Chocolate Covered Everything

Hello again and welcome back to my blog.

This week I am going to show you how easy it is to make chocolate covered treats. Who doesn't love chocolate?

I recently found myself obsessed with dipping things in chocolate. My favorite things to cover in chocolate are Oreo's, pretzels, marshmallows, bananas, and strawberries for my boyfriend (Because I may be the only human who doesn't like strawberries).

The first thing you need is the items you want to dip into chocolate. You also need either chocolate chips or chocolate candy melts. Wax paper is also a good idea because it really is so easy to remove the dried chocolate from. I use a spoon and toothpicks to help cover the food items better.

Now, how to melt the chocolate, you will need a heat source. I have always used a pan over the stove, filled with boiling water, with another pan on top that the chocolate will go directly in. I never had a double broiler, so I made my own. Recently I have been using a Wilton's Deluxe Melting Pot. This is nice for small jobs, but it is not necessary. I also learned a new way to melt chocolate from a friend recently. Her mom uses a stove top griddle. The heat from the burners get the griddle hot, then she places a bowl on top of the griddle for the chocolate. I think this is cleaver because it would allow you to melt more chocolate at a time.

I'm not going to post a recipe because all you do is melt the chocolate and dip the items in. The reason I like doing it so much is because it is so easy, inexpensive, and I can decorate them for special holidays and occasions. I actually volunteered to make chocolate covered treats for a co-workers daughters birthday party next month.

Here are a few pictures of some of my chocolate covered treats.

Strawberries for Valentines Day

Marshmallows for Valentines Day

Pretzels for Valentines Day

Pretzels made for a storybook themed baby shower

Oreo's - not decorated because they were for
 a quick snack at home

You really can have fun decorating your chocolate covered treats. I like sprinkles and colored candy melts for a drizzle,

I told my family to put me down for bringing the chocolate covered assortments to any occasion that requires a covered dish,

Just think about all of the creative ways you could decorate these items for the holidays.

Check out these holiday treats I found on Pinterest:

Halloween

1. Strawberries that look like pumpkins
2. Halloween character strawberries
3. Oreo's that look like pumpkins
4. Pretzel Bones

Christmas

1. Strawberry and Oreo Trees
2. Pretzels striped like candy canes
3. Reindeer Marshmallows
4. Snowman Marshmallows

As mentioned above, the links are all from Pinterest. You can find many more options, as well as many more ideas for different holidays, depending on what you want to dip in chocolate.

I hope you all try this out, either for yourself of the chocolate lover in your life.

Thanks for reading. Happy dipping!

Themed Parties

Hello again everyone!

This week I wanted to share with you a fun party idea for the holidays. I know some of you may not be ready to talk about Christmas, but it will be here before we know it.

On my way to work a few days ago, I drove past a house that was already decorated for Christmas. This got me thinking about the Christmas Eve party my family always has.

Lately, we have been doing a Chinese gift exchange for the adults because my family is so big.

This is so much fun.

Chinese Gift Exchange Rules:

• Everyone participating brings a gift of equal value (We limit the amount to $20)
• Everyone draws a number
• The person with number one picks a gift from the pile and opens it.
• The person with number two can either pick a gift from the pile or take the gift off of the person before them. 
• If the gift is taken from you, you simply get to pick again. 

Here is a link that explains this game in more detail: Chinese Gift Exchange Rules

This year, my family wants to do the Chinese gift exchange with ornaments. Too many family members bring alcohol-related gifts, causing the non-drinkers to be left with something they won't use. 

We have also separated it by gender in the past. I don't recommend this. I think it is more fun to have a large number of people and gifts that are not gender-specific.

Every year, someone brings a bottle of vodka that is disguised in a box for a product that does not exist. These boxes can be bought at Walmart. It is so funny to see the look on someone's face who just thinks they received cleaning mitts for their dog's paws, but then realizes that there is actually vodka inside. 

Here is a link to the gag-gift boxes: Fake Gift Boxes

You might be wondering what this post has to do with food. 

The truth is, I want my family to have a Pinterest Christmas Eve Party this year.

The idea of everyone bringing an ornament is nice, however, we seem to be a very crafty family. It would be fun for everyone to bring a gift that they saw on Pinterest and decided to make. This would also allow everyone to find the time to make all of those awesome crafts we pin, but never actually make.

The covered dish each person brings would also be Pinterest-inspired. Not only does everyone pin, but never make crafts, we do it with recipes too. 

Last year we had an ugly Christmas sweater party. 

Take a look: 

This could also be incorporated into the Pinterest party because we found the ideas for our sweaters on Pinterest. 

Here are a few ideas of gifts that I found on Pinterest that I would consider making for the Chinese gift exchange:

1. Snowman Christmas Tree
2. Snowman Ice Block
3. Christmas Count Down

Here are a few ideas of covered dishes that I found on Pinterest. Each of these I have pinned but never attempted to make:

1. S'more's Cupcakes 
2. Twice Baked Cheesy Potatoes
3. Cheddar and Bacon Loaf

We could have someone make an ugly Christmas sweater cake if we decide to wear them again this year. Ugly Christmas sweater cake - Pinterest

As you can see, my family has a lot of fun when we are together. This themed party can also be done with your friends, or condensed into a smaller party to have at the office.

I am going to try my hardest to get everyone on board with the Pinterest Christmas party idea.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this blog and that some of you will adopt these fun traditions into your Holiday gatherings.

As always, thanks for reading my blog!

-Stephanie

Easy and Delicious Dinner

Hello All,

Welcome back to my blog. I hope that you had a great week. Sunday is supposed to be a day for relaxation. With that being said, I am going to share a recipe that I make for dinner weekly. It is so easy to put together. This recipe is inexpensive to make, because it requires very few ingredients.

What I've been babbling on about is called Apricot Chicken. 

If that does not sound appealing to you, please bear with me. 

Trust me, I am the pickiest eater ever but I love apricot chicken. It tastes like baked chicken in a sweet sauce. I make it with oven-roasted potatoes all of the time. 

Let me show you what I'm talking about...

Pictured above is the apricot chicken and oven roasted potatoes.

I'm going to show you just how easy this is to make. Here is the recipe:

Apricot Chicken

Ingredients: 

• Boneless Chicken Breast (about 4-5, depending on size)
• One package of dry onion soup mix
• One cup of Wishbone Russian dressing
• One 10 ounce jar of apricot preserves

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and place the chicken in a baking dish.
2. Smear the apricot preserves over the chicken. Pour the dressing over it and sprinkle with the dry onion soup mix.
3. Bake in preheated oven for one hour.

That's all! No mixing, cutting, or preparing ahead of time involved. All you have to do is pour the ingredients over the chicken and let it bake for an hour. Think of all the laundry, dishes, and cleaning you can get done while this bakes. 

I am also going to include the recipe to the oven roasted potatoes. These are pictured above with the chicken. 

These potatoes are also very easy to make and can bake along with the chicken. 

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

• About 6- 8 medium potatoes, diced
• One pouch of dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Spread the diced potatoes in the bottom of a greased baking pan.
2. Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes, coating them so the onion soup mix sticks to them. Sprinkle the pouch of onion soup mix on top. 
3. Bake in a separate pan from the chicken.

I leave my potatoes in for the full hour. Once again, the oven is set to 325 degrees. 

Below is a link to a different potato recipe, just in case you would rather have garlic roasted potatoes:

• Garlic Roasted Potatoes - Courtesy of Food Network

I hope that you enjoy these recipes and are soon making them for you and your family.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

The Perfect Recipe for Snacking

My favorite time of year is Christmas. I love the decorations, snow, family time, and all of the delicious foods. My recipe for these cinnamon sugar pecans reminds me of Christmas every time I make them because of their delicious smell. It relaxes me and makes me happy. Of course, they never last long in my house. I can never seem to keep myself from only eating a few. For this reason, I make them many times throughout the year. They are great to throw in a baggie, in your purse, and eat on the go. They can also be put in decorative jars and given as gifts.

I thought it would be a good idea to bring these pecans along in the car to eat while driving to the beach. They didn't last long because no one could stop eating them.

The recipe is super easy. Since I make them so much, I don't even have to look at a recipe anymore.

Here it is:

Cinnamon Sugar Pecans

In case the name isn't enough to make your mouth water, here is a picture I took after making these cinnamon sugar pecans.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg white
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 pound pecan halves
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. Combine the egg white and water in a large bowl. Beat until fluffy. Fold in the pecan halves and evenly coat with the egg and water mixture.
3. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large baggie or bowl. Dust the pecans evenly with the sugar mixture. Spread the pecans in a single layer on the cookie sheet.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool on pan and store them in a clean large baggie or airtight container.

That is it! So easy, right? They are well worth the effort.

I hope you enjoy these pecans as much as I do.

Keep in mind that you can do this for any type of nuts.

Thanks for reading my blog. Stop back soon for more delicious recipes.

About This Blog

Hello All,

Welcome to my blog page and thank you for stopping by. Through this blog, I will post recipes and reviews from the experiences I have had with them. This blog will be a great place to turn to for ideas on what covered dish to bring to a party, what dessert to bring to the office, and what to make for dinner. I will also share my favorite holiday recipes.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes and find them good enough to make yourself.

Enjoy!

-Stephanie