More NEW tips for 2014

So you are planning your Christmas meal and your a bit stumped as what to have. Will everyone want turkey and ham again?  Think outside the box this year.  Nearly everyone has turkey and ham at Thanksgiving. Why not something wild like a soup night for the Family get-together? Or maybe grilled steak and baked potatoes? Trying to stick to a strict budget? How about a baked potato bar and a sundae bar for dessert, fairly inexpensive, filling and FUN!!

Do you like to make gifts from your kitchen for gift giving? My hint is watch for after holiday sales to buy all your container for those edible gifts. I bought plastic tubs with lids last year for .25 gotta love a bargain.  NOW to figure out what I will put in those tubs. Yumminess I am sure, but I will keep it EASY peasy!! Microwave fudge comes to mind.  Also microwave carmel popcorn sounds yummy too.

Here is how I make microwave fudge.

First step, butter a 9x9 or 8x8 glass pan.

You will need:
Microwave safe bowl
butter
flavored chips (chocolate, peanut butter, the sky is the limit)
can of sweetened condensed milk
vanilla

Next in a microwave safe bowl dump a bag of whatever flavored chips you want your fudge to be. There are so many flavors right now it is hard to decide. Peanut butter fudge is a favorite here.

So dump in a bag of chips add a can of sweetened condensed milk and microwave in minute increments for the first couple of minutes then in fifteen or thirty second increments, stopping and stirring as you go. You do not want to over cook this it ruins it.  You can also do this in a double boiler, I am just a microwave fan. After it is liquid, add a tsp of vanilla and pour into your pan and let set up. Perfectly yummy fudge. (In my microwave we are talking less than 4 minutes, I have a small cheap microwave, in a big one it will take less than that)