Sweet cream and orange juice come together in this easy homemade ice cream recipe. If you liked creamsicles as a kid, you’re likely to love this ice cream.

Orange Ice Cream

Nothing, but nothing screams nostalgia to me like creamsicles. It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for citrus in ice cream.

Today’s ice cream is about as simple and satisfying as homemade ice cream can get. It’s just a matter of whisking together the ingredients and pouring it into your ice cream maker.

Orange Ice Cream Recipe

This ice cream is at its best when made with freshly squeezed juice. You can either purchase freshly squeezed juice or juice oranges yourself. I prefer to juice them myself; it takes about 3 oranges to get the necessary cup of juice.

Orange extract gives the ice cream more depth of flavor, too. If you can’t find it, you can still make the recipe, but it will lack a little of the bright oomph the recipe yields when made as written.

We have a few takes on orange ice cream here, from our classic Six Threes Ice Cream to our Chocolate Orange Ice Cream and Orange Sherbet. Orange and cream go so very well together.

We have something for all my fellow citrus lovers, though, and not just orange. Lemon and lime fanatics are represented with our bright and sunny Lime Ice Cream and Lemon Ice Cream recipes.

Read more

The Best Cheesy Funeral Potato Casserole [+Video]

Funeral potato casserole is a creamy, cheesy comfort food packed with rich, savory flavors. Made with tender hash browns, melted cheese, sour cream, and a crunchy golden topping, it’s the perfect balance of smooth and crispy.

Perfect for Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving or just a cozy Sunday dinner with the fam!

I grew up not knowing about “funeral potatoes,” but moving to Utah introduced me to this classic dish. It’s essentially a cheesy potato casserole or a hash brown casserole, and the funny name comes from its tradition as a side dish often served at funeral luncheons.

This comforting, popular dish is perfect for feeding a crowd, making it ideal for family gatherings, holiday dinners, or even as a main dish when paired with ham. While I’ve never actually had it at a funeral, I’ve enjoyed it countless times during the holidays, and it’s always a hit!

Why Do They Call It Funeral Potatoes?

You might wonder why these cheesy delights are called “funeral potatoes,” and let me tell you, it’s not as gloomy as it sounds! Everyone—seriously, everyone—has their own special recipe for this potluck superstar. While they’re known by different names all over the place, the tradition of serving them at funeral luncheons in Utah is what sticks. I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking, “How good can cheesy potatoes really be?” But after one bite, I was a total convert! The creamy, cheesy goodness combined with that crunchy topping is pure magic. Whether it’s a holiday dinner or a family gathering, these potatoes are always a hit and bring a comforting vibe to the table. So, let’s celebrate this quirky name and dig in!

Variations

Swap the Soup
For a deeper, earthier flavor, substitute cream of mushroom soup for the cream of chicken soup. It adds a subtle richness that pairs perfectly with the cheesy potatoes.

Change Up the Topping
Instead of the classic cornflake topping, sprinkle one of these delicious alternatives on top for a different texture and flavor:

• Ritz Crackers: Crushed Ritz Crackers add a buttery, golden crunch.
• Potato Chips: Crushed potato chips create a salty, crispy topping that complements the creamy casserole.
• Bread Crumbs: Use plain or seasoned bread crumbs for a lightly crisp topping.
• Extra Cheese: Skip the crunch and sprinkle sharp cheddar cheese over the casserole for an extra layer of gooey, cheesy goodness.

Ingredients Needed for Funeral Potato Casserole

Ok, I’m not going to lie about this dish, there is nothing healthy about it. Haha! That is probably why it is so dang good! It’s a dish you want to have on special occasions, but probably not multiple times a week. Here is your grocery list:

• Cream of Chicken Soup – You can use store-bought or make it from scratch yourself. Head to our Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole post for a from-scratch recipe. You

Cleaning Schedule for Housework in 2 Hours

Struggling to keep up with housework? Follow this simple 2-hour cleaning schedule to efficiently tackle all your household chores and maintain a clean and organized home.

Yes, I really do clean my house in about 2 hours every week. I only clean on Mondays and Fridays otherwise it’s just the normal make-your-bed and pick-up-after yourself. 

Laundry too? Yes, but I do use the speed cycle so each load is only 30 minutes. I use it as my timer in a way. I start a load, start cleaning the house and go back to the wash to fold and put away then keep cleaning as the next load cycles.

WEEKLY CLEANING SCHEDULE

Our major cleaning days start the week and weekend with a clean house so we are always free to get other cleaning tasks done or to play. That means only two days a week are actual cleaning days. During the summer, kids don’t play on Mondays or Fridays until the house is cleaned. I give them one job at a time and they keep coming back for more until it’s done. They live here too, so we work together and play together.

Monday

Clean your entire house and do all the laundry in one day. It takes me two hours; you can do it too and enjoy freedom all the other days!

• Start top to bottom and by room, using the washer and dryer as your timer.

Once a load ends, stop wherever you’re cleaning and change the loads, fold any dry clothes, put them away and for the kids lay them on their beds so they can put them away, and head back to cleaning. See laundry tips section for more info.

• Bathrooms

Bathrooms get cleaned starting with showers and mirrors, working down to counters and toilets, and ending with sweeping and mopping. That means if you have three bathrooms all three get tackled vs cleaning all upstairs and starting over downstairs.

PRO TIP- Try keeping cleaning supplies in each bathroom or close by to make it faster rather than hauling buckets of supplies around.

• Pick-Up, Clean-Up, Put Away

Do a quick sweep of the house and pick up anything on countertops.

• Kitchen

Clean the kitchen, starting with any dishes that need to be put away and kitchen counters wiped down, and finishing with sweeping and mopping.

• Dusting

Dust the house so any dust that falls gets swept or vacuumed.

• Last is VACUUMING!

Vacuum the house, leaving bedrooms for whoever sleeps there.

That’s it!! You just got it all done and you remembered to listen for the wash and got it all done too. Listen, it will take time to make a habit, but I can drop anything at any time and just go play or run an errand because there’s never a bunch of cleaning. We pick up after ourselves, we help each other, and we are always feeling safe and peaceful in our house because there is no excess of chaos other than laughter and children.

Tuesday

 Wash days for towels or any additional linens.

Friday

Do Monday’s house cleaning schedule all over again. Enjoy the entire weekend without a single chore. 

Read more

Made of tender flaked imitation crab with crunchy, fresh celery, fragrant onion, and sliced black olives in a light, herbed mayonnaise dressing, deli classic crab salad is hard to resist. Whether you serve it on rolls, lettuce wraps, or on crackers, it’s so very good!

Crab Salad

When we were newlyweds, Sean and I would often splurge and pick up a carton of crab salad from the deli and then snack on it with crackers while watching a movie or chatting after work. We loved crab salad and enjoyed it this way for many years.

It wasn’t until I met my friend Debbie while teaching her daughter Amanda that I learned just how incredibly easy it is to make a batch of this deli staple. After that, salad from the deli lost all of its appeal.

Freshly made with just the right amount of everything? That’s pure crab happiness.

Easy Crab Salad

To make this light and refreshing crab salad, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• imitation crab meat
• celery
• black olives
• red or green onion
• mayonnaise
• lemon
• dill
• paprika
• kosher salt
• black pepper

Read more

Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe [+Video]

Looking for a delicious and easy chocolate chip muffin recipe? Look no further! This recipe includes a helpful video tutorial for making the perfect batch of chocolate chip cookie muffins.

These smell EXACTLY like Chocolate Chip Cookies!!! Who wouldn’t love that? Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins are the new craze at our house. Cade LOVES chocolate chip cookies and when he came down to the kitchen the first time I made these, he thought I was making cookies for breakfast. Ha! That is not likely to happen unless it’s our breakfast cookies which are equally delicious but in a healthy way.

These are so soft and delicious. Sometimes homemade muffins don’t come out exactly like you would want them to be. They can be a little dry or too airy, but these are perfect. Not only do they smell like fresh baked cookies, but they taste like them too!! Chocolate chip cookies with the texture of a muffin. Heaven! Your kids will go crazy for these!! And any time the kids are happy about what you made for a meal it’s a good day!

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Muffin Recipe

If you have all the ingredients for chocolate chip cookies then you have all the ingredients for these chocolate chip cookie muffins. Here are the few basic ingredients you’ll need:

• All Purpose Flour
• White Granulated Sugar
• Brown Sugar
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Eggs
• Milk
• Melted Butter
• Vanilla Extract
• Chocolate Chips
• Walnuts (optional)

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffins Video

How to Make Chocolate Chip Cookie Muffin Recipe

Now that you’ve watched how this recipe is made, let me walk you through the steps:

1. Prep: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease a 12 cup muffin pan or line the cups with muffin liners.
2. Dry Ingredients: Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Wet Ing