NEW YEAR’S EVE..

          

There’s a new year’s eve tradition I have of making platters of snacks for us for the holidays, so I have included my fruit dip here and an alternative for a more low cal version you might like too.

 FRUIT DIP…

 

1 jar of marshmallow creme.. (small jar)

1 package of creme cheese (can use low fat kind)

mix those together and use about 1/2 tsp

of nutmeg . (or add it to your taste.)

Use this with all kinds of cut up fruit.

This dip is so rich, but boy does it go fast!!

I bet I get asked “where’s the dip?” too

 

LOW CAL FRUIT DIP

 

1  small carton of Yoplait WHIPPED flavored yogurt (6oz)

1 small carton of whipped topping (thawed 4 oz)

This can be doubled  for a larger batch. Tastes Great!!

 

This year not sure how much cooking I will do but I surely will be snacking some and these two dips really are great. I love making a cheese, meat and cracker platter too. A new chip I found this year is by SUN CHIPS

and it’s a natural grain chip and it’s thin and delicious. They have so many flavors too. I hope you can find these in stores near you.

 

On New Years Eve this year I will be lighting a candle in remembrance of those bloggers we miss.. including  Bob Bowers, Carol Ward, and for  my mom.. They are truly missed.

 

With all the many changes they are making over to Facebook I am hoping to see if this posts there. I am still working on my profile page trying to get the settings the way I want them. Hopefully they won’t be changing it again just when we get used to things.

 

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR’S EVE!!     

 

POPCORN BALLS II

Awhile back I posted about how mom made popcorn balls long ago with molasses.I guess it depends on how much time you have or the taste that you like.  Now days we make them so much easier.  Popcorn balls so fast you will want to make many batches. 

Microwave a large size bag of popcorn. Let set while you do the next step.  Sometimes I do several bags so I know I have enough popcorn.

 Microwaving a bag of mini marshmallows in a large bowl with 6 Tablespoons of butter is pretty simple. Anyone who has made rice krispie treats knows this step. Melt them for about 2 minutes or until the mixture can be stirred and all the marshmallows are melted. (This is where I add food color..red and yellow make them orange).  Let it cool a little bit. 

Smear  butter on your hands or spray your hands with cooking spray and proceed to pour the popcorn into the large bowl. Stir it well and make into balls. This recipe will make at least 6 to 8 balls depending on the size. you can add candy corn, M&M’s, sprinkles or any candy you like to the sticky outside. Decorate them if you like. Wrap these in wax or plastic wrap.

In case you are wondering..here is the recipe for the

Molasses popcorn balls..      

 Directions 

  Use large bag of microwave popcorn,( you may need more than one  bag.)

 

1. In 2 quart saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon butter. Stir in 1 cup sugar, 1 cup molasses, and 1/2 tsp salt. Insert a candy thermometer in saucepan and boil sugar mixture on medium heat until the thermometer reads 260 degrees F(126 degrees C).
2. Pour syrup over corn, while stirring  popcorn thoroughly. Butter hands lightly. Shape popcorn into 12 to 14 balls. Wrap in wax paper or plastic wrap.

ENJOY!!!

 

WEIRD SURPRISE

Imagine my surprise when I cut into two watermelons I purchased and found they looked like this… I got them out-of-town so could not return them to the store. I was curious so I took a bite of one. It tasted like it had some cucumber flavor in it. I guess un-ripe would also describe it. I was sure sad because all the other melons I have gotten are really good this year. Good thing these were on sale and I did not pay 5$ a piece for them like they are in my town here. 

 Couple of days ago when I was out of town I got out of our HOT HOT car and noticed a DOG, a large golden retriever, with his head on the dashboard of a van. His eyes looked glazed and his tongue was not panting.The windows were only open about 3 inches. I was infuriated beyond words. HOW CAN A PERSON DO THAT? I stormed into the store and the greeter smiled and I asked her to call the manager so someone could call police or do something. She said she would but then just stood there. I asked again and told her this was urgent, did she know how HOT it was for an animal in a car with the windows barely open? She didn’t answer me at all. SO I said I would call the police myself if someone didnt go to that van in the next ten minutes.
LONG story short..she contacted the manager, who made an annoucement. I went back outside to the van. MORE than ONE dog inside and all looked distressed. Someone had already called the police, because one rolled up and looked concerned over the whole thing. We stood there and saw that the smaller dog was still barking but the two larger ones were quiet and looked terrible. Just as the cop was about to break the window of the van..a lady came out of the store in a rush. This van was in the handicap parking place. I went inside because it was so hot, but others stood around to see what would happen. Later in the day I was at another store and the same thing happened. Whatever possesses a person to leave animals in a HOT HOT car like that is beyond my comprehension. They just do not know that the very life of the animal is in jeopardy. A dog’s life can be lost in a matter of minutes. Sis reminded me that if that had been a child, there would have been no waiting at all. WE would have taken action right away, no asking management to help. To some of us, our pets are like family. They mean a lot to us, and we would never put their life in danger like that. It just must be that some people just don’t think about what they might lose, until something happens. I sure hope not to see that again, but know that some people just don’t  think before they make decisions that could cost  them dearly.

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!!!

,

I SCREAM FOR…

DID YOU KNOW  JULY 18TH WAS NATIONAL ICE

CREAM DAY????

Way back in 1984 President Ronald Reagan declared this day

a national day of celebration. I guess it doesn’t get much

attention now except from the companies who make ice

cream products for a living. The whole month is national

ice cream month. It had  been so hot this month that

having a bowl of that nice, cold, creamy, ice cream is just so

satisfying. You can do so many neat things with ice cream. Put it

in drinks, cakes, in between cookies, not to mention put a lot

of neat toppings on it. I am not an ice cream junky, but I do love

a nice bowl or cone once in awhile.  I enjoyed my cone I had today

right down to the last lick.

Hope you remembered to celebrate the day with a dish, cone or

scoop too!

 

P.S. My favorite flavor is Black Cherry or Strawberry Swirl.

What’s yours??

WHEW..WHAT’S THAT SMELL???

Catching up here on what’s going on. I can hardly ever remember

when I left this space not updated for 6 days! I have been busy

with Facebook and my other blogspot blog.

Friday I met with a friend of

mine I hadn’t seen in a long while. We had a nice visit catching up

on our lives and learning new things about each other. My life here

has changed so much since the last time I saw her. We had a nice

dinner at Applebee’s and it was a real treat ! THANKS NITA!

I really had a wonderful time.

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Yesterday morning we got up to a terrible smell. I mean, at first,

I thought it was a dead animal somewhere in the house.

I couldn’t quite figure it out until I opened the door to my basement.

WOW.. the smell of  GAS knocked me over. I was very alarmed!

I called the emergency number for the gas company. Seems some

“person” had put too much odorant in the gas lines and some homes

in our town were having a major problem with it. If you have even the

slightest tiny leak you got a real stink! The lady dispatcher on the phone

explained that normally there is NO SMELL in gas, so they add the

smell so you can tell when there is a leak. So I then figured out..

WE HAVE A LEAK! It was mid-afternoon when they came to check

it out and by then we had 80 degrees outside and all the doors open

and fans running. I had quite a headache from the smell.  The service

guy had been very busy running all over town checking homes with

leaks. On a Sunday that is mucho overtime pay.

It was quite late when the smell finally started to go away. We were

glad it wasn’t at night that all this happened. NO ONE would have

gotten much sleep with that STINK around.

HELL HOUSE… Yep they had a leak too, not sure where though.

Just what was leaking was

hard to find here at our house. His meter was NOT showing the leak.

So he had to go along all the pipelines to find it with soapy water.

Turns out our furnace has a valve with a small leak and will have to

be replaced before fall comes. He shut the valve off and now we have

to get it fixed before using it. More $$$$… sheesh.. one just  never knows

what is around the corner owning a home.  It is always something!

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Looks like we are in for a scorching week here in our neck of the woods.

90′s and humid again. My A/C will run like crazy and I will be spending

a lot of time indoors again. We missed out on several storms that have

rumbled around here. I woke to lightning last night, we never got the rain

though. Lawns are slowly getting brown here, looks like I won’t have to

mow this week which is just fine with me! Gas prices have sure come down

around here. Today they are between $2.66 and $2.72…they dropped

about 8 cents since last Thursday. Milk around here has been high

in our local stores, $2.79 or higher. I have been buying it out of town

at $1.99 when I have to get it. I cut way back on milk in the summertime

for some reason. I drink more tea and water I guess.

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UPDATE ON THE ROCKER SHOES…

Sue and I have been wearing the Therashoes from Kmart for some time

now and agree that we wouldn’t want to go back to the other shoes

anytime soon. I have surely tried to do it but the rocker shoes are so

comfortable that I just wear the old ones for awhile.. and just want to

take them OFF! I haven’t had any trouble with them and now Kmart

has come out with another brand of rocker that is very nice. They are on sale this

week. I will be checking them out too today. When I can mow lawn in

them and my back doesn’t hurt afterward, that is a major deal breaker!!

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Well that is enough for now…

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!