It's the Little Things That Count...Like Homemade Butterfinger Icecream

On Monday I got off at 4:00pm, so I got dinner cooked a little early and we all headed to the grocery store afterward to get my weekly shopping done.  It had been a busy weekend and I didn't have time...or rather, didn't make time.  Grocery shopping isn't exactly my favorite thing to do.  But, it was a beautiful day, the kids were in a great mood, and it seemed like a good idea.

It didn't go too bad, I did hold Clayton most of the time or he was screaming (I never take him to the store with me, in case you didn't guess), and Callie was begging for this or that.  Shannon decided he wanted to buy an icecream maker, like the one his mom has in Oklahoma.  She makes the best butterfinger icecream, so instead of cringing at the price, I smiled at the thought of a little unhealthy indulgence later on.

We got home around 7:00, and Shannon started the process of putting the icecream maker together.  I normally would be busily doing the dishes, or sweeping, or giving the kids a bath, but I couldn't help feeling their excitement; it was infectous.  I decided the dishes and the baths could wait - I was participating in the fun!

If you've ever made homemade icecream (I had not), you know that it takes much longer than the forty minutes the directions say it does.  So, at 9:30pm, we were still up, way beyond bedtime, waiting (and drooling I'm sure) for the icecream.  I begged Shannon, who is the direction follower in our family, to just this once, go against the grain and check if it was done.  It was humming loudly and straining to churn; I was sure this was a sign it was done.  But, Shannon being the level-headed person of our team...waited it out and sure enough...it clicked off and we finally got to enjoy some of the yummiest butterfinger icecream ever.

Even though we were up way past bedtime with a sugar-high, and the icecream took forever, and I went to bed with dishes in the sink...and the kids with no bath, it was one of the best evenings of the year so far.  All we did was make icecream!  While we were out the $50 for the maker, next time all we'll have to pay for is the ingredients.  We may hear it all the time, but it doesn't matter...I'm still amazed at how the simple things, the small things are what you remember.

I've included Janet's (Shannon's mom) super recipe below:

You'll Need:
1 Eagle Brand Evaporated Milk
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
dash of sea salt
2 Eggs
5 Butterfinger Bars, crushed
1/2 a gallon of 2% milk
Rock salt/icecream salt
ice

Directions:
mix together the evaporated milk, sugar, vanilla,  sea salt, eggs, and butterfingers, and 2 cups of the milk in your blender, and blend well.  Put in the icecream tin, fill the remaining tin up to fill line with the remainder of the milk.  Add the crushed butterfingers.  Surround the outside of the tin with ice and rock salt per the icecream makers instructions, and viola, in (much longer than forty minutes, I assure you) you'll have homemade delight and some enjoyable memories that will last. ~ Trina