Posted in Dessert

Tasty Treat Thursdays: Peanut Brittle and Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Pie

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Peanut Brittle and Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Pie

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Caramel sauce –
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup light corn syrup

Pie –
9 whole graham crackers
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, hot
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup salted roasted cocktail peanuts
3 pints premium vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
5 tablespoons natural-style (non-hydrogenated) creamy peanut butter
1 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle

Prep Day:

Caramel sauce – Place cream in small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring just to simmer. Mix in butter and sea salt; set vanilla cream aside.
Stir sugar, 1/3 cup water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until syrup turns deep amber, brushing down sides with wet pastry brush and swirling pan occasionally, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in vanilla cream (mixture will bubble). Set sauce aside.

Pie – Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 9-inch-diameter pie dish with foil. Finely grind graham crackers and brown sugar in processor. Add butter and vanilla; blend until moist crumbs form. Add nuts; blend just until finely chopped. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumbs firmly onto bottom and up sides of foil-lined pie dish. Freeze 15 minutes.

Bake crust until brown, about 15 minutes. Freeze 1 hour. Using foil, lift crust from dish; carefully peel off foil. Return crust to pie dish. Drizzle 1/2 cup caramel sauce over bottom of crust. Freeze 30 minutes. Spoon 1 1/2 pints ice cream into crust; smooth top. Drizzle 3 tablespoons peanut butter over, then 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup brittle. Freeze 1 hour. Spoon remaining 1 1/2 pints ice cream over; smooth top. Drizzle 2 tablespoons peanut butter over, then 2 tablespoons sauce. Sprinkle edge of pie with 1/2 cup brittle. Freeze at least 4 hours. Before serving.

Freezing Directions: Pie can be made 3 days ahead; tent with foil and freeze. Cover and chill remaining sauce.

Serve Day: Cut pie into wedges. Rewarm sauce and pass separately.

Posted in - Red Meat, Healthy Eating

Wellness Wednesdays: The Beef You Love

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Why Not Eat the Beef You Love?!

Most people consider turkey, chicken, and fish healthy, yet think they should avoid red meat—or only choose very lean cuts—since they’ve always been told that it’s high in saturated fat.

But there are two problems in that thinking. The first problem is that almost half of the fat in beef is a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid—the same heart-healthy fat that’s found in olive oil. Second, most of the saturated fat in beef actually decreases your heart-disease risk—either by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol, or by reducing your ratio of total cholesterol to HDL (good) cholesterol.

And besides being one of the most available sources of high-quality protein, beef also provides many important nutrients such as iron, zinc, and B vitamins. So the idea that beef is bad for you couldn’t be further from the truth.

Resource: Men’s Health

Barbecued Chuck Roast

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Makes 8 servings

Prep Day:

Trim fat from one 2-1/2 to 3 pound chuck roast, 1-1/2 to 2 inches thick. Place meat in freezer bag.

Mix:
1/3 cup wine vinegar
1/4 cup catsup
2 T. soy sauce
1 t. salt
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 t. prepared mustard
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. pepper

Pour over meat; close bag. Marinate 2 to 3 hours at room temperature or overnight in refrigerator. Turn bag occasionally to distribute marinade. Freeze.

Serving Day: Thaw meat and let set in marinade in refrigerator. Remove meat, reserve marinade. Place meat on rack of broiler pan. Broil 6 to 8 inches from heat till medium rare, about 50 to 60 minutes. Turn meat every 10 minutes. If meat is not seeming to get down in the middle, cut the roast in 2 to let heat get to the middle. Baste with reserved marinade the last 20 to 30 minutes (I usually baste at least 2 times on each side.)

It may be serve with baked potatoes, vegetable and good bread. Heat up reserved marinade and serve in a side dish for people who wish more barbecue sauce.

This is one of my all time favorite recipes!

Posted in Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks Tuesdays: Saving Your Dollars – Extra Peppers

Posted on by Northerly Nosh

Freeze Extra Peppers

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Using your freezer to its best advantage sometimes means prepping ingredients and storing them for later use. Got a glut of a vegetable, like bell peppers? Chop and freeze to use later.

A few weekends ago my parents came down for a visit. My dad raided his garden before he left, bringing with him a huge box full of bell peppers and cherry tomatoes. I had also received several peppers in my produce box. I was rich in peppers!

So, I did what all good freezer cooks do, I chopped and sliced them all up and quick-froze them on cookie sheets until they were hard…

How to Flash Freeze Food Items

Prepare your item: rinse the berries, form the hamburger patties, prepare the rolls or whatever you want to freeze. Lay them out on parchment lined or greased cookie sheets. Place in the freezer, making sure the tray sits level. After 20-30 minutes or until surface is hard, pull from freezer and quickly package in freezer bags. Store bags in freezer until ready to use. Use only as many of the item as you need at a given time.

Then I repackaged them in quart-sized freezer bags. Now, whenever I need chopped peppers for a sauce or sliced peppers for a stir-fry, I can just grab as many as I want from the bag. Easy peasy.

Italian Beef Sammies

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Servings: 6

32 ounces Pepperoncini or banana peppers with juice
3 pounds Beef rump roast
1 cup Onion, sliced
1 cup Bell Peppers, green sliced
1/2 cup Water
6 ounces Provolone cheese
6 Kaiser buns

Prep Day: Combine all ingredients into a gallon freezer bag and freeze until ready to serve. Place buns and cheese into separate bag and store with beef.

Serve Day: Place into crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours until meat is tender. Serve on buns with provolone cheese.