Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

Dave is going to a potluck Christmas Party today and didn't want to take anything because "they always have SO much food"...but I worry that makes him look like a loser guy whose wife didn't send anything hahahah - so I made him easy dipped pretzel rods and wrapped them in pretty bags so people can just take them home if there is too much food and they don't want to eat them right away. Super easy, a tiny bit time consuming only because when you dip them in the chocolate it takes a minute to shake all the excess chocolate off - if you leave too much on then it pools weird after setting up.

I didn't take pictures as I was making them, really you don't need any. Simply melt white, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate; dip about 3/4 of a pretzel rod in it (use a spoon or knife to help with the coating) and shake off until pretty smooth; then immediately sprinkle on whatever you want - I used some Christmas sprinkles, little red balls, green and red sugar...all of it looks good so just use your judgement. You can mix things together, or stripe the sugars, roll them in the toppings or just sprinkle on.

Corn Bread Mini Muffins

We are going to a chili cook-off/reverse caroling party tonight (reverse caroling is us sitting in someones driveway and caroling while people walk by) in an amazing local neighborhood that goes bonkers crazy with holiday lights and decorations - it's very impressive I must say. Every tree, wire, lightpost, window, mailbox, probably even their dogs get lit up...and they have hundreds of people walking around looking at them every night for the holiday season. We are going on our Vespa's because the parking will be awful so taking chili is out of the question for me (I measured my crockpot and Vespa "trunk", nope - not going to happen), I decided to bring mini corn bread muffins as our contribution instead.

I don't have an actual "recipe" that I follow but I've been making this for years and it's really good. I start with a boxed corn bread mix, in addition to the egg and milk it calls for add a small can of drained jalapeños, a small can of creamed corn, and about 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I use whatever I have - today was mexican blend but cheddar or monterey jack are good too). Spray a mini muffin tin with non stick spray, fill with about 1 tablespoon of batter (I use my small cookie scoop so they are all pretty much the same size). Bake at 350' for 12-14 minutes or until light brown. Cool on a wire rack. Makes about 40 bite size muffins - I'm not sure how many full size muffins this would make, I'd guess 12. You could also make it in a 9" pan or pie plate, adjust the baking time as needed.