Kick the Can Homemade Ice cream - Allergy options

This is all that was left of our ice cream experiment.

We made Kick the Can Ice Cream.  It was so simple and so delicious.  And we made it with coconut milk so my String Beane could eat it. 

It started with a trip to Lowe's to get some new paint cans.  I bought one gallon size paint can and one quart size paint can.  I washed the quart size can and dried it.

I mixed up my ice cream ingredients and put it in the quart sized can.  I put the paint can lid on and made sure it was good and sealed.  I then put the quart sized can in the gallon can and alternated ice and rock salt until it was full.  I sealed up the gallon sized can and outside we went.

Here is String Beane kicking the can.  It froze up so much that the whole outside of the can was covered with ice.  String Beane and Mr. Homegrown kicked the can back and forth for about 10 minutes.

It made the most delicious ice cream.  We ate it up quickly.

Butter Beane was very happy about it.  Who couldn't love a face like that?

This was such a fun activity to do with the little Beanes.  Go ahead and make you some. 

You totally burn off the calories by kicking the can around.  It is a dessert and an exercise plan in one! 

Ingredients

1 pint milk (We used the coconut milk found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store.)

1/3 cup sugar

4 tablespoons of your favorite pudding mix (We used Vanilla)

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until the sugar dissolves. 

Pour into the quart sized paint can.

Put quart sized paint can in the gallon sized can. 

Layer with ice and then rock salt.  I probably used about two cups of ice and 1/4 cup of rock salt for each layer.  Seal the gallon sized can.  And now kick it!  Kick the can or roll the can back and forth for at 10 minutes. 

At the end of 10 minutes, open the can up and give the ice cream a stir and serve. 

I was really happy with how quickly and solid this ice cream froze.  I have struggled with getting the ice cream to freeze when I could not use half and half or some sort of cow milk.  This coconut did the trick. 

If you want to change the flavor up, just change the flavor of pudding mix.  I am sure they would all be yummy! 

I am linking up with Metamorphosis Monday and these other Awesome Parties!  Go check them out.



My Favorite Dips

 I love appetizers.

I love dips.

These are two of my favorite dips.

Both can be made without milk.  Bonus.  

String Beane would not touch either of these with a 10 foot pole.  So, sometimes I make them with milk and sometimes without.  Depends on the situation.

Both get a lot of positive comments and people always ask for the recipes.

So here are the recipes:

Spinach Dip

Ingredients

1 package of frozen chopped spinach, thaw and squeezed dry

1 cup sour cream (Toufutti Sour Supreme if making milk free)

1 cup Mayonnaise 

1 package Knorr dried Vegetable Soup Mix

1 can water chestnuts -chopped (optional)

1/2 of a medium onion, chopped or grated, to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate overnight.  

Give this a quick stir before serving.

I love to dip this with the Barely Naked Pita Chips or Triscuits.

 There goes Mr. Homegrown with a Triscuit.  He loves this stuff.

My other very favorite dip is more of a Cheese Ball.  This one can also be made without milk.  Double bonus.

Dried Beef Cheese Ball

Ingredients

2 8oz blocks of cream cheese, softened (Toufutti Cream Cheese if you need it to be milk free)

1 teaspoon Worcestershire

2 Tablespoons Mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon Horseradish

1 teaspoon Dried Minced Onion, soaked in a little water to rehydrate

2 (2oz) packages dried beef, shredded in the food processor

Directions

Mix all ingredients together.  Form into a ball and refrigerate overnight.  You can also serve this immediately and will be more "dip" like in consistency.  

My favorite is to eat this with a Wheat Thin.  

 Here is Mr. Homegrown digging in with a Wheat Thin.

I have made both of these with and without the regular milk ingredients.  I can tell no difference in the Spinach Dip at all.  There is a small taste difference in the Dried Beef cheese ball, but both are really good.

These are great to have at a party where you want all the food allergy friendly so there will not be any chance of people dropping or mixing milk foods on safe foods.  

 

This way you can actually move away from the food table instead of guarding it like some sort of watch dog and offering to make everyone's plate.  Been there.   

I am linking up with Metamorphosis Monday and these other Awesome Parties!  Check 'em out.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Who said that lightning doesn't strike twice? 

Last week I posted a recipe for Lemonade Cake.

It was one of the first recipes that I have made that String Beane actually really liked.  He is double hard to please in the food department.  He has severe food allergies and he doesn't give a hoot about food.  I can accept the food allergies easier than the not caring about food part.  That is the opposite of me and I just don't understand it.  Put the two problems together and you just don't get too many excited days cooking for him.

I struck gold again!  This week I tried a new cookie recipe.  It was a gold mine!  My String Beane L.O.V.E.D them!  LOVE.  He ate two as soon as he got home from school and then he kept going to the kitchen trying to find the rest of them.  I even got to pack some homemade cookies in his lunch box and he ate them!  It was great.  This is a definite cookie keeper.  Here is the recipe.

If you know me at all, you know that I got the original recipe from Pinterest.  I modified it to be milk /dairy free.

Ingredients

1/3 cup peanut butter (creamy is what I used)

1/3 cup nuts, chopped (I used pecans)

3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup {1 stick} butter, room temp (Flieshmann's Unsalted Margarine)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

3/4 cup quick cooking oats

Directions

Combine peanut butter and chopped nuts in the food processor and mix until almost smooth

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside

In a large bowl, beat together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy

Add peanut butter mixture and vanilla, beat to blend well

Beat in egg

Add dry ingredients, mix well

Add oats, mix well

Beat well for another minute

Cover with plastic and place in fridge for at least an hour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray

Drop dough by spoon or use a small cookie dough scoop

Bake for 8 minutes, and then turn the pan

Continue baking for 3-5 minutes more

If you want a soft cookie, slightly under bake them {11 minutes} if you like a crisp cookie, bake them for 13 minutes. For the soft cookies, they will look a little doughy in the middle, but don't worry, they continue baking a bit after you remove them from the oven.

These cookies are truly wonderful!  You should go make you some now.  And if you have a child who is allergic to milk, but has just passed his peanut and tree nut food challenges and is super hard to impress in the kitchen you should make a double batch of these ;-)!

Here is one more look at these lovely things.

I am linking up at Metamorphosis Monday and these other Awesome Parties!