This is a new fudge recipe from Hersey’s Cocoa Easy Baking. Also called “Jenn’s Birthday Fudge.”

3 cups Hershey’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
dash salt
1 2/3 cups (10 oz package) Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips, divided
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipping cream

Line 8- or 9-inch square pan with wax paper or foil.

Melt chocolate chips with sweetened condensed milk and salt in a heavy saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in 2/3 cup peanut butter chips and vanilla extract. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Melt remaining 1 cup peanut butter chips with 1/2 cup whipping cream, stirring until thick and smooth. Spread over fudge.

Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Turn fudge over onto cutting board; peel off paper or foil and cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.

Makes about 2 pounds.

Here’s a step-by-step illustration of creating a menu.

Step 1: Choose a main dish. In this case, Chicken w/ Cider and Bacon Sauce, which is an American dish.

Step 2: Choose starch and veggies. Since this is an American dish, stick with potatoes and green beans or carrots.

Step 3: Look for common themes in the different dishes. Use common flavors to pull the meal together. Example: Cheddar & Cider Scallop Potatoes and Sautéed Green Beans With Bacon. Another option: Apple-Glazed Carrots With Bacon (though this may overkill the apple flavor).

Step 4: Use common flavors to determine drinks and dessert. Some options that could work: cinnamon apples with chocolate sauce and hot chocolate, apples with caramel sauce and hot cocoa or coffee with caramel, cinnamon apples and cinnamon-flavored coffee, or throw in something unexpected, like chocolate fudge and hot cocoa with peppermint sticks. Not everything has to be matchy-matchy.

Possible Menu:

Main dish: Chicken w/ Cider and Bacon Sauce
Starch: Cheddar & Cider Scallop Potatoes
Veggies: Sautéed Green Beans With Bacon
Drink: Hot chocolate w/ peppermint sticks
Dessert: Cinnamon Apples w/ Chocolate Sauce

Common Flavors:

bacon in the greens beans to bacon in the chicken
apple cider in the chicken to apple cider in the potatoes
cinnamon in the potatoes to cinnamon in the apple dessert
chocolate in the apple dessert to chocolate in the drink

Adding extras:

Now, add some extra pieces to the meal, like cheddar cheese bread or biscuits, sliced almonds in the green beans and/or sprinkled on top of the apples, cinnamon sticks as garnish, and add some mushrooms or carrots to the meal.

This great recipe pairs potatoes with the tasty combination of apple and cheddar cheese. It can be baked in a casserole or individual gratin dishes.

2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
2 pounds potatoes
cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. Rinse potatoes well in lukewarm water, peel if desired, and slice thinly. Arrange half of potatoes in a shallow 3-quart dish and sprinkle evenly with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese. Arrange remaining potatoes on top and set aside.

Place flour in medium saucepan. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Stir in cider, broth, salt, pepper and nutmeg; bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour the cider mixture over the potatoes and bake for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and press potatoes with a spatula. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, then mozzarella cheese. Top with cinnamon sugar. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Let sit 10 minutes.

Try serving with apple wedges and cinnamon sticks as garnish.

4 cups water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup grated lemon rind (about 4 large lemons)
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
7 navel oranges (about 4 pounds), peeled and cut crosswise into 4 slices

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large, heavy-duty saucepan. Add orange slices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5 minutes. Remove orange slices with a slotted spoon; place in a bowl.

Cook juice mixture over medium-high heat 15 minutes (until slightly syrupy). Pour over oranges. Cover and chill at least 4 hours.

Makes about 14 servings (serving size: 2 orange slices and about 1/4 cup syrup).

This is a great make-ahead dessert to serve with Citrus Chicken w/ Lemon Couscous. You can also use the leftover orange rinds for the marinade. If you have left over orange slices, add them to the spinach salad, iced tea, sangria or serve on the side as garnish to squeeze over the chicken.

Here is the latest creation to come out of Jenn’s Kitchen, including a new and improved recipe for Lemon Couscous.

Citrus Chicken

1/4 cup orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp grate lime rind
2 tbsp fresh thyme (remove leaves and discard stems)
2 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red/black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tbsp olive oil
baby spinach

Combine first 8 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Trim fat off chicken and pound to 1/2 inch thickness with meat tenderizer or small skillet. Pour 1/4 cup juice mixture into a large zip-lock bag and add chicken. Seal and shake well to evenly coat chicken pieces; marinate for 5 minutes. Add oil to remaining juice mixture; stir well with a whisk. *Start boiling water for lemon couscous.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Remove chicken from bag and discard marinade. Add chicken to pan and cook 5 minutes on each side or until done and chicken is no longer pink. Place 1/2 cup of prepared Lemon couscous and 1 cup fresh baby spinach on each plate. Divide chicken evenly among servings, place on top of couscous and top each serving with 1 tablespoon juice mixture.

Lemon Couscous

1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked couscous
1/4 cup sliced green onion
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red/black pepper

*Bring water to boil while chicken is marinating. Remove from heat and add couscous. Cover for 5 minutes, then fluff with fork. Stir in onions and remaining ingredients.

Serving Suggestions:

If desired, toss baby spinach in olive oil and top with grated carrots, sliced cucumber, chopped tomatoes and/or red pepper strips. Normally, I enjoy a contrasting flavor in the beverage, but for this dish I stayed in the citrus family by serving iced tea with lemon and red sangria with lemon and lime wedges (cherry and umbrella optional). As for dessert? Try this recipe with Lemon Poached Oranges, although plain orange slices would work too. The extra veggies and oranges add some nice color to the table and fresh flavors to compliment the main dish.