Making Christmas

Christmas Time's a comin' y'all. . . . Time to make Christmas!

Remember the most important thing about this season is the love in your heart. Have fun while you're making Christmas. . . . Use your imagination and a little ribbon. If you have ribbon, you have Christmas!

My family and friends know that most of my shopping, Christmas and otherwise, is done at the thrift store or garage/estate sales. Add in the Everything's A Dollar Store and is this a great country or what?

Today on WIBW, I showed Chris Fisher a cake plate that Woodrow found at a garage sale. . . . It's a beautiful, wintertime cake plate but you can't just give someboday an empty cake plate. So we made a cake. Now the cake I made for this was an expensive, time-consuming cake so only give this to someone special. I made a sugar-free version and with all the folks that have issues with sugar it is a nice thing to have at least one sugar-free dessert on hand. I adapted a peppermint, white chocolate cheesecake recipe I found. It turned out very rich!!! Here, WIBW's Chris Fisher is frosting the cake. We missed Amanda but talked about food and presents and, of course, music.

My musical selection this morning is an awesome jazz CD by my friend Beth Ohse, who is a wonderful vocalist and has some fantastic musicians with her! This is available locally at Warehouse 414, Beauchamps, or Manning Music. You will love it!!! If you are not local, email me and I will hook you up with a copy. dixieleejackson@yahoo.com

Okay, for the cake. This is a combination cheesecake and layer cake recipe. So first the cheesecake:
3 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 TB soft butter
1TB flour
2 tsp Vanilla (or more)
1 16 oz sour cream
3 large eggs
1/2 cup Splenda (maybe a tad more)
2/3 cup crushed, sugar free peppermints
(I added a couple of drops of peppermint extract)

Preheat oven to 325. Line 2 cake pans with tinfoil and spray lightly with Pam. Leave enough tinfoil on the sides to lift out of the pan. Cream the ingredients and pour into foil-lined pans, and plac them on a baking sheet in water. Bake for 25 or 30 minutes (mine took at least 30). Allow to cool, then freeze thortoughy.

For cake layers, I took a Pillsbury Sugar Free Yellow cake mix and another package of sour cream, 2 eggs, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, a couple of drops of peppermint oil and mix ingredients. Bake in two cake pans at 350 for 15 or 20 minutes. You know what, since this is a yellow cake mix and we don't really want yellow cake for Christmas, I alo dropped a couple of drops, or maybe half a bottle, of red food coloring--enough to make the batter pink.

Now, for the frosting, I made White Chocolate Instant Sugar Free pudding and mixed it with Sugar Free Cool Whip.You might want to make it with a little less milk, or a little less Cool Whip.

Sprinkle some crushed-up peppermints on top. This is very good, per Chris Fisher!

Faith

My and hasn't the Good Lord blessed us with wonderful weather in this new year?  (Though it is foggy on top of the mountain according to WBRF Radio in Galax, Virginia. Here in Topeka, there is no such thing as fog....just a little haze every now and then.)

I have Lila Belle taking down the Christmas tree while I minister to the needy--those in need of love advice. Now in all honesty, before I found Woodrow, I didn't know squat about love. But the Good Lord has blessed me with a fine man and a wealth of knowledge, and He has led me to share it with you.

One of my male friends who has been looking for love for some time, finally informed me that he is following Woodrow's advice and it is working out quite well.

He told me he decided he wasn't going to drive all over hell to find a woman, if God wanted him to have a woman he's going to have to put her down right here, my friend was told by Woodrow. And God put a big old red wig on her so he would be sure to see her.

 

Yes, the Good Lord in His Infinite Wisdom sent Woodrow a pushy woman with big red hair. I am sure that someday you will be equally blessed, my friend!