Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

This recipe is super easy and quick- no egg separating, no cooking, no chilling for hours.

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk- put in the fridge for a few hours before making recipe
4 cups half and half
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine chilled ingredients and place in ice cream mixture!

Java Chip ice cream

This ice cream is seriously delicious. Not the healthiest (it is very thick... a frozen custard), but good for a treat.

1/2 cup sugar plus 6 tablespoons

2 cups milk

2 cups cream (I used 1/2 and 1/2)

3 tablespoons coffee beans

10 egg yolks

pinch salt

3/4 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips, coarsely chopped

Place coffee beans in a bag and gently roll over with a rolling pin until they are broken up. In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 cup sugar, milk, cream, and coffee beans. Heat just until simmering, then remove from heat and let steep for 1 hour. After 1 hour, return to heat and bring back to just a simmer. Meanwhile, whisk egg yolks and 6 tablespoons sugar until thick and smooth. Strain 1/2 cup cream mixture and add to egg mixture and whisk until well combined. Slowly strain and add rest of cream mixture to bowl, being careful to constantly stir so you won't scramble the eggs. Return combined mixture to saucepan and heat over medium-low, constantly stirring, until thickened and steaming (don't let bubble). Add pinch of salt, strain mixture into bowl, and place in refrigerator until cool, stirring occasionally. Pour cooled custard into an ice cream maker, following manufacture instructions. A few minutes before ice cream is finished, add chopped chocolate.

Fresh lavender-lemon ice cream

This was very good and refreshing!

2 cups milk

2 cups cream

1/2 cup fresh lavender

zest of 1-2 lemons

8 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

Mix cream and milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Steep lavender and zest in the cream mixture for 20 minutes. Whisk together yolks and sugar in a bowl. Add one cup of strained cream mixture and mix well. Add the rest of the strained cream mixture and return to pot for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place in the refrigerator to cool completely, then pour into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions. Serve with a sprig of fresh lavender or lemon slice.

Peach Sorbet

Delicious.

2 lbs fresh peaches

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

juice of one lemon

Peel, pit, and purée peaches; refrigerate until cool.

Mix water and sugar in saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; refrigerate simple syrup until cool.

Combine cold peach purée, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Transfer to ice cream maker and follow instructions.

Mango-lime sorbet

This is great, and although it contains sugar, it doesn't have any cream... so that makes it healthy, right??

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1 lime- need zest and juice

4-5 mangoes, peeled, seeded, chopped

Mix water, sugar, and zest of lime in a small sauce pan. Stir over heat until sugar dissolves. Transfer this simple syrup to the fridge while you chop the mangoes. Place chopped mangoes in food processor and cover with lime juice and simple syrup. Pulse and process until smooth. Place puréed mixture in refrigerator until cool (at least 3 hours).

Transfer mixture to ice cream maker and follow manufacturer's instructions.

PB-chocolate-banana ice cream

This is not only EASY, but HEALTHY! No added cream or sugar! And if you were going to be reeeeally healthy, you could make it plain banana. Or, if you wanted to dress it up more, you could add chopped nuts, chocolate chips, sub other fruits for the pb/choc, honey, etc.

4 bananas, peeled, cut into 1/2" slices

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons peanut butter (I am a big pb fan, so I added 3 Tbsp)

Freeze banana slices for 1-2 hours. I used a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat for easy removal... you could also use parchment paper, wax paper, aluminum foil, etc.

Place bananas in food processor and pulse for several minutes, frequently scraping down sides. Once bananas are smooth, add peanut butter and chocolate and continue to process until smooth and blended. For soft-serve, dish immediately. For traditional ice cream, place in freezer-safe container in freezer.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I love making homemade ice cream... I have a Kitchen Aid freezer bowl attachment that I keep in the freezer, so it makes homemade ice cream a simple treat.

Strawberry Ice Cream

3 large egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup sugar, divided

1 cup whole milk

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups strawberries

1) Mix egg yolks, ½ cup sugar, milk, and salt in a 2-quart saucepan. Cook just to boiling (do not boil!), stirring constantly. Pour mixture into chilled bowl. Refrigerate uncovered 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 24 hours.

2) When batter is cooled, stir in whipping cream, and vanilla.

3) Pour into ice cream maker and follow manufacturer instructions. (For Kitchen Aid, turn to stir speed for 15-20 minutes)

4) While ice cream maker is working, mash 2 cups strawberries with ½ cup sugar, using potato masher or food processor until juicy and slightly chunky (not pureed).

5) Add strawberries during last few minutes of mixing. Remove ice cream from freezer bowl/machine and spoon into a freezer safe container. Eat or freeze immediately.

For a lower fat recipe, substitute 2% milk for the whole milk, and half-and-half for the cream.