This post about how Bigelow Tea fits into our Father’s Day grilling plans and is part of the Bigelow Tea #AmericasTea #shop hosted by #CollectiveBias and its advertiser. All opinions are my own.

Need a new summer recipe? Our acai berry iced tea recipe and mint tea chocolate chip ice cream recipe are perfect additions to your Father’s Day barbecue.

In our home, Father’s Day is all about grilling. And ribs. And meat. On the grill. To the men in my life, this is paradise. To me, not so much. But on Father’s Day, I ditch my bunny rabbit preference for fruits and vegetables, and turn into a hardcore carnivore just like the rest of the pack.

Although I am not a rib aficionado (I have really weird issues about eating meat from a bone.), my husband is — and he gets really, really excited about making them. He has this whole process that he goes through – there’s some dry rub, some sort of marinade, and…well, to be honest, I actually have no idea what he does with them all day – but it seems to take forever. And even though I don’t eat them from the bone, I really, really do love the smell of them and have been known to eat some with a knife and fork. (True story.)

So when I asked the kids what they wanted to do for Father’s Day, they sweetly told me that they wanted to make my husband breakfast in bed. Apparently, we’re cooking up his favorite breakfast: Coffee, Juice and French Toast with Bacon (Bacon? Bacon?! Did someone say BACON?! Ahem, sorry. I get a little excited about bacon…).

After breakfast, we’re going on a bike ride, then we’re going to the pool, then we’re competing in a homemade Spartan Race, and then we’re playing some more. Hmm, this sounds more like my children’s favorite way to spend the day, but it’s the thought that counts, right? Regardless, I’m sure it will be as sweet as can be because the kids are planning it with love in their hearts.

With all of this outdoor activity planned, I wanted to make sure that I came up with a fun way to keep us all hydrated. We all love a nice tall glass of Iced Cold Tea in the warmer weather and I was psyched when I came across this incredible Wild Blueberry with Acai Herbal Tea from Bigelow in Walmart the other morning. As I sat there squishing the box against my nose and inhaling the yummy blueberry scent (Yeah, I really did that), I knew it would make the perfect iced tea for our Father’s Day celebration!

While I was busy day dreaming of wild blueberry fields (Where do they grow? Do wild blueberry fields look like forests? Can you pick your own? I was really thinking way too hard…), my eyes meandered across the shelf and landed on another box of herbal tea. This time, it was Bigelow’s Mint Medley Herbal Tea. As I stepped closer, I saw that it was a “cool blend of garden spearmint and peppermint” and a loud DING DING DING went off in my head. I knew what I was making for dessert…Mint Tea Chocolate Chip Ice Cream!! (Ohhhh baby. And I was going to eat it on a sugar cone. And maybe I’d have two – or three! Ahem, I mean my husband…and the kids…would be snarfing down ice cream cones…not me…)

The cool thing is that Bigelow Herbal Teas are caffeine free, which means that I don’t have to worry about the kids drinking and eating them. And as you know, my sister and I are really into supporting family-run companies, and Bigelow Tea fits the bill. It’s an American, family-owned company that is 3-generations strong!  And let us not forget that they are going to make me look like a Super Star on Father’s Day when I whip up these tasty treats for my husband and kids! (Thanks, Bigelow!)

ACAI BERRY ICED TEA

Makes 12 cups of iced tea.

Ingredients:

• 12 tea bags
• 6 cups hot water
• 6 cups cold water
• Orange slices, blueberries (these are great to add to an infuser pitcher like ours – they add natural sugar to it.)
• Honey or organic cane sugar (if desired)

Directions:

Step 1: Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.

Step 2: Add tea bags to water and steep for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Remove tea bags and allow to cool.

Step 4: Once cooled, pour steeped tea into a pitcher and add 6 cups of cold water.

Step 5: If using an infuser pitcher likes ours, fill the infuser with fresh fruit. We opted for clementines and blueberries.

Step 6: Add honey or sugar, if desired.

Step 7: Allow iced tea to chill overnight to enhance the flavors.

MINT TEA CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 6 Bigelow Mint Medley Herbal Tea tea bags
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 6 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup heavy cream1
• 1 1/3 cups of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Step 1: In a mixer, (I heart my KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer), beat the sugar into the eggs until thickened and pale yellow. Beat in flour and salt. Set aside.

Step 2: Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy medium saucepan. Remove from heat. Stir in the tea bags, cover, and set aside to steep for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Gently press down on the tea bags to make sure all of the mint flavor gets into the milk, and then remove the tea bags. (Side note: I actually ripped open one of the tea bags – and loved how the tea looked swirling around in the milk. If this happens to you, you can strain your milk through a fine mesh sieve, or just leave it be. It didn’t bother any of us and looked pretty cool!)

Step 4: Add the half-and-half and return to a simmer over low heat. Slowly beat the hot milk and half-and-half into the egg yolks and sugar. Pour the entire mixture back into the pan and place over low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon until the custard thickens slightly. Be careful not to let the mixture boil or the eggs will scramble. Remove from the heat and pour the hot tea custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl.

Step 5: Cover and refrigerate until cold or overnight. (I let mine sit overnight to enhance the tea flavor, but if you want to speed up the cooling process, set it into an ice bath. Just make sure your mixture is completely chilled before adding to the ice cream machine.)

Step 5: Stir the chilled custard, and then freeze in 1 or 2 batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Step 6: When the ice cream is semi-frozen, slowly add 1 1/3 cups of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips and let the ice cream machine mix it in.

Step 7: When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.

*This recipe is adapted from The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein.

Thanks for reading,

Denine

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