Serving Up {Ice Cream} Sour Cream Strawberry Ice Cream

Do you ever think back on something that you ate as a child and wonder if it really tastes as good as you remember it tasting?  I had that experience recently.  I was thinking about, and craving, a homemade strawberry ice cream that my mom used to make - no ice-cream freezer required.  So I contacted my mom and asked if she remembered the "strawberry ice-cream that used sour cream" and, sure enough, not only did she remember it but she still had the recipe (turns out it was my paternal grandmother's recipe).  I promptly made a batch and am now wondering how I had forgotten about this treat for so many years!  I have been missing out on some serious summertime goodness!

The recipe, as posted, is the original recipe multiplied by 3.  I can't even begin to imagine only making 1/3 of a batch.  What was my grandmother thinking?  If you prefer your ice-cream sans chunks, feel free to throw all the ingredients into the blender and pulse a couple of times.  That is what I did with a portion of the ice-cream so that I could pour it into popsicle molds for ice-cream popsicles.  The popsicles were a great variation on a very delicious, very refreshing summertime treat.

One Year Ago: White Chocolate Brownie Decadence

Two Years Ago: Cilantro Ranch Dressing

SOUR CREAM STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM      

(recipe from Linda W.)

printable version

3 10-ounce packages frozen strawberries, partially thawed 

3 cups sour cream

3 pinchs salt

2 ¼ cup sugar

Combine all of the ingredients and mix well.  

Place in a 13x9 (or similar) size pan and place in freezer.

After an hour, remove from freezer and stir ingredients again.

Return to freezer and allow to freeze solid.

Serving Up {Ice Cream}: Ice Cream Sundae Cake

Our family has been enjoying some summer travel recently...living in the Northwest, it is pretty much a guarantee that wherever we visit, it is hotter than what we are used to in Portland!  I will admit that I have only turned my a/c unit on twice this entire summer.  Yes, you can totally hate me! 

Regardless of whether you are enjoying the mild summer that we have been enjoying, or whether you are melting in the sweltering heat that the rest of the nation seems to be dealing with, this is a great summer time dessert.  It's an ice cream sundae in a pan.  Vary the flavor of ice cream for different flavor combinations and enjoy. 

One Year Ago: Savory Wild Rice Chicken Salad

ICE CREAM SUNDAE CAKE     

printable version

2 Tbs. butter

2 cups coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

2 cups rice krispie cereal (crush slightly)

1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream (could use chocolate or peppermint)

fudge sauce (recipe to follow)

Melt the butter in a large pan and add coconut; cooking until coconut is browned.  Remove from heat and add the nuts and cereal, mixing well.  Allow to cool.

Place 1/2 of crumb mixture in the bottom of a 13x9 pan.  Spread 1/2 of the container of ice cream (allow ice cream to soften slightly) over the crumb layer.  Cover with 1/2 of the fudge sauce.  Layer the remaining ice cream.  Top with remaining fudge sauce and the remaining crumbs. 

Place in freezer until ready to serve.

Fudge Sauce:

3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

2 Tbs. butter

14-ounce sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp. vanilla

dash salt

Melt chocolate and butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add sweetened condensed milk and continue to stir over low heat for about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt.                   

Serving Up {Ice Cream}: Strawberry Daiquiri Ice Cream Shake

Last summer I experienced a delicious Key Lime Ice Cream Shake as a sample at Costco and immediately recreated it at home (and posted it here).  With only three ingredients (if you count ice as an ingredient) it just is so simple!

Then one day at the store I saw a variety of non-alcoholic cocktail mixers and realized if the Margarita mix can make such a delicious ice cream shake, why not shake it up with another flavor?  I purchased the strawberry daquiri mix and went home and combined it with ice cream and ice and a new treat was created!

One Year Ago: Homemade Oreo Cookies
                        Creamy Beef Taco Mix

STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI ICE CREAM SHAKE     
printable version

3 parts vanilla ice cream
1 part Strawberry Daiguiri Cocktail Mix
1/2-1 tray ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.

Serving Up {Dessert}: Hot Fudge Sauce

The power of suggestion!  The mere mention of brownies topped with ice-cream and hot fudge sauce in my last post (here) destroyed all my willpower and I was left with no choice but to whip together some homemade hot fudge sauce.  Luckily for me, my recipe is super quick, super easy and super delicious.

Quick story - last summer our family was invited to a neighborhood ice-cream/swim party.  I had been eyeing a hot fudge recipe online that was completely different from mine and I thought that taking hot fudge to the ice cream party would be pretty terrific of me and a great reason to try this new recipe.  Granted, it turned out very tasty, but it's first strike against it was that it had twice as many ingredients as my recipe, including corn syrup (yuck!).  Then to my horror, as the sauce cooled down (including when it hit the ice cream), it got ROCK HARD!  I really wanted to go swipe it off the topping table and hide it.  I kid you not, I saw a child walking away from the table with a large piece of it telling his mom that there was "fudge" at the treat table!  Thank goodness it was in a container that did NOT have my name on it :)

I mention all of that only to assure you that this hot fudge sauce remains a "sauce" even after putting it atop ice cream or after refrigeration.  Love that!  You can still heat it up for the "hot" part of the Hot Fudge Sauce, but should you choose to serve it directly from refrigeration, there is no chisel required.  Let's admit it, it is a whole lot easier to steal a little spoonful when you are craving a little chocolate when you can just dip your spoon right in.  But who does that? (wink!)

One Year Ago: Strawberry Spinach Salad

HOT FUDGE SAUCE     
(recipe from Christyn A.)
printable version

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 1-ounce squares unsweetened baking chocolate
2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. butter

Combine sweetened condensed milk and chocolate in a heavy saucepan over low heat.  Heat until the chocolate is melted, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter, stirring until the butter is completely melted.
Serve over ice cream
Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Serving Up {Dessert}: Root Beer Float Homemade Ice Cream

This recipe was stumbled upon as a bit of a fluke.  I had just had my fourth baby and my mom was in town helping manage all the other kids so I could recouperate.  Her visit fell over the 4th of July and so Homemade Ice Cream was on the menu.  One of the kids suggested making something other than our tried and true vanilla (is there anything other than vanilla?).  I went online and found an endless list of options and threw them out to the kids.  They chose the recipe for Root Beer Homemade Ice Cream - I think it was truly divine intervention.  It tastes JUST like a Root Beer Float and was immediately earmarked as a "keeper".

In case you are making Homemade Ice Cream for your July 4th celebration, and are ready to shake up the flavor a bit, I would highly recommed giving this recipe a try.

 

ROOT BEER FLOAT HOMEMADE ICE CREAM     
printable version

3 cups sugar
1 ½ quarts milk
3 pints heavy cream
1 ½ cans evaporated milk
6 Tbs. vanilla
2 Tbs. root beer extract
8 eggs, beaten

Add sugar to milk and heat just enough to dissolve sugar. Pour mixture into freezer tub. Add whipping cream and canned milk and mix well. Stir in vanilla and root beer extract. Add beaten egg; blend well. Freeze using 8 parts of ice to 1 part salt. Makes 6 quarts.

Serving UP {Dessert}: Best Homemade Ice Cream

Are you getting ready for your 4th of July BBQ yet?  My kids have been asking what our plans are and my eight year old informed me that he loves the 4th of July because of the BBQ.  Fascinating since we BBQ all the time and the menu is the same whether it's a holiday or not.  Also fascinating because he generally eats what is grilled and passes on all the sides.  So I'm not sure where the love affair is, but maybe it's because he know I will be making this homemade ice-cream!

Growing up I was blessed to live very close to family (VERY close!).  Because of the close proximity to family, we had a family BBQ for Memorial Day, the 4th of July, Pioneer Day (a Utah holiday), and Labor Day.  The menu was always the same, with the same aunts bringing the same items to each BBQ.  The most important assignment was always grandpa's because he was in charge of the Homemade Ice Cream.  It would not have been a family gathering if we weren't all talking over the loud drone of the electric ice cream maker at the corner of the garage.  Loved it!

This recipe isn't actually the recipe that my grandpa used.  Forgive me for saying this, but this recipe is even better!  I came across this recipe when I was first married and have tweaked it slightly, but have never gone back to any other vanilla ice cream recipe.  For our family, this is it!

Just in case you are looking for something beyond vanilla, tomorrow I will post another favorite homemade ice cream recipe - Root Beer Float ice cream!

BEST HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM     
printable version

5 eggs (I use egg beaters as the eggs aren’t cooked)
2 cans evaporated milk
1 pint heavy cream
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (3.5 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
4 C. whole milk

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, evaporated milk, heavy cream, sweetened condensed milk, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer. Beat in pudding mix until smooth. Pour into freezer canister of ice cream maker and add milk, not exceeding the "fill line" on the freezer canister (you may use less than all 4 cups of milk). Freeze according to manufacturers directions.

Serving Up {Ice Cream}: Oreo Ice Cream Cake

 

I have been asked by more than one of my children for an ice cream cake for their birthday.  You would think I would have learned long ago to just go and buy one.  But I'm a slow learner and as a result, we have celebrated with some weird ice cream cakes over the years.

But in my defense - if I had taken the easy way out, I never would have stumbled upon this recipe - which just so happens to be the easiest answer to an ice cream cake EVER (and significantly less expensive than Cold Stone!)  We celebrated my stepson's birthday over the weekend, and while he didn't make the specific request for an ice cream cake (probably a direct result of previous requests gone terribly wrong) I know of his love for ice cream cake and surprised him.  The surprise lost some of the "bang" when three of my four children pointed to the freezer over the course of the day and told him that "your cake is in the freezer".  What we lost in "surprise" we more than made up for in presentation!

One variation that I highly recommend, although I didn't do it this time.  Use the mint Oreo's and mint ice-cream sandwiches.  The last time I made this cake I switched it up with the mint and it really takes the cake over the top.  I wish I had done it again this time.

 

OREO ICE CREAM CAKE     
(recipe from Kraft Food & Family)
printable version

1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping, warmed
8-ounce COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed, divided
1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) Chocolate Instant Pudding
8-12 OREO Cookies, chopped (about 1 cup)
12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Pour fudge topping into medium bowl. Whisk in 1 cup COOL WHIP. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. Stir in chopped cookies.
Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on 24-inch-long sheet of foil; top with half the COOL WHIP mixture. Repeat layers. Top with remaining sandwiches. Frost top and sides with remaining COOL WHIP. Bring up foil sides; double fold top and ends to loosely seal packet.
Freeze 4 hours or until firm.

*** A delicious variation is to use MINT Oreos and MINT ice cream sandwiches ***

Serving Up {Ice Cream}: Key Lime Ice Cream Shake

When I was a teenager, a dear friend of mine introduced me to the Key Lime Pie at The Dodo restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City.  It was the beginning of my fascination with all things lime.  Twenty years later, if a recipe has lime in it, you know I will be making it.  Fun for me.  Not so much for my husband who just bears that trait in me patiently.

I tell this because this same dear friend commented a couple of days ago, requesting some specific recipes.  I promise that those recipes that she requested will make their way to the blog soon.  But in the meantime, this recipe is specifically for her.  It may not be Key Lime Pie but it is reminiscent of a Lime Ice Cream treat served at The Bluebird in the little college town of Logan, Utah - a favorite stop when we used to make the trek to Bear Lake.  Good times.  Good friends.  Good treats!

KEY LIME ICE CREAM SHAKE     Pin It

printable version

3 parts vanilla ice cream

1 part Kirkland (Costco) brand Margarita Cocktail Mix - Classic Lime

1/2-1 tray ice cubes

Place all the ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth.  

Put the kids to bed.  

Pour the shake into a large glass.  

Sneak out to the back porch and put your feet up while you sip and enjoy!