Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

August 16, 2015August 16, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 1 Comment

Here in LA we are experiencing some major summer heat. The past couple of days have been brutal. So brutal that we haven’t even been in the kitchen because it’s just too hot (this is what it’s like living with no Air Conditioning).

So instead of cooking over a hot stove, cool down with this tangy and tart summer treat. Key Lime Pie Ice Cream is perfect for those who love ice cream but aren’t fans of the overly sweet stuff.

Now, you may be thrown off by seeing vodka in the recipe, but don’t be! Vodka can’t freeze, so adding it to your base will help make it smooth and creamy.

Enjoy and stay cool!

Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 (14 oz) Can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 Cup Key Lime Juice
1 Cup Half and Half
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tablespoon Key Lime Zest (Heaping)
6 Graham Crackers (Broken into pieces)
1 Shot Vodka (to keep it smooth)

Step 1:

In a medium bowl, mix together the milk, half and half, vodka, and cream together.

Step 2:

Add the key lime juice and zest and stir until thick, smooth and creamy. Pour into a jar and allow to chill for at least 30 minutes.

Step 3:

Next, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and churn to your manufactures settings. In the last five minutes of churning add the graham cracker pieces and let mix in. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for at least three hours to firm up.

Holy Guacamole!

August 13, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ 2 Comments

In preparation of the Fall heatwave in Los Angeles, we thought guacamole would be the perfect recipe to post today! Not only do we LOVE our avocados in this house/city/state, but we also didn’t want to make something that involved heat since it’s currently 97°F outside. The only heat we want is from the cayenne and chipotle peppers!

Holy Guacamole!

Ingredients

4 Large Has Avocados (Reserve one pit)
1 Jalapeño (Deseed and diced)
1/2 White Onion (Finely diced)
2 Roma Tomatos (Deseeded and diced)
1 Large Clove Garlic (Diced)
Garlic Salt
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Chipotle Pepper
Green Onions (Chopped)

Step 1:

In a large a bowl, using an electric mixer, blend the avocados until no longer large and chunky.

Step 2:

Next, add the diced jalapeños, onion, tomatoes, and garlic and stir to combine.

Step 3:

Add your garlic salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne and chipotle and mix well. Adjust seasonings to your liking.

Step 4:

To serve, place your reserved avocado pit in a bowl and cover with the guacamole. Sprinkle with chopped green onions and serve.

The pit will help the guacamole from oxidizing, but if you really want to prevent oxidation, sprinkle your guacamole with either fresh lemon or lime juice.

Healthy Strawberry and Banana Ice Cream

July 19, 2015July 19, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

It’s National Ice Cream Day! And here at Two Young Ladies, we LOVE ice cream. We love making it, and we of course, love eating it. We had so many different ice cream recipes to post, but we thought we would mix it up, and post a healthy version of a classic.

What? Healthy ice cream? No your eyes did not deceive you, and the best part is, you don’t need an ice cream maker! Yes, this ice cream churn free. All you need is a food processor.

If you can’t have heavy cream, you can use coconut milk or your favorite non dairy substitute.

Healthy Strawberry and Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 Cup Strawberries (Sliced)
2 Banans (Sliced)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Tablespoon Turbinado Sugar
4 Tablespoons Heavy Cream

Step 1:

THE NIGHT BEFORE you want to make this, slice your strawberries and bananas and put them in the freezer to freeze.

Step 2:

When you’re ready to make your ice cream, put the bananas and strawberries in a food processor. Pulse until the bananas and strawberries have broken up.

Step 3:

Next, add the zest, extract, and sugar. Pulse until combined.

Step 4:

With the food processor running, slowly add the heavy cream. Pulse until smooth. Transfer to a freezer safe container and enjoy!

Red, White, and Blue Mess

July 4, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

In a pinch and need a quick, simple dessert for your 4th of July BBQ? Try our take on a tradition Eton Mess and make it all ‘Murican!

Fresh cream and fruit with the crunch of the meringues make this dish a real winner. No need to suffer in a hot kitchen, this dessert is no bake and made for last minute preparation.

Red, White, and Blue Mess

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract (or zest)
2 cups meringues (crushed)**
1 cup strawberries (sliced)
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raspberries

**No need to make your own meringues, just buy them from Trader Joe’s (or whatever store you have near you!)

Step 1:

In a medium bowl, begin to whip your heavy cream. As it starts to thicken add, the sugar and both extracts. If you’re using a stabilizer, add that before you add the sugars and extract.

* If you’re not going to serve right away, place the cream in the fridge until you’re ready to use.

Step 2:

Right before you’re ready to serve, mix in the berries and crushed meringues. Stir until combined and enjoy.

Banana Pudding Ice Cream

July 3, 2015July 5, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Banana pudding is considered a Southern staple, but apparently it was created in New York and adopted by the south! Bananas started becoming a star at fruit stands only after the Civil War, when goods were capable of being transported from the Caribbean and Central America much faster.

The first printed recipe of Banana Pudding was actually in the New England magazine, Good Housekeeping, and was compared to an English trifle. Like trifles, they originally used sponge cake, but in 1920 a more affordable option was used: Vanilla wafers, or as most know them as Nilla wafers.

So today we give you our Southern (California) Banana Pudding ICE CREAM! Yeah, you heard right, we made a dish that was already devilishly delicious into something truly diabolical! You feel compelled to have more and more, especially after some salty, savory, succulent BBQ food. It’s the perfect companion to anybody’s 4th of July BBQ extravaganza, so get started people!

Ingredients

1 1/2 Cups Half and Half
1/2 Brown Sugar (Packed)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs (Beaten)
1 Cup Heavy Cream
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Bean Paste**
3 Ripe Bananas (Mashed)
2 Cups Crushed Vanilla Wafers

**If you don’t have Vanilla Bean Paste, extract can be used in its place.

Step 1:

In a saucepan, combine half and half, sugars, salt and vanilla; turn on the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved (about five minutes).

Step 2:

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs using an electric mixer until they are a pale yellow. We like to beat them until they achieve the “ribbon stage”.

Step 3:

When the sugar has dissolved, very slowly pour half of the cream and sugar mixture into the eggs; whisking constantly so the eggs don’t curdle. Transfer the egg mixture back to the sauce pan with remaining cream mixture.

Step 4:

At this point, mix in the heavy cream and the vanilla paste. Cook the mixture of a medium-low heat until the mixture thickens and is able to coat the back of a wooden spoon; about five to ten minutes.

Step 5:

If needed, pour the mixture through a fine wire sieve. Cool the mixture to room temperature.

Step 6:

While your base mixture is cooling, take your very ripe bananas (the darker the better) and mash them well. Set aside.

Step 7:

When the base mixture is cool, stir in the banana mixture and pour into your ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufactures setting.

While the ice cream is freezing, gently crush your vanilla wafers. During the last five to minutes of the freezing process, mix in most of the wafer cookies. When the mixture is finished, transfer to a freezer safe container. Top with leftover crushed cookies. Freeze until firm and serve.

Easy BBQ Ribs

March 31, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

Everybody loves ribs. But not everybody has a state of the art outdoor kitchen BBQ like this:

Though, we really wish we had one. I mean, look at that. So beautiful. Anyway…so we love BBQ Ribs, especially baby back ribs. And every time we looked for a recipe it required a BBQ or a grill and we can be lazy so we looked for oven recipes.

So we found this awesome recipe and used a recipe on the back of a jar of BBQ sauce we found.

We kid you not, these are super easy to make, and the meat is literally falls off the bone. Some may say, these aren’t the prettiest ribs, but who cares if they taste great? And who needs some fancy shmancy BBQ when you have an oven at your finger tips.

Easy BBQ Ribs

What You Need

Baking Dish
Aluminum Foil

Ingredients

16 oz good quality BBQ sauce
10 oz liquid (orange juice, Dr. Pepper)
Juice of one lemon or lime
1/4 cup of dry rub season
5lbs baby ribs

Step 1:

The first thing you want to do, is try and remove the silver skin. If you can’t remove it, don’t fear, your ribs will still be delicious. Cut the ribs into separate pieces. You can cook them whole, but we prefer them cut before they’re cooked.

Step 2:

Slice the lemon or lime and pour the juice all over the ribs. Liberally sprinkle the ribs with the dry rub until they are covered. Massage the ribs so the dry rub really gets in there.

Pace the ribs meat side up to get the rub EVERYWHERE.

Step 3:

Preheat the oven to 250°. While the oven is heating mix your liquid and the BBQ sauce in a small bowl.

Today, we used Pineapple juice. Sweet and acidic to help tenderize.

Step 4:

Place the ribs in a baking dish and pour the sauce over the ribs. Make sure the ribs are meat side down and cover the baking dish with aluminum foil.

Step 5:

Put the ribs in the over for 2.5 to 3 hours. After the initial cook time is done, you have three options, you can finish them off on a grill or continue cooking for 20 to 30 minutes in the oven at 350°. Or you can turn the broiler to high and cook under there for about 5 minutes. Basting and watching them carefully, you don’t want them to durn. And remember if finishing off in the oven, remember to drain the liquid and place the ribs meat side up!

Sorry, for the blurry photos here. We got so excited by the ribs, that we couldn’t contain ourselves.

If you’re not using the ribs right away, after you season them put them in a vacuum sealed bag and really let the flavors soak in.

Classic Rosemary Chicken Salad

March 26, 2015May 22, 2015 ~ Marlee And Christie ~ Leave a comment

There’s nothing worse than a boring and flavorless chicken salad, but have no fear, you won’t find that here! This recipe is the perfect balance of chicken to mayonnaise, not to creamy but not to dry either. It’s the perfect balance.

Did you know that the first noteable chicken salad consisted of leftover chicken, mayo, tarragon and grapes? Yeah, we didn’t either, but it sounds good, except the tarragon, we’re rosemary girls ourselves.

Anyways, this first chicken salad was made by the owner of a meat market, Liam Gray in 1863. He was so successful that he turned his meat market into a deli.

What You Need

Sheet Pan
Mixing Bowl
Wooden Spoon

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup celery (chopped finely)
1 whole shallot (chopped finely)
1 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons rosemary (chopped)
1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
Kosher Salt
Pepper

Step 1:

Preheat oven to 350°. Place chicken on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Rub all over the chicken, then sprinkle generously with kosher salt and pepper. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from oven. When chicken is cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces and set aside. You can put the chicken into the freezer for five minutes, or in the fridge until ready to use.

Step 2:

In a mixing bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, mustard, and lemon juice together. Season with pepper.

Step 3:

Add the chicken to the dressing, mix in the shallots, parsley, rosemary, and celery. Mix until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper to your liking.