July 2, 2022

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Happy 4th of July!! Our village puts on a fantastic 4th of July celebration every year and we’re all looking forward to it. The fun begins on the 1st this year and will go through the 4th. Here’s hoping for gorgeous weather all weekend!

Just in case you’re as watermelon obsessed as we are this summer, don’t miss this quick video showing how to easily slice a watermelon into bite-size pieces!

ON THE BLOG this week: Creamy Blueberry Ice Cream is a summer treat that you simply need to taste to believe. It’s truly unforgettable.

Two kinds of chocolate and real cream make this the best and easiest homemade Chocolate Ice Cream you can make.

This rich and creamy homemade Maple Ice Cream recipe requires just four ingredients! Pure maple syrup gives this ice cream a smooth natural flavor with hints of caramel and vanilla.

Crunchy, Caramelized Walnuts make a sweet snack and a great topping for summer berry salads and ice cream. Add a handful of these walnuts to the Maple Ice Cream and you’ll be eating the BEST Maple Nut Ice Cream ever.

Chocolate Covered Pretzel Ice Cream is the salty, chocolate sweetness that you just can’t stop at one bite. If I’m honest, I have a hard time stopping at just one bowl.

What I’m CRAVING: This Loaded Baked Potato Salad from Lemon Tree Dwelling caught my eye this week and it sounds incredible. When a fresh garden salad meets up with a fully loaded baked potato, this bowl of deliciousness is the result.

What I’m WATCHING: Here Comes the Boom. I don’t know when my family has laughed as much as we laughed at this movie. It’s simply fantastic. If “heartwarming inspirational comedy” is a genre, this is it.

Kevin James plays a former college wrestler, now a burnt-out high school teacher. When budget cutbacks threaten the school’s music programs, he comes up with a crazy scheme to moonlight as a MMA fighter to raise funds for the school. While it sounds preposterous, this wound up being an inspirational movie with a great message. This movie gets 10 thumbs up from my family.

What I’m READING: Mama Bear Apologetics by Hillary Morgan Ferrer. I just started this book, but I can hardly put it down. If you’ve read this one, I would love to chat about it! “It isn’t enough for our kids to hear us talk about the

Red White and Blue Jello Poke Cake [+Video]

The most popular 4th of July recipe is this Red White and Blue Jello Poke Cake! It’s a moist, white cake, red and blue jello and whipped topping! 

Happy 4th of July!!! Well, not yet but hopefully you’ll be reading this on the day you’re making our poke cake recipe for a Fourth of July BBQ. There’s nothing better than a jello poke cake when it’s hot outside and you’re trying to enjoy your guests instead of being trapped in a kitchen. 

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Chocolate Covered Pretzel Ice Cream is the salty, chocolate sweetness that you just can’t stop at one bite. Heck, I have a hard time stopping at just one bowl!

Pretzel Ice Cream

Ice Cream is quite literally the dish of summer if I am in charge of choosing. It is easy to make and hits the spot on a hot day. Whether we are talking about a snack or dessert. It has milk so I would even call it breakfast.

Crunchy, sweet, chocolatey, and salty this homemade ice cream recipe checks all the boxes. By adding large pieces of pretzels at the end they keep their crunch and salty bits don’t dissolve for the perfect bite.

What I love about homemade ice cream with different mix-ins and combinations is that you get to control the flavor and quantity.

It is frustrating to buy a container of my favorite ice cream, only to find it with just crumbs of the mix-in or play hide and seek with a few chunks of cookie. Pieces of pretzel and swirls of chocolate stand out in this recipe.

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!

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This rich and creamy homemade Maple Ice Cream recipe requires just four ingredients! Pure maple syrup gives this ice cream a smooth natural flavor with hints of caramel and vanilla.

Maple Ice Cream

This is one of the simplest ice creams you can make, with just four ingredients: cream, milk, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt.

Maple is such a rich natural sweetener for desserts. It has a depth of flavor beyond regular sugar. I like experimenting with it and honey when I can to change things up.

Maple-flavored syrups or pancake syrups are a no-go for this recipe. Not only is the flavor not quite the same they often contain alcohol which impacts the freezing process of homemade ice cream. It can take longer or not set up at all.

Homemade ice cream is easiest with an ice cream maker. There are so many options and price points on the market. You aren’t limited to the hand-crank White Mountain our grandparents had.

Not sure which one to get? No worries, I did the research and testing for you. Click here for my full reviews. After creating nearly 100 recipes for homemade ice cream I know a thing or two.

While I am a big fan of my ice cream maker, here is a little secret. You can make homemade ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

Maple Nut Ice Cream

While the nuts in this recipe are optional, they add something very special to this ice cream. You’ll want to be sure to add candied walnuts to the recipe, not plain roasted or raw walnuts.

Yes, the candied walnuts are sweeter, but it’s balanced by the natural bitterness of walnuts. And most importantly, the candied walnuts will be softer and chewier in the final frozen ice cream.

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Crunchy, caramelized walnuts make a sweet snack and a great topping for summer berry salads and ice cream, or a quick topping for muffins. Today I’m showing you how to make candied walnuts!

I recommend doubling the recipe if you have snack-happy kids like mine, as you might catch them snacking on them too.

How To Make Candied Walnuts

It’s easier than you might think to make candied walnuts at home. With just a pat of butter, a handful of walnuts, and a spoonful of sugar, you can stir up a batch of walnuts that are tastier than anything you can buy from the store.

I like to start with walnut halves and then roughly chop them on a cutting board. For bigger pieces, I will just break halves apart by hand if I only need a cup or so.

You can actually use this technique for other nuts as well to get the sweet, buttery toasted flavor that makes for a sweet topping.

Your candied nuts should not be sticky once they are cooled. If they are they probably did not cook long enough on the stovetop. The key is to hit that sweet spot, literally, between being cooked long enough and burnt.

Candied walnuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a month. These containers work perfectly!

Candied Walnuts Recipe

1. Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Place a sheet of parchment paper or a silicone mat next to the stove.
2. Add the walnuts and sugar. Stir with a rubber spatula to combine.
3. Continue stirring until the sugar melts and the walnuts are well-coated.
4. Quickly transfer the walnuts to the parchment and work quickly with a spatula to spread them out to avoid clumping.

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