over the weekend.....

Who invented the weekend?
I want to kiss them.
Although I do wish they would have made them a little bit longer....

We listened to Christmas music.
Read Christmas stories.
Christmas. Christmas.  Christmas.
We decorated the house.
-tiny trees
-Christmas village
-nativity
......um, whoops, still working on getting the tree.

Sister was here to visit!
oh we love our silly little cousin.
We all bundled up and rode the train to see the lights at Temple Square.......so so pretty.
please! go if you can.

We feasted on roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and our very favorite broccoli dish.

And last but not least.....we ate ice cream!
Christmasy ice cream of course.

Candy Cane Ice Cream
recipe adapted from simply recipes. 
all I changed was switching out the whole milk for half and half (that's what I happened to have) and adding a bit of vanilla extract. 
INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 half and half

8 large egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons pure peppermint extract

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup crushed candy canes or hard peppermint candy

METHOD

-Warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Make sure the sugar and salt completely dissolve.

-Pour the cream into a metal bowl set in a larger bowl of ice and set a medium-mesh sieve on top.

-In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.

-Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a wooden or heatproof rubber spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula, about 5-7 minutes.

-Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Then stir until cool over the ice bath. Chill mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator.

-Once the mixture is thoroughly chilled, add peppermint extract, a 1/4 teaspoon at a time, tasting the mixture after each addition, until you reach the desired level of peppermintiness. (Different peppermint extracts vary in strength.)

Once chilled, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Once the ice cream has been formed in the ice cream maker, it will be fairly soft. Fold in the crushed peppermint candy. Put in an airtight plastic container and place in the freezer for at least an hour, preferably several hours. If it has been frozen for more than a day, you may need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to soften it before serving.

Scoop this on top of piping hot brownies (these ones, minus the cinnamon) and your mouth will explode (this is a good thing)

How was your weekend?