Officially The Holidays!

It is official – the holidays have begun! Thanksgiving was wonderful, but now its Christmas!

It is that time of year when my kids must officially stop teasing me about listening to Christmas music (since I start around Halloween) and join me in the Christmas spirit and fun, and they have!

In fact, like many families did, we spent the weekend doing some shopping, of course, but also doing all of our home decorating. We picked out a great live Christmas tree yesterday afternoon, came home and put on one of our favorite movies, “Christmas With The Cranks”, and then decked out the house from top to bottom.

Three Christmas trees, the fireplace mantle, the tables, the banister, the dishes, and the wreaths placed on all the windows – done! (if you are an email subscriber, click over to my blog to see the pictures.)

Since the decorating was all complete, I decided to officially kick off the holidays this morning by making two of my favorite Christmas recipes. Both of these recipes come from a cookbook that my Grandmother made for us many years ago before she passed away.

My Grandmothers name was Josephine, “Jo” for short, and the name of her little cookbook is “At Jo’s from Five to Nine” – an appropriate title since she always cooked up delicious goodies from morning til night! Who knew that a little spiral bound, 61-sheet cookbook, could become such a treasured heirloom.

So as I was sitting here writing, savoring a cup of my hot Russian tea and eating warm sausage balls, I thought I should share the recipes with you!

Russian tea:
In large pot, mix the following ingredients and bring to a boil, steeping for five to ten minutes:
– 8 cups water
– 2 cinnamon sticks
– 1 tablespoon whole cloves
– 5 small tea bags (or 3 family size tea bags)

In another large pot, mix the following ingredients and bring to a boil:
– 8 cups of water
– 1- 12 ounce can of frozen apple juice
– 1- 12 ounce can of frozen orange juice
– 1- 12 ounce can of frozen lemonade
– 6 ounces of frozen pineapple juice (optional)
– 1 3/4 cups of sugar

Once both pots are boiling, pour the mixture from the first pot into the second pot through a strainer. Serve hot!

Sausage Balls
3 cups Bisquick mix
1 lb sausage
1 16 ounce package of shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of milk

Mix together with hands and knead into dough. Form small balls of mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until brown.

Hope you are enjoying your first official day of the Christmas season!

2 Comments

  1. Karen on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 at 6:27 am

    You’re not alone when it comes to Christmas music. I was listening to Christmas music before the end of October! I love Christmas music! I love this time of year! Your Christmas trees are so pretty and so are your decorations. And I have to say, those sausage balls look and sound delicious!

    Hope you have a wonderful week!



  2. Emily B (emleepc@yahoo.com) on Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    I’ve been looking for an easy sausage ball recipe, and you delivered! THANKS!



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Tracie Miles is a bestselling author and the Director of COMPEL Training with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  She helps women grow stronger in their faith, pursue the life of purpose God designed them for and live a life of peace, joy and happiness despite their circumstances.

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