My new obsession is creating summer desserts, namely ice cream. I made Chocolate from a mix last week, Peaches & Cream from scratch over the weekend, then Strawberry today. I, being a good Lawton child, would NEVER EVER buy a fruity ice cream from an ice cream store—the David Lawton clan has an undying love for all things chocolate—but I’ve discovered that homemade ice cream is entirely different and so far my peach and strawberry ice creams have been dee-licious. Mmm, mmm good.

Here’s my newest recipe, altered from this one at allrecipes.com:

Strawberry Ice Cream

1, 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
6.5 cups whole milk, divided
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar, divided
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pint strawberries

Blend and strain about half of the strawberries with 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 cup sugar, set aside. Chop/mash the rest of the berries (I like to use my Pampered Chef chopper) and add to blended strawberries.

Combine the rest of the milk, heavy cream, condensed milk and the rest of the sugar in a large pot and heat just to a boil (scald) on medium setting, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and add vanilla and salt. Cool mixture either on the stove or pour into ice cream can and refrigerate.

Once milk mixture has cooled (at least to room temperature), add strawberries and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions.

Yield: one gallon