I have this little booklet full of recipes you can make using Carnation Evaporated Milk and what do you think my kids chose?  Yep, fudge.  Of course they would because even though the pear pie and quiche looked fabulous, their sweet tooth tells their brain to pick the fudge. So fudge it is.

Now I have, on several occasions, heard about this recipe before. I’ve heard how it’s creamy sweetness is like no other but is it true?  Well, according to my bunch and apparently the folks who reviewed it at the Very Best Baking site, say it’s the best ever!  And talk about easy to make–recipes just don’t get any easier than this.

My pieces are thinner because I only had a bigger pan but that didn’t hinder the taste a bit;)

INGREDIENTS

• * 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• * 2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk
• * 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• * 1/4 teaspoon salt
• * 2 cups miniature marshmallows
• * 1 1/2 cups (9 oz.) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• * 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
• * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

LINE 8-inch-square baking pan with foil.  I used an 8×11 because that’s all I had.

COMBINE sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

STIR in marshmallows, morsels, nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces.

In keeping with transparency, as always, I did receive a gift card from One2One Network and Carnation for ingredients to create this delicious fudge but in no way was my opinion of evaporated milk bought– fudge, or anything else for that matter.  It’s always been a staple and if you want to search my recipes for it, you’ll know that’s the truth;)  {{giggle}}

Just because you want to offer healthier snacks for your next party (and maybe the next Super Bowl party) doesn’t mean you have to cut ALL the goodness out!  Offering foods that are cooler make a party lighter.    Try these 3 very simple, but tasty food ideas at your next get-together and I bet you’re gonna be surprised at how big a hit they’ll be!

Tip: To make things even healthier, you can substitute several of the items with low fat products like the cream cheese, mayonnaise, and sour cream.And I always shop at Walmart for everything I need!

Knorr’s Spinach Dip

• 1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed (do not use fresh)
• 1 1/2 c. sour cream
• 1 c. mayonnaise (I use Hellmann’s)
• 1 (4 oz.) pkg. Knorr vegetable soup mix
• 1 (8 oz.) can water chestnuts, finely chopped
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• Round Loaf of King’s Hawaiin Bread

Squeeze spinach until dry. In medium bowl, stir together spinach, sour cream and soup mix. Add finely chopped water chestnuts and green onions. Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight. Cut slice from top of round loaf of pumpernickel bread, hollow out loaf to leave shell to contain dip. Use bread removed from shell and top slice to cut into bite size pieces. Butter inside of bread shell, fill loaf with dip and place on platter and surround with crackers or even vegetable sticks.

Meat and Cheese Platter

Obviously no recipe involved but this was a hit! Cubed cheese surrounded by a variety of deli meats.  Oh so good!

Basic Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese,softened
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy. For Marshmallow Fruit Dip:  Add 1/2 cup marshmallow creme to the basic recipe.

What kind of finger food do you serve at home parties? And are you as challenged as I am?

I get several requests for “cooking for two” recipes and since I have 5, I turned to my Mom!  While most people know how to make rice krispies, I thought it would fun to share it for those who are single and new to cooking up treats or for those couples who forgot about this tasty sweet. I’ll be coming to you with more so keep an eye out!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tsp. butter
• 6 large marshmallows or approx 3/4 to 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup Rice Krispies

DIRECTIONS

Microwave the butter and marshmallows; add the cereal and stir.  I would recommend spreading a very light coat of butter on the bowl and the spatula or spoon to prevent sticking.

The lemon is there to simply show you the size of the small CorningWare dish.

S’mores have been associated with camping for years but did it ever cross your mind to make them at home?  Me either, until my mom made them for my family while visiting recently.  It had been forever since my last s’mores encounter and my first time seeing little man devour one.  It had to be the most adorable thing ever.  To hear him saying, “mmm, mmm” was priceless.  And watching his fingers get sticky with marshmallow and him trying to lick it off was so much fun.

Since my mom was kind of enough to send home a S’mores Maker with us, I wanted to relive those precious moments with the little guy and my husband because I knew he hadn’t ate a S’mores treat in forever.  Big hit again!

My S’more’s Maker only does one at a time but you can get one that makes two. I would like that a lot and it’s cute to boot!  Looks like little hands are holding the S’mores down.

How do you make a S’mores?

You’ll need:

• Graham Crackers
• Marshmallows
• Chocolate (We used the Hershey’s Chocolate Bar)

Be creative and try Reese’s or white chocolate. Have fun with it!

You simply layer a graham cracker, your chocolate piece, and a big marshmallow.  Place in your S’mores Maker and microwave for 20 second. YUM!

OVER TO YOU!

I would love to hear your S’mores stories or recipes!  And do you have one of these makers at home?  Do you only make them outside or do you have some other creative way for making them?