Ice Cream Pies

Last year I was in charge of bring pies to Thanksgiving Dinner.

I spent a few weeks trying many different pies, and I think my favorite that I found was this:

Mint Ice Cream Pie

In a large chilled bowl stir 2 pints (4 cups) mint chocolate chip or peppermint ice cream until softened but not melted.  Spoon ice cream into a purchased chocolate-flavored crumb pie shell, spread evenly.  Cover; freeze for 4 hours or until firm.  To serve, let pie stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.  Top slices with warmed hot fudge ice cream topping and, if desired, coarsely chopped chocolate-mint layered candies or crushed peppermint candies.

I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

It really was that simple!

I just went and bought a half gallon of mint ice cream, an Oreo crust, and some Andes mint chips.

I used about 3/4 of the half gallon of ice cream and stirred it until it was smooth.

Then put that in the Oreo pie crust and put it in the freezer.

Then when ready to serve, drizzle chocolate syrup and mint pieces on top of each slice.

Yum.

By the way, I like to make cookies with the left over mint chips.

See the recipe here:  Andes Creme de Menthe Cookies

What a wonderful dessert this Mint Ice Cream Pie turned out to be!

I love ice cream way more then I love pie anyway!

Well this recipe got my creative juices flowing....

and my husband and I came up with our own 4th of July ice cream pie.

We used Vanilla ice cream and a Nilla Wafer Crust for this one.

We measured just over a cup of softened ice cream and put blue food coloring in it.

We let that freeze for an hour and a half or so, (till it was firm)

then we did the next layer adding red food coloring, and let it freeze,

then the next layer without any food coloring.

We added blue and red sprinkles on top, just for fun.

The outcome:

It didn't taste quite as amazing as the mint pie, but it sure is more festive for this weekend!

Happy 4th of July, everyone!

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY from Girly Accents!

Fun with Glow Sticks

What do you while waiting for the fireworks? If you have kids, you know the fireworks can't start soon enough. A few years ago, I found a trick to make the time before the fireworks fly by (and no one bugs me about when the fireworks will start!)  So, I thought you all should know.  Dollar tree is my friend.  Who doesn't love a dollar store?  I head over to the dollar store and get lots of glow sticks.  LOTS being the key.  If you only give them one, it's not very fun!  Luckily, you can get a 5 pack of bracelets or a 2 pack of necklaces for a dollar.  Not bad.  I just went and stocked up for our festivities coming this weekend.

Here are some ideas of what we have done with them.  We make jewelry, we juggle, we play ring toss, we make a chain, we make a rainbow, we draw our names, we swing them back and forth while I try and take a picture (with a slow shutter speed).  It's hours of fun.

This year I found some new glow sticks that you can hook together to make a ball.   I can already tell these are going to be a blast!  Whoever came up with this is a genius.

Again, you can have lots of fun with a slower shutter speed.

Totally worth every penny, if you ask me!  You should give it a try.  You will thank me later.  :)  After trying out this glow stick ball last night, I think my kids are more excited for the glow sticks than for the fireworks.

Don't forget to enter the GIVEAWAY from Girly Accents!

GIVEAWAY: Girly Accents

Time for another giveaway!

If you have a daughter, or know someone who has or is having a daughter, 

(which should be pretty much all of us), THIS is the site for you!

 

This site is full of *GIRLY* accessories!

Here is what you can win!!

(Wait for it....Wait for it.... :)

 

#1- A Set of 2 Purple Mini Flower Clips

#2- A Set of 2 Pink Spikey Bows

#3- 1 Large Turquoise Gerber Daisy Flower Clip

AND

#4- 1 Brown Infant Headband!

WA-HOOOOO!

Wouldn't these be nice to have on hand for the next baby shower or birthday party you are invited to?

To enter, all you have to do is:

#1- Be a "Bits of Everything" follower

and 

#2- Visit www.girlyaccents.com and then come back here and let us know what you like best!

That's it!  Totally doable...right?

Just leave one comment telling us that you did both of these things and you're entered!

So hurry over now!  Give-a-way ends Friday night!

The winner will be announced on Saturday!

GOOD LUCK!!

Fruit Pizza

One of my favorite 4th of July desserts is Fruit Pizza!

This was last years, 

and I can't wait to make one again this weekend.

I used the recipe found on allrecipes.com HERE.

For much quicker pizza, 

use store bought sugar cookie dough.

Yum!

Compliments

If you’ve got 15 minutes to kill, you should watch this video.

Validation

It's a couple of years old, but I still love it.

It’s just a good reminder that you never know how far one compliment can go.

So go ahead, give a compliment and make someone’s day.

By the way, you look good in red.

July Subway Art

I just love the Subway Art's that eighteen25 has made.  I've printed most of them.  However, I've been wanting to try making a subway art myself to see what I could come up with.  Here is the result:

16X20  or  8X10

12X18

I had so much fun finding new fonts and deciding where to put everything.  My daughter loved helping too!  Feel free to print and enjoy.  Print as 16X20 (or 8X10) or 12X18.  I personally like the 12X18, an in between size.

I also love this printable that I saw on Landee See Landee Do.  This will be perfect with my Subway Art.

Linking up here:  

A couple of my favorites!

I LOVE the Sticky Finger Salad from Wingers!! 

However, I don't totally love paying for it.

Soooooo... I decided to get the ingredients and make them at home anytime I want!

 I cut up Romaine Lettuce, carrots, and celery. (Cherry tomatoes are delicious, but optional)

Add some craisins and a little cheese.

(Sometimes I add other veggies or sunflower seeds, depending on what I have.)

Then I top it with the spicy chicken and ranch!  That's it!

To make my own spicy chicken, I like to buy the popcorn chicken from Costco

because it is fully cooked and can be reheated in the microwave.  

Then I cover it in the Wingers Amazing Sauce! It's SO delicious.

It's a little spicy, but not too much, especially with the ranch on top! 

You can buy this sauce from Wingers for about $6 a bottle.

You can also go HERE for a copycat recipe.

OR you can go to Costco and get 2 bottles for $6!

I was so excited when I saw them there a couple of weeks ago! Wa-hoo! =)

My other favorite little treat is the Cherry Limeaid from Sonic.

It is so good!  It's perfect for a hot summer any afternoon!

You can get all drinks at Sonic half price during Happy Hour, between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.

or I also found the copycat recipe for this drink HERE!

What are some of your favorite things that I should try?

Popsicle Mania

I've been getting super excited about all the frozen treats I've been seeing on Pinterest.

These yogurt popsicles, made in little dixie cups

found HERE.

These fresh fruit popsicles

found HERE.

This link has 50+ popsicle recipes!

Go HERE.

These ones are fruit and yogurt-- yum!

found HERE.

So the girls and I made our first attempt of the summer.

We have popsicle molds, 

but of course the kids play with them, and I couldn't find all the lids. 

So we used Dixie cups and popsicle sticks and went to it!

(we used the idea from the first link in this blog post)

And here is the final result!

We used strawberry yogurt, green smoothie, and peach yogurt.

Can't wait to try a lot of the other recipes.

I'll come back and report my favorite!