Snowmaggendon Ice Cream Sandwiches

Well we’ve managed to dig ourselves out of Snowmaggedon 2013 up here in Southern Ontario, Canada. Whew!  For once the weather guys were right – we actually got a snow storm! Friday was officially declared a snow day so we stayed inside (except when shoveling ha ha) and made treats.  What better to make on a snowy winter day to go with our hot chocolate or Mommy’s spiked coffee – Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches! These ones we made Gluten Free but they can easily be made as normal cookies too.

Snowmaggedon Sandwiches

• Chocolate Chip Cookies (see recipe below)
• Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (or your fave)

Place a scoop of your fave ice cream in the middle of 2 cooled cookies.  EnJOY.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 4 cup All Purpose Gluten Free Flour (I use a rice based blend)*
• 4 cup Quinoa Flour*
• 3 cup Butter or Margarine
• 2 cup White Sugar
• 4 cup Brown Sugar (packed)
• 2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda *
• 4 Eggs
• 3 Egg yolks
• 1/4 cup Vanilla
• 6 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips or Chunks or 5 cup Melting Wafers

* If using regular all purpose flour (NOT gluten free) increase to 2 tsp baking soda and use 8 cups all purpose flour. 

In a mixer (or by hand) cream together sugars and butter. Add vanilla, and eggs (beaten), slowly add flours.  Add chocolate – I like wafers as they make bigger chunks.   Drop by spoonful onto an un-greased cookie sheet.  These will spread so place fairly far apart or be prepared to use your spatula to break apart.   Bake for 8-10 minutes, let cool on tray then remove to rack. Seat in airtight container.  Makes about 6 1/2 – 7 dozen.

You can also place parchment paper along the bottom & sides of a brownie pan and place he batter on it to make squares instead of cookies.  If you do so – add 5-7 min to cooking time (keep checking on it).  Let cool in pan, then use parchment paper to lift out of pan and a pizza cutter to cut into squares.  Seal in airtight container.  enJOY.

As always – I love hearing feedback!  Rate & leave me a comment and like this post so I know what y’all wanna hear about!

Visit my website at http://mealsfromjoyskitchen.com, follow me on Twitter and on Facebook!

Take me away to “Caramel” …. (Corn)

Longing to dash off to Carmel but stuck in a winter wonderland?  Try Caramel instead!  Here’s an easy-peasy quick pick me up for those Winter blahs….

Caramel Corn

• 4 quarts/litres popped – popcorn (about 1 cup un-popped)
•   1 cup dark brown sugar
•   1/2 cup Corn Syrup
•   1/2 cup butter (unsalted) or margarine
• 1/2 tsp salt
•   1/2 tsp baking soda
•   1 tsp vanilla

Pop popcorn.  Spray a roasting pan with cooking spray – all the way up the sides (trust me this will help with clean up).

• Place popcorn in sprayed roaster.  Preheat oven to 250 – place roaster of popcorn in oven to remove any moisture from the corn, in oven while it heats.
• While oven is heating, heat saucepan over medium heat, add brown sugar, corn syrup,  and butter (margarine), heat, stirring constantly to a boil  (less than 5 minutes – about 2 or 3 min).  Boil, without stirring for 5 minutes, remove from heat, stir in baking soda and vanilla.

Remove popcorn from oven, pour caramel over corn and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until coated.  Place back in oven – uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring every 10 or 15 minutes.

To cool, spray some parchment paper with  cooking spray, and pour corn on top, it will be ready to eat in a few minutes!

**Very important – store in air tight container immediately (no really, that’s only if you are like me & the kids and will grab a handful every time you walk through the kitchen.

enJOY!

As always – don’t forget to like my blog and comment!  Visit my business site at http://mealsfromjoyskitchen.com. Follow me on Twitter (joyskitchen) and like me on Facebook (biz page – Joy In Your Kitchen).

Its Egg-cellent choice! Top 10 ways we like Eggs & Veggie Omelet Recipe!

Breakfast is old news –  try eggs for lunch,  supper & snacks!  If any of you know me – you realize that our family loves fresh veggies, my hubby is a meat-a-tarian and we all love eggs, eggs and more eggs.  While this doesn’t make us very different than lots of other families.  I thought I would  highlight some of our big kids (mom and dad ) and smaller kids (the 4 year old and 6 year old’s) favourite ways to eat eggs.

Our Top 10 Fave ways to eat eggs!

1. Hard boiled.  Hard boiled eggs are hands down our families fave snack.  We boil up a bunch and keep them in the fridge for quick snacking.   * Watching cholesterol or saturated fat?  Hard boiled eggs make it easy!  Just stick to the whites and for-go the yolks!
2. Hard boiled on Salad or Wrap – cut up a hard boiled (from the ready to peel bowl in the fridge) and add to a salad or chop up and put in a wrap with  Sweet Heat Mango Hot Sauce, red onions and cucumber  (Mommies fave  quick lunch)
3. Deviled Eggs – scoop the hard boiled yolks out add some dijon mustard and mayo whip, until creamy. Use a icing bag (or a sandwich bag with the corner cut off) to fill the egg whites.  Sprinkle with paprika OR Hard boiled eggs with the yolks removed and sprinkled with paprika. (This is 6 year old Leea’s fave).
4. Egg Salad – add a little mayo, onion, celery, mustard and chopped up hard boiled eggs and top with lettuce and tomato for an easy lunch.  (my fave as a kid)
5. Scrambled eggs – ’nuff said.  4 year old Ben’s fave is rye toast with peanut butter and  scrambled eggs (sometimes all together in a sandwich  – hey he’s 4 what can I say…)
6.  Quiche – use up left over veggies, bacon, ham, spinach cheese etc with a great quiche (yes real men eat quiche (they just don’t admit it))
7. On a buttered bagel with hot sauce (Sweet Mango Heat), cheddar cheese, red onion and salami (Dad’s fave lunch)
8. Fried Eggs – served sunny side up or if in a sandwich over easy (Dad’s fave breakie or lunch) – preferably cooked in bacon drippings (barf – o sorry was that out loud it was supposed to be just for me)
9. Toad in the Hole – butter bread, cut  hole out of the centre approx the size of an egg.  Add bread to  a hot  pan and crack an egg into the centre, cook as you would a fried egg.  (My ex-roommate’s fave and my sister’s fave growing up). Fry this in the bacon or sausage drippings if you really want to see a heart attack on a plate 🙂
10. Veggie Omelet – Hands down my fave!  This is one of my fave dinners.  (recipe below).  Even my husband who makes a face when I say lets have a veggie omelet for supper has changed his tune and has decided that this is pretty. damn. good.  Make this into brunch by making homemade pancakes & sausage.  (Pancake recipe coming!)

Veggie Omelet (for 2)

• EVOO
• misc assorted veggies – I used 4 pieces asparagus – washed trimmed and cut into 3’s,  1 small stalk broccoli (chopped), 2 portabella mushrooms washed and sliced into good sized chunks, 1 zucchini peeled and sliced
• 4 eggs – beaten with a fork
• 2 dashes cayenne sauce (like Red Hot or Louisiana Sauce)
• 3-4 TB milk  
• 
  
• ((more or less depending on taste)
• 1/4 c feta cheese crumbled
• fresh ground pepper

Heat a small frying pan.  Add some EVOO.  Add veggies, and cook until almost done (the asparagus and broccoli will turn bright green).    

Meanwhile whisk together beaten eggs, milk, hot sauce and black pepper.  Add to a hot medium sized pan.  I typically use a rubber scraper to pull back the edges of the omelet and let the uncooked  egg run down to fill in where the cooked portion is pulled back.  

Scrape (gently don’t break your egg base) the “wet” or uncooked runny part over to the side and let it flow to bottom of pan.  Add cooked veggies from the other pan to one side of the omelet.  Add the feta. flip on side over the filling. Allow to cook for a couple more minutes, remove and serve. 

** When I made the one in the picture at the top – I over filled the middle so my omelet would not close properly – we simple ate the extra veggies as they fell out.