Playing Catch Up!

It's been a while since my last post..but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy in the kitchen!

I've been busy meal planning, food shopping, cooking and ugh, cleaning.  I love cooking, but just hate cleaning up the mess I make.  Probably it's because, as my husband often reminds me, that whenever I cook I dirty every dish in the house.  Hey, making a mess is half the fun, right?

Speaking of fun, let's talk ice cream.  So last week my daughter and Angela's niece had a play date.  While they were playing, I ran out to go to a doctor's appointment...and while I was gone they whipped me up a blueberry pie.  And this is NO ordinary blueberry pie.  It's the best, most amazing, delicious,you-need-it-in-your-belly-right-now kinda pie.  Now most people put a scoop of ice cream on top of their pie.  And that's a great idea... but I had a better one.  After I ate half the pie (literally)...I was in a pie coma.  And while in that lovely pie coma, I had an idea.. why not put the pie IN the ice cream?  I love my ice cream maker, and don't use it as often as I'd like so it was a no brainer!

I made a basic vanilla ice cream and after it had churned in my ice cream maker, I scooped half of it into a Tupperware, then crumbled 1/4 of the pie on top of the ice cream.  I repeated that process with the remaining ice cream and pie.  Then I took a spatula and smoothed the top of the ice cream down and made sure all pie pieces were covered by the ice cream.  Let it set up and freeze...and voila! Delicious, seasonal, homemade ice cream! Can't beat it!

Angela's blueberry pie

Crust

- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

- 3/4 tsp salt

- 2/3 cup shortening

- 8 to 10 Tbs of cold water

In medium bowl stir together the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening until pieces are pea size. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of water over part of the flour mixture. toss with a fork, Push moistened pastry to the side of the bowl. Repeating moistening flour mixture, using 1 Tbs of water at a time, until flour mixture is moistened. On a lightly floured surface, roll out and line your baking plate. There will be extra along the side, just cut along the side to make it even. I like a thicker crust, so if you like it thinner, cut this in half.

Filling

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1 tsp ground cinnamon

- 5-6 cups of fresh blueberries ( I use 3 containers or 6 small)

- 1 Tbs of lemon juice

Topping

- 1/2 cup all purpose flour

- 1/c cup packed brown sugar

- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 425. In large bowl, mix together the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Stir in the blueberries. Pour the mixture into a pastry lined baking plate. sprinkle with lemon juice. Sprinkle your topping all over the top evenly. Cut butter into small pieces and place all over the blueberries. Bake for 34-45 min. Let sit for about 2-3 hours before eating to allow it to set.

Enjoy

I used my cuisinart ice cream maker and slightly adapted their vanilla ice cream recipe:

Vanilla Ice Cream
1 & 1/2  cups Vanilla Almond Milk
1 & 1/8 cups granulated sugar
3 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. Transfer half of the ice cream into a Tupperware  then crumble 1/4 of a pie on top.  Repeat process with remaining pie & ice cream.  Gently press a layer of plastic wrap on the ice cream, then cover with lid and freeze (about 8 hours).  ENJOY!

***Notes: Next time I make this, I think I will smush the blueberries in the pie before adding the pie pieces to the ice cream...the berries have such a high water content and become mini ice cubes in the ice cream.**

What's your favorite flavor ice cream in the summer?

Stay full!