Banana Pudding Ice Cream

How about a real Southern treat?

You can't get much more southern than "banana pudding".  It was Easter and I wanted something special.  So I made Banana Pudding Ice Cream!  Ice cream is my favorite, and I love banana pudding so I mixed the two and came up with a real winner!


This is a simple custard ice cream with all the basics ingredients of banana pudding.  You can't go wrong with vanilla custard, bananas, and vanilla wafers.  Heaven!  


I must say this turned out so good that we ate it all in a couple of days...all gone...and I can't wait to make another batch...MGG suggested that I put a little rum in it, so I'm thinking Banana's Foster Ice Cream is next on the list!


So break out your ice cream maker and whip some up right away.  It's the southern thing to do!


Creamy vanilla ice cream, chunks of with bananas and vanilla wafers...YUM!

this one's starting to melt...but see the chunks of banana?

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

makes 1 quart

2 medium-size ripe bananas, sliced

1/2 cup Splenda

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

1 cup half-and-half

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup coarsely crushed vanilla wafers

Whisk together Splenda, cornstarch, and salt in a large saucepan. Whisk in milk and half and half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 10 minutes until mixture thickens slightly. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl whisk egg yolk.  Whisk in about 1 cup hot cream mixture into yolk. Add the yolk mixture to the cream mixture, whisking constantly. Add vanilla.

Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl.  Discard any solids. Place plastic wrap directly on cream mixture chill 1 hour.

Using and electric ice-cream maker, freeze according to manufacturer's instructions; stir in bananas and crushed vanilla wafers halfway through freezing. Ice cream may be served right away, as a soft serve consistency.  Or place in a freezer safe container and allow to set up 4 hours.  Allow ice cream to come to room temperature 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Teriyaki London Broil

How about a product review?

I haven't done one in quite a while and I thought I should put some of the product's I've bought to good use.  So this is a product review for Organicville's Island Teriyaki sauce.  

I had just picked up a London broil on sale and couldn't decide how to prepare it.  I usually associate teriyaki with chicken, but then I remembered I used to get a teriyaki steak at one of my favorite restaurants, The Charthouse in Malibu.  Boy, flashback to eating dinner there on my birthday with my parents when I was younger.  The teriyaki steak was fabulous.  So that's what I would make.

I had bought Organicville's Island Teriyaki sauce because it was sweetened with agave nectar and very, very, low in carbs.  So many Asian sauces are loaded with sugar and this one uses a more natural sweetener.  It's also vegan, and gluten free.

I used the sauce to marinate my London broil for about 1 hour and then I grilled it in my grill pan, on the stove.  You could also broil it, or grill it on an outdoor grill.  Several methods would work here.  Let me tell you...this marinade is outstanding!  It's not overly sweet, with the flavors of pineapple, ginger, and garlic shining through.

See how luscious this steak turned out?

Another benefit is that with such a large steak, you get leftovers!  Utilize them in a wonderful steak salad the next day, using an Asian dressing.  Perfect!  They would be equally wonderful in a steak sandwich, or an Asian steak wrap!

If you happen to come across this product you should definitely buy it, or you can purchase it online as well.

Teriyaki London Broil

serves 6

2 1/2 - 3 lb London broil
1  bottle Organicville's Island Teriyaki sauce

Marinate the steak in a plastic bag using 1/2 of the bottle of sauce for 1-2 hours, turning occasionally.  Cook on a heated grill pan over medium heat for 12 minutes, turning once.  Remove from pan and allow to rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes, tented with aluminum foil.

Slice steak against the grain on an angle.  Serve with your choice of side dishes.  

Rigatoni with Chunky Vegetable Sauce

Loving pasta as I do, I don't quite eat it as often as I would like.  Just so full of carbs, and I've been cutting carbs.


Everyone once in a while I get a hankering for some pasta.  Gotta have some pasta my tummy says.  So I was reading some old recipes that I had cut out and came across this one in an old Everyday Food issue.  The fact that it advertised a "chunky vegetable sauce" caught my eye.  I mean, what better way to sneak some veggies in to your diet...or your kids...than to include them in the sauce with a pasta dish?  I keep telling myself that if I'm gonna eat carbs, at least I can eat more veggies too to counter act them.  I Keep telling myself that...


So with the extra fiber and nutrients in mind I set out to make this dish.  It had mushrooms, which I love, and zucchini.  YUM!.  I understand that a lot of you are adverse to mushrooms...so just leave them out and/or substitute them with some other veggie, like summer squash, broccoli, or bell peppers.  They all work, and it's all good!


We loved this dish.  It was easy to make, with little prep time.  The flavors were nice and fresh and the chunky vegetable sauce was fantastic!


Do try this...you'll like it too.


Here are some step by step pics to help you along.

The end result?

Take a gander at this!

Rigatoni with Chunky Vegetable Sauce

serve 6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 medium zucchini, diced medium
1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can 28 ounces tomato puree
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, coarsely chopped
1 pound rigatoni

In a medium pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and mushrooms and cook until vegetables soften slightly, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add tomato puree, season with salt and pepper, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook until zucchini is crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in oregano.

Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and add to sauce, tossing to combine and adding enough pasta water to create a sauce that coats pasta. Serve immediately.

adapted slightly from: Everyday Food, March 2011