September

 

 

 

 

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Edible Cookie Bowl

 

1 ¼ cups flour

 

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

 

¼ cup slivered almonds, finely ground

 

½ teaspoon salt

 

4 Tablespoons margarine, softened

 

2/3 cup sugar

 

1 egg

 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Cover the outside of a loaf pan or oven proof bowl with foil. Spray with vegetable cooking spray.

 

In separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, almonds and salt. In a large bowl, beat together margarine, sugar, egg and vanilla until light and fluffy.

 

Add the flour mixture and beat well.

 

Preheat oven to 350º

 

Roll dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Using a round cookie cutter with scalloped edges, cut out the shapes. Cover prepared loaf pan with cutouts, overlapping

 

them slightly. Bake cookie bowl until edges are firm, about 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool completely.

 

To remove the cookie bowl. Be careful and lift it off the foil lined loaf pan. Remove foil. Arrange other cookies in the cookie bowl. Cover loosely with

 

plastic wrap and tie with a bow. Wonderful presentation for your cookie gift.

 

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Eggnog Cheesecake
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs.
1 tablespoon sugar.
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine .
5 egg yolks.
2 teaspoons rum extract.
1/3 cup sugar.
1 package (15 ounces) ricotta cheese.
1 cup cream, whipped.
1/2 cup (4 ounces) glace whole red cherries, coarsely chopped.
1/2 cup (4 ounces) glace whole green cherries, coarsely chopped.
1/4 cup coarsely chopped toasted almonds.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and 1 tablespoon sugar in bottom of ungreased 81/4-inch springform pan; mix in butter. Pat mixture on bottom and 1/2-inch up side of pan. Beat egg yolks and rum extract in large mixing bowl until thick and light in color, 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in 1/3 cup sugar gradually. Process ricotta cheese in food processor or blender until very smooth; stir into yolk mixture. Fold whipped cream into yolk mixture; fold in glace fruits and almonds. Pour mixture into springform pan. Freeze until firm, 8 hours or overnight. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully loosen cheesecake by running sharp knife around sides; remove side of pan. Return to freezer until serving time.
Makes 12 servings.

 

 

 

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Silent night, holy night.

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night, holy night,
Shepherds quake at the sight,
Glories stream from heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing alleluia;
Christ the Saviour, is born!
Christ the Saviour, is born!

Silent night, holy night!
Wondrous star, lend thy light!
With the angels let us sing
Alleluia to our King!
Christ the Saviour is here,
Jesus the Saviour is here!

Silent night, holy night,
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.
Jesus, Lord, at thy birth.

 

 

 

 

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http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/away-in-a-manger-homemade-creche-668113/

 

Away in a Manger: Homemade Creche

 

Crafted from pipe cleaners and yarn, this homemade creche is kid-friendly (after all, there's no right or wrong when it comes to folk art). Once your family learns the basic technique, they'll enjoy improvising!
Here, you'll find the instructions for making the people; see the Tips section at the bottom of the page for links to instructions for creating all the other parts of the manger.

Materials

• MATERIALS FOR 1 PERSON
• 3 pipe cleaners (2 skin-colored, 1 brown)
• Ruler
• Scissors
• 4 to 8 feet (less for a male, more for a female) of bulky-weight, hair-colored yarn (we used Lion Brand Homespun)

• 3 to 4 jumbo cotton balls, unrolled
• About 8 feet of skin-colored worsted-weight yarn
• Tacky glue
• About 20 feet of clothing-colored yarn (use a bulky-weight yarn like those suggested for the hair)
• 5-mm sequin for eyes

X

Instructions

1. The People:
   
   Fold a pipe cleaner in half and twist the folded end into a ¼-inch stem.
2. Cut the hair yarn into 9-inch strands (5 to 8 strands for a female, 2 to 4 for a male). Center the strands in the V below the stem and twist the pipe cleaner to secure them.
3. Make another twist 1 inch below the hair, then open it into a loop to form the head and neck.
4. Twist the center of a second pipe cleaner around the neck, weaving in one end of an unrolled cotton ball. Fold in the pipe cleaner ends to form arms and twist them to secure.
5. Wrap the head with cotton. Pass the cotton through the space under the neck and wrap the body. Add cotton as needed. Tip: Don't wrap the legs too close together.
6. Cut the brown pipe cleaner to about 8 inches and form a stand as shown. Twist the tip of each leg around the stand.
7. Tie the center of the skin-colored yarn around the neck and wrap, double-thick, to the stem and back. If necessary, add glue as you wrap to secure the yarn.
8. To finish, loop the yarn around the neck, knot it, and pull to shape the neck. Trim the ends and tuck them under at the back. Press the stem all the way down. Tie one end of the clothing-colored yarn around an ankle, then wrap the body, doubling back as needed to cover the cotton.
9. Wrap the chest, continue down one arm to about ¾ inch from the end, and wrap back to the neck. Repeat on the other arm, then loop the yarn around the neck and knot, trim, and tuck it as you did for the head. To make eyes, cut the sequin in half and glue in place.

Tips:

Click on the links below to get instructions for making the rest of the manger, people, and animals:
Baby Jesus
The Stable
The Manger
The Animals
Heavenly Angel
Biblical Hairdos
Frankincense and More

 

 

 

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Things to do at Christmas time, Plan a day trip for between Christmas Day and New Years day. Don't allow yourself to have that let down feeling once all the presents are opened and the dinner you have been planning on making for months is gone. Plan a day trip to someplace close that you have always wanted to go to, but have put off for any reason.  A museum, Mall, zoo, or other place that catches your interest. That will give you some thing to look forward to. 

 

 

 

 

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http://orthodoxwiki.org/Nativity

 

The Nativity according to the flesh of our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, also called Christmas, is one of the Great Feasts of the Orthodox Church, celebrated on December 25.
In the fullness of time, our Lord Jesus Christ was born to the Holy Theotokos and Virgin Mary, thus entering into the world as a man and revealing Himself to mankind.

 

 

 

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Billie C.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/A_Melting_Pot/