Kids in the Kitchen: Fried Ice Cream

I’m guilty. Guilty of indulging our kids in crazy, unhealthy treats. When Brandan conjured up the idea of fried ice cream for his turn in the kitchen, I caved. My justification? We honestly have very little “junk” food in our house. The kids rarely have soft drinks, candy, or chips – and continually are re-introduced to vegetables in the hopes that one day, they’ll actually start eating them. So how much will a bit of fried ice cream hurt? That, and I’d never experienced fried ice cream, so I was curious to try it.

I was surprised at how easy it really was. Sure, there were several steps, but each one could be completed in a manner of minutes, and we could go back to our activities in between, while waiting for ice cream balls to freeze. It also was relatively easy to convert to gluten-free – I only had to grab some gluten-free corn flakes (I used Nature’s Path Honey’d Corn Flakes), check the ingredients in the ice cream, and we were good to go. (Those corn flakes aren’t half-bad, either. I’m not big on boxed cereals, but these reminded me how much I used to like corn flakes.)

Everyone enjoyed the ice cream quite a lot. The kids commented that the corn flake crust reminded them of an ice cream cone. While I likely won’t make this again anytime soon, (I hate frying – we buy all that oil, only to later stare at the fryer full of oil that I’ll just throw away. Yes, I realize I could strain it and re-use it, but I don’t fry often, so it’s just not really practical.) it was a fun experiment, and quite tasty!

Fried Ice Cream, adapted from Emeril Lagasse

1 quart vanilla ice cream (make sure it’s gluten-free; I used Blue Bell Vanilla Bean)

1-2 c crushed gluten-free corn flakes

2 large eggs

2 T sugar

Vegetable oil for frying

Chocolate sauce, optional

Whipped cream, optional

With an ice cream scoop, form 4 large balls of ice cream. Place on a waxed-paper-lined baking sheet (I used a Silpat) and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 2 hours.

Place crushed cornflakes in a shallow bowl. Roll the ice cream balls in cornflakes and freeze again for 30 minutes.

In a bowl, beat the eggs together with the sugar. Dip the coated ice cream balls in the egg mixture, and then roll in the cornflakes, coating completely. Freeze for 1 hour.

Heat the oil in a large pot or fryer to 400 degrees. One at a time, lower the balls into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place in a dessert bowl. Top with chocolate sauce and whipped cream and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Yes, I realize I’ve promised you stories about our vacation – I still plan to really soon! But for now, I’ll give you a sneak peek of a photo:

Monarc Ranch - our cottage was on 300 acres!

Happy Easter from our family!

Kids in the Kitchen: Beef Nachos (Homemade Taco Seasoning)

It’s been too long since my last post. I apologize; it’s been a busy few days. Part of that busyness has been positive – I received my new baby last Wednesday (A Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi), so I have been trying to learn my way around it. So far, I’m amazed. Amazed at how easy it is to take a halfway decent photo. My little Olympus Stylus 710 was so limited. I put up with it for a long, long while. It was time, and I finally was able to upgrade, so I did. I couldn’t be happier.

I fully intended on posting this on Saturday or Sunday, but that’s where the not-so-positive part of my busyness comes in. Unfortunately, my laptop took a fierce dive onto the floor, and my hard drive is toast. My loving techie of a husband is working on it, trying to retrieve data off of the hard drive, and replacing it with another one in the meantime. But I was dead in the water this past weekend. Also dead was the recipe for my taco seasoning – it was on that hard drive. I’ve recreated it today, however, to share it with you here. Unfortunately, my not-so-smart self managed to not back up hundreds of photos on that hard drive. I’m learning my lesson – I promise!

Anyway, on to the reason for this post! Brittany wanted to make lunch this time around, and nachos were one of the first things in mind. I was up for nachos – this has to be one of the easiest “Kids in the Kitchen” dishes to date! We were eating within 15-20 minutes of our start time. That’s my idea of a nice, easy lunch!

Brittany liked these – hers were simply topped with taco meat, shredded cheddar, and pickled jalapenos. “Just like I eat at school,” she said. (The school lunches have either improved since I was in school, or her tastes are skewed…I can’t remember a nacho plate, or if there was one, I’m sure it wasn’t appetizing enough to actually eat.) Regardless, these nachos boast real cheddar, lean hormone-free ground beef, and taco seasoning without gluten, preservatives, or sugar. I would consider that a step up from the school lunch.  I topped mine with a mix of cheddar and pepper jack, black beans, tomatoes, and cilantro to add some interest. Nothing fancy, but it was a pretty tasty lunch indeed!

Homemade Taco Seasoning

2 T chile powder (such as ancho or cascabel)

2 T ground cumin

1 T onion powder

1 T garlic powder

1 T paprika

1 T fine sea salt

Mix together, store in an airtight container in a cool place. Use 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning to season 1 pound of ground beef.

To season ground beef: Brown 1 pound ground beef in a skillet at medium-high heat, crumbling with a spatula or wooden spoon. Halfway through the browning process, season with 2 tablespoons taco seasoning and mix throughout. Continue to brown until no longer pink. Drain if necessary.

One last thing:

Since the earthquake in Haiti, Lauren at Celiac Teen has been working hard to gather recipes from contributing food bloggers all over the world in an effort to help. She has diligently put these recipes together in an e-book, available for purchase on her blog. All donations received for the e-book will be sent to the Canadian Red Cross (Lauren is Canadian) for purposes of helping victims of the Haiti earthquake. The e-book has many wonderful recipes, and many of them are gluten-free or easily gluten-free adaptable. Read more about how to obtain this e-book and contribute here.

Kids in the Kitchen: Orange Chicken

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Kids in the Kitchen post. The last time our kids were over, I was consumed with the making of stew, so all we could manage that night for dinner was frozen pizza. (Yes, frozen pizza does grace the Tasty Eats At Home kitchen from time to time…) This weekend, Kids in the Kitchen resumed with Brittany’s dish. She chose China – and wanted to make orange chicken with steamed rice. Orange chicken is actually one of my favorite take-out Chinese dishes, but according to Bee at Rasa Malaysia, it’s an actual, authentic Chinese dish of Hunan origin. I have made Bee’s recipe for orange chicken before, so I knew just how delicious this recipe was. However, this time around, I needed to convert the recipe to gluten-free.

I haven’t done a lot of breading and frying since I’ve gone gluten-free, so I haven’t had a ton of experience in substituting for the flour. I love fried food, in moderation, but honestly, it’s just not the healthiest choice for dinner. I chose to use a mixture of sorghum flour (one of my “go-to” gluten-free flours in baking lately) and masa harina. The crust on the chicken was beautifully crisp, yet delicate. Definitely considering using this batter recipe for other fried foods in the future! Now I’m dreaming of onion rings, fried shrimp…all of these wonderful things I shouldn’t be eating!

Anyway, back to the orange chicken. This is a delicious recipe. It’s not sticky and gooey like Chinese take-out restaurants. It’s flavorful, lightly spicy, and not loaded with sodium – my other complaint with take-out. Brittany definitely enjoyed it (and enjoyed making it!) We’ll definitely be making this again.

 

 

Brittany grating ginger for the orange sauce

Gluten-Free Orange Chicken, adapted from Rasa Malaysia

1/2 lb chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes

5 dried red chiles, soaked in warm water

2 t cooking oil

Oil for deep-frying

For the orange sauce:

1/4 c orange juice

3 T chicken broth

1 T gluten-free soy sauce

2 t Chinese rice wine or dry sherry

1/2 t sesame oil

1 t rice vinegar

5 t sugar

1/8 t ground white pepper

1 t orange zest

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, grated or minced

1 t corn starch

For the batter:

1/2 c water

1 oz sorghum flour

1 oz masa harina

1 oz corn starch

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 egg

1 t cooking oil

pinch of salt

Mix all orange sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Mix frying batter, and dip the chicken pieces into the batter. Heat up a pot/wok of cooking oil to about 350 degrees, enough to deep-fry the chicken. (I used my cast iron dutch oven and filled it about halfway with oil, although you could probably get by with less.) Drop the chicken pieces into the oil and deep fry until golden brown and crispy. Transfer them to a plate lined with paper towels.

In a wok, add 2 t cooking oil and turn on to medium heat. Drain the chiles, and add to the oil. Toss around until you can smell the spicy aroma, about a minute or two. Add the sauce mixture and bring to a bubble, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce starts to thicken, add the chicken, and stir around until warmed through and coated with sauce. Serve with steamed rice and a steamed vegetable, such as broccoli.

Serves 4.