Big thank you to Sandi Chomyn from Togo for sending me her recipe.  These were a huge hit at our Christmas party this weekend.

Party Food Smokies

1 lb. bacon, cut into thirds
1 lb. Lil’ Smokies (small sausages)
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
2 cups brown sugar

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cut bacon and wrap each Smokie with a piece of bacon.  Place wrapped Smokies in a single layer in a baking dish.

Melt butter and 1 cup brown sugar together, stirring until mixed well.

Pour butter, brown sugar mixture over the Smokies.

Take 1 cup brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over the Smokies.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, then turn heat up to 400°F for about 5 minutes or longer until the bacon becomes crispy.

Christmas Fun Fact for today … Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.

Word of the day … fissile (FISS-ul)
1: capable of being split or divided in the direction of the grain or along natural planes of cleavage
2: capable of undergoing fission

EXAMPLES – Uranium-235, which is frequently used in making bombs and missiles, is one of the most abundant fissile materials.

I have to say thanks for the help.  With all of the recipes I’ve received over this holiday season, I’m never at a loss for what to make for supper, what dessert I should make, or what dips to make when hosting a Christmas party.

Last night my husband and I hosted a Christmas Party and I made 4 fantastic dips/appies for everyone, plus a dessert.  I will have all of those recipes on my blog over the next few days.

So first off, thank you to Diane Dedio from Pelly for sending me her recipe for Texas Caviar.  I had never heard of this recipe until Diane sent it to me.  It was really, really good.  A huge hit with everyone at our party.  You pour this delicious sweet sauce over your beans and corn, and it’s such a yummy snack.  I actually ate some of the left overs for lunch today.

Thank you Diane!

Texas Caviar
1 can black beans
1 can black eye beans
1 can kernel corn
1 can chili peppers, if you like it hot
1 can Rotol tomatoes
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped

Drain and wash beans.  Drain corn.  Mix everything together.

Dressing
1 cup sugar
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar

Boil the dressing.  Pour over mixed ingredients and keep in the fridge overnight.  Serve with multigrain scoops or serve as a salad.

*Tonya’s Tips:
First thing, for newbies, black-eye beans and black-eye peas are the same thing.  I had to look that up because I could only find black-eyed peas in the store.  Second, I couldn’t find Rotol tomatoes, so I just used a can of diced tomatoes.  Third, I did find that 1 cup of oil was quite a lot of oil.  When I poured the dressing on top, it all settled to the bottom of the bean and corn mixture, and I felt it was a lot.  Next time I make this I might try to half the dressing measurements.  With that being said, I am a huge fan of this recipe!  Defintiley give it a try.

Thanks to Dawn Peturson from Yorkton for sending me her recipe for Cranberry Bread Pudding.  This was so delicious.  A perfect dessert to serve your friends and family at Christmas time.  Heck, I’d say anytime of the year.  It’s that good.

Cranberry Bread Pudding

1 loaf French Bread
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
zest of 2 lemons, finely chopped
2 cups half and half cream
2 cups milk
1 cup sweetened dried cranberries
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, halved
vanilla ice cream, optional

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Tear bread into 1” to 2” chunks and spread evenly on baking sheet.   Bake for 10 minutes, tossing around pieces about halfway through.  Remove from oven and set aside.

Decrease oven to 350°F and prepare 9”x 13” baking dish, by buttering it.

In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and zest thoroughy.  Whisk in cream and milk.  Add toasted bread pieces and dried cranberries.  Let stand for 10 minutes for bread pieces to absorb liquid mixture.

Put half the custard bread mixture into prepared baking dish and top with half the fresh/frozen cranberry halves.  Add remaining bread mixture and top with remaining cranberry halves.

Bake one hour until top browns and puffs up.  Also a butter knife should come out clean.  Let sit for at least 10 to 15 minutes before serving warm with vanilla ice cream.  Makes 10 to 12 portions.

And … here’s two more stories of amazing women from the list on BuzzFeed called “18 Badass Women You Probably Didn’t Hear About in 2014″.

The woman who beat the women’s *and* men’s record for most consecutive marathons after running 53 of them.  “If someone suggested running a 54th marathon I probably would to be honest,” Amy Hughes said.

The first time a woman won the Fields maths medal happened. Professor Maryam Mirzakhani, you are amazing.

Absolutely incredible women are around us everyday!  Maybe, just maybe in 2015 they will get the recognition they deserve.

Christmas Fun Fact for today … “Silent Night” was written when a choir’s organ broke down.

Word of the day … syncretic (sin-KRET-ik)
: characterized or brought about by a combination of different forms of belief or practice

EXAMPLES – Dr. Portman practices a syncretic form of medicine, borrowing from both Eastern and Western medical traditions.

I made a Rhubarb Pie from scratch last night, first time ever!  I used Leah Berlinic’s Homemade Pie Crust recipe. She is a GX94 listener from Yorkton.  I took a stab at making her homemade tart shells recipe from scratch this season, (which turned out great) and now I’ve tried the pie shell.

I have to say when making the shell, I think I did something wrong. The dough broke apart really easily when I was rolling it out, and my crust turned out pretty thick in the pan.  I’m not too sure what I did.  But there is definitely a knack to making homemade pie crust.  I think I need to bake this sometime with my mom, so she can give me the tips that all you seasoned bakers already know.  Plus I had a lot leftover.  I could have made two pies with this recipe, but I was scared to keep handling the dough and really have it not work.

Homemade Pie Crust

5 cups flour
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 cups lard (Crisco shortening, or Tenderflake)
1 egg
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 cup cold water to make

Measure flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into large bowl.  Cut in lard until the size of peas.

Break egg into a measuring cup.  Beat with a fork.  Add vinegar.  Pour enough water in to make 1 cup total.

Pour into flour mixture, stir with fork until liquid is absorbed.  Shape into a ball.  Roll out on floured surface, cut into sizes needed for shells.  Can re-roll dough a few times depending on how much flour you use on the surface.

Brenda Paetsch from LeRoy gave me her Rhubarb Pie recipe.  I have a big Rhubarb plant in my backyard and have never had a recipe using Rhubarb until now.  I was excited to try it.

Rhubarb Pie

1 cup white sugar
1 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs, well beaten
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. milk
dash of salt
3 cups rhubarb, chopped

Mix and add rhubarb.  Put in pie shell and bake at 350°F until brown.

Making this, I really had no idea what I was doing.  There was a lot of liquid from the Rhubarb, even after I drained it so when I mixed the Rhubarb in with the rest of the ingredients it was runny.  Is that right or wrong?  It was nice because Nikki White (Evening and Overnight announcer) and Kelsey Liebrecht (Promotions and Marketing Director) were helping me.  Neither of them had ever made a homemade Rhubarb pie before either.  What a team.

The moral of the story, even with all of my questions and worries last night, my pie tasted GREAT!  It really did.  It could have been cooked longer but other than that, I say well done me, for my first time.

And … here’s two more stories of amazing women from the list on BuzzFeed called “18 Badass Women You Probably Didn’t Hear About in 2014″.

The American nuns who announced their support for contraception.
The National Coalition of American Nuns said: “We want to make clear that the sin is not a person using birth control. The sin is denying women the right and the means to plan their families.”

The 13-year-old girl who became the youngest climber to scale Mount Everest.  Malavath Poorna said: “I come from a very poor family… Climbing the Everest was certainly more difficult than I thought – but my willpower to prove that a tribal girl can do something kept me going.”

Incredible!

Christmas Fun Fact for today … Bing Crosby ‘s ‘White Christmas’ was released in 1942 and is considered to be the best-selling Christmas song of all time!

Word of the day … oxymoron (ahk-sih-MOR-ahn)
: a combination of contradictory or incongruous words; broadly : something (such as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements.

EXAMPLES – “That’s an oxymoron!” said Joanne, when she heard the DJ describe the song as an “instant classic.”

I never know what to make for supper.  So a big thank you goes out to everyone who has sent me “supper recipes”.  I’ve tried quite a few over the past couple of months and they have been great!  Here’s something yummy you can do to your steak.  Thanks to Terri Marshall from Debuc for the recipe.

Fluffy’s Apple Steak

2 steaks
1 onion, cut into 1” chunks
1 apple, cut into 1” chunks
1 bottle of beer
1  cup water
butter
salt, pepper, and allspice to taste

Cook your steaks in a frying pan with the beer and water.  Saute your onions and apples together.

Sprinkle salt, pepper and allspice over steaks, then simmer until all the liquid has evaporated.

When liquid has evaporated, brush butter over both sides of steaks.

Spoon the apple and onion mixture over steaks when you plate it.

And … here’s two more stories of amazing women from the list on BuzzFeed called “18 Badass Women You Probably Didn’t Hear About in 2014″.

The first woman to take part in a Formula One race weekend in 22 years, Susie Wolff.

The 13-year-old girl, Olive Bowers who called out a surfing magazine, Tracks magazine, for its depiction of women.
Bowers wrote a letter to the magazine, voicing how disappointed and angry she was at how there were barely any pictures of women surfing in their magazines, and the only pictures she could find of women, weren’t of them on the water, but just basically standing there in bikini’s.  Just for the men.  Way to go girl! You can read her letter below.

Christmas Fun Fact for today …  Lloyd’s of London issued the first insurance policy to protect Santa Claus. The policy covers Santa until the 25th of December in the event of accident and illness, in the run up to and during his worldwide travels to deliver presents to good children.

Word of the day … ergonomic (er-guh-NAH-mik)
1: of or relating to the science of designing and arranging things people use so that the people and things interact most efficiently and safely
2: designed or arranged for safe, comfortable, and efficient use

EXAMPLES – Clara hoped that the ergonomic arrangement of her new workstation would help reduce the daily aches in her elbow and wrist.

This morning I made Apple Crescent Dessert.  My husband and I were out Christmas shopping late, in Yorkton last night.  It was great I could quickly whip up this recipe this morning.  Thank you to Kathy Hawryluk from Swan River for sending me her recipe.  I think I will definitely be making these again.

Apple Crescent Dessert

1 1/4 cups white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup butter
cinnamon to taste
Cream above ingredients together.

4 Granny Smith apples
2 pkg. Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
2 cups Mountain Dew

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Peel and quarter apples.

Wrap each quarter in dough.

Spray a 9”x 13” pan with cooking spray.  Arrange wrapped apples and dot each apple with butter mixture.

Sprinkle lightly with sugar and pour on 2 cups Mountain Dew.  Pour the Mountain Dew slowly on the sides of the pan.

Bake for 45 minutes.  Can be halved.

*Tonya’s Tips: When I made this, I had quite a bit of the butter mixture left over.

I’m not sure if I was supposed to just keep doting the apple/dough forms until the butter mixture was gone, but they seemed to turn out even with the left over mixture.  You’ll need 2 9”x 13” pans for this.  I poured 1 cup of Mountain Dew in each pan.  Not sure if it was supped to be 2 cups of Mountain Dew per pan, but I don’t think so.

Here’s a couple more stories of amazing women from the list on BuzzFeed called “18 Badass Women You Probably Didn’t Hear About in 2014″. 

The 600 volunteers who added 101 female artists to Wikipedia. The volunteers who took part in the Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon added in the names of female artists who deserved to be recognized.

The women in Afghanistan who defied death threats from the Taliban by taking part in elections.

Christmas Fun Fact for today … Every year more than 3 billion cards are sold during the Christmas holidays.

Word of the day … réchauffé (ray-shoh-FAY)
1: something presented in a new form without change of substance : rehash
2: a warmed-over dish of food

EXAMPLES – The day after the holiday, it was traditional to serve réchauffés and snacks rather than cook a full meal.

10 more sleeps until Christmas Day!  Can you believe it?  I can’t, this month has flown by.  I’ll be baking and sharing recipes with you right up to Christmas Day.  Big thank you to Eva Moskal from Veregin for sending me her recipe.  These were quick to make, you don’t even have to bake them.  A great sweet treat.

Cherry Nut Squares

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup graham wafer crumbs
1/2 to 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup shredded coconut
16-18 cut up candied cherries
18 whole graham wafers

Line a 9”x 9” pan with whole wafers.

Combine sugar, margarine, and milk in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove from heat.

Add nuts, graham crumbs, coconut, and cherries.  Blend well and pour over graham wafer crust, spreading evenly in pan.

Prepare a butter icing, (icing sugar, butter, milk and vanilla).  Colour it pink with food colouring and spread on top.

P.S. I usually line the cake pan with parchment paper.  Much easier to remove which I do next day … it give times for base wafers to get soft.

*Tonya’s Tip: I put mine in the fridge to sit overnight.

For the butter icing I used:
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter

But you can use whatever combination you want to.  I just made mine up.

I found a list on BuzzFeed called “18 Badass Women You Probably Didn’t Hear About in 2014″.  There are a lot of incredible women in the world and it is sad that we don’t hear their stories as often as we should.  So I thought all this week I would write about these women and pass on what they have done.

“The woman who launched Saudi Arabia’s first all-woman law firm … Bayan Mahmoud al-Zahran opened the country’s first female law firm, where she’ll represent women and bring women’s rights issues into the courts.  “I believe women lawyers can contribute a lot to the legal system,” al-Zahran said. “This law firm will make a difference in the history of court cases and female disputes in the Kingdom. I am very hopeful and thank everyone who supported me in taking this historical step.”

“The Brazillian women who protested against rape in powerful photos after 65% of respondents in a survey agreed that “if dressed provocatively, women deserve to be attacked and raped”.”

Christmas Fun Fact for today …  Santa Claus visits 832 homes every second to deliver all his presents.

Word of the day … incommensurable (in-kuh-MEN-suh-ruh-bul)
: not commensurable; broadly : lacking a basis of comparison in respect to a quality normally subject to comparison

EXAMPLES – The two theories are incommensurable, making any attempt at comparison across disciplines ridiculous.

 


I’ve had Fruit Pizza before, a long time ago when I was little.  I don’t remember the one I made then being nearly as good as this one.  A lot of people at GX94 said this was the best fruit pizza they have tried.  I think because, instead of a graham crust, this recipe makes almost a granola crust.  It tastes hearty and delicious.  Such a great recipe.  I hope you try it.  I’m definitely going to make this again and eat the whole pizza myself.  Oh believe me, I could.

Thank you to Vicky Wiwchar from Canora for sending me her recipe.

Vicky’s Fruit Pizza

Crust:
1 cup margarine
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
1 egg
Beat together.

Add:
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup fine coconut
1 1/2 cups rolled oats

Then add:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Spread on greased 13” pizza pan.  Bake at 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool.

Mix:
1 – 8oz. pkg. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 large container of Cool Whip
Spread over crust.

Arrange:
fruit as desired: oranges, peaches, strawberries, bananas, kiwi fruit, blueberries, blackberries

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup orange juice
2 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
Dash of salt
Cook until bubbly, then drizzle over fruit.

*Tonya’s Tip: I really didn’t need all the fruit I cut up.  You probably only need 1 banana, 1 kiwi, 1 can of peaches, and a handful of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries.  But the extra fruit made great fruit cups for the next day.

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness, oh my goodness!  No one ever told me that putting caramel on buns would be the best thing in the world!  The best!  Something so simple yet so delicious!  Thanks to Laurie Werner from Churchbridge for sending me her recipe.

Caramel Buns

1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Bring to a boil.  Pour over 3 tubes of Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits in a 9”x 13” pan.

Bake as directed on package.

May sprinkle roll with cinnamon.

*Tonya’s Tip: Look at that recipe.  There’s nothing to it.  You have to try this, these buns with the caramel were so good.  A couple of things to tell you … Every store I checked was sold out of the Buttermilk Biscuits, so instead I bought the Pillsbury Flaky Rolls.  My pictures won’t look quite how the recipe is supposed to look.  But I figured, biscuit, flaky roll, pretty much the same thing, and I didn’t want to wait until the stores got them in.

In England it’s against the law to name your daughter Princess without the queen’s permission.

allege (uh-LEJ)
1: to assert without proof or before proving
2: to bring forward as a reason or excuse

EXAMPLES – She alleges that her roommate stole hundreds of dollars from her.

I love getting to meet the GX94 listeners who have sent me recipes.  When I was in Broadview selling the GX94 Christmas Goodies cookbook, Ilona Steinke from Whitewood came to buy one.  She had submitted a recipe last Christmas season.  It was wonderful getting to put a face to the name. (Lots of people say that to me when they meet me, but it’s just the same for a radio announcer.)  Then, when I was in Whitewood with the GX94 Christmas Goodies cookbook, Ilona came to see me to give me a recipe.

Thank you so much Ilona!

Blueberry Cheesecake

Bottom layer:
2 cups graham crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Mix well and put in a 9”x 13” pan.  Bake for 10 minutes or less.  This burns easily.  Let cool.

2nd layer:
1 large cream cheese
1 cup icing sugar
2 cups Cool Whip

Mix well and spread on to crumbs.  Put in fridge.

3rd layer:
Spread one can of Blueberry pie filling on 2nd layer.  You can use Cherry pie filling too.  Either are good.

*Tonya’s Tip: I think Ilona means 1 brick of cream cheese, 8oz, or 1 cup.  That’s what I used.  I softened my butter to make it easier to mix with the bottom layer ingredients.  I beat together the 2nd layer ingredients and I greased the pan.

Fun Fact fort today … It’s okay to duel in Paraguay as long as youre a registered blood donor.

Word of the day … calumny (KAL-um-nee)
1: a misrepresentation intended to harm another’s reputation
2: the act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another’s reputation