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    I have a fondness for fondue dinners.  It all started back when my husband was stationed in Germany and we went to a church party at a Major's home, who was a member or our congregation.  They had a really nice quarters, and they hosted this fondue party.  It was so much fun.  There were several kinds of fondue, a large assortment of things to dip, plus other appetizers.  We all walked around the table multiple times just talking and eating as we stood for a while, and then filling our plates and talking and enjoying ourselves even more.  That party was the perfect mix of food and people.  I have tried to replicate it, but haven't really come close.  But, my love of fondue, partly because of my memory of that party, has not waned.  
    Now that school is back in for many, a special fun dinner is just the ticket for a family to de-stress and just enjoy some time together. Maybe you can create a long lasting memory of your own.  Fondue is fun with a lot of people enjoying it, and also just for 2 or 3!  Maddy is vegan, so she won't be eating the cheese and chocolate fondues with my husband and I tonight, but she can join in with many of the dippers and use some vegan dressings as a dip.  There are always options. 
     For a family get together, a great idea is to have a larger variety of fondues and assign lots of things to dip.  I like to give everyone a little cup to hold their fondue in on their plate, instead of them doing multiple dippings back into the pot.  That protects everyone from double dippers! If you don't have enough fondue forks, you can use skewers or just regular forks.  

    I know that the word "fondue" might sound intimidating, but it means "melted" and virtually everything goes! You can use many different kinds of cheese, hot oil for cooking thin cuts of meat right in the pot, savory sauces, like a marinara.  For dessert, chocolate is always a favorite, but you can do caramel or marshmallow and for dippers you are only limited by your imagination. 

    I am sharing 2 recipes with you today.  One is a main course or even an appetizer. The other is a dessert.  
     First, a goat cheese fondue that you will love! 

Goat Cheese Fondue

    For dipping I simply used things I already had on hand, pan grilled chicken chunks, zucchini, carrots, french bread.  You could also use crackers, peppers and any veggies you would like. 

    For dessert, Chocolate Fondue! This recipe whips up in no time. 

​Simple And Delicious Chocolate Fondue

    If you don't already have a fondue pot, I am sharing some links to some here.  Do you have any fondue memories?  How about recipes or favorite things to dip?  Share with us in the comments! 

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    Back in the mid-70s, Jello put out a dessert kit that my dad just loved.  It was called Spoon Candy.  It was pudding treat in candy flavors, like peanut butter cup, that had a chocolate topping that hardened like the outer chocolate of a candy bar.  Unfortunately, after about 3 years this delectable dessert was taken off the market for some unknown reason.  I guess not everyone liked it as much as my dad did. (Well, the rest of our family liked it, too.) 
     Fast forward to this decade and an ice cream topping called Magic Shell is sold in grocery stores.  It has the magical ability to pour as a liquid out of the bottle and then harden quickly when it gets cold.  There are versions of this product put out by Smucker's and by Hershey. As soon as I became acquainted with this stuff I flashed back to Spoon Candy.  I thought to myself, "Surely I can remake that magical, retro dessert."
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    I found the recipe for peanut butter pudding on tasteofhome.com. Then, I wanted to make a vegan version, so I substituted coconut milk and coconut cream for the milk and cream in the recipe.  Maddy loved it! It did have a little hint of coconut flavor mixed with the peanut butter flavor, which was not a bad thing at all.  When the pudding is slightly cooled and setting, pour Magic Shell on the top and cool the rest of the way.  Hershey even has a Reese's Peanut Butter flavor shell which made this dessert even better! 

    After the peanut butter experiment was a success, it started to be fun to come up with more flavors and add ins that would give the delicious Spoon Candy experience.  I thought, this would be a fun family activity!  Have some flavors of pudding available and various add ins and see who can come up with the most creative combinations.  Here are some of the ideas that we have tried:

I've also thought of :

• chocolate pudding with marshmallows or cookie layers
• adding nuts or sprinkles
• layering a couple of kinds of pudding, maybe putting the magic shell in the middle and the top.
• How about sprinkling Rice Krispies on the chocolate, like a Crunch Bar! 
• You could use caramel ice cream sauce as a layer! 
• Jello does make sugar-free pudding  so shell will be the only thing with sugar if you want.

What other versions can you think of? Let me know in the comments! I'm sure that kids could come up with a ton of ideas! 

I prefer cooked puddings.  But, if you use instant, like we did for some flavors, don't use soy or almond milk in instant pudding or it won't set.  Coconut milk works great! 
I must confess that this version is not exactly the way I remember Spoon Candy to be, but it is pretty good.  Besides, that was 40 years ago, so my memory is probably fading! This is still a great way to have some fun and deliciousness on a weekend! 
​Happy Fun Friday! 

PS:  The Smucker's Magic Shell comes in lots of flavors! 

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     Last Christmas my son and DIL gave me an Instant Pot.  I was excited to use it, but I have to admit that it has been a real learning curve for me.  But, at last, I have come up with a recipe that I know I will go back to again and again because it cooked up this delicious side dish so quickly and easily.  The addition of butter and brown sugar to a mixture of carrots and butternut squash with a bit of cinnamon almost makes these healthy veggies seem more like a dessert than a side vegetable.  
     I used baby carrots in this version of the recipe.  Sliced large carrots will work equally well.  I was worried that the squash might night cook as quickly as the carrots, or visa versa, but they came out beautifully in just 4 minutes! It was so easy to make, just throw everything into the Instant Pot, put on the lid, push manual and set the timer for 4 minutes.  Voila! 

Here is the recipe: 

Glazed Carrots And Butternut Squash In The Instant Pot

    This recipe of glazed carrots and squash would be a terrific side dish at Thanksgiving.  But, because it doesn't heat up the house during the summer, it is great any time of year! 
     You can also vary this recipe for only butternut squash or only carrots, but I love the mixture of the two.  I hope you love it, too! 

    You don't have an Instant Pot yet?  Here is a link to get you started! 

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