Orange-Banana Protein Shake

Nutritious, delicious, and quick to make.
Perfect for rushed mornings!


Orange-Banana Protein Shake 
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com
(yields 1 to 2 servings)

Ingredients:
8 ounces (1 cup) premium orange juice
1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
1 heaping scoop (approx. 1/3 cup) vanilla whey protein powder
2 cups ice
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar (optional)

Directions:
Place all ingredients (with ice on top) in blender.
Pulse or blend until mixture is thick and ice is blended.
Serve immediately.

My notes & preferences:
1) I like "Simply Orange" brand juice
2) Peel ripe bananas...store in freezer baggies ahead of time for usage in shake
3) I purchase the protein powder from Wal-mart 

Velvety Cheesecake

Creamy, decadent, and elegant! Made with a sour cream topping, but feel free to add an additional topping, such as strawberry, blueberry, lemon, lime, or caramel.



Velvety Cheesecake
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com 

Ingredients-
Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling:
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Topping:
16 ounces minus 1/3 cup (1-2/3 cups sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil, and then pour water into a 9x13 pan placed on the bottom rack of the oven*. This will remain in the oven the entire cooking time.
*Place the 9x13 pan on bottom rack and then pour water into pan, being careful not to splash.

To make crust:
Line the (inside) bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan with aluminum foil. Spray foil with non-stick cooking spray.
Thoroughly combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a medium bowl, and then press mixture into the entire bottom and 1 inch up the sides to form crust.

To make filling:
In a large bowl, beat together the softened cream cheese and sugar on medium-high until smooth and fluffy.
Gently and thoroughly fold in the eggs, vanilla extract, and cream of tartar to the cream cheese mixture with a fork and then with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared crust.
Place in preheated oven on middle rack. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes.
The cheesecake may appear undone, but it is not. Remove cheesecake from oven (leave oven on) and cool for 10 minutes (in the pan).

To make topping:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, vanilla extract, and sugar.
Pour mixture over baked cheesecake. Bake additional 10 minutes. Turn oven off and immediately remove cheesecake from oven. Set on wire rack to cool to room temperature, approximately 2 hours.
Refrigerate cheesecake (while still in pan) for at least 4 hours, and when ready to serve, remove side of springform pan. 
Refrigerate leftovers in springform pan.


RECIPE: Fresh Strawberry Sauce 

Chocolate Cupcakes with Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

Very moist and chocolatey cake topped with creamy frosting.



Chocolate Cupcakes
Paula Deen
(Yield: approximately 30 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled
3 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line muffin pans with paper liners and set aside.

Brew one cup of strong coffee and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Add oil, cooled coffee, and eggs. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.

Mix in the sour cream and vanilla.

Spoon the batter evenly into prepared muffin cups, filling each 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 15 to 19 minutes.

Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes, and then remove cupcakes from the pans and cool completely.


Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, softened & 1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar (not Powdered Sugar)

Directions:
In a small or medium saucepan, add milk and whisk in flour over medium-low heat. Whisk continually until mixture is very thick...almost as thick as brownie batter; It must be thick, or the frosting will not set up properly. 

Remove pan from heat. Set aside to cool completely on counter; I place on cool, wet dishtowel. 
Place plastic wrap directly ON top of mixture while cooling. For the next step, the milk/flour mixture must not be warm AT ALL, but if you cool mixture in refrigerator, then bring back to room temperature before proceeding. Once mixture has cooled, add in vanilla extract.

In large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and granulated sugar on low for 2 minutes, then on medium-high speed for 6 minutes.  Add in the cooled milk/flour mixture and continue beating on medium-high for 8 minutes until resembles whipped cream. Frost cake/cupcakes and store in refrigerator (for firmer texture) or at room temperature (for softer texture).

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

The texture of this frosting is similar to whipped cream...luscious.


Fluffy Vanilla Frosting
www.whispersofthyme.blogspot.com

Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, softened & 1/2 cup shortening
1 cup granulated sugar (not Powdered Sugar)

Directions:
In a small or medium saucepan, add milk and whisk in flour over medium-low heat. Whisk continually until mixture is very thick...almost as thick as brownie batter; It must be thick, or the frosting will not set up properly. 

Remove pan from heat. Set aside to cool completely on counter; I place on cool, wet dishtowel. 

Place plastic wrap directly ON top of mixture while cooling. For the next step, the milk/flour mixture must not be warm AT ALL, but if you cool mixture in refrigerator, then bring back to room temperature before proceeding. Once mixture has cooled, add in vanilla extract.

In large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, shortening, and granulated sugar on low for 2 minutes, then on medium-high speed for 6 minutes.  Add in the cooled milk/flour mixture and continue beating on medium-high for 8 minutes until resembles whipped cream. Frost cake/cupcakes and store in refrigerator (for firmer texture) or at room temperature (for softer texture).

Recipe Review - Almond Milk Ice Cream (Frozen Custard)

The Saucy Kitchen

This recipe is from Jess at The Saucy Kitchen. She adapted Alton Brown's Vanilla Ice Cream recipe. My version is a slight variation of Jess' and this is really Frozen Custard because of the egg content.

These are the ingredients Jess used:   

Eggs, Sugar, Almond Milk, Heavy Cream,  & Vanilla Extract. 

Instead of sugar, I opted to use Domino Light, a blend of pure cane sugar with stevia extract. If using this, cut the amount of sugar called for in the recipe by one-half. *See my note regarding quantities and substitutions at end of post.

Combine almond milk and cream in a saucepan and heat to a simmer, then remove from heat.

 

 

Meanwhile, add egg yolks to a bowl.

Whisk until light in color. I used my mixer with the whisk attachment.Gradually add in sugar (or Domino Light) while whisking. 

Whisk until mixture folds back on itself once whisk is lifted.

Once the eggs and sugar are combined, add in the warm cream/milk mixture very slowly while stirring, tempering the eggs...otherwise you will cook the eggs! Unless of course, you like scrambled eggs in your custard. (This step not pictured)



Return the entire mixture back to the saucepan (may need to use larger pan) and reheat on medium-low until a thermometer registers 170-175 degrees F. This is to ensure that the eggs are cooked and salmonella is destroyed.
Do NOT Boil.

Once mixture reaches 170-175 degrees F, remove from heat and place the pan with the mixture in heatproof bowl (like Pyrex) filled with ice.

Cover the pan and bowl with a sheet of aluminum foil. Place all in refrigerator until chilled...usually an hour or more. Stir mixture thoroughly, then pour mixture into ice cream freezer and proceed based on the manufacturer's instructions.

Once mixture is frozen, remove the custard from ice cream freezer and place custard in a freezer-safe container and store in the freezer.

Optional add-ins/toppings: brownie pieces, cookies, candies, nuts, fruit, and/or sauces.

I opted for a strawberry milkshake! 

 
My variations on The Saucy Kitchen's recipe:

• I used a ratio of 3:1 for the heavy cream to almond milk (3 cups of heavy cream and 1 cup of almond milk).
• I used 1/2 cup of Domino Light in place of the 9 ounces of sugar.

*Note: The next time I make this custard, I will increase Domino Light to 3/4 cup total and decrease the number of egg yolks to 6 total.

Producing custard requires more time and effort than ice cream, but custard has a creamier/richer texture that I enjoy.


Recipe: Almond Milk Ice Cream (Saucy Kitchen)