Ice Cream Cones Have a New Purpose in These Fun Recipes

September 17, 2015 by greystar

Although you’ve probably only used ice cream cones for, well, ice cream, the recipe possibilities are truly endless for this sweet, crunchy treat—if you think creatively. Here are three completely unique spins on the classic ice cream cone.

Apple Snack Mix [tasteofhome.com]
This fun snack mix makes a wonderful kids’ party favor at birthday parties or bonfires. Cinnamon flavored cereal, roasted peanuts, sunflower kernels, apple chips, and a number of other hearty ingredients mix together to create a crunchy snack mix that looks adorable served in a sweet waffle cone.

Mini Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes [kraftrecipes.com]
Even if you aren’t serving ice cream in your ice cream cone, you can still emulate the cute look of the beloved summertime sweet. These creative cupcakes are baked into mini ice cream cones and then topped with a swirl of icing that looks just like soft serve.

Popcorn Ball Ice Cream Cones [cookiesandcups.com]
If you prefer the crunch of popcorn to the icy chill of ice cream, you’ll love this fun snack. By mixing the popcorn with marshmallows and chocolate candies, you can create a uniquely sweet treat that looks just like vanilla ice cream. Serve it on top of a classic sugar cone to make it even more authentic!

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/sarahrosenau

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Ice Cream, Recipes

Deliciously Simple Ice Cream Cake Recipes

May 7, 2015 by greystar

Those with a sweet spot for cake know that there's only one possible way to make the dessert even better: Combine it with ice cream! You might think ice cream cake is difficult to make at home, but these three tried-and-true recipes prove otherwise.

Frozen Chocolate Cookie Cake [Food Network]
Taste buds of all ages with do back flips for this recipe from Food Network star Sandra Lee. Requiring only 20 minutes of prep time, the recipe entails baking two chocolate layer cakes, then sandwiching the cakes around a molded slab of ice cream. To make the whole thing even more decadent, a rich chocolate ganache is poured over top. The best part of this recipe is its versatility; you can use whatever ice cream and cake flavors you desire!

Neapolitan Ice Cream Cake [Martha Stewart]
You'd expect a recipe from Martha Stewart to be time consuming and complicated, but this ice cream cake recipe is, well, a piece of cake! To create this neapolitan-style dessert, three different flavors of ice cream are layered within a loaf pan. For that signature cookie crunch that everyone loves and expects from an ice cream cake, chocolate cookie crumbs separate each ice cream layer. The most difficult part of Martha's recipe is just waiting for the cake to set up in the freezer.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake [AllRecipes]
To make this cake truly decadent, its crust is crafted from crushed chocolate chip cookies. Then, a layer of hot fudge is poured over top of the crust. After the fudge crust cools, the recipe entails spreading a layer of softened ice cream over the crust, then freezing overnight. A healthy dose of whipped cream on top takes the cake to a whole 'nother level!

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Joy

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Dessert, Food, Ice Cream, Recipes

Cereal Is the Secret Ingredient in These Fun Recipes

December 18, 2014 by greystar

If you think that cereal is only meant for breakfast, you’re really missing out! There are many ways to crush, bake, and blend cereal into creative dishes that you would never expect. Check out these three unique recipes that use cereal as a main ingredient.

BBQ Pork Sticks [kelloggs.com]
By blending Kellogg’s Special K cereal with mesquite seasoning and barbecue sauce, you can create a crunchy, spicy coating for baked pork strips. Best of all, the low-calorie cereal is a much healthier alternative to the usual heavy breading.

Refrigerator S’mores Mini Cakes [bettycrocker.com]
The sweet combination of Golden Grahams and Cocoa Puffs cereals blends with marshmallows and chocolate chips to imitate the flavor of everyone’s favorite campfire treat. They also don’t require any baking, which makes this recipe even easier than most.

Apple Cinnamon Cheerios Pancakes [cheerios.com]
Skip the milk and spoon and eat cereal for breakfast in a new and exciting way. This recipe uses Apple Cinnamon Cheerios to make fluffy pancakes that taste delicious when topped with maple syrup.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/whatkatiesbaking.com

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cereal, Cooking, Food, Recipes

Sate Your Craving for Chocolate With These Molten Lava Cake Recipes

August 21, 2014 by greystar

Molten lava cakes are the ideal dessert for a dinner party or other social gathering because their individual sizes give each person a little cake of their own to enjoy. When you cut into these warm, moist desserts an explosion of hot chocolate sauce spills out, which gives the cakes their fun name. If your mouth is already watering, try one of these molten lava cake recipes for dinner tonight.

Molten Chocolate Cakes [Food and Wine]
Food and Wine’s gourmet spin on the dessert classic brings an air of sophistication to the usual molten lava cake. Bittersweet chocolate and unsalted butter provide a rich, complex taste, and the thick chocolate inside is just the icing – or, rather, the lava – on the cake.

Molten Chocolate Cake [Pioneer Woman]
This recipe from the Pioneer Woman is just as indulgent as her other recipes, and the addition of an extra egg yolk ensures that the inside is even more runny than most lava cakes. Serve them with homemade whipped cream for an extra special treat.

Red Velvet Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes [Halfbaked Harvest]
This recipe not only uses a red velvet cake exterior, but a chocolate ganache center as well. If that doesn’t already sound decadent enough, a coconut whipped cream topping should do the trick.

CC-BY-2.0/Flickr/Andrea Goh

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Dessert, Food, Molten Lava Cake, Recipes

Learn to Cook Right from Your Phone with These 3 Apps

November 20, 2013 by greystar

When you’re making something in the kitchen you need your recipe to be easily accessible, and there’s nothing more convenient than your smartphone. These helpful cooking apps will give you recipes, cooking techniques, and other necessary information right from your mobile device:

How to Cook Everything: Cooking Basics
This app, developed by New York Times cooking columnist Mark Bittman, includes an assortment of recipes and high-quality photos, video and audio to make your time in the kitchen easier and more hands-on. The recipes are simple and straightforward, and if you come across a technique that you don’t understand it even includes links to video tutorials to help you learn as you go.

Epicurious
The popular cooking website now has a helpful app for iPhone, iPad, Android, Nook, Windows and Kindle. The Epicurious app provides users with numerous recipes, and it has a printing feature that allows you to print your favorite recipes from anywhere. The shopping list feature even creates lists of ingredients that you can easily access at the grocery store.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Selected Recipes
The famous Julia Child book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" is now available from your mobile device with this innovative app. With real photos straight from the book, Child’s most beloved quotes, and even video tutorials for mastering some of her more complex dishes, this app is ideal for anyone who wants to learn the art of French cooking.

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Apps, Cooking, Recipes, Smartphones

The 5 Kitchen Tools You Didn’t Know You Needed

October 23, 2013 by greystar

Like preparing bread only to realize halfway through that you're out of yeast, nothing derails a cooking session faster than an inadequate arsenal of cooking tools. In many cases, a tool's importance is only realized when you reach for it and it's not there, so be sure to equip your kitchen before you start that recipe! Here are five multi-tasking kitchen gadgets you didn't know you needed — until now.

1. Microplane Zester: A super-sharp stainless steel zester makes zesting citrus and grating parmesan a breeze — much simpler than fumbling with a four-sided box grater.

2. Mortar and Pestle: From muddling mint for a cocktail to crushing dried herbs and spices, a mortar and pestle helps impart serious flavor to whatever you're preparing. Splurge for a marble pestle; they're more durable than stone or wood models.

3. Immersion Blender: An immersion blender is an affordable, portable tool for blending just about anything at warp speed, from soups and baby food purees to whipped cream and salad dressing.

4. Handheld Citrus Press: Forget those clunky citrus juicers that just eat up counter space; purchase a handheld citrus press that can be easily stored away in a drawer. To save even more space, purchase a press sized for a lemon, and buy an insert to accommodate a lime — without buying a second tool.

5. Tofu Press: Even if you're not a vegetarian, a tofu press can be used to press water out of frozen vegetables, homemade cheeses — anything you need to be liquid-free.

Want to learn about another multi-tasking wonder? Visit The Kitchn to see "the Number 1 Multi-Tasking Gadget You Should Have In Your Kitchen." [The Kitchn]

Filed Under: Miscellaneous Tagged With: Cooking, Food, Kitchen Supplies, Recipes

Surprise Your Family With a Frittata for Dinner

September 25, 2013 by greystar

A Frittata, an Italian-style omelet typically prepared in a cast-iron skillet, is a quick and easy high-protein meal. Make use of surplus eggs in your fridge (and surprise your family!) by making one of these delicious frittatas for dinner tonight.

Green Chile Frittata [Allrecipes]

Egg White Frittata with Lox and Arugula [Food Network]

Spinach Frittata with Bacon and Cheddar [About]

Tomato, Scallion, and Cheddar Frittata [Martha Stewart]

Mushroom and Spinach Frittata [The New York Times]