Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 408

Currently Crushing On.

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Happy Memorial Day weekend! This is by far one of my most favorite weekends of the entire YEAR and we kicked it off last night with a fantastic meal. What are you guys planning on doing this weekend?!

Follow along in instagram and snapchat (> howsweeteats) and I’ll be sharing our fun. My snaps are always open so be sure to snap me!

Also, you might have a bit more time to register for the Food Entrepreneur Summit which I’m a part of. My video goes live the first day – on the 31st! You can register right HERE and I’m super pumped.

Oh oh oh and one more thing: it seems far away but it totally isn’t at all – I’m speaking at the Chopped Conference on September 22-23! Register now so we can hang out.

Loving on all this goodness:

i’m wildly excited about this tart cherry mint sorbet.

this oaxacan slushie. so incredibly gorgeous.

salt and vinegar potato hash? i’m obsessed.

screaming my name: birthday cake ice cream bars. the colors!

ohhhhh my gosh: pistachio rum creme brulee. my heart.

copycat pizza hut breadsticks. whaaaaat.

the fleur collins cocktail is so pretty!

craving this stunning steak fajita salad.

cute strawberry rhubarb tartlets.

blackened salmon burgers FTW.

going to make a big batch of these almond joy dates for healthy snacks next week!

can you imagine a slice of this street corn pizza? whoa.

peanut butter honeycomb shortbread. yes yes.

i’m always craving the most perfect carbonara.

Layered Buffalo Chicken Dip.

Say hello to all these layers of loooooooove.

Oh

my

goodness.

WHAT!!!!

I know exactly what you need to make for your Memorial Day party, hello.

This might be one of my favorite things that I’ve ever made on the blog, one of the most delicious recipes in all of it’s trashed up glory. Nine layers that translate to loads of flavor that punch you in the face.

In a good way, obviously.

I have been waiting FOREVER to make and share this dip. Truly, forever.

Like 9ish-months-forever forever. I think I first saw this dip on serious eats before Labor Day. I couldn’t get it together in time to make and share, and then I almost made it for the Super Bowl but it just didn’t feel RIGHT.

This is how super fun it is to work with my brain. Doesn’t feel right = not doing it. Always.

Hence my first ever D in micro econ in college. Blah. Zee worst. 

The layers! The freaking layers. Oh my gosh.

Okay so first: a layer or refried beans that are swirled with some buffalo wing sauce. Because beans. They could be a dip themselves. Half the time for me, they are. Give me beans and chips and I’m thrilled with a capital T. 

Next comes a cheesy cream cheese based layer with a healthy dose of ranch dressing and mozzarella.

I don’t even care for ranch dressing. Like, not at all. You will never see me put ranch on a salad or dip my pizza crust in it.

This layer? It makes me want to drink ranch from the bottle.

Well, you know what I mean.

After that, comes our thick third layer, all the buffalo chicken goodness.

Classic buffalo chicken dip: shredded chicken, wing sauce, tons of white cheddar, cream cheese, some scallions, a touch of blue cheese dressing.

In case you were wondering, buffalo chicken dip was one of the first recipes I ever shared on the blog back in 2009.

It’s horrifying.

I’ll let you see for yourself if you’re in the mood to search. *inserts all the eye covering emojis*

But please don’t.

So that whole thing gets baked and cheesy and warm.

Hot, melty, bubbly, spicy goods. I’m almost losing it. 

Once the hot dip comes out of the oven, the next layers go on:

Grilled or roasted corn. Or just plain sweet corn if you wish. Since corn isn’t quite in season here yet, I used the roasted corn from Trader Joe’s. Sometimes it’s delicious. Sometimes it tastes like an ashtray. In this case, it’s fab.

Crunchy, crispy bacon! Because… do I need a reason?

Crumbled gorgonzola cheese. Throw on it on while it’s still hot so it melts into the dip crevices.

One more hefty drizzle of wing sauce, lots of bright orange.

Thinly sliced green onions alllllll over the top.

And a big handful of chopped fresh cilantro! For cooling, refreshing purposes.

Other things you need: lots of tortilla chips. Lots of pita chips. Maybe some celery if you hate all of your friends (it’s the worst). Possibly carrot sticks? Crackers and crackers galore.

Then wonderful things like cold lemonade, beer and margaritas. This is the best party ever!

Layered Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yield: serves 6 to 8

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 (16-ounce) can refried beans (or you can totally use homemade!)
2 tablespoons buffalo wing sauce


1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
1 cup freshly grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup ranch dressing


1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 cup freshly grated white cheddar cheese
2 green onions, thinly sliced1/4 cup blue cheese dressing
2/3 cup buffalo wing sauce, plus extra for drizzling


2/3 cup grilled or roasted corn
1/3 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1/3 cup wing sauce, for drizzling
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro


tortilla chips, pita chips, crackers for serving



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick spray. I used a 7-cup clean baking dish so you could see the layers, but you can use whatever you'd like! it should be about 4 inches deep.

Stir together the refried beans and wing sauce. Spread it in the baking dish as the first layer.

Mix together the cream cheese, mozzarella and ranch dressing. Gently spread it on top of the beans.

Mix together the cream cheese, 3/4 cup of the cheddar, chicken, wing sauce, blue cheese dressing and green onions. Gently spread it on top of the cream cheese layer. Top with remaining cheddar. Drizzle some extra buffalo wing sauce on top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until bubbly and golden and cheese.

When the dip comes out of the oven, top it with the corn, gorgonzola, bacon, wing sauce, green onions and cilantro. Dig in!

[slightly adapted from serious eats]

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

I’m serious.

Make a Homemade Watermelon Shandy!

My dreams are coming true!!

PINK BEER.

Okay, hold your horses. And your massive eye roll. Or maybe control it halfway through? Just please don’t click the X at the corner of your screen! It’s good, I promise.

If you like watermelon. And fruity beer. And lemonade in your beer. And cold drinks on hot summer days, Check check check.

If you enjoy all of those things, we are BFFs forever and ever. If not, I appreciate you for dealing with my neon-loving soul. 

Since citrusy beer is paired with lemonade quite often in the summer to make a little old shandy, I wondered what would happen if we paired said beer with WATERMELON lemonade?!

I mean, who wants plain lemonade?

Spoiler alert: it’s everything in life I want for ever. Yes, for the 345th time on this blog.

Guys. I love this.

I am not a beer connoisseur at all. That’s no secret. My favorite beer is Sunset Wheat, followed by Grapefruit Shandy and I even like that whole Hell or High Watermelon thing.

Basically, I’m assuming you’re telling me that I should buy stock in Leinenkugel. For sure. I think they have a new watermelon shandy out, right? I must find. I’m going on the hunt today.

And yes, maybe my beer palate is that of a recent college graduate but it’s not like it’s a strawberry daiquiri.

But! This combo is super refreshing.

There is no extra sugar in it – I like to make the watermelon juice fresh (blend it up and strain!) and use that which is pretty sweet in itself. Especially depending on your fruit.

And even though we used lemonade, I had to add a touch of lime because I’m a lime freak. I’ll take limes over lemons any day. And probably limeade. And lime sugar. And key lime pie.

It’s all margaritas’ fault. Blame them.

Even if you don’t love watermelon, you should probably serve this to your guests just for the color alone. Isn’t it wild? Super frosty glasses with cold lemonade, cold watermelon juice, cold beer and a lime wedge? You are going to make so many friends.

Watermelon Shandy

Yield: makes 1 serving but is easily multiplied

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

4 ounces cold fresh watermelon juice
4 ounces cold lemonade
8 to 12 ounces your favorite wheat beer - COLD
lime wedges for garnish
watermelon wedge for garnish

watermelon juice

1 seedless baby watermelon



Directions:

Add the watermelon and lemonade in a frosty glass and stir. Pour the beer over top, squeeze in a lime wedge and garnish with another. Serve with a slice of watermelon!

watermelon juice

To make fresh watermelon juice, slice out all of the fruit from the rind and add it to a blender or a food processor. Blend until completely pureed. Pour the watermelon puree over a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring glass or bowl, pressing with a spoon to get every last bit of juice. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

 

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Summer in a freaking glass.

Watermelon Shandy.

My dreams are coming true!!

PINK BEER.

Okay, hold your horses. And your massive eye roll. Or maybe control it halfway through? Just please don’t click the X at the corner of your screen! It’s good, I promise.

If you like watermelon. And fruity beer. And lemonade in your beer. And cold drinks on hot summer days, Check check check.

If you enjoy all of those things, we are BFFs forever and ever. If not, I appreciate you for dealing with my neon-loving soul. 

Since citrusy beer is paired with lemonade quite often in the summer to make a little old shandy, I wondered what would happen if we paired said beer with WATERMELON lemonade?!

I mean, who wants plain lemonade?

Spoiler alert: it’s everything in life I want for ever. Yes, for the 345th time on this blog.

Guys. I love this.

I am not a beer connoisseur at all. That’s no secret. My favorite beer is Sunset Wheat, followed by Grapefruit Shandy and I even like that whole Hell or High Watermelon thing.

Basically, I’m assuming you’re telling me that I should buy stock in Leinenkugel. For sure. I think they have a new watermelon shandy out, right? I must find. I’m going on the hunt today.

And yes, maybe my beer palate is that of a recent college graduate but it’s not like it’s a strawberry daiquiri.

But! This combo is super refreshing.

There is no extra sugar in it – I like to make the watermelon juice fresh (blend it up and strain!) and use that which is pretty sweet in itself. Especially depending on your fruit.

And even though we used lemonade, I had to add a touch of lime because I’m a lime freak. I’ll take limes over lemons any day. And probably limeade. And lime sugar. And key lime pie.

It’s all margaritas’ fault. Blame them.

Even if you don’t love watermelon, you should probably serve this to your guests just for the color alone. Isn’t it wild? Super frosty glasses with cold lemonade, cold watermelon juice, cold beer and a lime wedge? You are going to make so many friends.

Watermelon Shandy

Yield: makes 1 serving but is easily multiplied

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

4 ounces cold fresh watermelon juice
4 ounces cold lemonade
8 to 12 ounces your favorite wheat beer - COLD
lime wedges for garnish
watermelon wedge for garnish

watermelon juice

1 seedless baby watermelon



Directions:

Add the watermelon and lemonade in a frosty glass and stir. Pour the beer over top, squeeze in a lime wedge and garnish with another. Serve with a slice of watermelon!

watermelon juice

To make fresh watermelon juice, slice out all of the fruit from the rind and add it to a blender or a food processor. Blend until completely pureed. Pour the watermelon puree over a fine mesh sieve into a large measuring glass or bowl, pressing with a spoon to get every last bit of juice. Store in a sealed container in the fridge.

 

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Summer in a freaking glass.

Queso Cheese Burgers with Avocado and Pico de Gallo.

Would you like a little burger with your cheese?

This is for those of you who love the cheese part more than the burger part. Raise your hand!

I have about fifty hands raised.

The only thing that comes close to cheese on a burger is guac. Right? RIGHT.

Picture this: it’s 85 degrees and you spent the entire day doing yard work and drinking ice cold WATER. For dinner, you sit down to a burger covered in melty cheese sauce and an ice cold BEER. It sounds dreamy enough to do every single day but then it wouldn’t be special anymore.

I’m really into caps lock today. FYI.

If it was up to Eddie, we’d probably eat burgers three times a week. Not like, shake shack burgers, but just grilled burgers on whole wheat buns with a little cheese. And then Five Guys once a week. On top of that.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love a burger. I love a GOOD burger even more. But I only need one maybe once a month? And sometimes I even like veggie burgers. It’s all about that texture.

But what it’s really all about for me is the CHEESE. And the bacon, of course.

My all time favorite burger (depending on the day… bah) on the site is this sautéed mushroom, dijon aioli and arugula burger that I shared a few years ago. No bacon, not a ton of cheese, but flavor out the wahzoo.

BUT but but. There is a now a new burger in the running. Maybe even for first place. And it’s trashily covered in CHEESE DIP.

Yeah. That’s right. Cheese dip on your burger.

You can serve these a few ways. The best, but probably not the easiest, is making the queso as close to mealtime as you can, keeping it melty and topping your burgers right before eating. Most likely doable for weeknight dinners or small crowds, but a little more difficult for a larger party.

Another way would be to preassemble your burgers an hour or so before eating them, wrapping the whole thing up in foil (a la five guys style) and serving them like that. The cheese might melt around the entire burger a bit, but it will still taste delicious.

You can also go the crockpot route but you will probably need to stir the contents and even thin it out every now and then so it stays beautiful and melty like cheese ribbons.

UNLESS. And this is a big unless.

Unless you go the velveeta route. I have a bratty mental block against velveeta (I just love real cheese sooooo much) but my mom uses velveeta in plenty of dishes and it is super melty and wonderful. I grew up on velveeta shells and cheese (and not so much kraft) so I definitely have a leeeettle soft spot for it at times, plus we used to mix those cheese cubes with rotel all the time at the beach. It’s definitely a possible option if you want to serve queso burgers to a crowd this weekend.

Top the entire thing with some fresh pico instead of your traditional tomato and onions slices. Butter lettuce and avocado on the bottom. Pickled jalapeno slices on the top. You’re totally SET. Let’s partay.

Queso Cheese Burgers

Yield: serves 4 to 6 (with extra queso sauce)

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

burgers

1 pound ground beef
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
8 ounces havarti cheese, sliced
4 to 6 brioche or sesame seed buns (depending on your size preference)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 lime, juiced
2 avocados, thinly sliced
1/3 cup jalapeno pepper slices, for serving
spring greens for serving

queso cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cups half and half
2 tablespoons cornstarch
16 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, freshly grated
8 ounces monterey jack cheese, freshly grated



Directions:

burgers

Place the beef in a bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Mix with your hands to incorporate, forming 4 to 6 patties, whichever size you wish and whatever size fits your bun. Heat a large skillet (or the grill, your preference) over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Cook the patties until browned on both sides and your desired doneness is reached. I do about 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-well, but it will depend on how think your burgers are.

In a bowl, mix together the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and lime juiced, stirring well. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

To assemble your burgers, cover the bottom bun with avocado slices. Place the burger on top and drizzle on lots of queso cheese. Top with the pico and the jalapeños. Serve immediately.

queso cheese

Heat a saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil and butter. Stir in the onions and garlic. Season with the salt and pepper. Cook until the onion softens, about 5 to 6 minutes. Slowly stream in 3/4 cup of the half and half, whisking the entire time. Toss the grated cheese with 1 tablespoon of the cornstarch. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup half and half and 1 tablespoon cornstarch until no lumps remain to create a slurry. Stir the slurry into the saucepan and cook for a minute until the milk thickens. Reduce the heat to low.

Stir in the grated cheese, one small handful at a time, until melted. Transfer the mixture to a crock, larger bowl or a small crockpot heating on low. Spoon on the burgers and serve the extra with chips!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Smooches!

Tuesday Things.

1. Um I am absolutely making this honey mustard chicken, bacon and avocado salad. !!!!

2. Did you see Britney perform at the Billboard music awards? I mean, she wasn’t singing (right?! or am I wrong?) but she is still Britney and amazing. I like the Britney for president campaign. PLEASE.

3. THIS is am awesome read on Britney and so true. Definitely been listening to her on spotify all week.

4. I do this weird thing where I NEED the house to be clean and clutter free on Friday for the weekend. I feel like most people are the opposite and want it cleaner for the week ahead. Odd?

5. Your go-to iced coffee or tea beverage? Tell me!

6. What the heck, Grey’s Anatomy? I kind of hated the ending. The Catch ending was cute though! Oooh and you know what I’m really excited for?! Bloodline to come back. Hoping Eddie and I can binge on a few episodes this weekend.

7. This should come as no shock, but who else is dying over all of the outdoor decor and patio/deck furniture at Target? Seriously, WHAT is in the air there that hooks me every time?

8. Four ways to stop procrastinating. Um, hello, this was written for me.

9. Thank you all so much for your herb planter ideas last week! I got one and herbs and tomatoes and peppers are going in this week… I’ll probably snap the heck out of it.

Panzanella with Marinated Chickpeas and Chimichurri.

Hi my name is Jessica and I want to eat bread salad for the rest of my life.

Hope it’s not a problem.

I’m going to start a bread salad blog on the side. The obsession runs deeeeep.

But really, this was my lunch almost every single day last week. EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Hi hi hi! How was your weekend? Fantabulous and filled with ice cream? Um, we cleaned out our garage and did a major organization project on Saturday – like the ENTIRE day. I haven’t felt that physically exhausted in a long time and boy… I am still beat. It feels so good to not drive into my garage now and want to throw the contents of the room off of a 30 story building though, you know? Our garage is where we have a little cubby type thing that houses all of my food styling and photography props and it almost always looks like insanity 100% the time.

I just can’t deal with clutter. It clutters my mind so much that I feel overwhelmed and anxious and find myself unable to focus on important things like work and life and donuts and TV. 

The only thing I want cluttered are my salads. With lots of bread right now, preferably. Obviously. Incredibly. Deliciously. Annoyingly.

All of those things.

If you’re a longtime reader you know that I don’t necessarily “care” about bread. I like it but I’m not the person that will inhale the whole bread basket before dinner or even be tempted to grab a piece unless it’s SUPER special bread. No no. I save that lack of self discipline for dessert and things like pizza and french fries. But bread? No.

In this though, with the bread drenched in the marinade of vinegar and oil and herbs, I could probably eat the entire loaf if it was chopped up in the bowl. It’s SO freaking good.

Not only do we have the chickpea marinade thrown in for our dressing – lots of briney goodness and even a touch of honey – we have a few heavy-handed drizzles of freshly whipped chimichurri.

GAH.

Every time I make chimichurri, I forget how much I love chimichurri. And wonder why the heck I don’t make a batch every single week. Why not?!

One of the things that I find incredible is the ability of chimichurri to make me want to eat grilled steak or chicken and veggies PLAIN. Well, not exactly plain, but covered in chimichurri. It makes pretty much everything edible and if I could just get it to work with broccoli, life would be set.

Oh. And if you would like a behind the scenes peek with my assistant?? Here you go.

Last week he mastered the art of climbing up on the table and it’s been a wild struggle to get him off ever since. We might be standing and eating this salad for the next six weeks until he is over it. 

Panzanella with Marinated Chickpeas and Chimichurri

Yield: serves 2 generously (maybe even 3 or 4 if you're serving it before a meal)

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

marinated chickpeas

1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

chimichurri 

1 cup fresh cilantro
2/3 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2/3 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

salad

2 cups thick italian bread cubes
3 cups torn butter lettuce
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled



Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chickpeas in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, basil, honey, garlic, oregano salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Pour over the chickpeas. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

chimichurri 

Combine the parsley, cilantro, oregano and garlic in a food processor and pulse until small leaves and pieces remain. Add in the vinegar and pulse once more. With the processor going, stream in the olive oil and mix until just combined. Stir in the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Taste and season additionally if needed. Store sealed in the fridge for up to a week or so. This makes a bunch of chimichurri, so you will have leftovers! You can also freeze it in a ziplock bag and add it to soups or pastas.

salad

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spread out the bread cubes on top. Bake in the preheated oven until the bread is toasty and golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly.

To assemble the salad, add the bread cubes, tomatoes, and lettuce in a large bowl. Pour the chickpeas over top and add as much (or all) of the dressing. Toss well. Drizzle on a few tablespoons of the chimichurri and toss well. Taste and add more if desired - or season with salt and pepper if you find it needs it. Crumble in the feta and toss. Eat up!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Flavor face bomb!

Confetti Ice Cream Fudge Pie with M&M’S.

[This post is brought to you by M&M’S! I’m creating some fun desserts for their pinterest page. Thank you for your support!]

There is only one thing better than ice cream season.

ICE CREAM CAKE SEASON.

Or, ice cream pie season. Same thing, filled with the most delicious melty ice cream, sprinkles and a thick and fudgy filling. I die.

This is why I’m a bit nutty over ice cream pie. And it may sound weird.

BUT.

I don’t really love cake and ice cream together. I mean, I like cake swirled into my ice cream? But at a birthday party, I rarely want a scoop of ice cream with my cake. I’m happier with just the cake or just the ice cream. They are two separate desserts for me and I have no interest in swirling them together on my plate.

In fact, I’m so out of the cake-plus-ice cream loop that many times, I’ve hosted birthday parties and actually FORGOT to buy the ice cream.

Seriously. Completely and utterly humiliating.

So I do things like this! Just make one big old ice cream pie that works as both desserts – and then there is only the need to slice and serve once.

I’ve partnered with M&M’S again to create a fun birthday-inspired dessert that you can share with all your invisible internet friends just like I am today. You’re never going to see me saying no to rainbow colored chocolate candies, uh uh.

I mean, look at these colors!

This to-die-for dessert concoction is super simple and can be made the night before a party – all it takes is a bit of assembly.

I love a chocolate cookie crust. I also love a graham crust, so there is really no way to go wrong here. Pick what you like and what flavor you are feeling that day. There will still be chocolate fudge, so no worries.

Next up, cake and sprinkles in your ice cream. It’s a thing!

I swirled two cupcakes and some sprinkles into homemade vanilla ice cream before slathering it on top of the cookie crust and sticking it in the freezer. You can use whatever ice cream you’d like, but sprinkles make everything better and that’s a fact.

THEN. Then comes my favorite part. The gooey, sticky, most decadent chocolate fudge. This was completely inspired by the old-school chocolate cookie ice cream dessert (

I was the worst.

Good thing I changed my ways.

On top of the fudge are tons of bright and colorful M&M’S. Cold and crunchy M&M’S are my favorite and they give this trashed up pie the BEST texture. Crunch crunch crunch.

Plus, finished with a handful of extra sprinkles, fresh whipped cream and all the heart-eyed emojis in the world? I’m in looooove. Can we consider THIS eating color?!

Confetti Ice Cream Fudge Pie with M&M’S

Yield: Makes one 9-inch ice cream pie

Total Time: 4 to 6 hours

Ingredients:

1 (14-ounce) package chocolate sandwich cookies
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
½ gallon your favorite vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
2 vanilla cupcakes, crumbled
⅓ cups sprinkles, plus more for topping
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag M&M’S Milk Chocolate candies
Whipped cream for topping



Directions:

Add the cookies to your food processor and blend until crumbs remain. You want the consistency of graham cracker crumbs! Place the crumbs in a bowl and stir in the melted butter. The crumbs should all be moistened evenly. Press the crumbs into a 9-inch springform pan and stick the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, gently (and quickly!) fold the crumbled cake and sprinkles into the softened ice cream. Spread the mixture onto the cookie crush and smooth out the top. Place it in the freezer for 1 hour.

Heat the condensed milk in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in the dark chocolate and vanilla extract. Stir until the chocolate is melted and remove the pan. Let it cool almost completely (you still want to be able to stir it). Remove the crust from the freezer and pour and spread the chocolate evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for at least an hour. Time for the M&M'S! Place the chocolate candies on top of the fudge. Add a few sprinkles! Freeze for another hour or even overnight at this point.

Top with whipped cream before serving. I slice it right from the freezer, but you can let it sit out for 10 minutes before serving in order for it to be soft and melty. Enjoy!

Be sure to follow howsweeteats on instagram and tag your recipes with #howsweeteats! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the howsweeteats facebook page. I appreciate you so much!

Oh hi cake and ice cream. This is how I like you.

Currently Crushing On.

Happy SATURDAY! So.

I bought a ton of flowers yesterday and am going to plant my face off this weekend. Even in the pouring rain. We are also going to do a massive clean-up of our garage so our neighbors no longer think we are hoarders. At least dish hoarders – my blog props are over the top.

So super excited for this week to come with Memorial Day – I don’t know if it’s my endorphins since I’m back to working out at 5am (when you ask for an elliptical for mother’s day, it’s easy) or if it’s because summer is pretty much HERE

What are you up to?! All the hearts.

Internet loves of the week:

i could not relate more to these thoughts on being more present.

salted watermelon margaritas. you’re welcome.

craving some mushroom arugula toast like whoa.

lisa frank zebra cakes. i cannot!

completely dead over these garlic burgers. holy cow.

banana almond butter klondike bars?! i’m in.

let’s make all the cucumber rosemary margaritas this summer.

can crack broccoli make me love broccoli? MAYBE.

super beautiful coconut panna cotta.

vegan double chocolate pudding for liiiiife.

loving on these smoky bbq veggie burgers.

stunning colors in these mixed berry pot pies.

triple tiki rum punch! helllllo sunshine.

S’mores Stuffed Strawberries.

Or, embarrassingly easy fruit gems.

Say hello to your new favorite thing!

It’s Friday and you deserve a mojito and a s’more. Or ten. I won’t judge.

Can we talk about the cuteness of these adorable strawberries? GAH. This recipe is simple but so fun.

Not only are the berries covered and filled with things that I love, they look pretty too.

This is actually a recipe that I made waaaay back when for Seriously Delish. I remember the exact day I made and shot them for the book and immediately texted my brother’s girlfriend a picture and was all YOU NEED TO MAKE THESE RIGHT THIS SECOND.

They are addictive. Ridiculously delicious. Darling. Horrifyingly easy. Can we call it a recipe? I don’t even know.

I love that they are a little light dessert but still taste decadent. Also, yes, you are correct in that I very rarely categorize fruit as a dessert (unless it’s a fabulous crisp/crumble/cobbler) but I’m making an exception here.

How can we NOT?!

These are one of my most adored treats and I don’t know why they’ve never made their way from the book to the blog…  but now was the time because they are the easiest treat for Memorial Day weekend.

And hello – the entire summer!

It’s probably because the instant they’re made, they are consumed like crazy. Occasionally I even make a handful for an evening snack since it feels a little fancy. That’s super smart.

Plus, since it IS fruit, it’s not like it’s completely terrible when you finish the batch yourself. ????

S'mores Strawberries

Yield: makes 2 pounds of strawberry s'mores

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pounds strawberries, hulled with some of the center cut out
6 ounces high-quality dark or milk chocolate (your choice), chopped
1 tablespoon coconut oil
3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs



Directions:

Combine the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in a heat-proof bowl, preferably the bowl of your electric stand mixer. Place over top of a double-boiler that contains simmering water, and whisk constantly for 3-4 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the egg whites are slightly warm. Immediately remove the bowl and place it on your stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beating slow at first and gradually increasing the speed to high. Beat for 6 to 7 minutes until glossy and thick, then beat in vanilla extract for another minute until combined.

Scoop the marshmallow into a pastry bag (or just use a spoon) and fill the insides of the strawberries. Place the filled strawberries on a piece of parchment paper.

Place the chocolate in a bowl and microwave it on 50% power for 30 seconds. Stir well. Microwave again for 30 seconds and stir again. Repeat until the chocolate is completely melted. Once melted, stir in the coconut oil until it melts.

Gently dip the bottom half of each strawberry into the chocolate, placing it back on the parchment paper. Sprinkle the chocolate with graham crumbs. You can stick these in the fridge for a little before serving. You can also use store bought marshmallow fluff, but it might melt easier. If you make them ahead of time, they must stay in the fridge and the marshmallow may run a bit!

[recipe from seriously delish]

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Also, I’m sort of thinking peanut butter. Weird?