Champagne with Cranberry Skewers

This holiday cocktail is perfect for Christmas!  The cranberries give a pop of color to your glass of champagne and are sure to put you in the holiday spirit. These could easily be served at a New Year's Eve party as well.

Servings: 4
Size: 1 4 oz. glass of champagne
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 1 hour plus for freezing
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 bottle of champagne
24 cranberries
Wooden skewers

Directions:
Pierce a skewer with cranberries and layer until you have 6 berries on the skewer.  Repeat to make a total of 4 cranberry skewers.  Place in the freezer for at least an hour to allow the berries to freeze.  Serve champagne and place one skewer per glass for a festive holiday cocktail!

Tip:
Limit yourself on these champagne cocktails to avoid a 'champagne headache' the next day. :)

XOXO Megan

Crock Pot Apple Cider

Merry Christmas! The holidays are a super busy time of year, as we all know!  So I thought today I would post perhaps the simplest recipe of all time, which is also perfect for the holidays AND entertaining.  This cider only calls for three ingredients, and takes under a minutes to make!  Totally perf!  I hope ya'alls had a wonderful holiday! PS: Sorry for the sideways photo :)

Servings: A lot

Serving Size: 1 cup

Points Plus: 4pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 1 minute

Cook Time: As long as you want!

Rating: 5 - Excellent!

Ingredients

1 large jug of apple cider

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

Instructions

Put all ingredients into your crock pot and turn on.  That's all!

Tip

You could totally serve this with cinnamon sticks and sliced apples to add some additional festive flair!

XOXO - Katie

Cranberry Bliss Bars

Happy Christmas Eve! We have been doing a ton of food prep in the last 24 hours at our home, in anticipation of hosting Christmas Eve tonight.  It is really quite remarkable how many different things will come out of our kitchen tonight, I am so excited! I have also had some interested food related epiphanies in the last 24 hours.

1. Um, whoever invented the Pampered Chef garlic peeler is a Genius with a capital 'G'.  This kitchen tool has changed my life.
2. Chorizo tastes bad in soup.
3. Check the price of a lamp rack prior to ordering it from the butcher (more on that tomorrow).

4. And finally, there is a reason Starbucks calls today's recipe BLISS bars.  These bars are Incredible (with a capital 'I'). Skinytaste revamped them to make them WW friendly, and I seriously can't believe how good they are.  They would be a perfect addition to your Christmas Day brunch. 5 STARS!!!!!!

Tip
When I turned the pan upside down to make the bars come out, they didn't!  So, I just frosted them in the pan and then used a spatula to remove them.  Worked pretty darn well if you ask me!

Merry Christmas everyone!  See you tomorrow!

XOXO - Katie

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownie Bars

I don’t know how you could go wrong with Oreos + Truffles + Red Velvet Brownies + Chocolate + Chocolate Chips.  Which perhaps is why this holiday dessert is the bomb?  The red velvet layer gives these bars a fun holiday coloring, and the Oreo truffle layer is, well, super tasty.  These are a treat, with a high pp count, so enjoy and savor every bite! This recipe was originally found here, I made a few changes.

Servings: 40

Serving Size: 1 delicious brownie bar

Points per serving: 5pp

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 22-25 minutes

Level of Difficulty: Medium

Rating: 5 – Excellent!

Ingredients

1 Duncan Hines box Red Velvet cake mix

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 eggs

6 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 package Oreos

8 ounce package fat-free cream cheese

1/2 package (1/2lb) chocolate bark or about 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips)

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips for garnish

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine cake mix, melted butter, eggs, pudding mix, vegetable oil and mix well until thoroughly combined (2-3 minutes on medium of electric mixer).

Spray a 9x13 with nonstick cooking spray. I like the baking variety that has flour in it. Then spread the red velvet brownie layer into the pan.  Don’t be surprised, this mixture is thick like a brownie.  Use a spoon to spread out evenly.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Watch very closely the last few minutes.  I actually baked mine for about 25 minutes, but a friend baked hers for 22 minutes and the edges burned.  Let cool completely.

Crush a package of Oreos in a food processor (or in a large plastic bag and rolling pin). Melt cream cheese for 15 seconds in a microwave to soften. Stir together crushed Oreos and cream cheese until blended smooth.

Carefully spread out Oreo truffle mixture on top of baked red velvet brownies. Use your hands to help press it down instead of spreading to avoid tearing the brownies. I then put this in my deep freeze to harden the Oreo layer prior to adding the top layer.

Melt chocolate candy bark (or chocolate chips) and pour over top Oreo truffle layer. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips while still warm.

Let cool completely before cutting into squares, or freeze.

Tip

I keep all holiday treats, and regular treats for that matter, in my freezer.  That way, they are not staring at me in the face.  I actually tend to forget about them!  My plan for all the holiday treats we have posted this week is to serve them for company, as my husband and I are hosting Christmas Eve and NYE.  I saw a great idea on another food blog (which I can’t remember at the moment).  The author suggested putting zip lock baggies by your treat table, and encouraging guests to pack up a bag to bring home with them.  I am for SURE going to do this on NYE, to get the house cleaned out for the start of the New Year.  But for now, enjoy these treats that only come about but once a year!

XOXO - Katie