PUMPKIN PIE ICE CREAM :: a sweet {FALL} treat + some gratitude

So, I have two things for you on this fine Tuesday afternoon....

#1~ the best pumpkin pie ice cream EVER,

and #2 ~ a little note on gratitude.

I found a great blog via Pinterest.  I pinned the kitchen, and then enjoying looking through the blog.  She just wrote a post titled '20 little attitudes for gratitude.'   And since I am really working towards focusing on being thankful this holiday season, I was inspired to write my own 20-little-attitudes-for-gratitude.  Maybe it will inspire you to write your own list?!?

20 Little Attitudes of Gratitude

1. Mind your manners. Say please, thank you and excuse me.
2. Smile when you see your friends and family, look them in the eyes when you are talking.
3. Always take the time to listen.
4. Notice when others do kind things for you, show gratitude by action or words.
5. Gives hugs and kisses freely through out the day.
6. Extend grace.
7. Don’t worry about tomorrow. No ounce of worry can change a thing about tomorrow.  Be grateful for right now.
8. Create gratitude journals to keep track of daily blessings.
9. Encourage strangers with a smile.
10. Leave love notes in unexpected places like lunch boxes and under pillows.
11. Encourage someone with a compliment.
12. Instead of complaining, verbalize what you are thankful for.
13. Bake extra of everything, strive to always give away a freshly baked treat.
14. Remember to thank God for blessings each day.
15. Surprise your family (or friends) with little gifts or treats to show you thought of them.
16. No grumbling about minor annoyances around the house.
17. Do special things to cherish time with your family.
18. Reflect on happy memories regularly. Make inspiration boards of special times.
19. Always remember, no one is perfect, have grace with yourself.
20. Be grateful you have a house to clean.

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.” –Melodie Beatty

One of the many things I am grateful for, is my awesome ice cream maker.  It is sooooo easy to make ice cream with this little guy.  Seriously.  It's the best!

This ice cream is really rich.  I think it would also make a great ice cream pie filling....maybe a graham cracker crust?  I will try it and let you know!

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

Ingredients:

• 1 can (15 ounces) pure pumpkin puree or 1-3/4 cups homemade cooked pumpkin puree, well-draiined
• 1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Place pumpkin puree into a strainer lined with cheesecloth for 15 minutes to drain any excess water.Gently heat heavy cream and brown sugar until small bubbles form around the edge of the pan, stirring often. Add pumpkin puree and spices.  Do not boil. Remove from heat and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Let cool to room temperature.

Pour mixture into ice cream machine as per your machine's instructions.

Enjoy!!

SWEET TREAT :: home made ice cream sandwiches

We love ice cream at the Haney house.

We also love home made cookies.

The highlight of my day is {usually} snuggling on the couch with my handsome hubby and eating a big bowl of ice cream and a cookie {or two}.  I know it's not a healthy habit, but it sure is one of my favorite habits!

This weekend, I combined two of  my {many} loves and made

peanut butter and chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches.

I used this peanut butter cookie recipe, but I left out the chocolate chips.

I usually have my frozen chocolate chip cookie dough on hand, so I thought we would make chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches too.  You know, so we can compare which cookie/ice cream combo we prefer ;-)

I made a fresh batch of my honey vanilla ice cream.

It's seriously the easiest ice cream to make....and it always tastes so good!

When you are making ice cream sandwiches, it's easiest to let the ice cream soften a bit, then scoop it into a baking dish.  I wanted my ice cream centers about 1/2" thick, so I spread the ice cream about 1/2" thick over the entire dish.  Toss it back in the freezer.  When you are ready to assemble your sandwiches, cut the ice cream into the same shape/size of your cookie.  Layer them up, then pop them back into the freezer until you are ready to indulge!

This summer, we will experiment with different cookie and ice cream flavors.  Until then, I am quite happy with the simple, but classic flavors of vanilla, peanut butter and chocolate chip!

Do you have a favorite ice cream sandwich combination??

SWEET TREAT :: strawberry + balsamic ice cream

Our strawberries are just getting ripe.  It's pretty hard to beat sun-ripened strawberries, fresh from the garden.

I think the only thing that "beats that", is watching little ones hunt for the tasty red treasures!

We picked a few extra strawberries so that we could make a tasty frozen treat.....Strawberry + Balsamic Ice Cream.

Delish!!

I made it a few weeks ago with store bought strawberries.  Let me tell you, fresh-from-the-garden strawberries make all the difference!

STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC {AND ROSEMARY} ICE CREAM

Ingredients (1 quart): - 1 pint strawberries - 2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on how sweet your strawberries are) - 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar - 2 cups heavy cream - 1 cup whole milk - 3/4 granulated sugar (use a little more if you like really sweet ice cream) - 1 large sprig of fresh rosemary - pinch of sea salt - 4-5 egg yolks - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Hull and slice the strawberries and then place them on a baking sheet lined with foil. Sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar and balsamic vinegar and let them macerate for about 15 minutes. Roast in oven for 10-15 minutes. Roasting them helps remove excess water, which can make for overly “icy” ice cream.

Mash with potato masher. If you prefer a smoother ice cream, puree in a blender or food processor. {I mash mine}. Cool and place berries and accumulated syrup into a container and refrigerate.

Heat cream, milk, sugar, salt and rosemary on the stove until very hot, but not boiling. Whisk egg yolks in a separate bowl and add about a 1/2 cup of the warm cream mixture into the eggs while whisking. This will help “temper” them so they don’t scramble. Return egg mixture to the pan and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove rosemary and strain. Stir in vanilla extract. If you pureed your strawberries, you can mix these now as well, otherwise, leave them separate. Refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight. It’s very important that both the custard and the strawberries are very cold before putting them in the ice cream maker.

Freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s directions, adding the strawberries during the final five minutes (unless you pureed them). Enjoy immediately if you prefer a “soft serve” consistency, or freeze for an additional couple hours for more traditional ice cream consistency.

recipe adapted from here

Enjoy!!

HONEY VANILLA ICE CREAM :: a homemade ice cream recipe

We love ice cream here in the Haney house!

Last year, my sweet hubby bought me a great ice cream maker.  Since making ice cream is now as easy and mixing the ingredients together, I really don't have an excuse not to make it!!

I thought I would share my 'go-to' honey vanilla ice cream recipe.  It's super easy, the results are always perfect, and I know exactly how to pronounce all of the ingredients that we are eating!

Homemade Honey Vanilla Ice Cream 

makes 1 1/2 quarts

1 cup whole milk {chilled}

1/2 cup honey

2 cups heavy cream {chilled}

1 vanilla bean + 1 tsp. of vanilla extract

{or 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract if you don't have any beans}

1. Mix the milk and honey over low heat in medium size pot.

2. Once the honey has mixed in well with the milk, add the cream and vanilla.  Mix just until all of the ingredients are well combined.  Don't let the mixture boil!!  You just want all of the ingredients to mix together.

3. Refrigerate ice cream mixture 4-24 hours.

4. Pour into your ice cream maker, turn on, mix for approximately 30 minutes.

5. The ice cream will be very soft, you will want to freeze it for at least 2 hours before serving.

6. Enjoy!!