For Kael (Mrs. Ron Paul's Christmas Cookies)

I made this recipe for Kael a few years ago after Elias was born, and she loved it. It's so easy to make and you can add an endless variety of ingredients to personalize it to your taste. For instance, at Exclusively Food (where the above picture is from), they add sweet biscuits, white chocolate, vanilla, and marshmallows, and roll the cookies in coconut instead of confectioner's sugar. I think adding chocolate would be fantastic. I also think substituting another dried fruit, such as figs, would make it even more festive. White chocolate and Craisins would be tasty. Enjoy!

Here is Carol Paul's original recipe:

Apricot-Coconut Balls

8 oz. dried apricots
2/3 cup coconut flakes
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup chopped pecans
confectioner's sugar

Mix the dried apricots with the coconut. Add condensed milk and pecans. Roll into small balls and then in confectioner's sugar. Refrigerate at least 2 hours and then serve.

Peanut Brittle

Thought I would share this one from my site, Chris' Grandma Eva's Peanut Brittle recipe. For those of you with peanut allergies, I've tried it with almonds and it's great. You might also try it with seeds but I would put the seeds in at about 300 degrees so they don't burn.

Ingredients:

1 cup raw Spanish peanuts
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preparation:

1. Lay out several sheets of foil to spoon the hot peanut brittle onto.

2. In a large skillet mix the sugar, syrup, and water together. Cook at a medium-high heat, stirring regularly. Heat until the mixture has a hard ball consistency. Heat to 250 to 265 degrees F (121 to 129 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball. If you don’t own a candy thermometer, occasionally hold spoon above mixture, allowing it to drip off spoon. When mixture is at hard ball stage, it will ‘hair’ off the spoon when falling, looking like a clear spider web.

3. Once mixture is at hard ball consistency, add raw peanuts. (They will pop a little.) When mixture starts to turn a light clear-brown (about 320 degrees F), as if it’s starting to burn, remove from stove. Add soda and stir. Mixture will foam up.

4. Spoon out bite-size pieces onto unbuttered foil, stirring constantly between each couple of pieces. Mixture can also be poured onto unbuttered foil as one big piece and broken into smaller pieces once cooled.

Chile Nut Honey with Cheese

This medley works beautifully for a brunch, cocktail party or even as a cheese course for a formal dinner. Enjoy!

Chili Nut Honey with Cheese

1/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup honey
3/4 tsp. ground cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp. ground chipotle pepper, or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
4 oz. soft pungent cheese (fresh goat cheese or blue cheese)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast nuts 10-12 minutes, until they start to brown and become aromatic. Cool slightly, chop coarsely.
2. Stir together nuts, honey and pepper.
3. To serve, bring cheese to room temperature. Serve with honey mixture and crusty bread or crackers.

Welcome To The Christ Covenant Church Recipe Site

How many times have you been at one of our church functions, eating some wonderful goodies, thinking to yourself "I must get this recipe."  Well this is the recipe site we all keep talking about.  Here is where you can post that recipe once and refer to it by name for those times when someone asks you "Can I have this recipe?"

But this is also a place for tips, links, comments, and all kinds of helpful counsel that can be shared with one another in order to aid and encourage us all in our labors.

For example: I just hosted a tea party for London's birthday.  This is a place I could post pictures of what I made and how I set the table.  This could be a great help to a mama who wants to have a special tea for her girl but just needs some inspiration.

This would also be a great place for Rachel to post those coupon links, Kael could announce the opening of the WinCo in Everett, or someone could give the recipe for homemade dish soap.  If you find a great store on-line, or some source such as a local consignment store, we can provide links for those types of things.

So share your skills with us ladies and pass on the wisdom God has blessed you with .  Inspire us to be excited about our labors.  Bring on those helpful tricks that aid in making the job quicker and more efficient.

And in advance, thank you for your love as you labor to give help to one another.