Archive for June 2011

Jun192011

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream

Homemade Oreo Ice Cream

In honor of Father’s Day I’m posting my husband’s favorite homemade treat — Oreo ice cream! If I go too long without making a fresh batch, I’ll start getting puppy eyes from him, so I make sure I have heavy cream and Egg Beaters on my shopping lists.

Truth be told, I like to make my own ice cream anyway because I like to know what’s going into it and by how much. I also like to stick with a pretty simple recipe — just eggs, sugar, cream and milk.

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Jun162011

Easy Homemade Iced Coffee

Easy Homemade Iced Coffee

Even though I know it’s coming every year, our summer temperatures always seem to sneak up on me. This year we were a little more spoiled than usual since our spring lasted past April, going right into the beginning of June (though that’s relative: I consider pretty much anything under 90 degrees to still be “spring” weather).

Yesterday we hit our first substantial three-digit temp of 106 degrees, and despite wanting to cower in a dark, cool corner somewhere, my eyes instead misted over with the anticipation of my favorite summer treat: iced coffee.

Between coordinating my daughters’ daily chores and getting dinner ready in the crockpot (keeping the kitchen bearable, you know), I whipped up a batch of cold-brewed coffee, which I’ve found works the best for iced coffee (no melted ice cubes). However, instead of using my little French press, I opt for a pitcher and half a pound of ground coffee. Just mix the half pound of coffee with about eight cups of cold water, cover, and let it sit on the counter overnight. Strain it into a clean pitcher the next morning and keep it in the fridge. That’s it!

To make the iced coffee, put a few ice cubes in a glass and then fill about 2/3 full with the cold coffee. Top with milk and sugar or whatever other sweetener you want, including flavored syrups or chocolate syrup. I will admit that while I’m a Starbucks fan (not hardcore, but it’s a nice treat), this beats a $4 iced latte any day!

Jun132011

Long Break!

Wow, I sure took a long break there! You know how it goes: holidays, birthdays, new routines. I hate that some things had to slide and that this was one of them, but I’m hopefully getting back into the swing of it now.

It’s summer break around here so I’ve got my little helpers by my side who are as eager as I am to get back to it. I’ve also got a few other things I hope to write about in the coming weeks!