Chocolate Ice Cream

I know, I know...  Ice cream overload.  But hey!  It's SUMMER and it's REALLY HOT over here!  This is a wonderful chocolate ice cream base.  It's good as is or, if you are like me you can add just about anything to this recipe.  This time around I was just craving some smooth, simple chocolate ice cream.

Chocolate Ice Cream

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown by Krista Faulkner

Ingredients:
1/2 cup cocoa powder (use dutch processed cocoa for a super-rich dark chocolate flavor)
3 cups half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 egg yolks (yep, 8!  keep those whites though, they freeze well!)
9 oz sugar (I have a scale, so I do measure this out, I'm not sure what it's cup equivalent would be...)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Over medium heat bring the half and half and heavy cream to a simmer in a medium sauce pan.  Scoop out a little of this mixture into a small bowl and make a slurry with the cocoa powder.  Then add the slurry into to sauce pan to heat it through.  Meanwhile, separate the egg yolks.  Then in a mixing bowl whisk them until they lighten in color just a bit.  Then slowly (very slowly) add the sugar while continuing to whisk.  Once the sugar is mixed in and the cream mixture is simmering, temper the eggs by adding a few ladle-fuls of the cream/cocoa mixture one at a time and mixing it in.  Then, pour everything back in the sauce pan and heat while stirring constantly to 175 degrees.  After you reach 175 degrees pour mixture into a medium bowl (with a lid).  Allow it to sit at room temp for about a half an hour then add the vanilla extract.  Put the lid on and chill the mixture in the fridge for 4-8 hours (I make my base at night and chill it over night).  Once chilled freeze in your ice cream maker according to it's directions.  Serve it right away as soft serve or place in a freezer safe container and place in the freezer for a few hours to harden. 

Elliott-in-the-box

These photos were just too cute not to share with y'all!

all done.  once Jonas crashed the party it wasn't fun anymore...

Pina Colada Ice Cream

I must begin by stating that this ice cream flavor is AHH-MAZING!  Seriously!  Sweet creamy coconut with bits of tart pineapple going throughout and the toasted coconut on top pushes this right to the top of the most decadent ice creams ever list!  Go make some!  You can thank me later :)

Pina Colada Ice Cream

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown By Krista Faulkner

Ingredients:
3 cups half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 egg yolks 9 oz sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 to 1 teaspoon coconut extract (depending on how coconut-y you like it)
1 can cream of coconut about 15 oz. (NOT coconut milk!)
1 can crushed pineapple with juice 15 oz. size
1 can pineapple juice 6 oz. size

Directions:
Over medium heat bring the half and half and heavy cream to a simmer in a medium sauce pan.  Meanwhile, separate the egg yolks.  Then in a mixing bowl whisk them until they lighten in color just a bit.  Then slowly (very slowly) add the sugar while continuing to whisk.  Once the sugar is mixed in and the cream mixture is simmering, temper the eggs by adding a few ladle-fuls of the cream mixture one at a time and mixing it in.  Then, pour everything back in the sauce pan and heat while stirring constantly to 175 degrees.  After you reach 175 degrees pour mixture into a medium bowl (with a lid).  Allow it to sit at room temp for about a half an hour then add the vanilla and coconut extracts.  Set mixture in the fridge to cool completely to 40 degrees.  Then add in the crushed pineapple, pineapple juice and the cream of coconut.  (Side note about the cream of coconut: do this step last and don't mix it in completely, if you do this there will be little nuggets of pure coconut deliciousness going throughout your ice cream!).  Once chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to it's directions.  Serve it right away as soft serve or place in a freezer safe container and place in the freezer for a few hours to harden. 

Sparklers

I have been wanting to do some long exposure photos with sparklers.  Matt hates being in my photos, but I talked him into it.  While we were waiting for the sky to darken Matt mesmerized the boys with the sparklers, but truthfully they were more interested in his truck...

Check out Matt's mad sparkler-drawing skills...

Super STAR!

I {HEART} you!

It's supposed to be a car...

Pool time

It's pool time!

It's that time of year that if you are outside playing the playing MUST include water.  It's too hot outside to play without it.  The boys love being outside and LOVE the water!

Sunday afternoons

We LOVE Sunday afternoons!  We love them because Matt is usually home and we get to spend the whole afternoon hanging out together.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I've been wanting to make strawberry ice cream ever since our strawberry adventure (including the freezer jam party) earlier this summer.  I finally got it together, bought the ingredients and made it.  I can't believe it took me so long, cause it's pretty much amazing!  It is in no way low cal or low fat!  It is the pure and full joy that ice cream is meant to be.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Ice Cream

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown by Krista

Ingredients:
3 cups half and half
1 cup heavy whipping cream
8 egg yolks (yep, 8!  keep those whites though, they freeze well!)
9 oz sugar (I have a scale, so I do measure this out, I'm not sure what it's cup equivalent would be...)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups strawberry freezer jam or strawberry sauce

Directions:
Over medium heat bring the half and half and heavy cream to a simmer in a medium sauce pan.  Meanwhile, separate the egg yolks.  Then in a mixing bowl whisk them until they lighten in color just a bit.  Then slowly (very slowly) add the sugar while continuing to whisk.  Once the sugar is mixed in and the cream mixture is simmering, temper the eggs by adding a few ladle-fuls of the cream mixture one at a time and mixing it in.  Then, pour everything back in the sauce pan and heat while stirring constantly to 175 degrees.  After you reach 175 degrees pour mixture into a medium bowl (with a lid).  Allow it to sit at room temp for about a half an hour then add the vanilla extract and strawberry jam (or sauce) when it has cooled.  Put the lid on and chill the mixture in the fridge for 4-8 hours (I make my base at night and chill it over night).  Once chilled freeze in your ice cream maker according to it's directions.  Serve it right away as soft serve or place in a freezer safe container and place in the freezer for a few hours to harden. 

Park

The busy part of the race season is upon us!  We miss Matt so much when he's gone.  This weekend we invited ourselves down to Gigi & Papa's for a few days.  We really hoped to swim at their neighborhood pool, but the weather did not cooperate (but the rain has been greatly appreciated!!).  We hung out inside most of the time.  It was good just to have a change of scenery (and people too...), I think the boys get board of just hanging out with me all the time.

I won't go into detail about our dining experience at Texas Roadhouse, but let's just say they might have a photo of us on file to remind the employees that we are not allowed back in...  Hmm...  But on the way home the clouds parted a bit and we stopped at the neighborhood park to play (and get some of this bottled up energy out!).

Elliott loved swinging with Papa!

Jonas pretty much thought the swing was a torture chamber.  This boy HATES to be physically restricted.