It's Birthday Season!

Yeah, this time of year is like one birthday after the next.  February especially, but also March and now January with sweet Sam!  And TODAY is my dear hub's 38th birthday!  Woo hoo!  Yikes, only two more years to plan that 40th shindig for him...

Sam and Daddy

We keep birthday and holiday gifts pretty low key around here.  Still in tight budget mode, but we always manage to celebrate big!  Tonight we are going over to my parents' house to cook out.  They're handling dinner, but I put together an easy dessert.  I am not much of a baker, as I've said many times... I really don't have much of a sweet tooth, though pregnancy left me with more of one than I had before!  After having Sam, I have craved bread and sweets like no tomorrow.  Really weird for me.  But this dessert is stupid easy and requires no baking.  It's not even really a recipe... I've been making versions of this forever.  I think I even did these in high school.  So it's nothing new, but it's sinful and delicious!


Ice Cream Pie

You'll need:
- Half gallon of your favorite ice cream
- Ready-made pie crust (oreo or graham cracker)
- Cool whip topping
- Chocolate chips for drizzle topping or other topping of choice (caramel, fudge, etc)

Seriously, I feel dumb explaining this because it's so easy and like I said - nothing new.  BUT, first you'll want to sit your ice cream out for a bit (or nuke it a few seconds) to allow it to soften some.  Also go ahead and set out your cool whip so it can thaw a bit.  Once your ice cream is somewhat soft, spoon it into your pie crust.  I love the ready-made oreo ones but those are harder to find.  Graham cracker crust is great too though, and I especially love this particular one that is a little larger in size because a half-gallon of ice cream fills it perfectly...

After spreading the ice cream filling, top it off with cool whip.  I use most of the regular size tub - you can do as much or as little as you want (or none at all - there are no rules here!).

Lastly, just to finish it off, top it with drizzled chocolate or caramel...whatever suits you and meshes well with your ice cream flavor.  For this pie, I just melted some Ghirardelli dark chocolate chips and drizzled them over the top...

I've also added Thin Mints as a topper before when I was doing a chocolate or mint chocolate pie.  That's a good one if you have those on hand!  Like I said, no rules here.  Add whatever floats your boat.  Then toss it in the freezer till you're ready to enjoy!  It's nothing fancy, but it's good.  And it's one you can make days before you need it.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend.  And hubby, I'm excited to celebrate your special day with you!!!  Happy, Happy Birthday, love!