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

Filled with Italian sausage and shredded vegetables before being fried crisp and golden brown, these Italian Egg Rolls are a fun and unexpected twist on pasta night.

This recipe was a spur-of-the-moment dinner years ago that turned out deliciously. While looking through the refrigerator for inspiration one night, I paused at a package of egg roll wrappers.

That was when I discovered that egg roll wrappers are technically a form of pasta. Did you already know that? Well, one thought led to another and I decided to try an Italian Eggroll combination.

I serve these Italian Eggrolls with 5 Minute Marinara Sauce on the side for dipping and they disappear FAST every time we make them.

The kids, my husband, and I absolutely devoured these eggrolls the first time I made them. My youngest son ate three of them! (The photo at the bottom of this post still makes me grin. I can hardly believe it’s been 11 years since my baby was that small!)

Kitchen Tip: I use this pan, these tongs, and this tray to make this recipe.

Italian Eggrolls

• sweet or hot Italian sausage
• shredded carrots
• shredded cabbage 
• garlic powder, salt, and pepper
• egg roll wrappers
• beaten egg
• oil for frying
• marinara sauce for serving

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Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s been a seriously delicious week spent in the kitchen over here. There are a whole lot of great new recipes headed your way this summer.

Oh! If you’re a rhubarb lover, you should definitely subscribe for emails over here, so that you don’t miss any of those new recipes.

ON THE BLOGS this week:  This fried rice with chicken and bacon has been firmly established in our home as the best “unplanned and amazingly delicious” meal ever.

Sweet and slightly tart fresh blueberries are lightly covered in dark chocolate to create an irresistible sweet snack that doubles as a quick and easy dessert too.

Creamy, spicy, pasta with bell peppers and sausage is a 20-minute meal that everyone loves. My family will happily eat this pasta any night of the week.

Anyone who has ever grown their own zucchini knows that before summer is over, you’re going to be looking for new ways to use it. This guide details all the steps to follow on how to make zucchini noodles.

If you know how to cook zucchini noodles you can have these garlic parmesan zucchini noodles ready to eat in just minutes – perfectly seasoned with just butter and herbs or topped with your favorite pasta sauce.

The satisfying sizzle of colorful veggies on a hot grill yields all the fabulous flavor and charring you want in no time at all. Learning how to grill all kinds of vegetables makes summer dinners a breeze.

Fresh strawberries are tossed with sugar and cinnamon before being layered under a sweet biscuit crust to make this strawberry cobbler. If you’re a fan of classic strawberry shortcake, this berry-filled dessert is going to thrill you.

Smooth vanilla ice cream meets the vibrant flavor of sweet, ripe cherries in every bite of this black cherry ice cream. And, the second spoonful? Irresistible.

Sweet, tart cherry filling and a crisp almond topping combine to make an easy and delicious summertime dessert. Whether topped with a scoop of ice cream or served alone, Read more