I will never buy ice cream again!

Guess what's been sitting in my Amazon shopping cart for MONTHS? Nope it's not my sanity! HA, give up?  I've been drooling over an ice cream maker.  In fact a Cuisinart ice cream maker. I try to rationalize how it would make sense to actually buy it. I'm not one for machines that only do one thing. Also we have an electric ice cream maker sitting in a box in our garage. But it's kind of a pain to use.   I also debated about the kitchenAid ice cream maker since I already have the mixer and Sister Bacon raves about hers.  Oh the decisions.  One thing I knew for sure is that I would love to make more homemade ice cream. If you've never had it you are missing out. There is nothing better than that first dip of silky soft ice cream. I also like I can control what goes in it.

So the ice cream maker debate continued on, should I get it? Should I wait for Christmas or a birthday present? Should I just dig out the one from the garage and struggle to make it more often with the machine we have? Oh the decisions!  Many days I just ignore it sitting in my amazon cart.  That was until the one day I stopped by a garage sale this summer.  And guess what was staring at me, yes my ice cream machine. And it was BRAND NEW in the box for $8!  Shocked to say the least I snatched that box and wouldn't let go.  I'm pretty sure there would have been a fight if anyone even came near me to ask what was in the box!  For $8 this thing was coming home with me and I have to say I love it.  I'm glad I waited to get a good deal on it but if I knew how easy it would be to make homemade ice cream I would have splurged sooner and bought one!

So if you are like me and have been wondering if you should get one or not, don't hold back!  You won't be disappointed at all. 

Since it was new it still have all the paper work with it and the kids and I thumbed though all the recipes too. We decided our first try at it was going to be just basic vanilla with some extras to add in. 

Here is the basic Vanilla recipe my machine calls for. This recipe will work with any ice cream maker that has a 1.5 qt bowl capacity.

Vanilla ice cream
1 cup cold whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1-2 teaspoons vanilla to taste

that's it! How awesome is 4 ingredient ice cream? You can substitute lower fat's in this recipe. This first time we made it we used half and half instead of heavy cream and skim milk instead of whole.  I also have decreased my sugar to 1/2 cup instead and the kids (or Mr. Bacon for that matter) have noticed a difference.

Mix the milk and sugar in a large bowl until the sugar is dissolved, then add in the cream and vanilla. Stir until everything is mixed well.  Pour the liquid into your ice cream bowl, add what every parts your machine says and turn the thing on!  Can you see the kids had a blast watching it go around!

Even Bacon Bit needed to take a look!

Around and around it goes!  It can be a bit noisy but no more so than the kids!  The process takes about 25- 30 minutes to get ice cream.  While it was mixing we decided to crush up a pack of m&m's to mix into the ice cream. We added about 3/4 cup of them during the last 5 minutes of making ice cream.  

Let me tell you it was AMAZING! So much the kids and I ate it all for dessert that night! Yes we did save a small bowl for Mr. Bacon too.  But the next day we decided we should make a second batch just to make sure it still tasted good. Right? Ok so use what ever excuse you want, once you have homemade ice cream you'll want it every day!

This time while it was mixing up we decided to chop up some Reese's peanut butter cups. 

 

 Again about 3/4 of a cup full.  And add them during the last 5 minutes of mixing the ice cream.

Mixing, mixing, mixing... done!

Delicious homemade ice cream. Yes this tasted just like a DQ blizzard only better! We really do enjoy our ice cream maker, my only regret was not getting it sooner!

Soups on! and a cheap treat

It's COLD outside! Temps on Friday here were -29 with wind chills in the -40's! Needless to say I'm ready for spring to come. The only thing that warms me up on those days is a nice bowl of soup. One of my favorites is potato bacon soup. Delicious, creamy goodness in a bowl! Does it look wonderful! Serve it up with a nice warm biscuit and you've got dinner.

Like my last soup post, it's defiantly a meal Mr. Bacon and I liked the.. ahem... older we get. But even our picky eaters will gobble this one up. Bacon Jr. is actually quite the soup lover and will request it from time to time, right after asking for tacos!

Like all great recipes I was happy when this one was passed on to me, and I want to pass it on to you. One of my favorite things about this recipe besides being a cheap meal, it goes in the slow cooker!

Potato Bacon Soup:
8 cups course peeled potatoes chopped (I use reds and leave the skins on instead of peeling)
1 small onion chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1/2lb crisp bacon- crumbled
1-8oz cream cheese
3 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (10 oz) cream of chicken soup

In 4qt or larger crock pot, combine cream cheese, soup, broth and pepper. Add in onion, bacon and potatoes. Cook 4-5 hrs on high or 7-8hrs on low. When done, mash with potato masher until desired consistency, a little for more liquid soup, mash lots for more of a 'chowder'.

Like always, I make my own broth from bouillon, I put in 5 cups hot water and enough bouillon to match cups worth according to directions. I love to top mine with some shredded cheese and a little more crumbled bacon.

Yesterday we treated the kids to pizza at our local dine in pizza place. We love this little restaurant. It's warm and cozy and run by some wonderful people. Of course the kids thought after they had pizza in their tummies, they needed some ice cream to go with. Little Miss Bacon suggested her favorite Dairy Queen as the place of choice! Lucky for my pocket book, DQ is closed in the frozen tundra of MN by us during the winter. Instead we made our own fun treats at home. The kids had a blast making their own sundaes. A few years ago I was at Goodwill and found these dessert cups (6 of them for under $2!), they are perfect for making a treat extra special. A sundae cup + ice cream +chocolate sauce + whip cream + sprinkles = Happy kids for under $1. SUCCESS!