Cranberry Cream Cheese Dip

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Time: 15 minutes prep + 4 hours refrigeration
Yield: 15 servings
Recipe adapted from my dear friend Heather Peterson
 
1  12 oz package fresh cranberries
1/4 C green onion, chopped
1/4 C cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper
1 1/4 C sugar
1/4 t cumin
2 T lemon juice
dash salt
2  8 oz packages cream cheese
  
1. Put your cranberries in a food processor. I used my mini chopper (one batch of CranberryWoodChipDelight was enough for me. The blender and I aren't speaking to each other at this point....) You could also, just chop them up.
2. Chop up your green onion, cilantro, and jalapeno pepper into small pieces. Careful of the seeds now. Throw on a pair of rubber gloves or something, please. The seeds are the hot part of the pepper. If you don't like a lot of heat on the old pallet, just leave the jalapeno out.
3. Add all ingredients (but the cream cheese and the wheat thins) into a bowl. Mix them all together, cover and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours. The sugar needs some time to soak in to the cranberries and break up their bitter taste.  
4. When you are ready to serve, place your cream cheese bricks on a plate.
5. Spread the cream cheese out as evenly as you can.
6. Pour your cranberry mixture over the cream cheese.
7. Spread it all around.
8. Serve immediately with Wheat Thins, Ritz Crackers or Tortilla Chips.

Creamy Dreamy Fudge

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Time: 20 minutes + 1 hour to set up
Yield: one 9x13 pan (about 120 one inch pieces)
Recipe from my mom-in-law Jill Eskelson

4 C sugar
1 can evaporated milk
1 C butter
2 large Hershey Chocolate Candy Bars
1  12 oz package milk chocolate chips
1  7 oz jar marshmallow cream
 
1. Put the sugar, milk and butter into a large sauce pan.
2. Stir it all together over medium high heat. Bring it to a boil while you continue stirring. Once the mixture has reached a "hard boil" (this means it keeps boiling, even while you are stirring) continue cooking for 5 minutes while you stir.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the Hershey Chocolate Bars, Chocolate Chips and Marshmallow Cream. Mix it well so that all the ingredients are well combined.
4. Pour the fudge into a buttered 9x13 pan.
5. Let the fudge set and cool for about 1 hour. After it has cooled down you can cover the pan with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. It also freezes really well. 

Just a word of caution here. 
Fudge dries out pretty quickly, so if you are planning to give this yummy confection away as a gift I suggest you wrap it up tight.

CREAM CHEESE CHEWIES

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg
1 1/2 c. nuts, chopped
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
1 box sugar, powdered
2 eggs

Mix together cake mix, butter and egg. Spread over bottom of a 9 by 13 inch greased pan. Sprinkle nuts over mixture. Soften cream cheese. Mix powdered sugar with the remaining two eggs, mix thoroughly. Pour this mixture over nuts. Bake at 300 for approximately 55 to 60 minutes.