BornFree Canada and NewBornFree were hosting a Green Birthday Twitter Party tonight and one of the questions people asked was: "Does anyone have any recipes for homemade ice cream?"

I know that deep in the far corners of this blog's recipe archives, I have a recipe for ice cream. I don't have an ice cream maker because I prefer to do things the old fashioned way and use all the elbow grease I can. Okay, I just haven't gotten around to getting an ice cream maker yet. It's been on my mind, but these days, things tend to leave my mind as quickly as they came. Anyway, scrolling through all the recipes I have on here, I got impatient and just grabbed it from my recipe folder on my computer.

Here you go:

1 pint of strawberries (I keep a bunch in my freezer, as I find frozen strawberries make the freezing part go faster)
A little bit of sugar or any natural alternative to sugar
1 c. milk
2 c. heavy cream
vanilla

Since I don't have an ice cream maker, I put the frozen strawberries and sugar in my blender and then add the milk and blend those together.  Because the strawberries are frozen, they make the mixture turn into a slightly less thick version of ice cream. I pour the mixture into a cold metal bowl, and then I add the heavy cream and beat with an electric mixer.  I have done this with a whisk before, and let me tell ya, it is a lot more work! Make sure to keep the ice cream mixture in the freezer for a few hours to freeze to desired consistency/thickness.

I found an alternate recipe online ages ago, but I can't find which site I found it on. Be forewarned, there is a lot of sugar in this recipe. It's pretty much the same recipe, with more sugar though. This recipe also has step by step instructions on how to make homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker...and not the lazy person's way   the way I do it! The results are much better (I've tried both), but we keep sticking to my method. Perhaps it's because we're lazy we just want our ice cream ASAP! :)

Strawberries
16 oz fresh strawberries (1 pint)
3 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 cup sugar

Ice Cream Base
1 cup milk
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

• Pour the ice cream mixture into a wide, airtight container.
Metal bowls work best. Ice cream has a smoother consistency when it is frozen faster. Metal bowls speed up the freezing process. If you don't have a metal bowl, plastic bowls are fine as well. Make sure the bowl you choose is wide. A wide bowl helps freezing and allows you to mix your ice cream easily.
• Place ice cream in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.
Ice cream will need to be in fridge longer if the mixture has been heated and cooked. Ice cream must be well chilled before going on to the next steps.
• Place the chilled ice cream mixture in the freezer for 30 minutes.
• Beat ice cream mixture with an electric mixer until smooth.
The edges of your ice cream should have started to thicken. Scrape the edges with a fork or spatula and beat with an electric mixer to add air to the mixture and break up ice crystals. You can use a fork instead of an electric mixer, but the ice cream will be less smooth and creamy.
• Place ice cream in the freezer for 40 minutes - then beat with an electric mixer.
• Repeat "40 minute freeze-then-beat cycle" 3 times
This should total 2 1/2 hours of freezing.
• You can choose to either beat your ice cream mixture every 40 minutes until frozen or let your ice cream mixture freeze on its own.
Either method works fine. The more you beat it, the softer it will be. Total freezing time can take anywhere between 3-5 hours.
• Add mix-ins to your ice cream.
If you want to add mix-ins to your homemade ice cream, wait until the ice cream is thick enough to "hold" the mix-ins so they don't fall to the bottom of the container. Generally, add mix-ins after 2-3 hours of freezing.

ENJOY!!!