Cheesecake Recipes for National Cheesecake Day

Good Morning Everyone and TGIF!!!!! Besides being Friday, today is also National Cheesecake Day!!! I know Cheesecake is a rich and high calorie dessert, but it's also a very popular dessert that is very versatile. It doesn't hurt that it taste out of this world good. Cheesecake can be enjoyed plain, or with your favorite fruit topping.

I myself prefer to mix things up and combine all sorts of different flavors. The cheesecake pictured above is exactly what I am talking about it's a Dulce de Leche Pumpkin Cheesecake. I made that particular cheesecake to take to my mother in laws over the Thanksgiving Holiday. All I can say is that was one awesome cheesecake. It combines the flavors of pumpkin and Dulce de leche mix together in one cheesecake.

So to help celebrate this delicious national holiday. I wanted to share a few of my favorite cheesecake recipes that I have featured here at Mommy's Kitchen. I know the German Chocolate Cake Cheesecake Style pictured above is more of a cake, but the filling is a cheesecake filling and it's so awesome. I couldn't leave it out of this post.
If you are looking for a great way to celebrate national cheesecake day you need to go and make one of these yummy recipes. At the end of this post I have also included some other great cheeseckae recipes from some of my favorite bloggers, so go and check them out. Before I go tell me what your favorite cheesecake is?

Strawberry No Bake Cheesecake

Quick & Easy Mexican Cheesecakes

Dulce de Leche Cheesecake

So papilla Cheesecake

Strawberry Cheesecake Cake Balls

If you are needing more cheesecake inspiration, here a few awesome cheesecake recipes from some of the blogs around the block.


How about a Brown Sugar and Toasted Pecan Cheesecake from Leslie at the Hungry Housewife. Oh Leslie if you are reading this I sure am missing you and your posts. Look at this beauty from Ree, The Pioneer Woman I know y'all know her!!! She made a Blackberry Cheesecake that looks Divine.

If you want to keep things simple you can try some Fat Free Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries or these cute little Cherry Cheesecake Cookies from Tried and True Cooking with Heidi. Katie over at Good Life Eats made some cutie patootie Raspberry Cheesecake Pots. Look how pretty, yummy and easy they are.

I cant forget my southern sistah Christy she made some Marble Cheesecake Brownies . So if brownies and cheesecake are your thing I highly recommend them. And lastly how about a some Tipsy de Leche Cheesecake Squares from Julie at Bananas for Bourbon. OMYGOODNESS!!!! is all I can say about scrumptious little guys.

Enjoy now go make some cheesecake!!!!

Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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Spaghetti Carbonara "Weeknight Easy"

It's no secret in my house that I am huge pasta lover. I can't help it; pasta is so versatile making it perfect for so many dishes. Spaghetti Carbonara is one of my all time favorite pasta dishes. It's easy enough for a weeknight dinner or fancy enough to serve company.

I especially love this dish because I usually have all the ingredients on hand to make it. Add some crusty garlic bread and you have the perfect meal. The smell alone from the bacon, onions and garlic cooking is so intoxicating, throw in the wine and you will be hooked.

In traditional Carbonara pancetta is used, but I really like using bacon instead. My kiddos are big on bacon so it's perfect. Since my kiddos were eating this dish I scaled back a bit on the wine and only added 1/8 cup.

In the end it really didn't make too much of a difference because the flavor of the wine still came through. If you have never tried Spaghetti Carbonara or you don't have dinner planned I highly recommend giving this recipe a try because I know you will love it. Plus I am sure you already have everything on hand to make it.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente (approx- 8 min). Drain and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside. While the pasta is cooking start the bacon. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels.

Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute. Return cooked bacon to pan;

add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. To ensure a creamy, silky sauce, mix the cheese, cream and beaten eggs together then stir into the pasta, off of the heat. Tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. If the mixture is to thick add a bit of reseved pasta water.


Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese.

Look at all that yummy bacon and cheese. Goodness who wouldn't love this!!!

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 - 16 oz box spaghetti
(I used 3/4 a box)
2 - tablespoon olive oil, separated
8 - slices bacon or Italian bacon, diced
1/2 - small onion, chopped (I used 1/4 cup)
1 - clove garlic, minced
1/8 - 1/4 - cup dry white wine (optional)
2 - eggs, beaten
2 - tbsp heavy cream or milk
1/2 - cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 - pinch salt and black pepper to taste
2 - tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
extra grated Parmesan cheese for garnish

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti pasta until al dente. Drain well and reserve a bit of the pasta water, about 1/2 cup. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and set aside. While the pasta cooks start on the bacon. In a large skillet, cook chopped bacon until slightly crisp; remove and drain onto paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat; add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and heat in reused large skillet. Add chopped onion, and cook over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add minced garlic, and cook 1 minute more. Add wine if desired; cook one more minute.

Return cooked bacon to pan; add cooked and drained spaghetti. Toss to coat and heat through, adding more olive oil if it seems dry or is sticking together. To ensure a creamy, silky sauce, mix the cheese, cream and beaten eggs together then stir into the pasta, off of the heat. Tossing constantly with tongs or large fork until eggs are barely set. If the mixture is to thick add a bit of reserved pasta water. Add salt and pepper to taste (remember that bacon and Parmesan are very salty). Serve immediately with chopped parsley sprinkled on top, and extra Parmesan cheese at table.

Recipe adapted from all recipes.com

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Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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Crafty Kitchen ~ Free Summertime Fun! Lowes Build & Grow Clinics

Are you trying to find activities to keep your kids busy this summer? Well, I know I am always on the lookout for things to keep my kids from getting bored. Today I wanted to share a Crafty Kitchen Post with you. This Crafty Kitchen post will be a little different from our usual CK post. Instead of showing you how to make a fun craft with your kids I want to tell you about a fun activity that Lowe's is offering.

Have you heard of the Lowe's Build and Grown Clinics? This past Saturday we took the kids out to Lowe's to attend their first build and grow clinic. If your not familiar with the program here is a little information. Kids and their parents can attend a Lowe's Build and Grow Clinic and build that particular week’s wooden project and take it home – it’s theirs to keep!

The entire clinic is available at no cost and there is no limit to the number of clinics you and your children attend. Each participant receives a free apron, goggles, a project themed patch, and a certification of merit upon completion of their project. Your kids will also get a coupon for a free junior size frosty from Wendy's. The Build & Grow Clinics take place approximately every other week at Lowe’s stores across the country.

Each clinic involves the construction of a different project. Last week was a wooden UFO. Lowe's also has upcoming holiday themed projects for the months that have specific holidays. (Back to School, Valentines Day & Christmas). So you see it really is a lot of fun for everyone. My kids had a blast building their very own UFOs and they are already talking about the next clinic.

If you would like to attend one of these free clinics the next one is scheduled for Saturday, August 14 Th 2010. The project of the day will be a Beetle Shaped Bug Box. Click here to find a location in your city. I highly recommend registering ahead of time to guarantee a spot on clinic day, plus you can print out your registration form.

By pre registering you will save yourself from filling out paperwork when you arrive at the store. I know when my kids got to the store they did not want to stand around and wait for mom to fill out paperwork they were ready to get started. Anyone who has little ones knows just what I am talking about.

Here are a few photos of my kids building their UFOs. They had the cutest little hammers for each of the kids. I have to say the staff at this particular Lowe's was very very nice and ready to help anyone who needed it. I am so glad I found another free activity to keep my kids busy. From what I read they offer this program throughout the year and not just in the summer.

If you don't have a Lowe's near you Home Depot is offering a similar program called Build-Learn-Create. It looks like they are only offering their workshops on the first weekend of every month. Click on the link for information on times and locations. I hope you will give these workshops a try they really are a lot of fun for the whole family.

Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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Chocolate Covered Banana Pops ~ Potluck Sunday

We love bananas any way we can eat them in our house. Bananas are a really healthy and a great portable treat. When our bananas start to get ripe I usually freeze them for muffins, quick breads and smoothies. Did you know that you could freeze bananas? I freeze mine all the time it is so much better than just tossing them out or eating banana bread all the time.

Freezing bananas is easy!!! I have included a link on how to freeze bananas so you can stop tossing them out. I prefer the method of cutting up the bananas and then freezing them versus leaving them whole. It's really your preference and how much time you have on your hands. A couple weeks back the kids wanted Chocolate Covered Banana Pops .

When we go to the produce section of Walmart they always grab that little box to make chocolate banana pops. The box at Walmart is really cheap, but the problem is you don't really get enough chocolate to make a decent amount of banana pops. I told the kids we could make them at home with Chocolate Bark (chocolate candy coating). I always have chocolate bark on hand for various snacks and goodies, so I thought it would be perfect. Making Chocolate Covered Banana Pops is so easy.

Plus you can get your kids involved in the preparation of this easy, healthy frozen treat. You can make plain chocolate covered bananas pops or you can roll them in sprinkles or chopped nuts. My favorite way is rolled in pecans. For a different twist try adding a couple tablespoons of creamy peanut butter in with the melted chocolate and you will have peanut butter chocolate banana pops. Which ever way you decide to make Frozen Banana Pops I know your kids will love them. They really are the perfect summer treat. Now go grab your kiddos and have some fun.

So today I am bringing a fun treat for the kids to the potluck. Do you have a recipe you would like to contribute to the potluck? If so then link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back to Mommy's Kitchen. I cant wait to see what everyone is bringing. Here is today's recipe for Chocolate Covered Banana Pops.

These are the ingredients you will need:
Chocolate Bark or Chocolate Candy Coating, 4-5 ripe but not over ripe bananas, sprinkles, rice krispies, chopped nuts, peanut butter (optional) and Popsicle or chop sticks. Don't forget waxed paper or foil to lay the banana pops on.

Here are some photos of the kids preparing the bananas for dipping. Give each child an even number of bananas and sticks or you will have an all out war on your hands.

Lay each banana pop on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper or foil while you dip and garnish the remaining bananas. We chose some pretty sprinkles and chopped pecans.

Chocolate Covered Banana Pops

4-5 ripe bananas (not over ripe)
1 - 24 oz package chocolate bark or candy coating
Popsicle sticks or chop sticks
sprinkles, rice krispies or chopped nuts
2 - tablespoon's creamy peanut butter, optional
waxed paper or foil

Peel the bananas and cut in half. Grab some handy helpers to insert the sticks into each banana. You can lay them on a baking sheet or place the bananas in a gallon size zip lock bag. Place in the freezer until the bananas harden (about 2 hours). You can add lemon juice or on the bananas to prevent browning, but my bananas never brown in the freezer. To start use 1/2 of the chocolate bark, place in a microwave safe boil and melt on the defrost setting for 3 minutes. Do not melt on the cook setting or the chocolate will cook and burn. I defrost mine in 3 minute intervals in the microwave. If you want to add peanut butter add it to the chocolate while it melts in the microwave. When melted remove from the microwave and stir to blend. You want the chocolate really smooth.

Spoon the melted chocolate onto each banana until they are coated. Do not dip the bananas into the chocolate mixture or it will harden on you. The best way is to spoon the chocolate on each banana. Roll in rice cereal, sprinkles, chopped nuts or just leave them plain. I highly recommend chopped pecans. Place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or foil and put in the freezer to set for about 20-30 minutes. Remove and Enjoy!

Note: I buy my chocolate bark or candy coating in the baking isle at Walmart. It runs about $1.97 for a big block. I do not recommend the Candy Quick Brand because it doesn't melt as smooth as the Plymouth's Pantry brand.

Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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Southern Sun Tea ~ My Favorite Summer Drink

Have you ever had Sun Tea? Making sun tea is really easy and a delicious way to enjoy summer. Sun Tea is a method of brewing tea slowly, using the heat of the sun to draw out the flavors from dry tea leaves. Here is a little back round on how I came to know this wonderful drink. I grew up an Air Force Brat so we moved a quite a bit. When I was five we were stationed in Lompoc California. It wasn't long after, that my mother remarried and we were relocated to Oahu, Hawaii. Hawaii was one of the longest places I lived growing up.

We were stationed there a total of 9 years and it really was one of the most beautiful places a kid could call home. Hawaii is like summertime all year round. I remember my mother putting a big gallon size glass jar full of water and tea bags out on the Lanai (porch in Hawaiian) every other day. My mother always took advantage of the hot sun to brew her tea. Did you know that Sun Tea is also a southern favorite?

My mom learned how to make it when she lived in Alabama. That is also where she learned to cook all the great southern classics I adore today. I can honestly say I think we were the only kids in Hawaii that drank Sun Tea and ate Buttermilk Biscuits with Chocolate Gravy. You see just because we lived in Hawaii didn't mean we had to give up our southern favorites. My mother continued to cook southern classics while we lived there.

Sun tea was something that mom made all the time. Lately there has been some recent controversy regarding sun tea being unsafe. It has been stated that bacteria can grow because the water doesn't reach a temperature of 190 degrees or more. The Snopes article I read says the bacteria found in sun tea comes from the water used to make it, not the tea itself. That would mean that the water is the real issue. If the water is a big issue you can use distilled water. I myself still use filtered tap water and have not had a problem.

All I can say is I have consumed Sun Tea for over 35 years and I have never gotten sick. I also do not know of anyone actually getting sick from the consumption of sun tea. So it's all up to you whether you want to drink sun tea or not. So if you are feeling a bit adventurous and want to give sun tea a try I have included some important steps at the end of this post. As for me I will continue to steep, sip and enjoy one of my favorite summer beverages.


This is how I make my Sun Tea. Place tea bags into a clean 3 quart clear glass jar. Make sure to leave the paper tags on the outside of the jar. Add the water and screw on the lid. Let the jar of tea stand in direct sunlight for 3-4 hours

or until the tea reaches the desired strength. Remove and throw away the tea bags. Add sugar to suit your taste, then serve over ice. Refrigerate any leftovers.


Sun tea is milder than regular brewed ice tea. For a nice change you can add fresh lemon or orange slices and mint leaves. Also if you don't want to add sugar, you can boil together 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup water and add it in place of the sugar.



Southern Style Sun Tea

4 - 6 - regular sized tea bags
10 - cups water (2 1/2 quarts)
1 - cup granulated sugar or your preference
Ice cubes
lemon slices, orange slices & fresh mint, optional
Place tea bags into a clean 3 quart clear glass jar. Make sure to leave the paper tags on the outside of the jar. Add the water and screw on the lid. Let the jar of tea stand in direct sunlight for 3-4 hours or until the tea reaches the desired strength. Remove the tea bags and discard. Add sugar to suit your taste, then serve over ice. Refrigerate any leftover tea. Use within 2 days. The longer you let the tea sit outside the darker it will steep. Your preference will tell you exactly when to bring it in. Keep in mind sun tea is not as strong but more mellow than regular iced tea.

The best choice is a glass sun tea jar with a metal screw-top lid. Gallon size glass jars can be hard to find. So if you cant find a galloon glass jar, a variety of glass jars will work to make sun tea. Any recycled juice or food jar, a large Mason jar, or any other jar that can be closed securely will work. I used a pickle jar I purchased from Walmart. It's a Mt. Olives 80 oz Jar. I just cleaned it really good with bleach and soapy water. Then I ran it through the dishwasher on the sterilize cycle. Works great! I found it in the over sized food section for $3.78.


Information for Sun Tea Brewers:

1. Always us a clean glass jar and not a plastic jar. Make sure you choose a jar that has a metal lid and not a plastic one. Always place your sun tea jar in direct sun light.

2. Scrub your sun tea container with hot soapy water after every use I always clean mine by hand and run it through the dishwasher after each use.

3. If you want you can use distilled water instead of tap water if that is a big issue.

4. Don’t leave the sun tea to brew for more than 4 hours.

5. The key is not allowing sun tea to sit out and come to room temperature. Refrigerate and drink as soon as possible. Don’t prepare more than you can drink in a day or two. Throw out the leftovers after day two.

6. Also throw away tea that has turned thick and syrupy or that has ropey strands, which are bacteria. I mean who would drink that anyways it really is common sense here.


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Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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Stretch a Meal with Beans! Easy Beef & Bean Taco's

The family requested taco's for dinner a couple days ago. While I was preparing the taco meat I decided to toss in some pinto beans to stretch the meat and add a little protein all at the same time. I wasn't sure how this was going to go over since my family isn't used to having beans mixed in with the taco filling.

I can get a bit bored with the same old tacos, so I was really excited to have Beef & Bean Tacos for a change. I rinsed and drained the pinto beans and then tossed them into the taco meat. And just like that I easily turned one pound of seasoned ground beef into two pounds of taco meat filling.

Since I have become part of Bush's Team Bean I have learned how extremely frugal and nutritious beans can be. Lately I have been trying to incorporate more beans and whole grains into my family's diet. Sometimes it's a bit hard, but other times like with this recipe it's really easy. I am learning that beans can and add more protein and fiber to simple everyday recipes. So what I have been doing is trying to sneak beans in as best I can with my little guy.

And then just simply changing the way I cook some of my usual everyday meals by adding a variety of beans. This is really turning out to be a lot easier than I thought it would be. We had plenty of leftover taco filling so I used it to make quick beef and bean burritos for lunch the next day. So you see just by adding one can of beans to my ordinary taco filling, I was able to add some additional protein and fiber plus stretch one meal into two. Do you have a certain method you use to stretch out meals? If so I would love to hear about it.

In skillet, cook ground beef until browned; drain off any grease. Stir in taco seasoning mix and the required amount of water stated on the taco packet, mix thoroughly. Drain and rinse the pinto beans and add to the meat mixture carefully blending together. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce reduce heat to low and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. While your taco mixture is cooking heat the taco shells in the oven. I hang my taco shells upside down on the oven rack for easy heating. Be careful when removing the shells will be hot.


spoon the beef and bean mixture into taco shells and top with your favorite toppings. I topped mine with sour cream, pico de gallo, lettuce, avocados and queso fresco cheese. I added a little Shrimp Ceviche on the side.

Beef & Bean Taco's

1 - pound lean ground beef
1 - envelope taco seasoning mix
(prepared according to packet directions)
1 - 16 oz can Bush's pinto beans, drained & rinsed
10 - 12 - taco shells

Favorite Taco Toppings
lettuce
tomatoes
onions
cheese, cheddar or ranchero queso fresco
pico de gallo
sliced avocados
sour cream
taco sauce

Preheat oven for heating taco shells (see directions on box). In skillet, cook ground beef until browned; drain off any grease. Stir in taco seasoning mix and the required amount of water stated on the taco packet, mix thoroughly. Drain and rinse the pinto beans and add to the meat mixture carefully blending together. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce reduce heat to low and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. While your taco mixture is cooking heat the taco shells in the oven. I hang my taco shells upside down on the oven rack for easy heating. Be careful when removing becasuse the shells will be hot.

Use leftover taco filling for beef and bean burritos, taco salad or add on top of tortilla chips with shredded cheese for quick nachos.

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Disclosure: I’m excited that I have entered into a paid, formal partnership with Bush’s Beans but the post above isn’t a part of that agreement. This is just my way of sharing how versatile, tasty and economical beans can be.

Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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Peanut Butter Candy Cookies, Potluck Sunday & Family Adventure Day

Good morning everyone today is Potluck Sunday. Tomorrow we are headed out on a Family Adventure Day so I wanted to bake some cookies before we go. Where are we headed you ask? well we are going to Dinasaur World and Fossil Rim Wild Life Center in Glen Rose. Since we cant see everything in one day we are planning on making it an overnight trip. We will be staying at the Best Western Dinosaur Valley Inn & Suites.

The kids are so excited. We love taking little family day trips they are so fun when you want to get away and so something together. We got a great all in one deal on a mini suite and passes for Dinosaur World. Plus when we visit Fossil Rim Wildlife Center we get 50% off daily admission with our yearly zoo pass, so it really is a fun and affordable little get away.

Well, when you have a road trip with kids you need snacks. So I made one of my favorite cookies to along on for the ride. Peanut Butter Cookies are on the top of my list as on of my favorite cookies. But instead of just making plain pb cookies I took them over the top and added resees pieces to the cookie mix. Usually I just add what ever I have on hand, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, combination of both or resees pieces.

I can say that resees has to be my favorite addition to peanut butter cookies so that's usually my first choice. I am sure this recipe isn't anything new, but I wanted to share it with y'all. This will probably be my last post until Wednesday so I'm taking a we bit of a bloggy vacation. We plan on finding a nice place to have dinner together, so I am excited that I don't have to cook.

There is a restaurant in Glen Rose called Two Grannies Down Home Cookin. I was so syked to have a chance to visit and enjoy a meal, but they are only open Thur - Sun and we will be down there Monday and Tuesday, so we will have to make plans to visit another time. It really does sound like my kind of place. I hope you enjoy the cookie recipe. If you have a recipe to share I would love for you to link up.

Do you have a recipe you would like to bring to the potluck?
If so then link directly to your post, not your homepage, and please include a link back here to Mommy's Kitchen. I cant wait to see what everyone is bringing. Here is today's recipe for Peanut Butter Candy Cookies.

Cream the butter and then add the sugars. Cream the mixture again and then add the dry ingredients. Add the resees pieces last and mix to combine. Chill the cookie dough (I chilled mine about a hour). When ready to bake use a small cookie scoop and scoop out the cookie dough and shape into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten down a bit. You can add a few more resees pieces if you like. Bake at 350 F until lightly brown about 9-10 minutes. Cool on baking sheet and then transfer to a cooking rack to cool completely.


Get a big glass of milk and enjoy!!!

Peanut Butter Candy Cookies

1/2 - cup sugar
1/2 - cup packed brown sugar
1/2 - cup butter, softened
1/2 - cup creamy peanut butter
1 - egg
1 1/4 - cup all purpose flour
3/4 - teaspoon baking soda
1/2 - teaspoon baking powder
1/4 - teaspoon salt
1 - cup resees pieces

Cream the butter and then add the sugars. Cream for 2 minutes. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Mix together the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir into the sugar butter mixture. Add the resees pieces last and mix to combine. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate at least 2 - 3 hours. (I can never wait that long and usually just chill for about a hour). Preheat oven to 355°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4 inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheet. Flatten down a bit before baking. You can add a couple more resees pieces if you like. Bake until light brown, 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for a couple minutes; transfer to rack to cool completely. For chewier cookies, bake at 300°F for 15 minutes. Recipe yields - 2 dozen cookies

Recipe adapted from: Simply Recipes


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Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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Dulce De Leche Ice Cream & {Make your own Crock Pot Dulce de Leche}

Last weekend I wanted to try my hand at Homemade Dulce de leche. I was a little bit intimidated by the stove top method. Making Dulce de leche on the stove consisted of cooking the cans in a pan of hot water for several hours. Well this made me a bit nervous because I kept thinking the cans would get to hot and burst. And then I would have sweetened condensed milk all over my kitchen.

I am sure this process works but it just wasn't for me. Instead I chose the slow cooker method which I found at A Year of Slow cooking. I thought the slow cooker method was more for me, at least if the cans blew up I would be asleep and wouldn't see it happen. LOL and two the slow cooker is covered so I liked that idea a whole lot better.

Making homemade Dulce de leche out of canned sweetened condensed milk is slap yourself silly easy!! I am so glad that I finally got around to trying the slow cooker method. Now I know you can purchase canned Dulce de leche in the Latin isle of most grocery stores, but what fun would that be.

The whole process is pretty straight forward and easy and the hardest part of the whole thing is waiting for those cans to cool down so you can open them. Of coures when I did open up a can of the Dulce de leche and got my first taste It was pure heaven. All that creamy yummy caramel goodness I was hooked. Well the next thought that popped into my mind was I gotta make something spectacular with this stuff.

The kids wanted to use it for apple dipping because that is their favorite way to eat Dulce de leche. But mama wanted to use it to make Homemade Dulce de Leche Ice Cream. I have been wanting to make that for quite some time now so I thougth using the homemade stuff would be only fitting.

I found a recipe at Smitten Kitchen and adapted the recipe to use with my 4 quart ice cream maker. I was so excited. I increased the whole milk and the whipping cream but I also added half and half to my recipe. If you want the original recipe which make 1 1/2 quarts click on the link above for smitten kitchen. Now I know this ice cream recipe is in no way healthy with all that cream, but isn't great homemade ice cream suppose to be just a little bit bad for you.

Top it off by adding two cans of Dulce de leche and that is a deadly combination. I toasted some pecans and added it to the ice cream and it was so good well, actually out of this world great. I cant wait to make this ice cream again. I have included the directions on how you can make your own homemade Dulce de leche along with the recipe below. I hope you will give both of these recipes a try because they are definitely keepers!

Crock pot Dulce de Leche

2 - 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
lots of water
crock pot

Remove the label from the cans. Put cans in the bottom of your crock pot. I placed dish cloth at the bottom of my crock pot to prevent rusting before placing the cans on top of the cloth. Add enough water to completely cover the cans about 2 inches. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. When done using tongs carefully remove the cans and place on a covered counter and let cool until the cans come to room temperature. When cooled you can open the cans.

Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in Dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. I left mine in the same pot and did the quick chill. Quick-chill by putting bowl or pot in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the mixture to your ice cream canister, then add enough milk until the mixture hits the fill line on the canister. Proceed with you manufacturer directions for making ice cream.




Dulce de Leche Ice Cream

3 - cups whole milk
2 - cups half & half
1 - cup heavy cream
2 - 14 oz cans dulce de leche (found in the latin isle)
1/2- teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 - 1 - cup chopped toasted pecans
(additional milk - enough to hit the 'fill Line' of your ice cream maker)
crushed ice & rock salt, for the ice cream pail (if needed)

Bring milk and cream just to a boil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, then remove from heat and whisk in dulce de leche until dissolved. Whisk in vanilla and transfer to a metal bowl. I left mine in the same pot and did the quick chill. Quick-chill by putting bowl or pot in a larger bowl of ice and cold water and stirring occasionally until cold, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the mixture to your ice cream canister, (add enough milk until it reaches the fill line in your ice cream maker).

Add the paddle and place the lid on the canister. Place the whole canister into the freezer pail making sure to center the canister in the pail. Add some ice to hold the canister in place and then attach the motor. Start your ice cream maker and begin packing the space around the canister with ice and rock salt. Continue adding ice and salt until it reaches the top, but do not cover the top of the ice cream canister.

Freezing can take anywhere from 20-30 minutes, so add more ice and salt as needed. You will know when the ice cream is done because the ice cream maker will slow down and then stop when finished. Open canister and remove the paddle. Fold in pecans if using then transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 1 hour.


Yields- 4 quarts ice cream

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Tina, The Mom in Mommy's Kitchen

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