Top Twelve Recipes of 2024!

 2024 was a shorter year in the kitchen for me. Due to some medical issues I didn't really start cooking until sometime in mid February, but once I got cooking I got lucky with some great dishes! Normally I only do about 10 top dishes for the year, but this year I have 12!

The dishes below aren't ranked from 1-12, but they are in calendar order of how I cooked them throughout the year, February thru December. If you click on the title of the recipe you'll be directed back to the original post with the recipe!

First up is How Sweet Eats Chicken and Bacon Ranch Puff Pastry Pizza. I truly love the puff pastry pizzas from How Sweet Eats. This version uses leftover chicken, or rotisserie chicken, with cheese, bacon, dill, scallions, and a drizzle of ranch dressing. If you love these flavors then this will be a big hit for you too! Easy enough for a weeknight, but delicious enough for a party or entertaining, you simply can't go wrong!

Next up is the dish I made more than anything else this year, How Sweet Eats Our Favorite Baked Cheesy Rice. I made this dish out of necessity because I was on a mild diet and we ended up loving the baked rice dish with bits of crispy sharp white cheddar on top and creamy white cheddar underneath. It became a staple dish everyone craved and went well with so many things. I bet I made it at least 25 times throughout the year!

Why make one puff pastry pizza when you can make two? How Sweet Eats Puff Pastry Breakfast Pizza was also a grand slam in the breakfast department. Again, it's hard to go wrong with flaky puff pastry with eggs, bacon, cheese, and herbs! If you want something easy that is rather impressive first thing in the morning go with this recipe! It is dressed to impress and tastes delicious! Would be great for a Sunday breakfast, a girls brunch, or any situation where you need to entertain.

How Sweet Eats Oreo Peanut Butter Pie is hands down THE BEST PEANUT BUTTER PIE we've ever had. I'm not the biggest Oreo fan, but Oreos do make for a great crust for the luscious peanut butter mousse that goes inside. The first day the peanut butter mousse is light and creamy, but after several hours in the fridge, or overnight, the peanut butter mousse gets thick and dense like cheesecake. When you top this pie with Oreos and peanut butter cups and whipped cream it is the most decadent and delicious of all desserts!

This favorites roundup is quickly becoming a How Sweet Eatspalooza, but her site offered many recipes I wanted to try and they all became instant hits! This One Pot Garlic Butter Shrimp and Orzo from How Sweet Eats was quick and delicious and we've had it a couple times since. I've noticed that people love quick shrimp dishes, as they tend to garner some of the most views on my site, so I wanted to include this one because it is a great weeknight dish!

This roundup makes it look like my family eats A LOT of puff pastry, but I can assure you we do not. It is always a hit though, and for a special treat these Cheeseburger Puff Pastry Pockets from How Sweet Eats are sure to be a favorite in your house too! What's not to like about savory beef and cheese pockets in a crispy-crunchety crust?

This Lemon Butter Chicken from How Sweet Eats is lemon forward, and you do have to like lemon, but the garlic and herbs also come front and center and the chicken bakes up so tender and flavorful. This is a healthy, quick, and delicious weeknight dinner that any lemon lover would adore.

I make a lot of regular ol' rice krispy treats, but I really love peanut butter so I wanted to try my hand at How Sweet Eats Salted Peanut Butter Rice Krispy Treats and it should be illegal how good these are. The balance of flavors is perfect and the peanut butter with the gooey marshamallow gives a this a fluffernutter feel. These are addictive and hard to stop eating! 

This summer I made 10 wonderful ice cream recipes from The Gourmet Cookbook, but it was this recipe for Maple Walnut Ice Cream that stood out from the rest. I loved this recipe so much. The consistency of the ice cream and the subtle flavor of the maple syrup with the crunchy walnuts...it was heaven!
 

Who doesn't love a good meatball recipe? These Pesto Zuppa Toscana Meatballs from Half Baked Harvest are made with turkey and a pesto red sauce base with cheese on top and they were so good, and even better the next day. I enjoyed mine with some soft, fluffy naan bread, but they are also delicious on their own, and I bet just as good over pasta.

 

I knew Erin French's Glazed Butter Cake was going to be delicious, but it was mind-blowing delicious. Like probably ONE OF THE BEST DESSERTS I'VE EVER MADE! This isn't even my favorite type of dessert, but this is INCREDIBLE warm with whipped cream and berries. If you make any of the recipes on this post, make this one. It's just unbelievably delicious.

My last recipe of the year, Ina Garten's Buttermilk Cheddar Biscuits, was the perfect way to end a great year in the kitchen. The biscuits were soft and fluffy with yummy pockets of cheese and we gobbled them up for breakfast in no time.

I'm excited to see what 2025 brings and hope that next year is just as delicious! 

 

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #10 {Prune Armagnac Ice Cream} And My Top Favorites From the Gourmet Ice Cream Series!

This is almost the ice cream that wasn't. I was slated to make it three weeks ago and was under the impression that I could just walk right into my local liquor store and buy a bottle of Armagnac. Boy was I mistaken! After three weeks of trying to source Armagnac, I finally gave up and decided I was making this ice cream with a substitution, Brandy! It is what it is, folks.

This recipe was a little more time consuming to make, simply because the prunes need to macerate in the brandy for at least 12 hours! Then the macerated prunes get blended with a cup of the ice cream base before being adding back into the ice cream based and stirred. Please feel free to see the picture below where I stirred the macerated and blended prunes into the ice cream mixture. I had high hopes for a beautiful deep plum colored ice cream, but this is when I realized this was not that, as they say.

 

 

Look! My ice cream is a beautiful shade of peanut butter with prune chips running throughout! From this point on, I will now refer to this as Prune Chip Ice Cream, thank you very much!  

 

In The Gourmet Cookbook, Ruth Reichl states "The brandy prevents the ice cream from being too sweet and keeps it slightly soft, with a consistency closer to that of gelato than of ice cream. This recipe comes from the Mapotel de France in the lovely Gascon town of Auch, via Gourmet reader Robert White.

 

The ice cream is in fact soft, with a whipped consistency, and little baby bits of prune chips scattered throughout, kinda remind me of how chocolate chip ice cream in appearance, but not in taste.This is most definitely an adult ice cream. You can definitely taste the alcohol and the little bits of prune chips contribute some texture and a mild prune flavor. The ice cream itself has some carmel notes, but is on the whole quite mild. I didn't mind this ice cream and it wasn't bad, but it also wasn't delicious. It is not my favorite ice cream, but I am very happy to have finally experimented with these flavors.

 

And now for the top favorite ice creams in the series! Over the past ten weeks I made ten ice creams: Vanilla Bean Ice Cream; Burnt Orange Ice Cream; Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl; Italian Lemon Ice; Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream; Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream; Lemon Meringue Ice Cream; Maple Walnut Ice Cream, Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream; and Prune Armagnac Ice Cream. 

All of the recipes were good but my all-time favorite was the Maple-Walnut Ice Cream. I love all things maple-flavored and the flavor of the maple with the texture of the walnuts was simply irresistible. Plus, the ice cream base was smooth and velvety. Our second favorite was the Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream. It was so rich and chocolatey and did indeed have a velvety texture. And, the third favorite was the Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl. It was summery and refreshing and so easy to make. I loved the cream cheese ice cream base and the possibilities on different swirls and variations.

Runners up would be the Italian Lemon Ice...on a hot day that would be the most refreshing treat there is and it is so lemony it'll make your mouth pucker. And also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream. That brown sugar base was really something special.

I had a very fun time trying out lots of fun ice cream recipes and will experiment with more at a later date. For now, we all need a little break from ice cream.

Prune Armagnac Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

3/4 cup (about 6 ounces) pitted prunes

1/3 cup Armagnac

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Pack prunes into a 1/2-pint jar and add Armagnac; it should just cover them. Cover jar and let prunes macerate at room temperature for at least 12 hours.

Combine cream, half and half, and salt in a 2 quart to 3 quart heavy saucepan. With tip of a knife, scrape seeds from vanilla bean into cream mixture, then drop in pod. Bring mixture just to a boil and remove from heat.

Whisk together yolks and sugar in medium metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 on thermometer; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl; discard pod. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Pulse prunes with macerating liquid in a food processor to a thick, slightly chunky puree. Add about 1 cup cold custard and pulse just until well combined, then whisk mixture into remaining custard.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

From The Orchard @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #9 {The Best Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream}

I know, I know. Right now you're thinking, Rum Raisin Ice Cream? And I am here to tell you YES, WE HAVE BEEN MISSING OUT FOR WAY TOO LONG!

Imagine a brown sugar ice cream base...I bet you've never had that, because I know I haven't. Well, imagine this deep rich flavorful brown sugar ice cream base with hints of boozy rum flavor and raisins that give a very chewy caramely kinda vibe. 

I can't vouch for those other vanilla ice cream-based rum raisin recipes, but I can vouch for this one with it's brown sugar ice cream base. I'm telling you right now...this ice cream is giving SO MUCH FLAVOR AND TEXTURE! It's giving fall vibes in the best way! Deep, dark notes of brown sugar, rum, caramel...it's just heavenly.

I imagine this ice cream at all the fall festivals, on all the apple pies, and every other fall dessert and/or occasion.

DO NOT CONTINUE TO MISS OUT ON THIS!

 

 Brown Sugar Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

1/3 cup dark rum*

3/4 cup raisins*

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup half and half

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

Heat rum in a small saucepan until just warm. Remove from heat, add raisins, and let stand, covered, for 1 hour.

Combine cream, half and half, and salt in a 2 quart heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and brown sugar in a large metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly then pour into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl. Add rum and raisins. Cool completely, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 6 hours.

 Potluck Week @ IHCC!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #8 {Maple Walnut Ice Cream}

 Who doesn't love a good Maple Walnut fudge or ice cream? Especially once the weather has started to turn a little cool in the mornings and evenings? 

The Gourmet Cookbook says that to get the full impact of the maple flavor, you need to seek out Grade B syrup, which is less refined and far more powerful than the easier-to-find Grade A. It also says DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT USING PANCAKE SYRUP! I found a great bottle of Grade B available online at my market, but then I sent my husband to the store with instructions, and a picture, and explicitly said Grade B, and he still bought Grade A. At least it was a good brand and it did have a very dark color and robust flavor. You will need one whole bottle of syrup, or 8 ounces.

This particular recipe was contributed to Gourmet by Ann Patchett, the novelist! I do enjoy her books, particularly The Dutch House, and I am a lover of all books, so I was happy to see this contribution. It states that "Patchett brought us this old-fashioned dessert from a vacation at the Keeper's House, an inn on Isle au Haut, Maine." That gives me a cozy and rather authentic maple feeling!

The maple syrup gets boiled down and reduced prior to adding the cream, milk and salt. When the maple syrup is boiling down it almost has the aroma of molasses - deep and very concentrated syrupy flavor. Do not worry if this is the case for you, because during my interim of making ice cream; I've noticed that ice cream flavors are very pronounced or strong prior to freezing in an ice cream machine. Once the ice cream freezes the flavors tend to mellow out a bit!

The second step is boiling the concentrated syrup, cream, milk, and salt and then slowly incorporating that mixture into the eggs. I'm not gonna lie here, I was very worried about what my mixture looked like when I added in the boiling liquid to the eggs. It looked a little bit like the eggs were starting to scramble and the texture was completely different than the other ice creams, but never fear because the final texture of this ice cream was so silky smooth and wonderful!

The ice cream base needs to chill for 3 hours and during this time I went ahead and toasted my walnuts. Chop the walnuts if you want to, but we opted for some whole or larger pieces of walnuts. Also the 1/3 cup called for in the recipe would be a little too sparse for us, so I toasted more to add on top!

This ice cream is so smooth and silky and delightful! The maple flavor is total perfection, not too little and not too much. The contrast of the silky smooth ice cream with the crunchy nuts is rather addictive and I found myself wanting to go back for more. I am somewhat biased to these flavors, but I can easily say this will be one of my favorite recipes from my Gourmet Cookbook Ice Cream series. I will definitely be making this again - with Grade B maple syrup that I buy with my own two hands! Ha-ha!

Maple Walnut Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1-/2 Quarts

1 cup Grade B maple syrup 

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

Boil syrup in a 2 quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat until reduced to 3/4 cup, 5 to 10 minutes.

Stir cream, milk, and salt into syrup and bring to a boil over moderate heat.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs in a large metal bowl. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour into saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer, 1 to 2 minutes; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker until soft frozen. With motor running, add nuts, and continue churning ice cream until frozen. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

 Summer Snacks @ IHCC!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #7 {Lemon Meringue Ice Cream}

My family has a history with Lemon Meringue Pie. Everyone in the family loved it, but my Gramps loved it most! He used to ask for it on his birthday and then ask for it again any time we had a family holiday like Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. My mom would make two Lemon Meringue Pies, one for us to eat on the occasion, and one for my Gramps to take home with him.

Each and every time I see anything having to do with Lemon Meringue Pie, it becomes rather sentimental and makes me think of Gramps. I get a vision of him sitting at the head of the table taking the first bite of Lemon Meringue Pie and leaning his head back and closing his eyes to savor it. Then he would immediately begin singing my mom's praises over the pie.

I knew without a doubt when I started my ice cream series that I had to try my hand at Lemon Meringue Ice Cream. I kept putting it off because I knew it would be tedious and time-consuming, and it was! First, you have to make the meringue, which bakes for an hour, rests for an hour in the oven, and then rests and cools on the counter for another hour.

Once the meringue cools, you cut it into bite-size pieces and set it aside. Now it's time to make the lemon custard which consists of warming milk and cream with lemon zest and sugar before mixing it into 6 egg yolks and gently warming it on the stove until it reaches 170F. Once the mixture cools you add in the lemon juice and everything gets nice and tart! Then the custard has to chill for 3 hours.After the lemon custard chills, it's time to freeze it in your ice cream machine! Once the ice cream is frozen, you add it to a bowl and stir in the meringue pieces and then put all that into an airtight container and freeze until it hardens for at least 3-4 hours!

This Lemon Meringue Ice Cream is dead on Lemon Meringue Pie! The lemon ice cream gets a nice yellow color from the lemon zest and the eggs and it tastes almost exactly like the lemon curd in the pie. The meringue pieces are both crunchy and crispy and also chewy. They add so much fun texture to the ice cream! I'm not sure this is an ice cream for everyone, as you really have to love lemon, but I do love lemon and I enjoyed this SO MUCH! The ice cream is incredibly creamy and smooth and those meringue pieces are simply amazing and add so much crispy-crunchety texture to the ice cream. It is a delight for the senses and I think ol' Gramps would've just loved it!

Lemon Meringue Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes about 1-1/2 Quarts

For The Meringue

2 large egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

For Ice Cream

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

4 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 large egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Make The Meringue: Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 250F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Beat whites and salt in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until whites hold soft peaks. Add sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, beating at medium speed, then beat at high speed until meringue holds stiff; glossy peaks, about 1 minute. Spread meringue into a 9-inch round on parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake until firm to the touch, about 1 hour. Turn off oven and let meringue stand in oven for 1 hour. Transfer meringue, on parchment, to a rack to cool completely. Peel off parchment and, working over a bowl, break meringue into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces.

Make The Ice Cream: Combine cream, milk, sugar, zest, and salt in a 2 to 3 quart heavy saucepan and bring just to a boil, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk yolks in a medium metal bowl until smooth. Add hot cream mixture to yolks in a slow stream, whisking constantly, then pour back into pan. Cook custard over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to cat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer; do not let boil.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl and stir in lemon juice. Cool custard to room temperature, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to a bowl and fold in meringue then transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 4 hours.

Cook's Notes: The meringue can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. The custard can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. The ice cream can be made up to 1 week ahead. 

Beat The Heat @ IHCC!

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #6 {Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream}

 This week I thought I would change things up and do a decadent and rich Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream!

and, whoa buddy...this ice cream fits the bill! It has a wonderfully rich chocolate flavor from the addition of cocoa powder and 6 ounces of finely chopped semisweet chocolate! 

It is so velvety and smooth, almost like a frozen chocolate mousse! What makes this ice cream so velvety and smooth is that after the custard chills, you pour the mixture into a metal bowl and whip it up for 2-4 minutes with your mixer until you see soft peaks. Then, you add this whipped chocolate mousse-like mixture in the ice cream machine and it is thick and whipped and airy and chocolately and oh so delicious.

I have loved all the ice creams I've made so far, but this one could definitely win a gold medal. It is top of the list for sure and I can see myself making it over and over.

Chocolate Velvet Ice Cream

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

3 large egg yolks

6 ounces good bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), finely chopped

Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2 to 3 quart heavy saucepan until combined, then whisk in cream and milk. Bring mixture just to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, beat yolks in a large metal bowl until smooth. Add hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisk constantly, and pour back into pan. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until custard is thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170F on thermometer; do not let boil. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until melted.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into cleaned metal bowl. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, then refrigerate, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours. (Custard will get very thick.)

Beat custard with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until it is thick and holds very soft peaks, 2 to 4 minutes. Freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden. 

Olympic Eats @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!
 

 

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #4 {Italian Lemon Ice} So Cold and Refreshing!

Here at Stirring the Pot, we absolutely go crazy for lemon desserts! I wanted to take a break from the cream-based, egg custard ice creams and go with something lighter this week so I selected the Italian Lemon Ice!

I've made granitas and ices in the freezer before, by putting the mixture in a tray and scraping the ice every so often over the course of a few hours, but I wanted to try my hand at making an ice using my ice cream machine. Boy, am I glad I did!

This Italian Ice is so, so easy! You just make a simply syrup, boiling water and sugar and then add in lemon juice, zest, and salt. Let it cool in the fridge and then add to the ice cream machine.

There is no milk or cream in this recipe but the end result is somewhat creamy! The ice is supremely cold (colder than ice cream) and bursting with zingy zippy lemon flavor. So much so that it will make your mouth pucker. This is the perfect cool refreshing treat to give you a refresh on a hot summer day. It also makes for a really good palate cleanser! And, lastly, a little goes a long way. One scoop will have you nice and refresh in no time!

Italian Lemon Ice

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes about 1 quart

1-1/2 cups water

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh lemon zest

1 cup fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

Bring water and sugar to a boil in a 1quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in zest, juice, and salt. Transfer to a metal bowl and cool syrup to room temperature. Refrigerate syrup, covered, for at least 1 hour.

Freeze syrup in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Summer Fun @ I Heart Cooking Clubs!
 

The Gourmet Cookbook's Ice Cream #3: {Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl}

 

This is a thick and dreamy ice cream that is perfect for first time ice cream makers, or beginners, as you can blend up all the ingredients in a blender, chill, and then freeze in your ice cream maker! There is no worry with making a custard. You can have this recipe ready in mere minutes!

Ruth Reichl says, "the perfect recipe for anyone who thinks that making ice cream is complicated, this delightful shortcut came to us from the French chef Michel Richard, of Citronelle, in Washington D.C., who was fascinated by American cream cheese. This ice cream is rich, creamy, and taqngy- absolutely unlike anything you can buy in the store."

I loved the tang of this ice cream and found that it is, in fact, very unlike anything any other ice cream I've ever had before. This ice cream would be great as is, but also as a topper for any homemade fruit pie and/or brownies! However, I wanted to experiment with adding fruit to the ice cream and I just happened to win a jar of homemade blueberry jam from my local farmer's market so I went with that! It was so, so delicious! I went ahead and froze the ice cream in the ice cream maker, then put it into an airtight container, then I took about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the blueberry jam and swirled it into the cream cheese ice cream. The results were so, so good! This might just be my favorite ice cream recipe so far and I will definitely be making it again!

Cream Cheese Ice Cream with Blueberry Swirl

Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook

by Ruth Reichl

Makes 1 quart

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Optional: items to stir into the ice cream, such as jams or fruit or anything you like!

Combine cream cheese, milk, lemon juice, sugar, and salt in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in cream and vanilla. Chill completely.

Freeze mixture in ice cream maker. Transfer to an airtight container (this was when I took about a tablespoon or so of my blueberry jam and swirled it into the ice cream, making a pattern), put in freezer to harden. Let ice cream soften for 5 minutes before serving.  

Gourmet Fun @ I Heart Cooking Clubs