Ice Cream (but no pickles)

You may have noticed that my blog has been a little anemic lately.   I haven't posted any new recipes in almost 2 months, but I swear, I have a good reason!  We found out in May that I'm expecting, and as with my previous pregnancies, food was not my friend for the first trimester.  I couldn't very well post new recipes for you when my diet consisted of gingerale and soda crackers!

I'm feeling better now though, and this week I found an ice cream maker at Walmart that was calling my name.  I've wanted to buy one for a while, but they always seem a little on the pricey side.  This one by Hamilton Beach was only $29, so I figured that was cheaper than taking the family to Dairy Queen a couple times!

My first recipe was just the standard "Old Fashioned Vanilla" from the little recipe booklet that came in the box.  I added some Tahitian vanilla bean just to give it a stronger flavour.

OLD FASHIONED VANILLA ICE CREAM
3/4 c. sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 3/4 c. milk (recipe called for whole milk, but I used 2%)
1/2 vanilla bean
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla

In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, and milk.  Slice open the vanilla bean and scrape the insides into the pot.  Add the bean while simmering.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is steaming.  Reduce heat to low and remove vanilla bean.  In a separate bowl, slightly beat eggs.  Slowly pour half the hot mixture over the eggs, whisking to prevent the eggs from cooking.  Pour eggs back into saucepan and cook over medium-low heat until slightly thick, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and refrigerate until chilled or overnight.  When ready to make ice cream, stir in whipping cream and vanilla. (I added this before I put it in the fridge - not sure if that makes a difference or not.)  Pour into ice cream maker and follow instructions.

When I first tried making this ice cream, I didn't have the base frozen properly so the ice cream wouldn't freeze.  I poured it back into a container and put the base back into the freezer overnight, and tried again this morning.  In less than 20 minutes, I had delicious ice cream that's the consistency of soft-serve ice cream.  My son sampled the first ice cream cone, and seemed quite happy with the results!

The ice cream was perfect - I can hardly wait to try out some more flavours!  Best $29 I've spent in a long time.