Saturday, January 07, 2006

Pretzel Sticks...

Doesn't everybody have a Mom that made so many Christmas cookies when they were growing up that you kind of just "learned" the recipes from watching and doing? I hope so- because that is one of the things you can't pick up later on without a lot of effort or money for cooking classes. My kids are well on their way to making some things when they get older, including my zucchini bread- I make that almost every week it seems...and I promise to post the recipe this week. Good stuff. Healthy too!
So, being raised in a home where my mom stayed home and gardened and sewed and made big meals with company over every Sunday and where we had fresh-baked after-school snacks almost everyday, I didn't realize that this wasn't happening to every other kid in America. I just took it as "normal" and accepted that this is how life was. Now that I'm grown and I've watched reruns of 'Leave It to Beaver', I've learned I was one lucky kid. Make that one of five lucky kids.
Now my biggest challenge in life is living up to the kind of example my mom was to me and trying to turn that around and become the same thing for my own kids. That's one of the reasons I bake and make stuff and sing around the house... I'm hoping a little bit of it will rub off on my kids so that they will feel lucky when they grow up and look back. Only they will be watching reruns of Malcom in the Middle or Everybody Loves Raymond.
That was a long intro just to say "Here's how you make sprinkled pretzels." You go out and buy the packaged blocks of almond bark. I got mine at Wal-Mart...they come in chocolate and vanilla. You break the blocks into smaller pieces and melt them over low heat in a saucepan for about 8-10 min. You want the chocolate to be fairly thin...that it will drip from a spoon of pretzel stick. Next, coat your pretzel sticks or other pretzel shapes in the almond bark and then lay them on a sheet of parchment or wax paper to harden just a bit. Sprinkle with candy pieces, or melt some of the opposite color chocolate (ie. white on dark chocolate or dark on white) and drizzle back and forth across your pretzels. You can do these with crushed nuts or m&m's or probably a hundred different candies. It's that easy! Maybe I will start posting a recipe of the week. I think you'd all love my {easy!} Baked Caramel French Toast too. Yum. Might have to make that this week...I'm making myself hungry.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I think it would be great to post a great recipe of the week Jodi. It would inspire all of us to do them too!
I know my kids will grow up singing the silliest of songs...as we make them up on a daily basis here!

TracieClaiborne said...

Hi Jody. I saw your comment on Cathy Z's blog today so I looked you up. I have just spent the last little while reading most of your blog and crying the entire time. I'm crying tears of sorrow for your loss and tears of joy for your faith and trust in God. Your words have truly inspired me. I have one daughter, 5.5 years old. I have often thought that if I lost her, I couldn't go on. I pray God's protection over her daily and I try to drink her in every minute I'm with her. I think more people need to hear what you have experienced and need to remember to love every minute that they have with their children. I am just in awe of you and your joy and positive outlook.

So just know that today you have blessed me and I will think of you often I know. I will pray for you as well because we can all use more prayers, right?

Thank you for sharing your life.

Tracie Claiborne

Deanna- yep Dee-na said...

Saw tracie c. comment here... : ) she's a super sweet lady. you are just everywhere jody... lol... only i haven't seen you around 2 peas. you should post more of your scrappy stuff when u get time. : )
anyway, thank you for posting the super easy directions... my hubby had the same kind of mom-only she did all that and worked outside of the home too. she is a southern cook and it is hard to compete with her cooking, that is for sure. my mom is a yankee turned southerner who didn't love to cook. ha! ( grew up in michigan too)
i learned my best receipes from both of them though. totally would love to see more receipes from u! thank you!