HOLIDAY PREPARATION SIMPLIFY THE SEASON

HE HALLS ARE DECKED, the lights are strung. All that's left to consider is the food -- your favorite part. But finding the time to enjoy holiday cooking, when schedules are packed with cocktail parties, potlucks and gift exchanges can be daunting to even the most experienced home cook.
Get the most out of this holiday season by keeping things simple. It's easy to embrace the holiday hustle and bustle by incorporating a few time-saving tricks into your kitchen routine.
Shake and serve: When hosting a holiday gathering, it's great to have a quick and easy snack to serve. Make things super simple by mixing the ingredients for Savory Ranch Chex Mix in a large zipper bag. Just seal, shake and serve.
Instant pastry bag: Decorating desserts during the holidays is a fun activity for the entire family. To kick up the fun factor a notch, make your own pastry bags to drizzle decorations over your delicious desserts! To make a pastry bag, place chopped up candy coating or chunks of chocolate inside a small zipper food storage bag. Do not seal; microwave 30 to 60 seconds, kneading bag every 15 seconds. Snip off a small corner and drizzle over desserts. Fun and simple!
Oven time: Prefer that "made from scratch" taste but short on time? With a few Pillsbury convenience products, like slice-and-bake cookies or ready-to-bake crescent rolls, you can make delicious and festive dishes your family will love without working in the kitchen for hours.
Bake and take: Save a step with casseroles and bar cookies. Use disposable bakeware, like festive red or green OvenWare. You can bake your treat in the oven and serve it in the same container. Save yourself from dirtying another dish.
Food exchange: The cookie exchange has long been a holiday tradition. This year, instead of a cookie exchange, gather all of your friends and host a food exchange! Ask all of your guests to bring their favorite holiday dish, along with the recipe. Your guests will go home with several new holiday dishes they can serve their family or bring to other holiday parties. What a wonderful present!
Quick cookie bliss: Add some bliss to your holiday cookies! Purchase Pillsbury refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough, bake in the oven, then top each cookie with a striped chocolate or white candy drop.
NUTTY CHOCOLATE PRETZEL BARS
1 can (10 ounces) deluxe salted nuts, coarsely chopped
1 roll (18 ounces) Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies
1 cup English toffee bits
11/2 cups milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup coarsely chopped salted pretzels
1 ounce vanilla-flavored candy coating, chopped or 2 tablespoons vanilla candy chips
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13- x 9-inch pan with cooking spray. Spread nuts evenly in pan. Cut cookie dough into 1/2-inch-thick slices; arrange slices over nuts. With floured fingers, press evenly in prepared pan, such as Glad OvenWare (prep according to instructions). Sprinkle with English toffee bits; press in lightly.
Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack 30 minutes.
In large microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and butterscotch chips on high 11/2 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Stir in peanut butter. Gently stir in pretzels. Spread evenly over crust.
In small microwavable bowl, microwave candy coating on HIGH 30 to 60 seconds, stirring every 15 seconds, until smooth. Drizzle over bars. Refrigerate until chocolate is set, about 15 minutes. For bars, cut into 9 rows by 4 rows.
Makes 36 bars.
Festive Garden Wedges
11/2 cups of Original Bisquick mix
1/3 cup boiling water
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sour cream, mayonnaise or creamy salad dressing
8 medium green onions, sliced (1/2 cup)
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
1/8 teaspoon red pepper sauce
3 cups chopped or sliced fresh vegetables (mushrooms, radishes, celery, red onion, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, yellow summer squash, j & iacute;cama)
1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
Heat oven to 450 degrees. In bowl, stir baking mix and boiling water until soft dough forms; beat vigorously with spoon 20 strokes. Using fingers dusted with baking mix, press dough in ungreased 12-inch pizza pan, pinch edge to form 1/2-inch rim. Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool 10 minutes.
Stir cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, horseradish and pepper sauce until well blended; spread evenly over crust. Cover with Glad Press'n Seal sealable wrap; refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until chilled.
Just before serving, top with vegetables and cheese. Cut into wedges or squares.
Makes 16 wedges.
CRESCENT WRAPPED BRIE
1 can (8 ounces) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 round Brie cheese (8 ounces)
1 egg, beaten
Crackers and sliced apples or pears, if desired
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Separate dough into 2 squares. Press perforations to seal. Use knife to cut and round off corners of both squares. If desired, use small cookie cutter to cut out small decorative shapes from discarded corners. Place 1 square on ungreased cookie sheet; place cheese on center. Place remaining square over cheese. Press dough evenly around cheese. Fold bottom edges over top edges; seal completely. Decorate top with dough cutouts as desired; brush with egg.
Bake 20 to 24 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes before serving with crackers.
Tip: Punch up the flavor! Cut Brie crosswise and spread with 2 tablespoons apricot jam and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons dried cranberries before wrapping in dough.
Makes 12 servings.
SAVORY RANCH CHEX MIX
9 cups Corn Chex, Rice Chex or Wheat Chex cereal (or combination)
2 cups small pretzel twists*
2 cups bite-size cheese crackers
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 envelope (1 ounce) Hidden Valley "The Original Ranch" salad dressing and seasoning mix (milk recipe)
Mix cereal, pretzel twists* and crackers in large Glad food storage bag.
Add remaining ingredients; seal bag. Shake until well mixed.
*If serving to children under 4 years old, omit pretzels.
Makes 13 cups snack.
For more recipes and tips, visit www.bettycrocker.com. For food storage ideas, visit www.glad.com.