Easy Fudge - no oven involved!

Summer and it is hot, hot, hot yet the sweet tooth demands satisfaction. Even hanging over a boiling pot on the stove is too much when the temperatures go higher. Here is a recipe for a sweet treat that has been around for ages. Super simple but still tasty enough for a hungry sweet craving. You can always pretend you spent hours in the kitchen just to provide your family a treat! Granted, the more elaborate fudge recipes can produce a more profession fudge but I've never gotten any complaints when I've whipped up a batch of this one. Super Simple Easy Fudge 2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (Not evaporated milk!) 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Just a tiny pinch of salt Gently heat the sweetened condensed milk in a heavy pot. Don't let it brown or burn! When it is hot but not boiling, remove from the heat, and stir in the chocolate chips and mix until smooth. Quickly stir in the vanilla and immediately pour/spread the mixture into a greased, 8x8-inch square pan or whatever you have on hand that works for you. Refrigerate until hard and then cut into squares. It helps to let it sit out a bit before cutting. Ideas . . . I've pretty much stuck to chocolate but it seems to me that white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, or peanut butter chips would produce an interesting change of pace. If you decide to add some nuts, remember they will hurry up the thickening time so be prepared to mix and pour immediately. Salt seems to be the rage on sweets. If you are of that inclination, omit the salt from the fudge and lightly sprinkle the top with coarse sea salt before putting it in the refrigerator. Nuts and mixed dried fruit is good, too. Just remember it will thicken more quickly so you need to get it mixed and in the pan fast.