Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest


This blogfest is hosted by Melissa @ Through the Looking Glass and Jen @ Unedited.  Click the links to their blogs to sign up. 


The rules for the blogfest are: 
1.  Post on your blog December 20th.
2.  Share pictures of your Christmas decorations.
3.  Share pictures and recipes of your favorite holiday treats.
4.  Share pictures and recipes of your favorite holiday drink.
My 9' tree
5.  Visit other bloggers and spread the holiday cheer!


Well, here goes our Be Jolly By Golly Blogfest post!

My tree is my pride and joy at Christmas time.  I spend two days putting it up, usually the weekend after Thanksgiving, while my husband is deer hunting.  Every year I buy a few new ornaments, except for this year, because my tree was already so full!  
I love to put on Christmas music and decorate my tree.  The hard part is getting my cat to leave the ornaments alone! 

A close-up of my ornaments
One of my favorite things to do is bake.  I love all things chocolate, and I love sharing my goodies with my friends and family.  I don't drink, so I'm sharing two of my favorite holiday treat recipes.  Here are two of my most-requested items:

Chocolate-Covered Ritz Sandwiches
 As requested, here are the recipes (they are actually quite easy):

Chocolate-Covered Ritz Sandwiches:
Ingredients
Ritz crackers
Smooth peanut butter
White chocolate wafers
Milk chocolate wafers (I find the wafers in the produce section near the strawberries or in the baking section) 
Directions:
Lay out Ritz crackers salt-side down on wax paper.  Spread crackers with peanut butter.  Top with more Ritz, salt-side up to make a sandwich.  Repeat until you have desired amount of sandwiches.  Heat chocolate wafers according to package directions.  (I usually have to thin the chocolate with vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon at a time, according to the package directions).  Dip sandwiches in chocolate, going halfway up the sandwich.  Shake to remove excess chocolate and lay on wax paper to dry.  Repeat for all sandwiches, using white and milk chocolate.  Let dry for at least one hour and store in covered container at room temperature.  The combination of salty and sweet is quite addictive---be careful!

Chocolate-Covered Strawberries
Chocolate-Covered Strawberries:
Ingredients:
Fresh strawberries
Milk chocolate wafers
White chocolate wafers
Directions:
Brush strawberries with produce brush.  Do not wash strawberries!  Lay strawberries out on wax paper after brushing them.
Heat chocolate according to package directions.  Make sure it is thin enough to drip off of a spoon.  Dip strawberries one at a time, holding them by the leaves, in chocolate, about 2/3 of the way up the strawberry.  Lay on wax paper to dry.  Repeat for all strawberries.  Once the initial coating of chocolate has dried, you can add a drizzle of the contrasting chocolate flavor.  Drizzle chocolate with a fork (chocolate must be thin) over strawberries.  Let dry for one hour on wax paper.  Store in a single layer in a tightly covered container at room temperature.  Do not refrigerate.

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled with love and laughter.  Merry Christmas!

31 comments:

  1. I like the colors in the tree.

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  2. What a beautiful tree!

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  3. Wow. I'm not even a big poinsettia fan, but they look wonderful on your tree.

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  4. Love your house, tree, and the recipes :)

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  5. I can see you've put work into your tree. It's beautiful. The strawberries look great too.

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  6. "Christmas trees are meant to be destroyed" - Ancient Philosphy for Cats

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  7. You have a very beautiful tree. You have the same problem as me: I buy a few more decorations each year but you can only fit a certain size or tree in the room and they have to go somewhere on it. So far, I can make them all fit :)
    Chocolate on Ritz crackers? That is a new idea and one I'm going to have to check out - my taste buds have never been so full of question marks ;)
    Merry Christmas.

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  8. Kelli! You should be proud. That is a beautiful tree! And I love chocolate covered strawberries, but I've never tried to make them before but now that you make it sound so easy, I think I want to try. :D

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  9. That is one sexy tree! I'm jealous! Have a great holiday!

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  10. What a beautiful tree ,Hope you have a Happy Holiday.

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  11. I have two little dogs and I decorate the lower half of my trees with them in mind. I put the not so desirable to chew decorations or those if they got destroyed wouldn't make me cry at the bottom. However, I make sure nothing dangles or tempts. So far, so good....

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  12. This is beautiful but I'm mainly swept away by your (to me) most unusual recipes! Have a wonderful Christmas!

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  13. Be-YOO-tiful tree, and oh boy, those choc-drizzled strawberries look scrumptious! Merry Christmas!
    (Hey, your link on the master list doesn't work for me; I had to Google you.)

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  14. I love Ritz crackers. And I love chocolate covered strawberries. Great recipes! Merry Christmas! :)

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  15. Yay! Nice to see you again, working my way to the end of the list. Your linky works now! Merry Christmas!

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  16. I love the way you've done your tree with all the red, its beautiful.

    Merry Christmas!

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  17. Gorgeous tree and MMMM, I love chocolate covered strawberries!

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  18. Your tree is beautiful! I love the red and gold. So festive! I love all things chocolate, too, so thanks for sharing that delicious treat!

    Have a very merry Christmas!!!

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  19. The Ritz PB cookies are my absolute favorite! When I first heard of them I thought it was a weird combo, but I quickly became sold once I ate one!

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  20. Your tree is gorgeous!!!
    I am also a chocolate covered strawberry lover. MErry Christmas!

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  21. What a beautiful tree. And it is amazing that you spend two days decorating it- the care does show.

    Merry Christmas.

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  22. Those strawberries look sooooo good. Beautiful tree, too. Merry Christmas.

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  23. That tree is definitely worth being proud of! It's beautiful! Have a Merry Christmas.

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  24. Your tree belongs in a MAGAZINE! It's gorgeous! Have a Merry Christmas!

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  25. Your Christmas tree is beautiful! I agree with Jennie, it should be featured in a magazine.

    I make the Ritz cookies, but I dip the whole thing in chocolate and then sprinkle one side with colored sugar or colored sprinkles. If I dip them in white chocolate, then I sprinkle those chocolate sprinkle things on them.

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  26. I LOVE chocolate covered strawberries - they are the best! Merry Christmas!

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  27. Gorgeous tree!

    Happy Holidays.

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  28. Wow! Terrific looking tree and delicious looking strawberries and ritz cracker cookies!

    Be Jolly by Golly!

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  29. Your home is gorgeous, and what a wonderful tree!

    Those ritz treats look fantastic, but the chocolate covered strawberries are luscious!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family.

    Michael

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  30. NO that's what I call a XMAS TREE! Love the red and gold. Even the gifts are wrapped in the same red with gold bows. You've got an eye for decorations girl.

    Now excuse me while I lick the goodies off the PC screen ;P

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