By Sheri Hopkins, Lifestyle Contributor
Hello everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. Even in sad times, we can find something to be thankful for.
We enjoyed our trip to Nashville, TN. I wish it had been different circumstances. It was a memorial/fundraiser for my nephew that passed away. Jason’s daughters and all his friends came out to honor him. There were so many people there, and lots of good singing. Even the old country singer Johnny Rodriguez came and sang. Everyone was so nice.
They had an auction and auctioned off his Razorback jersey. It brought $500. Not sure it would have brought that much here in Arkansas. Just kidding. We enjoyed visiting with his wife, Jill and girls, Hannah and Sophie. We laughed talking about the first time my mom and the family met Jill. Keep in mind, Jason had never been married before. My mom greets Jill and says, “you’re sure prettier than Jason’s first wife.” She was as serious as could be. Not sure who she was talking about. This was when she the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. We have always laughed about that. I told Jill, “Always remember you’re the pretty one.”
We didn’t have any phone mishaps on this trip. Every time we got in the car, I yelled “does everyone have their phone?” We did stop at Cracker Barrel to eat and we got seated and they brought us menus. The waiter finally came back and took our drink order. He was gone forever and finally brought our drinks. He took our order and we asked for some cornbread and biscuits. It took forever for us to get those. We had no silverware so we couldn’t spread the butter. There was an elderly couple sitting next to us and he got his plate, no silverware. The lady didn’t get her plate for a long time. They sure had fun watching us. I told my niece, Kelly, they got dinner and a show sitting by us. Needless to say, we waited and waited, and I told my brother, Peggy and Kelly, we have to leave—we were meeting Jill and the girls at 6 p.m. for dinner. My brother does not like confrontation, so I told them to go to the car and I would handle the situation. They left and I tried to pay for our drinks and bread, and they would not let me. We ate our cornbread and biscuits and ate snacks we had in the car till dinner time. Thankful for a safe trip and a good time.
This week’s recipe is for a cheese ball with a twist. We have Mexican food for our Wag Christmas party, and I am going to make this.
JALAPENO CHEESE BALL
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese
3 jalapeños finely chopped and seeded (I use the already diced ones. Just use your best judgment on how many to use.)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 small package of real bacon pieces
1/4 cup green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon season salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 cup pecans chopped
In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, half the jalapeños, shredded cheese, half the bacon, green onions, season salt, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. On a large plate, combine the other half of bacon, jalapeños and pecans. Shape the cream cheese mixture into a ball and roll it on the plate to coat well. Cover in Saran Wrap and chill an hour before serving.
Hope you have a blessed week and found all the bargains you wanted on Black Friday.
