It's my 100th!

I've finally hit my 100th post! And what a joy its been. I am so surprised that the 100th post is totally not WW friendly :) Joseph and I received an ice cream maker from his brother some time last year and we never had a chance to play with it until now. Boy are we glad we did!

Not only is it super easy to make your own ice cream, it can be cheaper if you choose the right ingredients. My first go at ice cream was not cheaper but I was able to make it totally organic! Joseph and I have slowly started to change our buying habits and we have chosen to include more organic food and products.

This strawberry ice cream is not only extremely addicting, it's full of strawberries. So I should get points for eating more fruit, right? Haha... yeah, there are plenty of points... Next time I think I'll make the sorbet alone. Bunco anyone?

Source: Adapted from Cooking Light and Annie's Eats



Strawberry Margarita Ice Cream

• 1 cup fresh ripe strawberries, stemmed and sliced (I diced into small bits)
  
• 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 1 cup whole milk
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
  
• 1/4 cup tequila
  

Combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar; stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hours.

In another bowl, use a hand mixer to combine the milk and granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in the heavy cream, the vanilla and any accumulated juices from the strawberries. Add lime and tequila and stir.

Turn on your ice cream maker and pour the mixture into the frozen bowl. Let mix until thickened, about 25-30 minutes. Add half of the sliced (or diced) strawberries during the last 5 minutes of freezing. Ice cream will be soft at this point. For a firmer ice cream, transfer to an airtight container and store in freezer until it has reached your desired consistency.

* For the strawberry sauce seen above take the other cup of strawberries and cook them in a small sauce pan over medium low until very thick and liquidy (yes, that is a word...). Strain in mesh strainer and pour over ice cream. You could add a bit more liquor to the strawberries if you'd like. I'll play with it next time I make it to see what tastes good.

If you split this into 10 servings its a whopping 7 points a serving! Yeah, this is only for special occasions... But Joseph is already asking for another batch.