Want an easy snack recipe?

Spicy Seasoned Pretzels

Ingredients

16 oz (1 lb) bag tiny twist pretzels
1 cup vegetable or canola oil *** See note below!
2 teaspoons garlic salt (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder and 1 teaspoon salt)
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper ***

Instructions

Pour oil and spices into a gallon Ziploc bag. Seal and shake to evenly distribute oil with spices.
Add in pretzels, seal up Ziploc bag, and gently shake to combine.
There are two different ways you can finish the pretzels:

Option 1: you can leave them in the Ziploc bag and allow pretzels to soak up the seasoned oil for at least 6 hours, or ideally for 24 hours. Turn bag to shake up pretzels every few hours.
Option 2: Bake the oil soaked pretzels in a 200 degree oven for about 1 hour, stirring several times to ensure even baking.

Allow to cool before eating. Pretzels will keep in an airtight container for 3 weeks.

*** I reduced the amount of oil to 1/2 cup and used the cook-in-the-oven method. I found this works just fine, but if you wish to jack up your cholesterol... be my guest! I also upped the amount of cayenne pepper after the first time I made this to prevent me from gorging TOO much - these things are tasty and addictive!

Wishing you "peace on earth, good will toward men" at Christmas and throughout the year to come!

A continuation from last week's post...

On display at Durham Art Council

I love the seasons of the year!

Correction: I love three seasons of the year.

I'm not crazy about winter.

So I'm rewinding a bit to share a few fall photos! THAT is my favorite season of the year!

Some things I'm thankful for!

Here in the U.S., we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday. It's a good time to remember all the blessings we've experienced in our lives. So here are just a few that I thank God for.

Family

Home

Fond memories of loved ones who've gone on before

The beauties of nature

Faith in a loving God making all our blessings possible.

10 months gone

My husband died of covid on January 7, 2022, and finally the gravestone has arrived. I didn't realize what a gut-wrenching thing it would be to see it.

As time went on after his death, I realized that the closest analogy I could come up with is that losing a spouse is like learning to live with an amputation. I'll get used to it, but something very important will always be missing. And then I remembered Genesis 2:24: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." And suddenly the "amputation" analogy seemed truer than ever.

I miss you so much, Dave.

Checking out the fall color

I don't see one of these very often!

Rear view

Some more fun with botanical drawing.

Which do you prefer?

Tile and wood work at Sancar Turkish Cultural & Community Center, Chapel Hill NC

Bedtime story

Choo choo!

The Morris Arboretum, located just outside the Philadelphia city limits, is a beautiful place to visit with lots of things for both children and adults to enjoy. My great-nephew in particular is entranced by the large area where several model trains run throughout the day. Along the pathways through this area are representations of various tourist attractions and whimisical creatures that make it seem like a fairy-land.

A glimpse of the "city of brotherly love"

Looking from Camden, New Jersey across the Delaware River toward's Philadelphia's skyline

Approaching the bridge to cross the Delaware River to Philadelphia

It's an impressive structure!


In the upper left of this photo is the statue of William Penn atop Philadelphia's City Hall.

In the not-too-distant past, the statue of William Penn was one of the first things I'd notice when approaching the city. At that time, no buildings in "Philly" were to be higher than the statue. It's now dwarfed by tall buildings.

Probably the coolest carousel ever!

You can read about its history in the last image, but it is currently housed at the aquarium in Camden, New Jersey. The workmanship is outstanding!