Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

4 oz. cream cheese, softened (half a brick)

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 C. heavy whipping cream

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1 1/2 C. frozen strawberries

1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs (optional)

Freeze your ice cream maker bowl (I got mine from Walmart, for about $25.00 and it's a Hamilton Beach. It has the bowl, a lid, a motor and a mixing paddle.). Follow your ice cream makers instructions on freezing.

Remove cream cheese and strawberries. Allow cream cheese to soften and the strawberries to get slightly thawed. Once slightly thawed, chop strawberries into little pieces (they need to be bite sized or smaller, the paddle from the ice cream maker will not break the pieces up).

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sweetened condensed milk until smooth then mix in heavy whipping cream and vanilla. Add strawberry pieces.

Start ice cream maker and pour through hole in lid. Follow your ice cream makers directions for freezing. Once completed, and ready to serve, sprinkle ice cream with graham cracker crumbs.

* Honestly, this is the best ice cream I have ever had! The recipe will be very easy to vary- you can add any type of fruit you want, or you could add chocolate, ground peppermint pieces, etc... The cream cheese adds the creamy texture and decadence of this ice cream and is so worth it! If you're worried about fat content or calories (and honestly, if you are, why are you making ice cream!) you can substitute the cream cheese with low fat cream cheese.

And for the record, Eleanor asked for this for breakfast the day after I made it!