Who is Mrs. Hall, you ask? I have no idea. I do know that this is the recipe for English Toffee that has been used for generations in my family. My dad taught me to make it and I now make it with my kids. I suppose one of those wise ancestors of mine knew a Mrs. Hall that made the perfect English Toffee, and I’m glad she shared her recipe! She has done her family name proud! It is delightful, super easy, and a perfect Christmas time treat!
English Toffee
Ingredients: 1/2 lb. butter 1 c. sugar 1 t. vanilla 3 T. water about 6 chocolate bars topping of choice
Combine all ingredients. Cook over medium heat until brown. When cooked, pour into a greased 13×9 inch pan. While hot, cover with chocolate bars (I just use Hershy’s bars). When the chocolate looks fully melted, spread it evenly with a silicone spatula. You can sprinkle it with nuts or toppings while the chocolate is still soft. Allow to become hard and then break into pieces.
After the chocolate melts, spread it evenly with a silicone spatula and let it cool
Flan is a common dessert in Spain. Some even credit the Spanish for preserving the sweet version of this recipe from the Romans. This is an easy instant pot version that I make in my 8qt. Instant Pot and have loved each time I have made it!
The dark syrup pictured here is just how I like it!
Ingredients: 1/2 c. sugar 2 T. water 3 large eggs 2 c. half and half 1 t. vanilla pinch of salt 1/4 c. sugar
Set out 6 custard cups (Make sure all 6 fit into your instant pot. I use a trivet at the bottom and then another trivet, set upside down on top of the bottom cups, to make a two stories of custard cups.). In a medium sauce pan, stir the 1/2 c. sugar and 2 T. water over med. high heat until it starts to brown. The darker the caramel gets, the more bitter the flavor. I prefer mine pretty dark, my family likes theirs very light. Pour the caramel evenly into the custard cups. Rinse the sauce pan to reuse in the next step.
In a mixing bowl, beat 3 eggs with a whisk. Set aside. In the sauce pan, mix the 2 c. half and half, 1/4 c. sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Stir over med. heat until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture into the eggs while whisking constantly. Pour very slowly at first to temper the eggs. You can pour faster towards the end. Cover each cup tightly with foil. Put 1.5 c. of water in your Instant Pot and then add your covered custard cups. Cook on high for 9 minutes and do a full natural release. When the pressure is down, remove the lid and press cancel. When the custard cups are cool enough to touch, move them to the fridge to chill for a minimum of 4 hours. Serve by running a knife around the edge of the custard to release it from the cup and then inverting it onto a plate.
Arroz con Leche is a popular dessert eaten at Christmas time in Costa Rica. This recipe uses a 6qt Instant Pot to make a delicious and creamy traditional Costa Rican delight!
To the Instant Pot, add: 1 c. white rice 1.5 c. water 1/4 t. salt Cook for 3 minutes with a 10 minute natural release.
To the cooked rice, add: 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. evaporated milk
In a separate bowl, whisk together: 1/2 c. evaporated milk 1/2 t. vanilla 2 eggs Pour this egg mixture through a strainer into the Instant Pot with the rice mixture already in it. Turn on the saute feature and stir constantly until it just begins to boil. Remove from heat and serve with cinnamon sprinkle on top. The rice pudding will thicken as it cools. It can also be served chilled.
This Costa Rican style rice (Arroz Arreglada) is cooked an 8 quart instant pot. It reminds me of my abuela’s kitchen ❤. Makes a great side dish for Christmas tamales!
Indgredients: -4 c. Goya Jasmine Rice, rinsed and drained (this is the closest in flavor to the rice you can find in Costa Rica) -4 c. chicken broth -3 T. ghee (or oil of preference) -1 t. salt -half of a 3.5 oz package of achiote (I have only used the paste, not the powder) -1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced -1/2 c. diced onion -1/2 c. diced carrots -1/2 c. diced celery -1/2 c. diced red bell pepper -1/4 c. chopped up cilantro
In an 8qt. Instant Pot, saute the vegetables in the ghee until garlic and onion are fragrant. Crumble the achiote into the pot. Some people dissolve the achiote first, but I don’t. Add the remaining ingredients. Make sure all the bits of rice are in the liquid. Any rice not in the liquid has the potential of not cooking. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes and do a 10 minute natural release. Fluff and serve!
These crunchy kale chips are so yummy that I prefer them to popcorn or potato chips. I am not kidding! The kids love them too, and they make a perfect snack or side dish for lunch. They get eaten so fast that it is hard to stock up on them though.
I started with 2 bunches of organic kale from the store plus a little bit from my garden. Any type of curly leafed kale will do.. I washed it, removed the spines, and dried the leaves very well because the flavor sauce won’t stick to wet leaves.
To dry my leaves quickly, I aimed a personal fan on them until they dried.
In my Vitamix, I blended 1 c. of cashews, 1/2 of a red bell pepper, 1 t garlic powder, 2 t onion powder, 2 t sea salt, 1/3 c nutritional yeast, 4 T olive oil, 1 squeeze of lemon juice, and 1/4 to 1/2 c water (you need enough water to get it to mix up but not so much that it makes it runny). BTW, making your own homemade garlic and onion powder from dehydrated garlic and onions is easy to do and would make these even better!
I then put all my kale in a bowl and poured the sauce over it. I rubbed the sauce, gently sort of massaging it around on all the leaves. This serves to distribute the sauce and soften the fibrous parts.
My recipe for Kale Chips was inspired by this recipe from Little Green Dot. The recipe is mostly the same, with just a few changes of my own.
Once the sauce is generously covering all the leaves, arrange them in a single layer on your dehydrator tray and let them go until they are crunchy. Keeping the temp around 135°F is best for preserving nutritional qualities.
Final product!
After you have made these and your family has devoured them, read this list of the benefits of kale and give yourself a pat on the back 🙂.
Back-to-school season is just around the corner for our family. As a homeschool mom, just like other back-to-schoolers, this season is very busy as we get ourselves back into the learning groove. In order to make dinner prep easier, we’ve been stocking the freezer with easy-prep healthy meals and snacks.
This recipe idea was inspired by Home. Made. Interest. I have loved this recipe, and with a few changes, it has become one of my favorites!
This “spaghetti” and meatballs recipe is a great comfort food that you can feel good about eating because it is packed with healthy ingredients. With a 20 minute prep time, this recipe is one of my favorite go-to recipes for the busy back-to-school season! Some homemade frozen meatballs or homemade tomato paste make it even better!
I start with about 9 medium sized fresh or frozen tomatoes. During the summer, I throw extra tomatoes right into the freezer and save them up for the winter. Then, when I’m ready to use them, I put them in a bowl of hot water for a few minutes until the skins slip right off. I also use any ripe fresh tomatoes I have on hand. I take my skinless frozen tomatoes and my fresh tomatoes and cut them up roughly, removing cores. Then I smash them up in a bowl with a potato masher. I then add about 1 cup of tomato paste and 1 cup of water and mix it all together. Add minced garlic, onion salt, and basil to taste. Chop up one onion and mix it in. I chop the onion into big chunks to make it easy for my picky eaters to remove. LOL. At this point, I add whatever other spices or mix-ins I am in the mood for. Some of my favorites are sautéed mushrooms or capers, although mushrooms and capers are best when added at the end of the cook time so they don’t lose their flavor soaking for hours in the midst of a tomatoey milieu 😉.
These are my frozen tomatoes. It is so easy to just rinse, dry, and throw them in the freezer! Freezer burned peels get discarded and the inside is perfect.
Next, I wash the outside of one spaghetti squash and cut it in half, scraping out the seeds with a spoon. Place it in the slow cooker, cut sides down.
Pour the sauce around the squash and add in 2-4 T. of butter. Now take about 12 frozen meatballs and arrange them around the squash. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high.
This is what it looks like fully assembled before cooking.
About 20 minutes before you are ready to serve, remove the squash onto a plate and leave it to cool down a bit. Once the squash is out of the crock, stir that sauce around. You can leave the lid off for the last 20-30 minutes of cooking.
After the squash has cooled on a plate for about 20 minutes, you can scrape out the “spaghetti” with a fork and place it in a colander over the sink or over a plate to drain a bit. Give the sauce one last stir and pour it over a bed of squash. Bon apetít!
