Blueberry Lemonade Popsicles

We're still settling into our new home even though it's been a year since we moved. New community, new climate... . It takes a while, and I'm all about giving myself and my family all the time and space we need to adjust. Blogging, I'm afraid, has taken a back seat to the scramblings of every day life in our new place. That said, I just had to carve out a few moments to practice taking blog photos in our new home (I am way rusty) and bring you our favorite summer popsicle.

These Blueberry Lemonade Popsicles are the perfect summer treat!

These Blueberry Lemonade Popsicles are everything you want in a summer treat. Fresh blueberries - tart and sweet. Juicy fresh lemon adding just the perfect amount of pucker. Goodness, my mouth is watering already. Let's get started.

Chocolaty Chocolate Dairy Free Ice Cream

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? Did you miss me? I sure missed you. Lots going on in the Loverbee household this summer - new job, big move, diet overhaul, homeschool overhaul. More on these fabulous resets at a later date. But before our busy summer ends, I want to share one more ice scream recipe with y'all. This creamy treat is dairy free, intensely chocolaty, and a big favorite in our house.

Our favorite Chocolaty Chocolate Dairy Free Ice Cream!

We make this Chocolaty Chocolate Dairy Free Ice Cream all summer long - all year long, really.

Loaded Coffee Ice Cream

If you don't have an ice cream maker yet, get one! I know, how bossy of me. Trust me on this one, though. You're not gonna regret it. See my Amazon pick below for the simple and affordable machine I use. Plus, this ice cream is worth every cent. You'll be glad you invested.

Chunks of sugar cone and swirls of hot fudge and caramel send this Loaded Coffee Ice Cream over the top.

This Loaded Coffee Ice Cream is Matthew's all time favorite. Loaded with sugar cone pieces this simple, but lovely, coffee flavored ice cream is a real winner. Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention the swirls of hot fudge and caramel. Silly me. This ice cream is a coffee lovers dream! Think jamoca almond fudge - but better!

Birthday Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cake and ice cream. What's a birthday without cake and ice cream, right? Okay, okay. Some of us could totally do without the ice cream. Others of us could replace the whole shebang with a big ol' fat pie. But I digress.

Birthday Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches take cake and ice cream to a whole new level!

These Birthday Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches are the whole package. The flavor of vanilla cake speckled with sprinkles, beautifully swirly ice cream sandwiched in the middle, and no utensils or plates required. They're also wonderfully fun and spectacularly celebratory. Oh, and they're super easy to make. That's a win, win, and triple win in my book!

The Best Grilled Potato Salad Ever

Okay, guys. This is it. This is the one. If any recipe was ever gonna make me famous, it is this recipe. And I'm gonna share it with you. Why? Because I can't hold it in anymore. I just have to share the magic.

This grilled potato salad truly is the best potato salad ever.

If you're not a potato salad person, get ready to fall in love with potato salad. This recipe is beyond amazing. If you are a potato salad lover, get ready to meet the dish of your life. Extreme words, I know. But an extremely delicious dish deserves such high praise.

It was like discovering penicillin the day I made this potato salad. Okay, slight exaggeration, but you have to try it. I had seen someone throw grilled potatoes into a potato salad and decided to give it a try. I just happened to have balsamic mayo in my fridge that day (along with celery, green onions, and eggs) so that's what went into the salad. It also occurred to me, in a moment of utter inspiration, to amp up the smokey flavor with some smoked paprika. What a grand idea that was. Okay, here it goes.






Slice about a pound of red potatoes into rounds. Toss them with plenty of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Grill 'em on a grill pan for about 20 minutes or so, turning them over a few times for even cooking and browning.






Slice up a couple of hard boiled eggs, some celery, and a few green onions.



Dump in the grilled potatoes and the rest of the ingredients and gently toss together.

There is no better potato salad than this Best Ever Grilled Potato Salad!

Taste your salad and add in more mustard, vinegar, smoked paprika, and/or salt.

Friends, keep this recipe close to your hearts. Print it out and put it in a safe deposit box. Put it in a trust for the generations that will come after you. Okay, I'm stopping now. Just promise me you'll try this recipe and cherish it forever.

You're welcome.

The Best Grilled Potato Salad Ever

INGREDIENTS
1 to 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
olive oil to coat potatoes
salt and pepper to coat potatoes and more for salad
1/2 cup mayo, maybe more
2 celery ribs, sliced
4 or 5 green onions, sliced
2 or 3 hard boiled eggs, sliced into rounds
1/4 tsp smoked paprika to start
1/2 Tbsp dijon mustard to start
2 tsp balsamic vinegar to start

DIRECTIONS
1. Toss potato rounds with plenty of salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
2. Grill potatoes on a grill pan over medium high flame for about 20 minutes or so, turning a few times for even cooking and browning.
3. Toss grilled potatoes into a large bowl with celery, green onions, and eggs.
4. Dump in the rest of the ingredients and toss gently to coat.
5. Taste your salad and add in more salt, pepper, smoked paprika, mustard, and/or vinegar.
6. Add a comment to this post thanking me profusely for this life changing recipe. Ha!

My Favorite Fresh Strawberry Pie

I'm already starting to think about what kinds of goodies I wanna make this Fall. Don't worry, I won't jump into all the pumpkin stuff until an appropriate period of grieving over the end of summer has passed. Or, will I? Just kidding. I totally won't. I don't want to be one of those people. You know who I'm talkin' about.

This fresh strawberry pie with sourdough crust doesn't last long in my house.

Let's just continue to enjoy summer together with my favorite fresh strawberry pie. There are a bunch of different ways to make this perfect summertime treat. Here's how I like to do it.

This sourdough pie crust is rich and flaky with a hint of sourdough flavor.

I start with a sourdough crust. One batch of my sourdough pastry will make two or three 9" pie crusts. I like to make up a batch and freeze the extra crusts for later use. Just make sure you start the process the night before you want pie as the sourdough crust needs time to ferment. When I'm pressed for time (and energy) I like to use a store-bought graham cracker crust. I buy a gluten free one, but a regular graham cracker crust is perfectly fine too. The sweet graham cookie flavor goes perfect with this pie. In fact, I sometimes prefer it.

On a side note, in case you're wondering why I either choose gluten free or sourdough products, it's because wheat can be hard for some people to digest. When I stopped eating wheat products my battle with indigestion all but disappeared. I still eat wheat, occasionally, but I try to ferment it using my sourdough starter whenever I can. The probiotics (friendly yeast and bacteria in my starter) break down the structure of the wheat making it easier to digest. I know, a bit scientific. Bottom line, my tummy feels better when I avoid straight up wheat.



While my sourdough crust cools, I cook up my gelatin mixture using Taste of Home's recipe. A cornstarch and sugar slurry gets heated until thick. Then, I add in a small box of strawberry Jello.

Is there anything better than fresh strawberries piled into a homemade crust?

While my gelatin mixture cools in the fridge, I slice up the strawberries and pile them into my crust.



The cooled gelatin mixture gets poured on top of the fresh berries and the pie goes into the fridge for a few hours 'til set.

I like to top my fresh strawberry pie with good ol' Cool Whip to keep things easy.

Lastly, I top my pie with a whole honk'n container of Cool Whip. Fresh whipped cream is also good if you don't mind the extra step. I like the flavor, stability, and easiness of Cool Whip, so that's what I usually go with for this pie.

A slice of this pie on a warm summer night is just the right way to enjoy summer. My advice? Strawberry on until the pumpkins take over. 🍓

Fresh Strawberry Pie

INGREDIENTS
1 9" sourdough pie crust using my sourdough pastry recipe (use my recipe to roll out 2 or 3 crusts and freeze the extra crusts for later use) OR use a store-bought graham cracker crust
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup water
1 3 oz package strawberry Jello
4 cups sliced strawberries
1 8 oz tub Cool Whip, thawed in the fridge

DIRECTIONS
1. Blind bake your sourdough pie crust. (If using a store-bought graham cracker crust, skip down to step 2.) After you've rolled out your crust, lined your pie plate, and rested the crust in the freezer for 5 minutes, gently line your crust with foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and pie weights, pierce the bottom of your crust with a fork, and bake another 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. If the edges are getting too brown, cover them with foil.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, and water and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for about 2 minutes until thick.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the strawberry Jello. Refrigerate mixture for 15 minutes.
4. Slice your berries, if you haven't already, and arrange them into your cooled pie crust.
5. When the timer is up for your gelatin mixture, pour it over the berries as evenly as possible. Refrigerate pie for a few hours until set.
6. Spread the whole tub of Cool Whip over the top of your pie.
7. Continue to say "yes" to strawberries and "no" to pumpkin.

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles

Nothin' says summer like a glass of strawberry lemonade. Even better than that, try these Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles.

Nothin' better than a strawberry lemonade popsicle!

These pops are the perfect summertime treat. They kinda taste like a pink Starburst candy - only better and fresher. These pops are sweet and tart and fruity and the prettiest strawberry pink color.



You'll need the zest of one lemon and the juice of three. Also, hull and halve a cup and a half of strawberries.



Throw your fruit, juice, and zest in a high speed blender with some sugar and water. After blending, give it a taste and add in more water or berries until you like the flavor.

These strawberry lemonade popsicles boast a pretty strawberry pink hue.

Freeze your pops for about 4 hours or until completely frozen. Just a head's up, it will be hard to wait. 😉

The boys enjoying their favorite summertime treat.

Make a batch for your next pool day and watch the kids go nuts. Happy popsicle making!

Strawberry Lemonade Popsicles
Makes 8 to 10 medium popsicles

INGREDIENTS
3 large lemons
1 1/2 to 2 cups halved strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
About 2 cups water

DIRECTIONS
1. Zest one lemon and juice them all.
2. Pour strained lemon juice, lemon zest, strawberries, sugar, and 1 cup of water into a high speed blender and blend on low until the strawberries are broken down.
3. Increase blender speed to high and blend until you can no longer see flecks of lemon zest and mixture is smooth. Taste and add in more water to taste. I ended up using about 2 cups total. You can also add in more berries.
4. Pour into popsicle molds. Mixture may separate. That's okay.
5. Freeze for 4 hours or until completely solid.

Red, White, and Blue Jello Berry Trifle

The boys are so excited for our town's 4th of July parade. Last year was the first time we attended. They loved seeing kids from the community coming down the parade route with bikes and wagons all decked out in red, white, and blue. They've been waiting all year long to join in on the festivities, so I've been stocking up on decorations at the dollar store.

I've also been planning a little Independence Day fun of my own. I made a Red, White, and Blue Jello Berry Trifle for my cute patriotic cake toppers. Think jello poke cake with a bunch of fresh berries. Every year I struggle with whether to make red, white, and blue Jello parfaits, a Jello poke cake, or strawberry shortcake. This year I combined all three into one big fabulous dessert.





There's nothing like a bunch of beautiful fresh summer berries paired with some extremely processed foods, right? Ha! Just kidding. Let's keep it real though.



I've been trying to keep things more natural and fresh, but when I thought up this dessert I had to go back to the beloved 4th of July ingredients I grew up with - Jello and Cool Whip. So sue me. No, don't sue me. Please don't. Really. Don't.

I started by preparing my jello and cake mix according to the package directions. Any white or vanilla cake mix will do.



When my cake was cool and my Jello was set, I macerated my berries with a little bit of sugar and started putting my trifle together.

I was a little heavy handed with the layers in the beginning of my process and ran out of space on top, so I suggest keeping each layer about half an inch thick.


A layer of cubed cake goes down first. Then a layer of macerated blackberries and blueberries. I topped that with some blue Jello and then a layer of good ol' Cool Whip.

You can see how I ran out of room up top.

More cake goes down, followed by my red berry mixture and then the red Jello.



The trifle gets finished with a final layer of Cool Whip on top.

My cute celebratory cake toppers are the perfect finishing touch atop this gorgeously patriotic trifle. This dessert is cool, fresh, fun, and perfect for a hot summer day of celebrating our beloved country.

Red, White, and Blue Jello Berry Trifle

INGREDIENTS
1 box vanilla or white cake mix + ingredients to prepare according to package directions
1 6 oz box blue Jello
1 6 oz box red Jello (I used raspberry)
2 8 oz tubs Cool Whip, thawed in the fridge
1 pint blueberries, washed and halved
1 pint blackberries, washed and halved
1 pint raspberries, washed and halved
1 1/2 cups strawberries, washed and chopped
2 Tbsp sugar, divided

DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare your cake and Jello mixes according to package directions.
2. When Jello is set and cake is cool, macerate the berries. In a medium bowl, combine blueberries and blackberries with 1 Tbsp sugar and stir together.
3. In another bowl, combine raspberries and strawberries with the other Tbsp of sugar and stir together. Let berries sit 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cut your cake into 1/2 inch cubes. Also, cube your jello.
5. Assemble your trifle by laying down a 1/2 inch layer of cake at the bottom. 
6. Top with all of the blueberry mixture including any juices.
7. Spoon a 1/2 inch layer of blue Jello on top of the berries, followed by a 1/2 inch layer of Cool Whip.
8. Add another 1/2 inch layer of cake.
8. Add all of the raspberry mixture on top of that including any juices.
9. Add a 1/2 inch layer of red jello, followed by another 1/2 inch layer of Cool Whip.

* You will have leftover cake, Jello, and Cool Whip.