Snow And Snowmen...

These fine snow folks were created by my grandchildren a few weeks ago during the first snow of the season. 

We are preparing here for another snow storm in a few days. 

Below are a few more of my holiday photos. 

Some are of special gifts created by me or of special gifts made for me.

others are simply photos of random holiday things...

Wishing you all a blessed New Year! 

 re-cycled Christmas card made into an accordion folded book

 Angel tags

 Trying my hand a making altered domino necklaces for Beth and Gia.

 Pom-pom wreaths, 

a project I finished for my sister Judy who passed away in August.

She had stacks of circles cut out and ready to be made into pom-poms.

 An altered cigar box from my dear friend Cindy

 inside the box, more treasures...

 tags and angel wing earrings too.

 A sweet tag from a special friend, Marcia

 A gift from my secret sister

 Eating the Maraschino Nut Loaf see this post for recipe - 

 Knitted dish cloths

 Caroling grandkitty, Penny

 Vintage look flash cards

 Beautiful Lace Angel made by my sister Jo

 Scrap Angel

Clay ornaments - the pink stars designed by my granddaughter 

God's gift - birds feeding in our backyard.

Linking to Pink Saturday

Traveling Apron Sweet Treats And Farewell...

The Apron and I were inspired to make  ~ 

Merry Mix 

Thank you to Celestina Marie Designs for this tasty quick holiday gift treat.

Click on the link above to visit her beautiful blog.

 You will need:

Raisins and or Craisins

Unsalted peanuts

Almonds or nuts of your choice

Butterscotch Morsels

Milk Chocolate Chips

Red and Green M & M's

Toss mixture together in a large bowl.

 Scoop into cute jars.  Add a pretty bow and tag.

Maraschino Nut Loaf 

 This recipe comes from 

 one of my old (1969) cookbooks ~

 My indoor lighting was awful so I stepped outside to get this shot to show

 

  how pink the batter really is...

MARASCHINO NUT LOAF

1 cup of sugar

2 eggs

1 jar (8 ounce) red maraschino cherries

1-cup milk or syrup from cherries with enough milk to make 1 cup

3 cups pre-sifted flour

4 teaspoons double action baking powder

2 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

½ cup walnuts, chopped

Beat eggs and sugar. Add cherries and milk. Add flour, baking powder; then add melted cooled butter. Add chopped nuts. Pour into well greased 9″ x 5″ x 2-3/4″ loaf pan and bake in oven a 350 degrees for approximately one hour or until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes our clean. The top of the loaf will be irregular.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

The time has finally come for the apron to travel.

I completed my pages in 

The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Susan Apron Journal 

I packed up the journal, the apron, and a little something extra to welcome

KariAnne of Thistlewood Farm 

into our sisterhood. 

Click on the Thistlewood Farm link above to visit

KariAnne's and take a tour her gorgeous Kentucky farmhouse.

Deck The Halls...

 As Promised here are the decorated clay cookies

 The clay cookie/ornaments will be leaving soon as will the Traveling Apron.

The apron and I hope to post one or two more recipes, then 

 I will pack up the apron and ship it off to... 

 Kentucky!

 Stop by next week to find out more details

 Please stop by to see Beverly at How Sweet The Sound.

I'm also linking this post with another Holiday Party being held over at Thistlewood Farm.

I'm off to deck the halls, bake cookies, and wrap gifts...

Happy Pink Saturday too!

Sweet Treats...

Holiday Treats is the name of the theme Beverly at How Sweet The Sound picked for the Pink Saturday Blog hop party this week.

When you think of Christmas holiday treats you might think about cookies and candies, and perhaps cakes and pies. I hope to do some baking this weekend but I won't have photos of those treats ready for posting this week.

I do have some special Holiday Treats that I want to share with you today.
Let me begin with a book called The Christmas Pin Society.  It's written by blogger friend Marianne Coyne at Leisure Lane

If you enjoy watching Holiday movies on the Hallmark channel you will love reading this Christmas tale. A book about life-time friendships, families, love, heartbreak, forgiveness, sharing, caring, miracles and faith. Marianne spins a beautiful and unique story about a group of friends coming together after years of separation to help a sick child in a very special way. It's available at Amazon for e-readers and Kindles or you can purchase a spiral bound book copy directly from Marianne by visiting her blog Leisure Lane. Click here to visit Marianne. Click the Book below to find it on Amazon.

Another holiday e-book treat is completely free! It's called Christmas Angels. It's  written by my blog sister Cindy Adkins at Whimsical Musings. To get your copy of the book all you have to do is click here to visit Cindy's Face Book page Angels At My Door. Let her know in a email that you would like a copy, here is her email address  Cindylou_20@hotmail.com  and she will send it to you.

 

Do you like to read about encounters with angels?  Cindy shares her personal experiences with angel visits in this e-book.
These two sweet treats are Soul food without calories.
Happy Pink Saturday!
Click here to attend the P.S. blog hop!

Are you wondering about the Traveling Apron? Stop back soon to find out who the next sister will be.

The Power Of The Apron...

I just love the chickens and eggs on the apron!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Apron is about sharing and one of the things we have been sharing are recipes. Marcia made and shared a pastry treat that got my attention on one of her posts called Pastelitos de guayaba. I hope I have that correct.  Click here to see Marcia's post. They looked so delicious and her directions are very easy to follow. 

I felt that I had to make these while I had the apron. Thank you Marcia for introducing me to this new dessert. I had never tried guava paste before. I found it in our grocery store in the international isle with the Goya products. They were so easy to make that I didn't mind spending time in the kitchen. I actually felt like I was crafting something while assembling the little food art squares. They look, smell, and taste amazing. 

The power of the apron - trying something new.

 You will need these things...

You will get this result - YUM! 

Traveling Apron And Tradition

 I mentioned previously that I prefer to not spend too much time in the kitchen. I'd rather wear an apron to do crafting. However I do cook and during the holiday's I spend a little more time in the kitchen. There are a few traditional side dishes that my family loves to eat during certain holidays. One favorite is potato filling. I once thought everyone everywhere had heard of potato filling but I learned a few years ago that it's a Berks County, PA dish. My mother-in-law, Helen, gave me the recipe I use for the filling over 41 years ago. Wow! That is a lot of potato filling making, isn't it?
I'm also going to share my pie dough recipe because I am told that my pie dough is very flaky and tasty.  I'm so glad that my turn with the apron has fallen during this time of year.

PIE DOUGH

2 cups + 2 Tbsp Flour

3/4 cup shortening

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. lemon juice or vinegar

1/4 tsp. olive oil

pinch of baking powder

6 Tbsp. cold water

Cut together flour, shortening and salt using a pastry blender or a fork until crumbly. Remove 1/3 cup of the blended mixture from the bowl. Pour it into a 1-cup measuring cup; add water, lemon juice (or Vinegar), and olive oil. Stir. Add baking powder to the dry mixture bowl, stir slightly. Pour contents of the measuring cup into the dry crumbles. Gently cut together. Form dough into a ball. Roll out dough on a lightly floured board. Makes 2 pie shells.  

I made all the dough for our pie shells. But I must confess that I'm sharing the apron with my daughter.  She actually prepared all the pie fillings this year.    

Additional my granddaughter helped to chop and fry the onions, celery and bread cubes. Oh, how I like help with cooking. 

 Pecan Pie

 One of two pumpkin pies

Helen's POTATO FILLING

1  1/2 scant cup chopped celery

1 scant cup chopped onion

15 medium to small potatoes

4 cups of bread cubes

2 eggs 

 parsley sprig

milk as needed

butter as desired

salt and pepper

Fry onion and celery until clear, not brown. Fry bread cubes until slightly brown. Cook potatoes until soft. Mash, adding milk, butter, salt and pepper as desired. Pour mashed potatoes into a butter baking dish. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well blended. Bake in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Click here to read more about the traveling apron.

I hope you enjoy the recipes and please let me know if you try them.