Grandma's Easy to Make Homemade Ice Cream for Kids

Sunday, July 19^th is National Ice Cream Day. I can't think of a better way to celebrate it than by helping the kids make their very own homemade ice cream. But you don't have to have a fancy electric ice cream maker to create this wondrous treat. There are two very easy ways to take milk and a bit of sugar and turn it into ice cream!

I can't take credit for this craft idea, as someone told me when I was a cub scout leader and we tried it. I had eight very happy little cub scouts kicking coffee cans all over my yard and then eating the ice cream. It was a hit, and has been done many years since then.

My scouts are all grown men now, but on the 4^th someone asked me if they could make Kick the Can Ice Cream!

Kick the Can Ice Cream

Supplies for each kid:

A l pound coffee can and a 3 pound coffee can

1 pint of half and half

1/3 cup of sugar

4 T. of your favorite instant pudding mix (any flavor works!)

10 cups of ice

1 and ½ c. rock salt, kosher salt can be used

Duct tape

Steps:

Step one: In a medium bowl, you have to mix together the half and half, the sugar and your pudding mix

Step two: Put the l pound coffee can inside of the 3 pound coffee can and pour the milk mixture into it.. Cover the small can with it's lid and seal it tightly with duct tape.

Step three: Surround the small can with half the ice and about ½ to ¾ c. of salt.

Step four: Seal the 3 pound can with it's lid and tape it tightly shut. Now the fun begins!

Step five: Have two kids stand across from each other and start kicking the can back and forth, rolling it between each other. Encourage them to be gentle!

Step six: After 10 to 15 minutes of kicking, open the cans and check to see if it's ice cream. You might need to scrape down the sides and stir gently to incorporate the more frozen mixture on the insides of the small can. Replace lid and can back into larger can and add more ice and salt as needed>

Step seven: Make sure you've resealed with the duct tape and kick for another 10 minutes. You'll have ice cream after that!

Plastic Bag Ice Cream

This uses whole milk instead of half and half and less sugar, so it's a bit healthier but not as rich as the kick the can ice cream. Still delicious and fun to make though.

Step 1: Put 1 cup of whole milk and 1 t. vanilla and 2 T. of sugar in a quart size Ziploc bag. Seal

Step 2 Mix 4 c. of ice with ¼ c. of kosher salt in a gallon size plastic zip loc bag and place the smaller bag with the milk mixture into the larger bag with the ice. Seal the larger bag shut.

Step 3: Shake and shake some more, about 10 minutes. Avoid squeezing it. Two kids working together always seem to have more fun at this task than just one, but even with yourself it's kind of fun!

Step 4. Remove the smaller bag and wip off any ice and salt. Squeeze it into a bowl and eat right then, or you can place smaller bag in freezer to let is harden a bit more before eating.

It's better than the Ice Cream Truck can bring..!! You can use chocolate milk to make chocolate ice cream and we've smashed up strawberries or other fruit in a blender and stirred it in before we put the mixture in the freezer to harden.