One recipe lead to another, which lead to another, and…

Don’t you hate when you start to make something just to find out that you are out of an ingredient? And it is most probably an important one? I guess it happens to all of us, right? Or at least it does to me…
I was pretty sure I had condensed milk at the house when I settled on a recipe on Saturday. However, I could not find a can in the pantry, not a small tiny can of the stuff. And since I decided for that recipe just because I didn’t have another ingredient for a different recipe, I had to figure out how I would finish what I had already started.
And that’s when the Internet comes in handy! By simply typing a few words into a search engine and voila, all the solutions for your (culinary) problems are right there in front of you. Great!
So here I go to make my Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk, which by the way I tried before with a different recipe and didn’t get much success. Well, I believe the other recipe was out of proportions then, because this one was PERFECT!! I could not believe how much this tasted and had the same texture as the canned milk. No wait, it actually tasted BETTER than the canned stuff!
Really, I was surprised and more than happy with my results for both the condensed milk and the recipe I used it for. It tasted so good, and worked so well in my recipe that I can’t wait to make more and try in other recipes too.
Now, all that said, I have to mention that my homemade condensed milk had a slight milk powder taste to it, which is why I loved it so much, because I really love milk powder. Is this too weird??
I do, it is so good, sweet and milky! I love making hot chocolate in the winter (milk, cocoa, sugar), and then adding a couple tablespoons of milk powder to my milk, just to get that yummy taste and make my cocoa even more rich and creamy, yum!
All in all, the homemade condensed milk was great, and Matheus though so too! Hehe!
Now you must be asking, what did you use it for?
Before I forget, I used it to make ice cream! A super simple and easy No-Cook Vanilla Ice Cream recipe that turned out "yummylicious"!
Really, it was a success, both recipes I tried that day worked out really well! Yay! (And to think that I did have a couple disasters during the week… but that's another post).
The ice cream was very tasty, a perfect soft serve consistency right out of the machine, and I opted for this recipe because I didn’t have any cream in the house to make the more traditional recipe. I had to use skim milk because it was what I had on hand (and by now you could tell I wasn’t in the mood to go to the grocery store, right?), but I am sure it would have been much better with whole milk, which I am planning to try next. (skim milk makes more of an "ice milk" rather than ice cream, and it gets too icy after being completely frozen)
Oh, and the original recipe of the day was in reality a Peach Crisp, which is one of my favorite desserts, but the Husband and Matheus enjoy it much more when accompanied by a nice scoop of ice cream. And that is why I decided to make vanilla ice cream, and that’s how I ended up making homemade sweetened condensed milk. Ufff…
I did go all the way with the trouble just for my boys, so they could be happy, and ate my crisp plain, but only because because that is how I like it… Am I a sweet girl or what??
Now, wish me luck, because it will probably be a couple days until I get to post again, as I am having an endoscopy procedure done tomorrow. Ouch, another day of soup and crackers to come…
Ana

Homemade Sweetened Condensed Milk (posted on Cooking Light BB)
1 cup skim milk powder
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup boiling water

In bowl, combine milk powder with sugar. Stir butter into boiling water until melted; pour into sugar mixture. Using electric mixer, beat for about 2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or until thickened.
Yield:"1 1/4 cups"

Here is a Picture of the Peach Crisp with the Vanilla Ice Cream!









And Here goes the Ice Cream recipe, with a few variations too!

No-Cook Vanilla Ice Cream
(Adapted from Southern Living, AUGUST 2004)

1 can sweetened condensed milk -- (14-ounce)
1 can evaporated milk -- (5-ounce)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups whole milk

Whisk all ingredients in a 2-quart pitcher or large bowl until blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
Pour milk mixture into freezer container of a 1-quart electric ice-cream maker, and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. (Instructions and times will vary.)
Remove container with ice cream from ice-cream maker, and place in freezer 15 minutes. Transfer to an airtight container; freeze until firm, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

No-Cook Chocolate Ice Cream: Omit sugar, vanilla, and whole milk. Add 2 cups whole chocolate milk and 2/3 cup chocolate syrup. Proceed as directed.
No-Cook Peach Ice Cream: Omit vanilla and sugar, and reduce whole milk to 1 1/4 cups. Process 4 peeled, sliced medium-size fresh ripe peaches or 1 (15.25-ounce) can peaches in light syrup, drained, with 2 tablespoons sugar; 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice; and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir into milk mixture with 3/4 cup peach nectar. Proceed as directed.
No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream: Omit vanilla, and reduce whole milk to 1 1/2 cups. Process 1 (16-ounce) container fresh strawberries or 1 (16-ounce) package thawed frozen strawberries, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir into milk mixture. Proceed as directed.
No-Cook Coconut Ice Cream: Omit vanilla and sugar, and reduce whole milk to 1/2 cup. Whisk 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into milk mixture. Proceed as directed. Serve ice cream with toasted coconut, shaved chocolate, or chopped macadamia nuts.