Mango-banana "ice-cream"

Well, it has definitely been too hot to cook around here! We've been camping out in our basement, eating picnic food on a towel spread out on the blow-up mattress that we've also been sleeping on. It's times like this I'm glad I finally broke down and bought an ice-cream maker this year! I wanted to make my own frozen yogurts (with my own home-made yogurt) that are lower in sugar and have fewer ingredients than store-bought. Of course, you don't really need an ice-cream maker to make your own frozen yogurt or ice-cream - but it does simplify things, and makes a nice creamy blend (in much less time). If you want something firm enough for cones, however, you have to take the dessert out of your maker and put it into a container and the freezer for a bit, to firm it up. It comes out of the maker looking more like soft-serve - perfect in a bowl with a little granola sprinkled on top!
This recipe is great - and you could easily use it for smoothies or smoothie pops as well, although it makes a larger amount than I would normally make for that - perhaps for a brunch or a preschool snack. I got this from Kids' fun & healthy cookbook by Nicola Graimes:

• 2 medium ripe mangoes (I used about 2 cups of frozen cubed mango)
• 2 medium bananas
• 2 cups yogurt (thick works best, but it doesn't have to be Greek style)
• 3 Tbsp powdered sugar
• squeeze of lemon

Cut the bananas and mangoes into chunks and mix with the other ingredients. You could blend it together in a blender, or use an imersion blender, until it is a thick and creamy mixture (if you have a child like mine, you may want to be sure there are no chunks...). If you have an ice-cream maker, you can proceed according to the directions on your machine: I poured the mixture into the spout and watched until it looked like soft-serve (5-10 minutes), and then I transferred it into a container and put it in the freezer to firm up - although that didn't last long, and we ended up scooping the semi-soft mixture into our ice cream cones anyway. If you don't have an ice cream machine, put the mixture in a shallow container with a lid and freeze it. After 2-3 hours, whisk the mixture with a fork and put it back in the freezer for another 3 hours and mix it again. Yummy!