Creamy, cool sweetness collides with spicy, zesty heat in Jalapeno Ice Cream, creating a surprising fusion of smooth, rich dairy with the fiery kick of jalapeño peppers.

Jalapeno Ice Cream

First things first, when I had the initial idea for a jalapeno ice cream, I wasn’t convinced it was going to be a win. However, we love sweet and spicy combinations, so I decided to give it a shot.

Creamy cheeses topped with spicy pepper jelly or peach habanero jam are some of our favorite appetizers. And, this spicy chocolate ice cream is already a hit with friends and family.

I’ve done a lot of interesting flavor combinations over the years. And, I like to consider mys

Weekly Menu Plan – Feb. 12 to 18

Wednesday is Valentine’s Day and it’s steak on the menu that night! We have an Instant Pot recipe and a couple of delicious soups. Then we are finishing off the week with our best lasagna recipe that I just updated and reposted. You have to try it!

Monday: Instant Pot Sloppy Joes

Tuesday: Gnocchi Chicken Soup

Wednesday: VALENTINE’S DAY – Garlic Butter Steak at Home

Thursday: Ranch Baked Chicken

Friday: Best Quesadilla

Saturday: Egg Drop Soup

Sunday: My Favorite Lasagna

READ: Weekly Menu Plan – Feb. 12 to 18

Crunchy greens, juicy tomatoes, and a medley of meats and cheeses are drizzled in a delicious creamy dressing to make this Italian Grinder Salad.

Grinder Salad

Whoa. This salad. It is SO good! As soon as I tasted the Italian Grinder Sandwich that I shared earlier this week, I knew that a salad needed to happen. The tangy slaw mixture topping the sandwiches was my favorite part, so I wanted to make the most of that flavor combination in a loaded salad.

Luckily, I had plenty of extra ingredients on hand, so I was able to make this salad the very next day. The whole family gave it two thumbs up and I’m pretty sure I’ll be making it again soon.

If you don’t need 8 servings all at once, or if you aren’t feeding 3 teenage boys, I suggest prepping all of the grinder salad ingredients and storing them separately in airtight containers, as instructed in How To Eat A Salad Every Day.

Just stash the meats and cheeses in a couple of ziploc bags or containers, and pour the grinder salad dressing into a jar until it is needed. This makes it so much easier to prepare salads consistently and quickly.

When you’re ready to eat a great salad, just combine however much of each ingredient you need in a bowl and toss your individual serving with a bit of dressing. These ingredients should keep well in the fridge for several days.

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Nutella Stuffed Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes

If an 8 year old can make Nutella Stuffed Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes, you certainly can do it! Moist chocolate cupcakes are a must for Valentine’s Day!

Are you familiar with how cooking happens in our house? It’s not just a mom thing, and it’s certainly not just an adult thing, the whole family is involved. I’ll tell you all about how our family created the tradition of kids cooking, plus a few tips for making it work in your home, but first, let’s chat about these Nutella Stuffed Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes, very similar to our Milk Chocolate Cupcakes.

Nutella Stuffed Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes

I love the look of chocolate and fluffy, pink anything, yes, even pink pancakes. I’m not really a pink girl, I think I have one or two pink shirts in my closet and that’s probably it. Now don’t panic, I have nothing against pink, I’m just not drawn to it like I am blue or white for example. I should move to Santorini, Greece. That seems like a good choice.

Ahhh but chocolate and pink, there’s something about that just makes me want to take a big ol’ bite. And these Nutella Stuffed Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes are the perfect example.

A moist chocolate cupcake, stuffed with totally lickable Nutella and topped off with strawberry buttercream that is silky like those old school 90’s silk pajamas. Nothing short of a dream.

Why Coffee in Chocolate Cake

You all know us well enough by now to know that we don’t drink alcohol, coffee or tea and while yes, alcohol usually cooks out of things, we don’t keep it in the house so it just doesn’t happen.

When it comes to chocolate cake I’ve had to embrace that it does in fact make a difference. I bought this, Espresso Powder  used for baking and I merely add a little to any liquid in chocolate baking and it enhances the chocolate flavor without adding any coffee flavor. I honestly still skip it all the time, but really, it does make a difference and you’re probably eating it most of the time you buy a chocolate anything out and about.

Boiling Water in Chocolate Cake

Have you noticed how many chocolate recipes include boiling water? Especially a chocolate cake or cupcake. So what’s the deal with boiling water in chocolate cake?

It seems like it would be something with the hot water making the cake more moist or tender, but it’s actually about the cocoa. When making anything chocolate you should mix cocoa with hot water then let it sit for a few minutes. What you’re actually doing is blooming the chocolate, or in other words, the cocoa dissolves and the flavor particles are released leading to a more powerful chocolate flavor.

Chocolate brownies are a little different, you’ll want to bloom the chocolate in hot oil. Not like, fry you up some fried chicken oil, just warmed up so

Savory deli meats are piled high on a toasted hoagie roll, then topped with an unforgettable tangy slaw and gooey provolone cheese to make this Italian Grinder Sandwich your new favorite lunch.

Italian Grinder Sandwich

The slight crunch and crackle of toasted bread, soft and warm meats topped with gooey, melted cheese, crisp onions and peppers in an incredible slaw. What’s not to love? Put them all together and it’s pure lunch heaven.

Toasted hoagies are bursting with incredible flavor and all of my favorite grinder sandwich ingredients. This Italian grinder sandwich may be the best sub sandwich I’ve had in the past year.

This recipe is extremely versatile, making it great for large gatherings. Everyone can pick out their favorite lunch meats, just swap out the turkey for roast beef or pepperoni, etc. Or, you can just pile them on. I won’t judge.

Kids adore this quick lunch. But, especially for little mouths, cured sliced meats can be difficult to chew. If you chop up the meats, it makes it easier to manage. And, what child wouldn’t want their own, special “chopped” grinder sandwich?

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