non-alcoholic champagne chocolate mousse

i am making this for new year's eve.

i'll let you know how it turns out,
and post step-by-steps afterwards.

you can get the recipe here
(first seen here).

aunt arlene's no-bake cheesecake

this is an all-time favorite. it's so easy, and really really good.

1 small tub of cool whip
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 graham cracker crust

mix the cool whip, cream cheese, lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk together with a mixer until well blended. pour into the crust and refrigerate at least one hour. serve with cherry pie filling, raspberries, or chocolate sauce on top.

ellen's easy stuffed mushrooms

my sisster ellen guest blogged for me a while back and posted some recipes that have become tried and true favorites. one of which was these easy stuffed mushrooms:

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms
30 large fresh mushrooms (or more or less, whatever)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 pound sausage cooked and crumbled
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese (the recipe calls for swiss but I've never tried it)
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 T melted margarine or butter
2 T finely chopped onion
2 T spicy brown mustard
1 t garlic salt
1 t cajun seasoning
1 t Worcestershire sauce

Remove mushroom stems; set caps aside.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Stuff into the mushroom caps. Place in greased 13 in. x 9 in. x 2 in. baking dish(es). Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 16-20 min.

ellen's lemon-berry pitcher punch

this is another of my sister ellen's guest blog recipes. i love drinks like this on holidays because i don't drink alcohol, so it's kind of fun to have a yummy sparkling drink to celebrate with. this is the one i'll be making on new year's eve:

My Favorite EASY Drink:
Lemon-Berry Pitcher Punch
1/2 cup sweetened lemonade drink mix
4 cups cold water
2/3 cup cranberry juice
1 1/2 cups lemon-lime soda

In a pitcher, combine drink mix, water and cranberry juice. Stir in soda. Serve chilled.

sarah cox's baked bean dip

my friend sarah made this for me once and i've never looked at another bean dip. it's just sooo good. i don't normally like sour cream in things, so i add a little less than the recipe calls for.

1 can of refried beans
3/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
mozzarella cheese
green onion
tomato

dice your onion & tomato and layer on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. mix the beans, sour cream, chili powder, lemon juice, and cheddar cheese together well, and spread on top of the tomatoes and onions. sprinkle with mozzarella and bake at 350* for 20 minutes. serve warm with tortilla chips.

toni's caramel nut brownies

sometime last year i was going through my old scriptures from when i was a teenager. i found this recipe folded up inside them, and i have no idea who toni is. i do remember eating these brownies at church when i was about 13 but i specifically remember it was laura imlay who brought them, not somebody named toni. so, toni, whoever you are, thanks for this recipe. it's a doozy.

let's get started.
you'll need a german chocolate cake mix, a small can of evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of butter (recipe calls for margarine but i only had butter on hand, thanks to stacy and this freaky post), 48 kraft caramels, 3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and 1 3/4 cups of chopped walnuts. all my life i never had nuts in things because my brother delos and sister ellen are deathly allergic to them--can't even be in the same room or they get sooo sick--so i don't add nuts to anything. partly because i don't like it, but partly because i would hate to be the cause of somebody getting sick like that because they didn't know nuts were in it/around them. so add them if you want, but i don't.

oh. you'll also need some sweet tunage. especially christmas tunage, as these seem to me to be a christmas treat.
start by slicing up a stick of butter.

put it in a measuring cup, and microwave for 30 seconds. shake a little, then put back in for 15 more seconds, over and over, until it's melted.
pour your cake mix into a mixing bowl.
add 1/3 cup of evaporated milk,
and your melted butter.
stir together with a spoon until combined.
it's kind of thick and sticky, not like a cake mix.
split it in half and put half into a 9x13 pan. do not grease the pan. i made that mistake the first time i made these. the batter won't spread if the pan is greased.

now using your hand, press it flat into the bottom of the pan (make sure your hands are well washed, please).

until it looks like this.now put it in a 350* oven for 8 minutes. notice i cropped this picture. i was so appalled at how dirty my oven was i couldn't bear for you all to see it. it is currently cleaning, thank you very much.
after eight minutes, remove immediately.

pour on 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips.

like this:now here's one with the flash. which one is better? i honestly don't know.
at this stage you should also add 3/4 cup of your walnuts, if you're going to add them.
while the crust is in the oven, i like to unwrap my caramels. all 48 of the buggers.

it takes a while.
once they're unwrapped, pour in 1/3 cup of evaporated milk. a small can should be exactly enough for this recipe.

put it in the microwave and start at one minute.remove and stir, then put it back in for 30 more seconds.

repeat several more times until the caramel is all melted and combined well with the milk. mmm, don't you wanna lick that spoon? don't. it's very very hot and it will burn you. i know from experience.
now pour your caramel on top of the crust and chocolate chips.

like this:

next, take your remaining dough and spread it over the top of the caramel, pressing it slightly into the caramel. i formed little balls and did it, but i don't think i should have done that. i would recommend just scooping out teaspoonfuls and putting them randomly into the caramel.
but this is what i did, and i'm sure it's fine.
next, pour your remaining 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips on top of it all.


add the rest of your chopped walnuts at this point, if you're going to add nuts.then put it in the oven for 18 minutes only. no longer. it will look slightly uncooked when you pull it out. that's fine.

the caramel gets kind of bubbly, like this. mmmm. bubbly caramel. mmmmm.cool completely before serving.

one more tip though, i actually like these better the day after i make them. so if i were you, i'd make them a day in advance and wait. it's really hard to wait, but honestly, the first time i made these, i thought they were disgusting. and i'm not exaggerating. they sat on the counter for a day and i decided to try another bite before throwing them out and they were delicious all of a sudden. weird, but true.

enjoy!

toni's caramel nut brownies

1 german chocolate cake mix
1 small can of evaporated milk
1/2 cup of margarine
3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
48 kraft caramels
1 3/4 cups chopped walnuts

mix the cake mix, 1/3 can of evaporated milk, and 1/2 cup melted margarine together in a mixing bowl until combined (should be stiff and sticky). divide the batter in half, pressing one of the halves into the bottom of an un-greased 9x13 pan firmly until flag. bake in a preheated 350* oven for 8 minutes only. while it's baking, unwrap the caramels and place in a microwave safe bowl with the remaining 1/3 cup of evaporated milk. microwave on high for a minute, then stir, then for 30 more seconds, stir, and repeat every 30 seconds until the caramels are melted and well combined. remove the crust from the oven and pour 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips on top. add 3/4 cup walnuts on top of that. pour the melted caramel over all, then spoon the remaining batter by teaspoonsful (is that a word?), gently pressing into the caramel. pour the remaining 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips and 1 cup of walnuts on top. bake for 18 minutes (no longer!) and cool completely before serving.

chili cheese dip

1 can of chili
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/4 diced onion
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
frito chips

combine the chili, soup, onion and cheese together in a saucepan. crush a handfull of chips in, then mix together and heat in a saucepan until warm and bubbly. serve with large dipping fritos. it is SO good. i promise!