Christmas Photo Shoot 2008

Here it is. My TOP PICK for our 2008 Christmas photo.

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!

I had several choices as you can see, but I chose the first one you see below. It was taken on the bridge that leads into the woods where my children have played so often this year.

From the Family Recipe Box

I thought I would share some of our favorite holiday recipes with you. These don't last long around our house or any gathering. Hope they will find there way onto your Holiday table.

My dad clipped this recipe from the food section of the newspaper. It has become a family favorite. It would be perfect for a Christmas Day Brunch. You can make this the night before then pop it into the oven the next morning. If you have a large group I recommend making two.

Breakfast Casserole

• 1 (16 ounce) package mild breakfast sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (2.64 ounce) package country gravy mix
• 6 slices bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• butter or canola oil for sauteing onion
• paprika to taste
  
  DIRECTIONS
  Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease an 11x8 inch baking dish.
  Saute 1/2 cup of chopped onion in a large skillet in a little butter or canola oil. Brown sausage in same skillet; drain fat.
  Spread sausage and onion evenly across the bottom of the baking dish. Top with shredded cheese. Whisk together eggs, water, milk, and gravy mix; add mixture to baking dish. Arrange bread squares evenly on top. Drizzle melted butter over bread, and sprinkle with paprika.
  Bake 40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Set aside 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with fruit salad.

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If you like Cracker Barrel's Hash Brown Casserole you will LOVE this version. YUM! YUM!

Company Potatoes

• 2 lb. bag frozen Hash Brown Potatoes (Shredded)


• 1 can undiluted Cream of Chicken Soup


• 1/2 c chopped Onion


• 1/2 c melted butter


• 10-oz. shredded Cheddar cheese


• 16oz. Sour Cream


• 2 cups Crushed Ritz Cracker Crumbs


• 1/2 cup melted butter(to drizzle on topping)

Defrost potatoes; combine in large bowl with 1/2 cup melted butter. Add salt, onion sour cream, soup & cheese. Pour into greased 9" x 13" greased casserole. Cover with Ritz. Drizzle melted butter on cracker crumbs. Bake at 350 45 min. or until potatoes are tender.

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The following recipe is a real crowd pleaser and is one of my most requested recipes.

Broccoli Cornbread

• 1 8 oz box of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (I defrost it in the microwave)


• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (med. or sharp)


• 8 oz tub of small curd cottage cheese


• 1 medium onion chopped


• 3 large eggs beaten


• 1 stick margarine, melted


• 1 teaspoon salt


• 1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix

Combine all ingredients. Mix well.Spray baking dish with non stick cooking spray. Pour batter into 9 x 13 baking dish. It will be very thick. Bake at 400 for 25- 30 min.

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Corn Casserole

• 2 cans Green Giant Mexi -Corn


• 1 can cream of celery soup


• 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese


• 1 large package of Mahatma Yellow Rice with Saffron


• 1/2 stick of butter

Cook rice according to directions on package. After rice is cooked add butter and mix well. Combine rice mixture with cream of celery soup, cans of mexi- corn and 1 cup of cheese. Mix well. Pepper to taste. Place in casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min.

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If you are looking for a yummy appetizer this will do the trick.

Perfect Spinach Balls

• 6 eggs beaten


• 2-10 oz. boxes of chopped spinach ( frozen pkg)- Cooked and drained.


• 3/4 c. unsalted butter (melted)


• 1 small onion


• 1 clove garlic- minced


• 1 teaspoon pepper


• 2 cups dry Pepperidge Farm herb seasoned stuffing


• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Cook and drain spinach. Add butter. Mix all other ingredients together and add to spinach mixture. Chill mixture for several hours. Spray "Pam" on cookie sheet. Roll out balls a little larger then an inch in diameter and place onto cookie sheet.. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes- until bottoms are slightly brown. Enjoy!

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Best Broccoli Salad

• 2 Bunches of Broccoli


• 1/2 c chopped onion


• 1 cup shredded cheese


• 1/2 cup pecans


• 1/2 cup raisins (golden)


• 6 slices crisp bacon

Mix all above ingredients.

Dressing

• 1 cup mayo


• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar


• 1/2 cup oil


• 1/2 cup sugar


• 2 Tablespoons yellow mustard

Mix above ingredients very well. Combine and toss into broccoli mixture.

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Here is my husband's favorite Christmas treat.

Peanut Butter Balls

• 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter


• 1/2 cup margarine or butter softened


• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar


• 1 teaspoon vanilla


• Package of chocolate almond bark or make your own candy coating using recipe at bottom.

In a mixing bowl combine peanut butter, powdered sugar, butter & vanilla. Beat thoroughly- form into balls and place onto wax lined baking sheet.

Follow directions on almond bark. Using toothpicks dip balls into chocolate. Place them onto wax covered cookie sheet and let them harden. Once they harden I like to refrigerate mine in a candy tin.

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Great Aunt Trudy's Coconut Bon Bons

• 2 lb packages powdered sugar


• 2 cups chopped nuts


• 1/2 stick margarine


• 2 teaspoons vanilla


• 1 lb. package flaked coconut


• 1 can Eagle brand milk

Mix well in a big bowl. Set in refrig. at least an hour. Roll into balls.

Dip into chocolate Almond Bark candy coating or coating recipe below. Place on wax paper to cool.

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Candy Coating

• 2 12 oz packages chocolate chips


• 1/2 stick Paraffin

Melt in double boiler on low heat.

Hope you enjoy!

A Timely Reminder From Dr. Seuss

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons.It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. ~Dr. Seuss

Christmas Memories

I came across this photo the other day. It really should have gone out in the Christmas cards in 2002. Instead I chose smiling faces. I think more folks would have gotten a kick out of this one.

PURE REALITY!

Notice the VERY happy and satisfied look on my older son's face.

What a priceless shot!

Give Them A Hand For Christmas

What fun it was helping my mom and dad decorate their Christmas tree this year.

One of the highlights for my children was finding their hand ornaments we made my parents for gifts in the past.

My mom has requested these through the years. It is something to see all the different sizes from my children as well as my nieces and nephews some of whom are adults now. It's hard to believe my grown nephews' hands were ever so small.

I thought I would share two of my favorite hand ornament designs that I have created in the past. The ones above were made in 2003. My daughter was not quite six months old. I loved the way these turned out. They were very easy to make. A simple NO SEW project.

I made the ginger bread lookalike hands last year using a simple mix of applesauce and cinnamon. They still smell wonderful! I used a white paint pen to add icing details.

On the back side of my designs I wrote the date they were made and each child's name.

Fabric Hand Ornaments

1. Trace your child's hand on heavy poster board. I used an extra gift box to trace mine out on.
2. Cut out traced hand.
3. Next you will want to use your newly cut out hand to trace an outline on the fabric of your choice. You will need to turn your poster board hand over and trace out a palm up piece too. This is so you will have a pretty back side to your ornament as well. You should now have two hands. A palm up and a palm down version.
4. Now you will brush the front of your poster board hand with craft glue. ( You want a nice even coat, not too thick) Place fabric on top gently smoothing from the center. Once first side is in place repeat process on the other side.
5. Once fabric is set in place it is a good time to hot glue ribbon or string in place on the center wrist area of your ornament. This is your hanger.
6. Now for the fun embellishments. I used lace, ribbons, and buttons which I hot glued in place.
7. After you are finished you may want to brush edges with Aleene's Fray No More.

I told you they were simple!

"Gingerbread" Hand Ornaments

Cinnamon Ornament Dough

1. Mix 1 cup applesauce and 1 cup of cinnamon.
2. Knead mixture. It should make a nice dough. If it is too dry add small amounts of applesauce.
3. Roll dough as you would cookies. If it sticks to rolling pin sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Now it is time to trace your child's hand on dough. I used a toothpick and lightly traced each hand.
5. Using a sharp knife carefully cut out each hand.
6. Use a straw to make hole for ribbon in center wrist area of ornament.
7. You can let these air dry for 2 or 3 days or bake on parchment paper in a 200 degree oven. Watch them closely. If you bake too long the edges will curl. I checked them by gently tapping them with my finger nail until they felt like they had hardened enough.
8. Now you can use a white paint pen to decorate your hand. Let paint dry then tie on your ribbon hanger.

These smell wonderful year after year. Simply wrap them in tissue paper when it is time to store them after Christmas.

I hope you will give these a try. They are sure to become treasured keepsakes enjoyed for years to come!

God's Gifts Given and Gathered

A little over a year ago a true little lady and precious gift to our family was gathered up into the Lord's arms and rescued from this earthly world.
I say "little" because she was very petite and stood at just 5 feet and 1/2 inch tall, and "lady"........well, all it took was meeting and spending a little time with her to KNOW she was a LADY in every sense of the word.

We called her "MOM" even though she was our grandmother.

Besides mom, being a little lady, other things stood out about her. Two of those being her TRUE ENJOYMENT of work and her spend-thrift ways.

Mom loved growing things. She especially loved the "free gifts" God provides each season. So when summer got ready to rest, and autumn winds (No doubt from the north) chilled her fragile bones she'd turn her dimming eyes with anticipation to the tall walnut trees that grow on my parents' place, eagerly awaiting the ripening of the walnuts and for the autumn breezes and gravity to deliver God's new gifts with a " CRACK and a THUMP" to the ground below.

She would work in earnest adding walnuts to her drying stores until the last one fell. I recall visiting in the fall and seeing her time-wrinkled hands stained black from hulling walnuts.

After hulling and allowing the walnuts to dry, it was in her words, " time to burst 'em". She did this with an old hatchet. She gladly taught my oldest how to do this several falls ago. Once this chore was done it was time to " pick 'em" through separating the nuts from the shells.
After they were "bursted" and "picked" she would freeze and bake delicious treats. She dared not let any go to waste. She was always glad to share them.

I have never known anyone who TRULY LOVED work like her. I believe work was the hardest thing she ever had to give up. She was a model homemaker. It is easy to see her in the woman described in Proverbs 31.

This fall I enjoyed gathering walnuts with my children just as Mom did. As we worked

together it felt quite natural talking to them about ALL the gifts, GREAT AND SMALL, that God freely gives and sometimes gathers from us through the seasons of our lives.

With Thanksgiving only a few days away I hope you all will find it quite easy to see God's gifts great and small, given and gathered and take a moment to thank the God who gives and takes away.

Dinner For Four On Clover Hill

My nephew's wife and I recently planned a special "Married Couples" dinner night.

What fun it was planning our menu and working together to pull together a special night for our spouses.

Our menu:

Chicken Kiev

Fresh Steamed Broccoli served with Creamy White Sauce

White Rice

Tossed Salad

Chilled Sparkling Grape Juice

Dessert: Tiramisu with Freshly Brewed

Coffee

Candace browning the Chicken Kiev before baking it in the oven.

I was stirring the Creamy White Sauce.

Chicken Kiev

My little girl enjoyed helping me set and decorate the table before we tucked her in early for the night.

Instant Ambiance

Michael & Candace
What a sweet young couple!

If you could only hear the Andrea Bocelli CD that we had playing for our dinner music.

This pretty little thing is an awesome cook!

My honey and I sure enjoyed the evening.

I love this picture of Michael and Candace.

One more of us.

What a fun night!

All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go

The kids had a great time dressing up and going out for an evening of trick or treating fun!

Our oldest decided to dress up as a mobster. We all survived the night. None of us ended up sleeping with the fishes.

Our second to the oldest was a Clone Trooper. He was on the lookout all evening for Storm troopers.

Our princess was ......well you guessed it a princess. She played the part brilliantly!

Hope you enjoy our pictures from Halloween 2008

All Dressed Up

My Oldest

Our Clone Trooper

Our Princess

Our final stop was at Mammaw and Pappaw's house.

His bag was so full it broke right before this picture was taken.

Yuck! A candy worm.

Sweetness!

Our second oldest created a candy man with some of his Halloween treats.

Carving Pumpkins

Last weekend my sister invited us over for a pumpkin carving party and a wiener roast. We had a great time carving our pumpkins, and were pleased with how they turned out.

Enjoy!

Jon, Isaac, Candace & Michael working away!

My youngest son stopped carving for a quick smile.



My oldest with a handful of pumpkin guts. YUCK!

My baby was so excited about carving her pumpkin.

Michael's Creation

Left to Right

Candace's, Michael's, Jon's Tennessee T pumpkin, Our youngest son's, Corrie's, Our oldest's, Isaac's, Our youngest's

Left- Right
Our oldest son's, youngest son, baby girl's sitting on Mammaw & Papaw's hearth.