tub cool whip
sliced strawberries

Make cake mix using yogurt, water, egg whites, and applesauce. Pour into 9x13 pan. Bake according to package directions. Allow to cool completely.
For frosting, combine yogurt with whipped topping. Spread on cake and top with strawberries. Keep chilled until served.

Paradisaical Pretzels

(Makes six – eight pretzels. Depends on how big you make them.)

1 C. Room temp. - warm water
1 ½ tsp. yeast
3 Tbsp Brown sugar
3 C. Flour
1 qt. (4 C.) water
¼ cup baking soda

Combine water and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let mixture set for about ten minutes or until the yeast becomes fully saturated and a little frothy. Once the yeast is ready, just add the remaining ingredients and mix to form dough. Let dough rise for 1 ½ hours. Shape pretzels

Combine water and baking soda and bring the mixture to a boil. (Best to use a large sauce pan as to help contain the mess.) Place one Pretzel in the water for ten seconds. Flip the pretzel and let it boil for ten more seconds. (Spatula works best, much better than tongs.) Place the Pretzel on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat this process for all remaining Pretzels. Bake the Pretzels on the greased cookie sheet at 350 Degrees for 10 Min.

Spread butter and kosher salt on the Pretzels to taste.
Just as good then next day from the microwave.

F.Y.I. – This Dough can also make an excitingly tasty and original Pizza dough for a home made pizza dinner.
Also, if you like mustard with your pretzels, I don't recommend seven year old Smiths brand.

D's Favorite 100% Whole Wheat Bread

Hi All! I'm D (Deanna) and am so excited to join your Foodees blog. I love cooking and baking and am excited to share some recipes and get some new ones from all of you!

To start off, I thought I'd share my favorite homemade bread recipe. I use 100% white wheat, but you can use red wheat if that is what you normally use (the white wheat is just not quite as dense as the red wheat, but has all the same nutritional values).
Best Ever 100% Whole Wheat Bread:
3 Tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup oil
2 Tbsp. salt
3 3/4 cups hot water
5 Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar
12 cups whole wheat flour, divided

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water. In a large bowl (or mixer), mix the honey, oil, salt, 3 3/4 cups water, lemon juice and 6 cups whole wheat flour. Add the dissolved yeast mixture to the bread mixture and mix for 7-10 minutes to get the gluten working. Gradually add another 6 cups whole wheat flour; knead for 5 minutes (if kneading by hand, mix all ingredients and knead by hand for 10 minutes until dough seems too sticky - add enough flour to get past the sticky point - too much flour causes bread failure). Let stand for 10 minutes. Divide and shape into 3 (or 4) loaves. Place in greased bread pans. Let rise until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

NOTE: This recipe has always been enough to make 4 big loaves for me. It's so good fresh with some butter/jam! Tasty!

Lion House Date-Filled Cookies

Dough:
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sour cream (used fat-free)
4 1/2 c. flour, plus additional for rolling
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt

Filling:
16 oz. dates, chopped
1 1/2 c. water (or more if needed)
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. walnuts, chopped, optional (I don't use)

To make dough, beat butter until soft. Add sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat together until well creamed. Add sour cream, and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir together 4 1/2 c. flour, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Mix well. Chill dough overnight (necessary!).

For filling, boil dates, sugar, and water until thick. Stir in nuts. Let filling cool.

Heat oven to 375. Roll chilled dough onto a floured counter to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a round cookie cutter, cut out circles. Place a heaping teaspoon of date filling onto each circle. Fold in half, lightly pressing edges together. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes.

Notes: The size of your cookie cutter will dictate how many cookies you get out of this. The first time I made these, I used a 2 1/2-inch cutter and got around 90. The second time I made them, the cutter was about 3 1/2 inches in diameter and only got 50. Obviously the smaller the cutter, the longer this process will take since you'll have more cookies. But they're really good; all my Beehives love them!

Lemon-Drizzled Biscotti

2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 T. grated lemon rind (can get from one lemon)
2 T. fresh lemon juice, divided
1 T. lemon extract
1 T. vegetable oil
3 eggs
2/3 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar, and baking powder in a a large bowl. Combine rind, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, extract, oil, and eggs, and add to flour mixture, stirring until well-blended. Turn dough out onto a lightly-floured surface; knead lightly 7 to 8 times. Divide dough in half. Shape each portion into an 8-inch-long roll. Place rolls 6 inches apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; flatten each roll to 1-inch thickness.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the rolls from baking sheet; cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Cut each roll diagonally into 15 (1/2-inch-thick) slice. Place the slices, cut sides, down, on baking sheet. Reduce oven temperature to 325; bake for 10 minutes. Turn cooking over; bake an additional 10 minutes (the cookies will be slightly soft in center but will harden as they cool). Remove from baking sheet, and cool completely on wire rack.

Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice (or more, to get it to the right drizzling consistency) and powdered sugar, and drizzle over the biscotti.

Makes 25-30 yummy biscotti. If you get 30 biscotti, then there are 91 calories and 1.2 grams of fat in each one.

Cookies and Cream Cake (or Cupcakes)

Cupcakes:
1 cup flour
1/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch process or regular)
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 cup milk
1 t. apple cider vinegar
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract, chocolate extract or more vanilla extract
10 Oreos, coarsely chopped

Frosting:
1/2 c. shortening
1/2 c. margarine (I used butter)
3 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar, sifted if clumpy
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 cup milk
5 Oreos, finely mashed, plus 6 of the cookies, cut in half, for garnish (I only used 2 for the crushed topping on the cake)

For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin cups with paper or aluminum foil liners. For the cake: double the recipe. Preheat oven to 350, and grease a 9x13 pan.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and vinegar; set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil and vanilla extract and other extract, if using, and beat until foamy. Add the dry ingredients in 2 increments, and beat until no large lumps remain (a few small lumps are okay). Add the chopped cookies to the batter, stirring just to combine. (My batter was pretty liquid-y at this stage.) Spoon the batter into the liner cups, filling them three-quarters full. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For the cake, bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat the shortening and margarine on medium-high speed for about 5 minutes, until well combined and fluffy. Reduce speed to low to add the sugar until incorporated, and then increase to medium-high speed to beat for about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and milk; beat on the same speed for 5 to 7 minutes, until fluffy. Add the cookie crumbs, mixing well. (NOTE: I didn't double this for the cake. There was TONS. In fact, if I ever do the cupcakes, I might halve this as it makes more icing than I like.)

To assemble: Frost the cupcakes generously and top each cupcake with half of an Oreo by inserting the cut end into the frosting. Store in a sealed container for up to 3 days.

Shish-ka-bobs

3-4 chicken breasts, cut up in bite-sized chunks

vegetables sliced

Marinade:

1/2 c. soy sauce

3 T. honey

2 T. vinegar

2 T. oil

1/2 t. each of garlic and ginger

1 chopped green onion

This makes about 1 c. of marinade. I cut up my meat in the morning and marinade it with 3/4 c. of the marinade. (I use fresh garlic and ginger - I probably use more than 1/2 t. since it's fresh. I don't measure it.)

The last 1/4 c. of the marinade I save for the vegetables (our favs: bell pepper, onion, zucchini, and mushroom). I usually don't marinade the veggies much more than an hour or two - they don't really soak up much of the stuff - except for the mushrooms.

Skew them, grill them, eat them - I love to have a bite of chicken with a veggie. SO GOOD. I love this stuff. Definitely a season favorite for Ben and me. Miles even ate the chicken - now that's saying somethin'!

p.s. i really got this recipe from erin - so thank her. :)

p.p.s. from erin, i got this from someone else. if i ever meet her, i'll thank her. i added the pic from the foreman to show that it can be done that way. no need for an outdoor grill.

Janice's Taco Stew

This is a staple in our house and we just LOVE it. Ellie eats it up, so enjoy!

1 lb. ground beef or turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

15 oz. can whole kernel corn, undrained

10 oz. can diced tomatoes/diced tomatoes with chilies if you like a little kick - we do.

15 oz. can pinto beans in chili sauce, undrained

1 1/4 oz. envelope taco seasoning

10 oz. can tomato soup, undiluted

1 cup water

tortilla chips (I use the Tostida scoops)

grated Monterey Jack cheese

Brown beef/turkey, drain and rinse with hot water to remove excess fat. Add onion and cook until onion is clear. Combine all remaining ingredients except tortilla chips and cheese. Simmer on low. Serve in bowls and top with cheese. Eat with chips.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Frogeye Salad

1 package acini di pepe pasta
1 c. sugar
2 T. flour
1/2 t. salt
1 c. coconut
19 oz. cool whip
1 T. lemon juice
2 eggs
3 cans mandarin oranges (11 oz., drained)
2 cans pineapple tidbits (or one 20 oz. can, drained)
1 3/4 c. pineapple juice (drained from tidbits)
1 can crushed pineapple (8 oz.)
2 c. miniature marshmallows

Cook pasta; rinse, drain, and cool (but not necessarily in the fridge). Combine sugar, flour, and salt. Add pineapple juice and beaten eggs. Cook, stirring until thickened. Add lemon juice and cool. Place cooled pasta in large bowl. Pour thickened mixture over and blend well. Add fruit, whipped topping, marshmallows, and coconut.

Allow to stand overnight in refrigerator. May need to add a little cool whip to make creamier the next day.

This is really good but beware: it makes a TON. And if you are in the D.C. area and can't find the acini di pepe, don't call home and have your mom send you a couple of boxes. Try the Superfresh.

Gingerbread Waffles

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups fat-free buttermilk
3 tablespoons canola oil (I used vegetable)
3 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
2 large egg yolks
1/2 c. applesauce
3 tablespoons minced crystallized ginger (I didn't use)
2 large egg whites

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Combine buttermilk and next 5 ingredients (through applesauce) in a small bowl. Add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Stir in crystallized ginger.

Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold egg whites into batter.

Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray, and preheat. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter per 4-inch waffle onto hot waffle iron, spreading batter evenly to edges. Cook for 5 minutes or until steaming stops, and repeat procedure with remaining batter.

Per serving (which is 2 waffles, if recipe gets 18 total waffles): 208 calories and 6 grams of fat.

I liked these okay the first day, but after having the leftovers last night, I realized that I really liked them a lot! I couldn't bring myself to put syrup on them, and seeing as though I don't like butter, I ended up with cherry preserves...which was fantastic!