Lemon icebox pie

I must admit that one of the added perks of having a baby is the incredible meals brought to us from friends. I have loved, loved, loved the kindness extended to us through these yummy meals and they have been a lifesaver over these first few weeks. I've had many a day where I have literally thought about how I don't know what I would do if I had to worry about getting dinner together. I'm so glad I took the time to make some freezer meals before our baby was born-and I encourage any of you who are expecting to do the same if you have the time to do so because you will certainly NOT regret it- but my favorite nights by far have been when we've been treated to a freshly prepared meal brought to our home by sweet friends! One such treat was this wonderful dessert that was recently brought to us. We saved it for a day when some family was over, and everyone raved over it after taking the first bite and agreed that we would have to get this recipe. Even my husband and sister-in-law, neither of whom are normally fans of lemon desserts, loved this. Many lemon desserts I've had in the past have been too rich, but not this one. It is refreshing and flavorful but not overly intense in flavor or richness. We all loved it so much that I quickly asked my friend for the recipe and she gave it to me, saying that it was extremely easy to make. She is right, it is, and I'm so glad because that just means that it's all the more convenient for me to make! You will not believe how tasty this simple, three ingredient pie is. Perfect for a summer day. I am just imagining how wonderfully refreshing this would be at a 4th of July picnic or an evening cookout. You must try it!


Once again, I am behind on my photography. I will come back and post a picture soon once life gives me a few minutes to do so :).

Lemon Icebox Pie

Makes 2 pies

I N G R E D I E N T S :

1.75 quart container vanilla ice cream (just plain vanilla, nothing fancy or with vanilla bean bits in it)

1/2 of a can lemonade concentrate

2 graham cracker crusts

D I R E C T I O N S :

Soften vanilla ice cream and mix with thawed lemon aid concentrate to taste- I used about 1/2 of the can.

Freeze in two ready made Graham cracker crusts. 

Serve frozen, straight out of the freezer. Enjoy!

Note: I think this would also be a yummy ice cream treat on its own, even without the pie crust. Just combine both ingredients and freeze. Serve in a bowl or ice cream cone for a light, lemony treat!

Chocolate almond ice cream

• We've been busy here with the arrival of our new baby girl, but I have a few posts I hope to share soon, including this one. Before she was born, I made this yummy chocolate ice cream. If you have an ice cream maker, this is extremely easy to mix up. If you don't like almonds, simply omit them for an equally yummy classic chocolate ice cream. I do not have a picture yet, but hopefully soon I'll get to take one since I'm slowly savoring the remainder we have left in the freezer! This is a terrific summer treat you can whip up in a snap.
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Chocolate almond ice cream

• Recipe here from myrecipes.com
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• I N G R E D I E N T S :
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 cups whole chocolate milk
• 2/3 cup chocolate syrup
• 3/4 cup toasted sliced almonds (toast on 350 for 5-10 minutes, but do not let get too brown!)
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D I R E C T I O N S  :

• Whisk first 4 ingredients in a 2-quart pitcher or large bowl until blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
• Pour milk mixture into freezer container of a 1-quart electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times will vary.)
• Remove container with ice cream from ice-cream maker, and place in freezer 15 minutes. Stir almonds into prepared ice cream. Transfer to an airtight container; freeze until firm, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Pineapple-Coconut Gelato

Yesterday, I had the joy of guest posting for my friend Amber over at This Mommy Cooks. I shared this recipe with her readers and now I am sharing it with all of you!

You know that whole thing about pregnant women and ice cream cravings? Well, I must be here to prove that it's true, because I'm just about to have another baby and in the past  two weeks, I've made several batches of the stuff! I just cannot get enough fruity, frothy desserts lately, and this is the most recent recipe I've tried. When I came across the recipe, I immediately knew I had to try it because it just sounded so good and refreshing, not to mention extremely easy to make. I'm not normally a huge fan of coconut on its own, but I do love it when added to other tropical flavors, so the coconut milk base in this recipe is, in my opinion, a wonderful compliment to the pineapple. This dessert is just so tasty yet not too rich or heavy, and the texture could probably be described as in between a sorbet and sherbet. My family just loves this recipe, so when I talked to Amber about guest posting today, my mind went immediately to this one as a great dessert to share with you all. And with warm weather finally here and summer just around the corner, it is a great one to try out.

One other reason that I thought it would be fun to try this recipe is because growing up, I always loved getting the famous Dole Whips at Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I've searched for a good recipe to compare it to, but have never had any luck (mostly because the whip is actually a prepackaged concoction that you have to order rather than simple ingredients...as you can tell, I've done some research ;)!). So when I saw this recipe, I had that delicious Dole Whip in the back of my mind in hopes that it might taste similar. Well, I thought it did, and without even saying anything to him about it, my husband said it kind of reminds him of a Dole Whip. I started laughing and told him that is what I thought, too! So, if you like Dole Whips, you will most likely love this recipe. And if you've never had one but love a good refreshing, fruity dessert, this one will not disappoint! 

I recently made a strawberry gelato that we can't get enough of as well-I've made several batches of it and everyone who has tried it has loved it, so I highly recommend it, especially with strawberries being in season. For that and other recipes, feel free to visit my cooking blog, Casual Cuisine. I love trying new fun, practical, family friendly recipes and sharing them!

Pineapple-Coconut Gelato

Slightly adapted from this recipe from Cooking Light, found on Myrecipes.com

I N G R E D I E N T S :
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1 cup coconut milk (I bought reduced fat coconut milk in a can, which can be found in the asian food section of the grocery store.)


D I R E C T I O N S :
Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; cool completely.
Combine the pineapple and milk in a large bowl; stir in sugar syrup (I actually blended it together in a blender for a smoother texture, but either way would probably be fine).
Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon gelato into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze 1 hour or until firm.

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Strawberry Gelato

Oh my goodness. This is definitely my favorite thing I've made in a LONG time. I came across this recipe about a couple of months ago and bookmarked it because it looked good. Strawberry gelato- How could it not be good?! I made this the other night when I was on my strawberry recipe kick. I used an ice cream maker, but I would venture to say that you could make it without one-just use a food processor for all the ingredients and freeze in the freezer.

I was a little leery of using buttermilk because I wondered how it would make the flavor, but this gelato is nothing but yummy and sweet and you would never know you are using buttermilk. And apparently you are supposed to use low-fat buttermilk but I forgot to note that and bought whole milk buttermilk at the store. It was wonderful. It has a great flavor but is almost like a mix between ice cream and sorbet-has a slightly creamy texture but is not heavy or too creamy. By using the buttermilk, even if you use whole buttermilk, it's a lot less fattening than regular ice cream, which is a bonus for sure. I absolutely LOVE this stuff and am so glad I bought a bigger carton of buttermilk than I needed, because I am going to be buying more strawberries and making this stuff to keep for after the baby comes. My ice cream maker didn't get it quite frozen enough-maybe because the recipe filled up the whole container; I'm not sure. But, the directions on my ice cream maker always say to continue freezing it in the freezer if it's not done after the time is up, so this might have been normal and the other times I've used my ice cream maker, I've had to do the same thing. It froze well and all I do is sit it out for a little while before I serve it so that it will be easy to scoop. This is a wonderfully refreshing treat for a spring or summer day!

Strawberry Gelato

from Cooking Light on My recipes.com

Original recipe here

• I N G R E D I E N T S :
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups water
• 5 cups quartered strawberries (about 4 pints or 2 16-ounce cartons)
• 2 cups low-fat buttermilk (I used whole milk buttermilk)
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D I R E C T I O N S

• Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour into a large bowl; cool completely.
• Place strawberries in a blender, and process until smooth. Add strawberry purée and buttermilk to sugar syrup; stir to combine.
• Pour the strawberry mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.