Ice cream and me. We go way back together. My love affair with ice cream started way back when I was a little girl and our church would have ice cream socials. The men of the church would be out back, churning ice cream by hand, using cream straight from the dairy farm down the road. We would be in the parish hall eating it by the bowlfuls. I can still taste the fresh peach ice cream! Best of all, our family would get to take home some leftovers! There was something crispy and icy and creamy about that homemade ice cream that is hard for any ice cream store to replicate.

Even though we don’t churn our own ice cream any more, my girls love ice cream just as much as I do. They would eat it any time of day, and sometimes I say no. No ice cream. And then look what happens!

The disadvantage of having a lower freezer.

July is National Ice Cream month (I know! Ice cream should have its own month!) so today’s Tuesday Ten is all about ice cream! I always start with vanilla, my favorite flavor. Emmy loves vanilla, just like me. My husband is partial to chocolate along with my older daughter, Lily.

I’m not a big fan of chocolate ice cream, so here is a list of my favorite ice cream flavors and toppings for this week’s:

1. Vanilla, topped with:
2. Crushed pretzels – salty sweet!
3. Caramel – Mmmmm!
4. Chocolate chips – never wrong!
5. Cinnamon – Mix it in!
6. Roasted peanuts – crunchy!

7. Moose Tracks – vanilla with mini peanut butter cups and a fudge ripple
8. Marion Blackberry – from Sherman’s Ice Cream in South Haven, Michigan. A once a year treat!
9. Sea Salt Caramel Cashew Ice Cream from the Schwan’s man – as delicious as it sounds!
10. Soft serve vanilla from Dairy Queen, dipped in a chocolate shell – a summer must!

We don’t have an ice cream maker at home, but we do have a recipe to make our own ice cream! This is a fun project to do with your kids, and the results are delicious!

Ziploc Bag Ice Cream

In a pint size ziploc bag add: 1/4 teaspoon vanilla, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/2 cup half and half. (I like to double bag this.)

In a gallon ziplock freezer bag add ice and 6 tablespoons of coarse kosher salt. Place the small bag inside the large bag and seal. Shake it up!

In about five minutes, you’ll have your own, homemade soft serve ice cream! Enjoy!