DO YOU LIKE MUSIC?

I like to listen to the radio when I am cooking, but I surely do not like
commercials, repeated songs or disc jockey opinions and dumb jokes.

My brother sent me to this amazing radio station where you control
ALL the music. And it's FREE. And there are NO commercials. Right

now they have even added several styles of Christmas music so you can
create your very own Christmas station. Try it--I bet you'll like it!

Pandora Internet Radio

CUCUMBER PUNCH

If you need a delicious holiday punch, give this one a try. I tasted it at our
kitchen store's sale night for customers and loved it! The punch cups she
served it in were way too tiny--this is just too delicious. The taste is crisp
and clean with just a hint of herb from the cucumbers. If you want to
coordinate this punch for your event, just add a few drops of food coloring.
Wonderful!

CUCUMBER PUNCH

(1)  2 Liter bottle of Sprite

(1)  can Limeaid

(1)  can water

1/2 bag ice

Cucumber slices (thin)

Mix together in punch bowl--enjoy!

RASPBERRY CUSTARD PIE

This is one of my favorite pie recipes! It is from a very old cookbook and uses
the kind of basic ingredients that most everyone will have in their cupboard.

I was asked to make pies for a board meeting last week and they asked for
Lemon Meringue and "something berry." I made this pie with raspberry topping
and the verdict was Wonderful!

Any kind of canned berries will do--blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, etc.
I prefer the tang of raspberries to off set the custard sweetness. This is a great
pie for the holidays with it's cheery colors and deliciously different flavors. Try it!

RASPBERRY CUSTARD PIE

FILLING

1/2 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 Baked Pie Shell

In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, flour and salt. Gradually stir in milk,

whisking until smooth. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened

and bubbly. Reduce heat, cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and

stir a small amount into egg; return all to the saucepan. Cook and stir until

almost bubbly. Reduce heat and cook and stir 1 minute more (do not boil)

Remove from heat; stir in vanilla until smooth. Let cool completely to room

temperature. Once cooled, stir gently with a wire whisk to break up any lumps

so mixture is smooth.

Whip cream and gently fold into filling. Pour into baked pastry shell and refri-

gerate until set, a minimum of 2 hours. Pour chosen fruit filling over pie and 

return to refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

Yield: 6-8 servings

GOD'S FREE GIFTS

I loved this post by Ann @ Holy Experience. Her writing and beautiful photos really spoke to me this

Christmas season and freshly beginning New Year.

CHOCOLATE BILLIONAIRES

Just the name alone makes me want to taste them! I am making these to put into cookie boxes for
Christmas and they received 2 enthusiastic thumbs up from the folks in this house. They look and
taste a lot like turtles except you get the added bonus of crispy rice cereal mixed in there with the
caramel and pecans--YUM.

They were surprisingly easy to make but there were a couple of crucial things I learned:

1) Don't start making these if you don't have uninterrupted time to devote to the project (melted
chocolate doesn't like to be kept waiting.)

2) Don't make these with your husband home unless you have a place to hide them.










1 14 ounce bag of caramels
3 Tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 cup slightly crushed crisp rice cereal (not too fine--they add a nice texture)
1 Tablespoon shortening
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (I only use Nestle's)

1) In top of double boiler over low heat, melt caramels with water, stirring until very smooth.

2) Remove from heat and stir in pecans and rice cereal.

3) Drop by rounded teaspoons onto lightly greased waxed paper on cookie sheet. Chill until firm.

4) Melt chocolate chips and shortening in double boiler over low heat until melted and smooth.

5) Using 2 forks, dip chilled candies in chocolate until covered, shaking fork gently back and
forth to remove excess chocolate. Push candy off the fork with the other fork onto waxed paper.

5) Chill until chocolate is set, then store in an airtight container. These are wonderful presented
in a pretty box, on a pressed glass plate or in a vintage cookie container as a gift (people will be
amazed at your candy making abilities!)

Makes approx. 4 dozen small candies or 36 larger candies.

I think this is a Great Idea!!!

When you are making out your Christmas card list this year
include the following:

A Recovering American soldier
C/O Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20307-5001

SOFT CHRISTMAS COOKIES

This is a simple, versatile recipe for cut out cookies to decorate with frosting (recipe follows) for any holiday. Perfect for any shape you can dream up! Bake them for 6-8 minutes for a very soft cookie, or 8-10 minutes for a crisp cookie that is wonderful dipped in hot coffee or tea.

1) Mix Thoroughly:

1/3 cup soft shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2/3 cup honey
1 tsp lemon flavoring

2) Sift Together and Stir In:

2 3/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt

3) Chill dough. Roll out 1/4" thick. Cut into desired shapes. Place 1" apart on lightly greased or parchment paper covered cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees until light golden around the edges. Bake 6-8 minutes for a very soft cookie or 8-10 minutes for a crisp cookie. Let cool thoroughly on rack before frosting. This recipe yields approx 5 dozen 2 1/2" cookies. Or you can double the batch and freeze the dough in airtight freezer containers for up to 9 months. Thaw at room temperature until soft enough to handle.

EASY, CREAMY COOKIE ICING

Blend 1 cup sifted confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar), 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. vanilla or other flavoring (lemon, almond, peppermint, etc) and liquid to make easy to spread (approx. 1 Tbsp. water or 1/2 Tbsp. cream). Tint if desired with a few drops of food coloring. Spread on cookies with butter knife or spatula. If you want to add decorations such as sprinkles make sure and do that while the icing is fresh and not set up or the decorations may not adhere. Let frosting dry completely before stacking cookies. Once cookies are cooled they can be frozen in freezer containers with tight fitting lids for up to 9 months. Thaw cookies at room temperature in orginal containers.