Tuesday, July 28, 2009

TWD--Vanilla Ice Cream and THE MALL

Our perfectly chosen recipe for today from Dorie Greenspan's Baking From My Home to Yours was picked by Lynne at Cafe Lynny Lu.  She chose Dorie's Vanilla Ice Cream.  I really don't have a whole lot to say about it, because it was simple and perfect as vanilla ice cream goes.  I followed the recipe exactly (shocker!) and used vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean. 

I had some cherries and wanted to try making a "healthier" cherry pie.  I did so, then topped  a piece with some of the vanilla ice cream.  The pie wasn't very good, but the ice cream was GREAT!

DSCF3474

Still, it felt like something was missing.

DSCF3479

There, that's better.  I couldn't resist when I saw that it looked like a smiley face on the ice cream.

DSCF3484  

But I couldn't just make plain ol' vanilla ice cream (although, it is one of my favorite flavors!)  So I added some of these---to most of it.

DSCF3495 

Now we're talkin'.

DSCF3489

I wanted to make this a couple more times before this post, with different yummy things added in, but we made a quick, last-minute trip out of town this past weekend, so I wasn't able to.  It's okay--I REALLY need to not eat so much of this stuff (and all I've done is clean out the ice cream maker.  I actually haven't eaten any more of it, and the Oreo kind is still in the freezer.  What?  Oh, it calls my name, but isn't nice to my gut. ;)  The boys have eaten a little of it, but since we went out of town we haven't had the chance to finish it off.  I'm happy to have this great vanilla ice cream recipe now in my arsenal.  Check out the recipe on Lynne's blog (link above).  Go see what the other TWDers have done with this.  I KNOW there's going to be some amazing, yummy versions of this out there!  Thanks for stopping by.

_________________________________________________________________________________

We took a weekend trip to Minneapolis.  It was a 7-8-9 hour car drive.  We left Friday and drove all day.  We grabbed a quick dinner and by the time we got settled in our hotel it was nearing 11 p.m.  before everyone was in bed.  Saturday we went and checked out the farmer's market (no one was really thrilled except me).  But the boys did find some cool welded metal sculptures of a guy playing the drums and one playing the guitar that they ended up getting.  Taylor was saving his pick for Legoland at the Mall of America.  After the farmer's market, we made our way to the Mall.  The boys had a blast.  How cool is it that there is an amusement park INSIDE the mall!  I had not been on a roller coaster for YEARS.  Taylor was not thrilled with the idea of going on any of the rides, so Kevin and I took turns with Scott and Parker, then Taylor and Sam.  There was plenty for everyone to do.  S & P had a BLAST going on rides.  I thought it was pretty fun, too.  But even more than that was seeing them so happy and excited and loving it.  A couple of the rides were actually pretty "scary", but still fun.  We had gotten the two of them unlimited passes to ride all day as many times as they wanted and just bought a certain amount for Kevin and I.  It worked out great.  Here's a few photos from the day.

IMG_0831

Legos!

IMG_0834

IMG_0835

The Water Log Ride

IMG_0843

IMG_0844

Flyin'

IMG_0846

IMG_0847

Parker wanted to ride the carousel.  Goofus.

IMG_0850

IMG_0854

Parker's horse was really buckin'.  ;)

IMG_0855

IMG_0857

Who knew one of this little 50 cent rides would be so fun?!

Big Truck' Ridin'

IMG_0861

Daddy wanted to ride, too.

IMG_0865

Okay, maybe it was so Sam could go.

IMG_0871

Ghost Blasters

IMG_0873

IMG_0876

Waiting in line for my turn with the boys on the log.  I just couldn't wait to get wet. (read-sarcasm.)  It was fun!  I loved screaming like I was scared to death and making the boys think I was more scared than I really was.  Builds the excitement for them, you know.  The big roller coasters were awesome, but it's pretty hard to get pictures while zooming around on them.

After a fun day, we found a really yummy pizza place for dinner (not at the mall), called Broadway Pizza.  Then everyone tuckered out back at the hotel after driving each other nuts for a bit in the hotel room.

IMG_0882

That evening out of nowhere, Taylor discovered that he had his first loose tooth.  It was REALLY loose, having not been loose at all until then.  The boys have all been a little slow for losing teeth so far.  Scott was in 2nd grade before losing his front teeth.  Parker still has his (about to go in to 2nd grade) and has only lost his two bottom teeth with a third one loose.  It's hereditary.  I didn't loose my two top front teeth until 3rd grade.  You can see in my 4th grade picture my new teeth still coming in.  Taylor worked on that tooth all night.

IMG_0881

And in the car on the drive home Sunday.

IMG_0883

Sam thought he needed a paper towel to work on his tooth, too.

IMG_0884

Parker was trying like crazy to get his tooth out before Taylor.  Taylor's was a lot more loose though.  And just like that, Taylor pulled out the tooth.  Kind of surprised himself.  So now one of the boys has a first tooth out before starting kindergarten (he's almost 6).  And by this time, he wouldn't let me take a picture with the missing tooth.  That's my Taylor!

IMG_0885

Hiding behind Froggy.

IMG_0886

Not gonna smile.

IMG_0887

Gotcha, T.  We can see it!  He's pretty proud of this accomplishment--even moreso that he got his out before Parker could get his out.  It was a great, quick trip and a lot of car time.  I'm glad we got to go.  But I'm thinking next time we want to take the boys to an amusement park, we should just go to the one an hour away in Kansas City! ; )  (Minnesota was really pretty with gorgeous weather!)  And to think, this next weekend I'm going to take the boys to Indiana (about 8-9 hours) without Kevin.  I'll write you later about "what was I thinking?" 

38 comments:

Jersey Girl Cooks said...

Mmmnnn home made ice cream! I have been eating too much ice cream lately. Great pictures!

Hindy said...

Is there anything more soothing than a photo of a sleeping child? Maybe Oreo ice cream. Great idea! This recipe just begged for variations.

Megan said...

In the kids-missing-teeth department: Alexander got his first teeth at 2 1/2 months. And had all permanent teeth by the age of nine. The dentists look at me strange - but I'm glad to be finished with the tooth fairy. It was costing me a fortune!

Oreos and ice cream - why didn't I think of that??

I've always wanted to see the Mall of America - it looks like you had a blast!

Welcome to our crazy blessed life said...

awwww. sweet boys!! :) The ice cream looks great! I just got an ice cream maker so I need to make this. That is a great idea with the oreos. Cute smiley face too!

chocolatechic said...

I almost made a brownie batter and swirled it in, but Ididn't.

It was just so good.

Fallon said...

My birthday is coming up and I've been hinting for an ice cream maker for a longgg time. I want to make this vanilla ice cream recipe, looks so creamy!

What a mall, I'm jealous! Glad everyone had a great time.

noble pig said...

Fun trip! My kids are slow at losing teeth too, especially my oldest! Love that log ride!

Anonymous said...

Your smiley scoop of ice cream is so cute! Both versions look great. And the Mall of America is so fun!

Thanks for the suggestion to reduce the amount of egg yolks. I think you're right - if it was a little less eggy, I'd probably like it better.

Rachelle S said...

Mmm, I love your cookies and cream version! Looks great!

Deb said...

I'm glad you were able to make the trip. It looks like fun. Good luck during the drive to Indiana. You could slip them some benadryl that would make your trip a little easier.

Unknown said...

Love the smiley ice-cream!! And the oreo variation must have tasted amazing!!

Looks like you had a lot of fun at the mall! :D

Anonymous said...

Your ice cream looks fantastic, both variations. I've never been to the Mall of America. It looks fun. Great pictures

Clumbsy Cookie said...

What were you thinking? Good luck with the new trip! Fun weekend pictures! Did the teeth fairy payed a visit to the little one? I lost my first teeth when I was 4! But because I fell on my face, but still, ahahah...
Yummy ice cream, the recipe is very close to the basic one I use all the time at home, so I know it's good (love the smiley face and oreo concoction!!!)

Jaime said...

the oreos look like a great addition!! love the smiley face :)

Sihan said...

that looks like a pretty awesome trip! and i dare say, that icecream with the churned oreos in them. YUM!

Anonymous said...

The ice cream looks good! We've tried numerous recipes since my husband got his ice cream maker, but we haven't found the 'just right' combination yet.
Lego Land at the MOA brings back a lot of memories!! It sounds like it was a good trip.

Maria said...

The ice cream looks delish! Fun photos too!

TeaLady said...

OREOs thats what I missed in this ice Cream. Great addition.

Great fun on your trip.

Pamela said...

Great post! That Oreo ice cream sounds divine! I was going that way, too...before I did the cinnamon. Next time!

♥peachkins♥ said...

One of my favorite flavors of all time!!! Cookies and cream!

Your boys looks like they had a a fun time!

Emily said...

You're going crazy with that ice cream maker! I don't blame you at all. The vanilla ice cream looks great.

AmyRuth said...

Great shots of the fam! Looks so fun. My youngest son loves Cookies n Cream too. Except we were out of Oreos. WHAT?!?! Can it be? Well, he'll get over it. right? Great job on the ice cream. Glad you liked it.
AmyRuth

Anonymous said...

You have the cutest family!
I LOVE your ice cream with the Oreos mixed in! I don't think it would last long in my freezer! Looks sooo good!! If I can ever get this ice cream making done right, I'd love to try it again with a mix-in!

Judy said...

You didn't say what you did to the cherry pie to make it healthful. Sorry it didn't turn out. I think I'm lucky I'm lactose intolerant because otherwise I'd be making ice cream all the time -- and eating it. I love cookies and cream ice cream.

Lillian said...

Oreos! Another great idea!

Erin said...

I love the addition of Oreos! It's hard to just leave it at plain vanilla!

Spike said...

cookies and cream or with cherry pie- both look great

Unknown said...

The ice cream looks fantastic, both plain and with the Oreos! It looks like you guys had so much fun on your road trip! I've always wanted to go to that mall, but it's not really a feasible car trip for me living in RI. Someday :)

Amanda said...

Katrina, what great pictures of your kids! That mall is ginormous, though I have yet to see it myself (yet). Love the add ins for the ice cream, and sorry the pie didn't quite work out :-p

luke & sammy said...

We went to the Mall of America the week before, we just missed you! Glad your boys had fun. We are sure ready to get back to Kansas!

Jacque said...

Oooh, cool, I hadn't seen those Oreo's... wonder if we have them here. I'll bet that Oreo ice cream was fab!

I enjoyed your vacation pics... and I have to say I don't know how you handle 4 BOYS, I have 2 that I can't keep up with, LOL. You've got a handsome bunch, that's for sure.

Jacque said...

Oh, P.S. you had asked how my ice cream maker didn't have ice cream on the sides... there's a sort of sweeper blade (I don't know what you would call it, exactly) on the rotating part that cleans the sides as it goes around.

Engineer Baker said...

Love the ice cream face :) And your kids are just too cute!

Unknown said...

I would love for you to join me on Crock Pot Wednesday at diningwithdebbie.blogspot.com. Come check out what it being given away for this inaugural event. Your recipes look delicious!

Soy*Baby said...

I want your pretzel balls. Those looks so wonderful and in ice cream. Yummy. Love all the pictures. Looks like everyone had a great time.

Melissa said...

Oh my, I've never seen those kind of Oreo cookies before. I must go get some!!

Lynne Daley said...

Great looking Oreo ice cream. Glad you had a good trip with your with your family. Thanks for making the ice cream with me. I loved it!

yanmaneee said...

timberlands
timberland outlet
louboutin shoes
michael kors handbags
golden goose mid star
cheap jordans
nike huarache
off-white
adidas yeezy boost
nike cortez women