CROCK POT BRAND RECIPES RECIPES

Steps:

• Put ingredients into a 4 or 5-quart crockpot in EXACT order as listed. Cover and cook on LOWEST setting [on your appliance] for 3 hours. DO NOT remove lid! Turn off and allow to cool slightly. Mixture will not be melted but will be soft. Mix thoroughly and drop by teaspoon size cookie dropper or a teaspoon onto wax paper. Let cool thoroughly. Makes approximately 150 - 170 pieces, depending, of course, on how large you make the pieces. NOTE: This candy is made best by following the recipe to the letter. Make other variations and changes at your own risk, [for example, using pecans or almonds in place of peanuts; white chocolate chips instead of almond bark, etc.] as this is the voice of experience speaking. Please take into consideration that it may alter the quality of the finished product. Thank you and LOL! **NOTE: There seems to be discrepencies in the terms crockpot and slow cooker. This recipe is for a crockpot which, when on low, will only melt the ingredients. A slow cooker will get hotter and start to cook the ingredients, thus resulting in an inferior product. Please be aware of what kind of appliance you have. It seems the older "crockpot" works best. There have been some who have burned their ingredients because their appliance is too hot. The makers and manufacturers of these appliances seem to interchange the description of their appliances calling slow cookers crockpots. It seems that Rival owns the name crockpot, therefore, others can't use the name crockpot, they are slow cookers. It's very confusing, but slow cookers, indeed, cook hotter, which could result in burning of this recipe. There are many discussions and explanations of this subject within the comments.
• ***NOTE I've been asked to add this note. If your crockpot appliance is below 275 watts, you should not have any problem with the candy burning if you follow the ingredients and the directions, however, all crockpots are different, so please pay attention to your cooking process. Look on the bottom of your appliance to see the wattage. The new crockpots get hotter than the older crockpots and the slow cookers get even hotter.
• DISCLAIMER: I have not made 1/2 a recipe, used peanut butter chips, mint chips, almonds, pecans, coconut or any other ingredients other than what the recipe calls for,(except for caramel and it was a disaster and I threw it away), I have not made it in the microwave nor have I made it on top of the stove, as this is a crockpot recipe, therefore, if you want to use any other ingredients or make it any other way, please do so, but it may not have the same consistency, texture, taste, nor gloss that this one has and the end results may not be the quality you are hoping for.

Steps:

• Brown meat in a large deep skillet on medium-high heat; season with generously with salt and a little pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat up into small pieces.
• When meat is no longer pink, drain all the liquid from pan. Add the onions, garlic and bell peppers to the meat and cook an addition 3-4 minutes.
• Transfer the meat to the slow cooker, then add tomato, cilantro, tomato sauce, 1 1/4 cups water, alcaparrado (or olives) [I usually add some of the brine from the jar for added flavor] then add the spices.
• Set slow cooker to HIGH for 3 to 4 hours or LOW for 6 to 8.
• After it's ready, taste for salt and add more as needed [I added a little more cumin and garlic powder at the end as well since the crock pot tends to mute the flavors of herbs and spices].
• Discard the bay leaves and serve over brown rice.
• Makes about 5 3/4 cups.