Greetings, Dear Ladies!
I pray that you and yours had a very Happy Thanksgiving and that your Christmas season is off to a warm and beautiful beginning. What a blessed time of year, as we celebrate our Lord and dear Saviour's virgin birth!
So many of the stores this year have taken "MERRY CHRISTMAS!" out and put "HAPPY HOLIDAYS!" in. I'd like to encourage you to make a stand and contact store managers of stores who have chosen to do this and let them know that you will not be purchasing items from their store until they recognize Christmas as Christmas. It worked with Walgreen's! It will work with the others, as well, if we let our voices be heard!!!
I'm afraid that you will find this issue of HEARTH AND HOME rather short, but, perhaps, you will find something of interest that will add to your Christmas season. Here we go...
1) Our Thanksgiving was nice...different...quieter than usual. There was definitely a noticeable emptiness present that my mother used to fill. We haven't had a sit-down family-style, Thanksgiving dinner since my husband went into the ministry, but choose, rather, to serve our community. We cooked four turkeys this year and served 19 meals to area shut-ins and others who, otherwise, would not have had a meal or contact with other people on the holiday. After all the meals were delivered everyone in the family who was here grabbed a plate, sat down, and enjoyed what was left.
2) I made two of these pumpkin rolls for Thanksgiving. They are a family favorite:
PUMPKIN ROLL
(Makes 10 servings)
CAKE:
Powdered sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
FILLING:
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 less fat cream cheese)
1 cup powdered sugar
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
Powdered sugar
FOR CAKE: PREHEAT oven to 375 degrees F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel (NOT THE FUZZY KIND) with powdered sugar.
COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.
BAKE for 13-15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool completely.
FOR FILLING: Beat cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla extract in a small mixer bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Re-roll cake. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.One of our readers sent in this note:
3) One of our HEARTH AND HOME readers shared this note of interest:
Thank you for sharing, Marsha! From what I've read and seen so far this looks like a wonderful organization! May God bless all your efforts this Christmas!
4) Here is an idea that might make your Christmas a little sweeter:
5) How about some printable tea bag envelopes? I like to tuck these into cards to friends, along with samples of new tea flavors:
Enjoy!
6) I've made a whole host of "tea bag angels" to give away this Christmas. To make them the way that I make them, you will need:
2 tea bags with strings and tags
scissors
glue
thin strips of raffia, ribbon, or string of your choice
Open up tea bags and discard packages. Sit one tea bag up on end and shake all loose tea into the bottom. Judging the proper proportions pinch up and tie at the neck with the raffia, ribbon, or string of your choice. This has formed the angel's head, body, and hanger. Take the other tea bag and cut the tag off right at the end of the string. Cut the bag away at the other end of the string leaving the full length of the string intact. (Hang on to this...you're going to need it in just a minute.)
Now, take the second tea bag, and cut away a thin strip at the top, allowing you to open the tea bag and dump the contents. (This bag will be used to form the angel's wings.) After dumping the contents, lay the bag out flat and straighten it. Fold over both ends, placing them in the middle and slightly overlapped. Holding tightly pinch together and tie tightly with the string that you saved from the second tea bag. You should now have a tiny pair of angel's wings. Place the first bag (body of angel) face down on the table and put a dab of glue on the back of the angel's neck. Gently press the wings in place (be sure to put the tied string side down) and hold for a few seconds. Allow the angel to dry completely before hanging.
7) This handy bit of information was passed on to me by my friend, Annette. She had received it from someone else. The e-mail that Annette shared says:
<<<
I had a wonderful morning! The heating unit went out on my dryer! Why does everything seem to fall
apart this time of year!?!?!? The guy that fixes things went into the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. We always clean the lint from the filter after every load of clothes. He told us that he wanted to show us something.
He took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. Now, the lint filter is made of a mesh material - I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. WELL......the hot water just sat on top of the mesh!!! It didn't go through it at all!!! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over the mesh and that's what burns
out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. This is also what causes dryer units to catch fire and could potentially burn your house down!
He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that???!!!! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!
Note: I went to my dryer & tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran thru a little bit, but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it, the water ran right through the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!>>>>
Thanks for sharing this e-mail with me, Annette! We have had TWO heating units burn out in our dryer in the last YEAR!!!! Hmmmmm...... (makes you wonder...doesn't it?) Thanks, Friend!
8) I haven't made it yet, but here's a recipe that I received from Lehman's for a STEAMED HOLIDAY PUDDING. It sounds wonderful!
9) Here's a great gift idea for children to make and share:
CHOCOLATE MELTING SPOONS
Yummy treats to stir into coffee or hot chocolate
You'll need:
- Dark, milk and/or white chocolate chips
- Higher quality plastic spoons
- Sprinkles or jimmies
- Clear or colored cellophane
- Ribbons
Directions:
1. Adult: Melt chocolate carefully.
2. Dip colored plastic spoons in melted dark, milk or white chocolate.
3. Top with multicolored or glittery sprinkles. Allow to harden.
4. Wrap in clear or colored cellophane and tie with ribbon.
5. For a special addition to this yummy gift, glue a photo of your child onto a square of construction paper & make a gift tag.
10) Here's a great place to run a printable menu planner:
11) Does anyone here get ABOVE RUBIES magazine ( http://www.aboverubies.org/frameset.asp?w=800 )? I, absolutely, love it! It's so encouraging! Anyway, if you do, did you read the article "Where's My Apron?" in the latest issue (#65)? For those of you who know me, you know how much I love my big, wrap-around aprons! I could have written this article! My old, pink apron (my most favoritest apron in the whole wide world) is about shot. I've worn it, almost, daily for years...at least six years now, I think, and it's time for a new one. While I was at Walmart yesterday I picked up a new pattern (Simplicity's Daisy Kingdom Pattern #5201). I think that, after the first of the year, I'm going to make myself, at least, two new aprons, then start working on aprons for Christmas gifts next year.
12) Here's another new recipe that I made recently. It was really good!
CHICKEN BREAST STROGANOFF
6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon dried parsley
2 teaspoons dried chives
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup chicken or turkey broth
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup sour cream
Defrost chicken breasts. In a large skillet, melt butter and brown breast filets on both sides; remove chicken and arrange in a single layer in a large baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. To butter in skillet add mushrooms and seasonings; cook until mushrooms are tender. Stir in chicken broth. In a small bowl combine flour and sour cream. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet contents and heat through. Pour mixture over chicken breasts, cover with foil, and bake at 375 degrees for 60 to 70 minutes until chicken is done and tender. Let stand 3 to 5 minutes before serving.
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Well, Sweet Sisters, that's it for this issue of HEARTH AND HOME. If I don't get a chance to visit with you sooner have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! God bless all here!
Love and Holiday ((((Hugs)))),
~Rebecca
(wife, homeschooling mom, keeper at home)
Proverbs 31:10-31; Titus 2:3-5
"Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established; And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches." (Proverbs 24:3-4 KJV)
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