Welcome to the weekend, my friends! As I sit here sipping coffee and writing today’s newsletter, my youngest son is making a pot of blueberries and cream oatmeal for our breakfast – and I’m thinking how awesome it is to have older kids now. Younger years are their own kind of fun, but middle school, high school, and college age kids? I just love it so much. Today’s plan is a whole lot of home organization and cleaning out closets, a trip to drop off donations at the thrift store (thrills a minute here for sure), maybe a car wash, and hopefully a bike ride too. There’s something especially pea ..read more

Freshly churned chocolate ice cream is layered with bite-size chunks of Cosmic Brownies and scattered with miniature M&M candies to create this super fun Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream. Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream I’ve been on a kick lately making Little Debbie copycat ice cream recipes. When I first spied Little Debbie’s line of ice creams in the grocery store, I did a double take. And then I immediately put them all on my must-try-soon list. Little Debbie’s brownies were always a fun treat growing up and I couldn’t resist turning that nostalgic treat into a bowl of ice cream. I started this ice c ..read more

Perfectly chewy, ultra fudgy brownies, topped with a layer of fudge frosting and a sprinkling of candies, these brownies are a better-than-store-bought copycat of Little Debbie’s Cosmic Brownies! The rave reviews of these brownies have been nonstop, my friends. I’ve made them a few times now to make sure the recipe is perfect and it truly is. Side note: it turns out that these brownies are my kryptonite. I force myself to give away half the pan every time I make them because I can not stay away from them if they’re in the house. I tested a few different fudgy brownie recipes (heaven knows tha ..read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We’ve had a great week with family visiting, driving out to watch the eclipse in totality (so many thoughts here, but WOW sums it up), celebrating my niece’s birthday, playing games, and cooking so much food. You know it’s been a relaxing time when I’m now happily looking forward to several straight days of work. (But first, we’ll enjoy the rest of the weekend!) ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Loaded with our favorite Mexican flavors; this southwest chicken soup is slightly spicy with chunks of tomatoes, corn, black beans, and tender chicken. I like to top the stea ..read more

As much as we all love a good old-fashioned banana split ice cream sundae, I’m here to tell you that banana split ice cream – it’s a whole new world of homemade ice cream. Creamy, freshly churned banana ice cream is swirled with crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries, peanuts, and chocolate chips to create this ice cream. Banana Split Ice Cream Sundae Each scoop of banana split ice cream is a whole explosion of flavor and when you take scoops of this ice cream and top them with whipped cream, it’s an ice cream sundae everyone wants to dive into. There’s just something fun and nostalgic about t ..read more

These buttery, not-too-sweet cookies with a mild lemon flavor and a sweetly tart lemon glaze have been a hit with everyone who tries one. Glazed Lemon Cookies In my family, we’re all big fans of lemon desserts. From the best lemon bars you’ll ever taste to the lemon angel pie we make every year, lemon ice cream to lemon sorbet, lemon cheesecake to glazed lemon pound cake, there aren’t many lemon desserts that won’t make me smile. Sometimes I like that pop of tangy citrus flavor to pretty much hit me in the face. Other times the lemon flavor sneaks in quietly and works its magic that way. These ..read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! The storms in Ohio have been almost non-stop this week, but there are plenty of signs that spring is on the way. It’s looking beautiful and green all around us these days. (Technically, it’s green everywhere that isn’t currently muddy or flooded, but I’m looking for the blessing in all the rain this week.) If you’ve never lived somewhere without changing seasons, the wonder of it all is likely not something you notice. But having lived most of my life in the Southwest, I don’t take the different seasons for granted. I love each one so much (yes, even mud se ..read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Despite the rain in the forecast, we’re hoping to sneak out for a short hike today whenever the weather gives us a break and we might get in some Frisbee golf too. (FYI I’m awful, but it’s still fun.) This is an Easter weekend full of family and friends for us. I’m simmering some green chile stew for dinner tonight and tomorrow will be a waffle brunch after church followed by country-style ribs for dinner. We don’t have a traditional menu for Easter most years and it’s fun to play it by ear. ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Whether you’re dressing up a salad or slat ..read more

Vanilla sweet cream ice cream filled with chunks of birthday cake and plenty of sprinkles is as much fun to make as it is to eat! This birthday cake ice cream is my current favorite flavor. And yes, I just declared a new favorite ice cream for at least the 10th time on this website. How could I possibly choose a forever favorite when I’m constantly trying new flavors to share with you? Prior to making this ice cream, I don’t remember the last time I tasted a funfetti cake topped with sprinkles frosting. Let me tell you, this cake was a time machine back to my childhood. I remember enjoying th ..read more

Always a hit when tucked inside boxes of Christmas sweets, chocolate dipped Coconut Macaroons are rich, sweet, chewy cookies that are almost candy-like. Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate I like to use dark chocolate when making these, as the bittersweet chocolate balances the sweetness of the coconut, and the flavors work very well together. I’ve made these macaroons at Christmastime for the past 15+ years. (In addition to making them for pretty much every other occasion too.) If you love coconut anywhere near as much as we do, you will fall in love with these cookies. How To Make Coconut Maca ..read more