Creamy sweet vanilla ice cream filled with crunchy, nutty grape nuts? Yes, please! This grape nut ice cream has been an absolute win with family and friends.

We’ve eaten it scooped into bowls, ice cream cones, and melting over a fruit crisp too. It honestly doesn’t matter how you serve it, it is sure to disappear quickly.

Jamaican Grape Nut Ice Cream

This ice cream has officially blown my mind. Quite a few years ago, a reader asked me if I had a recipe for grape nut ice cream and I filed that request away under, “I should research that.” And then promptly forgot.

While I was playing with cereal milk ice creams recently, I remembered this one and after just a wee bit of research, I learned that grape nut ice cream is a Jamaican ice cream that is basically vanilla ice cream with the addition of crunchy nutty grape nuts.

Grape Nuts Ice Cream

I couldn’t even fathom how that was going to taste, but like always, I was game for trying it. Turns out that grape nut ice cream is crazy good. Crunchy, nutty, bits of grape nuts cereal are scattered throughout every bite of creamy rich ice cream.

A friend tried this one when I made it and said it reminds her of cheesecake crust in the way it remains crunchy throughout the ice cream. The cereal does soften (compared to the level of crunch grape nuts have straight out of the box) but there is a decidedly firm crunch throughout the finished ice cream.

Read more

Watermelon dog treats are the ultimate dog popsicles – and best of all it only takes a minute to make them. They’re a great way to use up leftover watermelon too!

Happy 4th Gotcha Day, Oscar. We love you and we’re celebrating with your favorite Watermelon Dog Treats today.

It’s hard to believe that our sweet Oscar has been with us for four years now! It’s hard to imagine our lives without him.

After saying for so many years that I wasn’t a dog person, I’ve had to eat those words. He has very much become a member of our family and I love him dearly.

So many of you have shared in our excitement over the past few years, as we’ve become first-time dog owners.

You messaged me countless tips and endless advice and I’ve loved it all. So, I wanted to share our pup’s favorite treats with you.

Dog Popsicles

Several people sent me recipes for their favorite homemade dog treats when Oscar first arrived. The most popular treats by far were these watermelon dog treats – made simply by blending fruit with a bit of yogurt to make dog popsicles.

This combination has become Oscar’s favorite treat too. It cracks me up when he hovers near the freezer and peeks inside to see where the treats are.

Read more

Warm berry sauce poured over cold ice cream is one of my favorite desserts. I make this sauce year-round and every time I serve it, it gets raves.

This fruit sauce might be the simplest recipe I keep in my dessert recipe notebook. I scribbled it out on a scrap of paper almost 25 years ago while I was visiting a friend.

Berry Sauce from Frozen Berries

We were dishing up bowls of ice cream and her husband told us to wait a minute.

He combined some frozen fruit and a bit of sugar in a saucepan, simmered a few minutes, and then transformed that basic bowl of ice cream into something much more elegant.

I was speechless (yes, imagine that) over the difference the warm fruit sauce made over that dish of ice cream. Sweet berry flavor turned the easy dessert into a cold creamy bowl of heaven.

My whole family gets excited when I pull berries out of the freezer along with a tub of ice cream. Not only is the flavor delicious, but the contrast of warm and cold temperatures is also divine.

I’m all about simple and hassle-free ways to turn basic treats into something that feels a bit more special and this mixed berry sauce does just that.

Berry Sauce for Ice Cream

With so many possible combinations of berries and fruits to use in this sauce, I never get bored with it either.

Lest you think this sauce is only good as an ice cream topping, I also poured this over the Vanilla Bean Cheesecake I made last week. From topping cheesecakes to Greek yogurt to mousse cups or pudding, this berry sauce makes everything better.

Fruit T

Fluffy Italian rice cooked in chicken broth and then tossed with warm butter and generous herbs makes a terrific side dish for any meal.

This is a flavorful and hearty side dish that will nicely round out any weeknight dinner. And with simple, common ingredients, it’s easy to make extra.

Rice with Herbs

If you’re looking for a quick and easy side dish, this Italian rice recipe can be made in only twenty minutes. Paired with Lemon Garlic Tilapia or Spicy Chicken and Bacon Stir Fry, it’s sure to be a hit.

And the best part? This recipe scales easily, making it a great dish to prep in bulk for future meals. My kids love it anytime there is extra rice on hand.

We add it to burrito bowls, stir fry dinners, or toss it with a bit of leftover grilled chicken or taco meat. There really is no wrong way to use leftover rice.

Italian Rice

With minimal effort and simple spices, this flavorful Italian rice adds something special to any meal.

Don’t let the fact that this recipe is so easy to make fool you; this dish is packed with flavor. Chicken stock (or broth) gives the rice a hearty, rich boost; paired with a handful of herbs, this rice is going to take your weeknight dinner to the next level.

One quick note about the herbs used in this recipe: you can use fresh or dried herbs in this recipe (or both!).

When using dried herbs, add them to the saucepan as soon as you start cooking the rice. When using fresh herbs, wait until after the rice has been removed from the heat before stirring them in. Waiting until the end to add the herbs makes a big difference with fresh herbs.

Oh, and don’t make the same mistake I made when I first made this recipe.

Easy One Bowl Banana Muffin Recipe

This banana muffin recipe is so easy it can be made all in one bowl and creates the most tender and tasty banana muffins! You can keep them simple or pile in delicious add-ins.

Using heavily freckled bananas and never blackened bananas is the key to the most soft and moist banana bread muffins you’ll ever devour. All you need to make these banana muffins recipe is 30 minutes!

Last year we were visiting with my brother-in-law’s family post baptism for his 8 year old daughter when his mother-in-law busted out a tray of banana bread. It was so, so soft and moist and I loved the hint of coconut oil.

We are obsessed with banana bread recipes here, but there is something so convenient and portable about a muffin. I decided that this new banana bread recipe would make the perfect muffins and the rest is history!

Ingredients for Banana Muffins

Making this muffin recipe is so easy, and the ingredients list almost all comes from the pantry. That makes it so easy to whip up for breakfast or an after school snack. Here is what you will need:

• Coconut Oil: I love the little hint of coconut flavor in that coconut oil adds, but you can use canola oil if you need a substitute.
• Sugar: just granulated sugar
• Brown Sugar: adds a deeper rich flavor
• Eggs: Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. They add structure to the muffins.
• Flour: just all purpose works great
• Baking Powder and Soda: both are leavening agents to give the muffins their rise and fluffiness
• Salt: enhances all the flavors
• Bananas: be sure to use ripe bananas for the best flavor and natural sweetness
• Buttermilk: helps keep the muffins and moist, can be substituted with plain milk and 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• Optional Add-ins: chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, macadamia) or chocolate chips (I prefer mini chocolate chips)

This is just an overview of the ingredients and information about why they are added or a tip for substitutes. Scroll down for the measurements.

Coconut Oil Substitutes

You can use vegetable oil, melted butter, shortening or canola oil. If you’re using shortening, beat the shortening and sugars together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

How to Convert Loaves into Muffins

Originally the banana bread recipe was to be baked at 325 for 50-60 minutes or convection oven for 40-50 minutes, but because they are muffins I needed to pump up the heat to create more of a rise. So this recipe bakes at 350 for just 20-25 minutes and you get 2 dozen muffins.

Can I Make These Jumbo Muffins?

You can take any muffin recipe and make them into jumbo muffins. Keep the baking temperature the same but increase the baking time to 30 minutes. You might need up to 35 minutes, but I would start checking at 30.

Possible Additions

I mentioned at the beginning that you can load these up with add-ins of you want. You can mix them into the batter or just