Craving lemon-y something
Last night, we had some good friends over for dinner. I am always looking for meals that I can prepare ahead, namely because it's easier to prep everything while my son naps so that I can just pop it into the oven or turn the burner on HIGH when the clock reaches 5 o'clock.
I prepared chicken parmesan, a very easy dish to prep ahead (sans the pasta part). I made baguettes, which by the way, were long and flat this time instead of round and fluffy (maybe it was the humidity....yeah, I'll blame it on that). For dessert, I concocted an embarrassingly-easy pie yesterday morning that had no more work involved after I placed it into the freezer at 9am.
You ready for this? All it is is a homemade Nilla Wafer crust, using salted butter, the real stuff, of course (and salted butter adds more complexity to the sweet flavors already in the pie). I softened vanilla ice cream (lowfat, actually) and mixed it with a 6 oz. can of lemonade concentrate. Into the freezer to chill, then cut up and served with a dollop of whipped cream. Easy, oh yes. Delicious? Let's just say that the reason I liked it so much was because it tasted just like Mom's lemon meringue pie in frozen form. Summer treat at its best. A definite repeater.
Here is the recipe, if you're interested. You don't have to do as I did and reveal how fantastically simple it is to whip up.
FROZEN LEMONY ICE CREAM PIE
50 vanilla wafers, crushed fine
1 t. vanilla extract
5 T. melted salted butter
3/4ths of a half-gallon container of vanilla ice cream (light okay), softened
6 oz. can of frozen lemonade concentrate, partially thawed
whipped cream for garnish
Crust wafers with a rolling pin or in food processor until fine crumbs. Combine with vanilla and butter, and press into a 9" glass pie plate (bottom and up sides). Freeze for 10 minutes.
Stir together softened ice cream and lemonade concentrate until well-blended. Spread into frozen pie crust with a spatula or cake knife, smoothing the top. Cover and freeze 3 hours or more, till firm.
Cut into 8-10 slices, and garnish with whipped cream (and a lemon peel curl, if desired).
Serves 8-10.
I prepared chicken parmesan, a very easy dish to prep ahead (sans the pasta part). I made baguettes, which by the way, were long and flat this time instead of round and fluffy (maybe it was the humidity....yeah, I'll blame it on that). For dessert, I concocted an embarrassingly-easy pie yesterday morning that had no more work involved after I placed it into the freezer at 9am.
You ready for this? All it is is a homemade Nilla Wafer crust, using salted butter, the real stuff, of course (and salted butter adds more complexity to the sweet flavors already in the pie). I softened vanilla ice cream (lowfat, actually) and mixed it with a 6 oz. can of lemonade concentrate. Into the freezer to chill, then cut up and served with a dollop of whipped cream. Easy, oh yes. Delicious? Let's just say that the reason I liked it so much was because it tasted just like Mom's lemon meringue pie in frozen form. Summer treat at its best. A definite repeater.
Here is the recipe, if you're interested. You don't have to do as I did and reveal how fantastically simple it is to whip up.
FROZEN LEMONY ICE CREAM PIE
50 vanilla wafers, crushed fine
1 t. vanilla extract
5 T. melted salted butter
3/4ths of a half-gallon container of vanilla ice cream (light okay), softened
6 oz. can of frozen lemonade concentrate, partially thawed
whipped cream for garnish
Crust wafers with a rolling pin or in food processor until fine crumbs. Combine with vanilla and butter, and press into a 9" glass pie plate (bottom and up sides). Freeze for 10 minutes.
Stir together softened ice cream and lemonade concentrate until well-blended. Spread into frozen pie crust with a spatula or cake knife, smoothing the top. Cover and freeze 3 hours or more, till firm.
Cut into 8-10 slices, and garnish with whipped cream (and a lemon peel curl, if desired).
Serves 8-10.
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