I made this ice cream cake at home but to simply call it homemade suggests that I created it from scratch. Instead, I fashioned together a bunch of store made products that resulted in a delicious and inexpensive birthday/Father's Day cake for my husband. I usually buy him a cake every year for his birthday which falls on or around Father's day. I don't like the cakes from Dairy Queen because they have no cake and the only place I know of that combines real cake and ice cream is Brusters which 1) is too far away, 2) doesn't taste that great, and 3) costs too much. So for about $10, I made my own ice cream cake for my family of five to enjoy. Realistically, it would probably feed ten times that many people.
This WAS my first rodeo, but I think I would do everything the same.
Step 1: Purchase materials necessary to construct the cake.
I used two boxes of yellow cake mix, three tubs of chocolate buttercream icing, one half gallon box of chocolate ice cream, and a 12x2 pan. [Consider yourself warned: do not make a cake of this size if you do not have either a deep freezer or a LOT of room in a regular freezer.]
Step 2: Bake both layers according to the box instructions and allow to cool completely. The 12x2 cake bakes for 35 minutes.
Step 3: At some point after you have allowed both layers to cook, take the ice cream out of the freezer to allow it to soften. Line the pan in which you baked the cakes with clear plastic (aka Saran) wrap.
Step 4: Once it has softened, spread the ice cream into the pan and put it back in the freezer to harden. Be patient, it will be there for awhile. When it is ready, it will look a little something like this:
Not the most appetizing sight in the world, but don't let that deceive you.
Step 5: While your ice cream is reconstituting itself as ice cream in the freezer, go ahead and apply icing to the bottom layer of the cake. (In ice cream cake version 2.0, I would go ahead and ice the sides of the bottom layer at this point.) Don't ice the top layer, lest you want a mess on your hands.
Step 6: This can get a little messy so be careful. Pull the ice cream layer out of the pan. Carefully peel the plastic wrap off the sides, just enough to make sure that no plastic wrap is stuck to the top of the ice cream layer. Flip it upside down so that the top of the ice cream layer is situated evenly on the bottom layer of your cake. Immediately arrange the top layer of cake in top of the ice cream layer. Since the ice cream layer has probably melted a little, put the cake back in the freezer.
Step 7: Cover the entire cake in icinv. I iced my cake while it sat in the freezer and did it a little at a time.
Step 8: Slice it up and enjoy your handiwork.
I caught a huge pack of chicken breasts on sale. I normally pan fry them whole in panko and they turn out delicious but I wanted to make it more kid friendly (since I have three kids). The result: homemade chicken tenders that would make you want to slap your mama. My kids loved them. They were relatively easy to make but I had enough to feed a small army so it was somewhat time consuming. In the picture are *most* of the ingredients I used.
*Note: I rarely use exact measurements or times. I use my best judgment. I apologize in advance.*
In sum, you will need:
- Chicken breasts or tenders
- Rice Krispies
- Eggs
- Milk
- Spices (I used salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, paprika, and parmesan cheese)
- Extra virgin olive oil
I forgot a couple ingredients when I took the picture. I also put my entire spice rack because I hadn't settled on my spices yet. I had a whole box of Rice Krispies that I used in lieu of panko, since it would have taken much more than what I had in my cabinet. Besides, I wasn't going to use the cereal anytime soon because I don't think it is fit for consumption unless you mix it with a bag of melted marshmallows. [Incidentally, I once wrote a paper on the health food movement of the 20th century. No discussion of that topic is complete without mentioning John Harvey Kellogg who would probably be rolling over in his grave if he knew I was using a product with his name on it to coat meat.]
The first step is to pound the chicken with a meat tenderizer then cut them into strips or nuggets.
Next, set these aside and prepare the mixture for coating the chicken. I cracked two eggs into a bowl and then poured a little milk in there. Whisk that up and it's ready to go. Then pour some Rice Krispies into a bag and crush them up, if you so choose, and put them in a glass pan (or other similar receptacle). Add whatever seasonings your little heart desires. The spices I used are listed in the ingredients. Again, I didn't measure.
Coat the chicken in the milk/egg concoction then press into the cereal until covered. Pan fry in your already-heated-to-medium pan of olive oil (I use just enough to cover the bottom). Flip the tenders when they reach a beautiful golden brown color and feel crispy.
When they finish cooking, place the tenders on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. The Rice Krispies make these incredibly crispy (as well they should). If you have a 19 month old, make extra.
I recently attended a bridal shower for a friend of mine who happens to be the person that introduced me and my husband. The hostess had a cake that was so simple and delicious that I had to recreate it. I decided that this little gem would be perfect on those days when I needed to make a quick dessert for a party/shower/gathering that would be sure to impress.
I really don't know what to call it but visually it resembles a hamburger of sorts. Here's how:
Step 1: Purchase ingredients.
The ingredient list is quite simple.
1. Storemade pound cake. I used Paula Deen's Sour Cream Pound cake but there are other equally delicious varieties. WalMart often has these cakes in the "Oops! We baked to much!" clearance section.
2. Two cartons of fresh strawberries.
3. Cool whip. The small container will suffice. This big tub was WAYYY too much.
Step 2: Dice up the strawberries into bite size pieces.
Step 3: Mix cool whip into strawberries. You now have your "meat."
Step 4: Slice the pound cake in half. You now have your "bun."
Step 5: Spread stawberry/cool whip mixture onto bottom "bun."
Step 6: Put the top "bun" back on and put remainder of strawberry mixture in the center.
Step 7: Slice and enjoy!
