Garlic Infused Olive Oil

Garlic is one of the loves of my life and when you add it to Olive Oil I'm in heaven. If you have not tried this it is a must try. It's expensive to buy, but I finally mastered a easy recipe that tastes great and will save you money as well. So get yourself some nice crusty bread and some grated Italian cheese like Parmesan or Pecorino Romano. Did you know that this hard cheese is a high calcium lower fat cheese and packed with protein? They are very healthy cheeses to eat, I just love that. Warning this could turn you into a bread, cheese & oil eating machine. It's a bit touchy to make stove top but I mastered this baby in the crockpot. WARNING! The garlic has to simmer to make sure that you do not risk botulism poisoning. So simmer away and enjoy the aroma of garlic in your home while it cooks.

•  1 1/2 cups Olive Oil
•  9 cloves of garlic

You will need to smash out the garlic cloves and crush them with a flat knife, this will now make the skin peel easily off of the clove. Slice off the little root end of the cloves and them throw away. after peeling all of the cloves smash one more time with the knife to help release the garlic goodness. I must confess that at this time I stop and smell my sticky garlic fingers, oh how I love the smell of garlic.

Now place the garlic cloves single layer in a crockpot and cover with the Olive Oil. This is where you need to know how high a heat your crockpot truly cooks at. I have 4 of them and they all seem to vary in the amount of heat that they put out. The one I used is older and cooked mine perfectly on low for 2 hours. Look at the oil and it should be hot enough to see light bubbles coming up, but you do not want to simmer long enough to turn the garlic cloves brown. The first time you make this I would start checking it after 30 minutes.

Once the oil has simmered I pour it into my little oil canister while straining it through a little wire strainer and funnel into my oil container.

Let cool on counter and then put on stopper and store in cabinet. To think that I almost donated my old oil canister to a second hand place. I always loved this little canister and never wanted to part with it. I am so glad that I saved this and have a use for it once again.

By the way I made this oil one week ago and we have already almost made all gone. Mangia!