The Scoop On Scoops

  Today’s post is dedicated to one of my top five favorite things in life---ice cream!(You saw that one coming didn’t ya?) But before I give you the full scoop on scoops, I need to give you the scoop on something 100x more exciting!!!!!!

  Awhile back, when I made my Sweet Strawberry Rhubarb Streusel Bars, I mentioned I had created the recipe to enter in an annual Rhubarb Recipe Contest that is held about an hour away at the Rhubarb Festival. Well, I got a call yesterday morning saying that I am one of the top 4 finalists!! This is super exciting for me because #1—I will be on the news! #2—I prepare 2 batches of the recipe, one for the judges(there are 4—a local celeb, the meteorologist on our news channel, the main news guy, and another lady) and one to sell at the silent auction and #3—I have never entered a recipe contest before, so obviously I have never competed or won(first time much be a charm,huh?). There was no category criteria for the recipes(dessert, side dish,etc.), the recipe just had to include rhubarb, so I don’t know what I am up against! Please keep your fingers crossed for me! The event is this Saturday—testing takes place at 12:45 and the winner is announced soon after. I will save my post for Saturday night to let you all know how it went down. Even if I don’t win, it’s just an honor to be acknowledged.  :-)

  Now onto all things ice cream. The days are hot, and you know when something cool and creamy beckons to be in your belly, you just can’t pass it up. Whether you have fond memories of dripping chocolate cones as a kid, or maybe your more of a “in a bowl” eater like me! Whatever your frozen fancy is, I hope you’ll enjoy this post about all things creamy, dreamy, and yummy!

First things first of course! The base—the cone. When you think of a cone you think of 1, 2, maybe 3 scoops piled high and ready to be licked away, but have you ever thought of using a cone for other ways such as…

 

 

• Stuffing them with sandwich fillings: Scoop chicken or tuna salad into a wafer cone and enjoy the crunchy container instead of standard sandwich bread.
• Fill them with popcorn: Sprinkle ground cinnamon, sugar, and salt over popper corn, drizzle some melted butter or olive oil on top and toss to coat. Then use waffle cones to scoop it up for an easy-to-handle, entirely edible treat.
• Decorate cupcakes: Use them for witches hats at Halloween, as peaks on a castle cake, or Christmas trees around a gingerbread house.
• Toss together a trail mix: Use broken up cones to add to your standard trail mix. Low in calories, they are a great addition to raisins, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and cashews.
• Serve cheesecake: Ideal for a party because there is no utensils needed—Whip together light cream cheese with a pinch of freshly grated lemon zest, a drizzle of honey, and just enough low-fat vanilla yogurt to create a mousse like texture. Then pipe filling into cones and decorate them with sliced fruit. Faster + healthier than your standard cheesecake.
• Make an ice cream cone pie: Use sugar cones instead of graham cracker crumbs to make a quick pie crust. Grind them in a food processor and stir in some melted butter and a little sugar. Press mixture into a pie plate and bake it briefly. Then fill with ice cream, sorbet, or fro yo and freeze.
• Bake chicken tenders: Crushed waffle cones add crunch and a touch of sweetness to this favorite finger food. Mix the cone bits with bread crumbs, add a bit of olive oil then dip chicken tenders in seasoned flour, then egg, and then into the cone mixture. Place on nonstick baking sheet and bake until brown all over.

A New Way to Get Your Ice Cream--Find One of These!

 MooBella vending machines are so cool! It actually lets you make your own delicious hard scoop ice cream right there in 45 seconds! You can actually make up to 96 different varieties including 12 different flavors, delicious mix-ins (such as chocolate chips, M&M's^® or cookies ‘n cream) in both Premium and Light varieties. And best of all, MooBella^® is made with 100% all natural dairy so it not only tastes delicious but is wholesome too. Click here for flavors.

A Fun Twist On Ice Cream—One of My Favorites!

Oh my sweet love for Dippin' Dots continues to grow through the years! Have you tried em’?! If not, please find them ASAP! There’s just something about eating balled up ice cream bits that is so fun! Plus the flavors are to die for! I actually have some cotton candy flavored ones in my freezer :-)

A New Fro-Yo Find

Kemps Frozen Yogurt Parfaits are perfect for an on-the-go or just a convenient pre-portioned snack! I bought these with a BOGO coupon and loved the real and juicy frozen blueberries on top! There was a total covering of them before I nibbled half away in the picture—oops! =)You get this whole container for just 150 calories and the parfaits come in other flavors like peach mango, granola, and strawberry!

An Ode to My Favorite Frozens

All things cherry infused. DQ Cherry Parfait and a Cherry Blizzard!

All things from ColdStone Creamery—preferably cake batter with graham pie crust or Sinless sweet cream with fruit!!

 

 

So what’s you favorite frozen find?