Cheesecake Ice Cream with Blueberry Lime Swirl

I went to look up the recipe for this ice cream, and realized that it was hidden in a post featuring a different recipe, one I didn't even like all that much. This ice cream is so fantastic it deserves the spotlight!

I've made a lot of homemade ice cream recipes, and this is by far my favorite. It is super creamy, even after being in the freezer for weeks. But let's be real, it never lasts that long!

Many of the times I make this I don't get true swirls. You need to wait as long as possible before adding the blueberry mixture to the ice cream machine, and then turn it off after just a few spins, otherwise it will incorporate into the ice cream fully and you will get blue ice cream. It does taste exactly the same so don't worry about it too much. If you are set on getting the swirls, you can even layer it in the container and swirl by hand before putting in the freezer. It is pretty sot when it is first made, so I recommend making it at least a few hours before you want to serve it.

Recipe: Blueberry Lime Cheesecake Ice Cream

Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp lime zest
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp corn starch
4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole milk, divided
2 tsp lime zest
3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions:
Combine the blueberries, 3/4 cup sugar, lime juice, and 1 tbsp lime zest in a small pot. Whisk together the water and cornstarch, and add to the pot. Turn the heat onto medium and let simmer until thickened, about 10-12 minutes. Let cool completely.

Beat together the cream cheese and 1 cup sugar until fluffy and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, mix until creamy and set aside.

Bring 3/4 cup of the milk to a boil over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat and add 1/4 cup of the milk to the cream cheese mixture and mix until combined and smooth. Continue with another 1/4 cup at a time of the milk, and then add the entire mixture back to the pan.

Stir over medium-low heat until thickened slightly. Remove from heat, strain mixture, and let cool completely.

(Everything works best if all of your ingredients are really cold, so put in the fridge to cool if possible)

Combine the zest, heavy cream, remaining milk, and cream cheese mixture together. Pour into your ice cream machine and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions.

* I use this ice cream machine and really like it

Cuisinart ICE-30R Pure Indulgence Frozen Yogurt Sorbet & Ice Cream Maker, 2 quart, Brushed Metal/Red
When ice cream is thickened and finished freezing, slowly pour in the blueberry lime syrup and let swirl a few times in the machine before turning off. (Or create layers in a container, then swirl with a knife a few times.) 

Awesome Pancakes (with or without blueberries)

Joey had frisbee practice Saturday morning, and I asked what I could make for him once he got back. He declared that he wanted pancakes. I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to test out our new trick for substituting greek yogurt for buttermilk. I knew I wanted blueberries in my pancakes, but he preferred to have them plain. They turned out so so well, and I will make these again and again. I love the amount of pancake batter this recipe gave us - it was the perfect amount for me to have 2 medium pancakes, and for Joey to have 2 large pancakes. If you want more than that, just double or triple the recipe!


Note: we were completely out of almond milk, otherwise I would have used 1/2 cup milk to mix with the 1/2 cup greek yogurt. If you have milk on hand, feel free to use that. Otherwise, I really liked the flavored creamer cut with water. We had hazelnut creamer, but any flavor would work well (or just plain half and half).

Recipe: Awesomely Fluffy Pancakes
From: Working Out and Eating In Original
Yield: 4-5 pancakes

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1 tbsp flavored creamer, brought up to 1/2 cup with water (or 1/2 cup milk)
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 egg
nonstick cooking spray
blueberries (optional)
pancake syrup or maple syrup for serving

Directions:
Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a liquid measuring cup with a spout, whisk together the greek yogurt, creamer and water (or milk) until smooth. Add in the melted (and cooled) butter, mix to combine. Add in the egg, and mix well so the egg is beaten. Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture, and gently mix until no flour streaks remain.
Spray a nonstick medium pan with nonstick cooking spray, and heat over medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, spoon about 1/3-1/2 cup of pancake batter onto the pan into a circular shape. Add a handful of blueberries, pressing them in to the batter so they are level with the top, if desired. Once bubbles have formed on the pancake surface, and the bottom is golden brown, flip over. It should take 2-3 minutes per side.
Continue with the rest of the batter, re-spraying the pan between pancakes. Keep the pancakes warm in a 200 F oven, or covered with foil.
Serve with extra blueberries on top and syrup.

Joey made me some scrambled eggs to go with my pancakes :)

Seriously, such a delicious breakfast

I made these again, about 2 months later, without blueberries. This meant I could put lots of strawberries on top :)

Pancake "Burritos" with Sweetened Greek Yogurt, Granola, and Blueberry Compote

As annoying as Guy Fieri is, Joey and I enjoy watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Sometimes, Joey even gets inspired to re-create one of the dishes we see on tv.

He actually made these a long time ago, so I don't have recipe specifics, but maybe it will inspire one of you to make your own version!

He basically made a blueberry compote, by cooking some blueberries on the stove with a bit of sugar. Some of the compote was mixed into greek yogurt, and some was added to buttermilk pancakes while they were cooking.

Once the pancakes were cooked (make them really big, so you can fit a lot inside), fill them with the blueberry sweetened greek yogurt, granola (we use homemade), and fresh fruit. Top everything with more yogurt, granola, and the compote.

Inspired by "Pancake Rolls"

Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins with Greek Yogurt

These are my new favorite muffins. They pack in a TON of blueberries and have a delightful scone-like texture. They are a lighter version of the muffin from your favorite bakery, since they are made with greek yogurt and are topped with raw sugar instead of a crumb topping. These really can be made year-round, with either fresh or frozen blueberries, but they're fantastic this time of year with in-season blueberries (especially when you find them at the grocery store for $1.99/pint!!) If you don't have raw sugar at home, just grab a few packets the next time you're at a coffee shop!

They get their scone-like texture from the extremely thick batter. It is seriously thick - I got a little concerned when I was making them, and was afraid I would end up with muffin-shaped cookies. In the end, they turn out perfectly! They are light and fluffy, but break open like a scone, while still being moist inside. They are delicious straight out of the oven, and store really well for several days. During the summer,  I like storing moist baked goods in the fridge since I'm afraid everything will get moldy. Then I just stick them in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. If you're going to keep them for longer than a few days, I would recommend wrapping them well and freezing.

Recipe: Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins with Greek Yogurt
Adapted slightly from Food-Mouth
Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 pint blueberries (2 cups), fresh or frozen
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup plain Greek yogurt (non-fat or low-fat)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
Raw sugar, for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F and grease a standard muffin tin with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
Measure flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
In a separate bowl, mix egg, egg yolk, sugar and Greek yogurt until well combined. Add melted butter slowly while mixing, so you don't curdle the eggs.
Add the blueberries to the flour mixture, folding in gently as to not burst fresh berries.
Pour half of the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold in. Pour remaining liquid and mix until just combined. It will be VERY thick.
Spoon the batter into the muffin tin - each will be almost full. Sprinkle each muffin top with raw sugar.
Bake at 425 F for 5 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 F and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let muffins cool slightly before removing to a wire rack. Serve warm and enjoy!

Nutrition:
237 calories
6.5 g fat
40.4 g carbs
1.5 g fiber
5.4 g protein (a protein boost from the yogurt!)

Pre-baked, very stiff dough

Post-baking, with a lightly browned top

Look how pretty those sugar crystals are

I took like 25 pictures trying to capture the steam coming out of the freshly cut into muffin. Do you see that tiny wisp?