National Coffee Ice Cream Day

Was yesterday!! But I made some and it was wonderful. I am going to have some more tonight. Yay for National Coffee Ice Cream Day!

I don't know about you guys but the long weekend, the annual back to school shenanigans and the real life stuff going on has got me spinning. Many things are changing and falling into place over here but I need to get some things organized around here if I am going to keep up! Hopefully in a week or two things will calm down and get back to a routine. I'm working on it.

I have today and tomorrow off. Next up is National Wienerschnitzel Day on Friday. Um, yes!!! I can't wait to eat some! (drool)

National Macadamia Nut Day

Yesterday was National Macadamia Nut Day. I must say I baked the cupcakes and prepared the frosting the night before hand. I decided to wait and decorate them yesterday so I could take my pictures while they were fresh and beautiful. I threw the frosting in the fridge overnight because it contained milk. Took it out to soften around lunch time and it took many many hours for it to get back to whiping and spreading consistancy. Lesson learned, I guess. So that is why my post had been delayed. Anywho...

Yum and yay for cupcakes! I chose to bake some white chocolate chip, macadamia nut and Craisin cupcakes with a vanilla butter cream frosting. After all of the waiting to eat them they were delicious. I did send a box to the neighbor house though. Too many treats lately! Ha!

I used a basic chocolate chip cupcake recipe. Instead of 1 cup of chocolate chips I used 1 cup of an even mix of choclate chips, chopped macadamia nuts and Craisins. Easy stuff.

Thanks or reading. Next up is National Cheese Pizza Day! See you soon.

National Blueberry Popsicle Day

Happy Friday! It's National Blueberry Popsicle Day! And thanks to last weeks cherry Popsicle day, I already had the Popsicle molds!

These taste pretty good. Not as sweet as I was hoping for. I was going for a cremosa beverage type thing. Next time I will choose a flavored creamer as opposed to the half and half I used this time. Maybe french vanilla or hazelnut.

I used approximately half blueberry flavored sparkling water and half creamer, leaving room to drop in six fresh blueberries in each mold. I froze them until solid and that's it. A nice cold treat for a Summer day.

Enjoy! Come back tomorrow for National Welsh Rarebit Day. It's not rabbit! Don't worry. I was. Lol!

National Toasted Marshmallow Day

It's a beautiful Tuesday morning and National Toasted Marshmallow Day!

So, my backyard fire pit is completely soaked due to all of the rain we've had here lately. Meaning, a bonfire and toasted marshmallows made the good old fashioned way was out of the question. Leaving me standing in the kitchen wondering what to do and really wishing I owned a culinary food torch. That would be fun! I should get me one of those.

Hoping for the best, I decided to pull out a bag of mini marshmallows and my aim-and-flame to see what would happen. It worked! These bite sized itty bity toasted marshmallows are cute and tasty. So yay! Half-assed S'mores! I am sure they'll be all the rage soon. Tee hee.

Have a great night and swing back tomorrow for National Trail Mix Day!

National Cherry Turnover Day

Good morning and Happy National Cherry Turnover Day! These are super easy to make and delicious. Like tiny cherry pies!

You can find the recipe that I used HERE. This link includes recipes for the pastry crust, the cherry filling and the icing. I only used the crust and icing recipes this time and purchased a can of cherry filling instead. If you really want this to be even easier to make, you can always purchase ready-made pastry crusts, usually in the freezer section of the grocery store. I rarely buy them because from scratch is almost always cheaper and I have become quite comfortable making crusts in the last few years. The ready-mades are very fast and do come in very handy at times.

My turnovers turned out yummy. They did not get as golden brown on top as I expected so I may try an egg wash next time around. The kids enjoyed today's special treat and I had fun in the kitchen. My happy place. A perfect rainy day stuck inside.

Hope you are having a great weekend! Swing by tomorrow for yet another first for me...National Chop Suey Day. I have never purchased or worked with bok choy or oyster sauce before. Should be fun!

National Pots de Creme Day

Today is National Pots de Creme Day! Another first for little 'ol me. Pots de Creme is a traditional French custard and today's flavor choice is chocolate! I am on day 13 of my year long challenge now and I can tell you with confidence that when this project is all done and behind me that I will be a better chef for it. I am learning so much!

I found a recipe online that sounded very good and you can find it by clicking HERE. I followed the directions exactly but did cut the recipe in half. This national holidays "menu" has been quite sugary treat heavy and I didn't need more desserts than absolutely necessary laying around for me to eat. Ha!

The best word I can think of to describe these little bowls of choclatey heaven is luscious. They truly are. I haven't decided if I am going to share any with the family yet today. We'll see...we'll just see.

I hope you have enjoyed this foodie project so far. Tomorrow is National Cherry Turnover Day. I already have my pasty dough chilling in the fridge. Come on back tomorrow and see how they turn out. (Ya'll see what I did there, right?)

National Cherry Popsicle Day

It's National Cherry Popsicle Day! Gave me an excuse to go pick up some new Popsicle molds. Oh darn!

I decided that a Shirley Temple angle would be my best bet for a good cherry Popsicle. Supposedly the well-known Shirley Temple beverage was created for the sweet little actress by a friendly bartender who wanted her to have something fun to drink while she was hanging out with all of the grown ups.

Three ingredients total: mandarin orange flavored carbonated water, one wild cherry juice pouch and a small jar of maraschino cherries. I made eight Popsicles. First, I divided the juice pouch evenly into each mold. Then I dropped in three cherries each and topped them all off with the bubbly water. Put them in the freezer and waited. They turned out great and taste just like the bubbly beverage I remember so well from my childhood. Yay!

Thank for stopping by! See you tomorrow for National Pots de Creme Day!

National Banana Split Day

Did you get to enjoy a Banana Split today? It is National Banana Split Day after all!!

Today was a very special treat for me and my three littles. Our hometown ice cream shoppe Two Scoops was kind enough to let us swing by today for a little tasting to celebrate! Ice cream for lunch?! Yes please! A huge thank you to Cherie and Rick, the owners, for making me the coolest mommy of the day!

The lovely Lisa was on duty today and built us our delightfully sweet treat scoop by scoop. So fun for the kids to watch.

It was very tasty and the kiddos enjoyed every last bite. Plenty for everyone!

Two Scoops offers 20 fun flavors at all times and they rotate through over 130 flavors! There is always something new to taste and fall in love with during each visit.

If you are ever looking for a yummy gift to give, there is plenty of colorful sweets to choose from!

Go ahead and splurge for the hand-dipped and sprinkled waffle cone. So good!

If you live in or near Anoka, MN then you already know about this cute little shop. You have already met the owners, so friendly and welcoming. A couple who loves to support their community whenever they can. But if you aren't and plan on visiting anytime soon, you simply must make Two Scoops a stop along the way. Old town charm and fresh new flavors. Simply the best.

Thanks again for a great day!

- - - - -

Here are some links so you can plan your visit them soon!

Website: http://twoscoopsmn.com/home

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TwoScoopsMN/?fref=ts

National Peach Pie Day & National Waffle Day!

It's my first double whammy day! Wahoo! Today is both National Peach Pie Day AND National Waffle Day! I thought it would be a great opportunity to make a dish that represents both delicious treats. I imagine they will go very well together. Am I, right?

What I created is a combination of both a crispy waffle "crust" bowl filled with peach pie filling. And a little dollop of cool whip never hurt anybody!

What do you think?

My Peach & Waffles Pie!

If you are making this and serving it right away, just make the waffles, make the filling, assemble it all and serve immediately. If you are like me, and prepared it the night before, make the waffles and the peach pie filling and then refrigerate until morning. Assemble in a pie dish in the morning and heat in a 350° oven for 7-10 minutes until heated through and the waffles are crisp again.

When my little ones woke up and saw that THIS is what mommy made for breakfast today...well, excited probably isn't the most accurate word choice. Scrumptious!

You can find the waffle recipe that I used HERE. And the peach pie filling recipe HERE. I would definitely use both of these again!

Hope you enjoyed this fun dish today. Make sure to come back tomorrow. The kiddos and I are going to visit Two Scoops in Anoka for a tour and tasting to celebrate National Banana Split Day!

National Sponge Cake Day

Good morning and welcome to National Sponge Cake Day! Yet again a food holiday with a dish that I had never prepared before. For someone who cooks so so much, makes a partial living from doing so, enters cooking contests, sends meals to others and more...I have apparently been quite sheltered in the kitchen! Totally loving this food holidays challenge so far! I am just begining week two of this year long journey and I can't wait to see where it takes me.

So, sponge cake. Easy peasy. I found a recipe online that only requires three ingredients!  You can find it by clicking HERE. These are staple ingredients that most of you will have around the kitchen already. Need ideas for a quick treat for a potluck or an after dinner surprise? Go for the sponge cake. I decided to add 1 tsp. of lemon extract to mine for a little light citrus flavor, so technically 4 ingredients.

Beautiful. I whipped up some whipped cream to make it all pretty and stuff. (pun intended) And a few gold sprinkles...why not?! Set a plate like this down in front of a loved one and they'll think you spent all day in the kitchen just for them. It'll be our little secret!

Tomorrow will be the first time I take two same-day national food holidays and turn them into one recipe! I won't give away the surprise yet but come on back tomorrow and see for yourself!

National Pecan Torte Day

I had heard the word "torte" before but never knew exactly what it was. A baked good of some sort? Maybe something like a tart? Well, thanks to National Pecan Torte Day I learned something new today. Yay for knowledge!

A torte by definition is: a rich cake, especially one containing little or no flour, usually made with eggs and ground nuts or bread crumbs.

Got it. Lots of eggs + ground up nuts = deliciousness on a plate.

We held our monthly cooking session for my charity called Food With Love (see page tab above for more details) and we always send a dessert along with the foods we prepare. Now that this national food holidays project is underway, it sure does make it a lot easier to decide which treats to bake! Pecan Tortes it is! And how much fun to share a food holiday project with one of my besties who cooks with me?! Debbie totally nailed it with the torte making and baking. I mostly did the decorating. Fun!

We decided to make them into cute little individual sized tortes. The recipe is written for one 8" cake round but we divided the batter into five 4" spring form pans instead. The spring form pans worked alright but they did leak a little bit into the bottom of the oven for the first couple minutes of baking. Not a huge problem but I would maybe try some souffle dishes instead next time and only make four individual treats total.

You can find the recipe we used HERE. A chocolate pecan torte. I had a little of the almond caramel sauce left over from National Ice Cream Pie Day a few days ago so we went ahead and drizzled a little of that and decorated them with pecan halves. These turned out pretty darn good. I would put less melted chocolate on the top next time around but other than that I was super satisfied. They are really fluffy and spongy from all of the egg whites, not as sweet as cake. A nice change.

Here is the box we are sending to our current "adopted" family for Food With Love. A fun little surprise.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday! Thanks for stopping by #GinnyBites and I'll see you back here tomorrow!

National Spumoni Day

Hello and Happy National Spumoni Day! Now, Spumoni is traditionally an Italian ice cream dessert but I decided to give it a little twist today. Mostly for fun...but also because I couldn't squeeze three days of ice cream making into the schedule this week AND couldn't find any Spumoni at the couple grocery stores that I frequent. A Spumoni typically has three layers of ice cream; chocolate, cherry almond and pistachio. I did these flavors but created some beautiful Spumoni Cake Truffles instead. Yummy!

I was hoping to share an awesome recipe here but being my first time ever making these babies, I still need to tweak it a bit. I have made many cakepops before but never tried a multiple flavor or layering technique. I will give you the just for now.

I baked one 13x9 cherry chip cake and then crumbled it up and divided it evenly into three separate bowls. One third of the cake I mixed with chocolate frosting, one third I mixed with vanilla frosting and almond extract and then the last third I mixed with some pistachio pudding powder and vanilla frosting. I gently layered a teaspoon of each flavor and rolled into a ball. Then, I dipped each ball into melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and sprinkled with chopped pistachios, setting in the fridge to set. Voila! Spumoni Cake Truffles.

Hope you enjoy what you see here. If you get a chance to make some, please share. I would love to know! Don't forget that sharing is caring. Ginny Bites has lots more fun to come!

- - - - -

Did you see the blog post where I announce my winning a spot into the World Food Championships this coming November in Orange Beach, Alabama?! Scroll on down and check out all of the fun foods posted earlier this week!