Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

I swear that my camera has something against ice cream.  It just floors me that I have finally figured out the lighting issue I was having...but now...now I can't seem to figure out how to take a picture of ice cream... my beloved wonderful ice cream.  I took 30 pictures on two different nights and only TWO pictures came out in focus... talk about frustrating!  Guess that means I'm just going to have to make more ice cream so I can practice taking pictures :)

But I digress.....

Did you know that July is national Ice Cream month???  YAY!!  I love ice cream month!!!!  Of course, I could not let the month slip by without making a scrumptious new ice cream.  And this... this was beyond scrumptious... this was decadently luscious.  This ice cream was rich and creamy and cheesecakey good.  It would have been perfectly fine by itself, but I wanted to at least add something else, so I added some marinated and slightly smashed strawberries.  Every bite is filled with a small frozen bits of strawberry.  It's refreshing and wonderful!  Did I mention the cheesecake part?  OMG!!!  There really isn't anything else to say.......well, besides...mmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz's, The Perfect Scoop
Printable Recipe 
Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese
zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half & half
2/3 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for the strawberries
pinch of salt
1 cup diced strawberries

Directions:
Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and place in blender or food processor.  Add the lemon zest, sour cream, half & half, 2/3 cup sugar, and salt to the machine and puree until smooth.  Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

While the mixture is chilling, add the strawberries and remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar to a small bowl.  Mix to combine.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use.

Once mixture is chilled, pour into ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's instructions.  About 5 minutes before the ice cream is done, take the strawberries out, mash them slightly with a fork and pour them into the machine to mix into ice cream.  When done, pour into plastic containers, seal, and allow to harden up...then prepare yourself for one of the best ice cream experiences of your life!!!  YUM!!!