Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Our little village pulls out all the stops for the 4th of July with a street fair set up downtown for most of the week. It’s always a lot of fun, and we usually have friends or family visiting too, but when it’s over we’re all ready to get back to regular life.

I’m looking forward to a week filled with everyday routines, walks outside, and plenty of sunshine! (Fun fact – I caught a glimpse of the haying that was happening in the field behind our house this week. I had NO idea that hay bales were so big! I walked out to the field and was in awe of the size. They made the tractors look like toys.)

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  This BLT salad is fully loaded with crunchy romaine lettuce, sweet tomatoes and fresh corn, salty bacon, rich and creamy avocado slices, cubed cheddar cheese, crunchy croutons, and the perfect ranch dressing.

Sweet corn, ripe bell peppers, red onion, and jalapenos are seasoned with a medley of aromatic spices and a touch of fresh cilantro to make each spoonful of this fiesta corn a fabulous blend of flavors. True to its name, it tastes like a party!

If you want to learn how to roast corn, you’ve come to the right place! Roasting corn concentrates its sweetness. Served with a pat of butter, roasted corn takes me right back to childhood.

Avocados, chicken, corn, and black beans pair well with a blend of southwestern spices for a quick Mexican flavor-inspired chicken lettuce wrap.

Lemon blueberry bread is soft, moist, and generously filled with blueberries and bright lemon flavor. This is a quick and easy bread recipe everyone will love.

Soft, chewy and just barely crisp on the edges chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies are memorably good. This is one of my favorite cookie combinations. There is no bad time of day (or even year!) for cookies. And these cookies? You’re going to want them all day (and year) long.

If you’re a fan of root beer floats -and who isn’t?- you’re going to go wild for this root beer ice cream. This is a summer treat that could fast become a family favorite!

What I’m CRAVING: Watermelon! Just give me all the watermelon. It’s that time of year and I can’t get enough of it. Typically, I just want a simple bowl filled with bites of watermelon, maybe with a sprinkling of salt. But this week I turned that craving into a brand new salad, and I can’t get enough

If you’re a fan of root beer floats -and who isn’t?- you’re going to go wild for this Root Beer Ice Cream. This is a summer treat that could fast become a family favorite!

Root Beer Float Ice Cream

Creamy, dreamy, cold, and refreshing, this root beer ice cream has all the chill-out power of a frosty root beer float; but scoopable. If you want to get very meta, you could make your root beer float with root beer ice cream!

I recently learned that root beer is not as popular anywhere else in the world than it is here in North America. It makes sense that it started here, since the sassafras it was originally made from was native to North America and East Asia.

It can be hard to describe the flavor of root beer to someone who hasn’t grown up drinking it because there are so many components to the flavors.

Root beer is commonly made with vanilla, caramel, wintergreen, black cherry bark, licorice root, sarsaparilla root, nutmeg, acacia, anise, molasses, cinnamon, sweet birch, and honey. No wonder it’s tough to describe!

But those of us who love it, love it dearly. And I’m willing to bet that if you’re Team Root Beer, you’re going to love this ice cream.

Psst; if you’re a true aficionado, you may want to try making your own

Weekly Menu Plan – Jul. 8 to Jul 14

Let us take one thing off your to-do list next week! This is a weekly menu plan that gives you dinner ideas for each day of the week, and they are recipes that your whole family will love!

Monday: Mango Salsa Mexican Grilled Chicken With Coconut Rice [Video]

Tuesday: Spring Pasta Primavera Recipe [+Video]

Wednesday: Mustard Carolina BBQ Sauce Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs

Thursday: Tuscan Grilled Chicken Kabobs

Friday: Authentic Carne Asada Tacos [+ Video]

Saturday: Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Salmon [+Video]

READ: Weekly Menu Plan – Jul. 8 to Jul 14

Summer Must Haves at Walmart

Hello friends! Walmart is having all kinds of sales and deals right now, so I wanted to share some of my favorite summer items that I buy at Walmart.

KITCHEN

1. Stoneware Cake Pedestal
2. Small Ceramic Dipping Sauce Bowls
3. Owala 16oz Kids’ FreeSip Stainless Steel Water Bottle
4. Programmable Slow Cooker – 6qt
5. Read more

Strawberry Jello Cake

This delicious strawberry Jello cake is the perfect summer dessert! Made with a white cake mix and strawberry Jello, this dessert is sure to be a hit at your next gathering. It is quick and easy and a moist cake with a hint of strawberries and cream!

Years ago our friend Sarah gave us her family recipe for Lemon Jello Cake (I know you’re supposed to write, Jell-O, but no one actually follows that rule, right??) and it’s been one of the most popular recipes on our site year after year. We’ve experimented with Pineapple Crush Jello cake, orange Jello cake, strawberry lemonade jello cake, even a festive 4th of July Jello cake and now a strawberries and cream jello cake!

It’s important to use a white cake mix and strawberry jello for this recipe as it will tone down the strawberry flavor and allow you to taste that “strawberries n creme” thing.

What Does Adding Jello to Cake Do?

There are several reasons to add Jello to a cake. Jello enhances the flavor and color of a cake. It also helps the cake be more moist and dense in texture. I highly recommend it!

Ingredients for Strawberry Jello Cake

I hope you’re sitting down because you aren’t going to believe that you only need 7 ingredients to make this jello cake recipe! Keep in mind that when you make the glaze, you have a few different options. I’ll explain that more below. Here is what you will need:

CAKE

• White Cake Mix: A vanilla cake mix is our preferred flavor, but yellow works fine too. The color will just be a little more orange with a yellow cake mix. We use Duncan Hines brand.
  • NOTE: You will use just the box cake mix powder when making the batter for this cake. You will not follow the directions for making the cake on the box.
• Eggs: Gives the cake structure and richness.
• Water: Adds needed moisture to create a perfectly moist cake.
• Oil: Canola oil or vegetable oil both work great and don’t alter the flavor of the cake while still keeping it moist and fabulous.
• Strawberry Jello: You just need the small box (3 oz) and you will only be using the jello powder. Don’t use the sugar free jello. It doesn’t set up the same.

ICING

• Heavy Cream: Helps bind the icing together and adds richness to the flavor and texture. Save some extra cream to whip up and spread on top of the cake after cooling.
• Powdered Sugar: Acts as the base for the icing and provides all the sweetness.

The measurements needed for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end