Summertime: Off to a great start

Summer Vacation: Day 2 

Our first day of summer vacation is best left alone. My husband and I were both sick from a stomach bug and I'll spare you the details.  Day two was much better. My daughter and I made this "frozen chocolate peanut dessert" for a dinner I had planned for my mom's arrival into town and my in-laws coming over.  

Frozen Chocolate Peanut Dessert

Freeze a large bowl and a 13X9 pan for about 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine 30 coarsely chopped oreos and 1/4 cup butter and set aside. 

Place ice cream in the chilled bowl; slightly soften ice cream by using wooden spoon to press against sides of bowl.  Spoon ice cream into chilled pan and press into even layer.  Sprinkle the cookie/butter mixture onto the ice cream.  Top with 1 cup salted peanuts.  

Put 1 12 oz. jar of fudge ice cream topping into a ziploc bag.  Cut a corner of the bag  and drizzle over the layers in the pan. Cover and freeze for at least 4 hours. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. You can top with cherries or sliced bananas. Makes 15 servings. 

We loved this recipe and it tastes similar to either a peanut buster parfait from the Dairy Queen or an ice cream cake. 

Summer Vacation: Days 4, 5, 6

 My husband and I got to go on a mini-vacation alone for our 10th anniversary.  With a trip to Las Vegas scrapped (darn black out dates for frequent flyer miles) we decided to go a short distance from home to Brown County, Indiana. A beautiful area with a state park, a historic town with shops (Nashville,IN), walking/biking trails, a campground and trails exclusive to horses and their owners, and much more. 

 

 Wonderful Brown County State Park, Indiana

The Story Inn- Story, IN

Historic little town that is basically owned by one person. Other little houses/cottages surrounding the inn and restaurant are also for rent nightly.  We didn't stay here but will remember it for a future mini-vacation. 

On our last morning at the state park, my husband and I took our last hike. This loop was 1.5 miles through the woods around Ogle Lake within Brown County State Park. Very beautiful-especially in the morning. We were at the park for 2 days and hiked about 7-8 miles. Wish it could have been more but the 90 degree weather didn't help.