Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream

I had to take a somewhat unappetizing picture so you all don't show up on my doorstep begging to help me eat it. :)

As I said in my last post, we had quite the crop of strawberries when we got back from our trip. And we still have a lot sitting in our fridge, and there are more that need to be picked. Our strawberry patch is about 20 feet long and three feet wide, so it isn't very big, but it has been producing like crazy, which is great, because we only got one strawberry last year. So we've been eating them, putting them in smoothies, and eating them some more. And every time Miss A and Mr. B are in the backyard they are eating more, right off the plants. But even with all the eating there are a ton that need to be used. Like in the next day or so. And I've had whipping cream and half and half sitting in my fridge since November (well, the sell by date was November somethenth). So, I did the sniff test (in case you were wondering, you just sniff to see if it smells sour, if it does, make tacos (kidding), if it doesn't smell sour, it's still good), determined both cartons were safe to use, and then decided to make strawberry ice cream. I have a KitchenAid ice cream maker, which I love, and since it's stored in the deep freezer in the garage, it's always ready to use.

And the recipe I used was pretty simple:
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream (or whipping cream, or half and half)
1 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups mashed fresh strawberries.

In a large bowl combine it all and mix. When mixed, pour into your ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer's directions.

Simple, I know! What I like about this recipe is that it can be used as a base for any other ice cream flavor simply by omitting the strawberries. We've made peppermint ice cream, root beer ice cream, M&M ice cream, and peach ice cream. And they were all pretty good, though I do recommend using fresh fruit, not frozen. Frozen peaches do not mix well at all. :)

So, I know you're wondering how it tastes. I can answer that. D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S. However, I am going to share it tomorrow at a playground committee BBQ. And if there's any leftover, I'm going to hide in a dark corner somewhere all by myself and eat it all gone.