A cup of hot chocolate or apple cider and a warm cozy blanket are the recipe for a nice evening at home or maybe even during the day for the past few days. As much as we prepare for winter and know that it will come it doesn’t surprise us but we wish and hope the sun will shine and the wind won’t blow. One day at a time and as quickly as the time seems to go, before long it will be spring again. The harvest in this area is pretty much complete and a lot of the tillage is done for another year.
Last week was unusually busy so it seemed. Starting off on Sunday with the annual meeting of historical society. The Dinehart/Holt presentation was most interesting especially for those of us who knew some of the family. My aunt Rose spent a lot of time there as a child as there weren’t many other children in the neighborhood. We took her on a tour of the house one time and she told us about each room and the surrounding grounds in the 1920s and later.
The week continued with community band practice. The concert will be on December 3 in the afternoon. Hopefully more of the members will be at practice this week. The second week in the month apparently must have been decided at one time to have a monthly meeting so there were a couple of those. The musical on Friday night, Prairie Music concert on Saturday, Christmas open house downtown and at the Holt house on Sunday. Never a dull moment around here.
I haven’t started Christmas shopping yet except for a few things I purchased on sale after the season last year. It was mostly some extras to put in their bags (stockings). I don’t fix the adult bags anymore but this year I should perhaps include the great-grandchildren now that they are getting a little older. Morgan wants a Barbie dress like Mom had when she was a little girl but also some Barbie daddy (Ken) clothes. Good thing I kept at least one doll to use for fitting. We’ll see what I can get done between now and December 25.
Baked Potato Cheddar Soup
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk 1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 large potatoes, baked, peeled and coarsely mashed (1 1/2 lbs.)
1/3 cup plus onions, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup thinly sliced green
2 tablespoons shredded cheddar cheese. divided
Crumbled cooked bacon, optional
In a large saucepan, whisk flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the potatoes, 1/3 cup cheese, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Remove from the heat. Stir in sour cream and 1/4 cup onions until blended. Cover; cook over medium heat for 10-12 minutes or until heated through (do not boil). Garnish with remaining cheese, onions and, if desired, bacon. 4 servings.
Tropical Sweet Potatoes
4 large sweet potatoes (3 1/2 pounds)
1 can (8 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained
6 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
3/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
1/2 cup crushed saltines
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Pinch ground cloves
In a large saucepan, cover sweet potatoes with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool. Peel the potatoes and place in a large bowl; mash. Add the crushed pineapple, 2 tablespoons butter, salt and pepper; mix well.
Transfer potato mixture to a greased 2 quart baking dish. Combine saltines, brown sugar, cloves and remaining butter; sprinkle over potatoes. Bake, uncovered, at 375º for 30 minutes. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.
Cranberry Salad
1 3- ounce package raspberry Jello
1 3-ounce package strawberry Jello
2 cups hot water.
1 package cranberries, chopped
2 cups sugar
1 can crushed pineapple
2 cups fresh orange slices or 2 cans drained mandarin oranges
1 cup nutmeats chopped
Pour hot water in Jello to dissolve, let congeal partly. Add 2 cups sugar with chopped cranberries and heat over slow heat until sugar is dissolved, remove from burner and let cool. Add: l can crushed pineapple, 2 cups orange slices cut up (or 2 cans drained mandarin oranges) and chopped nutmeats, add to mixture and stir. Will keep quite awhile in refrigerator.
