I Won Eggs!

So I entered this contest at In Katrina's Kitchen where you can win all this stuff from Eggland's Best.  And guess what????  I won!  Wanna see what I won?

A coupon for 2 dozen free eggs, a coupon for 6 dozen hard boiled eggs, an apron, a reusable grocery bag, a whisk, a spatula, egg timer, 4 little ramekins, and a plush little egg.  Pretty neat eh?

Incidentally, Blockette LOVES the plush egg.  She has named him Eggy and insists on sleeping all snuggled up with him every night.  What a nut!

Thankful Thursday 38.11

1. Peppermint tea isn't toxic to cats.

2. Blockette took her punishment like a big girl.

3. Having some nice grown up conversations with people from church.

4. Mrblocko squooshed Jiminy Cricket for me.

5. Not using the sour cream for a cheesy bread recipe when I already had it slated for use in Tuesday's dinner.

6. Mrblocko remembered to leave me the big golf umbrella so I didn't get soaked waiting with Blockette for the bus.

7. Blockette said that her sticker board reward (a necklace) was better than a DS (what she thought she was getting).

8. My cats gratitude when I turned the heat on.  (Of course I did it for them...at least that's what they think.)

9. I was already awake when Blockette slammed her bedroom door after going to the bathroom in the wee (no pun intended) hours of the morning.

10. Mrblocko leaving just a bit later than usual so Blockette could spend some time reading to both of us.

Sugar Free Butterbeer Pops

What is Butterbeer? Well, in the Harry Potter Universe it is a popular butterscotch-esque flavored drink that gets house elves, but not humans, intoxicated. They sell this drink at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando Florida.

It tastes sort of like a combination of butterscotch, ice cream, shortbread and cream soda.  It's very rich and sweet.

I found this recipe in my little black recipe binder.  It was right below the recipe for Orange Dreamsicles. I have no idea where I found this recipe, but it's been in that binder forever. The Popsicles are titled Buterscotchsicles, but I think Butterbeer Pops sounds much more betterer. Don't you?

Below is the original recipe, with my changes in parenthesis.

Butterscotchsicles
1 pkg Butterscotch Instant pudding (I used sugar free)
1 c rootbeer (I used Diet)
1 1/2 c water (I used milk)

Mix all ingredients, pour into molds and freeze.

Blockette was obsessed with touching the popsicle.  I'm not sure what that was all about.  Maybe because there were bits of pudding powder that didn't fully dissolve?  They left little tiny tan polka dots all over the frozen pops. 

The next time I make this I will use cream soda.  I think that would make them even more butterbeer-y.  But I just happened to have root beer on hand so that's what I used.  I will also churn the concoction in the ice cream maker before pouring them into the molds. The pops were sort of crystallized and icy in the center.  They weren't so icy that it was hard to bite into, but more crunchy that a Popsicle should have been.  Maybe that was from the carbonation in the root beer? 

Iciness aside, these were a big hit with Blockette.  I will most definitely make them again.

Maple Oatmeal Bread

Ah bread. I missed the sweet tempting fresh-out-of-the-oven mouth watering aroma this summer.  Aren't you glad it's not insanely hot anymore and it's actually nice to turn the oven on for a change? 

Funny thing about this particular bread was that I made it way back in May.  Yup.  Kept this little gem from you all summer.  The thing was that it made two loaves.  Oh me and the rest of the Blockos devoured the first loaf like a swarm of locust.  But the second loaf?  I stuck that bad boy in the freezer.  I was curious how he would hold up.

So I waited. And waited.  And waited.   Finally, at the end of July, I carefully let the precious loaf defrost in the fridge.  It was no where as wonderful as the fresh loaf, but it made some kickin toast. 

Head on over to The Fresh Loaf for the Maple Oatmeal Bread recipe.
2 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1 package dry yeast
3/4 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon oil
5 cups flour

Put the oats into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the oats and set aside for an hour.Mix the yeast, syrup, salt, and oil into the oats. Mix in 3 cups of the flour. Cover the bowl and let rise for an hour. Add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough is the correct consistency. Knead for 10 minutes. Cut the dough into two pieces, then shape it into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise another 45 minutes. Bake at 350 for 40 - 50 minutes. Makes 2 loaves

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Feast your eyes on that baby. That little masterpiece, my friends, is Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream from Ezra Pound Cake. Aw yeah.

Not bad for my second attempt at ice cream.

This ice cream tastes exactly like what it says it is. Strawberry cheesecake, in ice cream goodness. Have mercy.

This ice cream takes a tinsy bit more work than your average ice cream as you have to bake a graham cracker crust, and let it get cold in the fridge.  It's worth it though.  Trust me.  That crust is half the cheesecake party in your mouth.

This recipe calls for the zest of one lemon and 1/2 c frozen berries.  I omitted both of them.  I didn't have a lemon and Mrblocko and I aren't big fans of huge chunks of fruit in our ice cream.  The next time I make this I'm going to add the lemon zest to see if it adds anything special to the mix.  As for the fruit, I think if I put frozen berries into a blender to chop them up, that might be ok.  Although, then I'd have to worry about seeds.  I don't want no stinkin' seeds in my ice cream.  Maybe a chunkier seedless jam verses a jelly would be a better route to take.

In case anyone is wondering, I used full fat versions of both cream cheese and sour cream.  I was worried if I altered the fat content, the ice cream might not set up properly.  Next time I think I'll risk a low fat version.

It's such a shame that I've got to do some more experimenting with this recipe.  Oh the things we do in the name of food.

Mixed Berry Cheesecake Ice Cream from Ezra Pound Cake Makes about 3 cups
Graham Cracker Crumble:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 crackers)
1/2 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Ice Cream:
Zest of 1 lemon
8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup red jelly (strawberry, raspberry or currant), warmed in the microwave until melted
1/2 cup frozen berries

For the Ice Cream: Place lemon zest in a food processor .Cut cream cheese into small pieces, and add it to lemon zest. Then add sour cream, half-and-half, sugar and salt. Blend til smooth.
Transfer mix to a bowl, cover it, and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

For the Graham Cracker Crumble: Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter til moistened. Transfer to a 9" springform pan, pie plate or cake pan. Press crumbs into bottom of pan. (Don’t worry if they don’t cover the entire bottom of the pan.) Bake 7 min. Cool to room temperature. Using a fork, gently break crust into small crumbs. Set aside.

Once the ice cream mix chilled for at least 4 hours, freeze in ice cream maker according to  manufacturer’s instructions. During last few minutes of churning, add 1/4 c Graham Cracker Crumble.
As transfer ice cream from machine to a freezer-safe container, place half of ice cream into  container. Sprinkle half of frozen berries onto ice cream, followed by a few spoonfuls of melted jelly to create a thin layer over the ice cream. (Do not stir.) Then spoon rest of ice cream over jelly. Sprinkle  remaining berries on top and a few spoonfuls of Graham Cracker Crumble. Place a layer of plastic wrap over ice cream, fasten a lid on container, and place container in freezer for at least 4 hours before serving.

To serve, top ice cream with any remaining Graham Cracker Crumble. Or, make a topping for the ice cream by warming leftover jelly in microwave and tossing remaining berries in jelly til well mixed.

Two Strand Twisty Braid

I saw the neatest looking braid on Girly Do's by Jenn.  It's called a two strand braid and it is awesome.  I couldn't stop thinking about it.  How it would look, how I would hold the hair while twisting and adding hair, etc.  So I just put the silly braid in Blockette's hair so I could go about my life not thinking about the two stranded twisty braid.

It turned out so much way better than I thought it would. And it didn't take any longer to do than a regular French Braid.

This is the picture you get when you are running out the door for church and realize that if you don't take a picture of the child's hair RIGHT now you will never get a picture because it could just fall out completely by the time you get home.

Blockette's hair stayed surprisingly well in this style, even after a day of being stuck inside and rolling around on the floor, and under blankets.  The next time I put this braid in, I think I will put some mousse or gel in her hair before I style it, and somehow convince Blockette to keep the hair binders on while she sleeps.  If we had done this she would have had some really cool looking waves in her hair the next day.

'11 Unhappy Dance #24: Cardboard Cat Scratcher

I found directions for a Corrugated Cardboard Cat Scratching Mat at Design Sponge and thought, "Why not give it a try?" I find it highly amusing that it is made from a box that held kitty litter. 

Sadly, it has been an epic fail with the kitties.  The only time the cats paid any attention to it was when I took this photo. They only to sniffed around it to check it out, not to use it for its intended purpose, scratchin'. 

I think they don't care for it because the rows of cardboard aren't even.  I did my best, but the box cutter we have has seen better days.  I'm surprised it cut the cardboard at all. 

Oh well, it was a fun little experiment.  The only thing I was out was some tape, a box destined for the recycle bin and a bit of my time.  Would that all my crafting flops turn out this good.