Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

I have very fond childhood memories of homemade vanilla ice cream.

They go something like this...

We would all gather on the back patio,

pour the milk and Junket Vanilla Ice Cream Mix

{image courtesy of http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/tag/vintage-cookbooks/}

 

into the ice cream maker,

{image courtesy of http://www.texascooking.com/features/june2004icecreamfreezers.htm}

add the bagged ice

{image courtesy of http://www.interplas.com/}

 

and rock salt.

{image courtesy of http://www.americanheritage.us/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=11747}

Then we would all take turns cranking that handle.

We couldn't wait for it to be our turn!

We couldn't wait to peek inside to see if it was frozen, yet.

I remember, so clearly, the anticipation of having that

delicious bowl of homemade vanilla ice cream.

There was nothing like it in the world!

I never wanted to spoil mine with any toppings.

Just plain ol' vanilla for me...

thank you very much!

Times haven't changed much

{except for the convenience of my electric ice cream maker}.

It was basically the same

here in my kitchen, yesterday...

watching me pour the ingredients into the mixer,

{minus the junket mix}

adding the ice and salt,

and waiting with great anticipation to see

if it was frozen, yet.

The kiddos were beside themselves with excitement

as I opened the top to reveal

fresh

creamy

sweet

white as snow

frozen

vanilla ice cream!

PURE DELIGHT

all over their precious faces...

See??

{this is only part of our crew...the others had better things to do...HA!}

There truly is nothing like

Homemade Ice Cream!

Here's the recipe:

HOMEMADE VANILLA ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS:

2 quarts Half & Half

1 pint Heavy Cream

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 tsp. pure vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

Pour all ingredients into the container for your ice cream maker.

Stir well.

Freeze according to the manufacturer's directions.

If you can't wait for your freezer to stop...feel free to peek inside every 20 minutes or so.   :)

Share with your kiddos...you will be their Hero {if only for that day}

 Enjoy...it's one of God's great blessings!  :)

Blessings to you,

Kim

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

I love cooking for my family.

It just makes me happy!

Since I am blessed to be able to stay home

{and not have to rush to get myself ready to get somewhere in the mornings}

{I am NOT a morning person so my family is

very thankful for this...TRUST ME!!}

I try to have a warm home-cooked breakfast for them

 {almost} every day.

{Uh-Hm...I do allow myself one "Cereal Morning" per week...}

{This consists of

putting bowls & spoons on the table,

along with 2 boxes of cereal,

and a jug of milk,

telling the kids, "Come eat!"

and sitting my sleepy self on the couch

to enjoy my coffee

with my hubby

and no kids}

:)

However, I know that we are so blessed

to be able to sit around the table together

every morning and every evening

and laugh and enjoy each other's company.

So, I try to add a little variety to our breakfast meals.

This morning was

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes!

Mmmmmm!

Like most meals that I cook

I try to find shortcuts

The shortcut here is boxed Pancake Mix.

I add some little special touches to make them

taste like they're made from scratch.

They really are SO yummy!

My kiddos friends have asked me to give my pancake recipes to their moms!

{{I won't name names}}  :)

Click HERE for the recipe!

Blessings to you,

Kim

Summer Lunch To Go

An Easy Lunch for a Summer Picnic

 

I like to bring lunch to my husband's staff as often as I can.

They work so hard and are such a great group of ladies

that we like to treat them to a little "Happy"

every now and then.

The latest lunch that I made for them was a

"Summer Inspired" menu.

CHICKEN PESTO SANDWICHES

PASTA SALAD

PEACHES & CREAM CUPPIES

{Click HERE for the Sandwich & Pasta Salad recipes}

{Click HERE for the Cuppie recipe}

I packaged everything up

and labeled all the food with cute labels

and then delivered lunch to the Clinic.

{Click HERE for the free printables}

I LOVE delivering HAPPIES

to my people.

I hope that it brightens their day

fills their tummies

and

lets them know they are special to me!

I'm putting these recipes on my Table for 9 page.

They are quick

easy

budget friendly

perfect for summer

and De-lish!

I hope you make this lunch

and pack it up

for a fun summer day

with your people.  :)

Blessings to you,

Kim



Mocha Caramel Cuppies with Sea Salt Caramel Frosting

Have you ever had a life-changing experience

with candy?

I sure have...

and I'll never forget it!

A couple of years ago I went into

a small candy store with my daughters.

The intent was to treat them

to a sweet surprise.

Little did I know I was about to have a

divine encounter!

I walked up to the small glass case...

peered inside...

and there they were...

Dark

Chocolate

Covered

Sea Salt

Caramels

I stared for a while before speaking

{I think I might have even drooled}

then I asked the girl behind the counter

for 4 pieces.

They were 1" squares.

Small, mind you...and I only asked for 4!

The girls chose their treats.

I paid the girl behind the counter.

We left the store.

And got in the car.

That's when it happened.

They were beckoning me.

So, {almost without realizing it}
I unwrapped one of the little beauties
from the parchment paper
and ate it.
My life would never be the same again.

Fast forward 2 years and here I am
in my kitchen...
smiling...
reliving the same
divine experience with my
Mocha Caramel Cuppies
with Sea Salt Caramel Frosting.
Click HERE for the recipe.
You can thank me later!

Blessings to you,
Kim

Peaches & Cream Cuppies

Our youngest baby

{the smallest bookend}

is turning 2 next month!

I can't believe it!

Time flew by with the others

but with her, it seems like

it's been warp speed!

I call her my "Little Peach".

It fits her...

she's sweet

juicy

a tad bit tangy

hardcore in the middle

fuzzy

and downright

DELICIOUS!!

So, it's only fitting that I throw her a

"Little Peach"

2nd Birthday Party.

I've just started planning it

but I'm going for a vintage, country fair type of feel.

Peach and Aqua are the colors

and, of course, all things

PEACHY!

Starting with the cuppies.

Peaches & Cream cuppies...

They are so light and sweet

and De-lish!

Just like my baby!!

Click HERE for the recipe.

Enjoy!

Blessings to you,

Kim

**I'm linking up to Tip Junkie**

Summertime=Sorbet!

Summer Break

is OFFICIALLY here in Oklahoma!

I thought I would have a little

celebration

with the kiddos

to help ring in

Summertime.

That means

squirting water

bubbles

sprinklers

and

SORBET!

PEACH SORBET

to be exact...

I mean what says summer more than

PEACHES?

This was also an excuse

to use one of my

Mother's Day Gifts...

an Ice Cream Maker.

:)

Here's how you make it...

PEACH SORBET

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups water

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 cups Peach Nectar

DIRECTIONS:

Combine sugar and water in a saucepan and cook on low until sugar is dissolved.

 See...no sugar.  :)

 Turn up the heat to medium and bring sugar-water up to a boil.

Boil for 1 minute then set aside to cool.

Add Lemon Juice and Peach Nectar to the sugar-water
and mix together.

Pour into your ice cream maker.

{Make sure you chill your metal container in the freezer first...it helps!}

Turn on that baby and let it whirrrr!

This is after about an hour of "whirring"

It's coming along...

After it's almost set, remove ice cream container

and place it in your freezer until it's firm.

If you can wait that long

you will have nice, icy, peachy sorbet

that you can scoop into nice round shapes

and then serve up to your guests

OR

if you are completely impatient

{like myself}

then you will get this...



a slushy

mushy

blob

of

delicious

peachy

goodness!

**For an Adults Only version...try this...

Pour chilled Moscado wine

over the top

for a

FABULOUS

grown up

Moscado-Peach Slush

Oh-My!!

HAPPY SUMMER

TO YOU

{and to me!}

Enjoy!

Blessings to you,

Kim

**Click HERE or go to my Little Blessings page

to see our Welcome To Summer Celebration**

Coconut Cuppies

I think I {might} have an addictive personality.

Or maybe it's more like an obsessive personality.

{Is there a difference?}

I get hooked on something

and I obsess about it

until I'm just flat sick of it.

My latest obsession...?

COCONUT

sweet

crunchy

heavenly

can't get enough of it

COCONUT!

Ever since I made my Key Lime Coconut Cookies

I have been obsessing about

what else I can make with

those little flakes of heaven.

So...

here they are

little clouds of coconut goodness...

like little bits of Heaven on Earth.

Click HERE for the recipe.

And check back to see

where my latest obsession takes me.

{After all...baking is cheaper than therapy}!

Enjoy!

Blessings to you,

Kim

*I've linked up to Wonderful Wednesday Link Party at Printabelle *

End of Year Teacher Gifts

I find myself in complete denial

that summer break is

only a few days away!

While I'm looking forward to

not having to set my alarm clock

I'm a bit panicky

about what in the world

I'm going to do

with 7 kids...

AALLLLLL

SUUUMMMERRRR

LOOOOOOONG!

:)

{{Kidding...I'm looking forward to the lazy days of summer}}

So, in order to bid all the teachers

farewell

and wish them a very

HAPPY SUMMER BREAK

I have put together a

fun

simple

sweet
and budget friendly
{less than $10}

little "HAPPY"

for them to enjoy.

After all...they put up with

our {precious} little angels

all year long.

It's the least I can do...

Click HERE for the tutorial and FREE PRINTABLES!

Enjoy!

Blessings to you,

Kim

 

**I'm linking up to Tip Junkie**

Key Lime Coconut Cookies

I had a "hankerin" for cookies, today

and

I needed to do some therapeutic baking.

{It's been a rough week...or so}.

{{Ever have those?}}

So...I had seen some pictures of

Coconut Lime Cookies on Pinterest

and decided they were just what the Dr. ordered.

However {like my cupcakes}

I like my cookies...well...

Quickie!

So, I made my own version

{Quickie Style}

Here's the recipe...

Key Lime Coconut Cookies

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg. Sugar Cookie Mix

1 stick butter, softened

1 egg

4 Key Limes, juiced and zested {make sure you use KEY Limes...they're the teeny tiny limes}

3 tsp. Key Lime juice { + the juice from the 4 Key Limes...they're teeny tiny!}

1/2 cup frozen coconut, slightly toasted {toast more than 1/2 cup if you want to use it as a garnish}

1/2 cup sugar {to add to the coconut and to roll the cookies in}

2 Tbsp. flour {1 Tbsp. to help thicken dough and the other to help with rolling}

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pour sugar into shallow bowl or pan {reserve 1 Tbsp. for coconut} and set aside.

Prepare the sugar cookie mix according to package directions.

Add in lime zest, lime juice, and toasted coconut.

This is what your coconut should look like once it's toasted.

It's still white but has a slight "toast" on each flake.

I added about 1 Tbsp. of sugar {while toasting in pan} to sweeten it up a bit.

Mix well until all ingredients are combined and dough is thick.

If your dough seems a bit sticky, you can sprinkle in about 1 Tbsp. of flour to thicken it up a bit.

Roll dough into Golf Ball-size balls

{I like my cookies big...these are about 3 1/2 - 4 inches in diameter}.

Like this...

 {I guess I should have put something next to the dough so you could actually

tell what size it is, huh??}  :D

Roll in sugar, making sure to completely coat the entire ball of dough.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet {at least 3" apart}.

Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.

Just before baking, flatten the balls into disks using the bottom of a glass.

Bake at 375 for 12-13 minutes or until the edges are just barely starting to look golden.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly before removing to cookies to a cooling rack.

*If you like, you can add some of the toasted coconut to the top of the cookies as soon as you remove them from the oven.  Press down slightly so the coconut will stick to the cookie.

These cookies definitely made me feel better, today.

I hope they do the same for you

{unless you're feeling so good that you just couldn't possibly feel any better}

In that case...good for you.

Have a cookie!  :)

Blessings to you,

Kim

I've linked up to Tip Junkie...lots of great ideas over there!