In each scoop of this chocolate chip ice cream, the delightful crunch of chocolate creates a fun contrast against the smooth vanilla backdrop. This ice cream has been a kid-favorite in our home ever since I first churned it.

With miniature chocolate chips swirled through every bite of this ice cream, the tiny bursts of chocolate will have you coming back for “just one more bite” until it is gone.

Ice Cream with Chocolate Chips

Do you love chocolate chip ice creams as much as we do? There’s something extra special about bites of chocolate that create a contrasting texture and different flavors in creamy sweet homemade ice cream.

Whether it’s chocolate Nutella swirls or chocolate flakes that melt on your tongue, or chunks of chocolate chip cookie dough, they all have a place in our freezer.

This recipe starts with a creamy sweet vanilla base (no eggs or cooking required). Just stir the base together in a bowl and pour it into your ice cream maker.

Ice Cream Ingredients

Please note that this recipe calls specifically for miniature chocolate chips. This isn’t negotiable. If you add full-size regular chocolate chips to ice cream and then put it in the freezer, each bite is going to feel as if you are chewing rocks.

Double-check your ingredients and make sure you have teeny tiny mini chocolate chips for this ice cream before you add them to the churned ice cream. For an unexpected treat, try adding some toffee bits for a fun new ice cream combination.

That chocolate chip and toffee ice cream has been one of my favorites for several years. And almost every time I make it my youngest son asks me to PLEASE make it with just the chocolate chips for him next time.

So, here you go, kiddo. Your own favorite ice cream. Enjoy!

How many waffle toppings can you think of off the top of your head? My family has a well-established weakness for waffles and with that comes a weakness for all the awesome ways that you can top a hot crisp freshly made waffle.

Is “waffle season” a thing? Or is that just me? We enjoy hot breakfasts all year long, but there is something wonderfully fall and winter about pulling out the waffle iron and watching the steam rise as they cook in the mornings.

All I know is that right now, we are deep in waffle season over here and we’re making all the toppings to pour, stack, and pile on top of our waffles.

Waffle Toppings

From the sweet to the savory there are so many options when it comes to dressing up your waffles. A basic buttermilk waffle can be transformed from simple to spectacular with the right combination of toppings.

I recently shared a list of some of my all-time favorite waffle recipes. After spending all that time thinking about waffles, it became clear that I’d need a whole other post just to talk about waffle toppings!

Craving something sweet? My Grandmother’s Waffle Sauce will forever reign supreme, (just ask literally anyone who has ever tasted it!) but there are so many other delicious ways to top them too.

Sweet waffle toppings are hands-down the most

Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins with Streusel Topping

Grab that leftover cranberry sauce and make these sweet and tart cranberry sauce muffins. They make a great breakfast or brunch!

Last year I got fed up with all the leftover cranberry sauce so for months after, I tried sticking it in and on everything trying to find the best ways to use it. You can only eat leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches for so many days before you’re totally burned out. In fact, our leftover Thanksgiving turkey sliders is a fabulous way to use leftover cranberry sauce, but I still wanted to find something different. These heavenly cranberry sauce muffins with streusel crumb topping were born.

Recommended Equipment

• Muffin Tin
• Stand Mixer

Before You Begin…

Make sure you have your cranberry sauce ready to go. Hopefully you have leftovers from Thanksgiving so this step is already done. You can make it homemade or use store bought cranberry sauce. I’ve linked to our homemade cranberry sauce recipe in the recipe card.

What Do I Need to Make Cranberry Sauce Muffins?

I’m going to divide the list of ingredients up between the streusel topping and the muffin batter. Jump on the streusel topping first…

For the Streusel

• All-Purpose Flour: gives the streusel topping structure
• Light Brown Sugar: adds sweetness and rich flavor
• Kosher Salt: enhances all the flavors
• Cinnamon: adds warmth and that classic fall flavor
• Ground Cardamom: I love the flavor of a little cardamom with cranberry sauce!
• Butter: binds the streusel together, the key to a good streusel

For the Batter

• Sugar: adds sweetness and balances out the tart cranberry sauce
• Vegetable Oil: adds needed fat and moisture to the muffins
• Eggs: give the muffins structure and rise
• <

Crisp and buttery on the outside, fluffy on the inside, this easy waffle recipe is perfection. Included are loads of options for sweet or savory waffles, plus all the toppings you could ever desire.

I like sweet waffles, savory waffles, snack waffles (handheld Ham and Cheese Waffles, I’m looking at you). If you can waffle it, I will probably love it.

Homemade Waffles

Want to know a secret? I almost never order waffles at a restaurant. That’s how picky I am about my waffles.

I know exactly how I like my waffles and restaurant waffles are never as good as the homemade waffles from my own kitchen.

I take my waffle enthusiasm too seriously to waste a meal on waffles that are anything less than spectacular. Rest assured, I’d never share a waffle recipe with you that I didn’t absolutely adore. My standards are just too high.

Easy Waffles

Considering how deep my love for waffles runs, it’s high time I shared with you my ultimate list of best waffle recipes.

I’ve been making waffles a long time and I’ve discovered that, while everyone has their own preferences, there are a few things that all great waffles have in common.

The ultimate waffle recipe is crispy on the outside (but never oily or greasy!) with a soft fluffy interior. The best waffles won’t fall apart when you lift them from the iron, they won’t bend in half, and they also won’t get tough and dense as they cool.

Rest assured that when I say this is the best waffle recipe ever, I don’t make that claim lightly. Part of the reason this recipe is the best is simply because it’s as easy as can be.

Read more

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey and Stuffing Acorn Squash

Everyone needs more acorn squash recipes, especially when they are stuffed with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing! Repurpose all those leftovers in big way!

Last year I was fussing to my Mom on the phone about how much turkey I needed to use up after the holidays and she mentioned that she’d made the yummiest little concoction to use up the last of their turkey leftovers the night before. Quickly she typed up a text to me and I put it to the test within 24 hours. Turkey stuffed acorn squash uses everything you have lying around and my goodness, it’s almost like the perfect sandwich with all of those layers of flavor!

Ingredients for Leftover Turkey Stuffed Acorn Squash

The best thing about this recipe is that it’s so easy and almost all the ingredients are leftovers, so they are already set to throw in. Here is what you will need:

• Acorn Squashes – you want two squashes, cut in half and scooped clean
• Onion – yellow onion, diced small
• Turkey (cooked and chopped) – you can use white meat or dark or a mix of both
• Stuffing – any type of stuffing works great, we love to use our no fuss make ahead stuffing
• Cranberry Sauce – adds the perfect sweetness and tanginess
• Chicken Broth – since you are baking cooked food again, you want to add a little moisture so it doesn’t dry out
• Salt – flavor, you can add as much or as little as you want

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

How to Make Stuffed Acorn Squash

It’s as easy as cleaning out a couple of acorn squashes and stuffing it with a bunch of Thanksgiving leftovers. So simple! Here are the basic steps:

1. Preheat the oven.
2. Cut the squashes in half and clean them out. Slice a thin piece off the bottom of each so they sit flat.
3. Roast the squashes.
4. Saute the onion in a skillet over medium heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir together.
5. Spoon the mixture into the roasted squash and bake.
6. Serve with more cranberry sauce or gravy.

All of these instructions in full detail can be found in the recipe card below.