Beech Tree News Network

Christmas and New Year’s parties mean food.  We all have our favorites.  I usually go straight for peanut butter balls as far as snacks are concerned.  Some might know them as Buckeyes.  After the Kentucky/Ohio State game, I most certainly will not be calling them buckeyes.  OSU’s nickname is the Buckeyes if you didn’t know.

Recently I’ve discovered I like a good cheeseball.  What’s not to like? Cream cheese, sour cream, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, cheddar cheese and pecans.  Put a little on a Ritz cracker and it’s awesome! Great for Christmas Eve and New Year’s!

Who doesn’t love a good peanut butter ball? As I mentioned above, I know have another reason not to call them Buckeyes.  Roll peanut butter in a ball(hence the name), dip them in chocolate and enjoy.  I know I do!

Plantation crunch is also good.  Two packages of vanilla or white chips, 1 cup peanut butter, 7 cups Rice Krispies cereal, one cup salted peanuts, 2 cups confectioners sugar, 2 tablespoons plus two teaspoons of water, 4 and ½ teaspoons meringue powder, ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar.  Again, what’s not to like? The recipe I looked up says sprinkles but we don’t do that.

Some people have allergies(in some cases, ones they don’t even know about).  For instance, several Christmas Eves ago, I woke up at about 2 am broke out bad.  I looked back on what I ate and blamed it on a sausage or cheese ball.  I’ve had cheeseball since then and nothing happened.  Maybe it was the sausage ball.  Maybe it wasn’t.  That’s why I’m careful about what I eat now. 

Our family tradition for Christmas Eve has always been that we get together at our neighbors/cousins after Christmas Eve service.  Recently we’ve taken up the Dirty Santa game.  I will not attempt to go over any rules as everyone plays it differently. 

However you spend(or spent, as this might be posted after the 25^th), I hope you have/had a very Merry Christmas!