Oreo Fudge Ice Cream Cake

Ice Cream Cake

1-1/3 boxes of honey graham crackers (approximate amount)
1/2 gallon ice cream (I used vanilla), softened
2/3 pkg. Oreo cookies, broken
1 jar hot fudge sauce, warmed
1 large container whipped cream, thawed

In a large pan (I used a large and deep lasagna pan), layer graham crackers on the bottom. Top with 1/2 of the ice cream; repeat graham cracker layer. Top with 1/2 of the whipped cream. Sprinkle with 1/2 of the broken cookies, and drizzle with 1/2 of the hot fudge sauce. Repeat layers above for a second full layer (graham crackers, remaining ice cream, graham cracker, remaining whipped cream, broken cookies and hot fudge sauce). Cover and freeze. This can be eaten the same day as made, but if you make it a few days ahead of time, the graham crackers will soften and it will be a different (but still wonderful) texture.

This recipe is absolutely a wonderful and RICH dessert and can be customized in so many ways. You can use honey graham cracker or chocolate. You can use any flavor of ice cream. You can use any candy or cookie, crushed or crumbled for the topping. You can use hot fudge sauce, caramel sauce, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, etc. The possibilities are endless. This make a HUGE ice cream cake for a very reasonable price. Mine came out to approximately $12.50 for the entire cake including the pan that I had to buy because I didn't have an extra pan (and the pan alone was $1.88!). You can make this in smaller amounts (only one layer, in an 8x8 pan, etc.) or you can make the large "cake" and enjoy the fruits of your labor. YUMMY!!!

***After eating this dessert several times, I've decided that in the future I'm only making it one layer deep and not the double layer. It's a very rich and yummy dessert, but for our family, one layer thick is more than plenty. So the approximate amounts listed would then make two ice cream cakes instead of just one deep one. :)

Fruit Salad

Source: AllRecipes.com

Fruit Salad

2 (20 oz) cans pineapple chunks, drained and juice reserved
4 apples (I used McIntosh or Gala), cored and diced
4 firm bananas, peeled and sliced
1 lb. strawberries
1 can (21 oz) peach pie filling
*Any other fresh fruit that you wish to add (grapes - cut in half, blueberries, peeled and separated clementines, etc)


1.In a small bowl, toss the chopped apples in reserved pineapple juice. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
2.In a large salad bowl, combine the pineapple chunks and diced strawberries.
3.Remove apples from pineapple juice and add to pineapple/strawberry mixture. Add chopped bananas to reserved pineapple juice and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
4.Remove bananas from pineapple juice and add to pineapple/strawberry/apple mixture.
5. Add pie filling and mix well. Chill and serve.

Makes about 16 servings.

*This recipe was awesome. The easiest and very yummy fruit salad. It was a big hit with my family, and will definitely be repeated many times. You can easily customize this recipe to whatever fresh fruit is available and what you're craving. I was hesitant to make it because of using the pie filling, but it added a nice "sauce" to the fruit salad without having to worry about taking it to a picnic and it wasn't overly sweet like I was afraid that it would be.