Cauliflower Queso Casserole

Original recipe from the Chunky Chef.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs steamed (or frozen and thawed) cauliflower, chopped
• 1/4 c butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1/4 t dry mustard
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 1/4 t paprika
• 2 1/2 c milk
• 2 c shredded cheese blend (favorites: mozzarella, smoked gruyere, gouda, muenster)
• 2 c diced chicken, cooked (or one can)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 and spray a 9x13 pan with oil. Set aside.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour until well combined.
3. Add milk 1/2 c at a time, mixing thoroughly at each addition. Add seasonings and bring to a slow simmer while whisking, until thickened. 
4. Remove from heat and sprinkle 1 cup cheese over top. Let sit for one minute, then mix in. Repeat with second cup of cheese. 
5. Fold in cauliflower and chicken, then spread into pan. Bake 15 minutes, until bubbly and light brown.

Apple or Pear Crisp

Original recipe from the Anthony Kitchen.

Ingredients, Filling:

• 1 3/4 lbs sliced pear, apple, or peach
• 2 t lemon juice
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 c sugar
• 2 T brown sugar
• 2 T flour
• 3/4 t cinnamon
• 1/4 salt
• 1/4 allspice
• 1/8 t cloves

Ingredients, Topping:

• 1 c oats
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c soft butter
• 1/3 c flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t salt 

Crisp Directions:

1. For crisp, preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, add chopped pear/apple, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir to coat.
3. Sprinkle sugar, flour, and spices over all. Toss to coat, and transfer to baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, butter, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Scatter small pieces of topping over the fruit.
5. Bake 45-60 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream.
6. Also try apple cobbler or pie.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Original recipe from A Kitchen Addiction. 

Ingredients, Muffins:

• 1/2 c butter, melted 
• 3 c flour
• 1 c sugar
• 2 T poppy seeds
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/2 c yogurt
• zest of 3 lemons or 1/2 t lemon oil
• 2 eggs

Ingredients, Syrup

• 1/4 c lemon juice
• 1/4 c powder sugar
• coarse sugar for sprinkling, opt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. In a medium glass bowl or quart jar, melt butter and set aside to cool.
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, soda, and salt.
3. To the melted butter, add yogurt lemon zest or oil, and eggs. 
4. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry, mixing until just incorporated.
5. Bake. Ready when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• muffin tin: 15-20 min
• mini muffin tin: 10-12 min
• silicone muffin cups: 25-30 min
• loaf pan 40-60 min
• mini loaf pan: 20-25 min
6. While baking, make syrup by heating lemon juice and sugar until well combined. 
7. Remove from pan or muffin cups and place on a cooling rack inside a cookie sheet (to catch extra drips). Brush with lemon syrup, then sprinkle with optional coarse sugar.
8. Let cool before serving. 

Sourdough Crackers

Original recipe from King Arthur Baking.

Ingredients

• 1 c starter
• 1 c wheat flour
• ½ t salt
• 4 T (¼ c) olive oil

Directions

1. Mix all ingredients together, kneading by hand to complete the process. If crumbly, add another teaspoon of oil. If wet, add more flour, to make a non-sticky cohesive dough.
2. Divide dough in half and press into two rectangles the size of a mini bread pan. Set on a plate and cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate 1-5 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350.
4. Remove from fridge, place one rectangle onto a piece of parchment paper. Holding the paper in place, roll the dough into a large square. Optional: spray with oil and sprinkle with extra salt. Place parchment paper onto a cookie sheet. Repeat with second dough rectangle. Using a pizza cutter, divide into cracker-sized squares.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes, trading places halfway through if cookie sheets are on different racks.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp or Pie

Pictured: strawberry rhubarb pie by my daughter

Original recipe from Plated Cravings. 

Filling Ingredients:

• 1/4 c cornstarch
• 1/2 c sugar
• 6 c sliced fresh rhubarb, strawberries, or mix (if frozen, measure out 9 c, then thaw)
• 1 T lemon juice, vanilla, or a mix
• 1 recipe crisp topping (below), or 1 recipe pie crust

Crisp Topping Ingredients:

• 1 c oats
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c soft butter
• 1/3 c flour
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/4 t salt 

Pie Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 425. Roll out 1/2 pie dough on a floured surface using a floured rolling pin (here's my favorite).
2. Place in pie pan, trimming sides 1" from pan edge. Trimming can be baked into cinnamon toast scraps.
3. In a large bowl, add rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon and/or vanilla. Sprinkle corn starch & sugar over all. Toss to coat, and transfer into pie crust. 
4. Roll out remaining pie dough to cover the top. This can be placed whole or cut and laid carefully into a lattice. Fold edges in and press decoratively.
5. Bake 15 min, reduce heat to 350 and bake 35-45 min more. Let rest 10 minutes before serving with ice cream.

Crisp Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 baking dish.
2. In a large bowl, add rhubarb, strawberries, and lemon and/or vanilla. Sprinkle corn starch & sugar over all. Toss to coat, and transfer to baking dish.
3. In a medium bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, butter, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Scatter small pieces of topping over the fruit.
4. Bake 45-60 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving with ice cream.

Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Original recipe from our favorite bread recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 T sugar
• 2 T yeast
• 3 c very warm water (think cozy bath temp)
• 4 T oil (I use olive oil)
• 5 c white whole wheat, milled (about 6-8 cup wheat flour)
• 1 T salt 
• 4 T melted butter or other oil
• 2/3 c sugar
• 2 T cinnamon
• raisins, optional
• chopped walnuts/pecans, optional

Directions:

1. Stir together yeast, water, and sugar; let it bubble.  Stir in oil and 3 cup flour, let sit 15 minutes.  Mix in salt and remaining flour, kneading when dough gets thick until just slightly sticky, like a sticky note. Cover and let sit in a warm place 1 hour (for more tips on the bread-making portion, look here).
2. Grease two loaf pans. Sprinkle counter with a few tablespoons of white flour (I prefer white flour for the finished crust, but wheat would work). Knead dough and punch out all air bubbles. Cut into 2 pieces. Knead, working each piece into a long, thin rectangle, equal to the long side of the bread pan and twice as long (about 8x16 inches). 
3. Grease or spray two bread pans. Spread oil or butter over top, 2 T per loaf. In a small bowl, mix cinnamon and sugar, then divide equally across dough. Sprinkle with optional nuts and raisins. Roll, tucking ends under, and place into pan.
4. Let rise 20 minutes (using timer), then preheat the oven to 350 (loaves should be risen to about the top of pans). Once oven is preheated, loaves should be risen past the pan tops. 
5. Bake 40-45 minutes, or till a thermometer inserted in center reads 195*. For best results, let cool before slicing. 

Tikka Masala

Original recipe from All Recipes.

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oil
• 2 peppers, diced
• 1 onion, diced 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 t fresh ginger (1/2 t ground)
• 1 (14 oz) can tomatoes
• 3 T dry kasoori methi (fenugreek) leaves
• 1-2 T tandoori curry paste (more for heat)
• 1/2-1 t salt
• 1/4 t cardamom
• 1/2 t pepper
• 1 c broth
• 3 c cooked chicken (2 cans) or 2 cans garbanzo beans
• 1 lb broccoli, steamed & chopped
• 1 c half and half or milk (or coconut milk)

Directions:

1. In a medium pan over medium heat, warm oil. Add onion and peppers and saute. Add garlic and ginger and saute one minute more. 
2. In a blender pitcher: pour tomatoes, sauted veg, and spices. Blend until smooth. 
3. Return to pan. Add chicken, broccoli, and cream/milk over medium and heat through.
4. Serve with naan bread, quinoa, and/or rice.

Naan Bread

Original recipe from Budget Bytes.

Yield: 16 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1 T sugar
• 1 T yeast
• 1 1/2 c warm water
• 1/2 c olive oil
• 1 t salt
• 4-5 c flour (at least 1 c white flour)
• butter & garlic salt for frying

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, sprinkle sugar and yeast. Slowly pour warm water over all (try to wet every grain).
2. Let yeast bubble 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, if needed, mill the wheat into flour (I use the WonderMill on its finest setting). 
3. Pour oil into water mixture. Add 2 cups flour and whisk to combine. Let sit for 15 minutes (I use my timer so I don't forget it).
4. Add salt and more flour one cup at a time, mixing to combine each addition. Add and mix or knead flour until dough pulls together but still feels slightly sticky, like a sticky note. Knead dough 5-10 minutes. 
5. Place into large bowl and cover. Let rise 40-60 minutes (using timer again, more time for white flour), or until double. 
6. Sprinkle counter with a few tablespoons of flour. Knead dough and punch out all air bubbles. Cut into halves 8 times (16 pieces) and work each piece until the dough will stretch over itself without ripping. Fold dough under itself and shape into a ball. 
7. Heat cast iron skillet to medium high. Roll each piece to 1/4 inch thick. Drop 1/2 t butter on pan and sprinkle with garlic salt for each naan. Fry each side 1 minute. 
8. Serve hot with tikka masala, coconut lentil curry, or shish kabobs; or cold with hummus.

Snickerdoodles

Origional recipe from Two Peas and their Pod.

Yield: about 3 dozen cookies

Ingredients, dough:

• 1 c butter, creamed
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 t vanilla
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t soda
• 2 t cream of tartar
• 3 c flour

Ingredients, topping:

• 1 T sugar
• 1 T cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. In a large bowl or kitchenaid, beat butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and cream together until smooth.
3. Add dry ingredients until just combined (dough will be crumbly). Roll into balls, about 2 T per cookie.
4. In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Roll each dough ball into the mixture and place 12 to a cookie sheet.
5. Bake 10 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheet 2-5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool.

Stuffing Chicken

 Original recipe from family.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb chicken pieces
• 2 c gravy
• 1 c sour cream
• 2 recipe stuffing, or one box

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Rinse chicken pieces and place in a 9x13 pan. Mix gravy with sour cream and pour over chicken pieces. Cover tightly with foil and bake 40-60 minutes, until chicken is cooked thorugh.
2. Make stuffing according to directions. Remove chicken from oven and set oven to broil. Remove foil and top chicken mixture with stuffing. Broil 3-5 minutes, until crispy on top. Serve with favorite veggies. 

Gravy

Original from Recipe Tin Eats.

Ingredients for every 1 c broth:

• 1 c broth, boiling
• 2 T butter
• 2 T flour
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 1/8 t pepper

Ingredients for 1 quart broth:

• 4 c broth, boiling
• 1/2 c (1 cube) butter
• 1/2 c flour
• 1 t onion powder
• 1/2 t pepper

Ingredients for 2 quarts broth:

• 8 c broth, boiling
• 1 c (2 cubes) butter
• 1 c flour
• 2 t onion powder
• 1 t pepper

Directions:

1. BROTH: you can use homemade broth, a mixture of 1 c water + 1 t bouillon, or whatever juices you have leftover after a roast. Taste test the juices to see if any additional salt is needed. 
2. In a small (or medium-large, for more than 1 quart) saucepan over low heat, melt butter. Add flour and cook over medium heat, mixing well. 
3. When butter/flour mixture (roux) starts to bubble, add half the broth. Mix well. Add half more of the broth and mix again. Add the remaining broth and whisk until well incorporated. 
4. Serve in a small pitcher or gravy boat.

Wheat Berries

Original recipe from Love and Lemons.

This steamy, unprocessed breakfast is fibrous, filling, and even boasts some protein.  Like oatmeal, your topping options are endless. Also try cracked wheat!

Yield: 3 cups cooked 

Ingredients:

• 1 c wheat kernels 
• 3 c water
• 1/4 t salt

Directions:

1. Rinse wheat kernels well. I do this by measuring them into a quart jar, adding hot water, and mixing with a butter knife. Then I rinse them through a sieve. 
2. In a medium pan over high heat, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover with lid. Simmer 30 minutes, then check for doneness. Continue to simmer in 5 minute increments till desired texture is reached. 
3. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in instant pot. Set to cook 10 minutes, then allow slow-release of steam. 
4. Strain off extra liquid. Serve as a breakfast porridge with milk and sweateners like honey or berries, or to add substance to soups and salads. Freezes well. 

Roasted Chickpeas

Original recipe from Well Plated.

Yield: about 2 cups.

Ingredients:

• 3 c cooked chickpeas (2 cans)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 t cumin
• 1/2 t garlic salt
• 1/2 t smoked paprika
• 1/2 t chili powder
• 1/2 t cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. Rinse and drain chickpeas. Peal back any skins that are coming off and discard. Lay out on a clean tea towell or paper towel and pat dry, then let them air dry for 1 hour. 
3. On a large cookie sheet, scatter chickpeas. Drizzle with olive oil and stir with spatula to coat. 
4. In a small bowl, mix seasonings. Sprinkle over chickpeas and toss/stir to coat.
5. Bake 40 minutes. Turn off the oven, crack the door, and leave chickpeas for cool inside for 5 more minutes. Remove and let cool on counter before enjoying as a snack or on this delicious Curly Kale Salad!

Curly Kale Salad

Pictured: Curly Kale Salad with mashed potatoes and baby back ribs.

Original recipe from Peas and Crayons.

Ingredients, salad:

• 5 cups chopped curly kale
• 1 t olive oil
• pinch salt
• 1 c black beans
• 1 c frozen corn
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1-3 chopped tomatoes or to taste
• 1/2 c shredded carrots
• 1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 recipe roasted chick peas, optional

Ingredients, dressing:

• 4 T olive oil
• 3 T lime or lemon juice
• 2 T honey, warmed 
• 1 T red or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper

Directions:

1. Wash and dry kale. De-stem and chop into ribbons. In a large bowl, add kale, 1 t olive oil, and a pinch of salt. Massage kale with hands until it tenderizes and darkens in color. 
2. Add all remaining salad ingredients but roased chick peas.
3. To make dressing, measure ingredients into a pint jar and mix well. Drizzle over salad.
4. Mix well with (gloved?) hands or tongs.
5. Just before serving, mix in optional roasted chick peas. Enjoy!

Irish Soda Bread

Original recipe from the Ruralite Magaizine and Sally's Baking Addiction.

Yield: 1 large loaf

Ingredients

• 4 c flour (can use 1/2 wheat)
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 c sugar
• ½ c butter
• 1 c raisins or golden raisins 
• 1 ½ c buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 T sparkling sugar, optional

Directions 

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 c flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add remaining flour.
3. In a small measuring bowl, whisk butter milk and egg. Stir/knead in buttermilk just until combined. Fold raisins inside dough, covering them completely so none show on the outer edge.
4. Place in a buttered cast iron skillet or baking sheet; pat into a 7-in. round loaf (shouldn't be taller than skillet sides). Using a sharp knife, cut a deep cross into top of the loaf. Sprinkle sparkling sugar over top, pressing into dough. Cover with a lid or foil.
5. Bake 20 minutes, then uncover and bake 25 min more, or until thermeter inserted in the center reads 195° F. Cool 10 min on a wire rack before cutting. Makes a great breakfast with a green smoothie!

Snowball Cookies

Original  recipe from family.

Ingredients:

• 1 c butter
• 1/4 c powder sugar, plus more for powdering
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/8 t salt
• 1 c walnuts or pecans, chopped fine
• 2 c flour

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla, salt, and nuts and combine well. Add flour and combine.
• Roll marble-size balls and place 24 on a cookie sheet. Flatten with fork if desired.
• Bake 15 min. While hot, roll in a dish of ~1/2 cup powder sugar. 

Cranberry Muffins

Original recipe from the book Cranberry Thanksgiving.

Yield: 24 muffins, 48 mini muffins, or 2 loaves

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c oil or soft butter
• 1 1/3 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 c yogurt
• 1 c millk
• 2 T orange juice concentrate or zest (or 4 T dried zest)
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 3 3/4 c flour
• 2 c craisins or chopped cranberries (thaw if frozen)
• opt: sparkling sugar such as this

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour loaf pan(s) or muffin tins.
2. Cream butter with sugar. Combine wet ingredients, sift dry ingredients, and mix together. Fold in craisins or cranberries. 
3. Spoon into prepared pan(s). Sprinkle with optional sparkling sugar.
4. Mini muffins: bake 10-15 min. Silicone muffins: bake 20-25 min. Glass loaf pan: bake 35-45 min.
5. Serve in November after reading Cranberry Thanksgiving together. 

Apple Pie Cookies

Perfect for a light friendsgiving! 

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe pie dough
• apple butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Roll dough and cut into shapes as in the picture. We like round flower shapes to look a little more like a "pie," but anything is fine. Cut two of the exact same shapes for each cookie, then cute a "window" into the top piece.
3. Sprinkle the window-cut pieces with cinnamon sugar, as you would for cinnamon toast scraps. These will be your tops.
4. Bake 10 minutes, or until just turning golden. Let cool.
5. Once cool, spread bottom cookie generously with apple butter. Place the cinnamon-sugar half on top. Enjoy!

Sailing!

What do you do as newlyweds with a year left of college? Take a class together! Our first couple's sail was in our "Intro to Outdoor Rec" class, fall 2009. Our professor asked Mark to take the helm for docking! After Mark's seemless manuevering, we knew he was a natural. Of course, our student budget, years of medical school, and adorable babies prevented further pursuit of that attraction for quite a while. 

Still, Mark found plenty of interests to fit his budget and time restraints. He pursued hobbies like the "manias" of our beloved Mr. Toad; he would throw himself into learning and doing something new for days or months at a time, until another interest would entirely divert his attentions. We'd accepted that there was no one amusement that could hold him for long...when sailing came back to take hold and hasn't released him since!

In April 2022, life unfolded in a way that made it possible for Mark to take a real plunge into the sailing world. Inspired by his ambitions, I had to tag along. Our first course (Basic Keelboat Sailing) was through San Juan Sailing off the coast of Washington.

We had so much fun (and lacked so much in experience), that we immediately started looking for more options to get out on the water. We found our answer in a 23-foot Hunter from 1985, for sale right here on our local lake. We snatched it up (selling his motorcycle made it almost a clean trade!), and took our little family out on it weekly during the summer months.

Recognizing that the two of us needed to take the next two courses in order to qualify for chartering a boat in other locations, we signed up for both. ASA 103 was in early September 2022 with Passion Yachts on the Columbia River, and later that same month we took ASA 104 with Seattle Yachts Sailing Academy. 

That's when the BVI (British Virgin Islands) came in. It was time to put our skills to the test! The two of us chartered a 38" Jeanneau in April 2023.

We hit up seven islands (Tortola-> Norman-> Virgin Gorda-> Beef Island-> Anegada-> Jost Van Dyke-> Little Jost Van Dyke), went on many adventures, and found that the self-sufficient sealife is for us. After, of course, I got seasick and tossed my cookies on the second day, falling asleep for the next hour or two (sleeping, it appears, is a common defense mechanism for an overstressed body).

Trials aside, we discovered that sailing delights us both in our individual ways. It is on the boat that the manias of Mark's younger years meet their match; there are limitless perplexities to consider, learn, manipulate. There's always more to explore (like the additional courses he's taken of Celestial Navagation, Marine Weather, and Marine Diesel Maintenance, to name a few), as answers in this realm only seem to generate new and exciting questions. 

I thrive establishing self-sufficient systems and creating the domestic atmostphere that makes a daunting adventure feel doable. During the monotonous hours on passage between islands, I revel in the new levels of quiet for stretching my heart and mind (kindle & journal pages are a must-pack for me). And for anyone, can anything top time at the helm in fair winds?

We're both growing an increased reverence for complex life experiences, stretching ourselves beyond what we know, trying something new, seeing something new, being something new. We've found that with a few tweeks (like sailing off-season and packing most of our groceries), it can be a fairly affordable way to more deeply experience our world. And goodness, does our world have much to tell us!

So in September 2023, the whole family got to experience a weeklong San Juan adventure on a 43'  Jeaneau DS. There were a few things to get used to (sailboat bathrooms--heads--always smell funky), but it was a phenomenal maiden voyage for our family. The tidepools were a particular favorite! 

In November 2024, we took our group to explore the Bahamas and try out a 37' Catamaran Bali 4.2. A catamaran is a sailboat with two hulls, almost like two boats connected across the middle, with 4 rooms (berths), 4 heads (bathrooms), and lots of group lounging. We left from Nassau (pronounced almost like “NASA” but with more of a “saw” at the end 😉) to sail the Exuma islands with four kids and Mark's parents, so the bigger boat served us well! ...Even if it meant missing out on the more traditional feel of a monohull sailboat. 

April 2025 found us in Belize on another catamaran--Excess 11--with friends in tow! It was a pleasure to introduce them to the fun quirks of the sailing life (Jellyfish! Sharks! Rigging! Anchoring! Sunset! Bioluminescence!). With so many able hands to share the load, we had a blast and are already daydreaming about our next co-adventures.

Mark and I are learning on a new level how to roll with the punches and hone our team efforts. After each journey we tell the other, "Next time..." and make plans to improve (and lengthen) the experience. But always, we are in awe that any of this is possible...and eager to see what comes next!

This post is shared as part of my life's endeavors I wish to document. 

Oreo Mint Ice Cream

Pictured: mint ice cream topped with crushed chocolate teddy grahams.

Original recipe from the ice cream salt box. Our favorite plain vanilla ice cream recipe is here. We love this recipe because it is our firm belief that mint chip is NOT the way to go (those chocolate bits can feel so waxy!), and Oreo mint ice cream cannot always be found! As an alternative to mixing the chocolate in, this recipe is great served over hot brownies, chocolate cake, or cookies.

Ingredients:

• 3 c sugar
• 1 T lemon juice
• 1/4 t salt
• 7 c whipping cream
• 2 c milk
• 1/4 t vanilla
• 1 1/4 t mint extract (1 dram peppermint oil)
• 4 drops green food coloring, optional
• 5-15 pounds ice, depending on ambient temperature and size of recipe
• ~1 c rock salt (like Morton's)
• opt: 3 c chocolate cookie crumbles, cake, or brownies

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients but the rock salt & cookies.
2. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to instructions. Ours takes about 5 lbs (1 gallon bag) of ice for this recipe, or 20 lbs (4 1/2 gallon bags of ice cubes) if quadrupled on a 75° day, which we pour around the ice cream canister. Pour 1 c salt over the ice to keep its temp low even as ice is melting. As ice melts down, add more so that the ice reaches the top of the ice cream line. Add a sprinkle of salt to the ice with every new ice addition.
3. Use the hand crank or motor for 1-2 hours until desired thickness is reached. Just before serving, add optional chocolate cookie crumbles into canister and mix until just swirled. 

*For a Christmassy alternative, try mixing in crushed candy canes instead of green food coloring.