Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

No ice cream maker?  No problem!  This delicious ice-cream is made without one.

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups strawberries
15 Golden Oreos, Vanilla wafers, or a few graham crackers

Beat the cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, cream, and lemon zest with mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Set aside.

Put Oreos, vanilla wafers, or graham crackers in large ziplock and break into chunks.  Then dump in the ice cream batter.

Puree or pulse the strawberries until desired consistency.  Then dump in the ice cream batter.  I pureed mine until smooth, but you can certainly leave chunks in it.

Gently stir the filling and crust into the batter.  If you want strawberry swirls, rather than having it incorporated in, only use a few strokes.  Then pour mixture into a resealable container and freeze until firm, about 8 hours or so.

Note:  I tried using an ice cream maker, but the ingredients in this recipe take longer to freeze.  So, I recommend pouring into a freezable container as described above.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Combine and heat the following:

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup ketchup
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 TBSP mustard
1 tsp garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Spinach Carbonara Pizza

I've made this Pampered Chef recipe a few times and have enjoyed it each time.

1 pkg (13.8 oz) refrigerated pizza crust
6 slices of bacon
6 oz fresh baby spinach leaves (frozen will work too)
2 garlic cloves
1 oz grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup)
1 cup Alfredo sauce
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Unroll dough over bottom of lightly greased pan.  Gently stretch and press dough to cover bottom of pan.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until crust begins to brown.  Remove pan from oven.

Meanwhile, slice bacon into 1/4 inch pieces, cook in skillet over medium heat 5-6 minutes or until crisp.  Remove from pan, and drain on paper towels.  Then, finely chop half of the bacon.  Place spinach and garlic pressed with garlic press into bowl.  Cover bowl and microwave on high 2-3 minutes or until spinach is wilted.  Carefully remove lid, press spinach to side of bowl and dab excess moisture with paper towels.

Combine Alfredo sauce, pepper, and chopped bacon (save the rest for topping the pizza).  Mix well.  To assemble the pizza, spread sauce to edges of crust.  Top with 1 cup of the mozzarella, spinach mixture, and remaining bacon.  Then, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.

Bake 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Cut pizza into squares and serve.

Sunday Sandwiches (funeral sandwiches)

1 pkg dinner rolls (12 count)
1/2 - 1lb good deli ham
Gouda cheese, sliced (original recipe called for Swiss....I hate Swiss so it was changed)
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 TBSP Worchestershire sauce
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 TBSP brown sugar
Dash of onion powder

Slice the rolls in half and fill each one with sliced ham and cheese. Line rolls in a baking sheet/dish and place the top foe the roll back on.

Mix together remaining ingredients for a glaze and pour the whole mixture over the rolls, drenching each one. Cover with plastic wrap and let chill for 4-24 hours.

Remove plastic wrap at bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Bacon-Wrapped Cocktail Sausages

A great little appetizer from OurBestBites.com

1 14-oz package Lit'l Smokies
1 12-oz package bacon
3/4 c. brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 325 and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Using a pair of kitchen shears, cut the slab of bacon into thirds. Wrap 1/3 of each slice of bacon around each sausage and secure with a toothpick and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining sausages and bacon. Sprinkle brown sugar over sausages and bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes or until bacon has cooked and is starting to brown. Serve immediately or put in slow cooker on low heat to keep warm.

Asiago Cheese Bread

3 cups flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 cups shredded asiago cheese

In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, salt, yeast, and cheese. Add water and stir until a shaggy mixture forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-18 hours.

Heat oven to 450. When oven has reached 450, place enamel pot or baking stone pot in oven for 30 minutes to preheat. While pot is preheating, pour out dough on a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Cover and let sit while pot is warming.

After 30 minutes, take out pot and place dough ball inside. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Remove cover and continue baking for 15 minutes.

Remove bread from pot, and transfer to a rack to cool.

Homemade Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk with 1 TBSP white vinegar- let sit 5 min)
2 TBSP light corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla

Combine first five ingredients in saucepan and let boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.