homemade vanilla ice cream

We love this ice cream. We also love our Cuisinart ice cream maker. And we love Kurt & Bonnie, with whom we used to always make and eat ice cream. ((Move back! We miss you!!)) If I remember right, this is the recipe we decided was best. It's simple and delicious.



RECIPE: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 c milk (2% or whole)
2 c whipping cream
1 c sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl until sugar is dissolved. Pour into the (already assembled and running) ice cream maker. Once frozen (30ish min), eat. With sprinkles, if you're feelin' fancy. :)

homemade vanilla ice cream topped with sugar-glazed strawberries... and sprinkles

I'm not a very festive person. I suppose I am with Christmas, but anything else seems not worth my while. Perhaps it's that I'm too lazy {we'll say "likely"}. Perhaps it's just that I get overwhelmed by the pomp of it all. Or perhaps it's the fact that I feel crafts, etc, must be practical to be worth their weight. Either way, we don't do much for holidays.

But this Independence Day we went all out.... and made the above treat. :) I know. Somebody contain the festivities. Homemade vanilla ice cream topped with sugar-glazed strawberries topped with {at my 4-yr-old's request and in attempt to be a bit more festive} pretty blue sprinkles. It was pretty tasty, although I think I prefer the dish sprinkle-less. Pretty, though, no?

A few pre-prep instructions:

1) This recipe uses an automatic ice cream maker {ours is Cuisinart, and we love it- thanks K&B!!}. You'll need one to do it our way.

2) Make sure your freezer bowl {part of the ice cream maker} is totally frozen; I believe the manufacturer suggests freezing it for 24 hrs ahead of time {just checked; it's 6-22hrs... how's that for vague?}. Your creamy mix won't freeze otherwise. Though ice cream soup doesn't sound entirely bad...

And 3) Prepare the strawberries before you start on the ice cream. They need the full time to sit in the sugar if they're to be syrupy and delicious. They'd be fine otherwise, but trust me; they're better this way.

Okay, that's it! Now get crackin! Your taste buds will thank you!

RECIPE: Sugar-glazed Strawberries

Ingredients:

strawberries

sugar

Directions:

Slice/dice the strawberries. Sprinkle liberally (some might say "dump") with sugar (maybe 1/4 c. sugar for a reg-sized carton of strawberries?). Mix well. Refrigerate for a while (20 min-ish minimum). The sugar draws out the juices, and together it makes for some fantastic, sweet, syrupy strawberries to go on top!

RECIPE: Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients:

2 c. milk (2% or whole)

2 c. whipping cream

3/4 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract (the good stuff, if you've got it)

Directions:

Put all above ingredients in the blender. Blend well until sugar is dissolved. (This can also be done with a whisk and in a medium bowl, but the blender produces slightly better results.) Turn on the ice cream maker, making sure the stirring part is in already and the lid is on. Pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let the machine work its magic! You'll know it's done when the ice cream resembles ... well, ice cream ... and is nice and thick (about 25-30 min).

Dish up the delicious ice cream immediately (it is super soft-serve and will melt quickly) and top with the pre-prepared strawberries! Then add some blue sprinkles if you're feeling particularly American that day. :) Enjoy. It's yum.

bananas foster

I first had Bananas Foster at a Relief Society activity. The recipe was my friend Belinda's. I swear I wrote the recipe down somewhere, but when I searched for it this morning, it was nowhere to be found. I searched online, but none of the recipes sounded right. So I improvised. And it. Was. Delish.

If you've never tried Bananas Foster on waffles, you're in for a treat! Seriously, who knew waffles could be so rich and amazing? Give it a try. You'll be glad you did.

RECIPE: Bananas Foster

Ingredients:

1/2 c. butter, cubed

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

3 bananas, sliced

vanilla extract

rum extract

cinnamon

nutmeg

Directions:

In a frying pan over med-high heat, melt butter. Add brown sugar and stir to dissolve. Bring mixture to a bubble. Add a sprinkling of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. Continue to bubble for 2ish minutes. Add sliced bananas, stirring to coat. Add a tiny splash of vanilla, followed by 4ish drops of rum extract. Stir to combine. Continue to bubble and stir for a minute then remove from heat.

Serve warm over waffles, ice cream, or whatever suites your fancy. Top with whipped cream or Cool Whip if desired, adding nuts for crunch and/or sprinkling with more cinnamon for aesthetics. Eat up and enjoy!

chocolate mug cake

This recipe came from Aubrey via our mommy blog, Young Wives' Tales. I have no idea if it is hers alone or if she got the idea elsewhere, but it's so. darned. good. Really. You nuke the stuff right in the mug... I know! It takes less than two minutes and comes out all sorts of chocolatey and gooey and devine. No more worrying about having tons of leftover cake to devour and/or waste... we're talkin' single portions, people! Try it. It really is that good.



RECIPE: Chocolate Mug Cake

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
4 Tbsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. milk
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla

1/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients together in your mug of choice. Then add the milk, oil and vanilla. Stir well, making sure to get all the flour mixed in from the bottom corners.

Set your microwave to 2 minutes. Microwave for about 1 minute, 45 seconds. Stop around 50 seconds to let deflate; then continue cooking. Check to make sure the cake is cooked through {by sticking a toothpick into the center; it won't be clean but should have some residual goo, like when checking brownies}.

Top with chocolate chips. Mix it all together if you want {this is best, imo}. Have milk on handy, as it's wonderfully rich. And mmm.... enjoy.

Serves: 1*

Calories: 444

*(unless you share, and you may want to)