Betty's Caramel Candy

Plan on sharing these or plan on putting on 10 pounds, you decide! Buttery, caramel heaven!

2 cups sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup butter
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine all the ingredients except for vanilla in a large pot. Cook over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook until temperature reaches 250, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Pour into a well buttered 9x13 pan. When firm but not completely cool, flip out of pan onto parchment paper and cut into pieces with a pizza cutter. Wrap in wax paper or cellophane. I make turtles with these caramels but placing the squares on top on pecan halves and then letting them melt over the nuts in a warm oven. It is a lot easier than spooning hot caramel over the pecans!

Betty's Corn Chowder

This is my favorite homemade soup. It is so simple and perfect for a cold winter day. A one pot meal that you can have ready in about 40 minutes.

1 boneless ham steak, cubed
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 16 oz. cans of chicken broth
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of whole kernel corn
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, cubed
3 Tbs. flour
2 cups milk
4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1-2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil in a stockpot. Add ham, potatoes, carrots and onions and cook on medium to medium high heat for about 5 minutes, I add fresh ground pepper at this time. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add creamed corn and whole kernel corn and bring back to low boil. Taste for seasoning at this time, the amount of salt you will need depends on how salty your ham was. In separate bowl, slowly whisk milk into the flour so that you will not have any lumps. Add milk and flour mixture to pot, stir. Add cream cheese. Bring back to a low boil while stirring and breaking up the cream cheese. Once the cream cheese has dissolved, add the grated cheddar. Keep at a low boil, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender. Enjoy!