Homemade Ice Cream

Hope you all had a very nice weekend. I had a wonderful, huge surprise. My youngest son Zachary had entered a contest in his school which was sponsored by a local jewelry store. The children had to write an essay on what made their mom special to them. The mother of the winner would receive a white gold heart with a key pendant and chain. Well oh me oh my......would you believe my son won!!!! My husband received the call from the jeweler on Saturday and went to pick up the necklance. When I came back from Richmond on Sunday after visting my mom and older sons I checked the message machine. I was thrilled! My youngest son had known he won and kept it to himself so I could be surprised on Sunday!!!! What a special surprise and what a special son. The jewely store also included the letter my son wrote and I am having it framed. It is beautiful and touching and made me realize that our children take mental notes of what we do for them. They may not always express this when they talk to us...but they do appreciate what we do for them. I am a lucky mom.....

Back to the food now. My husband recently purchased an ice cream maker but I have not gone near it. He has been making ice cream for us and I never realized how delicious homemade ice cream is. Way better than anything we could buy at the store. Once I start having a bowl full I really find it hard to stop. And I'm not even a big ice cream person either. These are recipes of two flavors he made recently. Both were equally delicious. I've written the ingredients below and just simply follow the instructions for your own ice cream maker.

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

1 pint fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

My husband said that he used about 1/2 lb of strawberries that he pureed in a blender and some chopped up strawberries. He also used approximately 2 - 3 tablespoons of Hershey's stawberry syrup. From there follow instructions according to your ice cream machine.

Pina Colada Ice Cream (my favorite)

1 can well drained crushed pineapple
1 cup sugar, divided
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract

Follow instructins according to your ice cream machine.