Hand-tossed ice-cream = FUN!!

Thanks to Kate & Sara over at "Our Best Bites" for the recipe for this wonderfully delicious, hand-tossed ice cream recipe.

I had been actually googling for pudding pop recipes to use in the old (and I *do* mean, old....) tupperware popsicle molds that my mother-in-law gave me. By old, I mean as in .... my husband is nearly 38years old and his brother will be 33years old in December; these babies are a rare breed! ;) LOL!

It's been unusually warm....  errr, scratch that, HOT this summer, already. With many days over 90 degrees and some days even topping out at over 100 degrees, it's hot and not too fun to go outside and play for the boys. So, when I began looking for pudding pop recipes, I happened to fall upon the gem "hand-tossed ice cream". At first I thought, "what in the world...? hand-tossed ice cream?" But as I read the page, and looked at the ingredient list and looked at the wonderful photos, I am like, "we have to do this!" My older son can't have dairy, but I thought he might have fun tossing the ice-cream around or at his younger brother, but I was wrong; he wanted NO part of it. *shrugs*

So, I asked my younger son if he wanted to try this activity; I figured 1.) it looks like a lot of fun 2.) it gives us something to do OUTSIDE 3.) we get a yummy treat after all the hard work. He said yes, he wanted to do it so I rounded up the few ingredients I didn't have (whipping cream) and the supplies (freezer bags, ice cream salt) and we set off for some fun out in the backyard! He wanted  chocolate ice cream (he is his mother's child, after all... lol) so we used chocolate milk. I suggest that if you want a really chocolatey-tasting ice cream that you add chocolate syrup.

It was a lot of fun with a lot of giggles and running around and throwing it (hey, that's what boys love to do most!) and after all the work, he got to taste the fruit ice cream of his labors. He loved it and it was a lot of fun! We're going to experiment with some other flavors later this week and will post the results then. Until then... enjoy the pictures and the recipe below! :)

The following is a direct copy from the Our Best Bites blog......

Hand-Tossed Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
2 c. 2% milk
2 c. whipping cream
1 c. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
Desired ice cream toppings and mix-ins (we used sugared strawberries, blueberries, and crushed or chopped Butterfingers, Twix Bars, York Peppermint Patties, Reese's PB Cups, and Skor Bars)

SUPPLIES
2 1-quart Ziploc freezer bags (I used Walmart brand and wished I'd sprung for the big guns)
2 1-gallon-sized Ziploc freezer bags (ditto on the name brand)
10 lb. ice
2 c. ice cream salt
Waterproof tape (like duct tape)
Gloves (optional, but I don't think anyone would have minded a pair today!)


WHAT TO DO
1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, milk, whipping cream, and vanilla. Have one of your larger little helpers hold open one quart-sized bag and pour half of the mixture into the bag and zip shut, squeezing out all the air. Use duct tape to tape the opening shut (we actually, in a pinch, used electrical tape and it was fine!). Repeat with second bag.


2. Place one filled bag inside one gallon-sized bag and sprinkle 1 c. of ice cream salt around each smaller bag. Add as much ice as you can comfortably fit into the gallon-sized bag, squeeze to remove excess air, and zip shut. Maneuver the ice around to make sure there's ice on all sides of the smaller bag inside. Place in freezer while you repeat the process with the second bag.

3. When the second bag has been prepared, head outside. Be sure to bring the leftover ice and rock salt because you're probably going to need to drain some of the salty water and replenish the ice supply while you're tossing the ice cream. Let each kid take a turn (or a couple) tossing the bags of ice cream into the air or to each other. It gets C-O-L-D, so a pair of gloves won't hurt anybody!


4. After about 10-15 minutes, remove the quart-sized bag and rinse off the saltwater. Cut a hole in one corner of the bag and squeeze the ice cream into individual dishes. Let everyone add their desired toppings and have at it! It might be a little melty, but I promise, not a single person will complain! :)

Pics from May to June .... **LOTS of PICS**

Well, I haven't been posting here since Mother's Day (whoops!) so I thought I'd catch you all up with a great plethora of pics of the boys! there are a TON of pics! Maybe I should have done a slideshow instead? LOL! :) Anyways.... enjoy :) Will post a real update shortly :)

cracking the eggs for a cake

Yummy - cake batter!

Yummy - cake batter!

gotta love chocolate!

David and I... all dressed up for a family member's wedding

Handsome memorial day boys!

Red, White & Blue day at their schools

Holden, acting as goalie for his soccer team

Waiting for the ball to get passed to him

too busy chatting to pay attention to the game ;)

1st of his off-season wrestling tourneys... waiting to start

pinning his one and only opponent that showed up

getting a pep talk from the referee....

at his 2nd off-season wrestling tourney, wrestling a 35lb kid!

Pinning his opponent

waiting for one of his matches to start

tying up with an opponent (and a kid he's wrestled SEVERAL times)

getting ready to run a gable

Won this very cool FIRST PLACE trophy!!!

Ashton @ his 5th grade graduation ceremony

can't believe he'll be a MIDDLE SCHOOLER in the fall

handsome guy!

McCormick side of the family on Father's Day

Griffin side of the family on Father's Day

all the Dads @ Father's Day

handsome boy, posing for me :)

Smiley boy!

interrupting his DSi playing time LOL

Fresh cucumber from the garden = cool new phone! lol

enjoying some watermelon

he even gave it a thumbs up!

looks like he's trying to eat it with his nose LOL

wrestling at another wrestling match

waiting around for another match to start

trying to take the kid down

He WON! :)

Handsome poser, and he's SMILING!

look at those lady-killer eyelashes - WOWZA!

handsome boys

BIG SMILE!

Holden with his bug catcher (and his bugs)

intense stare..... 8 - |

Scratchy, our kitty cat (she's old!)

Happy (belated) Mother's Day to all the Autism Mommies out there!!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Autism Moms
the following text is from the above link ....... I did copy it but wanted to include it all here.... but I certainly did not write this....

My family doesn't usually do a lot for Mother's Day. Generally they let me sleep in—without guilt—and I get some lovely handmade gifts, which are the best kind, in my opinion. I know that I feel like I get a wonderful Mother's Day gift every single day, and that is having the privilege to parent my three beautiful munchkins.

One thing that mothers—all mothers—don't always get enough of, however, is thanks. So I have a few thank yous to give to all you autism moms out there:

Thank you for taking the time to listen to your kids, even if they can't talk, and for trying to figure out what they mean. Thank you for realizing that even if your child can't speak, that doesn't mean he doesn't have something to say. And for those of you, like me, who interpret script after script from television shows and movies to discover the meaning underneath them? Thank you too.

Thank you for sacrificing an income to stay home and take care of your child. Or, if you choose to or have to work, thank you for providing for your child financially, while still being there for her at home.

Thank you for learning everything you can know about special education law, IDEA, and IEPs so you can advocate for your child. Often your child doesn't thank you, the school doesn't thank you, and you probably don't thank yourself, so I'll do it for you: Thank you.

Thank you for researching therapies and then driving, waiting, and dragging along siblings to appointments. Thank you for putting up with the whining from your typical kids about not wanting to sit in another waiting room.

And thank you also for knowing when it's time to just take a break and let your child have some down time. Thanks for remembering that it's not all about therapies, learning, and treatments, but that it's also about making sure your child gets to have fun and just be a kid.

Thanks for facilitating playdates for your child even if it feels like pulling teeth. Thank you for throwing birthday parties for your child so he and you can meet some other kids. Thanks for following your child's lead on those birthday parties, whether it be just inviting one friend or twenty and also for letting him pick a weird theme. (Like magnets, which is what my son has chosen for his birthday party next week.)

Thank you for taking your kids out into the world and teaching people about our wonderful autistic children. It makes the world better for everyone.

Thank you for fighting the isolation that having a special needs child foists upon you. And thank you for extending a hand to another autism mom so she doesn't feel so alone.

Thank you for working through potty training that happens at age four or six or not at all.

Thank you for keeping your child safe, whether it be because he is a "runner," or whether it be because she has self-injurious behavior.

Thank you for wanting to punch mean, teasing kids in the face but for not doing so.

Thank you for going to bed late, if your child has trouble going to sleep. Thank you for getting up early, if she rises at four. Thank you for getting up multiple times in the night if he does too.

Thank you for going on long walks with your child if that is what calms him.

Thank you for learning all about Star Wars or space (or magnets) or whatever your child is obsessed with, without complaint, and with a laugh in your heart.

Thank you for accepting your child for who he or she is.

Thank you for all the things you do that I can't possibly know about because I don't walk in your shoes. Thank you for being the best mother for your child that he or she could possibly ever have.

Thank you for loving your child. Even if sometimes it feels like it's not making a difference, it is everything to him or her.

And, lastly, because you probably don't hear it enough, you are doing a great job. You really are. Try to remember to take some time for yourself and to breathe. (And, yes, I really do get how hard that is. And thank you for sacrificing that time too. But try to get it.)

Happy Mother's Day. May you get an extra hour to sleep and a nice hug or drawing—or whatever it is you need to feel happy today. You deserve it.




So, Happy Mother's Day to the autism moms!