A while ago Design Mom started a column on her blog about loving where you live.  I decided that’s a good idea.  In the past 4 years we have lived in 5 states and visited a few others.  We figured we would be in each place for a while and would have plenty of time to see things.  But we never got around to seeing more than the one or two main touristy things in the area.  So I’m going to join Design Mom in the quest of loving and learning about the places I live and visit.

Up the street from us there is this little hole in the wall ice cream shop.  We never thought much about it.  But then we were talking to some friends the other day and they told us we were totally missing out.  We finally decided to see what all the fuss was about at this little shop called Daddy’s Dairy.

Oh. My. Goodness you guys. If you like ice cream and you’re in the south-of-Boston area you HAVE to stop here.  They have 120 flavors of soft serve ice cream.  120!!  Take a look at the menu.

I decided on Chocolate Raspberry and it was heavenly.  It was a vanilla ice cream with raspberry jam and raspberry filled cups.  So good you guys.  This little girl really liked her Cotton Candy and ate every last drop .

Do you have a favorite local ice cream joint?

One Christmas while I was in high school a neighbor brought over some popcorn as a gift.  It was soo good, but I couldn’t figure out why.  The next time I saw them I asked what was on the popcorn.  The answer…white chocolate.  No wonder it was so good! I don’t think it’s possible to overestimate my love for white chocolate.  It is delicious, am I right?  I’m totally right.  It was just such a totally unexpected flavor on popcorn that I couldn’t place it.

Since then I’ve made White Chocolate Popcorn many many times.  It’s so easy that it makes the perfect movie snack.  It only takes a one or two minutes more than normal popcorn.

I’ve never followed a recipe, but I know a lot of you are recipe people so I guesstimated the amounts that I use to make a quick snack for a movie night {most of the recipes online are all for HUGE batches – I love this stuff, but 8 cups of it is a little excessive most of the time }.

White Chocolate Popcorn

1 bag microwave popcorn – butter flavor
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup mix-ins (m&m’s, craisins, nuts, ect)

1. Pop the popcorn and put into a large bowl.  Try not to let any un-popped kernels into the bowl.
2. Toss the mix-ins with the popcorn.
3. Melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave for 1-1.5 minutes or until melted stirring every 15 seconds or so.
4. Pour melted chocolate onto popcorn then stir until all the kernels are coated.
5. Devour

So I went camping last weekend with our awesome friends.  My family was in charge of getting breakfast together, but the Hansen’s wanted to try out a little trick they’d seen on line.  I’m not sure where they got the directions on how to do these, but they’re pretty easy so I’ll just give you a quick run down.

First, you cut the oranges in half and scoop out the insides.

Then you fill one half with muffin mix and put the other half back on top.  We had some blueberry & some raspberry.

Now is when you should wrap them in tin foil. But we all forgot to bring some so we just made due.  Lay them in the fire and let them bake for about 15-20 minutes.

Then unwrap and enjoy!  They’re not that pretty, but even without the foil they were still delicious.

What’s your favorite campfire treat?

Summer nights mean camp fires.  And camp fires mean S’mores, naturally.  I’m a fan of s’mores in all forms.  Put some graham, marshmallow & chocolate all together and I’m going to love it.  And probably won’t be able to stop eating it once I start.  We don’t have a fire pit so I decided to find a few recipes that I could make.  I’ve tried this first one and it is super good.  And I’m sure the other two from Love From The Oven just as yummy, too. They sure look amazing.

S’more’s Snack Mix from Real Mom Kitchen via Me on Pinterest

S’more’s on a Stick from Love From The Oven

Stuffed Rice Crispie Treats from Love From The Oven

What’s your favorite S’mores treat?