Thanksgiving Prep, day 2

Today's mission was to go grocery shopping for all the rest of our Thanksgiving necessities.  Ryan, Carter, and I hit Publix as soon as Carter woke up, and it paid off, it was completely empty! Plus with all the coupons going on right now, we were able to save a ton of money.  I don't know if our fridge has ever been so full.  Besides shopping, our mission today (besides cleaning and taking the dog to the vet) was to make the ice cream base.  The longer it sits in the fridge getting cold, the better it will churn.  Since I'm making dutch apple pie, we went with a simple vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream:

2 cups half-n-half
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, split and seeded 

Ice Cream ready to be churned

Finished product

In a small sauce pan over low heat, add all the ingredients.  For the vanilla bean, scrap out the seeds with the back of a knife and put those along with the bean itself into the sauce pan (I know they're expensive, but you really can't replicate the flavor with just vanilla extract).  Whisk for a few minutes until the sugar has dissolved.  Pour mixture into a bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours (overnight is the best).  Once mixture is completely cooled, pour into ice cream machine (the one we have doesn't require ice or salt, but if your's does, then follow the instructions for that), and churn for 20 minutes.  You can serve as is for a softer ice cream, or you can freeze it for a few hours for a more traditional, harder consistency.  I've made the base today, and plan on churning it tomorrow, that way Thursday it will have hardened and be ready to go a la mode!  (I'll post pictures of the ice cream when it's being churned)