Happy 4th!

Don't you love the fourth of July? I do! Patriotism abounds, the food is good, family and friends are around and - ahem - homemade ice cream. Yeah babuy!! Aren't the kids cute in their flag shirts? They're gifts from my Mom!

Last night was probably our quietest fourth ever! We had our dear friends over and the kids played in the inflatable waterslide while the adults made dinner.

I got the ice cream mix all ready to freeze, and then discovered that the ice cream maker was missing. Egads! Alif had a hazy memory that ours may have actually burned up last year, so he sweetly ran off to Wal-Mart to buy a new one. He bought the last one in stock, and I was really grateful until I saw that it had an inside part that had to be frozen overnight! What ice cream maker doesn't use rock salt and ice? Darn it all!!
Not one to be easily foiled out of homemade ice cream, Lynette remembered seeing where one could make ice cream using a system of ziploc bags! We did it, and it totally worked! YAY! Here's my family's recipe for ice cream . . .

Homemade Ice Cream

2 - 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk (Eagle Brand)

Use two cans to measure out 2 cans of regular homogenized milk

6 well beaten eggs

1 quart half and half

5 teaspoons vanilla

In large pot beat eggs well. Add both kinds of milk; beat well. Combine the half & half and vanilla with the milk and egg mixture and pour into 3 quart ice cream freezer container and turn on freezer.

- For fresh fruit decrease vanilla to 4 teaspoons and add 2 cups of sweetened crushed fruit.

- For chocolate add 1 can Hershey Syrup and decrease vanilla to 2 teaspoons.

And here's how to use ziploc bags to make it, courtesy of www.kaboose.com . . .

1. Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
2. Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
3. Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
4. Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
5. Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!

Tips:

A 1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don't increase the proportions more that that -- a large amount might be too big for kids to pick-up because the ice itself is heavy.

After the bbq and waterslide fun we set up in the front yard for Alif's Annual Fireworks Extravaganza. He and Malachi did a bang-up (ha ha - snort) job. Graham and Ellie, the two resident fireworks scaredy-cats, were no longer scared and sat right up close. They even did sparklers!

It may have been a quiet night, but it was a fun and memorable one. Thank you Lord that I live in a free country! I am so thankful!