Can you imagine cake and ice cream all in one?  Well yeah, if you’ve bought an ice cream cake then perhaps you can, but I can’t store those things in my fridge so when I learned that Blue Bunny & Chef Duff Goldman partnered up to create FABULOUS cake ice cream, I knew it was meant for me.  You can see their commercial for it here.

If you happen to live in a closet and don’t know who Chef Duff is, well, he’s the man from the awesome Ace of Cakes.   When I saw the flavors, I was drooling already.

The four flavors are:

Red Carpet Red Velvet Cake
Red velvet cake flavored ice cream swirled with cream cheese frosting flavored ice cream and red velvet cake pieces.

Chocolate Lovers Triple Chocolate Cake
Decadent chocolate ice cream served up with fudgy chocolate cake pieces and dressed in ribbons of thick, chocolate frosting.

I Do! I Do! Wedding Cake
Celebrate the marriage of sweet buttercream frosting ice cream and white cake pieces all wrapped up in delicate ribbons of raspberry sauce.

Strawberries are Forever Shortcake
The sweet taste of strawberry ice cream and real strawberries mixed with pound cake pieces and swirls of whipped cream frosting.

We gathered the fixins’ and Truett went wild!! All I could hear was him saying “mmm, mmmm, mom this is good, mmmmm, mmmm”  LOL  It was really cute!  When he was done, he rubbed his belly with happiness.  Blue Bunny sent me the ice cream flavors, the ice cream scoop and the napkins.  I got the Blue Bunny bowls from a blogger conference I attended one year.  When you put ice cream in them, they change colors! It makes it really fun for kiddos!

OH MY GOSH…AMAZING!!!!  We started with the Red Carpet Red Velvet Cake and man was it wonderful!!!!  Tasted exactly like a perfectly baked red velvet cake…only it was cold.  HEAVEN!  You got bits of cake in just about every bite. SOOOOO GOOD Y’ALL!!

So far all 3 flavors I’ve tried have been so dang delicious.  I haven’t tried the wedding cake but oh my goodness, can you just imagine how divine that will be?    I’m absolutely looking forward to that moment.

WANNA WIN SOME BLUE BUNNY BUCKS?!!

5 winners will receive a couple of Blue Bunny Bucks.  Bunny Bucks are a certificate for free Blue Bunny product at any retailer.   This will allow you to try the product and fall in love with it.

HOW TO ENTER

Required: Leave a comment telling me which one you want to try!!  I would absolutely LOVE to see a Pineapple Upside Down Cake creation!!!

Additional, optional entry methods, leaving each one in a separate comment to count:

• Join the My Wooden Spoon’s Facebook Community.  I’m always giving freebies like ecookbooks over there!
• Follow @ACowboysWife on Twitter and tweet this giveaway with the URL to this post! (DAILY ENTRY)
• Subscribe to my feed via RSS or email. You must confirm your email subscription for it to be a valid entry! If you’re already a subscriber, simply leave a separate comment letting me know you’ve already subscribed.

This giveaway ends at 6:00 p.m. CST on 6/21 and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older.  You can read rules here and visit the winner’s page here.

Disclosure: Blue Bunny sent me the ice cream for review, as always, my opinions are my own.  They are also providing the prize so that I can share the goodies with some of you!

Over the past year I’ve shared some of my most favorite freezer foods and thought now would be a great time to recap.  I keep these items on hand for days that I don’t feel like cooking, don’t have time to cook, have a house full of teenagers, and to have tasty treats for anyone that happens to show up.

If you get the All You Magazine, you’ll find awesome coupons for many of these items in it!  If you don’t, you should. It’s one of my favorite magazines!

1) DIGIORNO PIZZA - I am LOVING the combos they have come out with!  What a great way to kick pizza night up a notch!  The ones to try are the DIGIORNO Pizza & Wyngz, Pizza & Cookies, and the Pizza & Breadsticks.

2) STOUFFER’S FARMERS’ HARVEST -  These are delicious and feature ingredients like sea salt, olive oil and whole grains.  As with any product that has whole grains, I’m always skeptical because of how whole grains can taste but these were divine!

3) LEAN CUISINE MARKET CREATIONS - These are by far one of our most favorite foods to keep on hand for when it’s just me and my husband.  He loves the one with shrimp and I Love the chicken alfredo one.  They are a much healthier option for us and are just the right portion size.

4) HAAGEN-DAZS VANILLA CARAMEL CONES - HELLLLOOOOOOOO, it’s ice cream, do I need to say more?  These are new and absolutely heaven.

5) SKINNY COW!!!! – Thank gawd for Skinny Cow.  For reals. You can’t even tell that’s it’s lower in calories at all, just ask my boys.  We love every single one of the varieties too.  How about a little Cookies ‘n Cream Truffle?

6) STOUFFER’S LASAGNA - If you don’t already know, this is my favorite thing ever.  It would be what I’d request for my dying meal.  I like to get the edges a little crispy. YUM!  We buy the party size…cause we eat a lot.

7) HOT POCKET SNACKERS - These are new and another great option for kids!  Truett can hold these in his hands easily and it’s really just the right size for him.  Make a ton of them and let the older kids grab and go.  LOVE!

LEAN CUISINE SPRING ROLLS - Yay for these!  Very tasty and a great way to keep your healthier eating habits in check.

9) EDY’S PEACH FRUIT BARS – DELICIOUS! Anything with real fruit is fantabulous of course.  These are only 100 calories per bar and boy do you feel like you’re getting a real treat with them!  Truett LOVES them and so do I!

10) LEAN POCKETS PRETZEL BREAD – I love these, wish my kids didn’t.  I try to keep ‘lean’ stuff for me but they seem to find it, love it, and eat it all.  I guess that speaks for taste.  It’s a nice alternative to the traditional ‘pocket’.

Sometimes cooking for all guys, on a ranch, I have a hard time finding a healthier alternative but here lately, Lean Cuisine has really really really been easing that problem. Many times I eat what they eat and just watch portion control but lots of times they want greasy cheeseburgers, chicken fried steak, peach cobbler, chocolate sheet cake, and King Ranch Casserole, all things I shouldn’t eat. What’s a gal to do right?

I now keep several alternatives in my freezer thanks to Lean Cuisine and Skinny Cow, along with many other items, and something that is kinda cool is that my husband is really liking the Lean Cuisine Market Creations and now eats them with me all the time. He turns 40 in April and well, lets face it, he probably needs to really start paying attention to his body and heart, so anytime he can substitute one of those fatty, greasy meals for something like this, I encourage it every chance possible.

One of the newest Lean Cuisine Market Creations, Chicken Pot Stickers, is outstanding!!!  This is a steamed entree and just like the other Market Creations, it consists of quality, very flavorful ingredients & textures.  We really really like this line of products and keep our freezer stocked with them.  They take minutes to prepare and really taste good.

Another new one that I just added to my freezer is the Lean Cuisine Garlic Chicken Spring Rolls.  YUM!  These would be a PERFECT snack during the Super Bowl!  I love spring rolls and am excited to try this.  If you already have, let me know how you liked them!  I believe I read that there was only 200 calories per serving and when you compare to that to a bag of chips (and with dip), or candy bars, or even pigs in a blanket, it makes for a great alternative!

And finally, no day would be complete without some kind of dessert or treat right?  In my opinion, I believe that Skinny Cow is one of the BEST options for a treat.  It’s low on calories and tastes SOOOO DANG GOOD!  You wouldn’t ever know it was the healthier choice, it’s that good.  Now do you see that box? It says VALUE PACK.  You wanna know why I like seeing that?  My boys love sweets and when I have these in the freezer, they always eat them.  Well, I think to myself, if they are perfectly happy with this low fat ice cream sandwich, why would I need to buy regular ice cream right?  RIGHT!  So while I do still buy not so low fat ice cream (they are growing boys after all), I keep Skinny Cow stocked ALL the time!  GREAT stuff I tell ya!  140 calories per sandwich y’all!  WOOT!  Have y’all seen their new Truffle Bars?? OH MY GAWD.  *drool*

Baby steps to a new me y’all.   Have you tried any of these? Thoughts?

Lean Cuisine on  Facebook and Skinny Cow on Twitter | Facebook

P.S. Some things to watch out for in the Month of January are:

• Store samplings
• Coupons in All You and First Magazines
• Online Coupon at AllYou.com
• And the coolest of them all, a lunch bag at Lean Cuisine!!!  Read all the deets at the site.  I’ll be getting mine!!!

Get those coupons y’all and save some bucks!

Time savers and convenience go hand in hand these days don’t they?  Dreyer’s ice cream has made things a little easier for you with their  Edy’s Shakes & Smoothies in a cup.  All you need is a 1/3 cup of milk and a spoon to stir!  You should know that this product is exclusive to Walmart.

This is a great fix and alternative to dragging out the blender to make a shake.  I found the portion size absolutely perfect and the whole a process a breeze.

Peel off foil and have your 1/3 cup of milk ready.

Pour milk in and stir…

Creamy chocolate shake!

Little cowboy enjoying chocolate shake!

The best part of all, is there’s really no cleanup. Toss and wash your spoon and viola!  The shakes come in Chocolate, Vanilla, and Cookies-n-Cream and the smoothies come in Strawberry Banana, Mixed Berry, and Tropical.  YUM!!

GIVEAWAY

One winner will receive a $100 Walmart gift card!  WOOT!

HOW TO ENTER

Required Entry: Leave a comment on this post telling me whether you prefer shakes or smoothies!

Additional, optional entries, leaving each one in a separate comment to count please:

• Share on twitter or facebook and come back here and tell me.  (2 per day)
• Upload a photo of you with the Edy’s (Dreyer’s) Shakes and Smoothies and I’ll give you a whopping 10 bonus entries!!  You can only do this once per person.  Upload your photo and add to the linky below. Remember, this is optional and no purchase is necessary.

This giveaway ends on February 21st, 2011 at about 10pm CST.  Good luck!

Disclosure: Compensated was provided for my time and efforts to create this post. All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.  duh.

Some people just don’t know how to make holiday desserts and need a little help, myself included.  Sometimes you can take things and turn them into something special with very little effort and create something that is tasty and visual appealing.

Blue Bunny has some very tasty and fun holiday ice cream out right now.  I just bought some and they were $2.98 at my Walmart.  This recipe called for the Blue Bunny Christmas Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches but they also have some other flavors like the very colorful Peppermint ice cream that you can use to make some CUTE reindeer treats!

Here is a fun and super easy Christmas treat that will have the kiddos forgetting about Santa…well, only for a little bit anyways. teehee

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp. butter, melted
• 2 tsp. water
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 8 Blue Bunny Christmas Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, stir together the walnuts, honey, butter, water, lemon juice and cinnamon.

2. Line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper or non-stick heavy foil. Place 4 ice cream sandwiches in prepared pan, cutting to fit. Spread 1/2 the walnut mixture over the top; cover with remaining ice cream sandwiches, cutting to fit. Spread remaining walnut mixture over the top; freeze at least 6 hours or until solid. Cut into 12 triangles. Serve immediately.

Serves: 12
Prep Time: 12 minutes*
*Freeze time extra

And this another reason I love my new KitchenAid Refrigerator!  You just pull out the trays and lay your food down in there.  LOVE!!

Have you ever thought about fancying up something simple like ice cream sandwiches?

Disclosure: Compensation is being provided by Walmart for my time & efforts to create this recipe and post.  All opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.

There are tons of ice cream brands out there but what if you could buy one that is a little bit better for you to eat and donates a whopping 25% of proceeds to a good cause?  Not only does Lovin’ Scoopful ice cream taste good, it’s those other two things as well.  When my friend Monica approached me, asking if I wanted to give it a try, I was like sure but the donation is what really caught my eye.  They donate to the Special Olympics, up to $50,000 annually which is AWESOME!  I love companies that do things like that, don’t you?

LOVIN’ SCOOPFUL FLAVORS

Oh my!  *drool*  So Lovin’ Scoopful sent us a bunch of flavors to try out right?  The reason they sent them to us is because, unfortunately, at this time they do not sell that brand here but are looking to expand so I look forward to the future!  Anyways, back to the flavors…..

• Rockin’ Raspberry Cheesecake
• Yummie Cake & Cookie Dough
• What the Fudge!  <—omg, tastes like chocolate sheet cake!
• Mintalicious
• Caramel Chocolate Heaven <—OH.MY.GOSH.
• Mad About Mud Pie
• and so many more!

They were all so dang good!  The boys loved them, the people loved them, I loved them.  There wasn’t one flavor that I did not like.  All pure deliciousness!

HALF THE FAT?!!

That’s right folks, half the fat and fewer calories without sacrificing the taste!  That’s a big thing these days…having the option to find a more healthy choice that you can still indulge in, will make them very popular.

We were able to have folks try it out at a get-together which was a lot of fun.   I asked everyone if they’d buy it again if it was available in our area and with no hesitation at all, they were like “heck yeah!” and that’s the truth y’all!  It was a big hit here.

Just fabulous!  Most of our family doesn’t like to be in photos…and I respect that but assure you, they loved every bit of it. They have a fun flavor quiz on facebook!  What flavor are you?

Now something for you!

We’ve got a little goodie bag to giveaway that includes ice cream coupons, a Lovin’ Scoopful scoop, t-shirt and tote!

HOW TO ENTER

Check out the Lovin’ Scoopful website and tell me which flavor makes your mouth drool!

Additional entry methods, all optional, and should be left in a separate comment.

• share on a social network like twitter or facebook
• “Like” Lovin’ Scoopful on Facebook
• Follow Lovin’ Scoopful on Twitter

Contest ends on Friday, July 9th.  Good luck!

Today was ONLY 97 degrees and with the humidity, probably much hotter than that!  The best way to cool off, besides taking a swim (and you ain’t gonna see me in a swimsuit), is to eat some ice cream!!  With a toddler and two teens, I’m sure you can understand why our freezer is jam packed with Popsicles and ice cream.  My guys spend almost the entire day outside in the heat fixin’ fence, ridin’ horses, and other chores.  The first thing they do when they get home is head to the freezer!  And me? Well, there’s something about ice cream that makes me feel like a kid.  Do you feel like that too?

Anyways, probably my absolute favorite kind is the drumstick.  Oh I know you know what I’m talking about.  You eat that crunch chocolate topping, lick the ice cream, bite the cone down because you know that when you get the bottom of it, there’s some deliciousness down there!  Oh man, I wish I had some right now!

My husband LOVES the ice cream sandwiches and the boys love anything.  I don’t know not one kid who is picky when it comes to ice cream! I recommend variety ice cream packs though because everyone can choose the one kind they are craving at that moment.

Now where do you shop and how do you get it home?  Sometimes we buy ours at the local store but we really try to buy at Sam’s Club because for the amount you get, it’s sooo much cheaper!  And remember when I shared the Insulated Freezer Bag freebie? Did you get one?  Well I did and I was surprised at how big it was! Great for bringing home the ice cream in.  I can definitely say that we are fully prepared for ice cream season!  What about you though? Do you have a good freezer to store yours in?

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment sharing which one of these yummy ice creams are your favorite to keep you cool during the Summer heat.  Skinny Cow, The Original Drumstick, Lil’ Drums or Dibs.  OR, tell me what occasion you would incorporate some of this ice cream in to make it an even more awesome occasion!  <–ANSWERING ONE OR THE OTHER IS A DAILY ENTRY

Additional entries optional. Please leave each one in a separate comment to count.

• Share on a social networking site like Twitter or Facebook. (<–DAILY ENTRY) Would love a follow too! @ACowboysWife
• Sign up for the BAM Monthly Newsletter (very cool giveaways for subscribers only!)
• “Like” My Wooden Spoon on Facebook
• Subscribe to My Wooden Spoon via Email or using your favorite RSS Reader

Giveaway ends on June 10th.  You will have 24hrs to claim prize. Will go by email time stamp.  It’s important to claim within that time frame otherwise you forfeit your prize.

Disclosure: A gift card was given for hosting the giveaway as part of an ice cream campaign.  Sam’s Club nor GE (<–registered trademark) are sponsors of the giveaway/prize.  Opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.  Read about my blogging ethics on my disclosure page.

One of the hardest things for me to find in my quest to get fit, is healthier sweet treats that are actually good and I’ve tried a lot. I had the chance to try Skinny Cow a long time ago and have been hooked ever since! Have you tried it? I LOVE the fudgesicles. Man those are good. Anyways, one of the places we buy ours at is Sam’s Club, especially since we buy so many other things in bulk from there due to how far we live from town.

And of course, the one thing you always have to worry about is getting that ice cream home without melting right? You know what I’m talking about…and when you get home, the first thing you do is run the ice cream in the house and stick in the freezer. Thankfully, Sam’s Club has these nifty insulated freezer bags ! Yep, I said insulated so even I can make it back to the ranch without them melting! Nothing against some of the other bags you can find in stores these days but for ice cream, this is perfect!  I live an hour away and that’s a true test.

Now to the tasty stuff.  Have you seen some of the Skinny Cow Ice Cream?  Oh my……I could eat it all day but what I really love is that my kids have NO CLUE that it’s healthier than regular ice cream and devour it like there’s no tomorrow.  Seriously!  That makes me feel good because they like it and yet they aren’t taking in all those unnecessary calories and since the fatter genes run in our family a little bit, every tasty, low fat treat I can find to cut down those calories helps.  Anyways, some of the other flavors include the following and if you notice there are some new ones. ((drool))

Disclosure: I received compensation in the form of a gift card for my time and efforts. All opinions are of my own, always have been, always will be.  Read my full disclosure for my blogging ethics.

And makes your eyes roll back into your head. Yep, this hot fudge cake is that good. Add some Vanilla Bean Ice cream and you’re in heaven!  My girl Tara shared this recipe and now I’m passing it on to you.  If you don’t know Deal Seeking Mom, you need to.  She’s beautiful, smart, and is always smiling & giving off such positive energy.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 2/3 c. granulated sugar
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa
• 1/2 c. whole milk
• 2 T. melted butter
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 1 c. packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 c. boiling water
• vanilla bean ice cream

DIRECTIONS IN 4 EASY STEPS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8″x8″ glass baking dish or shallow 2-qt. casserole.

2. In a medium bowl combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and 1/4 c. cocoa. Whisk in milk, melted butter, and vanilla just until smooth. Spread batter into baking dish.

3. In a small bowl mix brown sugar and 1/4 c. cocoa. Sprinkle evenly over batter. Carefully pour 1 1/2 c. boiling water over mixture. DO NOT STIR.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Batter will separate into cake and hot fudge layers. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream. It tastes just as good reheated, but you will have less fudge because the cake will absorb it.

If you’re lazy or just don’t have time, Betty Crocker’s Warm Delights are delish! Free sample to try too just in case you’re not sure about them.

Guest post from Kids’ Cattle Blog sharing their love from homemade snow ice cream!  Here fella there makes it look awful good!!  Thanks for sharing with us!

It doesn’t get any easier than this guys!  Enjoy if you have snow.  We’ll be in the 80′s here today so no chance of this stuff right now for us!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 qt.clean snow
• 1/2 C milk
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Mix together and enjoy. We only have skim milk. I think whole milk would make it creamier.