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♦ WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2006 4C Time to create some Christmas magic Time is running out, girls; only the rest of this week remains for us to create something marvelous and wonderful from the kitchen. Wonderful friends have inundated me with great recipes this sea son - so - let’s get to it! Spinach balls and sauce 2 boxes frozen spinach, chopped, thawed and drained 2 cups herb seasoning stuffing 1 onion, finely chopped 4 eggs, beaten 1 stick butter or marga rine, melted 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon garlic salt (may cut down to suit personal taste) 1/2 teaspoon thyme Mix all ingredients togeth er and form into balls about the size of a large walnut. Place on a sprayed cook ie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes. Serve with the following sauce. Sauce: 1 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup mustard 1/3 cup milk 4 Tsp lemon juice Mix all ingredients togeth er and place in the refrigera tor until serving time Eggnog bread pudding 4 large eggs 1 quart egg nog Taking it easy during the holidays Gourmet cooking is fine, and so are reci pes with a dozen ingredients, but there’s a lot to be said for the ridiculously easy options. If you’re overwhelmed right now, consider the pos sibility of letting somebody else do the cooking. In my family we’ve tried both Publix and Sonny’s for this purpose and can vouch for both. You get a lot of good food, well prepared, and - if you’re like me and go wild in the grocery store at times - you’ll probably even come out ahead financially. There are other good places to order prepared food, too. You pay in advance and pick the dishes up - everything from ham to turkey to dress ing to green beans - right on schedule in foil containers. Check it out. Or consider a spiral cut honey-baked ham, which just about everybody loves, to take the stress out of the big meal. Or consider just scaling the whole thing down. It’s not engraved in stone that you have to have 15 dishes on the table to make it a holiday. You already did that at Thanksgiving. Now, for those who just have to cook, here are my three favorite ridiculously easy recipes for the holidays, and Merry Christmas to all! Pick up your LED Christmas lights and watch them glow for five years! As •$> v 5 f Xj,cj(itinj Stcrc 7\ A Division of. Southeast C-icctrk'ai Stlppiv gr 926 Carroll St. • Perry, G A 31069 T-F 9am-spm 10 slices cinnamon bread Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 2-qt. Pyres dish with spray. Beat eggs Faye Jones Magic from the kitchen egg and egg nog mixture over bread cubes. Cut the rest of the cinnamon bread slices in half and arrange in a pretty way over the mixture. Bake, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Variations: Add a bit of nutmeg on top of pud ding before baking. Add golden raisins soaked in rum - about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Oh, so good! If you received a copy of “Style” last week you already have this recipe. If you don’t, by all means, try it. These are soooo easy and delicious, too! Coconut macaroons 3 cups shredded sweet ened coconut 1 cup sweetened con densed milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a large baking sheet. Combine Ridiculously easy fudge 16 oz. chocolate chips combine melt mix pour 04 Charlotte Perkins Lifestyle Editorxx Melt the chips in the micro wave in a big bowl. Pour in the condensed milk (that’s the sweet stuff, not evapo rated!) Stir like crazy, add ing the nuts as you stir. You can also add mini-marshmal lows. Spread in a buttered Pyrex pan while still warm. Cover and refrigerate. Serve to your friends and pretend you did the whole candy thermometer and “soft ball” routine. They will not know the difference. This is good fudge. Ridiculously easy rum balls 1/4 cup rum 1 tablespoon water 2 tablespoons cocoa 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs, pulverized in blender 478-224-8888 all ingredients in a large mixing and stir until thor oughly blended. Using two spoons (I use 1 spoon and 1 finger), scoop and shape the mixture into walnut-size halls and drop by spoonfuls in rows on the baking sheet about 1-inch apart. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 - 20 minutes until macaroons are golden brown. Allow to cool and remove from baking sheet with a spatula. While macaroons are still soft, they may lose their shape on being removed from the baking sheet and may need to be reshaped using your fingers. Butterballs 1 cup butter, room tem perature 4 tablespoon powdered sugar 1 tsp vanilla 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup pecans, finely chipped Powdered sugar for dusting. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla. Add flour and stir until mixture forms a ball of dough. Add nuts and mix in well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Arrange in rows on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until very lightly browned. Do NOT over bake. While butterballs are still warm, roll them in sifted powdered sugar and transfer to a sheet of waxed paper to cool. Makes 2 dozen. Enjoy! and then add egg nog. Cut 4 slices of cinna mon bread into 1-inch cubes and place in the prepared baking dish. Pour half of the 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, divided 1 cup chopped nuts 3 tablespoons light corn syrup dash salt In a mixing bowl, mix rum, water, cocoa, vanilla wafer crumbs, 2 cups of confec tioners’ sugar, chopped nuts, and corn syrup; mix well. You may need to use your hands. Measure mocha ball mixture in teaspoonfuls; roll into small balls. Roll in the sifted confectioner’s sugar. Store in tightly covered con tainer for several days to bring flavor out. Ridiculously easy fruß salad My kids used to think this was the best holiday dish of all, and my daughter still makes it for her family. You can eat it as a salad or a light dessert. 1 11-ounce can man darin-orange sections in light syrup 1 8-ounce can pineap ple tidbits in unsweet ened pineapple juice 1 8 1/2-ounce can fruit cocktail in heavy syrup Put all fruit in a colander and let it drain very well. Place in a big bowl, and stir in 1 can flaked coconut Add a cup or two of miniature marshmallows. Add enough sour cream to moisten the whole thing (1-2 pints) Let it sit overnight. into mold chill to set 14 fl. Oz. (1 can) sweet enedcon- densed milk Some vanilla Some nuts SAT 10am-2pm FOOD Something different after Christmas Thanks to every one who showed their friendship and Christmas spirit at the open house. It was a joy to visit with so many people Most of us cook too much for the holidays. Just e sure to store and freeze it until later. You are sick of look ing at it now, but it will taste good later. Mamma always said, ‘Don’t waste. If you are wanting something different after Christmas, try the “Texas Catfish.” Merry Christmas! 'Texas cattish' Dry salt meat Buttermilk Flour Slice dry salt meat in thin strips. Drop into saucepan of boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Drain. Dip each slice in buttermilk. Roll or cover with flour. Then drop into hot (375 degrees) fat and cook until good and brown. Yum. Yum. Good. Smoked turkey salad 1 Vi cup cooked long grain rice Vi cup minced onion 1 teaspoon curry pow der 1 tablespoon vinegar 2 tablespoons Wesson oil Mix and chill thoroughly. Just before serving add 2 cups chilled, diced smoked turkey, % cup mayonnaise, 1 cup chopped celery, V 2 tea spoon salt, dash of pepper. Smoked turkey casserole 2 cups cooked, chopped smoked turkey 1 can cream of chicken MCDONALD From page jC serving food made with trans fats by the end of 2007. Also, its licensed and promotional products will be trans-fat free by the end of 2008. Restaurants have balked at the new law, saying it doesn’t give them enough time to find substitute oils and ingredients. “There are serious legal concerns about a munici pal health agency ban ning a product or ingre dient the Food and Drug Administration has already approved,” the National Restaurant Association asserted in a post-decision press release. Local and state govern ments getting involved in food issues will take place more and more. As I see it, it’s all about health insur ance. Look out your office window at your smoking friends. Why are they doing that? Smoking causes can cer, and cancer is a costly health matter that insur ance companies would rath er not pay for. Where do people get their health insurance? At work. Reducing smoking cuts insurance costs for both GILBERT APPLIANCE, INC. 925 Jernigan St., • Perry, GA 478-987-2284 SFRIGIDAIRE ALL FRIGIDAIRE LAUNDRY APPLIANCES Marked Down To Be Moved Out. RANGES AS LOW AS 4i*i r soup I can mushrooms, drained 1 small jar pimentos, chopped 1 can green peas, drained 1 cup diced celery 2 tea spoons rated onion */* tea -Bpo o n pepper 12 tea spoon salt V 2 cup mayon naise 1 tea- Jean Rea Cooking with Jean spoon lemon juice 3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped 1 cup almonds, sliv ered Mix the ingredients and top with V 2 to % cup but tered bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min utes or until bubbly. Turkey carcass gumbo Turkey cart ass 3 to 4 chicken boullion cubes 1/3 cup salad oil 2/3 cup flour Pinch of salt Chopped onion Chopped celery Parsley Green onions Minced garlic 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon or more Tony’s Cajun Seasoning Red pepper Louisiana hot sauce to taste 1 can chopped toma toes employers and employees. I’m predicting that national health insurance will be a reality in the next 10 years. When it is, gov ernment will want to try to eliminate costs wherever it can. Look for laws restrict ing smoking, drinking and other life-endangering practices. Even in the laws on the books today, you’ll find bans on foods that aren’t all that bad for you. Foie gras will be outlawed in California in 2012, and that is tied to persuasive activist groups that don’t like the way foie gras ducks are raised. That argument is for Drrrreaf Deals h mu have sonethinfi Dre sses te sell and It’s under w -rr SSC? If, sc, call cur Co mterp ms classified dept. + we’ll JWpMgL run it for 5 days ■ limit 1 omwtimW per wek . must tun (n I lines , HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL Sliced okra (optional) 1 or 2 packages smoked sausage Rice Don’t throw away that turkey carcass. Use it to make turkey and sausage gumbo. Put the carcass into a pressure cooker or large saucepan, breaking it apart if you need to. Cover wit water, adding bouillon cubes and let simmer until tender and the meat comes off the bones. You’ll be surprised how much meat there is. Smoked turkey works well, too. Picke meat off the bones and discard bones. Make a brown roux using about V 2 cup salad oil and 2/3 cup flour with a pinch of salt. Brown slowly in a heavy skillet. Stir at 1 minute intervals until the roux is browned. In skillet, combine roux with chopped onion, chopped celery (use the leaves, too), parsley, green onions and minced garlic. Saute until vegetable are wilted. Season with one tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 teaspoon or more Tony’s Cajun seasoning, red pepper and hot sauce. Add 1 can chopped tomatoes and put into a large saucepan in which you stewed the carcass. Cover and simmer an hour or two, stirring at intervals. If you like you may add sliced okra. Adjust seasonings to taste. While gumbo is simmer ing, slice smoked sausage, removing rind. Fry the sau sage lightly in a skillet jut to remove excess grease. Blot with paper towels and add to gumbo for the last 30 minutes of cooking. Serve over rice. another day (but let me say, I’ve heard it said that given a choice of being a duck force fed to fatten its liver or a factory farmed chicken with a clipped beak crammed in a cage with the waste of 1,000 chickens, I’d choose the duck’s life in a heartbeat). I’m a little sour on local governments banning food products. In a perfect world, chefs looking out for the health of their customers would make the trans fat decisions, not the govern ment. When we look back at this slippery slope, we will see that it was greased with hydrogenated oil. F