Blimey, that's a sugar-fix-and-a-half, considering that sweetened condensed milk contains vast amounts of sugar! SCM will keep for a long time - several weeks - in the fridge. You don't need to cover it. It's that sugar content that keeps it preserved! I'm another person guilty of eating the stuff from a spoon. I love it! Ever tried it spread on toast?? One of my self-indulgent treats. I mainly use it to make mayonnaise. Just add vinegar and stir. You can play around with it by using different kinds of vinegars, or mustards. You can chop gherkins into it to make tartare sauce, and tomato paste into it with chives for a seafood sauce. I like it with oomph and add Hot English Mustard to mine. The following is a recipe for the easiest and nicest cheesecake in the world. It calls for 1 cup SCM, but you can always make half a batch of the filling and use it to fill mini pastry or crumb cases. Lemon Cheesecake Base: 250g plain sweet biscuit crumbs 125g butter, melted Lightly grease a 23cm springform tin with butter. Combine biscuit crumbs and butter, press mixture onto the base and sides of prepared tin. Chill. Filling: 500g cream cheese 1 cup condensed milk 4 tablespoons lemon juice 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind 2 teaspoons vinegar 1 cup whipped cream extra cream nutmeg Soften the cream cheese, then beat with condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon rind and vinegar until the mixture is smooth. Carefully fold in the whipped cream. Pour mixture into prepared base and chill overnight. Serve topped with extra cream and sprinkled with nutmeg. Or you can make half a batch of ice cream: Ice Cream (1) 2 tins evaporated milk 1 tin condensed milk Stir all together and put in freezer until partly set. Beat until creamy, then return to freezer. To prevent icing up of the surface, use an airtight container. For variety, add any of the following: any liqueur; dried fruit soaked in liqueur; cocoa or chocolate syrup; crushed nuts; fruit pieces or crushed fruit (especially mango, strawberries or passionfruit); chocolate pieces and peppermint essence; rum and raisins; crushed butterscotch lollies; or top with crushed peanut brittle, toasted coconut, chopped preserved ginger or other additions to suit. Or you can make half a batch of this - or a full batch and add some evaporated milk or cream and a little extra sugar to make up for the quantity of SCM. With all SCM, it's very sweet and very rich, and could do with some adjustment, IMO! Baked Rice Pudding (1) 3 generous tablespoons rice 1 cup condensed milk 2 cups water pinch salt vanilla or other flavouring 2 teaspoons butter pinch nutmeg Put the rice into a buttered pudding dish, add remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle a little nutmeg on top and bake at 150C for 1 1/2-2 hours until set. Serve hot or cold. Try this on your next cake: Condensed Milk Icing 1 cup sifted icing sugar 1 good teaspoon lemon juice condensed milk flavouring as desired (finely grated orange or lemon rind, vanilla, cocoa, melted dark chocolate, coffee or coffee essence etc) Blend all ingredients, adding enough condensed milk very gradually to make the mixture into a thick cream. Condensed Milk Teacake 2 1/2 cups self-raising flour 1 egg 1 dessertspoon (2 teaspoons) sugar 2 tablespoons condensed milk 1 dessertspoon butter or margarine Sift flour and rub in butter. Add sugar. Beat the egg and combine with the condensed milk and just enough warm water to make a light workable dough. Shape into a roll, glaze with milk and a little sugar and bake in a hot oven. May be served hot or cold, with butter. (Teacakes are usually served for morning or afternoon tea, often sliced thinly and with butter spread on them, but that is optional. I often serve them with a dollop of softly whipped cream.) You can boil up the leftover SCM to make a small batch of caramel sauce! Here's a full-batch recipe: Using a 400g tin of sweetened condensed milk: Oven Method: Pour condensed milk into 23cm pie plate. Cover with aluminium foil; place in larger shallow pan. Fill larger pan with hot water. Bake at 220°C for 1 hour or until thick and caramel-coloured. Beat until smooth. Stovetop Method: Pour condensed milk into top of a double boiler; place over boiling water. Simmer over low heat for 1-1 1/2 hours or until thick and caramel-coloured, stirring occasionally. Beat until smooth. Microwave Method: Pour condensed milk into a 2 litre glass measuring cup. Cook on 50% power (medium) 4 minutes, stirring briskly every 2 minutes until smooth. Cook on 30% power (medium-low) 20-25 minutes or until very thick and caramel-coloured, stirring briskly every 4 minutes during the first 16 minutes and every 2 minutes during the last 4-10 minutes. Honestly, hunt through your recipes (especially things like pie fillings) and you'll get zillions of ideas. You can always make half a batch of anything, as I do all the time anyway, having only one to feed! I know one person who buys SCM in tubes, and uses it to sweeten and milk her coffee. Very convenient at work, she says.

I can also recommend Sharon's (Canarybird) Lemon Squares. These are soooooo goooood! Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table LEMON GRAHAM SLICE ================== SharonCB 1-1/2 cups (350 mL) Graham cracker crumbs 1/3 cup (75 mL) packed brown sugar 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) baking powder 1/8 teaspoon (0.5 mL) salt 1/2 cup (125 mL) butter or margarine 10 ounces (284 mL)sweetened condensed milk 1/2 cup (125 mL) lemon juice 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla Bottom Layer Crumble first 5 ingredients together well and pack into 9 x 9 inch (22 x 22 cm) ungreased pan. Set aside. Top Layer Combine milk, lemon juice and vanilla in bowl and stir. Spread over bottom layer. Bake in 350ðF (180ðC) oven for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool and cut into 36 squares. Source: "Company's Coming" - 150 Delicious Squares

EASY SWEET TANGY MUSTARD 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 (8 ounce) bottle prepared mustard 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce Stir together all ingredients until blended. Store in refrigerator up to 3 months. Serve with pretzels or egg rolls or as a sandwich spread. Makes about 3 cups Source: Southern Living, November 2001

Linda, thanks for the reminder about these recipes - I haven't had homemade Irish Cream in years and I've never made it, I've received it as a gift and I just loved it! I think its time I do it myself! I might try the Kahlua too, sounds like a party :-)