Monday's agriculture website - July is ice cream month

In honor of July being national ice cream month, today's agricultural website of interest is Ice Cream Recipes. The designation of ice cream month was started in 1984 under President Ronald Reagan. Estimates are that approximately 90 percent of the United States population consumes ice cream. In addition to recipes, this website contains ice cream facts and answers to frequently asked questions.

Need a good dessert recipe?

This is one of my favorite EASY dessert recipes. It works great for serving a large group of people and looks beautiful if you can assemble it in a large glass serving bowl. It has gotten rave reviews and it is so simple I almost feel guilty for letting people think I'm a gourmet cook. (notice I said almost)

Death by chocolate

1 boxed brownie mix (I prefer Ghirardelli)
2 packages of chocolate mousse mix
16 ounces of cool whip, thawed
4 to 6 Heath bars
1 thick chocolate bar (optional)

Make the brownies according to package directions. If you're a Kahlua fan, you can poke holes in the brownies after they come out of the oven and drizzle with the Kahlua. I have done it both ways and found it to fine either way. Once the brownies are cool, crumble into large pieces. Make the chocolate mousse according to the package directions. (You can do this while the brownies are cooking and keep the mousse in the refrigerator when finished.) Layer half the brownies, half the chocolate mouse mix, and half the cool whip. Crumble the Heath bars (use 4 to 6 based upon your toffee preferences). Sprinkle half of this on top. Repeat the layers. Shave chocolate on top of the mix as a pretty garnish, but this is optional. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

That's it! I would suggest making it no more than 8 hours before you need it. It lasts at least two more days in the refrigerator after making. This can serve 8 to 12 people easy and is best suited for a climate controlled environment (versus an outdoor picnic).