Cheesecake Ice Cream

6 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 TB lemon juice
2 oz grated chocolate

Place cream chees in a mixing bowl and beat until soft and smooth.  Slowly add sugar and then beat in the sour cream followed by the heavy cream.  Add vanilla and lemon juice and mix unitl thick and smooth.  Cover and chill for 2-3 hours or overnight.  Remove from fridge and beat until cream, then freeze in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's directions.  Stir in grated chocolate when ice cream is finished.

Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

1 can (10 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick (optional)
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup English Toffee bits (optional)

In a medium saucepan over mediu heat, cook sweetened condensed milk, stirring constantly, until thick and golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Meanwhile, in a separate medium saucepan over medium-low heat, bring cream, milk, and cinnamon stick to simmer.  Remove cinnamon stick and discard.

Very slowly and carefully to prevent spattering, pour condensed milk into a large, clean bowl.  Gradually whisk in cream mixture, holding the saucepan at arm's length and averting your face when adding the cream.  Whisk in vanilla.  Cover and refrigerate until completely cold or overnight.

Stir cream mixture.  Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.  Add English Toffee bits when ice cream has finished.

Yield:  1 quart

Raspberry Sour Cream Ice Cream

20 oz. fresh or frozen raspberries (if frozen, they will need to be thawed)
4 cups sugar
5 tsp vanilla extract
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
6 eggs
1 quart heavy cream

Combine raspberries and sugar.  Beat together vanilla, evaporated milk, sour cream, eggs and heavy cream.  Add the raspberries and sugar and whisk to combine.  Freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. 

Note:  This makes a lot of ice cream - I have to freeze it in two batches.  It does work well to halve the recipe.  My family loves this ice cream - it is one of our favorites!

Wheat Thin Crackers

If you like the Wheat Thins you buy from the store, give these a try. They're really good!! Almost identical, but better.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 TB brown sugar
1 1/2 TB dry buttermilk powder*
2 TB sesame or poppy seeds (optional)
1/2 cup water
3 TB oil or melted butter

In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, salt, baking soda, brown sugar, buttermilk powder and seeds (if using). Add water and oil or melted butter and stir together just until the flour is absorbed to make a soft dough. It will be very sticky. Don't over mix!! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Divide the dough in half. Take an 11x15-inch baking sheet (jelly roll pan) and flip it over. Grease the bottom of the pan and place half the dough on the greased pan. Place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough and roll with a rolling pin right over the wrap. One half of the dough will cover the pan entirely. It will be very thin. When smoothed out, remove plastic wrap. Lightly score the dough into cracker squares with a pizza cutter. Sprinkle dough generously with sal and extra seeds, if desired. Bake fore 14-15 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. They might be slightly soft right out of the oven, but should crisp up as they sit. Store in an airtight container.

Note: If you would rather use frest buttermilk, leave out the powder and use 1/2 cup buttermilk in place of the water.

Blender Pancakes

These pancakes are surprisinly light and mild. And the best part is that they are 100% Whole Wheat!!! They are the favorite pancake at the Brewer house.

In blender, process on high (or grind) for 3 minutes:
1 cup whole wheat kernels
1 cup milk

Add: 1/2 cup milk - and grind for another 2 minutes

Add: 2 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 TB baking powder
2 TB sugar

Process until well combined. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake onto a hot griddle. Bake on the griddle until the cakes are full of bubbles on the top and the undersides are lightly browned. Turn with a spatula and brown the other side. Serve with butter and syrup, jam or honey.

Upside Down Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 (8 ounce) can refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Brown beef, onion and garlic in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Once browned, drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce.
3. In a 9x13 inch baking dish, spread a layer of sauce. Top with 1/2 of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, another layer of sauce and the rest of the cheese. Top with crescent rolls, pinching seams together.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until rolls are golden brown.

Chocolate Chip Caramel Pumpkin Muffins

2 Cups flour

1/2 Cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2/3 Cup of pumpkin

1/4 Cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 Cup milk

1 Cup chocolate chips

1 Cup caramel bits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and spices in large mixing bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix just until moist. Fold in chocolate chips and caramel bits. Fill (greased of paper lined) muffin tins 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 2 minutes before removing from pan. Best served warm, but really pretty delicious any time.

You can find caramel bits on the baking aisle at the grocery store. They are Kraft brand. It's a bag of little caramel balls about the size of chocolate chips. I usually eat the leftover caramel....... is that bad?