Tag Archives: ice cream pie

Apple Thursday Rundown

Posted on by
Reply

Is the Memorial Day weekend within your grasp yet? I know a few of you out there will be playing hooky tomorrow. I will be working but let me promise you, I won’t let my envy deter me from writing my latest Thursday Rundown. Here we go…

Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts – Alright, after boycotting Pop-Tarts for a few days because I was so disappointed with “Unfrosted,” I am back to eating them again. And not only have I resumed chowing down on them but I am once again seeking out weird and limited edition flavors. This week I tried Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts and in the same way that “Unfrosted” didn’t resemble the actual origin of Pop-Tarts, Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts didn’t resemble the actual taste of Apple Jacks. Actually, that first bite I took was pretty bad. But it grew on me as I went along—it tastes just as you would expect an apple-flavored pastry to taste. Also, for what it’s worth, my wife came downstairs about 15 minutes after I toasted mine and said, “What smells so good?”

These Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts were decent.

Apple Pizza – From Apple Jacks Pop-Tarts to apple pizza. No, I am not talking PINEapple, I am talking straight up APPLE. On Tuesday night during our WSU System Marketers and Communicators Conference, I went with some colleagues to a pizza place in Moscow, ID, called Maialina. I ordered the Mela, a pie topped with caramelized onion, gorgonzola dolce, cow’s milk ricotta, cream, sage, and APPLE. Always good to try something different but I don’t think I would order it again.

When we dined at Maialina, I ordered the Mela. Probably not something I will order again.

Spirit Week – It has been a week of fun and creative outfits for Beau and Sloan. It is Spirit Week at St. Mary Catholic School so the students have ditched their uniforms for sillier options. Mismatch/Crazy Hair Day, Career Day, Sports Day, and Decade Day have all transpired throughout the course of this week. Much gratitude to Sidney for serving as the architect of putting all these outfits together!

Sloan and Beau pose in their mismatch clothes (left) and then in their career clothes (Sloan is a teacher in the top right image and Beau is a police officer in the bottom right image).

Sloan’s Soccer Season – I took some time earlier this week to recap Beau’s t-ball season so I also want to recognize Sloan’s soccer season. She concluded her spring slate of games this past Saturday. She improved a lot from the fall and I really enjoyed watching her engage with her teammates and the enthusiasm she constantly displayed. Sloan’s coach, Caleb Hatch, is so patient and knowledgeable. The Squids won more games than they lost (although they don’t keep score) while playing up a division. Congrats to Sloan and her teammates!

That is one happy bunch! This photo was taken after the last game of the spring season this past Saturday.

Archives – Since I don’t have anything better to do, I thought I would reach into the archives for other blog posts I have written on May 23 in the past. Back in 2013 I described the importance of checklists. In 2015 I wrote about ice cream pie and how it became a birthday tradition in the Reser household growing up. In 2018 I wrote a blog post I find myself sharing at least a couple times each year—my top 5 favorite beers. In 2022 I told the story about a high school teacher of mine who conveyed in dramatic fashion that cheating is not okay. Alright, is that enough?

Sidney made me an ice cream pie on my birthday in 2015.

———————-

That will wrap things up for tonight. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, everyone! Don’t Blink.

My Five Favorite Desserts

Posted on by
2

Last week, we had our friends and Pre-Cana marriage counselors, Tim and Kathy McCormick, over for dinner. When we arrived at the dessert portion of the meal, Tim asked whether I had ever written a blog post on my favorite desserts. While I had written about my favorite fast food desserts, I have never addressed my favorite homemade desserts. That all changes tonight.

5. Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches – When I was younger, my mom would make homemade ice cream sandwiches on two occasions: for my birthday so I could bring them to school for my classmates and also during the middle of summer for those hot July nights. My mom would take two of her homemade chocolate chip cookies, cram a generous portion of ice cream between them, put each sandwich in an individual ziplock bag, and freeze them. At the time, I thought I was getting two desserts in one. They were so fresh, so cool, so refreshing.

4. Candy Bar Cake – The first time Sid ever baked me a cake was for my first birthday spent in Myrtle Beach. She surprised me with a candy bar cake. It was chocolate cake on the inside coated in frosting that was mixed with crushed Hershey candy bars on the outside. I am not kidding, Sid probably ground up five or six candy bars for that dessert. Every bit of real estate on that cake was covered with candy pieces. It tasted perfect as each bite contained the perfect amount of cake, frosting, and chocolate bar.

Sidney made me this delicious candy bar cake for my birthday.

3. Darn Good Chocolate Cake – This is the Mary Reser (my mom) classic. Baked as a pound cake, my mom has made this for years, usually for New Year’s Day. She uses chocolate cake mix, chocolate pudding, and a bag of chocolate chips for the base of the cake itself. She then frosts the entire thing in a thick chocolate frosting. We then eat it hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I love rich desserts, and this delivers.

2. Ice Cream Pie – After you eat my mom’s ice cream pie, you will never want a traditional cake for your birthday again. While my mom made us ice cream sandwiches for our school birthday celebrations, she made us ice cream pies for our family celebrations. How much do I love this dessert? I once wrote a whole blog post on ice cream pie. My mom would start with a brownie crust. She would then let the birthday boy or girl select his/her favorite ice cream to fill it with. She would then top it with fudge, candy, cookies, and sprinkles. Probably weighing in at 1,000 calories per slice, I loved this Reser family tradition.

Me holding one of my mom’s delicious ice cream pies.

1. Peanut Butter Pie – The best thing about me moving to the South is that I met Sidney. The second best thing is that I discovered peanut butter pie! The day Sid made me peanut butter pie for the first time I knew I was in love……………

……………..with the dessert AND Sidney!

It was everything I crave in a dessert: rich, heavy, chilled, easy to eat. It also used a main ingredient that I am slightly obsessed with.

 

The dessert is a mixture of peanut butter, cream cheese, and whipped cream (plus other things such as heavy whipping cream and sugar). Sid then spreads it over an Oreo cookie crust and serves it with more whipped cream. Although the serving size is just a small sliver of a piece, I can easily gobble down two large pieces. It is so addicting and so good. As you can imagine, this is the dessert we had when the McCormicks were over.

On the left is a peanut butter pie made by Sidney. On the right is what it looks like after I am through with it.

———————

Sorry to my health nuts out there, no healthy or fruit desserts on this list! Not that I don’t like those too, but my favorite dishes are the ones that pack the calories and the flavor. Do you have a favorite dessert you would like to make me? Just let me know. Don’t Blink.

Ice Cream Pie

Posted on by
1

Growing up in my family, especially the latter half of my time under my parents’ roof, we enjoyed a certain birthday treat tradition. My mom didn’t bake traditional cakes for our special day. Instead, she made ice cream pie.

This is what my mom's famous ice cream pie looks like.

This is what my mom’s famous ice cream pie looks like.

When one of our birthdays rolled around, we could expect a dangerously delicious dessert to commemorate it. Ice cream pie is not for the faint of heart. It is a rich treat that will leave you full. It looks as good as it tastes.

My mom’s ice cream pie is a chocolate brownie crust layered with premium ice cream and topped with candy, sprinkles, and chocolate sauce. Each bite is an absolute delight as the ice cream melts in your mouth while you savor the chewy crust.

Here is a look inside the ice cream pie. So good.

Here is a look inside the ice cream pie. So good.

What makes these pies so much fun is that the birthday person gets to customize it. For example, my mom always made my pie with peanut butter ice cream. She made my dad’s pie with Cake Batter ice cream from Cold Stone. She made my sister’s pie with double fudge brownie ice cream. She then topped it with whatever candy we wanted and drizzled our preferred sauce on it.

Me with the best birthday treat ever.

Me with the best birthday treat ever.

If you recall, last week I had Sidney try five different cookie dough ice cream brands. As you can imagine, we had a lot of it leftover! Since I am not into wasting food anymore, we wanted to make sure it went to good use. Sidney decided to use my mom’s recipe to make a huge ice cream pie out of it.

This past weekend actually wasn't the first time Sidney made my mom's recipe for me. She baked one up this past October for my birthday (please excuse the awful Instagram filter).

This past weekend actually wasn’t the first time Sidney made my mom’s recipe for me. She baked one up this past October for my birthday (please excuse the awful Instagram filter).

Yesterday at our Sunday dinner, Sidney’s family tested out the cookie dough ice cream pie. They loved it! With this confirmation that it isn’t just my family that finds it somewhat tasty, I decided to share the recipe with all of you. Here is how you make ice cream pie…

Ingredients (crust):
1 package of devils food cake mix
¾ cup of chocolate frosting
¾ cup of water
¼ cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a pan. Beat all ingredients for two minutes at high speed. Spread the batter in the pan and bake for 25 minutes. DON’T OVER BAKE. Now spread ice cream so it covers the crust. Add toppings. Freeze.

My mom gave a Halloween theme to this pie.

My mom gave a Halloween theme to this pie.

Believe me, it is worth it to try this dessert at least once. With the summer approaching, there might not be a better time to whip it up. Don’t Blink.