Creamy vanilla ice cream perfectly complements the tangy sweetness of rhubarb in this homemade rhubarb ice cream. A simple rhubarb sauce is swirled throughout each bite for a tantalizing and refreshing treat that combines the sweet creaminess of ice cream with the zesty allure of rhubarb.

What exactly is it about homemade ice cream that always tastes better than any other? Is it the fact we don’t have to leave the house to enjoy it?

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of churning ice cream on Grandma’s side porch that makes me smile, even though I very happily use an electric ice cream compressor to make ice cream now.

Whichever machine you choose to use (or not use) to make ice cream, I hope that you’ll love this rhubarb ice cream every bit as much as our family and friends do!

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! Don’t miss the Ice Cream Maker Review for all the information you need to find the BEST Ice Cream Maker for your needs! Spoiler alert – our top-rated machine under $50 just might surprise you. It sure surprised me!

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This Spinach Orzo Salad is filled with cranberries, creamy goat cheese, tender pasta, and plenty of fresh spinach tossed in a tangy sweet dressing. The salad can be served immediately or kept in the refrigerator for 2-3 days – making this an awesome make-ahead meal for lunch or dinner.

Spinach Salad with Cranberries

The recipe was inspired by the Cranberry Orzo Salad that Princess Cruises serves in their International Cafe. It’s just so good! Tender pasta in a sweetly tangy dressing, with tart fresh cranberries and sliced almonds. Simple, fresh, and delicious.

I’ve included more cruise details at the bottom of the post here for anyone who is interested. As soon as I got home from our cruise through the British Isles, I immediately recreated the salad for my family.

As always, I loved the salad, but my guys? The kids decided that the fresh cranberries were too tart. (Crazy kids!)

So, the next time I made the salad, I went with dried cranberries and it was a win across the board. I like this salad every bit as much with dried cranberries as I do with fresh cranberries – and that’s an even bigger win, since fresh cranberries aren’t available more than a few weeks a year.

(And unless you’re lucky enough to have cranberries stashed in the freezer for this cake, you’ll be stuck waiting until the holidays to try this awesome salad.)

Spinach Orzo Salad

I took our salad to the next level by adding a generous portion of fresh baby spinach and warm chicken. Both the chicken and the spinach made it a heartier meal for my family.

And as far as my guys are concer

Fabulous Ranch Green Beans Recipe [+Video]

This is a green beans recipe like you’ve never tasted before and it is FABULOUS! The green beans are creamy and full of that comforting ranch flavor that everyone loves all topped with a crunchy Panko topping. Boom! You’re going to love this vegetable side dish!

I’ve been spending some quality time with more and more teenagers lately, and I’ve never felt more old and out of touch. Haha! I find myself asking them to explain all the slang words they are using. I learned a new one the other day and I’m totally incorporating it into my everyday lingo because it’s used to describe really, really good food — now that is something I can relate to! The word is “bussin'”. I can confidently say that these green beans are totally bussin’! 

After I accidentally created our melt-in-your-mouth baked ranch chicken, I had the thought that swapping the chicken for green beans would be stellar! And then I thought, nobody ever cares about green bean recipes. My next thought was…I don’t care! I’m going to do it anyway! And I was 100% correct, creamy ranch green bean casserole is out of this world…aka bussin’! And you need to try it!

Ingredients for Ranch Green Bean Casserole

You only need a few ingredients to make this tasty side dish, and most of the items will already be things you have on hand. Here is what you will need:

• Green Beans – fresh, washed, trimmed and then blanched
• Shallot – part of the onion and garlic family but more subtle in flavor
• Salt and Pepper – adds flavor
• Butter – used in the base for the sauce and as a binder for the crunchy Panko topping  
• Flour – thickens the sauce
• Ranch Salad Dressing – Trust me on this, make it from the packet, following the directions. It will taste way better then if you just buy a bottle of ranch.
• Milk – combines with the ranch to create the sauce
• Panko Breadcrumbs – Japanese-style breadcrumbs that adds crunch to the top of this casserole

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post. You can also save and/or print the recipe from there.

How to Blanch Green Beans

Blanching green beans takes just a few quick and easy steps. Fill a large pot of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add kosher salt to the water (about 1 tablespoon for every quart of water). When the water starts boiling, add the beans and let them cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice while the beans are cooking. When the beans have finished cooking, transfer the beans to the ice bath. Let them sit for a few minutes in the cold water. This helps the green beans maint

Perfectly sweetened and wonderfully spiced jam with just a hint of cinnamon, Homemade Peach Jam has been a staple in our home for about 15 years.

Every year, I wait until we can order peaches by the case. Then I roll up my sleeves and set to work making and canning a year’s worth of delicious jam.

Several years ago, about the time I started this website, the summer’s peaches were very late getting to our area. They finally arrived the day before I was headed out of town. I was looking forward to making jam just as soon as they were at the perfect stage of ripeness.

I glanced around at all my wonderful peaches and panicked because I knew they were going to be way past perfect by the time I returned home. I was on my way to being disappointed; when Sean very casually told me that he’d take care of it.

Now, I admit that jam making is not difficult. It is actually quite easy. However, it can also be time-consuming (especially, when you are not familiar with it all) and it is not a simple thing to accomplish with three small children running through the house all weekend.

I assured him that he shouldn’t worry about it, but if he really wanted to do it, I would set out the recipe and the jars for him.

Well, I came home a couple of days later to 24 jars of peach jam. Perfectly sweetened and wonderfully spiced jam with just a hint of cinnamon.

Did Sean really want to spend his time making jam this past weekend? That’s doubtful. But he did it to make my life easier and that makes every bite of this delicious jam taste even more delicious.

When I first posted this recipe on the site in 2011, it was just the photo of those jam jars. I’ve since updated the post with a video, and plenty of step-by-step photos. I hope it’s helpful to you in your jam-making endeavors.

Peach Jam

Store-bought jams and preserves just can’t compare with the taste of the homemade stuff and this peach jam is no exception.

Nothing says “summer” like biting into a fresh, sweet, juicy peach at the perfect stage of ripeness. This jam manages to capture all that spectacular warm weather flavor in a jar for eating any time of the year.

Peach Jam jam is phenomenal on all kinds of breads, muffins, and scones.

Toast a slice of Read more

Creamy, rich, chocolate cherry ice cream studded with bits of roasted cherries is a dream come true for anyone who loves both fresh sweet cherries and chocolate.

Cherry Chocolate Ice Cream

This was one of the very best ice creams I made in the first few years when I first started making homemade ice cream. And it has been in my ice cream-making rotation for almost ten years now.

Now that cherries are finally back in season, I’ll be making cherry ice cream every chance I get until the cherries are gone.

Roasted Cherries

Wondering how to roast cherries? It’s easy! Start by preheating the oven to 425°F. Line a baking pan with parchment and then wash and pit the cherries.

Slice the cherries in half and spread them across the baking pan. Roast for 20 minutes, until the cherries start to release their juices.

Remove from the oven and sprinkle with sugar to help the cherries release more of their juices. Stir and chill until needed.

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