The Ice Storm

I won't take long tonight. We were hit with a bad ice storm on Monday night. We have been without electricity, heat, water, telephones except cell phones when we can keep them charged. They said to begin with that we'd have electricity in a day or two but then we heard that it could be a week or more. My parents, my son and I are in St. Joseph at my brother and sister-in-law's house for the duration. We went back to Oregon to feed the horses this morning and check the houses. We had electricity for about 10 minutes but nothing since. They say that Holt County is a total disaster. I will write more later, on the storm. I'm using my brother's computer.

Getting Ready for the Ice Storm

Well this evening when we delivered the donuts, it seemed like the lines at the convenient stores and also at the grocery store were miles long. We are supposed to get 1/2 to 1 inch of ice between tonight and Wednesday. I would much rather get snow. Everyone seems to be getting ready for the ice.

Meanwhile back at the bakery, I'm making divinity and gingerbreadmen. Personally I don't care for gingerbread cookies but they really have a holiday aroma. I go a lot on aromas. The divinity is for the daughter of a friend. She lives in Hong Kong and her parents have ordered a lot of goodies for her. I am going to get the order to them on Thursday so they can send it out.

Here is another Holiday Recipe:

Peppermint Pretzel Canes

6 oz. vanilla flavored candy coating (almond bark), cut into pieces

2 Tablespoons shortening

2/3 cup finely crushed peppermint candies (24 pieces)

12 (8 1/2 inch) pretzel rods (from 11 oz. pkg)

Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. In 2 qt. pan, melt almond bark and shortening over low heat, stirring occasionally. Pour into 11X7 inch (2 qt) glass baking dish or other shallow dish, carefully set baking dish in hot water to keep almond bark soft. (Do not get any water in almond bark).

Sprinkle crushed candy over separate sheet of waxed paper. Dip pretzels into almond bark, allow excess to drip off. Roll in crushed candy. Place on cookie sheet. Let stand until set, about 30 minutes.

I really enjoy the 24 Days of Blogging and try to get to other blogs.

Sandra Justice

Making Fruitcakes for Christmas

This afternoon my bakery if full of the smells of Christmas. I am making some of my favorite items - fruitcakes. I love the aroma of fruitcakes baking. It is so warm, sweet and soo good. I only make fruitcakes at Christmas. My grandmother taught me how to make them and I remember her kitchen full of good aromas especially during the Christmas Season. I'm also busy making candy - Peppermint Bark and tomorrow I will be making Gingerbreadmen and Plain Divinity. The Holiday Season is so wonderful.

We will be having our Family Christmas Dinner on Saturday, the 22nd. my son, his daughter and his girlfriend will be at my house for presents and Christmas Dinner.

Merchants Around the Square

Good Evening,

Tonight I will be telling you about our Annual Craft Show and Christmas Celebration in our small town. I am in charge of the Craft Show which starts tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. It lasts all day with 2 local youth groups serving the lunch and dinner. This is done every year on the first Thursday in December. All of the merchants in town hold a drawing in each of their stores and the winners are drawn tomorrow at noon. In order to get your prize you have to go to the store and pick it up. Then in the afternoon the restaurant serves pizza and pop to all of the children from kindergarten thru 6th grade. They get to watch a movie while they are eating their pizza. We have carriage rides in the evening and Santa comes around 5 p.m. After dinner is served then everyone goes to one of the local churches for services and Christmas carols. We started doing this in 1989, the December after I opened the bakery. The first year, we had a snow storm and got 4 to 6 inches of snow. It wasn't as big as it is now because just a few of the merchants participated and now all of the merchants in town participate. It is a wonderful time for everyone.

This is just one of the things that we do here in Northwest Missouri throughout the year in our small town of Oregon.

Happy Holidays to Everyone!

Sandra Justice
Annie's Accents Bakery

Holiday Cheeseballs for Christmas and New Year's Parties

Everyone loves parties. Here it is the usual custom for each guest to take something good to snack on during the party. Here are several Cheeseballs that have been hits at some of the parties I go to.

Salmon Cheeseball

1 can Salmon

1 8 oz. pkg Cream Cheese

1 T. Lemon Juice

2 tsp. Onions

1 tsp. Liquid Smoke Flavoring

Let Cream Cheese soften and drain the Salmon. Remove all of the bones in the Salmon. Mix the Cream Cheese and Salmon. Add the Lemon Juice, Onions, and Liquid Smoke and mix well. Shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve with your choice of crackers.

Cheeseball

2 - 8 oz. pkg Cream Cheese

1 - 8 oz. pkg shredded Cheddar Cheese

1 tsp Onion

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Let Cream Cheese soften. Add Cheddar Cheese, Onion, and Worcestershire Sauce. Mix well. This will make 2 small balls or 1 large ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve with your choice of crackers.

The Cheeseballs can be made several days in advance of serving them. They will become better flavored as time goes by.

I have taken these to Office Christmas Parties for years. I hope that you enjoy these. I will also have these recipes that I post on my blog in my new recipe book that is coming out in January.

Sandra Justice

Annie's Accents Bakery

Website: http://www.anniesaccentsbakery.net

Jalapeno Pepper Jelly

I just got thru making a new jelly to add to my collection. I have been asked if I ever made Jalapeno Pepper Jelly. Well, I made my first batch today. It is of course green and I have used the red gingham to cover the lids to add to the Christmas Spirit. We usually eat it on crackers with cream cheese. I have added it to my website this evening.

This reminded me of the times that I helped my grandmother when she made jams and jellies. She never made Jalapeno Pepper but she gave me a lot of advice on how to make jams and jellies.

A New Recipe

I had this recipe that was given to me by my mother which is easy to do and is very good.

Raspberry Desert

1 1/2 c. Crushed Pineapple

1 c. Sugar

1 pkg Raspberry Jello

2 Tbs. Lemon Juice

1 tall can Carnation Milk

Crumb Crust

1/2 c. Nuts

1/2 pkg Vanilla Wafers or Graham Crackers

1/4 c. melted Butter

2 Tbs. Sugar

Boil the crushed pineapple and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the package of jello whil mixture is hot. Add lemon juice to this mixture and cool until congealed. Whip the carnation milk and add to the jello mixture. Take Vanilla Wafers or Graham Crackers and make crumbs. Add the nuts, melted butter and sugar. Press crumb mixture in the bottom of 9 X 13 pan reserving some crumbs to sprinkle on top. Pour raspberry mixture into pan on top of crumbs. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top.

Note: You can use a large carton of Cool Whip rather than the carnation and you can us Black Raspberry Jello or any kind that you prefer instead of Raspberry.

I hope that you like this dessert. It's not hard to make and is colorful.

Sandra

Annie's Accents Bakery

http://www.anniesaccentsbakery.net