Santa Pots de Creme & a whole lot more!

Last night I hosted the MOMS Club Holiday Party at my house.  Come on in, I'll share a few goodies with you (I promise it is worth your while to read this all the way to the end!):

First I have to brag on my mom, who came by with a little bundle of pinecones she glitzed up with metallic spraypaint, adhesive spray and platinum glitter.

I was thinking of making some, so she saved me a lot of trouble!

Now, on to the goodies.  These are two of the fastest, easiest party foods to make that taste great and look pretty nice, too.

I'm sure you've seen some variation of this before, but it is simply softened cream cheese (I always use the light version) shaped roughly into a tree with some green pepper jelly spread in with a spoon.  It's pretty awesome with wheat thins.  This is something I thought sounded awful until I tried it.  Hard to eat one.

Now the showstopper. My mom's friend, Candee, brought these to her ornament exchange party years ago and had everyone going crazy.  She revealed the easy recipe and the fact that these little santa mugs are two for a dollar at CVS!  They've been a part of our Christmas dinner ever since & I love to take them to other holiday parties.  The hard part is the spoon, so we usually try to buy a bunch from an ice cream store, although my mom does have a dozen demi-tasse spoons that work great too.

The recipe is easy.  Microwave 3/4 Cup of milk (I use 2% that I have on hand for the boys, but I don't think it matters) until it is scalded, but not boiling.  Get out your blender, add an egg, a teaspoon of vanilla extract, a dash of salt and 2 Tablespoons of sugar.  Blend that for a second.  Add the scalded milk and 1 Cup of semi-sweet chocolae chips.  Blend until smooth.  (The egg should be cooked by the milk, but you might want to be careful serving it to anyone with a compromised immune system).  Pour into mugs or other small dessert cups.

Now, put them in the fridge for a few hours to solidify into a mousse consistency.  Serve with a dollop, or squirt, of whipped cream for Santa's hat.

Pots de Creme Recipe:
1 egg
dash of salt
2T sugar
1t vanilla extract
3/4 C milk, scalded
1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
Whipped cream, for serving.

Now on to the surprise.  I am participating in Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day again on Monday.  Here's a little hint at what is coming.

Make sure to come back and see me Monday!  I love Giveaway Day; it's pure madness!  Might have to get a sitter to make sure I have enough time to get all my entries in!