Pretzel Snowmen

1 C. White Chocolate Chips

50 Mini Chocolate Chips

Orange Decorator's Gel

Fruit Leather

10 Gummy Rings

10 Gum drops

10 Pretzel Rods

- Melt white chocolate chips over a double boiler or in microwave.

- Dip Pretzel Rods one at a time into the chocolate, use a knife to smooth the chocolate 2/3 of the way down.

- Place pretzel on a cookie shet lined with parchment paper.

- Press on mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons. Use orange decorator's gell to add the nose.

- Chill in refridgerator until chocolate hardens.

- Tie fruit leather on for scarves (we cut them in half to make them skinnier and easier to tie)

- Stretch gummy rings over the end of the pretzel.

- Dip gumdrop in melted chocolate and press on top to complete the hat.

- Display and serve and cute holiday cups, great for gifts!

compliments of: Amy and Family Fun Magazine

Chocolate Truffles

1 lb. Dark or Milk Chocolate
1 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp. Flavoring of choice (Amy did vanilla bean)

- Melt Chocolate in a double boiler
- Bring Cream to a boil and stir into chocolate until smooth (do not use an electric mixer)
- Add flavoring and chill in Refridgerator until HARD.
- Roll into small balls and refridgerate 1 hour.
- Melt desired chocolate in double boiler
- Dip balls into chocolate and use a toothpick to smooth the top.

Compliments of: Amy

White Truffles

1 lb. White Chocolate
3/4 C. Heavy Whipping Cream
1 tsp. Flavoring of choice (Amy did Rasberry Extract)
2 Tbs. Jam (Amy did raspberry)

- Melt Chocolate in Double Boiler
- In seperate bowl, boil cream.
- Mix the melted chocolate and boiling cream together, start in the center and mix out until smooth. (do not use an electric mixer)
- Add the flavoring and jam
- Cool in fridge until HARD.
- Wash your hands with COLD water then roll into balls. Rinse your hands again in cold water if the chocolate is melting
- Refridgerate Balls for at leat an hour
- Melt desired chocolate in double boiler for dipping. (Amy did white chocolate)
- Dip the balls in chocolate and use a toothpick to cover the tops were the poker was from dipping.
- Amy drizzled a pink white chocolate over top for some extra cuteness...YUM!

compliments of: Amy

Fudge

2/3 C. Evaporated Milk (2/3 C)
3 C. Sugar
3/4 C. Butter
1 Bag Chocolate Chips
1 12 oz. Can Marshmellow Creme
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
(or one vanilla bean, slice down the center of the vanilla bean, press and slide down bean with edge of knife and the bean will come out in a paste. Use this and the bean pod for flavor, remove the pod after cooking)

- Bring sugar, butter and milk to a boil.
- Boil 5 minutes or until thermometer freaches 234
- Remove from Heat and stir in Chocolate Chips and Marshmellow creme until melted and well blended.
- Pour into a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and let cool to room temp.
- Turn out on cutting board and cut into squares with pizze cutter or make fun holiday shapes with cookie cutters. You can also press into sprinkles for more holiday fun!
- You can also make flavored fudge, like mint, by adding 1-2 tsp. extract to the mix after cooking. Amy melted some green mint chocolate chips and swirled those on top for a cute topping!

compliments of: Amy

Holiday Favorite's and Candy Making!

Thursday November 19th at 6:30

Host: Amy

Cost: $3

Amy is going to share with us her secrets of making pie crust and her candy making skills! Please bring your favorite holiday dish to share with the group for dinner and then for dessert we'll satisfy our sweet tooth with Amy's "sweet" culinary skills.

Please RSVP in the comment box with your name.Thanks!

(If you have recipes to share don't forget to bring them or e-mail them to me to post on our blog!)

Crockpot

I (Melissa) highly recommend the cookbook: 101 Things To Do With A Slow Cooker and the blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ It’s called A Year of Slow Cooking and has some fun things on it. Make sure and check the reviews and comments on the recipes because some of her attempts didn’t turn out so well but some are really yummy like the Pasta Fagioli which tastes like one of the Olive Garden soups.

Bodacious Bean Dip (crockpot)

1 can refried beans
½ cup green onion
1 ½ teaspoons taco seasoning (whatever spices you like in your taco meat)
½ cup cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients except cheese and put in 2 to 3 ½ quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for 30 minutes and then on low heat for another 30 minutes, or on low heat for 2-3 hours. Add cheese the last 30 minutes (I think it would be fine if you added the cheese at the beginning. You really just need everything to get warmed up.) This is great with tortilla chips or as a filling for bean burritos.

(compliments of Melissa)

Barbecue Meatballs (crockpot)

Grease slow cooker to make clean up easier. Put in however many frozen meatballs you want (I use Costco’s frozen meatballs). Squeeze in enough barbecue sauce to coat all of the meatballs. Add a little more sauce so it isn’t too dry, you will use ½ to a whole bottle depending on the amount of meatballs you use. Turn the crockpot on low for 3 to 4 hours. You can add dry or fresh chopped onions to this or substitute cocktail sausages for the meatballs. We like these on hoagie rolls with provolone cheese. You can also substitute spaghetti or marinara sauce for the barbecue sauce.

(compliments of Melissa)

Pepperocini Roast (crockpot)

1 beef rump round roast (or whatever is cheapest)
1-2 Tablespoons minced garlic (depends on taste)
1 jar pepperocinis

Dump everything into the crockpot and set it on low. I usually put my roast in straight from the freezer at breakfast time and it is ready for dinner. 8-10 hours. One hour before time to eat, take the lid off of the crockpot and shred the meat with two forks. This allows the juices to penetrate better.

We love this on a pita with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomatoes and muenster cheese. Yum! I use the leftover meat to make a goulash. I just reheat the meat in a pan. Add some sour cream, a little milk, season salt, and pepper. It is really yummy over noodles.

Erika’s Cream Cheese Chicken (crockpot)

5 Frozen Chicken Breasts (or 4 or 6)
1 package of Italian Salad Dressing Mix
¼ cup of water

Put in crockpot and cook on high 5-7 hours. About 30 minutes before dinner add 1 can cream of mushroom soup, 1 can cream of chicken soup, and 1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese (cubed). I also like to add 1 can of mushrooms drained. Serve over rice.

(compliments of Melissa)