Candy Cane Bark

We are back from Disney World and exhausted! As soon as we got back into town, we had to leave again to cheer our team on to victory! So glad we didn't miss out on that. Today we had our supper club, and all we took were the drinks. I would have loved to make something, but I just couldn't find the time. Now, we are trying to get back into our regular routine, in addition to trying to decorate for Christmas. It has been raining here this afternoon and we didn't want to bring home a wet tree, so we have put that off for one more day. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow because I am really ready to put our tree up! The Dish Washer is Clark Griswold when it comes to lights on a Christmas tree. I love it! We usually have to plug the lights into a surge protector.

We ate a lot at Disney, but nothing out of the ordinary as far as junk food is concerned. (Well, I guess the deep fried snickers I had counts as extraordinary!) I did get to see the cheerleaders come down the street for the parade. The group was much smaller than I remembered it being twelve years ago. The crazy thing is a little girl that I used to babysit was in it this year, so reliving the glory days didn't work...I felt really old!

Now that Christmas is right upon us, 'tis the season for goodies!! I first had this when I was working in a retirement community. We made it for the residents one day and it was so incredibly easy and good. I've even thought it would make a good tea/after dinner mint.

Candy Cane Bark

1 package almond bark (Cand-i-Quick)
1 box candy canes, unwrapped and finely crushed

Melt almond bark according to package directions. Mix in crushed candy canes and pour onto wax paper in a thin layer to cool. Break into small pieces and package.

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One year at church we had a Christmas program called "Candy Cane Lane." I was Candy Cane Jane! Anyway, our director gave us a framed copy of the story of the candy cane. Here it is:

"The Candymaker's Witness"

A candy maker in Indiana wanted to make candy that would be a witness, so he made the Christmas candy cane. He incorporated several symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ.

He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy: white to symbolize the virgin birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church and firmness of the promises of God.


The candy maker made the candy in the form of a "J" to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth as our Savior. It could also represent the staff of the Good Shepherd with which He reached down into the ditches of the world to lift out the fallen lambs, who like all sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candy maker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

Unfortunately, the candy became known as the "candy cane" - a meaningless decoration seen at Christmas time. But the real meaning is still there for all who "have eyes to see and ears to hear." We pray this symbol will again be used to witness to the wonder of Jesus and His great love that came down at Christmas.

Zucchini with Parmesan

Here's this recipe, as promised.

Zucchini with Parmesan

8 medium zucchini
olive oil
1 large onion, cut in half and sliced
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese


Remove the ends of zucchini and, if large, cut in half. Slice at a diagonal. Heat 2 Tbsp. olive oil in sauce pan and add onions. Cook for 10 minutes on medium-low heat, until they start to brown. Add zucchini, salt and pepper to the pan to cook, tossing occasionally for 10-15 minutes, until just cooked through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and cook 30 seconds more. Remove to serving platter. Serve immediately.

I'm working on putting some recipes up for Christmas. They will be good food treats to give as gifts. I won't have pictures to go with them until I make them myself, but I'll go ahead and add them in case you want to fun ideas. I don't know about you, but I love giving food as presents!

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

Happy Veteran's Day! This is a time to remember and thank all of the veterans, who have fought to make and keep this country what it is. Thanks for what you do! (If there are any veterans that read this.) The reason this day is so special to me is because when we were very little, my Grandaddy would take Tossie, Sister and I on a fun adventure.

He and Tos would pick us up and we would make our way to the Air Force Base where he worked. We would have our picture made in front of all the airplanes and act silly. Then, and I may get some of this out of order, we would have lunch at Burger King. We would go and meet his friend that had a radio program AND be on his show. You can imagine how exciting that was for us! Mom said she always listened and was so worried what we might say. I was too young to remember if anything too controversial was said. HA! We would also play at this really great park down by the river. On our way home we would stop and pick cotton. I remember picking up pecans at the church and playing on that playground with Grandaddy too, but I am not sure if that was the same day. It was so much fun! Then we all changed to a different school and didn't get the day off, so those days ended.

He started it up again when My Cousins Whose Names Start With "A" were old enough to enjoy it.

So, in honor of my Veteran Grandaddy, here's a recipe for him. If you know him, you know he loves, and I mean LOVES, homemade ice cream. I prefer the store bought myself, but every time we get together for cook-outs or he has a special occasion, my mom always makes him ice cream.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
1 large can evaporated milk
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla
milk

Mix first 4 ingredients in freezer container (this is using the old school freezers that require salt and ice). Add milk to fill to the top of the line. Freeze.

Maybe mom can tell us how much milk she adds to the rest of the ingredients when she makes it in the new ice cream freezer. Do the containers make the same amount? It seems a little smaller to me, but it might not be.

Mashed Cauliflower

I've been seeing recipes for mashed cauliflower popping up everywhere and I really wanted to try it. Everything I read says they are a great alternative to mashed potatoes. Last night for dinner was my chance. We loved it! The Dish Washer grilled our favorite garlic Dijon pork chops on the grill. I've added a picture, but it really isn't good because of how dark my kitchen is at night. You can even tell from the picture above. Certainly, I am not a photographer. I did put pretty chives from my herb garden on top hoping that would help, at least make it pretty!

Mashed Cauliflower

1 head cauliflower

milk, according to preference

butter, according to preference

salt and pepper to taste

cheese, optional

Cut the cauliflower stalks off so that all that remains are the florets. Place in pot and cover in water. I added bouillon cubes to add flavor. Once tender, mash and add other ingredients like you do to mashed potatoes. Don't feel limited in what you can add. I saw some recipes that called for white cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, or cream cheese. I even saw this recipe that calls for mayonnaise. I didn't try it tonight, but it sure was tempting!

We also had zucchini with parmesan. I'll add that recipe on Wednesday, because I have something special tomorrow.

(I'm typing all of this in on Sunday evening and scheduling it to post on certain days. That is very easy for me.)

Creamy Dill Slaw

Yesterday we cheered our team on from the house and it was so nice to not have anywhere to be. The Dish Washer insists on eating good gameday food whenever we aren't at the game, so we had Bubba Burgers on the grill. These burgers are our favorite frozen burgers, if you don't feel like making your own. To go with it, we had baked beans and this yummy slaw. If you are a dill pickle lover like we are, you will love this. Sister started making it for us some time back when we had the family cook-out. I don't really know the exact measurements, so I am just going to tell you what I do. Maybe, if she has the exact measurements written down somewhere, she will add them to the comment section.

Creamy Dill Slaw

1 bag of angel hair slaw (or, in my case yesterday, I chopped 1/2 head of cabbage)
mayonnaise
dill pickle cubes and juice
freshly ground black pepper

I place slaw in large mixing bowl. I take 2 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise and put on top of slaw. Then I add 2 heaping tablespoons of dill pickle cubes and pour in some juice to mix with mayo. I stir well with the slaw and then add more mayo or dill pickles cubes, depending on the taste. Then I ground black pepper on top of slaw and stir. I happen to use A LOT of black pepper, but that will depend on how much you like. Refrigerate and serve.

Sorry to not be exact with this one!

Christmas Ornament Dough

Before

Drying

Ready to Deck the Halls!

Have you ever seen an orange Christmas tree? When we went home last month for the family cookout, we did an early project for Christmas. I can't wait until December, as I originally planned, to share them with you in case you wanted to make them. Mom made Christmas ornament dough and we all decorated ornaments. It was so much fun, and especially for three of us, brought back LOTS of memories of when we were crafty, little girls.

Christmas Ornament Dough

4 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. salt
1-1/2 c. water

Mix together all ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Roll out dough and cut with cookie cutters. Use a drinking straw to create a hole in top of each ornament for hanging and carefully place cut dough onto cookie streets. Bake at 250 for 1 hour or until ornament is completely dried and hard. Cool completely on baking pan. When ornaments are cool, let kids (or in our case, big kids) paint them. Use lengths of ribbon for hanging.

Paint with acrylic paint and once completely dried, seal with Modge Podge.

**Note: This recipe is only for making decorations, not eating.

Ham and Cheese Fingers

Another recipe from the handwritten cookbook. These really are very good. I've never made them myself, but I have eaten my fair share...and then some.

Ham and Cheese Fingers

1 pkg. ham (long slices)
1 pkg. Swiss cheese (long slices)
3 pkgs. (24 to a pack) ready to serve rolls (finger size)

Sauce:
1 stick butter
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. grated onion
2 Tbsp. poppy seed
2 Tbsp. mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter and add remaining sauce ingredients.

Break pan of rolls into 3 rows. Slice each row open and spread sauce with brush on open sides. Add cheese and ham. Fold rolls back together and return foil pans. Brush tops with remaining sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 250 for 20 minutes. When ready to serve, can be cut into individual rolls.

Party Pinwheels

Polls are closing and I will be glued to the TV all night, but I wanted to help my Mama out. She is helping with a baby shower soon and was asking about any sandwich type foods that I would have posted. Sadly, not too many options. I thought I would fix that. I'm going to post TWO!

First, is my sister in law's recipe for party pinwheels. I have never had them, but they sound just wonderful. She shared the recipe with my mother in law who then wrote it in my cookbook she gave me last Christmas.

Party Pinwheels

10 small tortilla shells
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature
1 pkg. ranch dressing mix
green onions, chopped to taste
1 (4 oz.) jar chopped pimento
1 small can green chilies
1 small can chopped black olives

Drain, pimento, chilies and olives. Mix cream cheese, dressing mix and onions. Add other drained ingredients and mix well.

Spread mixture over each tortilla shell. Roll up and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight.

Slice and enjoy!

Check out Ham and Cheese Fingers for another idea.