Ice Cream

This right here has been the best $43 we ever spent. You can make homemade ice cream without having the mess of rock salt and ice. You simply freeze the base. I am sure there are other brands out there, but we prefer Cuisinart. They are about $50 at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but with the 20% off coupon, it's about $43. The machine does come with a recipe book, but I wanted to share some of our favorite more healthy choices. I have altered the amount of some ingredients for our personal preferences. You can adjust as necessary.

Vanilla
2/3 cup heavy cream (not ultra-pasteurized if you can find it)
2 1/3 cup whole milk
2/3 cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla

Pour all of this in the base while the machine is on and it mixes for you. No need to cook anything!!

Chocolate
Same amounts as before except cut syrup back to 1/2 or 1/3 cup and only 1 teaspoon of vanilla.
8 ounces chocolate chips. We prefer semi-sweet or dark chocolate.

Heat milk and cream in a saucepan until small bubbles appear around the edge. Put chocolate chips, syrup, and vanilla in a blender. Pour heated milk and cream over chips and blend until smooth. Chill before trying to freeze. I usually chill no shorter than 4 hours.

Mocha
Follow the instructions for chocolate ice cream, but add as much or little coffee as you like.

Peppermint Mocha
Follow instructions for chocolate ice cream, adding as much coffee and about 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.

You can also add any type of crunched up candy bar to the vanilla or chocolate recipe while the ice cream is freezing. However, we don't do that too often due to the ingredients in the candy bars. We have used peanut butter cups and chocolate chips.

Enjoy!!