Frozen Hot Chocolate

Summer.

I'm over it.

Does that make me a bad person?

Is it sacrilege to say I'm counting down the days to boots and leaves and Fall treats and baking with pumpkin?

Is it weird that I bought Christmas presents yesterday?

{These questions are all rhetorical.  Unless you happen to agree with me, I mean.}


Today I was so bummed to find no apple cider at the store and no Halloween M&Ms at Target.  I had to step back a little and re-evaluate my life a little and pull out my calendar book to check which month it was.

I went home and decided to compromise with this recipe. It's frozen so it's obviously summery.  But it's also hot chocolate which is a Fall/Winter treat.  Best of both worlds.  (Sing Hannah Montana here.)

Also, it's delicious.

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Chocolate-dipped Butterfinger Oreos

My husband and I are slightly obsessed with Disneyland.  We're one of those families that will go every single year if we can. We last went about a year ago and promised ourselves we'd wait until our littlest guy was 40 inches to go again.  Well, he's 35 inches, a little runt for his age, and I'm really not sure we can wait that long.  Do they sell child-sized stilts?

These Oreos are an attempt to bring a little Disneyland magic into our home even though they have nothing to do with Disney except they look like they belong there because everything at Disney is freaking delicious.

You caught me.

I really only go for the food.

Also I found out today that the Arby's symbol is NOT an ice cream cone with a bite taken out of it.  It is in fact a cowboy hat.

WHAT!!

Since my entire world has just been shattered I pretty much feel justified in eating lots of these.  Seeing ice cream cones instead of hats probably says all kinds of deep psychological things about me that I don't want to know.

Have a happy weekend friends!

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Vanilla Bean Cookies n Cream Ice Cream {Best Basic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream}

Do you ever say "This is the best thing I've ever eaten!"  But then think, "I eat lots of yummy things... Realistically this can't be THE best thing I've ever eaten.  What kind of label is that anyways? How could you ever decide?"

I say that a lot, but then I remember that I really do know the best thing I've ever eaten. 

When I had our first son I was induced.  Which means they basically starve you until your baby comes.  Unfortunately he was a long time coming and I only had chance to sneak a sucker in that 20-ish hours or so.  (Seriously... tell a lady to have a baby and not feed her? Dumbest idea ever.)  Without going into details, he was a very difficult & complicated labor, my epidural didn't work, and I'm not entirely certain my doctor was actually an MD.

Fast forward to his arrival. My sweet sister-in-law worked at the hospital where I delivered and gave me a coupon for a free shake at the cafeteria.  My husband cashed it in as soon as they moved me to recovery and I vividly remember this Caramel Oreo shake being The. Best. Thing. I've. Ever. Eaten.  INMYLIIIIFE.

I inhaled it.

And seriously?  I still dream about it. 

There is zero doubt in my mind that I will ever eat anything as satisfying and delicious as that shake.

But making a pretty good copycat is always a good idea.  This vanilla bean ice cream is amazing, and even better if you put a whole bunch of Oreo chunks inside. Putting caramel sauce on top?  Heavenly.  It could turn out to be one of the best things you've ever eaten.  Make it into a shake if you want.

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Chocolate-dipped Frozen Key Lime Pie on a Stick

Awhile ago when I shared my true feelings about key lime pie I mentioned the Key Lime Pie Factory where they dip frozen slices of key lime pie in chocolate.  Since then I've had these on the brain, and I decided I better make some at home since Key West is pretty much at the opposite end of the country.

It turns out I am not above buying single serve pie slices from Walmart's frozen section to save lots of time and energy.  They certainly aren't gourmet, but are surprisingly good.  And for 98 cents... a pretty good deal too.

If you want to use your own pie just cut it into slices, separate the slices, and freeze for about 6 hours or until frozen through.  (Placing them on a cookie sheet with an inch or two between each slice works well.)

These would be so cute for an end of the summer dinner party!  I'm thinking coconut cream would be delicious.

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Mini S'mores Ice Cream Pies

It wouldn't be summer without some version of S'mores would it?  We've had a really hot windy summer and lots of fires so we have been too paranoid to use our firepit much. This is a great solution AND it means you don't even have to sit by a hot fire.

Sweet summertime!!

Have a pie.

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Rootbeer Float Freeze

Did you know it's national root beer float day? I have a 4 year old who is in love with all things root beer.  Root beer gum, root beer cupcakes, root beer barrels, and you guessed it- root beer floats.  We like to do a blended freeze version that perfectly combines the root beer and ice cream in every slurp.  It's way easier to eat and less messy for kids.

Yes, we did have these for breakfast today.

Happy Root Beer Float day!!

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Raspberry Turnovers

Have you been staying up as late as I have watching the Olympics every night?  I swear I'm a walking zombie these days.  I've been putting milk away in cupboards instead of the fridge and finding my husbands socks with the cleaning supplies.  It's been worth it though.

Gabby Douglas?

ADORABLE.

And know what really weird?  Watching the Olympics and realizing one of your good friends from elementary school thatyoumightatotallyforgottenabout is an Olympian.  And looks exactly the same as she did in 4th grade.


While we're on the topic of the Olympics, I give you these turnovers, also known as:

Breakfast of champions!

Really, I'm pretty sure they probably serve these at the Olympic training center cafeteria. All those swimmer and gymnast guys with 8-packs obviously eat these daily.

These are so easy peasy but people will think you're all fancy for making your own pastries.  Probably your children will fall all over themselves complimenting you on being able to do what the woman at Safeway does.  Feel free not to shatter any of these illusions.

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Black Raspberry Vanilla Ice Cream Cupcakes

If you follow me on Facebook maybe you've been wondering why I was looking for nut cups.

You know, the cupcake wrappers. 

Well.... voila.

Ice cream cupcakes themed after my favorite Bath & Body Works lotion from college.  (I still have it too because apparently I am incapable of finishing a bottle of lotion.)

As it turns out, this combo is just as great in ice cream cupcake form.  I highly recommend these!  The frosting is a marshmallow whipped cream frosting so it is light and airy and perfect.  Sub any cupcake or ice cream flavor you want to change things up a bit.

(Esp. if black raspberry ice cream is $5.99/gallon at your Walmart too.  Insane!  Don't tell my husband, k?)

 

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Peach Crumb Bars

 

Pest Control Guys.

Let's talk about them.

They're driving me crazy!!  Ringing my doorbell all day long.  Conversations that go like this:

Me:  "I'm not interested.  I'm not interested.  I'm not interested.  I'm. Not. Interested.

(Usually ends in me pretending to hear my phone ringing in the other room or making up some emergency.)

Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against pest control guys.  One summer in college long before I met him, my husband was a pest control guy in Florida.  It's just that I don't NEED pest control and I'm not good at being forceful which apparently you have to be to get rid of pest control guys.

In realization of this, I've decided the best thing I can do is invest in a couple dozen racoons and keep them in one of the unfinished bedrooms in our basement.

What do racoons eat anyway?

Next pest control guy that comes my way will be invited downstairs for a looksie at those pests.

Know anybody that sells 'coons?

Why can't they just take a "No thanks" and a couple of peach bars or something??

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Pink Birthday Cake Ice Cream

 

Everyone is probably posting Olympic treats today for the Opening Ceremonies, but my husband & I are celebrating today for a different reason. It's our sixth anniversary!

{I swear it's been longer than that.  Children make you feel so old.}

We like to tell our kids that our anniversary is our family's birthday, and usually I make a treat the night before and let them blow out candles.  (Wanna keep a 2 year old entertained?  Let him blow out candles for fifty-ish minutes or so.)  My husband isn't really into lovey heart shaped treats anyways, so this year for our anniversary I made this birthday cake ice cream that I have been drooling over (and dying to make) for months.  It turned out to be hubby's favorite homemade ice cream yet.

Vanilla bean ice cream (tinted pink) + chunks of vanilla bean cupcake + swirls of frosting + sprinkles= pink birthday heaven

I live with three boys and a male cat so sometimes I have to dye things pink.  My two year old {boy} loves pink so at least I have somebody on my side.

The cupcakes that are mixed into this ice cream need to be made in advance so that you can freeze them and cut them into chunks.  Freezing them keeps the cake from getting soggy and will keep it from crumbling into tiny pieces when you stir it in.

The ice cream also needs to harden overnight after churning. So...  realize that this is at least a 2 day process.  Plan ahead and it's not a big deal.  Almost all of that time is freeze time or cool time.

Worth it? Totally!  This ice cream has the dreamiest texture, and if you use vanilla bean paste in your ice cream it has fantastic flavor as well.

{Confession- I used homemade buttercream for the frosting in this and cut it into chunks and mixed it in after churning.  I hated it!  I ended up wishing I had just used (brace yourself)-  canned frosting.  I swear you will never hear those words out of my mouth again, but in this case it's true. The chunks of buttercream weirded me out. I am rewriting the recipe using canned frosting and swirling it into the ice cream instead of mixing in chunks.  If you can't stomach buying canned frosting, you can still make your own but I recommend swirling it in instead of using chunks. I like canned frosting because it gives that "authentic birthday cake taste" that most people think an ice cream like this should taste like. Yes I realize I just used 'canned frosting' and 'authentic' in the same sentence. Also it doesn't freeze super hard like most buttercreams do, so it is great in ice cream.}

If you want a cake batterish flavor to the ice cream instead of vanilla, just mix in a few Tablespoons of white cake mix with the rest of the ice cream ingredients (before churning). You can also probably cut the vanilla bean paste in half.


"Happy Birthday" to my sweet family, and Happy Anniversary to the best husband a girl could ask for.  Seriously he is the most selfless,  giving,  thinks he's the funniest ever,  person I know. Love you forever honey!

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