Peanut Buster Ice Cream Cake

I remember my mom making this cake for my brother's birthday years ago when we were growing up. This year my son wanted an ice cream cake, so I decided to dig up an old recipe and make this just for him on his special day. And it was just as good as I remember it!

Ingredients:

Crust--1 package of Oreos (approx 14 oz.), crushed
           1 stick of butter, melted

Center--1/2 gallon ice cream; whatever flavor you like, I used vanilla, but another great option would                   be mint chocolate chip!

Peanuts (optional)

Topping--1 large can of evaporated milk
                1 stick butter
                2/3 c. chocolate chips
                2 c. powdered sugar

Start out by making the crust of the cake with the crushed Oreos and butter:

After you melt the butter, stir it into the crushed Oreo mixture and then place it in a 9x13" pan, pressing down to make a solid crust and freezing it for 1 hour.

After an hour (or more) is up, it's time to move on to the next layer of the cake, which is the ice cream and peanuts.  You may want to allow the ice cream to soften a bit at room temperature so that it's easier to scoop out and place on the crust. Once the half gallon is on the crust, go ahead and add the peanuts. (You can keep the peanuts whole or crush them...or not use them at all!).  Once again, place the ice cream cake into the freezer for a while after this step.

While the ice cream cake is solidifying more in the freezer, it's time to get started on the chocolate topping.  Gather your ingredients:

Place the butter into a saucepan and allow it to melt. Once melted, go ahead and add the remaining ingredients, stirring well.  You'll want to set the heat so that it's warm enough to boil the ingredients. Continue to stir so that it doesn't burn or get lumpy. Once the chocolate comes to a low boil, stir it frequently (at a boil) for 8 minutes. It will thicken up quite a bit over the course of those 8 minutes.

Prior to boiling:

Early on in the boiling process:

After 5 minutes of boiling:

After 8 minutes of boiling:

Once your chocolate sauce has thickened up, you need to allow it to cool before placing it on the ice cream cake. Once it's cooled, go ahead and pour it on top, spreading it evenly.  You'll need to freeze this cake overnight, so be sure to plan ahead!  Remove from the freezer about 10-15 minutes before slicing in to it.

I had forgotten how rich this dessert is, so I'd recommend serving conservative-sized slices--you can always have more if you want to!

Fast Herbed Potatoes

Need a potato side dish in a hurry? It is possible to have something ready in 10 minutes or less, using just 4 ingredients.

Ingredients:

Potatoes, sliced and cubed to whatever size you want
Butter--approximately 2 Tbsp.
Herbs of your choice (I used thyme and basil)
salt & pepper--a dash of each, optional

Simply cube the potatoes to the size you desire, keeping in mind that the smaller the potatoes are sliced, the faster they will cook up.  Melt the butter and pour over the top of the cubed potatoes, adding the herbs and salt/pepper at this time also. Stir the potatoes to coat with the butter/herb mixture, then place the bowl of potatoes into the microwave and cook them for 5-10 minutes, stirring once, about halfway through. (As different microwaves cook at different levels, you will need to check and see if your potatoes need to cook a little longer.)

Summer Squash Pizza

Let me start out by saying that I am not a fan of anything in the squash family. I want to like squash and I am doing what I can to convince myself I like squash. And since I grow summer squash in the garden for certain family members who DO like squash, it's definitely on the menu at this time of the year. I have discovered 2 ways in which I can handle eating squash...one of those ways is roasted on the grill. The second way, which I am going to show in this post, is disguised as pizza! This is a fast, easy and healthy snack!

Ingredients:

Summer squash, sliced into 1/4" thickness
salt
pepper
pizza sauce
mozzarella cheese
pizza toppings (optional--mini pepperoni, for example)

Baking Temp: Broil (550 degrees)
Baking Time: 5 minutes

Start out by lining a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the paper with non-stick spray. I then sprinkle both salt and pepper on top of the sprayed parchment paper (I use freshly-grated Himalayan salt and freshly ground peppercorns, but basic salt and pepper will work just as well). Next, slice the squash into 1/4" thick round slices and lay them on top of the parchment paper. For the side that is facing up, give it a quick spray of non-stick spray, followed by salt and pepper.

At this point, you want to place the pan in your preheated oven and allow the squash to bake for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, remove the pan from the oven flip the squash, and bake it for 2 more minutes, allowing it to get a little tender.

Once the 2 minutes is up, it's time to turn the squash slices into pizza! Simply take your favorite pizza sauce (I make my own--a can of tomato sauce, some salt, Italian seasonings, garlic powder, and grated Parmesan cheese), and place dollops on top of each slice of squash:

Next, add cheese (and any other topping you desire):

Pop the tray of pizzas back into the oven for 1 minute. If you like the cheese to be bubbly and a little darker brown on top, allow it to bake for an additional 10-30 seconds.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately while they are nice and warm. They really are pretty good! Hope you enjoy them, too!