Christmas Time ~

~Merry Christmas~

Tasty Meats

Hubby and I enjoy flavored lunch meats but not the 5-6.00 per pound that grocers charge. I decided to experiment with flavoring some on my own and it turned out very well. For about 1.50 per pound we now have Cajun and Honey Ham!
First, I bought one of the 5 lb. chunks of Farmland pre-cooked ham from Wal-Mart and had them slice it thin.




For the Honey ham I put a can of apple juice concentrate in a saucepan and added honey and a bit of brown sugar. Sorry, but I didn't measure this one. I would guess about 2-3 Tbsp. of honey and next time I'd leave out the brown sugar. I simmered it just to dissolve the honey and removed from heat. Put about 2 pounds of the sliced ham in a baking dish and cover with the apple juice mixture. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Remove meat from juices and place in a strainer for about 30 min. and WALLA! Sweet Honey-ham!


For the Cajun ham I did measure so here is my recipe:
Cajun Marinade for ham
1 CUP. water
1 Tbsp. Salad vinegar
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Tsp-1 tbsp. Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. Steak seasoning
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
2 Tsp onion powder
Dash cumin
Bring to boil and simmer for a minute. Pour over 2 pounds of sliced ham and let soak in refrigerator for 1-2 hours. Remove from juices and drain.

Christmas Baking

I am having so much fun baking this year! Hubby bought me a new mixer that is making it so quick and easy. I have been without a mixer for a few months and this one is the best I've had, I love it!
So far the kids and I have made Chocolate Crinkles, Butterscotch Chip Cookies, Peanut Butter White Chocolate Chip Cookies and Ginger Cookies. Also on our baking list are Rugelach, Sugar Cookies,Ranger Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Oreo Cookie Dirt,Coconut Pie,Chocolate Pie and Apple Pie.

Christmas Tidbits ~

Absolutely Fabulous Cake!

I made this tonight and it is wonderful! Moist and delicious!

Best Carrot-Pineapple Cake 14 servings
Ingredients
2 cups sifted cake flour
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1-1/4 cups finely shredded carrot
1 8 1/4 ounce can crushed pineapple (syrup pack)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
4 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Directions
1. Grease and flour two 8x112-inch or 9x112-inch round baking pans. Set the pans aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and allspice. Add carrot, undrained pineapple, mayonnaise and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed till moistened. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. By hand, stir in walnuts.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake in a 350° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Loosen sides. Remove cakes from pans. Cool thoroughly on wire racks.

4. To assemble, place 1 cake layer on a serving plate. Spread layer with about 12 cup of the Cream Cheese Frosting. Top with second layer. Spread top and sides with the remaining frosting. Store, covered, in refrigerator. Makes 14 servings.

Cream Cheese Frosting: In a large mixing bowl, beat one 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened; and 2 teaspoons vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed till light and fluffy. Gradually beat in enough sifted powdered sugar (about 4 cups) to make a frosting of spreading consistency. Makes 3-1/2 cups.

The most touching thin that I have ever heard~

July 14, 1861
Camp Clark, Washington

My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more . . .

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt . . .

Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood, around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness . . .

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights . . . always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again . . .

Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861.

Born March 28, 1829 in Smithfield, R.I., Ballou was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.; Brown University in Providence, R.I. and the National Law School in Ballston, N.Y. He was admitted to the Rhode Island Bar in 1853.

Ballou devoted his brief life to public service. He was elected in 1854 as clerk of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, later serving as its speaker.
He married Sarah Hart Shumway on October 15, 1855, and the following year saw the birth of their first child, Edgar. A second son, William, was born in 1859.
Ballou immediately entered the military in 1861 after the war broke out. He became judge advocate of the Rhode Island militia and was 32 at the time of his death at the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

When he died, his wife was 24. She later moved to New Jersey to live out her life with her son, William, and never re-married. She died at age 80 in 1917.
Sullivan and Sarah Ballou are buried next to each other at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI. There are no known living descendants.

Ironically, Sullivan Ballou’s letter was never mailed. Although Sarah would receive other, decidedly more upbeat letters, dated after the now-famous letter from the battlefield, the letter in question would be found among Sullivan Ballou’s effects when Gov. William Sprague of Rhode Island traveled to Virginia to retrieve the remains of his state’s sons who had fallen in battle

~ Munchkins ~

Isaiah~

Emma~