I’ve got a ton of fresh mint in the garden … literally, a ton. We’re putting a dent in it making mojitos, but I thought, why not homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Little Bit and I love mint chocolate chip, and when given the choice of 31 flavors, we almost always ask for it.

The ingredients couldn’t be simpler. Whole milk, heavy whipping cream, mini chocolate chips, sugar and fresh mint.

Start by adding the whole milk and sugar to a small saucepan and tossing in the rough chopped mint leaves.

Bring it to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then place the saucepan in the refrigerator until the milk is completely cool.

Once the milk has cooled completely,

pour the milk and mint leaves through a strainer to remove the leaves.

In a medium size mixing bowl, using a hand-held mixer, mix the heavy whipping cream until stiff peaks form.

Fold the milk and mint mixture into the whipped cream until well incorporated.

Pour into a tupper ware container and add the mini chocolate chips. Stir the chips into the cream.

Pop the top on, and into the freezer it goes.

After about an hour, remove from the freezer and scrape the sides and bottom and stir the frozen ice cream into the less frozen cream from the center. This stirring also distributes the chocolate chips that probably sank to the bottom.

Stir once more a couple of hours later to make sure the chips are evenly distributed throughout.

And, enjoy!

the wanna be country girl ~ Caroline

Here’s what you’ll need:

1  1/2 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup sugar

1 cup fresh mint leaves

6 to 8 ounces mini chocolate chips (you can always add more if you like … you know I did )

Friday morning I made bacon with breakfast, and I had a few slices left over. The kids were due to get home soon and I knew they would love some warm scones for afternoon snack.   I decided to toss in the left over crumbled bacon and some cheddar cheese.  I love rosemary, and I add it to anything that will stand still long enough, so that’s how the bacon, cheddar and rosemary scones came about.

Scones are so easy to throw together, and they don’t need to rise, so they’re super fast to make.

In a large mixing bowl, add your flour, salt, sugar and  butter cubes. Using your hands, a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until there are no large pieces of butter left.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream and egg together.

Add the egg and cream mix to the flour and gently mix by hand. Mix only until a dough-ball forms, don’t over mix, our you’ll end up with tough scones.

Turn the dough out onto a flour dusted surface and knead the bacon, cheddar and rosemary into the dough.

Pat the dough into a round shape about 1  1/2 inches thick. Cut into what ever shape you like. You can use a biscuit cutter, if you like.

Add to a cookie sheet and run into a preheated oven at 400′ for 15 minutes.

You wouldn’t believe how good these smell. Crunchy on the outside and tender, buttery goodness on the inside.

Add plenty of salted butter, and it’s magic …

they’ll disappear before your eyes!

As always, enjoy

the wanna be country girl ~ Caroline

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus a little more for dusting the surface

2 teaspoons baking powder

a good pinch of kosher salt

6 tablespoons of unsalted butter cut into small cubes

1 tablespoons sugar

2 whole egg

6 slices of cooked bacon cut into small pieces

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1  1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Start by sifting the flour, baking powder, and salt into a large mixing bowl.

Add your cubed butter, and using your hands, a fork or a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour until the flour resembles bread crumbs, and there are no large pieces of butter left.

Now comes the liquid part. In a small mixing bowl add your eggs and cream. Whisk with a folk to combine.

Pour the egg and cream into the large mixing bowl with the flour.

Using your hands, mix until it forms a dough ball. Knead a few times in the bowl.

Add the dough to a flour dusted surface and pat to a thickness of about 1  1/2 inches thick. Cut into shapes and add to a cookie sheet covered with parchment or lightly buttered.

Run them in the preheated oven at 400′ for 15 minutes, checking at 12 minutes to make sure they’re not over browning.