Homemade Ice Cream

You don't need any fancy equipment (unless you consider a ziploc baggie fancy)


1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup half & half
1/4 tsp. vanilla
6 tablespoons rock salt
1 pint-size Ziploc bag
1 gallon-size Ziploc bag
Ice


Fill the large bag about half way with ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put half and half (or milk), vanilla, and sugar into the small bag. Seal tightly!
Place the small bag inside of the bigger bag. Seal it good.Shake until the mixture is solid, which takes about 5 minutes. The longer/faster you shake the more solid it will be. Each bag will make approximately 1 scoop of ice cream and you can add any flavors you like to the mix (i like to put in some broken oreos or cocoa powder.

This is a super fun activity to do with kids.

Butter

That's right, you heard me. Why buy it when you can just make it?


2cups Heavy Cream
1/4 tsp. Salt


Put in the food processor and whip until its solid-ish. It will firm up more in the fridge.

Leave out the salt if you intend to use the butter for baking.

All Day Spaghetti (fit to feed a small army)

2 lbs lean ground beef
3 mild/sweet Italian sausages
3 hot Italian sausages
1/2 green bell pepper
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 sweet yellow onion
2 small zucchinis (optional)
2 packages of sliced mushrooms
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup chopped spinach (optional)
1 Large can of Hunts Tomato Sauce
1 Small can of Hunts Tomato Sauce
2 cans of Hunts Tomato Paste
4 oz. of water
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Powder
Parsley
Cayenne Pepper
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic Salt
Fresh Black Pepper
Italian Seasoning Mix
Oregano
Angel Hair Noodles
Shredded Parmesan & Asiago Cheese


Its not nearly as complicated as you think. The key here is starting it in the morning. I usually start chopping things around 10:30 in the morning for dinner by 5:30.

Chop the bell peppers, onion. (zucchini, and spinach if you choose to hide more veggies in the meal)


Put in the pan with a few tablespoons of olive oil, the sliced mushrooms, and minced garlic.

Let those simmer on medium/low as you brown the sausage in a separate pan. Cut the sausage into slices and toss them in the pot to simmer with the veggies.

Brown the ground beef with a tablespoon of parsley, a tsp of garlic powder and a dash of red pepper flakes and seasoned salt and mix it in with the veggies and sausage.

Add in the sauce, water and tomato paste. Add the other seasonings as you please, I use a little bit of everything, and am very heavy handed on the garlic. If you like your sauce a little bit sweeter(which is sacriligeous by the way), you can add some extra basil too.

Stir it up and turn the stove down to low. You are going to want to simmer this for several hours. Serve over pasta with a generous amount of parmesan/asiago cheese.