Homemade Ice Cream

So, first I need to apologize for the long lack of recipes, but I became frustrated with not being able to cut and paste from PMs to my blog--but with all of the updates I'm ready to try again!

Summer is full upon us!  Of course, here in the South "Summer" begins somewhere in the middle of March and will not end until late October or early November.  This brings back memories of red Kool-Aide and butter cookies at Bible School and the annual family reunion.  Held in July.  In the park.  In the sweltering hot.  Everybody's grandmas' cooking, potato salad, fried chicken, REAL macaroni and cheese, and, as always, fresh cranked ice cream.  Daddy always made fresh peach or banana, his personal favorite.  And since I was the youngest child it was always my job to sit on top of the freezer to "hold it down."  Now, being a parent myself, I'm sure this is probably not a necessary job, rather one that was fabricated to make me hush the cry of "I want to help!  Let me turn the crank.  When is it my turn?"  Kind of like the first time I went fishing with my boyfriend and his grandparents.  Forty-five minutes into the lake and I hadn't said a word, which is, may I say, quite unusual.  "What's wrong with you?  Why aren't you talking?"  I, of course, didn't want to scare the fish away!  Since I had been old enough to hold a reel those words had been ingrained in me by my father.  The things a parent will tell a child for a little quiet!  Anyway, I digress. 

So tonight we are having the in-laws over for a little thank you dinner for taking it upon themselves to sod our entire back yard.  Hey, what a deal!  Their request was, as always, my lasagna, which I guess would be my "signature dish" if I were to have one.  I was trying to think of a dessert that would be light after the fest of cheese, noodle, and heavy sauce, so ice cream came to mind.  Besides, won't that be fun for my two kiddos?  They are 7 and 4 and we have never done this with them.  Needless to say, my four year old is bouncing off the wall at the mention!  So, I began searching for recipes and this is the one that I settle upon.  It is, in fact, my in-laws' recipe since it is their favorite.

Homemade Ice Cream

3 quarts of milk
1 can of Pet Evaporated Milk
3 cups sugar
9 eggs
Fresh fruit

Mix milk and evaporated milk in saucepan and begin heating.  Stir together eggs and sugar.  Pour into the milk mixture and stir, stir, stir!  Cook over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until cooked into a custard.  The mixture will cover the spoon when lifted out.  (I thought it looked like egg nog.)  Cool.  Chill.  Puree' fresh fruit, adding sugar to taste.  Stir fruit into custard and freeze in an ice cream freezer.

We are trying strawberry since the peaches aren't in season yet.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Does anybody else have a great homemade ice cream recipe?

Posted by DixieBelle on Sat May 26, 2007 @ 3:39 pm EDT | 5 Comments