Ice Cream Weather!

I cannot believe I have become this complacent in blogging. I truly enjoy it and it relaxes me but didn't understand how months have passed since I wrote anything except for a grocery list for my daughter! I thought I would have so much more time now that I am once again a stay-at-home Mom. You know the saying about the best laid plans, but I do have a daughter who is a Senior with the countdown to graduation closing in quickly so many things have truly been accomplished!

So my husband bought me a Cuisinart coffee maker at Christmas and we LOVE it. I was going to get a Bunn because I loved to envision a 3 minute brew time when my coffee jitters set in, but couldn't get past the fact all the Bunn's carafes were what I would use as a gargle of coffee before the real coffee drinking began! This Cuisinart's coffee pot holds a maximum of 14 cups which equates to two cups for me, two for Robert and a swig of coffee for our daughter, Lindsay. I love the fact that you can either use the cone-shaped filters or a fine mesh filter that came with the coffee pot! I'm saving Robert money as we drink coffee by not having to buy filters. Okay, I know coffee is an expensive habit, but I quit smoking over a year ago, so one step at a time.



One thing I have not taken a break from is reading blogs. I know I can count on Holly at Easy Living the Hard Way for continuous education and the desire to see if she can bottle her remarkable drive. http://easylivingthehardway.blogspot.com/ If you are not already a follower, you should be. Her blogs are entertaining and I always learn something in each blog of hers I read.

I feel as though I have worked out both mentally and physically after reading her blog. Haven't seen the weight loss or inches lost from reading the blog though! I stopped by her blog a short time ago and saw pictures and recipes for homemade ice cream. So, because of Holly's excitement about a new Cuisinart ice cream maker, I am really doubt I will be seeing the opposite of weight loss. I have made a vow that when the goats start milking next month, I will use more healthy variations. Needless to say, after a heartbreaking discovery that the cream separator I had been wanting had increased in price by fifty dollars, I decided to drown my sorrows by ordering the Cuisinart ice cream machine. It is truly lovely.

The first recipe I used was one from allrecipes.com for a cake batter ice cream and it was delish. Lindsay said it was like having ice cream and cake in one bite. I love the difference in texture between homemade and store-bought, of course, flavor isn't bad either. In Holly's post about ice cream, she talked about the high ice cream sales in winter which made me wonder why the cold makes people desire ice cream headaches. Maybe it was the power of suggestion, maybe it was something I missed in Psychology class, but when it snowed the other day, the ice cream was in the Cuisinart.
The second recipe was of course, my favorite, mint chocolate chip. I used mint extract and when I tweak this recipe, next time I will use peppermint. When it was in the soft-serve state I added the chocolate chips and spooned it into those silicon cake pans to hard freeze so I could clean the ice cream bowl in preparation of the next flavor. Robert and Lindsay both have a number of suggestions so that is under control, but I really want one that uses Kahlua. I rarely drink any alcohol but that is a liquour that is fabulous and is a comp0nent in Mudslides. I never worried about drinking a mudslides because I would be so full and bloated way before I could feel any effects of the alcohol. Still, thinking it might be enjoyable to drown my separator sorrows, I found myself tempted to pour some in with the mint chocolate chip ice cream, but refrained.

*The author of this blog did not receive any compensation for the product endorsements in this blog. HINT, HINT!