Asian Cucumber Salad

This light and fresh Asian cucumber salad is our new favorite healthy side dish, complete with a sweet and tangy vinegar dressing.

Earlier this year I was working on an Asian steak marinade and I was playing around with the idea of using black vinegar in it. The final recipe was tested when Cade’s mom came into town and it was a total hit. Without even realizing it though, I’d added black vinegar to the cucumbers instead of the steak marinade that morning. It turned out both dishes needed something a little different than what I was doing and it was awesome!

You can read below for a substitute as we still love cucumber salad with just straight up rice or apple cider vinegar. In fact, we often use both. 

Ingredients for Asian Cucumber Salad

It only takes 7 ingredients to make this simple but refreshing salad recipe. Here is what you will need:

• English Cucumber – I just to just slice them thin by hand, but feel free to remove the seeds if you want
• Red Onion – totally optional but I love the zip it adds, do a fine slice on a mandolin
• Rice Vinegar – mild, sweet and sour flavor
• Chinese Black Vinegar – a dark mild vinegar with a slightly fruity flavor
• Honey – adds sweetness and balances the saltiness and tang
• Sesame Seeds – give them a little toast to enhance the nutty flavor
• Fine Sea Salt – dissolves easily into the dressing and adds flavor

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The secret to this Better Italian Stuffed Peppers recipe isn’t anything crazy, so why does no one do it? I guess it took a hater of stuffed peppers to make the magic happen.

Motherhood with Joy

My friend recently had her little boy in the hospital with a bad case of pneumonia. Anytime a child, especially one that’s still a young toddler ends up in the hospital, my heart lurches into the reality of time and love. It seems only yesterday and somehow a million years ago that I was lying in a hospital fighting to survive along with an unborn baby doing the same thing, but at my own expense. I lack an awful lot in life, certainly when it comes to parenting, but times like these always remind me of one thing, and I hope it will make sense to say it, at least I’m here.

I may not make perfect decisions or respond to situations perfectly, but oh how I perfectly ache to be a good mother. To remember to love them and to strive a little more to extend that love to those outside of my home. As I honor the gift of motherhood I find myself wondering, what is the secret to motherhood with joy?

My friend’s son made it out of a much longer stay in the hospital than expected. She had so much on her plate and could have lost faith in tomorrow, in medicine, even in God, but she continued on, giving all she could muster each day for him.

I guess that’s it. All I can do it strive each day to begin again and remember that though tempted to lose faith in many things, myself, people and the world, God never loses faith in those things. Maybe I won’t end up with adult children that think I was the best mom, but maybe they will think I was trying to love them. Maybe that’s enough. Just to try to love.

Rich, dark, ultra-smooth, and creamy chocolate meets a hint of orange in sweet ice cream like no other you’ve ever tasted.

If you’re skeptical of the chocolate and citrus combination, one taste will be all it takes to convince you. (And if you don’t love the darkest of chocolate, any chocolate you love will work beautifully in this ice cream.)

Chocolate Orange Ice Cream

We tried a Chocolate Orange flavored ice cream while we were in Montreal and Sean declared it the best one he tried throughout our vacation.

It really was fantastic. So, naturally, I couldn’t resist trying my hand at recreating it. Four (maybe it was five ?) batches later, this ice cream has been declared one of Sean’s all-time favorites.

Do you love the chocolate and orange combination too? Don’t miss the EASY to make Chocolate Covered Oranges that my family adores!

Over the years, I’ve made this ice cream with extra dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, regular cocoa powder, and special dark cocoa powder too. It works every single possible way.

Sean and I love it best with the darkest of dark chocolate, however, my boys like it best with semi-sweet chocolate. The final color of the ice cream will be determined by how dark your chocolate is. As you can tell by the photos here, it will vary a good bit.

I’ve made this both with and without orange zest, as well as with store-bought juice. The zest makes a big difference in the results, especially when using fresh orange juice.

Fresh and store-bought orange juice will both work well. The fresh orange juice produces a milder flavor with a little more sweetness to it. The store-bought orange juice was just enough stronger than fresh I preferred it in the end.

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Bite-size chunks of Monster Cookie dough are more irresistible than ever when tucked into the Best Ever Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

Best Cookie Dough Ice Cream

Let’s talk cookie dough. I have a weakness. Hand me a spoon, a fork, or a mixing bowl, there’s no cookie dough that doesn’t have a siren call for me.

That said, I do play favorites. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream is a classic that I do love. However, it will never trump Monster Cookie Dough for me.

We’re celebrating three weeks of new ice cream recipes this summer with a very cool ice cream maker giveaway! Enter to win the Cuisinart ICE-100 1.5-Quart Compressor Ice Cream Maker by CLICKING HERE and submitting your email. The giveaway ends July 8th, 2022.

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

Monster Cookie Dough

I’ve had a weakness for Monster Cookie Dough for about as long as I can remember.

I’ve mentioned it before, but a particular friend and I have a history that includes eating almost the entire batch of the dough for our Monster Cookies at times in the past.

This love of the dough led to making Monster Cookie Dough Bites many years ago and now it has led me to the best ever Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

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This sweet and slightly tart Cherry Ice Cream is made with just a handful of easy ingredients.

No custard base, no eggs, no cooking time, just a quick whirl in the blender with sweet cream, sugar, and cherries.

Cherry Ice Cream

Fresh, sweet cherries are one of my favorite fruits, but the hassle of removing the pits, combined with their limited availability makes their frozen counterparts perfect for this quick and easy ice cream recipe.

Homemade Ice Cream is the perfect dessert for any occasion and as any of my friends will attest, I’ll use any possible excuse to make a fresh batch. 

We’re celebrating three weeks of new ice cream recipes this summer with a very cool ice cream maker giveaway! Enter to win the Cuisinart ICE-100 1.5-Quart Compressor Ice Cream Maker by CLICKING HERE and submitting your email. The giveaway ends July 8th, 2022.

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

Cherry Ice Cream Recipe

• frozen sweet cherries
• heavy cream
• milk
• sugar
• kosher salt
• vanilla extract

I make this ice cream both with and without the chocolate swirl. The chocolate is optional, but I highly recommend it. Isn’t everything better with a chocolate swirl?

My favorite homemade ice creams are the ones that require very little effort on my part. At least half of the reason I love making my own ice cream is because it is often easier than a trip to the