Blueberry & Coconut Gelato Pie #SummerDessertWeek

*This post was created for #summerdessertweek and I was sent samples from some of our sponsors to use for this recipe. All Opinions are my own. Enjoy!


Hello everyone and Welcome to the first #SummerDessertWeek event hosted by Angie from Big Bear's Wife. We're so glad that you've joined us for this week long event of desserts and giveaways. You're going to love what we have in store for you.

I am so pumped for today's dessert. It is perfect for the summer and pleasing for any palate. There are a few ways to make this creamy and delicious dessert that combines Rainier blueberries with decadent coconut gelato. For this particular version, I made a saltine crust but you could easily use a pre-made graham cracker crust and it would be just as tasty. I am just a really big fan of the saltine crust as it oozes a buttery flavor that melds together with the gelato to exhibit and awesome custard texture.  I promise that once you make this blueberry and coconut gelato pie...you will be craving it as soon as the heat rises again!

Blueberry & Gelato Coconut Pie

Saltine Crust

 1 & 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers (salted)

1/2 cup softened butter (unsalted)

3 TBSP Dixie Crystals Sugar

Blueberry Compote

1 cup rainier blueberries

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp Adams Best Vanilla

Coconut Gelato

2 pints ( semi melted)

**garnish with blueberries/coconut chips/whip cream  (optional)

Keep the crackers still in the sleeve and crush with a rolling pin. You want them in small pieces but not completely ground fine. In a large bowl mix together the crushed crackers and sugar.  Then knead in the butter until a soft dough begins to form.  Press into an 8 inch pie crust.  I made sure to spray mine with cooking spray first.  Chill the crust for about 15 minutes and then bake on 350 for about 20-25 minutes until the crackers develop a golden color.  Chill again once it is cooked. 

Set the coconut gelato out and let it begin to melt. 

For the blueberry compote; place all ingredients in a sauce pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Stirring and put on low heat for about 5-10 minutes until blueberries begin to burst and cook down. Once it thickens, it is done. Set aside and let cool. 

Once the gelato is halfway melty and the crust is cooled, pour the gelato into the crust, it should fill about halfway up the crust. This is when you can spoon the blueberry compote in, swirling to combine the two. Top with more gelato and then top with more compote, swirling in. 

Place in the freezer for 2 hours. You can top with whip cream, coconut chips, and blueberries. You can serve with any extra compote left over!

The best part about this is how the outer crust remains crunchy and salty and the bottom part of the crust gets a little melty and melds together with the gelato and it has almost a tres le ches flavor/texture. So delicious. I hope you enjoy my this and check out all the other recipes for #summerdessertweek

As a side note, I used the amazing pie pan from OXO and it is slightly bigger than usual so I actually ended up using 2 sleeves of crackers and an extra tbsp of butter. I am in love with this pie plate, so thick and large and perfect addition to my kitchen!

There are 25 amazing bloggers participating in this year's event! Throughout the week we'll be share tons of fantastic summer dessert recipes with you. With over 70 recipes being shared this week we just know that you're going to find a new summer favorite! Plus, don't forget that we have 6 (six) great giveaways for you this week thanks to our amazing sponsors!


Scroll down to take a look!
Check out the amazing #SummerDessertWeek recipes from our bloggers today!

Ice Cream Recipes:

• No Churn Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream from Big Bear's Wife
• No Churn Cherry Crisp Ice Cream from Miss in the Kitchen
• No-Churn Peanut Butter Lovers Ice Cream from Home Sweet Homestead
• No Churn Banana Walnut Ice Cream from Kudos Kitchen by Renee
• Grilled Pineapple Ring Rum Sundae from Daily Dish Recipes
• Creamy No Churn Peach Ice Cream from 4 Sons 'R' Us

Pies of Summer:

• Peach Blueberry Galette from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Coconut Key Lime Pie from The Domestic Kitchen
• Berry Cherry Pie from A Blender Mom

Sweet Summertime Cakes:

• Cherry Almond Cake from Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine
• Homemade Angel Food Cake with Sugared Berries from Me and My Pink Mixer
• Cherry Vanilla Poke Cake from The Bitter Side of Sweet
• Gooey Nutella Microwave Mug Cake from For the Love of Food

No Bake Treats:

• Blueberry Coconut Gelato Pie from The Whimsy One
• Blueberry Parfait from Bowl Me Over

Baked Desserts:

• Churro Bites with Mexican Chocolate Dipping Sauce from Love Bakes Good Cakes
• Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes from The JavaCupcake Blog
• Blueberry Limencello Cobbler from Sweet ReciPeas
• Blueberry Biscuits from Fake Ginger
• Blueberry Crumb Bars from Southern Plate
• Cherry Struesel Muffins from My Baking Heart
• Rustic Cherry Galette from Jen Around the World
• Roasted Cherry Meringue Fool from Cooking In Stilettos
• Cherry Rosemary Cobbler from The Spiffy Cookie
• Cherry Almond Cobbler from Southern From Scratch

There are 25 amazing bloggers participating in this year's event! Throughout the week we'll be share tons of fantastic summer dessert recipes with you. With over 70 recipes being shared this week we just know that you're going to find a new summer favorite! Plus, don't forget that we have 6 (six) great giveaways for you this week thanks to our amazing sponsors!

Scroll down to take a look!

Prize #1

Prize #1 -- Dixie Crystals is giving one winner a $100 Willimas Sonoma Gift Card OR a $100 Sur la Table! Winner of prize #1 gets to pick which gift card they would like!

Prize #2

Prize #2 -- Rainier Fruit is giving one winner a Pie dish, Cherry Pitter, Serving Spatula, Pinch Bowls, Pie Carrier! Everything you need to make the perfect cherry or blueberry pie!

Prize #3

Prize #3-- OXO is giving one winner an 8 Piece Glass Bake, Serve & Store Set.

OXO Glass Bakeware is made of thermal shock resistant borosilicate glass, which means it can go from freezer to oven without the need to thaw. The OXO 8 Piece Glass Bake, Serve & Store Set is the perfect partner for all of your baking adventures. The Set includes a Glass 3 Qt Baking Dish, Glass 2 Qt Baking Dish, Glass Loaf Pan, Glass Pie Plate, 1 Cup Round SNAP Container, and 2 Cup Round SNAP Container.

Prize #4

Prize #4 -- Adam’s Extract is giving one winner a Pyrex with baking utensils and 4oz Adams Best, 1.5 oz Pure Lemon, Almond, Peppermint and Vanilla.

Prize #5

Prize #5 -- General Mills Cereal is giving one winner 4 boxes of cereal, 2 Big G Cereal character bowls, 2 Big G Cereal character , 2 “Good Morning” spoons, 2 Cheerios tumblers with straws 1 long-sleeve Cereal Character hooded t-shirt, 1 short-sleeve Cereal Character t-shirt.

Prize #6

Prize #6 -- Land O’Lakes is giving one winner a branded insulated tote with a stainless steel water bottle, two mugs with cocoa mix, a dish towel and coasters.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway open to US Residents 18 years or older.. All entries will be verified. No PO Boxes Please. Prizes will be sent directly from sponsors to winners, bloggers are not responsible for prizes. This giveaway runs from July 24th until July 30th at 12AMEST. Winners will be selected soon afterwards and contacted by e-mail. Winners will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. There are a total of 6 (six) prizes and therefore we will have a total of 6 (six) winners. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

Disclaimer: These posts and recipes are part of the week long event, #SummerDessertWeek but all opinions are 100% mine! We would like Thank our amazing sponsors: Dixie Crystals, Rainier Fruit, OXO, Adam's Extract, Land O'Lakes and General Mills Cereal! These wonderful sponsors provided the prize packs for our giveaways and also sent samples and products to the #SummerDessertWeek bloggers to use in their recipes.

The Unicorn Mimosa

I haven't participated in The Ultimate Recipe Challenge for a bit but when I knew this month was drinks, I was all in! I cannot wait to see what all everyone came up with this month and add some new items to my cocktail repertoire!

This simple, colorful, and horribly named cocktail probably ended up being one of my favorites to date. It was fun to put together and truly only took about ten minutes of prep time. It was also delicious.  I used a few of my favorite juices and you can easily swap them out to mix and match for any gathering.  I am a fan of mimosas in general and this tasty version is perfect for summer. 

You can also call this whatever you like. I am not going to pretend here, the hardest part of cocktail creating (at least in my case) is not coming up with a delicious libation, nope that part is fun and relatively easy. It is naming a creation that is often the most daunting part aspect.  I have come up with some fun and catchy ones prior ( naughty southerner is my personal favorite) but this particular concoction left me flumoxxed. 

I decided to play by 2017 rules and well, colorful and full of champagne basically screamed "unicorn" to me. You know what the best part about this tasty beverage is though? It doesn't care what you call it. So just drink up and enjoy!

For this particular version, I used guava nectar, apricot nectar, and blood orange juice. I froze them the night before and they don't fully freeze like water so they melt down a little easier.  I want to try it with peach puree, mango, and OJ next time. I have also made these with fun shaped ice trays, You truly can make these any flavor and any theme. Also, if you want to make this kid friendly, just top with sparkling cider or grape juice!

I used 1/2 cup of each juice and they yielded about 10-12 small ice cubes each.  You should be able to find these in the international isle of your grocery stores. 

Unicorn Mimosa 

1/2 cup guava nectar 

1/2 cup apricot nectar

1/2 cup Blood Orange Juice

1 bottle Champagne

In a glass, place 5-6 ice cubes and top with chilled champagne or prosecco. I think they taste best if you let them melt down for a minute or two and let the flavors meld together. 

And as always, thanks to the fabulous Bethany Boyle for taking photos and being my taste tester!

An InLinkz Link-up

Bear City

This weekend we decided to explore a little closer to home. Every time we think we have done all there is to do in North Carolina, we realize how much more there is to see and do. We had originally planned to hit up the Lake Lure area but instead headed to New Bern. I haven't been there since I was a teenager and there wasn't much back then I would have appreciated. You may have heard of New Bern because of one Nicholas Sparks. He is semi famous I guess. Or you know, some people would say because of Pepsi. Toss up.

How glad I am we went to this sweet, little town. I couldn't believe how many fantastic restaurants and things there were to do. No, there isn't a hopping nightlife here and if that is what you are after, then look elsewhere. However, we did luck out and stumble onto 3 fantastic bars that hit the spot for what we were looking for. New Bern is the perfect walking location. 

It is on the Pamlico River and the hotel we stayed at is right on the harbor. Our view was pretty much perfect and I got in my history fix all weekend and the best part is that we were able to park at the hotel on Friday and walked absolutely everywhere until it was time to leave on Sunday. 

The hotel rates and food price points for what we got were reasonable. We stayed at the Courtyard and found it enjoyable. There are also a plethora of B &B's right downtown. Our visit to the original Pepsico was worth our time. This is where I state that I am 100% a Coke girl, but this place was so much better than the World of Coke in Atlanta and what I mean is that it is the original pharmacy. It is free to walk in the few rooms and watch how it was originally made and order a Pepsi from the counter. And while I had Mt. Dew, he, of course, went with Pepsi. I will admit that the old bottles tasted better than the ones you find in the stores. And yea, the Pepsi float was the real deal.

New Bern showcases painted bears all throughout the town.  Bern is the Swiss word for bear and goes back to the town's history and is basically the official town mascot. Here are a few of my favorites. 

The eats were really good in New Bern and my two favorite meals were at The Chelsea and for lunch, right on the water, Persimmons. Both were delicious and we tried out Prohibition and the cocktails were very good. 

Tryon Palace was quite the treat, especially if you are a history buff like we are. Home of NC's first permanent capital. The gardens are absolutely stunning. 

and of course, Tony being Tony, our two-hour trip home took 5 hours, but at least we found some sweet spots. I just adore the little town of Oriental. We stumbled upon a pier next to a park with lots of empty Adirondack chairs and then a little ways up the road, we found a free ferry. This almost made up for our failure to go for a sail this weekend. Almost.

Girls Weekend Staycation: Raleigh Marriott Crabtree

Is there a term that gets you more pumped up than "Girls Weekend"? I think not. A few weeks ago some of my best friends from home came to visit and we knew since the whole squad would be here, staying in a hotel would be our best option. Enter the newly renovated Raleigh Marriott Crabtree. I had recently attended their grand re-opening and left very impressed. I felt this would be the perfect spot for us to enjoy ourselves!

 I may or may not be obsessed with these lobby lights!

We did a lot of eating, shopping, and laughing. We may have also indulged in a few cocktails. The hotel is in the perfect location as it is across the street from Crabtree Mall and relatively close to downtown. Tony joined me for some afternoon cocktails while we waited for the girls. They have redone their bar/restaurant from a "typical" somewhat boring hotel fare to a Southern-inspired dining experience called 'Braise' 

 They have an awesome cocktail menu that uses a lot of bourbons. If you read this blog at all then you know how much I adore my bourbon! I enjoyed my prosecco based option but after I tasted Tony's whiskey based libation, I realized I chose wrong. Joel ( I hope I got his name correct because he is the nicest and our entire crew spent half our time drooling as he looks as good as his drinks. hahaha) He named this one 'Height of Fashion" and as a cocktail creator who spends way to much time coming up with names, I was left with name envy!

Alas, the gals arrived and we got straight to work with making cocktails and getting our shopping on. Five women can do a lot of damage in a very short time! The best part about our suite was that it was not a typical suite. We had the hospitality suite in the middle, flanked by our rooms on either side. I am not a big fan of wallpaper but I loved the one they chose. Plus, I had a crush on the sofa. I also love that they have a smart tv and can just catch up on any of my binges!

The ladies and I spent way too much time laughing and making snap chat videos. Yes, this is what middle aged woman who are too cool for school ( yes, I legitimately just typed that;) do to bide their time. Then we gorged ourselves on the awesome chocolate covered strawberries and champagne from the hotel. They have many additions to complete your stay at the hotel and make it memorable. 

That night we headed to one of my favorite Raleigh dinner spots: Relish. It may not be very "chic" or even "trendy" but oh my gosh the food really is just to die for and it was a quick five-minute drive from the hotel. Or, more accurately, it is if you don't get lost because your GPS is a big fat liar. oops. 

We headed towards downtown which is about a fifteen-minute ride from the hotel but I would recommend you take an uber. Parking downtown is the worst and it probably wouldn't be more than 5 bucks or so for the uber.  Then, upon our return, we ended our night we cheesecake and since they are incorporating more Southern cuisine into the restaurant, the cheesecake option was banana pudding cheesecake! Yes, you read that correctly. Banana. Pudding. Cheesecake. Also, I hate bananas and somehow this was divine!

All in all, we had a fabulous stay at the new Mariott Crabtree and our weekend hitting up some of my favorite Oak City stops: Relish, Moon & Lola, Cameron Village, and C. Grace! If you are looking to visit Raleigh, I definitely recommend it. Or, if like me, you want a staycation, it is great. I cannot wait to return this summer once the pool is open!

March Madness Giveaway

March Madness $200 Giveaway - PayPal Cash or Amazon GC!

March Madness is usually associated with basketball! But March also has some other fun events like St. Patrick’s Day which brings up images of all sorts of beer parties. March also ushers in the 1st day of Spring and Spring Breaks from school which are themselves a bit of madness. March also begins daylight savings time which can make us all crazy. I get the gardening itch and also want to get outside and do “normal” things minus the snow! What does March Madness mean to you?

A group of fabulous bloggers have come together to bring one lucky reader a March Madness $200 Giveaway - Winners choice of PayPal Cash or Amazon GC! This is a blogger sponsored giveaway which means the bloggers have donated towards the cost of this giveaway! You will the blogger sponsors as entries on the Rafflecopter form.

March Madness $200 Giveaway - PayPal Cash or Amazon GC

Open worldwide and ends March 15, 2017 at 11:59 PM EST.

Organized by My Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Life

Enter on the Rafflecopter below:

Disclaimer: This blog did not receive compensation for the published material in this post. No purchase required to enter this giveaway and there is a limit of one entrant per household. Void where prohibited. Odds of winning are determined by the number of valid entries received. Winner will be chosen by Random.org and will be emailed via the email address used to enter the contest. New winner(s) will be chosen if original winner(s) has not responded within 48 hours of email notification.My Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Life is responsible for shipment of prize. This giveaway is not administered, sponsored, endorsed by, or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest or other social media outlet. Disclaimer is posted in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.