The best summer memories are simple. They’re moments filled with family, fun and laughter. Swinging on a swing with the warm summer breeze blowing through your hair, gazing up at a twinkling star studded sky in the evenings and enjoying your favorite bowl of ice cream for dessert with your loved ones are what makes summer really special. For a real treat, our family is making Roasted White Peaches with Honeycomb and Vanilla Ice Cream to celebrate Breyers 150th Birthday!

Because there’s always room for ice cream, Breyers is celebrating its 150th birthday this year and has partnered with celebrity chef Curtis Stone and his wife, actress Lindsay Price Stone, to create 12 delicious recipes featuring Breyers Natural Vanilla. How fun!

All of the tasty recipes are inspired by every month of the year to give families a way to celebrate birthdays and special occasions with Breyers all year long! Yum! Breyers Natural Vanilla is made with fresh cream, milk and sugar and is the perfect ice cream to pair with freshly picked and roasted peaches (one of my favorite flavor combinations) this summer!

You can always feel good about serving your family Breyers because they are committed to using high quality ingredients in their recipe. It’s a promise that has been on Breyers packages for over 100 years.  A dessert that includes America’s #1 vanilla ice cream and one that the whole family can easily make together is always extra special!

All Breyers vanilla is real and from sustainably farmed, Rainforest Alliance Certified vanilla beans. Breyers only sources milk and cream from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.*

Disclaimer: *Suppliers of other ingredients such as cookies, candies & sauces may not be able to make this pledge. The FDA states that no significant difference has been shown between dairy derived from rBST-treated and non-rBST treated cows.*

I love the smell of fresh lemon, don’t you? We’re going to add this to the sugar before sprinkling it on top of the peaches before roasting. 

After halving, pitting and arranging your fresh peaches in a baking dish, let your children help sprinkle the lemon sugar on top, then roast them in the oven for 30 minutes.

This makes your whole house smell wonderful too! For this recipe, you’ll also get to make your own honeycomb. Have you ever made honeycomb before? It’s really easy, and oh so good!

Simply bring your honey, sugar and water to a boil, then cook the mixture for 5 minutes over medium-high heat until a candy thermometer reaches 305 degrees. Remove from the heat, whisk in baking soda, then pour the hot mixture onto a lightly greased baking sheet and let cool. You can then break your honeycomb into pieces. This part can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

When it’s time to assemble your sundaes, make sure you drizzle a little of the flavorful pretty pink peach juice into each bowl.

Your little kitchen helpers will be more than willing to help you scoop Breyers Natural Vanilla Ice Cream on top. Those warm peaches and it’s juices along with creamy ice cream, garnished with honeycomb make for a beautiful summertime dessert. Happy Birthday Breyers!

Celebrate and create your own memories with Breyers this month and all year!

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The post Roasted White Peaches with Honeycomb & Vanilla Ice Cream appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

 If there’s a treat my children are constantly requesting over the summer, it’s ice cream. On the weekends, I usually purchase a few different flavored ice cream to make cones for everyone. It’s a tasty treat that never gets old. Last week I shared a few fun items I picked up during my last grocery trip when I was Shopping For Fun This Summer for a secret party I was planning. This week, during a normal summer afternoon, I surprised my little guys with a fun Ice Cream Sundae Party and boy were they excited!

As a busy wife and mother, I sometimes forget that simple things like a picking your favorite toppings for a sundae or creating your own unique recipe can make their day. It’s exciting to have “your pick” of toppings all set out on a table for you to choose from. After lunch when things had calmed down a bit, I quietly set up our party.

Before I got everything out, I told my kiddos we were going to do something special, but that I wanted them to draw a picture of what their dream sundaes would look like first. I got them set up in the other room, they got out their crayons and started drawing. This was the perfect opportunity for me to sneak out and set up our Sundae Making Station.

When their drawings were finished, so was the Sundae Bar! You should have seen the looks on their faces when I said, “Okay, let’s make the sundaes you drew right now!”

I let each child, youngest to oldest prepare their own special treats. After scanning over the different Smucker’s® Ice Cream Toppings I had out, they were ready, and very, very serious about their recipes too!

Here’s some of the “recipes” they came up with:

S’mores Sundae: Chocolate ice cream, Smucker’s® Marshmallow Topping, crushed graham crackers & chocolate chips

Salted Pretzel & Strawberry Banana Split: Neapolitan ice cream, a banana, Smucker’s® Chocolate Salted Pretzel Hard Shell, Smucker’s® Strawberry Topping, and chocolate chips

Hot Fudge & Caramel Banana Split: Vanilla ice cream, a banana, Smucker’s® Hot Fudge Topping, Smucker’s® Caramel Topping, chocolate chips and maraschino cherries

Chocolate Chip Sprinkled Hot Fudge Sundae: Vanilla ice cream, Smucker’s® Hot Fudge Topping, chocolate chips and sprinkles

I had a little taste of each one and they were all pretty good! With several toppings left, we are sure to have plenty of yummy ice cream desserts on our menu the rest of the summer.

As a matter of fact, I think my husband and I will have to make ourselves a sundae before we sit down and watch one of our favorite shows tonight!

All of these toppings really have got my kids thinking too. They already have plans for a big Ice Cream Sundae Contest this weekend! Sounds good because it’s going to be sunny & hot! What a perfect way to end the day!

Surprise your family their favorite Smucker’s® Toppings & a #SundaeFundae Party! I bet they would love it!

The post Surprise! It’s a Summer Ice Cream Sundae Party! appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

Have you heard, “Mom, I’m bored…” yet? I know I have! I am constantly trying to come up with fun and creative activities for our 4 children and our family to take part in, especially when it’s hot and humid outside. My children usually start the day playing basketball, riding bikes and playing in the sandbox when it’s cooler, but by the afternoon, they are just looking for activities to beat the heat. The weather actually cooled down a bit this week with the help of some rain showers. It was the perfect time to head to Walmart and shop for a little summer fun, so off we went!

We have plenty of water toys and sprinklers to cool off with when the sun is hot, so the kind of summer fun I had in mind was a cool treat. I decided to shop for some yummy Smucker’s® Ice Cream Toppings for a special secret sundae party I’m planning for my family later on this month! I am going all out for this and my family is going to love it! It’s going to be such a fun surprise! I only had my younger two kiddos with me, so besides the“oohing and aahing” they did over the tasty flavored toppings they saw- they didn’t really ask what they were for.

I was really excited when I saw all of the different flavored Smucker’s® Ice Cream Toppings that were available! These are going to be just perfect for my party! Smucker’s® Strawberry, Butterscotch, Hot Fudge, Caramel, and Marshmallow Ice Cream Toppings caught my eye first, but I kept seeing more and more! There were so many different varieties, I just couldn’t pick a few. I think I put one of each into my cart because you’ve got to have choices, right?! I may even go back to grab a few toppings that were temporarily out of stock due to other’s ice cream sundae cravings.

I was able to get a little grocery shopping done and purchase all of my “sundae needs“ for our upcoming secret family party with only 1 trip to the store! When you have a large family and everyone is busy with different schedules, shopping needs to be convenient. This time I even made it a little fun!

I can’t wait to share our Family #SundaeFundae Party with you all in a few weeks! Make some fun for your family this summer by planning something special and unexpected! Shop around to create your own family fun. Some of the most precious and memorable moments you can have with your family happen right at home!

Stay tuned…

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Life is always busy here at the Hawk Household! We are always working on a home improvement project, our garden, the landscaping, and running around for school activities with the kids. Even though June is a crazy month, I decided to schedule myself a “Me Day!” An afternoon really, but I’ll take what I can get!  Sometimes us busy moms just need a little time to refresh. To gather our thoughts and relax. Scheduling a day just for yourself isn’t selfish- it’s necessary! Use a vacation day & find a babysitter! I love to be in my garden this time of year, but very rarely have a chance to visit a local greenhouse to browse by myself for plants around our home.  All you need for your “Me Day” are 3 things.  Alone time, an activity you really enjoy and a pint of your favorite Nestlé® Häagen-Dazs Artisan Collection Ice Cream!

Our deck needed some color, and I have empty planters that I have yet to fill, so I decided to head to my favorite local greenhouse to take my time, browse around and literally stop and smell the roses!

I’m usually with at least a few of my children, but since the older 3 were in school, my husband took our youngest so I could go and enjoy myself. Ahhh, some long overdue peace and quiet!

On my way to the greenhouse, I enjoyed the fresh air with the windows rolled down and the radio turned up. When the weather forecast came on, it mentioned a chance of a few severe storms. The air was hot and humid, but there was hardly a cloud in the sky, so I just continued about my special afternoon without worrying about the weather.

Decisions, Decisions. This greenhouse has so many beautiful flowers, perennials and large hanging baskets available!

It was so hard to choose, especially because the outside of our addition on our home is not complete yet. Sticking to just one area, like the deck was kind of hard.  I wanted to buy everything for everywhere!

I took a long, relaxing, drive home on the back roads. By this time, the wind was really picking up and the skies were beginning to darken. I rolled down my window to take a few pictures and I heard the first crack of thunder. Then the downpour!

As soon as I pulled into the driveway, I quickly placed all of my flowers on the deck and ran into the house. I guess I wasn’t going to be doing any planting today. You can never count on the weather!

One thing you can count on is Nestlé®Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream! When I want to indulge in a rich, creamy, delicious ice cream, I want the best.

I made sure I picked up some of Nestlé® Häagen-Dazs NEW Artisan Collection the last time I was at Walmart because I like to keep something special for dessert just for myself on hand.

For this newest collection, Häagen-Dazs collaborated with 6 unique artisans who share their passion for quality, and the finest ingredients, in pursuit of the perfect bite. I couldn’t wait to try the Tres Leches Bridgadeiro flavor!

Other mouth-watering flavors from this New Häagen Dazs Artisan Collection include Spiced Pecan Turtle, Chocolate Caramelized Oat, Banana Rum Jam and Ginger Molasses Cookie.

Make sure you enter the Artisan Flavors Contest!

Häagen Dazs #ArtisanFlavors Contest

No one was home so I took off my wet socks, headed for the freezer and grabbed my Häagen-Dazs. The quietness in the house- heavenly. The swirls of caramel and cream as I got the perfect bite of that decadent and luscious Tres Leches Bridgadeiro Ice Cream ready on my spoon- delicious!

I put my feet up and enjoyed my Tres Leches Bridgadeiro ice cream while watching the rain and immersing myself in the calm, quiet and relaxing moment in my home. What a wonderful day!

Taking a break, scheduling time for yourself and giving yourself permission to just be you and taking a moment for yourself is so important. I know it makes me a better mother, wife and friend when I take time to relax a bit instead of getting frazzled and stressed with the constant Go,Go,Go that many of us deal with on a daily basis.

Whether you can get away for an hour or a whole day-do it! But, don’t forget the Häagen-Dazs! Follow them along on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram for delicious updates!

How do you make time for yourself?

The post Schedule Yourself A “Me Day” appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

I can’t believe June is here already!  My vegetable garden is planted and the weather is finally on the warm side.  Today the humidity kicked in, but I am really enjoying most of my time outside.  Last weekend we worked on getting out our patio furniture and we planted grass where tractors and trucks had been the past few months working on our addition.  I am hoping that all of this warm weather and the rain we got last night will help my side yard grow in no time.  I can’t wait to see some green in that area.

With the warm weather, comes the cravings for cool, sweet treats.  Ice Cream is on the top of my list this time of year.  Sometimes on the weekends we take a nice drive and stop at our favorite little ice cream place for cones, but other times the day just gets away from us.  That’s where this yummy Strawberry & Pistachio Ice Cream comes in!  This ice cream is so simple to make and the best part is, is that you don’t even need and Ice Cream Maker!  Sweet and juicy chopped strawberries, pistachio paste, and whole roasted pistachios are blended with fresh whipped cream and sweetened condensed milk, then frozen for a rich and creamy ice cream that your family will love and enjoy at home!  That fresh strawberry flavor complete with bits of pistachio in every bite is just the perfect way to relax at the end of a long, hot summer day!

I have been searching for the perfect pistachio paste for a while now.  I haven’t found it, so I decided to make my own simple version.  I used my little Magic Bullet to create a pistachio paste out of pistachios and water.  2 ingredients and that it!

The pistachio paste gave this ice cream the most wonderful favor and the best part was that there wasn’t anything artificial added to it.

Mixing this all together was making me hungry too!  I think I spent a lot of time thinking about dessert that day!

After everything is blended, just pour the mixture into any 2 qt. container that you can cover well and freeze!  It’s that simple.  You can have your homemade ice cream in 6 hours or so.

I made this ice cream in the late morning on Sunday, and by the evening it was ready to be served for dessert!  If you love pistachios and strawberries like me, treat yourself to this delicious homemade ice cream this summer!

*Linking up at:

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The post No Machine Strawberry & Pistachio Ice Cream appeared first on Cozy Country Living.

With the hot and humid weather we had last week,  everyone at my house was craving something cool and refreshing.  I had some ripe and juicy peaches in my fruit bowl, and I thought they would be just perfect in some homemade ice pops.  I was right!  These Creamy Peach Ice Pops were so darn good, and they only took 10 minutes to make!  They tasted like fresh ice cream with fresh peaches blended into every bite.  Now, I am the type of person who loves peach anything.  I love peach pie, peach cobbler,  grilled peaches over vanilla ice cream (yum, right?), peaches on my cereal, you name it.  These pops give you that wonderful sweet, fresh peach flavor, but in a cold, refreshing dessert.  What a perfect way to end a long, hot summer day!

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