Crock Pot Caramel in a Can

The first time I heard of this was like 20 years ago from my husband. He and a friend used to put cans of condensed milk in a pressure cooker to make caramel. Nothing about that sounded like a good idea (except the caramel part). I am terrified of pressure cookers and nothing, not even caramel, could entice me to try doing it.

More recently I saw tons of recipes on Pinterest using a crock pot instead. But I had doubts that it would really work like they said.

Then my friend, Kate, brought an unmarked can of golden caramel-y goodness to my house that came from her crock pot! I was too preoccupied with making 160 pounds of sausage to try it, but everyone raved about it.

So, I gave it a try…

IT IS AMAZING! SIMPLE, FAST, EASY, DELICIOUS! Not to mention that it looks gorgeous!

If you love caramel, you simply must try it!

I would suggest, starting it before going to bed, taking it out to cool in the morning, and then it will be ready for dessert after dinner.

Here’s all you do:

Peel the label off of a can of sweetened condensed milk.

Place wax or parchment paper in the bottom of crock pot.

Place unopened can on paper in crock pot.

Pour water into crock pot until the can is covered by at least 1/2”.

Cover and cook on high for about 8-10 hours. (Mine took about 8 1/2 and was perfect).

This is the hard part! Remove can from crock pot using tongs (it is very hot) and let cool on the counter until it is room temperature. This will take several hours. This step is also important to have a smooth creamy finished product.

Once it has cooled, you can store it on the shelf (unopened) for a very long time (or so I’ve read).

You can also open it and eat it right away…

 

Any leftovers should be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. (If it lasts that long…)

Enjoy over ice cream, on apple pie or crisp, or as a dip with sliced fruit.

Crock Pot Beef Burgundy

This is a super easy meal to cook in the crock pot when you are short of time or forgot to start it earlier in the day. It was super tasty and tender! And it’s French… ooo la la! ;)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 pounds beef stew meat

2 Tbsp oil

1 onion, sliced

8 mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

3 cloves minced garlic

2-3 bay leaves

1 cup burgundy wine

1/2 cup beef broth

Dredge the stew meat in the flour, salt & pepper mixture. Heat oil in large skillet and brown meat on medium heat. Place beef in crock pot. Pour wine and broth over meat. Top with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3 hours. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Apple Fritters

This is a variation of one of my boys’ (and my dad’s) favorite breakfast foods. And just the thing to make when you have a bunch of apples!

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 Tbsp oil

Whisk these together in a bowl.

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

4 Tbsp sugar

Whisk in flour 1/2 cup at a time. Add remaining dry ingredients after first cup of flour is mixed. Mix until smooth.

Stir in 1 medium apple, peeled and finely chopped.

Drop into hot oil heated to 375. Cook until golden brown on all sides. Turn while cooking if necessary.

Remove from oil and let drain on plate lined with paper towels.

Toss while still hot in a bag of cinnamon sugar.

Eat right out of the bag! :o)

Strawberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

This summer has been glorious and sunny! If only every summer in the PNW was like this!!! In celebration of yet another sunny morning, I took some homemade strawberry freezer jam out (made with strawberries from my own garden no less) and created this…

1 1-lb loaf Italian bread

1/2 cup strawberry jam (I think it would be pretty tasty with orange marmalade instead)

2 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/8 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Slice the bread into 9 slices. Cut each slice in half, making a pocket. Do not cut them all the way through! I made all my pocket slices before cutting them into thin slices all the way through…

Mix the cream cheese, sugar and orange zest with electric mixer until smooth. Spread it inside of each slice of bread.

  Next, spread a thin layer of jam on top of the cream cheese.

Beat the eggs, milk and vanilla well. Pour into shallow pan for dipping.

(I made too much egg, so I changed it in the recipe)

  Dip each piece of bread in the egg mixture on each side. Don’t soak it too much! Place on a preheated and lightly greased griddle. I set mine at 350.

Cook until both sides are browned.

Serve immediately dusted with powdered sugar.

Poppyseed Chicken & Mushrooms

I love Rhett and Link! I watch their Good Mythical Morning show while I eat breakfast five days a week. One morning, Link happened to mention that poppyseed chicken and how much he loves it. I’d never even heard of poppyseed chicken. But it piqued my interest and I did a bit of research “boop boop boopity boop” (it’s an inside GMM joke). I found a few recipes to get the idea and then went off and made up my own…

Yup! Link was right. So good!!! One of those total comfort food meals and just sticks to your ribs. It’s rich and creamy and delicious… Mmmm!!!

4-5 cups of cooked chicken breast, cubed

8 oz fresh mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3/4 cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons poppyseeds

6 Tablespoons melted butter

1 sleeve of Ritz cracker, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350

Combine chicken, mushrooms, soup and sour cream. Pour into greased casserole dish.

Mix poppyseeds, butter and cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over chicken mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes or until it is bubbly and topping starts to turn golden brown.

Serve over cooked egg noodles.

String Cheese Airplane Snacks

Twice a month I watch our godson and his little sister. Every time they come over, we choose a different subject and do a mini unit-study. Guess what we learned about today?

Yup! We learned all about airplanes. Here are some fun facts about airplanes you may not have known:

1. A Boeing 747 is 150 feet long. The Wright Brother’s first flight at Kitty Hawk was only 120 feet.

2. The Concorde flew at over 1300 mph and made the flight from NY to London in 3 hours!

3. Modern 747s have just 365 controls. The first models had 971!

4. Airplane themed snacks are really easy to make! :o)

First we made candy planes. The kind with Smarties, Wintergreen Life Savers and a stick of gum all held together with a rubber band. I hadn’t seen these since I was a kid. It was extra fun because we all shut ourselves into our window-less bathroom and watched the Life Savers spark in our mouths when we bit them. I hadn’t done that since I was a kid either. My poor 17-year-old had never done it or seen it. I think he thought it was cooler than he let on… ;o)

But for our more healthy snack, we made string cheese airplanes.

All you need is a piece of string cheese, two carrot slices, a rectangular piece of bread and a slice of pepperoni.

Stick a toothpick through the front of the string cheese and poke one carrot slice on each end. Break a second toothpick in half. Use one half to secure the bread “wing” to the top of the cheese. Fold the slice of pepperoni in half and then use the second half toothpick to secure it to the back of the cheese with the open end opening to the rear of the “plane”.

If you want a fun and educational movie to watch while you enjoy these treats, check out Andy’s Airplanes episode one on YouTube. You can link to it HERE. 

Gingersnap Crumb Pie Topping

This crispy gingersnap topping can go atop any of your favorite crumb-topped pie recipes. Just follow your recipe and substitute this for the topping. It is especially good on top of apple or pear pies. For an added ginger-y treat, add 1/4 cup of chopped candied ginger to your pie filling.

For the perfect topping, add brown sugar to your whipping cream instead of white or powdered sugar.

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coarsely chopped gingersnaps (the crispy kind)

5 Tablespoons butter, softened

Mix first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the butter until it forms crumbs.

Sprinkle over the top of your favorite pie recipe and bake according to your recipe.