Please believe me - this is the BEST!

I don't know what made me remember this recipe.  It was the week after Christmas and I was still on break. Maybe that is the explanation... my head was relatively clear and not bad-addled with one million thoughts of students, essays, and lessons.  The Darling Husband loves a little early evening snack/appetizer of Bar Cheese and crackers (usually Triscuits).  We were out of Bar Cheese, and I suddenly remembered this recipe. It is an old recipe of my mom's.  I got the ingredients and whipped it up.  It is so easy and so delicious.  It makes four nice sized tubs of cheese and keeps for a long time in the fridge.  EVERYONE loves this stuff.  We are out, but luckily I picked up the ingredients to make it at the grocery store yesterday.  Good thing, because we are in the middle of a big old snow storm and no one is going anywhere today (including school - the kids and I all have the day off.  Yee-haw!  I seriously needed this.)

It is kind of embarassing to show you the ingredients.  But, I promise it is so good.

Here is what you will need:

Velveeta (don't judge...)

Horseradish

Beer (you only need 5 ounces, so you get to drink the rest!)

Mayonnaise (Duke's, of course!)

And a little Tabasco

Cube the cheese and put it in a saucepan.

Melt the cheese and add all the other ingredients.  Stir until smooth.

Pour into four or five small containers.

Try not to eat it all while it is still warm.  Seriously not kidding.  You can eat it while warm, or you can let it cool and put it in the fridge before eating.  Store in the fridge.  It will get firm like store bought Bar Cheese.  Once you eat this, you will never be able to go back to the store bought variety.

Delicious Cheese Spread

2 lbs. Velveeta (one box)

8 ounces horseradish (one jar)

1 generous cup of mayonnaise (preferably Duke's, which you can order online here!)

10 drops Tabasco

5 ounces beer

Cube cheese.  Melt over med/low heat, stiring while melting.  Stir in horseradish, mayonnaise, Tabasco, and beer.  Stir until smooth.  Pour into containers.

Makes 5 cups.



F.O.s (Finished Objects)

I have been a bad blogger!  January really kicked my butt.  We went back to school on January 3, and it was the end of the semester and final exams.  Because I teach English, and my courses focus on literature and composition, all of my students had end of unit essays they were working on and turning in, plus all of my final exams have an essay component as well.  That meant over the course of three weekends and two work weeks I had to grade 300 essays, plus teach, plus enter grades and get report cards completed by the end of January.  Whew!  It was all I did and I was plenty sick of it when I got to the end of the month.

I have been taking pictures when I can, and I have few things to show you.  Over Christmas break I started a new project: fingerless mittens.  When I drive I listen to audiobooks on my iPod, and because iPods and iPhones have touch screens you have to take off your mittens or gloves to get them to work.  I got sick of taking off my gloves every time I wanted to play or pause my audiobook, so I decided to knit some fingerless mitts.  I found some gorgeous yarn from one of my favorite yarn brands, Manos del Uruguay, which means Hands of Uruguay in Spanish.  Manos del Uruguay "is a non profit organization which assembles over 400 artisans in cooperatives scattered throughout the countryside of Uruguay.  The aim of the organization is to bring economic and social opportunities to rural women."  I first used Manos yarn on Tiny Dancer's legwarmers and loved the feel and the way it knit.  That yarn was a cotton blend.  For this project I chose a beautiful multi-colored Merino wool.

You can see the first mitten, in progress, perched atop one of my favorite Christmas gifts.  My mom gave me this handmade pottery knitting bowl (I guess that's what you would call it...)  It is so awesome - you put the yarn you are working with in the bowl and then feed it out through the opening.  You set the bowl next to you and then it just smoothly feeds out through the opening as you knit, instead of rolling off the couch.  Plus, it is a nice was to contain a small project and looks fairly decorative sitting on the table next to my couch.

Here are some close up shots of the yarn and the bowl.  I just love the way this looks together.

And here is a picture of one of the finished mittens, my first F.O. of the new year!

The fingerless mittens are my January Finished Object.  Then, in February, in knit a matching hat. 

This hat is called the Sweetie Pie Hat and I got the pattern from my favorite knitting, crocheting & sewing blog, The Purl Bee.  The hat was so easy to knit and I loved making the baby cable.  I liked the pattern so much and I love my new fingerless mittens so much, I am thinking of combining the two and making a pair of fingerless mitts with the baby cable pattern.  Stay tuned!

Here is a pic of one of my other cute knitting-related Christmas gifts from my mom.  It is a tape measure.  Isn't it cute?

Here is my new yarn for my next project.  I am hoping to have another F.O. in February.

This is a yummy angora/wool blend yarn called Lush by Classic Elite Yarns. 

I can't wait to get started.  I have a pretty busy Sunday.  I have to take Tiny Dancer to the mall to go jeans shopping with her competition tap team (They are wearing sparkly corset-style tops and matching jeans for their costumes.) and I have to go in to work to make lesson plans for tomorrow.  Our entire English department is going to an all-day writing conference.  I hope that it is good & we learn some new ideas.  I hate being gone from my students, but it is worth it if I come back with some new teaching ideas.  Perhaps tonight, after a bit of grading, I will be able to get started.