Tis the Season ... Homemade Butterfingers

Another easy and yummy recipe that can be whipped up and given as a gift.  Who doesn't LOVE homemade candy!  I found some cute Christmas themed bins that I found at the Dollar Tree and packed it up and gave it to the family my women's group adopted for Christmas.

I hit up Winco bulk section for all that I needed.  I've seen this recipe on many sites but I'll give credit to the site I pinned it from, Plain Chicken.

Ingredients:

1 lb. candy corn
16oz jar peanut butter (I used Peter Pan Honey Roasted peanut butter)
16oz pkg. chocolate candy coating

Directions:

Melt candy corn in microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking in 15-second intervals til melted, stirring after each interval. Stir in peanut butter. Spread mixture in an 8x8 pan lined with parchment. Cool completely. Cut into squares. Dip in melted chocolate candy coating. Lay on waxed paper to set.

ALEXIS NOTES: I went to the bulk section and picked up candy corn (thanks to the little scale thingy I was able to get the right amount .. I doubled the recipe).  For the chocolate I used chocolate melts these are my favorite and are cheaper then chocolate chips in a bag (16oz equals 2 cups).  I used a silicone mold that I have that made the perfect bars.  I also experimented and used a snowman and gingerbread man silicone mold.  Have fun with it!

Are you already for Christmas?

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Holiday Cheer ... Mini Sausage Wreath

Next on the my list to make for the party was some party food.  I saw this idea for a Mini Sausage Wreath on Free N Fun (this is a great site for many cool ideas).   This was one of the simplest things I've made, Caden actually did all the rolling of the mini pigs in a blanket and helped make the ring to look like a wreath.  He loved it and I loved the help.  The only hard part was making a pepper shaped into a ribbon.  My ribbon wasn't beautiful but it gave the right look so people at least knew what it was .. lol.

Ingredients

Mini Sausages

Refrigerated Crescent Dough Rolls

Red Bell Pepper

Diced Rosemary

1/3 cup Butter

1/2 cup BBQ Sauce

1/2 cup Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to the temperature specified on the package of Refrigerated Crescent Dough Rolls. Drain the liquid off of the mini sausages.
2. Unroll the crescent dough and separate at the perforations to create 4 rectangles. Press together the remaining perforation in each rectangle. With a knife or pizza cutter, cut each rectangle lengthwise into 8 strips making a total of 32 strips.
3. Wrap one strip of dough around each mini sausage. Lay out the crescent-wrapped sausages with their sides touching on an ungreased cookie sheet in a circle forming a wreath shape.
4. Bake for 11-15 minutes or until golden brown. Melt 1/3 cup of butter and brush the butter on top of the crescent-wrapped sausages. Sprinkle the rosemary on top of the butter.
5. Cut a red bell pepper into a bow shape for garnish. Combine the BBQ sauce and cranberry sauce in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until heated through. Serve with wreath for dipping.

ALEXIS NOTES: I skipped the rosemary.  The sauce I must admit was not for me, and most of the kids skipped it too.  It looked so pretty when it was done, I was very pleased with mine and Caden's creation!

Hope you are all have a great day!

Thanks for Stopping by!

Don't forget to see the parties I link up to HERE. 

Merry Christmas Eve ... Perfect Pumpkin Pie

Hi Everyone I know you're crazy busy so I thought I'd just throw up a quick recipe!  I made this pie and it turned out so pretty I just had to share right away!  Hope you all are having a very Merry Christmas and enjoying family and friends.

I found this recipe on All Recipes for the Perfect Pumpkin Pie, I added some leaves and a pumpkin to dress it up.  I got a Paula Deen pie kit and had to try them out.

INGREDIENTS:

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
2.	Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

I took a second pie crust and used it to cut out my leaves and the pumpkin to dress the pie up.  I just attached them with a little water and then when I cooked I used my pampered chef pie shield.  If you don't have one they are cheap and a good investment if you make pies and don't want  burnt crust.  Also I usually make my crust but I was in a pinch so the froze did just fine.

Enjoy and have a VERY Merry Christmas!!

Look for a little Crème? How about Cookie style!

I wanted to make something nice for the ladies at my women’s church group and ran across this recipe.  Around this time of year I always stock up on Betty Crocker Cookie mixes since they have box tops and they are great starters for cookie recipes.  This Snickerdoodle Crème Cookies turned out great, I switched out the cream to Wilton’s Buttercream Icing.

Then Cole’s was in the Children’s play at church so I thought I would whip up a Pumpkin version using the Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice Cookie Mix.  Well I got the cookie made but then found out the kids needed to be there early for rehearsal so they went in the fridge and now will be passed out to neighbors .  I used the Very “Butter” Cream Frosting that I made a while back that pared perfect!

Now on to more cookie making this week, must get all my homemade gifts out the door this weekend!

Have you done any baking?  Do you make cookies for friends/family?

New Traditions (Ham Glaze, Broccoli Casserole & Sweet Potatoes)

Even though we were left to our little family for Christmas I still wanted to do a little something special. It drives Rick nuts but I just can't help myself I have to do something different each time :).

I was watching Hallmark Channel (of course for my Christmas Movies) and then came on Mad Hungry she was making a ham glaze with oranges & sherry. I of course didn't have sherry on hand but I did have some brandy left over from a previous party so I did a search for Oranges & Brandy and came across this amazing glaze it was awesome!

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Brandy Raisin Ham Glaze

Recipetips.com

Ingredients:

-		1/4 cup raisins
-		1/4 cup brandy (not flavoring)
-		1/4 cup apple jelly
-		1/4 cup orange juice
-		1 tablespoon corn starch
-		1 tablespoon brown sugar
-		1 tablespoon prepared mustard

Directions:

Combine apple jelly, orange juice, raisins, and brandy in a small sauce pan. Cook over low heat until smooth and well combined.

In a separate bowl mix mustard, brown sugar and corn starch. Add mixture to sauce pan and combine. Cook until thickened.

Remove from heat. Spread glaze on ham during the last 30 minutes of baking. Reapply during the last 15 minutes, if desired.

ALEXIS NOTES: I had Clementine's on hand so I took 3 of those and squeezed them for the orange juice, I had apple butter not jelly, I used spicy mustard and I used golden raisins.

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Since I always have to make green bean casserole for Rick (you know the fried onion ones) and I just couldn't eat that again, so I turned to mine and the boys favorite veggie broccoli and something I remembered my mom would make when I was younger. This was fab and GREAT with left overs too!!

Ingredients

• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen choppedbroccoli, cooked and drained
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 cups crushed crackers
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, mayonnaise, cheese, soup and eggs. Mix well with a metal spoon. Place the mixture in the prepared baking dish. Top with the crushed crackers and pour the melted butter evenly over the crackers. Bake for 35 minutes or until set and browned.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used fresh broccoli (Next time I will steam the broccoli) and light mayo.

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I'm always on the look for a new Sweet Potato Recipe and found one I love. The boys didn't really care for it but I loved it!

Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic

by AllRecipes.com

Ingredients

• 5 sweet potatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2. Bake sweet potatoes 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until they begin to soften. Cool slightly, peel, and mash.
3. In a large bowl, mix the mashed sweet potatoes, salt, 1/4 cup butter, eggs, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar, and heavy cream. Transfer to the prepared baking dish.
4. In a medium bowl, combine 1/4 cup butter, flour, brown sugar, and chopped pecans. Mix with a pastry blender or your fingers to the consistency of course meal. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until topping is crisp and lightly browned.

ALEXIS NOTES: I used 2 LARGE yams, sugar substitute, whole wheat flour and I only had walnuts on hand.

Happy Tuesday hope you find something you like. These are great meals you can do for family dinner!

I'm linking up to Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday at the Table, Delectable Tuesday and Delicious Dishes.