Instead of having to head out to the grocery store whenever you’re in the mood for some Magic Shell frozen treat topping, you can make your own at home with a lot less effort than it takes to get in your car and drive to the store.
scoochmaroo over at Instructables shares her recipe, which is completely vegan for all of your non-dairy frozen treats, using only two ingredients for a fool-proof topping. The two basic ingredients are coconut oil and chocolate, but you can also use a dash of sea salt. Once you make this recipe once, your mind will undoubtedly start racing with all of the flavors you can inject into your topping. scoochmaroo made several different flavor combinations, including dark chocolate and orange extract, white chocolate and vanilla and semisweet chocolate and mint extract.
This treat also makes an amazing gift; just put it in a decorative jar and you’re bound to impress the pants off anyone who receives it.
This summer is incredibly hot and sweaty, so there’s pretty much nothing better than ice cream and other fabulously delicious frosty treats. Check out these three recipes for some great desserts that will delight and best of all, cool you off.
Brownie Ice Cream Cake
Nothing goes better together than brownies, fudge and ice cream and this brownie ice cream cake will cost you a fraction of what store-bought ice cream desserts sell for.
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with foil; grease bottoms only with shortening or cooking spray.
2. Make brownie batter directed on box. Divide batter evenly between pans. Bake 19 to 22 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from side of pan comes out almost clean. Cool completely in pans, about 1 hour. Do not remove from pans.
3. Spread slightly softened ice cream evenly on brownies in pans. Freeze at least 2 hours or until ice cream is firm.
4. Remove desserts from pans; remove foil. Place on serving plates. Cut each dessert into 8 wedges. Drizzle each wedge with hot fudge topping. Decorate with candy sprinkles and cherries. Store covered in freezer.
Creamy Orange Ice Cream Pie
This creamy orange ice cream pie looks absolutely delicious. It includes sherbet, ice cream and sugar cookie crumbs.
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, stir cookie mix and butter until well mixed (mixture will be crumbly).
2. Reserve 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture; set aside. In ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate, press remaining mixture over bottom and up side of plate; prick with fork. Bake 16 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, on ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle remaining crumb mixture. Bake 10 to 11 minutes or until edges of crumb mixture begin to brown. Cool on cookie sheet, about 30 minutes.
4. While crust and crumb mixture are cooling, place sherbet and ice cream in refrigerator to soften. Scoop half of softened sherbet over crust; spread to cover crust. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup crumbs. Scoop all of softened ice cream over sherbet and crumbs; spread to cover. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup crumbs. Scoop remaining half of sherbet over ice cream and crumbs. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup crumbs. Freeze until firm, 4 to 6 hours or overnight. Let stand 15 minutes to soften before cutting.
Frosty Latte Dessert
Ah, the dessert I am most excited about! When you say coffee liqueur and chocolate syrup and I am sold.
Directions:
1. Place whipping cream, liqueur and syrup in large bowl; refrigerate.
2. Heat oven to 350ºF. Cut butter into flour in medium bowl, using pastry blender or crisscrossing 2 knives, until evenly mixed. Stir in nuts. Press evenly in bottom of ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches. Bake about 15 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. Beat whipping cream mixture with electric mixer on high speed until stiff; spread over crust. Cover and freeze at least 4 hours until firm. For serving pieces, cut into 3 rows by 3 rows; serve immediately. Store covered in freezer.
Summer is the time for going on vacation with your family, coming up with fun activities for your kids and best of all, enjoying the weather with good friends and great cocktails.
On the 4th of July Bacardi USA launched their “Salute to Summer’s Best 60 Second Cocktail Program” that will go on until Labor Day (September 6th). This program has brought together celebrity chef John Besh and celebrity mixologist Bryan Stowe, both who are also former US soldiers, who have created a phenomenal menu of cocktails and grilled dishes that are healthy and delicious. Both the dishes and cocktails feature and utilize the flavors found within Bacardi’s line of products.
The cocktail recipes on the menu take just 60 seconds to make and the grilled dishes take 10 minutes. With these recipes, you can put together an entire menu of exquisite recipes and accompanying cocktails that will look and taste fabulously. These recipes will also wow the pants off of your loved ones and will look like they were made in more than just a few minutes with incredibly easy-to-find ingredients.
The cocktail recipes use Bacardi’s unique and flavorful alcohol and some of the recipes include Grey Goose Fresh Berry Lemonade and Bacardi Limon Iced Tea. Among the grilled foods recipes you will find Grilled Chicken Breast with Tequila Cazadores Reposado Lime Glaze and Grilled Flank Steak with Louisiana Peach and Grey Goose Citron Glaze, among others.
Take a look at how easy it is to create the Bacardi hand shaken daiquiri in this video from Bryan Stowe.
You can find easy-to-locate recipes right on the cocktail recipes section of the 60 Second Cocktails Facebook page or you can download their entire recipe book! [PDF]
Bacardi USA hasn’t just put together some awesome menus for you to utilize throughout the rest of the summer using their products and flavors, although that is certainly pretty amazing. In addition to recipes and ideas for your own recipes, Bacardi USA has also committed to donate $75,000 to the USO and Bacardi consumers who are over 21 years of age can increase the total donation amount of $100,000 through their participation in the 60 Second Cocktails Facebook fan page. Every time someone becomes a fan of the page on Facebook, Bacardi USA will donate $1 to the USO until they reach $100,000.
This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.
Tacos can easily become a dinner staple in any household. They are made here quite often because they are so easy to put together, very quick, and everyone gets to make their own with the stuff they love to eat, which can be a lot of fun, especially for kids and immature adults alike, like myself, I’m proud to report.
When you typically think of tacos, it’s customary for hard taco shells to immediately come to mind. However, I don’t typically use them. Hard shells are pretty bad on my teeth and I’ve always hard some pretty bad dental problems, which severely limits what I can eat by what they can handle. It is for that reason that I will always opt for soft tortillas to substitute hard taco shells and it just so happens that the brand I am always looking for is Mission.
Mission flour tortillas are delicious and they can be used for a great deal of quick and easy dishes for dinner, lunch and even breakfast if you’re looking to make yourself (and your family) some delicious homestyle breakfast burritos. They are as versatile as they are a healthy and great choice for your meal preparation needs.
Yes, I did say healthy! Mission flour tortillas contain no trans fats and they are cholesterol-free. They are most definitely a brand to keep in mind when you’re doing your weekly grocery shopping and if you check out their website at MissionMenus.com, you will find a ton of quick and easy, budget-friendly meals that are all under $10. That is amazing when you’re on a budget and have a whole family to feed.
Mission Foods not only makes healthy, budget-friendly and delicious foods, they are also making a difference in the lives of hungry children in America. They support Share Our Strength, which is the leading national organization committed to ending childhood hunger in America.
Have a great recipe of your own that your family flips over every time you make it using Mission flour tortillas? Enter it in the Mission Menus Challenge where you could win some really awesome prizes. The Mission Menus Challenge is hosted by Chef Sara Moulton and those who submit their budget-friendly recipes will have the chance to compete in a cook-off in Los Angeles. There will also be weekly prizes, in addition to also getting a chance to win a $10,000 dream kitchen makeover. The grand prize winner of the cook-off will win round-trip airfare and hotel accommodations for two to the Mission Menus Challenge Cook-off, which takes place on September 10, 2010 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Los Angeles.
The submission deadline for original, budget-friendly recipes using Mission flour tortillas is August 9th. Make sure your recipe includes Mission flour tortillas, is original, and is able to feed a family of five for $10 or less.
I woke up this morning very much in a fog. I didn’t want to be up, I didn’t want to do anything and work was the last thing that appealed to me. Two hours later, I was still very much in the same boat, although I did force myself to do some work because that’s how the bills get paid and the roof stays over my head.
I’m going to blame my unproductive day on the weather; it’s rainy and miserable out which in turn, has made me pretty miserable. That is, until I ventured out into the kitchen to find some chocolate chip muffins just hanging out, begging me to indulge in them and maybe, just maybe, the will power would come!
And it did! Case in point, you’re reading this and if I was still an unmotivated wreck of a person just sitting here wasting the day away, well, I wouldn’t have ever finished this. So, with that, I went on the hunt for some fabulous chocolate chip muffin recipes to share with you for a day when you find yourself in a very similar bind.
If you’re having your muffins for breakfast and don’t want to feel like you’re merely eating an individually-sized cake and would like some semblence of breakfast-like foods in there, try these chocolate chip banana muffins.
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 12 regular-size muffin cups. In medium bowl, mix buttermilk, butter and egg with spoon until blended. Stir in flours, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda, vanilla and salt just until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.
2. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups.
3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm or cool.
Attention fruit lovers, berries are now in season! Last week we covered how to buy, store, freeze and prepare berries to use in recipes. This week, we have five delicious recipes where berries make a starring role.
Berry Cream Torte
This berry cream torte looks amazing. Not only would I like to eat it, I would just like to stare at it. It looks like it belongs at a high tea or a really important brunch or a small get-together or party and I love it.
Prep Time: 25 min Total Time: 2 hours 10 min Makes: 16 servings
You will need:
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist white cake mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg whites called for on cake mix box
2 containers (12oz each) Betty Crocker Whipped fluffy white frosting
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup fresh raspberries
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
1 tablespoon orange juice
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans, using water, oil and eggs. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
2. In large bowl, mix frosting and whipped topping untl well blended. To assemble cake, cut each layer in half horizontally. Place 1 layer half on serving plate; spread with 1 cup of the frosting mixture. Repeat 3 more times. Arrange berries on top of cake.
3. In small microwavable bowl, microwave jam uncovered on High about 20 seconds or until warm. Stir in orange juice; mix well with fork. Brush over berries. Store in refrigerator.
Cherry-Berries Meringue Torte
This is the most time-consuming recipe I have ever seen, but to its credit, there is a lot of waiting involved. The question is–is it worth it? I think the picture of this torte exclaims a resounding yes.
1. About 30 minutes before making the meringue shell, place an egg seperator over a small bowl. Crack open each egg over the egg seperator to separate the white from the yolk. (Save egg yolks for another recipe.)
2. Place the egg whites in a clean medium bowl, and let stand at room temperature up to 30 minutes*
3. Heat the oven to 275°F. Line a cookie sheet with a piece of foil or cooking parchment paper.
4. Add the cream of tartar to the egg whites; beat with an electric mixer on high speed until mixture looks foamy. Beat in 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating about 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape mixture from side and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula, until mixture is glossy and forms stiff peaks when beaters are lifted. (Do not underbeat because the meringue shell won’t hold its shape.) On the cookie sheet, shape the meringue into a 9-inch round with the back of a spoon, building up about a 1-inch side.
5. Bake 1 hour 30 minutes. Turn off oven; leave meringue in oven with door closed 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack 2 hours longer.
6. Place a medium bowl and the beaters of electric mixer in refrigerator to chill. These will be used to beat the whipping cream, which beats better in a cold bowl.
7. Place block of cream cheese on a plate, and let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes to soften slightly. Or to soften cream cheese in the microwave, remove foil wrapper and place in microwavable bowl; microwave on Medium (50%) 45 to 60 seconds.
8. In a large bowl, stir together the softened cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar and the vanilla until mixed; set aside.
9. Pour the whipping cream into the chilled bowl. Insert the chilled beaters in the electric mixer. Beat on high speed until whipped cream forms soft peaks when beaters are lifted. Gently fold the whipped cream and marshmallows into the cream cheese mixture.
10. Place the meringue on a serving plate, and spoon the filling onto the meringue. Cover; refrigerator at least 12 hours to blend the flavors but no longer than 24 hours.
11. Rinse the strawberries with cool water, and dry on paper towels. Cut out the hull, or “cap,” from each strawberry with the point of a paring knife. Cut the strawberries lengthwise into slices to measure 1 cup. In a medium bowl, stir together the pie filling, strawberries and lemon juice.
12. To serve, spoon the berry mixture onto the filling. Or cut the meringue shells into serving pieces, and top each serving with the berry mixture.
*Egg whites will have better volume when beaten at room temperature in a bowl that is clean and dry.
Mixed-Berry Cream Tart
This is a super easy recipe, despite the hours of its total time needed to make it. With the use of Nature Valley roasted almond crunchy granola bars and a plethora of delicious, fresh berries, you won’t be able to resist making this delicious tart.
Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 3 hours 30 min Makes: 8 servings
1. In small bowl, crush 1 cup of the strawberries with pastry blender or fork. Reserve remaining 1 cup strawberries.
2. In medium bowl, pour boiling water over gelatin; stir about 2 minutes or until gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir crushed strawberries into gelatin. Refrigerate 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, leaving granola bars in pouches, crush granola bars with rolling pin. Sprinkle crushed granola in bottom of 9-inch ungreased glass pie plate, pushing crumbs up side of plate to make crust.
4. In small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and almond extract with electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth. Drop by spoonfuls over crushed granola; gently spread to cover bottom of crust.
5. Gently fold blueberries, raspberries and remaining 1 cup strawberries into gelatin mixture. Spoon over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate about 3 hours or until firm. Serve topped with whipped topping.
Cherry Berry Tart
The cherry berry tart is another must-have, easy recipe that will leave your mouth watering.
Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 1 hour 50 min Makes: 8 servings
You will need:
1 box Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
Filling:
1 can (21oz) cherry fruit pie filling
1 cup halved strawberries
1 cup blueberries
whipped cream, if desired
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 450°F. Prepare pie crust according to package directions for unfilled one-crust pie using 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Place crust in pan; press in bottom and up sides of pan. Trim edges if necessary. Generously prick crust with fork. Bake at 450°F for 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely.
2. In large bowl, gently combine all filling ingredients except whipped cream. Spoon into cooled, baked crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour. Remove sides of pan. Garnish with whipped cream.
Fresh Berry Dessert Bites
These little dessert bites look amazing, yet incredibly simple to work for just about any and every event you can imagine.
Prep Time: 45 min Total Time: 2 hours 40 min Makes: 40 bars
You will need: Crust:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter or margarine, cut into tablespoon-size pieces
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease or spray 15x10x1-inch pan. In large bowl, mix all crust ingredients except butter. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture looks like fine crumbs; press evenly in pan.
2. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until edges are light golden. Cool completely, about 40 minutes.
3. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Add yogurt and 1 teaspoon lemon peel; beat until blended. Spread mixture over crust. Refrigerate at least 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours.
4. Cut into 10 rows by 4 rows. Arrange 1 of each kind of berry on each bar. Store in refrigerator.
Sexuality is something to be celebrated and explored and we hope to help you do just that with the articles and reviews we publish in our love and sex category.
Nothing goes better together than brownies, fudge and ice cream and this 
This 
Ah, the dessert I am most excited about! When you say coffee liqueur and chocolate syrup and I am sold.
Summer is the time for going on vacation with your family, coming up with fun activities for your kids and best of all, enjoying the weather with good friends and great cocktails.
Mission flour tortillas are delicious and they can be used for a great deal of quick and easy dishes for dinner, lunch and even breakfast if you’re looking to make yourself (and your family) some delicious homestyle breakfast burritos. They are as versatile as they are a healthy and great choice for your meal preparation needs.
If you’re having your muffins for breakfast and don’t want to feel like you’re merely eating an individually-sized cake and would like some semblence of breakfast-like foods in there, try these 
And if what you’re really craving is cake for breakfast, try these 
This 
This is the most time-consuming recipe I have ever seen, but to its credit, there is a lot of waiting involved. The question is–is it worth it? I think the picture of 
This is a super easy recipe, despite the hours of its total time needed to make it. With the use of Nature Valley roasted almond crunchy granola bars and a plethora of delicious, fresh berries, you won’t be able to resist making 
The 
These little 
