by Cathy Mcclellan

Created on: January 10, 2009   Last Updated: January 28, 2009

Do you remember when you spent your Sunday afternoons sitting in the shade, flies are buzzing around, it's hot and you are turning the crank on the ice cream machine? Those were the days. You couldn't wait for your mother to come out, take a look and say "let's have ice cream"!

Life nowadays has gotten so busy that not many people make homemade ice cream. It's easier to just buy it. But ice cream has gotten so expensive and you can make it for half the cost. You already probably have most of the ingredients. When you make your own ice cream, the sky is the limit. You can add just about anything you want in yours and have it just the way you want it.

There are different ways to make ice cream. There is the traditional hand crank ice cream maker, electric ice cream makers, the freezer method or the bag method. Electric ice cream makers comes in different sizes and prices, some even as inexpensive as $15.00. You'll be sure to find one that fits your budget. With the freezer method, you only need a bowl and spatula. Kids love the bag method because they can watch the ice cream hardening right before their eyes.

To begin you will need to assemble your utensils. You will need:

Medium Sized Saucepan, Measuring Cup, Spatula, Ice Cream Machine, bowl or bag, Rock Salt and ice.

Next, you will need to gather the ingredients for the Ice Cream mix:

1 quart half and half, divided, 1 cup sugar, pinch of salt, 2 teaspoons pure Vanilla Extract, 1 cups add ins (cookies, mints, peppermints, fresh fruit, nuts or candy bars).

Using the saucepan, pour in 1 cup of half and half. Stir in the sugar and salt. Heat this over medium heat, just to boiling. Do not boil. Remove from heat and add remaining half and half and Vanilla Extract. Stir well until smooth. Cover pan and refrigerate about 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled. Then simply follow the directions for use for your ice cream maker. The add ins are best added after the ice cream has processed and finished. You can then add fresh fruit of your choice or whatever you have chosen, mix well and place in freezer until hardened. This is called ripening the ice cream. The flavors will be blended better this way. But if you just can't wait and enjoy the softness of homemade ice cream, by all means, go ahead and enjoy. There are also many recipes to choose from on the Internet, in cookbooks or magazines. If you prefer, you can use a different recipe.

For the bowl method, simply use a bowl large and wide enough for the mixture, cover and place in freezer. After about 30 minutes, the mixture should be starting to freeze around the edges. Beat until smooth again and return to freezer. Every 30 minutes repeat this procedure about 3 or 4 times. Add your desired add in and let rest in freezer until hard. This should take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

Getting the kids involved is so much fun. They will really enjoy the bag method. This is accomplished by using a gallon bag and a quart bag. Use a recipe that makes 1 quart. Follow the directions for that recipe but instead of using a bowl or ice cream maker, pour it into the quart bag. Then, place this bag inside the gallon bag, making sure the quart bag is sealed well. Next, alternate rock salt and ice, filling in the spaces in the gallon bag. Then, the kids can sit outside or at the table and roll the bag around until the mixture hardens. They will enjoy making their own ice cream this way. They won't have to sit and crank the hand crank!

Go ahead and create a fun, family activity for everyone to enjoy. You'll have so much fun spending time with your family making ice cream that you want to keep making it.

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