Peach Ice Cream - that doesn't require an ice cream maker ;)

Can you say "HOMEMADE PEACH ICE CREAM" faster than you can drool?? Yeah, neither can I. So when my friend gifted me some homegrown organic peaches it was quite embarrassing to have to excuse myself to find a way to wipe up all that drool....
Enjoy and don't make a fool of yourself.

What you'll need (instead of an expensive and practically useless ice cream maker):
- Egg beaters...I just used a cheap little hand held
- Large bowl
- Enough room in your freezer for said large bowl
- Roughly 3 hours where you'll be somewhere near your freezer

Ingredients:
- 6 eggs (beaten)
- 3 cups sugar
- around 10 peaches (over ripe is best)
- 4 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups half&half
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt

Ok, so here we go!

Peel and pit your peaches. I learned an awesome trick from my grandmother that works like a charm for this. Boil some water in a medium sized pot. Have a bowl of ice water next to your cutting/peeling/pitting/magic station. Drop a few peaches into the boiling water till they get hot. Then with a pair of tongs, move a peach over to the ice water. Dunk it in for a few seconds and then peel! Or let it peel itself because it pretty much does if you do it this way. Repeat peach by peach. It's kind of like juggling, but if you like cooking you'll have fun with it. 

Ok, so peaches are peeled! Mix all those ingredients together in a large bowl. 

Put mixture in the fridge for two hours. Then move to freezer for 30 minutes. Blend it again with your beaters. Another 30 minutes in the freezer, repeat beating. The more you do that the fluffier your ice cream will be. I only beat mine twice and it came out a nice consistency, slow melting, almost like...dare I say it?...Ben and Jerry's......mmmmm....

Be sure to share some with your friends! Only YOU can fight obesity ;)

Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers

    Amazing things happen when you need to clean out your fridge. Amazingly tasty things - and I don't even like bell peppers. This one is super filling, if you're anything like me you'll only need one of these bad boys to last you through the night/day. And this one can easily be made vegan :)

This recipe (ideally) serves 4.

Ingredients

- 4 bell peppers 

- 1 cup uncooked quinoa

- 2 cups water

- 1 tbsp butter (or cooking oil)

- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro

- 2 lemons (juice of) 

- 2 Roma tomatoes

- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (optional)

- 1 small to medium onion (diced)

- 3 cloves garlic (minced)

- 1 jalapeno (optional)

Let's do it:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Rinse and strain your quinoa a couple of times. If you've never cooked with quinoa before it can taste a little bitter if you don't do this. Just a heads up, so you don't go to all this trouble and then think "Wow, 'Can You Say Psychedelicious' is a terrible food blog. I'm never going there again!!" 

Proceed to dump the rinsed quinoa into a pot. Cover with 2 cups of water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. It should be nice and fluffy when done.

In the meantime, melt your butter/heat your oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Toss in your onions and garlic and cook until soft or slightly brown. I always like to add that you can skip cooking the onion for a more crisp, fresh, onion-y taste if you prefer.  

While the onions and garlic are browning go ahead and chop up your tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro.

In a medium bowl mix together quinoa, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cheese, jalapeno, and cilantro. 

Cut the top portion off of your bell peppers and scoop out the seeds. I actually trimmed a little off the bottom of mine so they would stand up better.

Spoon the quinoa mixture into the peppers all the way to the top!

Replace the tops and put those puppys on a baking sheet and into the oven for about 15-20 mins, or until your whole house smells like awesome and you just can't take it anymore.

Let cool for a few minutes, and then let the eating commence!

Yummmm!

Sun-Dried Tomato & Spinach Quiche

     Ok, so my picture isn't up to par...but this quiche IS. And its all about that parmesan cheese peeps, so don't skip it because it really does take this dish to the next level! The original recipe (and a true blogger with legit pictures) can be found here. The sun-dried tomatoes were just something I had lying around that I needed to use and they worked perfectly! What don't sun-dried tomatoes work with though? Anyways, enjoy guys!

Ingredients

- 1 tbsp olive oil (or butter)

- 1 small to medium sized onion chopped

- 2 or 3 cloves garlic minced

- roughly 3 cups fresh spinach

- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes

- 5 large eggs beaten

- 2 cups Monterey Jack cheese

- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

- pinch of crushed red pepper

- salt/pepper to taste

So here's what you're gonna do kids:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Lightly grease baking pan.
2. In a skillet, heat oil at medium high heat. Throw in your garlic and onions and saute until soft. For a crunchier fresher onion taste you might try skipping this step, or sauteing for less time. I however dislike onions, so this helps make their flavor a little less pungent for me.
3. Add spinach to skillet. Cover skillet and drop the heat down to medium-low until spinach begins to get floppy and "wilted". 
4. In a large bowl combine eggs, salt/pepper, crushed red pepper, and Monterey Jack cheese. Mix in your spinach, onions, sun dried tomatoes, and garlic and pour into prepared baking pan. 
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes (you want it to start to brown around the edges and top). Top with parmesan cheese immediately after removing from oven. Let sit for a few minutes - don't and burn the sweet life out of your taste buds like I did - and enjoy!