Manic Monday Meals ~ Last Minute Party Treats

I love baking as you all know by now but sadly I don't get out very often to go to a party. So of course when I found out about a New Years Eve party I was all about making something new and fun! I made 3 (I know I can't help it) so of course I was running around like a nut and even ended up being late to the party. Which of course let to my best friend getting worried and calling my mom to see if I was there. HEHE of course that meant that mom called me and gave me the mom talk about driving when it is cold and icy out ... Thanks Tarra at 34 I got my new years lecture ... lol. Thanks mom the roads were super clear.

You must head over to see Jami and say hi she gave me the first two recipes!

First off was supper easy!

Pretzel Treats

Bag of "O" shaped pretzels (squares work OK if you're in a pinch.)
2 small bags of Hershey's Hugs (or a big one if you can find one)
Bag of Christmas Colored M&Ms

1)Have one of your kids unwrap all the Hugs. Good luck keeping them from eating them. :) Maybe you should buy three bags.

2)Place wax paper over a baking sheet and scatter "O"s on the wax paper.
(Eat the broken ones, because they are of no use to you in this recipe.)

3)Place one unwrapped HUG in the center of each "O".

Place this whole tray into the oven at about 250-300 degrees. DO NOT go above 300. I have found that if you do, the chocolate browns and hardens at the tips, making it very hard to smoosh down (that's totally not a word).

4) Place M&Ms in the centers of the Hugs and press them in so that the chocolate spreads out to fill the pretzel. If you are careful, you can keep the stripes intact. They look really cute!

5) Place tray in freezer (or put them out on your patio table) for about 5 minutes. It doesn't take long till they are firm enough to remove from the tray.

ALEXIS NOTES: I looked and looked but only could find these square pretzels. I used both Peppermint kisses and the Chocolate kind. I used coconut m&m's with the chocolate and no m&m's for the peppermint.

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Candy Cane Brownie Bites

1 brownie mix and ingredients
24 peppermint kisses (or another flavor)
chocolate coating for dipping
crushed candy canes

1) Make Brownie Mix as the box directs.

2) Bake and cool

3) Smoosh (we've all agreed that this is now a word) brownie around kiss.

4) Place in the freezer until firm

5) Melt the chocolate in the micowave (DON'T OVER HEAT ... SEE pic below what will happen)

6) Add a little bit of shortening to thin the chocolate out. Drop the bites in the chocolate and roll them around a bit. Remove from the choc and place on wax paper until the choc sets up. It will set up super fast because the bites are frozen, so if you are going to sprinkle, do it quickly.

7) Sprinkle with the crushed candy canes.

ALEXIS NOTES: I usually would use the brownie mix I buy in the bulk section but was out this time. I would suggest you don't let the brownies completely cool, it is easier if they are warmer. Watch your chocolate (or it will look like the pic below).

This is what burnt chocolate looks like!

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Spicy Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1 (4 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• Directions

  1. Place the garbanzo beans, feta cheese, drained red peppers, lemon juice, parsley, cayenne pepper, and salt in the bowl of a food processor; blend until smooth.

ALEXIS NOTES: I doubled it, I REALLY need to stop doing this I always make too much ... lol. I did add a little olive oil to help my mixer but maybe shouldn't have it made it a little thiner. Overall a good dish but just made too much :).

Happy Monday!! Hope you have a party you can make one of these or all for!!!