Miss Spenser's Blog

We hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas holiday with your family. We have certainly enjoyed some down time. However, one thing that never changes around here in terms of work is hungry boys!! Perhaps you can relate? Here’s an easy recipe that does two things – uses up left over turkey and fills hungry boys’ bellies!  ~ Donna 2.5 – 3 C diced turkey * Left over Gravy, about 1 C or 1 Can of Cream of Chicken Soup  1 TBSP of Dried Onions  ¾ tsp. Lawry’s Seasoning  1 large can of Chunky Veg-All Vegetables, drained  1 regular can of corn, drained  1 Box of Pillsbury Pie Crust  Place the thawed pie crust in a pie dish. Place in a large mixing bowl: diced turkey, gravy (or, if using the cream of chicken – use the can of soup and add 1/4th of a can of milk), dried onions, seasoning and drained vegetables. Mix together well. Pour the turkey/vegetable mixture into the crust. I usually put the pie dish on a baking sheet before placi...

I typically don't like winter, but isn't this a sweet little quote!  Hope you all are staying warm and cozy! Are you all ready for Christmas? I did some Christmas baking the other day, but we got into my gingerbread men and now they are all gone! I'll have to make some more! 

Traditional Welsh Cake Cookies 3 ½  C Flour ½ tsp. Baking Powder ¼ tsp. Salt Dash of Nutmeg & Allspice 1 C Sugar ½ pound of Fat (Lard & Butter are best)* 1 Egg 3-4 TBSP Milk ½ C Currants** Measure flour, baking powder, salt and spcies into a bowl.  Cut in the fat with pastry tool.  Add 1 large egg, slightly beaten and ½ C Currants.  Add milk, 1 Tablespoon at a time, blend together to form soft dough that is not sticky. Roll the dough to ¼ inch thick on a lightly floured board.  Cut into rounds with a floured fluted cutter about 2 inches in diameter. Cook on a lightly greased electric griddle on medium heat (275 degrees) until they are golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.  Roll in cinnamon sugar.  Makes approximately 24 – 2 inch cookies.  They keep very well in a tin. *We used half Shortening and half Butter **We like Golden Raisins, so that’s what we use instead of Cu...

Happy St. Nick’s Day! The tale of St. Nick is an old one, dating back to the third century when a wealthy couple had a child named Nicholas. His parents raised him to love the Lord, but sadly they died of an epidemic while Nicholas was a young boy. When Nicholas grew up, he became a bishop. He was very generous and gave all of his inheritance away. The people loved him for his kindness. He was especially caring and kind to children. During the time Bishop Nicholas was alive, the Roman Emperor persecuted Christians. Bishop Nicholas was thrown into prison along with many other bishops, priests, and deacons. In fact, the prisons were so full of religious people, that there wasn’t room for real criminals like murderers, thieves and robbers. Yet, Bishop Nicholas remained steadfast in his faith and was eventually released. He continued his good work until the day he died – December 6 th . It is on the anniversary of his death that we celebrate, St. Nicholas Day! ...

At this time of year, I find myself getting creative! I love making homemade gifts! How about you? I love to knit, so I'm usually making mittens, hats, and scarves - Norwegian Style are my favorite! Do you have anything special you are making for your family and friends?  You don't have to know how to knit or sew to make handmade gifts! Some can be as easy as baked good or hot chocolate mixes!  Here are some ideas to get your brain ticking!  From  Bloom Designs Online - Chocolate Sundaes Mixes From  The Heartfelt Home - Peppermint Bark DIY Personalized Mugs ! All you need is Sharpies and a Mug! From  Alice & Lois Blog  - Homemade Heater These heaters are one of our family's personal favorites!   DROPS Patterns  - Norwegian Mittens I'd love to hear what you are all making this Christmas Season! Please comment below

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."  ~Melody Beattie Happy Thanksgiving to all our Tea Friends! At this time of year, we bring out our Johnson Brother china, "His Majesty" to help us celebrate Turkey Day! Surrounded by friends and loved ones, may you cherish this Thanksgiving Day! "Forever on Thanksgiving Day The heart will find the pathway home." ~Wilbur D. Nesbit

Today, we thought we'd share with you a glimpse of what it would be like to stay at Miss Spenser's Longview Bed and Breakfast . These are some photos from a recent guest's stay. She was so kind to share these photos with us; we couldn't resist sharing them with you. We thought she captured some charming takes of our cozy Garden Room .   Just think, that could be YOU!  Give us a call to make your own experience here at Miss Spenser's!  641-342-1547

We had a wonderful time at our European Tea this past weekend! Thank you to everyone who came! We shared fun stories and memorable photos from Mom and I's European trip back in August. Our menu was a mix of English and German foods - since we went to both places! A popular savory from our menu, was these Königsberg Meatballs! So we thought it would be fun to share this recipe with all of you!  Enjoy!  Königsberg Meatballs Adapted from Grandma’s German Cookbook 1 ¼ pound mixed ground meat, such as veal, beef and pork 1 Large Onion, chopped Bread Crumbs Salt & Pepper to taste Pinch of Freshly Ground Nutmeg 3 Large Eggs Mix the meat, onion, eggs and seasoning in a bowl.  Add enough bread crumbs so the mixture holds together and you can make nice size meatballs.  (About 20 meatballs) In a large skillet, warm up some shortening; once hot, add the meatballs; cook just until the outside is brown.  The...

Last weekend, my grandparents decided to stop by. They live almost 3 hours away, so we don't get to see them very often; we were excited!  We quickly threw together an impromptu tea party...guess what? You can too! Just need a few staples in the pantry...one being, great TEA from Miss Spenser's!  ;)  We enjoyed two pots of Frost on the Pumpkin Tea....yummo! We also had Athens Baklava in the freezer for days like this. We also had some left over tea party cookies as well as pre-packaged English cookies, and some fruit, as grandpa is watching weight.   Even Grandma brought along some Monster Cookies to enjoy! During teatime,  Grayson wanted Grandpa to share funny stories about the past. He is such a good storyteller!  My Grandpa is a jokester. So it was no surprise that he had to tease my mother about her England treasure, a silver teapot, remarking as he examined the bottom "It's made in China!" A very fun day!  ...