Oh, oh, that date rings a familiar sound. Oh, yes, I better do something about that. Seems like it might be the birthday of #4 daughter’s birthday! That is by birth order, not ranking according to favoritism! She usually plans to spend a part of her birthday with her mother, so she will probably stop by. Maybe I can think of something by then to surprise her. I could bake a cake but she is on such a strict diet she can’t have most of the ingredients in a cake. At one time, the best I could come up with was a serving of rice, covered with red kidney beans!! I helped that out with lots of butter. At that point she could have dairy products. I have a few days before you read this and she comes, so I hope a magic idea comes floating by. One day I made her sugar free instant chocolate pudding with water instead of milk! I cut the liquid down and smothered the pudding in whipped topping. I put it in fancy dishes and we both ate it and were surprised at the result. If you cannot have dairy products, you might be brave and try it.
Hope your holiday was all you had hoped it would be. Mine was phenomenal with about 25 here for the noon meal of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, (from scratch!) dressing, several hot vegetables, more salads and desserts than you can imagine. The magical thing about the whole meal was that I was informed that if I hosted the party, I did not have to prepare any food!
Then a special request appeared or maybe it was an order, to prepare the traditional cranberry salad. That was a cinch since I did it on Wednesday afternoon. Then we had over twenty that stopped in later in the day after their original holiday plans. It made a full house, but there was plenty of room to enjoy each other and miss those who were otherwise absent from other commitments or distance.
Now we have to concentrate on the real meaning of Christmas and not have it center on shopping and rushing to get the best deal, and what can I buy for whom. This is the first week of Advent which lasts until the actual Day of Christmas. So spend part of each day in a spiritual way of preparation for the holiday. I refuse to let Christmas foreshadow Thanksgiving Day, so have not even looked at my Christmas decorations. Each year I do a little less, and have given away a lot of the things that I had stored, but didn’t use any more. Hope the ones who took some of them enjoy them as much as I did.
I am still over filled with good food, so it is hard to think of anything to pass on to you. My daughter-in-law always brings spaghetti corn to our potluck dinners. It is an unusual combination and a friend of mine showed interest last weekend. Bet you think it took a lot of magic, but I did find the recipe. Hope there are some of you who haven’t seen it, or didn’t save it when years ago I used it.
SPAGHETTI CORN
1 can (15 oz.) cream style corn
1 can ( 15oz.) whole kernel corn
1 stick melted butter
1 cup cubed Velveeta cheese
¼ cup celery, diced
1/8 cup onion, diced
1 cup broken raw spaghetti
Melt butter in a round casserole dish. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, stir and bake for 30 minutes more. (I think I might like a covering of buttered cracker crumbs.)
Since we usually like to do something different for the Christmas festivities, have you ever made Rolo Pretzel goodies? What I like best about them is they take such minimal effort and taste as if you spent hours making them. I usually just make them without checking a recipe. But today in some of the unwanted extra stuff in the Sunday paper I saw a legitimate recipe for them. Since my hair is so white, I have a genuine excuse for too many packages of Rolo candy in my Goodie Jar. Of course I could blame them on to my little nosey friend who thinks I do not know what I am doing. Guess I will let her off the hook until Christmas. Please notice that I did not promise. It will depend on how bizarre her antics are.
ROLO PRETZEL DELIGHT
Mini Twist pretzels (Be sure to use the mini ones)
Rolo caramels with milk chocolate
Pecan halves
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookies sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place one pretzel for each treat desired on prepared sheet. ( I have done over thirty at once.) Top each pretzel with one unwrapped Rolo. Bake 3 to 5 minutes or until caramel piece begins to soften, but not melted.(Don’t let it get too soft.) Remove from oven, Top each candy with a pecan half. (If you prefer, you can top with another pretzel. I like the pecan half much better.) Press down on the pecan half to spread the caramel. Cool completely before removing from the cookie sheet.
Remember to prepare spiritually for the Christmas celebration as thoroughly as you do the shopping and decorations.
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