Brownies

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 (16 ounce) can chocolate syrup
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet with 1 inch sides.
2. Mix together 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter or margarine, eggs, chocolate syrup, and flour. Spread batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan.
4. Combine 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, milk, and 1 1/4 cups sugar in a saucepan. Stir and boil for 3 minutes. Add 1 Cup chocolate chips, and stir over low heat until melted. Frost cooled brownies immediately so frosting does not cool and harden. Cut into bars.

Heavenly Chocolate Mousse

• 8 (1 ounce) squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup water, divided
• 2 tablespoons butter (no substitutes)
• 3 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/4 cups whipping cream, whipped

Directions

1. In a microwave or double boiler, heat chocolate, 1/4 cup water and butter until the chocolate and butter are melted. Cool for 10 minutes. In a small heavy saucepan, whisk egg yolks, sugar and remaining water. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees F, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat; whisk in chocolate mixture. Set saucepan in ice and stir until cooled, about 5-10 minutes. Fold in whipped cream. Spoon into dessert dishes. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Hearty Green Pea Soup

• 1 can (11 1/2 ounces) Campbell's® Condensed Green Pea Soup
• 1 soup can milk
• 1 soup can water
• 1/2 cup cooked sliced carrot
• 1 cup cubed cooked ham
• 1 cup cubed cooked cooked chicken

Directions

In medium saucepan mix soup, milk, carrot and ham. Over medium heat, heat through, stirring ocassionally.

TIP: For 1 cup cubed cooked chicken, in small saucepan over medium heat, in 2 cups boiling water, cook 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, cubed, 5 min. or until chicken is no longer pink.

Taco Salad

• 12 oz lean ground beef
• 1 pkt (1.25 oz) 40%-less-sodium taco seasoning mix
• 1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed
• 1/3 cup bottled Ranch salad dressing
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 8 cups bagged salad greens
• 2 cups broken tortilla chips
• 1 cup tomatoes, cut in halves
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion

Directions

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon, 3 minutes or until no longer pink. Add seasoning mix and cook, stirring, 1 minute more. Stir in kidney beans; heat through.

Meanwhile mix Dressing ingredients in a small serving bowl.

Place beef mixture in center of a large serving platter. Surround with remaining ingredients; serve with Dressing

Pansy Cupcakes

• 3/4 cup each pink, blue, yellow and purple candy melts*
• 3 cups Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
• Green paste (icing) food color*
• 12 Yellow Cupcakes
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate candy melts*
• small candies (such as Hershey’s Chocolate Shoppe Sprinkles)
• small artist’s paintbrush, green cupcake liners

Directions

Place each color candy melt (except milk chocolate) in a separate ziptop bag. Line 2 baking sheets with wax paper. Working with 1 color at a time, heat in microwave on high about 1 minute until wafers melt.

Cut a tiny tip off 1 bottom corner of bag and pipe about one hundred 3⁄4- to 1-in.-long teardrop shapes onto a lined baking sheet (see photo, above). Repeat with each color. Refrigerate until needed.

Spoon 1⁄2 cup frosting into a ziptop bag; set aside. Tint remaining frosting light green. Spread evenly on top of cupcakes.

Peeling petals from wax paper as you go, arrange 6 or 7 flowers, 5 petals (flat side up) for each, on each cupcake.

Melt chocolate candy melts in a small bowl in microwave. With paintbrush, paint chocolate on petals from center out (see large photo, page 135). Snip a small corner from bag with white frosting and pipe a dab in center of each flower. Glue 3 small candies in center. Cut top of green cupcake liners in a zigzag fashion; set decorated cupcake in each.

*Available in stores selling party and cake decorating supplies