Ice Cream Makeover

So again, I was desperate for something sweet. And again, my baking cupboard was pretty sparse. I didn't have enough basic ingredients to make anything, not even simple vanilla short bread. So, I turned to my freezer and pulled out a gallon of french vanilla ice cream. Now, I wasn't craving just plain ice cream, so I had to get inventive. One thing I did have in my cupboard, was various flavored extracts.

First concoction on the menu...

Coconut Ice Cream
I blended 1 cup french vanilla ice cream with,
1/4 cup shredded coconut and,
1 tsp coconut extract *

The second time around, I added an additional 1/4 tsp almond extract to the mix. Both tasted pretty similar, with the almond version being slightly sweeter. I also like nuts in my ice cream, so if I had them I would have added chopped almonds as well. If you like coconut, these were both very good and very satisfying.

Second

Coffee Smoothie
I blended 1 cup french vanilla with,
1/4-1/2 cup, chilled strong brewed coffee and
1 Tbs. espresso, dissolved in extra coffee

My husband really liked this smoothie and asked for me to blend some shredded coconut in for texture, which I did, and then he drank it down, and wanted more.

Other versions I thought of, but didn't have the ingredients to try.

Berry Ice Cream
Vanilla ice cream blended with
fresh or frozen fruit and
1 tsp vanilla extract or almond

Lemon Ice cream
Vanilla ice cream with the,
zest and juice of one lemon, plus
lemon extract

White Mint and Chocolate
Vanilla ice cream with
mint extract and
mini chocolate chips

There are many combination you can do with a few extracts and some ice cream and I would have tried them, if only I hadn't run out of ice cream!

*You may have to add a few teaspoons of milk to the blender to get the ice cream and ingredients going.