Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s mid-June and the weather is about as perfect as it could possibly be. (Not something I recall ever saying in the summertime before we moved to Ohio.) We still have chilly mornings and glorious afternoons and evenings.

Even after 4 years of living here, I still have moments of, “How awesome is it that I get to wake up in my favorite place on earth every morning?!” It’s a gift I don’t take for granted.

ON THE BLOGS this week: 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.

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 pepperoni pizza grilled cheese sandwich is a fantastic treat, loaded with savory slices of pepperoni, gooey mozzarella, and fresh basil.

Garden-fresh tomatoes, fragrant basil, and a creamy, cheesy topping make each slice of this old fashioned tomato pie a joy to eat!

Tender vegetables are breaded and broiled to perfection with plenty of buttery garlic and lemon in this crispy buttered zucchini and summer squash.

Tender crisp green beans are sauteed along with tomatoes, onions, jalapenos, and plenty of spice in these flavorful Mexican green beans.

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.

Creamy sweet vanilla ice cream filled with crunchy, nutty grape nuts? Yes, please! This grape nut ice cream has been an absolute win with family and friends.

Juicy sweet blueberries are topped with the warm, cinnamon-kissed crunch of a buttery oat topping

Creamy sweet vanilla ice cream filled with crunchy, nutty grape nuts? Yes, please! This grape nut ice cream has been an absolute win with family and friends.

We’ve eaten it scooped into bowls, ice cream cones, and melting over a fruit crisp too. It honestly doesn’t matter how you serve it, it is sure to disappear quickly.

Jamaican Grape Nut Ice Cream

This ice cream has officially blown my mind. Quite a few years ago, a reader asked me if I had a recipe for grape nut ice cream and I filed that request away under, “I should research that.” And then promptly forgot.

While I was playing with cereal milk ice creams recently, I remembered this one and after just a wee bit of research, I learned that grape nut ice cream is a Jamaican ice cream that is basically vanilla ice cream with the addition of crunchy nutty grape nuts.

Grape Nuts Ice Cream

I couldn’t even fathom how that was going to taste, but like always, I was game for trying it. Turns out that grape nut ice cream is crazy good. Crunchy, nutty, bits of grape nuts cereal are scattered throughout every bite of creamy rich ice cream.

A friend tried this one when I made it and said it reminds her of cheesecake crust in the way it remains crunchy throughout the ice cream. The cereal does soften (compared to the level of crunch grape nuts have straight out of the box) but there is a decidedly firm crunch throughout the finished ice cream.

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Watermelon dog treats are the ultimate dog popsicles – and best of all it only takes a minute to make them. They’re a great way to use up leftover watermelon too!

Happy 4th Gotcha Day, Oscar. We love you and we’re celebrating with your favorite Watermelon Dog Treats today.

It’s hard to believe that our sweet Oscar has been with us for four years now! It’s hard to imagine our lives without him.

After saying for so many years that I wasn’t a dog person, I’ve had to eat those words. He has very much become a member of our family and I love him dearly.

So many of you have shared in our excitement over the past few years, as we’ve become first-time dog owners.

You messaged me countless tips and endless advice and I’ve loved it all. So, I wanted to share our pup’s favorite treats with you.

Dog Popsicles

Several people sent me recipes for their favorite homemade dog treats when Oscar first arrived. The most popular treats by far were these watermelon dog treats – made simply by blending fruit with a bit of yogurt to make dog popsicles.

This combination has become Oscar’s favorite treat too. It cracks me up when he hovers near the freezer and peeks inside to see where the treats are.

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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.