Banana Split Ice Cream Pops

These cool & creamy Banana Split Ice Cream Pops are made with just 3 simple ingredients- vanilla ice cream, cold milk, & fresh fruit. A perfect frosty treat for summertime!

This dairy packed recipe was created in partnership with the ADA Mideast. As always, all thoughts & opinions expressed below are 100% my own.

The countdown to summer break is on in this house! My youngest has less than a month left of school & then the summer fun will officially begin. 

We have road trips, lazy days at the local pool, tennis camp, and nights by the fire pit making s'mores already on our summer break agenda. I also see lots of fun homemade popsicle making in our summertime plans starting with this recipe for these layered Banana Split Ice Cream Pops. 

This cool & creamy frozen treat is made with just 3 simple ingredients: vanilla ice cream, cold milk, & fresh fruit. And they come together in no time at all with a little help from your blender. 

Not only are these ice cream pops fun & 100% kid approved, but I can also feel good about treating my kiddo to these thanks to the high standards of safety & quality being enforced by our local dairy farmers. 

In a world where we seem to be constantly hearing about contaminated foods & recalls, it is reassuring to know that dairy foods are the among the safest & most highly regulated foods out there.

Creamy Summer Fruit Pizzas

Topped with creamy ricotta & mascarpone cheeses, juicy peaches, & sweet blackberries, these sweet & savory personal sized pizzas are perfect for summertime...

This delicious recipe was created in partnership with the ADA Mideast. As always, all thoughts & opinions expressed below are 100% my own.

"Summer, summer, summertime... Time to sit back and unwind." Okay, I know, I know. It isn't quite officially summertime yet. We are still 19 days away from that. 

But it certainly feels like summertime around here already. Temperatures have been in the balmy 80's most of this week, and my oldest's summer break from school started this past weekend. So for all intents and purposes, let's just say that summer has indeed arrived, k? ;)

Aside from the warmer weather and evenings around the fire pit, I most look forward to summertime for the flavors of the season. 

Sweet, juicy fruits and berries come into season. My basil plant overflows with bright green, fragrant leaves. And my mind starts spinning with delicious recipe ideas inspired by the sweet, fresh flavors of summer. 

These Creamy Summer Fruit Pizzas are the very embodiment of my love for perfectly ripe summer peaches and juicy blackberries. When they are paired with creamy ricotta & rich mascarpone cheeses and a little fresh basil, the end result is delicious, no fuss pizzas perfect for summertime...

My Ohio Dairy Adventure

A big thank you to the American Dairy Association Mideast for sponsoring my Ohio Dairy Adventure. All thoughts & opinions expressed below are my own.

I have to say that one of the most rewarding perks of my blogging career so far (other than being able to pay the bills) is having the opportunity to travel, learn, and meet some pretty amazing food bloggers and people in the food industry along the way. I was afforded another one of these amazing travel experiences the week before last when I took a road trip to Cleveland, Ohio as part of the Ohio Dairy Adventure. Okay, I know what you all may be thinking right about now- just what is an Ohio Dairy Adventure? ;) Let me enlighten you all...

It started with a cheese and wine pairing at the House of Blues that was followed by a day spent exploring two local dairy farms (there was also some cheese thrown in between the two farms), then an amazing dinner in a NFL stadium, followed by a morning of learning about the American Dairy Association Mideast's initiatives in Cleveland's public schools, and the whole trip ended with even more cheese- but ooey, gooey melted cheese that time around. Notice a theme here? (Psssstttt... cheese!)

But we all know that we wouldn't have all the cheese without the dairy, right? And where does the dairy (aka, milk) come from? Cows, of course! So, it only seems fitting to start there with the story of my recent Ohio Dairy Adventure experience...