Nutella + Banana Ice Cream

Probably for most of my childhood (ok, even adulthood), if someone asked me my favorite food, I'd most likely have responded [very enthusiastically] with "Ice Cream!"

It should be of no surprise to anyone that we put an ice cream maker on our wedding registry. It should also be no surprise how excited I was when I learned the gift was fulfilled. It's maybe a little dangerous that I own an ice cream maker now, BUT, I can have ice cream ANYTIME I want. Not only that, I can have ANY flavor I want.

Life is good.

We inaugurated this beautiful machine with, what else, Nutella. I threw a banana in there, too. That makes it healthy, right?

The ice cream consistency was not AS creamy as say, Mitchell's, but it was pretty freakin' delicious, all the same. I made a milkshake out of it, too; it was fabulous.

Nutella & Banana Ice Cream
recipe slightly adapted from Crumb Blog
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Yield:
1 pint ice cream

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Nutella (or, your favorite chocolate hazelnut spread)
1 ripe banana
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 cups half and half

Method:
Mix all ingredients in food processor or a blender until everything is well incorporated. Pour mixture into a bowl, cover with saran wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Then, prepare the ice cream according to your machine's direction. I left mine in the machine for about 20 minutes. The ice cream will be pretty soft. To firm it up, transfer the ice cream to a freezer safe container, and freeze for a couple hours before enjoying (I know, this part is tough). Once frozen, scoop & enjoy!
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Baked French Toast

Enjoying a lazy Saturday morning? Haven't had breakfast yet? Go make this. Even if it's the most productive thing you do all day, you will not regret yet.  "Baked French Toast" basically means you get to eat bread pudding for breakfast.

Every bite is heart-warmingly delicious. It's all the goodness of french toast without gloopy fingers and sticky pans.

Chocolate & Banana Baked French Toast
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Yield:
2-4 servings

Ingredients:
4 slices bread (we used sourdough), torn into pieces
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar (white or brown, your preference. I used a little of both)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 bananas, sliced
1 tsp powdered sugar, for dusting

Method:
Preheat oven to 375*. Butter your pan of choice (I used a 9in pie pan). Arrange bread in single layer along pan. Place banana slices over the bread pieces, again in a single layer, if possible. In a medium sized bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt until well combined. Pour mixture over the bread & banana, coating every piece. Push bread slices down into mixture with fork or spatula, to soak up as much liquid as possible. Place into oven and bake for 30min, or until a fork poked in the middle comes out clean. Let cool for a minute or two, then dust with powdered sugar. Slice and serve.
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