Stuffed Mushrooms

This Stuffed Mushroom recipe from Cooks.com was delicious as part of our New Year's Eve celebration meal. (Ok, the kids wouldn't touch them, but Jesse and I LOVED them!)  I used only 1/4 lb. Jimmy Dean Sausage and still got 12 Stuffed Mushrooms.  Also, a great way to cook them is in a muffin tin so they stay upright.

Brown Sugar Smokies

These Brown Sugar Smokies from All Recipes are great as an appetizer or as part of a breakfast buffet.  We served them as part of our New Year's Eve celebration meal with the following dipping sauce:

Creamy BBQ Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip)
3 T. BBQ sauce (good quality)

Mix together and serve as a dipping sauce for Brown Sugar Smokies.

Baked Potato Wedges

Our New Year's Eve celebration meal included these delicious potato wedges.  We served them with  homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, although the kids enjoyed them with ketchup.

Potato Wedges
4 large russet potatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T. parsley flakes
1 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic
3/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes with oil and seasonings; toss well to coat.

Arrange potatoes in a single layer on prepared pan.  Bake for 50-55 minutes, turning wedges halfway through cooking time.  Sprinkle with additional seasoned salt, if desired (we thought they were great without any additional seasonings).

Nutella No Bake Cookies

I love peanut butter chocolate no bake cookies, however Morgan can't eat them, so I was excited when I found this recipe.  I made them for an activity days refreshment.  They were yummy--of course I missed the peanut butter, but Morgan loved them and they were pretty tasty still. :-)

Nutella No-Bake Cookies

8 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup Nutella
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup hazelnuts chopped (I didn't have these so I left them out)
1/4 cup flaked coconut

In a medium saucepan, bring butter, sugar, cocoa and milk to a boil and cook for one minute.  Add Nutella, vanilla and salt and stir to combine.  Remove from heat.  combine oatmeal, hazelnuts and coconut into a medium-sized bowl.  Add chocolate Nutella mixture and mix to combine.  Spoon 1 inch balls onto Silpat or parchment paper and sprinkle with a few extra chopped hazelnuts.  Cool for 20 minutes.

Fudge!

I was in the Christmas Goodie Baking spirit yesterday.  I don't know why I chose fudge, because honestly I'm not a big fan of fudge, but it seemed Christmasy and easy, so I spent some time searching on Pinterest and found a few fudge recipes to try.  All four turned out good, but I'm listing these in my favorite order:

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Fudge
(yummy!  you just can't beat chocolate and peanut butter!)

 3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
7 ounce jar Marshmallow Crème
1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine 1 1/2 cups sugar, 6 tablespoons butter and 1/3 cup evaporated milk in a medium pot.  Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling for 4 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.  Remove from heat and stir in chocolate pieces until melted.  Add 1 cup marshmallow crème and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.  Beat until well blended.  Pour into a lined or greased 13x9 inch pan.

Repeat the process with remaining ingredients substituting peanut butter.  Then spread over the chocolate mixture in the pan.  Cool and cut into squares.


Eggnog Fudge
(this was Morgan's favorite out of the two she could eat...she loves eggnog!)

2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup dairy eggnog
12 ounces white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, plus a little more for the top of the fudge
7 ounces marshmallow crème
1 tablespoon rum extract

Line a 8x8 inch pan with foil or parchment paper.  In a heavy saucepan combine sugar, butter and eggnog.  Bring to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Continue boiling 8-10 minutes over medium heat or until a candy thermometer reaches 234 degrees, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.  Remove from heat.  Using a wooden spoon, work quickly to stir in white chocolate and nutmeg until chocolate is melted and smooth.  Stir in marshmallow crème and rum.  Beat until well blended and then pour into prepare pan.  Sprinkle a little freshly ground nutmeg on top.  Let stand at room temperature until cooled.  When completely cooled, cut into squares.  Store in a covered container.

Nutella & Sea Salt Fudge
(this is quite rich and more of a dark chocolate flavor, but nice and smooth)

14 ounces Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
8 ounces 60% Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
1 cup Nutella
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoons Sea Salt

Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.  In a medium glass or stainless steel bowl, stir together sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, bittersweet chocolate chips, nutella and butter.  Form a double-boiler by setting the bowl over a medium pot of gently simmering water.  Stir until the chocolate chips are melted and mixture is smooth, 5-7 minutes.  Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan, spread the top smooth with a spatula, and sprinkle with sea salt.  Refrigerate until the fudge is firm.  Cut into squares and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
(this one was good flavor but a little gritty on the texture)

2 cups sugar
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter.

Bring sugar and milk to a boil.   Boil for 2 1/2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla until smooth and creamy.  Pour into a 8x8 lined pan.  Cool and cut into squares.