

and welcome to
Christmas at Diane's Place!!

The Angels Cried 
They came from near,
they came from far
Following a distant star to where He lay
Not being sure of what it meant, but
Knowing it was heaven sent
They made their way
And the creatures gathered 'round
And didn't make a sound
And the angels cried
The angels knew what was to come
The reason God had sent His son
From up above
It filled their hearts with joy to see and
Knowing of His destiny
Came tears of love
I've often thought about that night
And wondered if they realized
That star so bright
Was sent to tell all the land
The Son of God would soon become
The Son of Man
And the angels cried....
-Author Unknown
I think it's very
important to remember why we celebrate Christmas. All too often we get caught up in
the hustle and bustle of the season, and forget about the true meaning of why we're
celebrating. Please click on baby Jesus below to read about the very first
Christmas...

Cooking and baking
are some of my favorite things to do around Christmas. Here are some great recipes
to try:

Cranberry Bread
Sift: 2 cups flour (sifted), 1 cup sugar, 1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt (I
never use it), and 1/2 tsp. baking soda. Cut in 1/4 cup butter (I use Promise Extra
Light margarine sticks-it makes the bread really moist) until mixture is crumbly (I use a
mixer to crumble-ize it) Add 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp. grated orange peel (I use a
grater/peeler and grate an entire orange for every two loaves.), and 3/4 cup orange
juice. Mix until mixture is evenly moist. Fold in as many light raisins as you think
looks good (the recipe calls for 1 and 1/2 cups, I never measure) and about a half bag of
chopped cranberries per loaf. spoon into a greased 9 x 5 x 3 loaf pan bake at 350' for 1
hour and 10 mins or until toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool out of pan on a wire
rack. keep stored in aluminum foil.
GingerBread Men
3 and 1/4 cups flour
1.2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. ground cloves 1 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed 1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfered molasses 2/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 - 2 tsp. milk
1. Preheat oven to 325'
2. Whisk together flour, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, and cloves 3.
Cream butter and sugar. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add egg and molasses and beat on medium
speed until smooth. 4. Scrape down bowl and add flour mixture, blend on low speed
until just combined -- do not over mix!
5. Separate dough into 2 balls and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk tightly in plastic
wrap and refrigerate 1 hour. 6. On floured surface with floured rolling pin, roll
dough out to 1/4" thickness. With floured cookie cutters cut into shapes. Gather
scraps and re-roll dough until all is used. Place on ungreased baking sheets about
1/2" apart. 7. Bake 9-11 minutes -- do not brown. Transfer to cool, flat
surface and cool.
Preparing Icing:
1. Whisk sugar and milk until
smooth but still liquid. 2. Add extra milk if seems dry. 3. Spoon icing into a
pastry bag with small piping tip, or other icing dispenser. 4. Decorate as desired.
CARAMELS
Put equal amounts of
(approx. 1&1/3 C each):
eagle brand sweetened condensed milk brown sugar
white sugar lite corn syrup
butter or margarine
Cook to between soft ball and
firm ball stage (approx. 275 f). Pour into a greased 9"x 13" pan an set
aside to cool. When cool cut into squares of desired size and wrap each piece in
handi wrap. Variation: Put a layer of chopped walnuts on bottom of greased pan
before pouring caramels in pan.


Need some Christmas
Craft Ideas? Click here to visit
another website listing several fun ideas! (But be sure to come back here when
you're done!) :o)
Meet my little adopted
"Gee-a-Pet!"


Here are some great
Christmas links to visit...
A
Search for the Meaning of Christmas
Billy
Bear's Merry Christmas
Christmas.com
Christmas
'Round The World
Christmas
Postcards
Christmas
Countdown
Christmas in
Cyberspace: A Christian's Prospective
Naughty or Nice?







My beautiful banner that you
see on the top of this page was made by Cindy at Cindy's Heartworks. Thank-you so
much, Cindy! I love it! :)
You are listening to
"It's Beginning To Look A lot Like Christmas" provided by Christmas.com Music Box
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