Going Jane

Iron Chef Challenge: Overnight French Toast

2012-01-25T14:14:00.001-05:00

I love breakfast, but I'm always running short on time in the morning. So I love overnight recipes. I can throw everything together while supper in in the oven and have something yummy for breakfast. Here's an easy recipe for overnight French toast.

Start off with a package of King's Hawaiian Sweet Bread (one of my guilty pleasures). The loaf is round, so slice off the edges to make it more rectangular. Eat them as a snack while you're fixing the French Toast. Do not feel obligated to share. Then slice the bread and layer the slices into a greased 9x13 pan.

Next take 8 eggs.

Add 1 pint half and half to the eggs.

The add 1 cup of milk.

Add 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon...

And 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg.

Whisk the ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.

Pour the mixture over the bread slices and between any overlapping pieces.

Cover the refrigerate overnight. In the morning, take 1 cup of butter....

...and 1 cup of brown sugar.

Combine with a pastry blender.

Add 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup to the mixture.

Stir to combine.

Spread the butter/sugar mixture evenly across the top of the bread.

Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes at 350 degrees until the bread puffs and becomes golden.

Serve warm with maple syrup and or powdered sugar for a yummy breakfast treat.

Iron Chef Challenge: Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork Sandwiches

2012-01-23T11:51:00.000-05:00

I was super excited to hear Ott, A.'s Iron Chef Challenge this month featured King's Hawaiian bread - it's on my shopping list every week! I especially love their rolls, but my latest addiction is their mini sub rolls. Super yum!

I recently found a fabulous on pork shoulder roasts - only $1.79/pound! - so I stocked my freezer and decided to try Pioneer Woman's Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork on King's Hawaiian mini sub rolls. Here's what you'll need to get started:

Pork Shoulder/Pork Butt roast (2 different names for the same cut of meat)

1 onion

salt and pepper

1 can chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

2 cans (or 12 ounce bottles in my case) of Dr. Pepper

1-2 tablespoons brown sugar (optional)

Start off my quartering your onion. Separate the onions and spread the onion wedges on the bottom of a big pan (I used a Paula Dean dutch oven).

Generously salt and pepper the pork roast and place it on top of the onions.

Open the can of chipotle peppers and pour over the roast. If you're not into spicy things, use only half the can. I can tell you this recipe is SPICY—not the immediate "burn your mouth" kind of spicy—more the "sneak up on you after you've finished eating and go on the hunt for a big glass of milk" kind of spicy.

Next, add your Dr. Pepper.

See how it fizzes in the pan? I love fizz.

If you want, sprinkle some brown sugar across the top. Then, cover your pot and cook for a minimum of 6 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.

Turn the roast a couple of times during the cooking process.

Now it's time to break out the bread—my favorite mini sub rolls from King's Hawaiian. I love the soft texture and sweet flavor.

Open the rolls and put them on a baking sheet. Lightly spread some butter on then and put them in the oven to toast about the time you pull the pork out of the oven. The time it takes to shred the pork is about the right amount of time for them to toast. Make sure they don't burn.

Here's what your roast will look like when you pull it out of the pan. Pull out the pork and place it on a platter to shred. Leave the onions and peppers in the liquid of the pan.

Here's what your sub rolls will look like after toasting. Yum!

At this point, separate what fat you can off the remaining liquid. The drizzle some of the liquid over the shredded pork for extra flavor.

Here at the ones I made for the kids; they loved the toasted sub rolls and the pork was incredibly flavorful—a little too spicy for my kids' taste, but the Old Man and I loved it!

Cowboys and Wranglers

2012-01-09T05:57:00.001-05:00

What is it about cowboys and Wranglers?

Bubby competing in the goat tail tying at age 3 in his Wranglers

They go together like peanut butter and jelly.

Baby Boy wears his Wranglers to play in the water bucket.

I love that they are durable and stand up to the rigors of riding horses and life on the farm—not to mention that they a boot cut to fit over our cowboys boots and long enough in length to keep us from looking like we're riding in high-waters, too.

Bubby & "Beavis" compete in the barrel racing

And of course, they make little cowboys look so cute...

Baby Boy competes in his first rodeo at age 3.

Wait...that may not be limited to just LITTLE boys... but regardless, they definitely stand up to a day's work!

And yes, they work just as well for little cowgirls, too.

That's why I was so excited when Wrangler gave me a pair of their kids jeans to review. Bubby (now 6 years old) received a new pair of black silver edition western jeans.

These are the same classic fit my boys have grown up wearing, only that famous Wrangler patch is not the traditional brown. Instead, it's black with silver writing.

We love them and find that they're even dressy enough to wear to church, and I can't wait until he is competing in them at rodeos this summer.

That;s his modeling pose - and yes, Sissy is giving him bunny ears.

But in the mean time, I had him give them a test drive here on the farm loading firewood.

I love that they have an adjustable waist - a must for skinny boys like Bubby who can't keep their pants up otherwise.

And the denim is heavy weight, so I don't have to worry about them ripping or tearing as he works around the farm.

You can see they've going to be plenty long enough in length to cover his boots with ease when we're riding next summer, too.

So overall, I'm quite happy with these jeans—they are a great addition to my little cowboy's wardrobe.

To win a pair of your own Wrangler Kids Jeans please visit the Real Farmwives of America's Page and sign up.

While Wrangler did give me a pair of jeans to review on this blog all thoughts, pictures and opinions shared here are my own.

For Sale: Baker in Training

2011-12-21T07:05:00.001-05:00

Warning:

Purchase at your own risk. Seller is not responsible for messes, deeds, action, trouble or general mischief accomplished after purchase.

Don't forget to register to win the Gooseberry Patch cookbook I'm giving away this week! Lots of ways to enter!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Mini Cheesecakes

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

If you're like me, you're always on the hunt for some fabulous little recipe that will miraculously cut your time in the kitchen (especially around the holidays) but still leave you looking like a master chef. I have found it!

This is so quick and easy...and to top things off, it only uses 5 ingredients—and 3 of those ingredients contain chocolate! Are you hooked yet?

Start off with a brick of cream cheese and a tub of Cool Whip—your only non-chocolate ingredients! Cream those together in the blender, then add the magic: one packet of Dove Chocolate Discoveries' Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Smoothie mix.

Here's what you'll end up with:

You can't see them real well because they are coated with the cream cheese mix and slightly pulverized by my mixer, but there are real Dove Chocolate baking bits in there! At this point, you can but it in a graham cracker or Oreo pie crust. But since I like small desserts at the holidays (especially when the family gets together so I can sample a little of ALL the different goodies), I broke out the big guns:

Available exclusively through Dove Chocolate Discoveries

Think Reese's cup wrapper made out of Dove dark chocolate. Just load up a pastry bag with your cream cheese mixture and pipe it directly into the cups...

Things were looking pretty delicious at this point, but I decided to up the ante again with these bad boys:

Available exclusively through Dove Chocolate Discoveries

Remember those Rocky Road Brownies I made as part of the virtual cookie exchange hosted by the Real Farmwives of America? I ramped them up a notch with mint-filled baking bits—these peanut butter-filled baking bits are their alter-ego twin.

I popped 3 or so on top of each mini cheesecake for a garnish and bam! Dessert is served!

I hope you enjoy these little wonders. And while you're here, don't forget to stop by and register to win the FREE Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook I'm giving away this week!

In the Kitchen: White Bean Chicken Chili + Gooseberry Patch Give-a-way!!

2011-12-15T05:00:00.000-05:00

With the holidays approaching at mach speed, are you ready to slow down and enjoy a nice hot meal with minimal work? Doesn't coming home to a warm bowl of chili sounds fabulous? Well, I've got you covered!

Here's my final of 10 Slow Cooker recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook:

White Bean Chicken Chili is a fabulously simple way to warm up these cool evenings without having the same old chili you always have. Here's what you'll need:

2 tablespoons of oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 pound cooked chicken, diced

2 14.5 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

16 ounce can Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

10 ounce can tomatoes with chiles

1.5 cups water

2 cubes chicken bouillon

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

Optional garnishes: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced black olives, diced avocado, tortilla chips

Start by eating the oil in a skillet over medium heat and cooking the onion and garlic until soft.

Now it was actually the second time I made this that I remembered to take pictures...the first time I made a batch for the teachers at Sissy's school to enjoy during parent-teacher conferences...and during that first batch, I doubled the chicken when I cooked and diced it along with the onion and garlic since I knew I wanted to make a batch for us to enjoy as well. Then, I froze half of that batch. So here it it, going into the crock pot.

Next, add the remaining ingredients (except for the garnish). Here go the tomatoes...

The beans...

The tomatoes and chiles...

And the spices....

Then give it a stir, cover and let cook on low for about 4 hours...maybe a little longer if you added frozen ingredients like me. My crock pot has a timer that switches to warm, so it was fine when I got home.

Ta da! Ready to go when you come home from the cold. We enjoyed ours with a fresh loaf of beer bread after Sissy's basketball practice. Yum!

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles

4. Pineapple Chicken
5. Savory Chicken Sandwiches

6. Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

7. Easy Chicken Cacciatore

8. Lone Star BBQ Ribs

9. Spaghetti Sauce for a Crowd

10. White Bean Chicken Chili

And now for the give-a-way! There are plenty of ways to enter, and the give-a-way will end at midnight on December 22. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

2011-12-14T10:22:00.001-05:00

My mom went with us to ride on the Santa Express.
I love this pic of her & my kidders

The engineer let them all check out what it's like to drive the Santa Express

My monkeys get some words of wisdom from Old Kris Kringle.

"You better not pout...you better not cry...
you better watch out, I'm telling you why..."

Santa reads everyone "Frosty the Snowman."

My Bubby with the Jolly Old Elf himself.

All he wants for Christmas is his two front teeth...

Baby Boy is a little stressed about the whole naughty list idea....

The ornery-ness is starting to peek out...

And THERE'S that naughty smile I love...

My beautiful Sissy...

She's not quite ready to admit disbelief yet...at least not to me...

Merry Christmas!

In the Cookie Kitchen: Rocky Road Brownies

2011-12-13T10:28:00.000-05:00

Guess what? Today I'm guest posting over at The Real Farmwives of America!

I'm sharing how to make these:

Rocky Road Brownies from Gooseberry Patch's Almost Homemade cookbook. This recipe (and more!) are available FREE through their online recipe box! Stop by Real Farmwives to check out this simple holiday treat and my "secret" ingredient!

In the Cookie Kitchen: Bake your own Snowballs!

2011-12-06T05:56:00.001-05:00

OK, so where is the snow, people? It's December! Christmas is mere weeks away and I am sick and tired of being sick and tired of rain and mud up to my eyeballs! So to help get my Christmas spirit going and spread some holiday cheer, Sissy and I baked up our own batch of snowballs!

This recipe is right from Gooseberry Patch's Jolly Holidays cookbook...but I won't show you my personal copy...it's a little worse for the wear appearance-wise after riding out a house fire in 2003....but that's another story for another day...

The recipe is pretty simple. Here's what you will need:

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup pecans (my kids don't eat nuts, so we substituted this for 1 cup white chocolate chips and swirled chocolate chips)
1 cup chocolate chips
powdered sugar

We made a double batch so we could share with our neighbor who just broke her arm. She's a dairy farmer super active in her family operation, so being laid up and "one-armed" through the holidays is especially hard! Plus, this made fabulous practice for Sissy in adding fractions, too.

Just cream the butter and sugar then add the egg and vanilla. Blend in the flour, then fold in the nuts and chips—or in our case, lots and lots of chips. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet according to the recipe. We found the dough to be kind of sticky for this, so we gave them an advanced coating of powdered sugar to aid in the ball-making.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, then roll in powdered sugar again to coat well. I thought this would be a good jobs for Sissy, but to be honest she was kind of skimpy on the powdered sugar - which surprised me. Store in an air-tight container. Makes 3-3.5 dozen cookies. I don't think my double batch made nearly this many, but we may have made ours too large.

Here they are all ready to deliver:

I tucked in 3 packets of white chocolate pear-flavored cider mix with the cookies, too, so the entire family could take a break and enjoy our special delivery...

Available exclusively from Dove Chocolate Discoveries and super yummy! Click for details!

And here are my munchkins ready to make their delivery:

Of course, this was right after I threatened them before heading over to the neighbors to be on their best behavior while I helped her write out her monthly bills.

Enjoy!

12 tips for preparing food baskets for donation

2011-12-05T12:20:00.001-05:00

I swear the Christmas commercials and advertisements started before Halloween was even over this year. I KNOW our local Wal Mart was playing Christmas music at least 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. The commercialism of the season is outrageous, but it's also a perfect opportunity to help those less fortunate and share the true joy and meaning of this holiday season.

Have you seen the movie the Sisterhood of the Traveling pants? This year Longaberger has donated one Medium Market Basket to the Real Farmwives of America to cross the country and be used to do charitable work around the holidays.

During January, the Real Farmwives will auction the basket off on E-Bay and donate the proceeds to a Melanoma Cancer Research Center in honor of our friend Leontien.

One of the ways our family helps get into the spirit of the holidays each year this is by helping to coordinate food baskets for needy families through our church. We've been doing this project as long as I can remember—and that's a long time considering we attend the same church I grew up in! Over the years, I've collected some tips that help our food basket project go a little smoother, and I'm excited to share them with you in case you are interested in spearheading such a great project in your community!

1. Know how many families you are going to serve. When you know how many families your group or organization is willing to commit to serving, everything is soooo much easier. You know how many supplies you will need in advance so volunteers can prepare.

2. Find the right families. We have a special trailer park ministry in our church where volunteers transport children from a local trailer park to our church each week to participate in our church programming. Some of these same families are also recipients of the food baskets our congregation prepares. My mom is also an education program leader for Head Start in a a three-county area, so we also serve families from one of the local Head Start centers as well and the teachers there help identify needy families. The key is to have someone "in the know" who works with those less fortunate on a regular basis identify those truly in need. If you're not sure where to start, many local churches or food pantries can help point you in the right direction or even your local department of jobs and family services.

3. Don't give just your leftovers. Sure, there's nothing wrong with cleaning out your pantry and donating your extras to a good cause. That's how our ministry started. But over time, we've encouraged those in our congregation to be purposeful in their giving. Once the number of families we will serve has been determined, I like to take my kids shopping with me to buy our items to donate. It's a great teaching opportunity for the kids and there's always a great debate about what item we will buy to donate. This year my kids picked chocolate cake. We carried the cake mixes to our church for packing in this fabulous little market basket by Longaberger. It was the perfect size the the kids to help carry!

9 cake mixes are no problem for the market basket!

Buying one of the same item for each family makes things sooo much easier when it comes time to pack the baskets.

4. There's nothing wrong with money, but.... in the long term, folks are going to remember the items and the thought of your actions much longer than they will remember money. And you'll feel better about it, too. If there are those in your organization who want to donate money instead of items, designate a shopper and send them out with the money to purchase items. And it doesn't take much money to buy items for say 10 families...just $4 will get you 10 muffin mixes and they sky is the limit! One of our Sunday School classes always donates money and goes shopping with it for cleaning supplies. Other folks donate money to cover the cost of the turkeys we pack with our baskets.

5. Stock up on freebies. Are you a couponer with closets overflowing with toothpaste or shampoo? Donate them! This year our church provided baskets for 13 families. During the year I had accumulated a stockpile of deodorants for free or next to it from shopping at CVS and Rite Aid. I didn't really see that our family had an immediate use for 13 deodorants, so I donated them! Watch the ads during the year and you can find lots of freebies (or close to it!) and sometimes even some moneymakers if you're coupon savvy. On

6. Think beyond food. We call them food baskets, but there's so much more to it! We like to stock our baskets with cleaning and hygiene supplies like dish detergent, laundry detergent, toothpaste, vitamins, soaps and more.

7. Make it fun. We kick-start the holiday season and packing of the food baskets at our church each year with a carry-in dinner. Everyone gets together and enjoys a good meal and fellowship before getting to work. There are even a number of older folks in our congregation who are not physically able to do the actual packing and carrying, but they enjoy getting together and socializing while being part of the giving.

8. Get plenty of paper bags. Yes, most of my shopping bags these days are plastic. But I always try to ask for paper and stock up on these leading up to the holidays with these food baskets in mind. They are so much easier to set up in stations because they stand on their own. The kids in Sunday School at our church even decorate them for our families. Having some boxes on hand is always a good idea, too. Those canned good get heavy!

9. Have a staging area. We take one of our Sunday School rooms and turn it into a staging area before the packing begins. All the food gets hauled in there and sorted by kind. All the corn together, all the green beans, noodles, eggs, soaps, stuffing, etc. gets sorted by kind. It takes a little time, but will make the actual packing sooo much easier.

10. Set up a station for each family. We packed food for 13 families this year, so we lined the halls with 13 distinct spots—one for each family. Each stations had several paper grocery sacks and at least 1 small box for the food to be packed into.

11. Get packing! When it's time to pack, have several folks designated as sorters in the staging area. Their job is to get things together into groups for each of your family. We did 13 families this year, so my brother and I packed items together into sets of 13. Once we had 13 cake mixes together, we gave them to a pair of kids to pack. One did the carrying and one put a cake mix box into a bag or box at each station. Same with the flats of veggies, etc. Any leftover items that don't make even number "sets" can then be grouped together into a miscellaneous group and divided among the stations that ways. It really makes it easy to make sure each family is getting the same amount of the same items.

12. Deliver. Yes, you can have the families plan to come pick up their items, but let's face it: gas money is no easier to come by than grocery money. Take the time and effort to deliver the items. Not only does it make things easier for the families you're helping, but you'll remember than personal interaction as well.

To be honest, I had the best of intentions of taking pictures of our sorting and packing....but then everything got crazy and I forgot all about my camera. I hope you enjoy my tips and are able to spread some love yourself during the holiday season. I'd love the hear some of your family's traditions of giving.

Many thanks to Longaberger baskets for the use of their market basket...I've never carried my items to the church in such style or received so many compliments! Be sure to check back with the Real Farmwives next week to see how more of our farmwives are putting this basket to good use this holiday season. And please stop by to spread some Love to Leontien as well! Remember, this basket (complete with lots of good karma) will be auctioned off in January on E-Bay with the proceeds going to support Melanoma Cancer Research Center in honor of our friend Leontien.

Numbers never lie

2011-10-05T07:11:00.001-04:00

Source: facebook.com via Jane on Pinterest

Mine started at 6 a.m. I doubt he's stopped yet.

The perfect fall jacket

2011-10-03T05:35:00.000-04:00

I am in love. I have searched and searched for the perfect jacket for fall....one that will stand up to the chill of autumn, beat back the rainy days and stand up to the rigors of life on the farm and more...and thank to Carhartt, I now own it! And I love it!

Click above for more info on my new jacket!

Carhartt was kind enough to provide me with this waterproof, breathable jacket from their women's outerwear line to take for a test drive...and it's so awesome for soooo many things!

I've worn it to all kinds of things....rainy soccer games, dance class, rodeos, chocolate parties, girls' weekends, work, Sunday morning breakfast with friends and family and so much more! Considering all the rainy days we've had lately, I'm starting to think my jacket and I are attached!

Sunday morning breakfast with Sissy, Bubby & Gal in the Middle

But the very first big outing for my jacket and I was to a rodeo our family put on in Marietta, Ohio where I was working at as secretary.

Before the rodeo doing the draw for the rough stock events...no rain yet!

This can be somewhat stressful on a normal day, but add in a massive rain storm heading your way and things get even more stressful. Can you see the massive Ziploc bag covering my printer?

A smile a day keeps the rain away? Umm...maybe not...

It was a little chilly, and my new jacket was the perfect weight! But here's my favorite part! The sleeves!

Cozy hands, but my fingers are free to work!

It has a membrane lining with extended sleeves with thumbholes...I have no idea what this feature is called, but I LOVE it!

Happy fingers while I work on the team roping draw!

I can envision SOOO many times this feature would be a HUGE bonus! When you don't need the hand warmers, just push them back out of the way. LOVE!

Soon after these pics were taken, the heavens opened, lightning started striking, and I started to feel like Noah when the rains started. Despite an hour or so delay to the start of the rodeo, the rodeo crowd was hard-core...just like my jacket.

Here's the hard-core crowd at MIDNIGHT after about 5.5 hours of rain!
The performance was finally over and these folks stayed for SLACK after the show!
How awesome are these rodeo fans!

The arena was muddy, everything was soaking wet, but I was toasty and dry despite the weather!

Getting ready for more bull riding in the slack.
Think how excited the cowboys must be to KNOW that within
8 seconds of nodding their head, they are landing in THAT!

This jacket is so fabulous, because it's waterproof and breathable. it's made from a durable nylon that will stand up of rigorous wear and tear with a water-repellent finish. The breathable membrane lets your body heat escape while keeping rain and moisture out. The interior is made from polyester mesh, and the sleeves and hoods are lined with nylon. Plus, the contoured hood has an adjustable draw cord and is even removable! Even the hem has an elastic drawcord to keep out the wind and cold. Sweet, huh?

I love my jacket....and I'm glad to add it to the rest of my Carhartt line-up! Wanna know why I NEED my Carhartts? Here's the story...

Best of all, you can win a Carhartt, too! To win a Carhartt of your own please visit www.realfarmwivesofamerica.com to sign up for their giveaway.

Carhartt did provide me with this product to review but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Why opposites attract...

2011-09-23T07:09:00.000-04:00

Chocolate-Covered Cars

2011-09-22T11:46:00.000-04:00

I recently bought the most awesome chocolate tempering unit...

Well, do be honest with you, I got this awesome baby for FREE with Dove Chocolate Discoveries hostess rewards.....which is AWESOME in itself!

But since it came last week, I've been CRAZY anxious to use it! It's super cool to be able to temper your chocolate without double boilers, water, candy thermometers, etc. and just let the machine do all the thinkin'.

What is tempering? Tempering is the processing that gives your chocolate candies and treats snap and sheen. If you've ever made chocolate-covered goodies and the chocolate didn't set up, it's probably because your chocolate was not TEMPERED...which involved heating it up to JUST the right temperature, then reintroducing some "seed" chocolate once it's melted (but not TOO hot) to get it get the chocolate to the correct physical structure. Confused on the details? Here's a nice explanation...

My kids are marshmallow HOUNDS...they swipe bags from my pantry if I don't hide them, eat them as snacks and stash extra supplies in their bedrooms. So chocolate-covered marshmallows seemed like a perfect project to take my new tempering machine for a test drive. Plus, I found these hidden in my pantry:

Start by getting out your tempering machine or tempering your chocolate the old-fashioned way...I'll show you how my cool new toy works...

The tempering machine has a bowl divided by a baffle. Turn the machine on and select the type of chocolate you will be melting (dark, milk or white). I chose the dark chocolate. I also prepped my bowl first by rubbing it down (inside only, of course) with a bar of chocolate. Drop the chocolate in behind the baffle...

As the machine heats the bowl and the bowl rotates, the chocolate will start to melt and move to the front of the bowl on the right hand side of the baffle, which has a little gap. There is a scraper on the left hand side of the baffle that scrapes the melted chocolate from the side of the bowl as it comes around and holds it in a pool on the front side of the baffle, so you end up with the melted pool of chocolate up front and the un-melted chocolate still on the back side of the baffle.

Once the chocolate gets to the correct temperature, the machine beeps to tell you it's time to introduce the "seed" chocolate that will reset it's crystal structure. Just drop it in behind the baffle and it will start to melt just like the other chocolate. When the chocolate is correctly tempered, the machine beeps again and you simply remove any remaining unmelted seed chocolate and eat it. Don't be shy! It makes even little boys with crazy bed-heads smile!

Once your chocolate is tempered, it's time to get dipping! You can do a TON of things with tempered chocolate...chocolate-covered strawberries, pretzels, truffles, candy canes, rice crispie treats, etc...The sky is the limit! Like I said, we used Cars-shaped marshmallows. I liked the cool colors, so we only dipped the chocolate up the sides, leaving the top plain. Doesn't the traffic cone look cuter showing a little orange?

I also got these cool design transfer sheets from Dove with my hostess rewards....

Source: dove-chocolate-discoveries.com via Jane on Pinterest

Can you believe it? The designs are made of COCOA BUTTER!! Just put your chocolate goodies on the transfer sheet after dipping them in the tempered chocolate...

I'm impatient, so after we finished dipping, I popped the tray of marshmallows in the fridge to speed up the process of my chocolate setting up. Once it has, you get these cute little designed transferred to your candies!!

Best of all, they were delicious in addition to being cute, and I can't WAIT to temper chocolate again! My list of to-dos keeps growing! Pretzels, strawberries, truffles, candy canes, cookies......

Somewhere over the rainbow...

2011-09-21T05:51:00.000-04:00

Even when rain dampens your soccer game, there's something to look forward to...

Iron Chef Challenge: Cinnamon Bread

2011-09-20T05:44:00.000-04:00

I LOVE breads - especially yeast breads. Cinnamon makes it even better. That's why I KNEW I'd be making cinnamon bread for Ott, A.'s Iron Chef Challenge with Red Star yeast.

The process is similar to making cinnamon rolls (or yes, even chocolate chip cookie sweet rolls)...it takes patience, but the results are oh, so worth it! Here's a list of what you'll need to get started:

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons of butter

1 pkg Red Star original dry yeast

2 eggs

1/3 cup sugar

3-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

Melted butter for top of loaf

Start by melting your butter and milk together in a saucepan...

You need to get it VERY hot, but not boiling. Then, you have to put on your patient pants and wait for it to cool. And wait and wait and wait. Wait until it is lukewarm, but not hot. If you don't wait long enough, it will kill your yeast and your bread won't rise properly. THAT would be a tragedy. So make yourself some coffee, go check Facebook, or read up on your favorite blogs. Just WAIT!

When it cools to lukewarm, go ahead and add your yeast. I just use the original dry yeast...same as I used in 4-H and home ec classes back in the day...

Sprinkle the yeast on top. If you're feeling adventurous, gently whisk it into the milk and butter mixture. The grab your coffee mug and head back to your computer. You'll need to wait another 10 minutes for the yeast to start making its magic....

Next, you'll want to combine your flour and salt...

Put the eggs and and sugar in your mixture and mix with your regular beaters or your paddle attachment...

Then add in your yeast mixture and combine again...

Gradually add in your flour mixture until the dough forms...

Once the dough had formed, switch to your dough hooks and let them knead the dough for about 10 minutes or so. If your dough is sticky (mine was), add some more flour and put the dough hooks back to work again..

Next, pour some olive oil in a bowl and set your dough in it to ride. Be sure to turn the dough over a time or two so the olive oil coats the outside of your dough. Then cover the bowl (I just use a clean dish towel) and put it in a warm place to rise for at least 2 hours. I have a gas stove, so I just set mine on the oven above where the pilot light is. After 2 hours, it should look something like this...

At this point, my fingers got too busy and sticky to take pictures, but roll your dough out into a rectangle. Make sure the narrow side of the rectangle is narrow enough to fit into your loaf pan. Once your rectangle is formed, mix together your cinnamon and sugar. The spread about 2 tablespoons of melted butter on the rectangle & sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar.

Like I said, I didn't take pictures, but it's very similar to making cinnamon rolls...

This is a picture from my chocolate chip cookie sweet rolls - same basic concept...

Then roll it up, starting with the short end so that it will fit into your loaf pan. Be sure to grease your loaf pan with plenty of soft butter so your loaf won't stick in the pan and place your bread seam-side-down into the pan. Cover it again and let it rise another 2 hours. See why patience is important? Just remember, good things come to those who wait..

After 2 hours, it should look something like this...

At this point, you can either mix an egg and some milk and brush an egg wash across the top or brush the top with melted butter. I like the butter method, because the egg wash makes the load a bit too "crusty" for my tastes...

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes on one of your lower racks until it looks something like this...

Allow it to cook a little, then carefully run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the loaf and remove the loaf to finish cooling..

When you've waited as long as you can (for me, that wasn't very long), slice yourself off a little piece of heaven...

It's perfect fresh and warm from the oven and slathered in butter. If you can wait that long, go ahead and make cinnamon toast or even cinnamon French toast for breakfast....I dare you to try!

Personally, we ate ours before dinner as an after-school snack....

In the Kitchen: Spaghetti Sauce for a Crowd

2011-09-19T06:30:00.000-04:00

As you may have noticed, I have a serious love affair with Italian food. So I couldn't pass up this Spaghetti Sauce for a Crowd recipe from my Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker Recipes cook book.

This recipe is the 9th in my 10-part In the Kitchen series with Gooseberry Patch & the Real Farmwives of America. I'm working my way through their Slow-Cooker Recipes cookbook (thanks to receiving a complimentary copy from GP!). Once I've cooked 10 of these yummy recipes, I'll be giving away a copy of this cookbook to a lucky reader! Just one more recipe until the give-a-way!!

Here's what you'll need:

28 oz can crushed tomatoes

15 oz can tomato sauce (forgot to include this in the above pic - sorry!)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cloves of garlic, minced

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

20 oz. package Italian sausage links, browned, drained and sliced

(I just used Bob Evans original recipe sausage links 'cuz I had a coupon)

2 16-oz packages of spaghetti, cooked

I started by browning the sausage on my double-burner griddle...

Doesn't it already look yummy? It's ok to go ahead and swipe a chunk at this point...I won't tell...

In the meantime, mix all of the remaining ingredients (except the spaghetti) together in your slow cooker. Add the sausages and cook on low for 8 hours. My crockpot cooks a little hot, so this was a little too long for me. Serve the sauce over the cooked spaghetti, add a little garlic bread and a salad on the side and you have a fabulous, home-cooked meal perfect for these cool autumn days!

Super yummy - my hubby especially enjoyed this recipe! The recipe says it serves 12-14. We used about half for our family of 5, and I froze the remainder of the batch to enjoy another day.

Stay tuned for the last two recipes from my Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker recipe cookbook. I'll be cooking up 10 recipes, then giving away a brand new copy thanks to my friends at Gooseberry Patch. For more great recipes - including a lot more Gooseberry Patch ones - head on over to the Real Farmwives of America and check out what the rest of these girls have going on.

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles

4. Pineapple Chicken
5. Savory Chicken Sandwiches

6. Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

7. Easy Chicken Cacciatore

8. Lone Star BBQ Ribs

9. Stay tuned for our final recipe before the big give-a-way!

ALSO - If you are stopping by today, please take a moment to stop by and give a shout out of love and encouragement to my fellow Real Farmwife Leontien..

She's working hard to kick cancer's butt, and a little love and encouragement never goes astray! I know she'd love to hear from you!

Feedin' up with Jane

2011-09-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

We don't call it "feeding up"....but one of my besties from down south does - and it always makes me smile (and yes, she calls shopping carts "buggies", too!). We just call it feeding or doing chores. But regardless of what you call it, it's been my responsibility this week.

My little brother (who normally does the feeding at my mom's house with all the horses and rodeo livestock) is living it up in St Tite at the Festival Western de St Tite, which is his all-time favorite rodeo and last a full week. It's in the French part of Canada, so he has no idea what they are saying, but that sure doesn't stop him from having a great time! He's up there steer wrestling:

This is my "little" brother steer wrestling at St Tite in 2008

Normally, when he's on the road rodeoing or working as an equine dentist, my Old Man does chores for him. But HE's spending the week in Pittsburg at a sales meeting for work. Guess who that leaves in charge? Yep - me!

That's the main reason I've been exhausted (and therefore whiney) this week. Feeding the sheep and Reckless the horse at our house is no big deal. The hour and a half to two hour feeding of the rodeo livestock at my mom's house is another matter—especially when you try to juggle that with getting the kids off to school, getting your hours in at the office, picking Baby Boy up from preschool and/or the babysitter, getting Bubby off the bus, picking Sissy up from her after-school program, soccer games, tumbling class, dinner, laundry, homework....well, I'm sure my whining gives you the idea.

There are a lot of farmers and ranchers like us who work outside the home and don't have hired help. We do it because we love it, despite the amount of hard work involved! So I wanted to give you a look at what "feeding up" is like for us.

Our family owns and operates a rodeo stock contracting company. We raise our own bucking horses and bulls. Usually we rent the timed event cattle for our rodeos, but this year we have a pen of steer wrestling steers, too. And, we have some riding horses at well. Those are all down at my mom's house. We also have sheep and a horse for the Old Man at our house (named Reckless - but it's supposed to help him Wreck Less when riding, get it?). I've already written about doing chores at MY house, so here's what's involved in evening chores at my mom's house:

First, I pick up Baby Boy - either from the sitter or his preschool. I need a supervisor. Then, I head to the barn to load up the feed.

We have several groups of stock that all get fed separately in separate areas - and the feed has to be carried to each one:

Silent Scope (our PBR retiree) and some of our young bulls
Bucking horses
Kids' riding horses
Stud horse, mares and colts (also bucking horses)
Bucking bulls, cows and calves
Bucking bulls (same as above, but they also get fed separately)
Weaned colts

So first, I try to sneak the feed into 'Scope and his cronies - because it's easier and a shorter distance to carry their 50# bag of feed if I can get through the gate and get it into their tubs without them noticing me instead of going through the trouble of penning them separately - 'cuz I'm not crazy enough to want to go toe to toe with a pen of bulls and argue with them about where their feed is going and when they can have it. I feed earlier than my brother - so this plan worked well the first 2 days - but by day 3 (when I decided to document my experience) they had caught on to my efforts in subterfuge.

This is Silent Scope bucking at one of our rodeos.
Yep, that's his foot in front of that cowboy's face. My dad is in the flag shirt.

So, I carried their feed to the gate I wanted to take it into and then tried to fool them by carrying another bag to the other end of their dry lot, shaking it around and making a lot of noise so they would think I was feeding them there. Then I hustled back to my other gate to try to slip the feed in there. They weren't buying.

Silent Scope in retirement with some of our young bulls.
See the feed tubs they are surrounding? That's where I'm supposed to put their feed.

So, I give up on that for a while and instead head up the arena where we feed most of the bulls and cows and most of the horses. Rodeo horses and bulls are not tame pets. They like walking on the wild side—that's why they do what they do. They don't get individual stalls and pens, but they do get fed in our arena with plenty of space and plenty of feed tubs.

Recycled feed tubs! The large size let 2-3 horses or bulls eat at each tub with ease.

I can drive the feed to the arena, but I still have to carry the 50# bags one at a time around the arena dividing it up between the tubs. The stock knows when it's dinner time....

The bucking horses and bulls and mama cows wait patiently for their dinner.

From about 300 acres, by the time the feed is in the arena, they are all waiting at the gate. Feeding regularly gives us a chance to inspect each of the animals, notice if any are missing (like a cow that might be off giving birth somewhere on the farm), note any injuries (yep, they jockey for dominance and pecking order just like any other animal and can fight with each other, too, which can result in scrapes, scratches, cute & bruises in addition to "normal" injuries) and it gives them lots of experience being handled. I can honestly say that our bucking stock handles better than a lot of other rodeo livestock I've seen, and the stage for that handling gets set at home from the time they are babies moving through pens and gates with their mommas until they make their first foray into the arena on their own.

Oh, and besides being supervised by Baby Boy, I have some other help, too:

Meet Gus, the laziest stock dog in the world.

Once I get the feed out, I head back down to the other pen with Scope and his cronies again to see if they've given up and moved away from my gate and feed tubs.

"Where's my feed, woman?"

No dice. They stalk me all along the fence. So it's back up to the arena to let in the bulls, cows and bucking horses. Now for the most part, they are all waiting at the gate. But there are some with diva-like qualities that like to make a red-carpet entrance on their own, so I let them in the back way..

"Yes, I deserve special treatment, but I don't like your camera, you crazy paparazzi!"

The rest of the horses and bulls are waiting patiently at the correct gate for dinner to be served...

I especially love when the bucking horses stand like this listening
to Sissy sing while she rides her horse Sparkplug in the arena.
It's usually their after-dinner music.

Even the big bulls wait patiently for their turn..

"How much longer until my table is ready?"

"Wow, the food must really be good here! Look at the crowd!"


"Move back, youngsters! Big Mama is coming through first!"

We have our arena divided in two parts - one for the bulls and cows to eat in and one for the horses to eat in. They've had enough practice, that when I open the gates, they almost sort themselves into the right part of the arena. See how good handling helps? They just make their own way, bulls and cows through the little gate to the far end of the arena, horses to the front, while I stand behind the gate and out of their way...

"Excuse me, Mr. Bull, I know you're in a hurry, but could you please
let me in to MY side of the arena? I'm hungry and the food is on the table!"

This set of bucking horses is mostly geldings (castrated males) with a few mares..the stud keeps most of the mares in his own little harem separately. The kids' horses (Sparkplug & Beavis) hang out with this set of bucking horses, so they meet me at the gate to be let into another lot for a special serving of senior horse feed. Once everyone is happily munching away and all the gates are closed, I head over to feed the stud Goose and his harem of bucking mares and colts. They get their feed in the same type of tubs, just a different lot...

Goose and one of his mares enjoy a lovely dinner for two.

"Mmmmm...delicious! My compliments to the chef!"

Lucky for me, their lot is right next to the lot 'Scope and his cronies are in. They are finally distracted enough for me to feed them THEIR 50# of feed without them being on top of me. But thy DO hear the feed hit the tubs and make tracks my way, so I hustle back through the gate in a hurry!

Then it's halftime - I head back to my house while they all eat to pick Bubby up from the bus...

With Bubby AND Baby Boy in tow, we then head to the barn to feed and water the colts who are being weaned. Their bucket is little, so I let Bubby carry it and run the water because he likes playing with the hose. And to be honest, I'm about wore out.

Once the horses and the bulls are done eating, it's time to move them around a bit. I turn the horses out the same way they came in and give this little baby some love in the process...

I know - not a good pic, but he wouldn't back away enough for me to get a better one!

Actually, the baby wanted SO MUCH attention that this night he didn't want to leave! Mama and the rest of the horses were long gone and he was following me around the arena until I literally PUSHED him across the arena and out the gate so I could feed the bulls their second course!

"Did someone say something about a second course?"

Even though the bulls, cows and calves are all fed together, the bulls get another feeding. Once everyone is done eating, they work their way up to the gate where I sort them off from the cows and let them eat a second helping of bull feed in the half of the arena where the horses just ate.
Again, they really do a pretty good job of almost sorting themselves...although there ARE a few COWS that they to push their way through for dessert as well.

Once that's done, we let the rest of the cows out, open the gate so the bulls can leave the arena when they are done eating, turn Beavis & Sparkplug out, make sure all the gates are shut and head to the house.

Gus & Bubby think they've done a hard day's work!

And THAT, my friends, is why I'm been grumpy, exhausted and whiney all week. AND why I'm looking forward to the Old Man's return - well, that and the fact that I want him to take the trash out.

:)

My Chore Boy

2011-09-14T06:34:00.000-04:00

The Old Man AND my Cowboy brother are both MIA this week - the Old Man in Pittsburg (called me from a Pirates game last night) and my brother rodeoing and having a blast I have no doubt in St Tite, Canada. So I'm left feeding the sheep & the Old Man's horse here AND feeding the bucking horses and bulls, colts, mama cows and riding horses down the road at my mom's farm. Good thing I have help:

Bubby attempting to feed Sour & Captain Rex

Which looks all cute and adorable until you realize he and the 2 sheep he is supposed to be feeding are on one side of the fence and the bucket is on the other because he let them mob him before he got the feed through the fence. Sigh.

We now have a new memory...

2011-09-11T08:37:00.004-04:00

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend – even a friend whose name it never knew."

—President George W. Bush, Dec. 11, 2001

In the Kitchen: Lone Star BBQ Ribs

2011-09-01T03:36:00.000-04:00

Chocolate. My friend. How I love you.

I know you've been sad for years...relegated to dessert or snack status. Eaten in the secrecy of my pantry with the door closed so the kidders won't find my hidden stash.

At last, you can break free! I've broken the chains and brought you to the dinner table! The main course!

Confused? Bear with me, here.

This recipe is the 8th in my 10-part In the Kitchen series with Gooseberry Patch & the Real Farmwives of America. I'm working my way through their Slow-Cooker Recipes cookbook (thanks to receiving a complimentary copy from GP!). Once I've cooked 10 of these yummy recipes, I'll be giving away a copy of this cookbook to a lucky reader! Only 2 more recipes to go after this one...

Here's what you'll need for Lone Star BBQ ribs...I'll show you where the chocolate comes in shortly, I promise..

3# bone-in beef short ribs - I used country style pork rubs cause they were massively on sale

1 cup water

1/2 cup bbq sauce

1/2 cup dry red wine or beef broth

1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce

Oh, yes I did!

Chocolate BBQ sauce...I am now in heaven. Don't knock it 'til you try it...it's AMAZING!

Arrange your ribs in the slow cooker, then mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over the ribs.

Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Ta da! Dinner is served! My ribs were a little fatty (probably why they were on sale), but still an excellent way to cooks some ribs...especially now that the kidders are back in school and evenings are rushed with after-school activities here, there and everywhere.

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles

4. Pineapple Chicken
5. Savory Chicken Sandwiches

6. Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

7. Easy Chicken Cacciatore

8. Lone Star BBQ Ribs

9. Check back next week another great chicken feature!

Only in Amish Country...

2011-08-31T02:46:00.000-04:00

Some comparisons just don't need words...

In the Kitchen: Easy Chicken Cacciatore

2011-08-30T03:02:00.000-04:00

The name says it all: EASY

This cacciatore recipe is my 7th shared recipe from my 10-part In the Kitchen series with Gooseberry Patch & the Real Farmwives of America. I'm working my way through their Slow-Cooker Recipes cookbook (thank to receiving a complimentary copy from GP!). Once I've cooked 10 of these yummy recipes, I'll be giving away a copy of this cookbook to a lucky reader! Only 3 more recipes to go until the give-a-way!!

Here's what you'll need to may this super easy cacciatore:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 oz. can of sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup water

26 oz. jar spaghetti sauce

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Yep, that's it—and some cooked spaghetti to go with it along with some shredded mozarella for a little garnish if you want it.

Put the chicken breasts down in your crockpot.

Top with mushrooms, water and half the sauce. Sprinkle the seasoning on top.

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When you're ready to serve, warm the remaining sauce and toss it with your cooked spaghetti—or any other kind of pasta to your liking or that's in your pantry.

Can you say, "YUM!" ?!?!

Stay tuned for more recipes from my Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker recipe cookbook. I'll be cooking up 10 recipes, then giving away a brand new copy thanks to my friends at Gooseberry Patch. For more great recipes - including a lot more Gooseberry Patch ones - head on over to the Real Farmwives of America and check out what the rest of these girls have going on.

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles

4. Pineapple Chicken
5. Savory Chicken Sandwiches

6. Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

7. Easy Chicken Cacciatore

8. Check back Thursday to see how I turned chocolate into a main dish

Showered with Love

2011-08-29T03:30:00.000-04:00

Sissy headed off to church camp for the third time this summer.

But this time it was for a WHOLE WEEK. That's a long time for this momma to be left alone in a house full of BOYS!

So before my girl left home, I had to make sure she had everything she needed for the week. That included a shower basket. Now I could have headed to Wal Mart, but I already had a basket that I thought would work...it just wasn't, um....very ATTRACTIVE to say the least....at least not for a little girl to cart her beauty essentials around in...

See? Nice and roomy, right?

I started out coating it in a nice coat of blue spray paint for plastic....cuz it's what I had on hand, which in my book makes it as good as free.

Then we snazzed it up a little...cause a girl needs a little somthin'-somethin'.

Then we added her name in some cute little stickers and coated all our decor with a little dose of Modge Podge.

Ta da! All set for camp with her beauty essentials. Yep, I stickered and Modge-Podged the bottle of detangling spray, too. :)

Now just because we used this for summer camp doesn't mean that you couldn't use the basic concept for college dorms, toy organization, your own bathroom stash or so much more. So have fun with it!

Little Seeds, Big Tractors

2011-08-26T02:22:00.000-04:00

Last week as part of our big pre-back-to-school hurrah,we went to COSI in Columbus for their Farm Days: Little Seeds, Big Tractors special exhibit.

We love COSI and try to make it at least once a year. Think hands-on science museum for kids.

When I was Sissy's age, we had our Girl Scout overnight camp out at COSI. Loved it!

Last week, though, they brought the farm to the city and had a special limited-time farm display set up on their outdoor plaza so kids could learn more about the science of agriculture.

They could try their hand at milking cows....

Check out how farmers keep their livestock cool in the summer heat with misters...

And of course, check out the big farm equipment and tractors first-hand.

Sissy's bff also came along for the day. She's not a farm girl at all, so she was impressed with everything...

Look at that face....I think I need to be concerned about her driving skills in a few years...

They even checked out the combines. We're small-scale, livestock producers, so seeing the big grain equipment is a treat for my farm kids, too!

Check out the size of those heads on the combine!

The combine was big enough for all 4 kidders to fit easily in the cab...and my kids enjoyed pretending to drive, just like they see in the fields during harvest while daddy is out collecting his GPS data from his clients....and sometimes they sweet talk a ride out of the whole thing, too.

And we even rounded out the day with some pedal tractor races. Does summer get any better than that?

Screw it

2011-08-25T02:32:00.000-04:00

Yep....sometimes a pictures IS worth 1,000 words.

For instructions on how to make an up-cycled container to hold your handyman's nails and screws, your little engineer's trains, the Galactic Empire's clone army, your entrepreneur's littlest pet shop and so much more, click here.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

School Daze

2011-08-24T09:06:00.001-04:00

Sissy& Bubby started back to school yesterday. So before they got on the bus, I drug them to their schools to take 1st day of school pics—then I went with Sissy to school so I could become an officially oriented 3rd grade parent (she's starting a new elementary school this year for grades 3-5). I love their expressions at being my photo subjects.

Where was Baby Boy you might ask? He was with us, he just refused to have his picture taken. He goes through his orientation this afternoon, then goes back to preschool on Monday.

In the Kitchen: Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

2011-08-23T16:01:00.000-04:00

What kid doesn't love mac & cheese? Mine sure do! This is a perfect recipe for a Sunday afternoon or late dinner if you happen to get home in the afternoon because it only takes 2-3 hours even though it's made in the crockpot.

Yep, this is the 6th recipe in my 10-part In the Kitchen series with Gooseberry Patch & the Real Farmwives of America. I'm working my way through their Slow-Cooker Recipes cookbook (thank to receiving a complimentary copy from GP!). Once I've cooked 10 of these yummy recipes, I'll be giving away a copy of this cookbook to a lucky reader! #6 means we're on the downhill slide, folks!

Here's what you'll need for Macaroni & 4 Cheeses:

3 cups of cooked elbow macaroni

1 tbsp melted margarine

2 cups evaporated milk

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded Colby Jack or Monterey Jack cheese (I used a blend of the 2)

3/4 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss cheese
(we are apparently too backwoods here to have either in the store, but we are THE home of Baby Swiss cheese, so I shredded my own)

3/4 cup pasteurized process cheese spread, cubed (aka Velveeta)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper

1 tsp seasoned salt

(I don't sell it or anything, but if you haven't tried Tastefully Simple's seasoned salt, your life is much sadder than it has to be. Just sayin'.)

1/4 tsp pepper

Combine the macaroni & margarine in a lightly greased slow cooker.

Add the remaining ingredients.

Mix well. Cover & cook on high for 2-3 hours.

Stir once or twice during cooking. My kids gobbled it up so fast I never stood a prayer of taking a picture of the finished product - but it was good, trust me!

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles

4. Pineapple Chicken
5. Savory Chicken Sandwiches

6. Macaroni & 4 Cheeses

7. Check back next week for Chicken Cacciatore!

In the Kitchen: Savory Chicken Sandwiches

2011-08-22T15:20:00.000-04:00

Words. Can. Not. Describe. This. Awesomeness.

These are some seriously awesome chicken sandwiches. Savory does not describe them adequately. Yum!

These satisfying sandwiches of bliss are yet another installment in 10-part In the Kitchen series with Gooseberry Patch & the Real Farmwives of America. You may remember, I'm working my way through Slow-Cooker Recipes. Once I've cooked 10 of these yummy recipes, I'll be giving away a copy of this cookbook to a lucky reader!

Here's what you'll need to cook the most savory chicken sandwiches ever...all in the comfort of your friendly neighborhood crock pot:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1.5 oz. pkg onion soup mix

1/4 tsp garlic salt

1/4 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup water

4 sandwich buns

Just place your chicken breasts in your slow cooker...

Then sprinkle with the soup mix and garlic sauce. Pour the dressing and water over the chicken, too. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Shred the chicken with 2 forks, then return to the slow cooker until your hungry masses are ready to chow down.

Use a slotted spoon and serve on buns.

Feeling adventurous? Garnish with lettuce, sliced cheese, sour cream, ranch salad dressing or any combination thereof.

Bonus? Plenty of leftovers from our family of five (remember, though, that our "5" includes a 4, 6 and 8 year old). The next night I added some Santa Fe Cooking Creme to the chicken and mixed it up.

Roll it up in some tortillas, top it with some enchilada sauce and cheddar or a fiesta-blend shredded cheese and you have awesome chicken enchiladas, too! 2-for-1 dinner score!

Stay tuned for more recipes from my Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker recipe cookbook. I'll be cooking up 10 recipes, then giving away a brand new copy thanks to my friends at Gooseberry Patch. We're half way there! For more great recipes - including a lot more Gooseberry Patch ones - head on over to the Real Farmwives of America and check out what the rest of these girls have going on.

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles

4. Pineapple Chicken
5. Savory Chicken Sandwiches

6. Come back tomorrow for a great mac & cheese recipe!

The Mama Trauma

2011-08-12T14:18:00.001-04:00

The future of our family is in good hands.

I know this without a doubt, because these three rascals are going to be sooooo much better people than I am.

Especially this one. It's been clear for years that God has special plans for her, and those plans revolve around her special "helper's heart."

About 6 months ago, she heard about Locks of Love and told me she wanted to donate her hair, because "I don't want a little girl with cancer like Grandma to be sad or made fun of it they lose their hair."

Yep, I cried this morning on her big day....but I did my crying before she was awake.

10 full inches of beautiful blonde hair that will make some little girl in need very happy indeed.

Thanks to Carly, she's thrilled with her new 'do and all set to go back to school.

I love that girl.

For more information on how you can help kids in need through Locks of Love, click here.

Pantry ponderings...

2011-07-30T09:34:00.002-04:00

As I was cleaning out my pantry this morning (AGAIN), I began to wonder...

Bloomin'

2011-07-25T05:37:00.008-04:00

This weekend, Sissy and I did some flower planting. It was a fun way for us to have some girl time since she'd been gone for a whole week (gasp!) at church camp.

But first, the Old Man and the boys were kind enough to put my new three-tiered planter from Avant Garden together for me. It actually looked simple enough that I think Sissy & I could have done it ourselves, but we're all about making the men feel useful around here. :)

It could have been my building crew or the screw holes might have been a touch off - but it wan't quite straight when we first put it together - but with a little tugging and prodding, it straightened right up very easily. The planter was very nice and actually bigger than I anticipated. It was nice and sturdy - and I confess, I thought about using it instead to corral all of the summer outdoor toys the kids are intent on scattering across all creation.

Sissy was in charge of filling the bottom of the planters with potting soil and deciding how our clearance petunias should be divided between the three tiers. We decided to put our two shades of purple on the bottom, the pink and red ones in the middle, and the remaining purple ones mixed in with the white ones on top.

Ta da! Don't they look cute? (the flowers AND Sissy, of course!) Now if we can just remember to keep them watered good...

If you would like to win a Hanging Basket of your own head over to the Real Farmwives of America & Friends Blog and sign up for their giveaway!

Avant Garden Decor did provide me with this product to review (thank you!), however the thoughts, opinions and photos shared about this product on this blog are my own.

Iron Chef Challenge: A little Black Magic

2011-07-21T15:02:00.001-04:00

Oh, yes...chocolate it definitely magic! I knew my entry to the King Arthur flour Iron Chef Challenge at A Latte with Ott, A. HAD to feature chocolate. And since chocolate is magic in its own right, I went with a Black Magic Cake based on a recipe found at Just a Pinch. Here's what you'll need for the cake:

1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur's unbleached All-Purpose Flour)

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong black coffee, cooled

1 cup buttermilk

(in my case, I didn't have buttermilk, so I used slightly less than 1/2 cup milk and filled it to the 1/s cup mark w/white distilled vinegar and repeated)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

I picked up my King Arthur flour during an online grocery shopping excursion at my local grocery store. Sweet!

First, combine all the dry cake ingredients in your mixer.

Then, add the remaining ingredients and mix for two minutes. The batter will be thin. Then pour it into a greased 9x13 pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely.

But what's cake without frosting? Chocolate frosting to be precise? Here's what you'll need for a simple and delicious homemade chocolate frosting:

1/2 cup margarine, softened

2 oz. melted chocolate (I used Dove Chef Series dark chocolate and it was heavenly!)

3 cups powdered sugar

3 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla

Mix all the ingredients together in your mixer. It will be somewhat thin and easily spreadable when you are done (not to mention delicious!).

Spread the icing on your cake - it spreads to easily! Then enjoy!

You can see how fabulously moist this cake is! The verdict?

Magical!

King Arthur did provide me with flour to use for this recipe contest, however the opinions listed here are my own.

In the Kitchen: Pineapple Chicken

2011-07-18T08:36:00.000-04:00

Here's another super quick & simple recipe from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes (part of their In the Kitchen partnership with the Real Farmwives of America).

Here's what you'll need for this simple Pineapple Chicken recipe, found in the Dinner in a Jiffy (5 ingredients of less) chapter on page 73:

The recipe calls for 6 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, but I went ahead and used a big bag of frozen chicken breast strips that I bought on sale (saved me some cutting for the kids when it was time to eat, too!). Place your chicken in the slow cooker, then season with salt, pepper & paprika. Yes, I keep my salt & pepper (and cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, corn starch, etc.) in canning jars in my cupboard. I can see what's what and how much of any one thing I have at a glance, plus, since the jars are more uniform in size, they fit in the cupboard easier. And, some of those boxes don't seal worth a flip, so to me, this makes sense.

Next, mix together a 20 oz. can of pineapple tidbits (drained) with 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard. I used pineapple chunks because they were already in my pantry and it turned out fine. Then, I made a little punch with the pineapple juice I drained off.

Here it is spread over the chicken in my crock pot:

Cook on high for 3-4 hours. Here's what it looks like when it's done:

I served it over rice with some other veggies. Definitely a fun way to spice up some chicken!

Stay tuned for more recipes from my Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker recipe cookbook. I'll be cooking up 10 recipes, then giving away a brand new copy thanks to my friends at Gooseberry Patch. For more great recipes - including a lot more Gooseberry Patch ones - head on over to the Real Farmwives of America and check out what the rest of these girls have going on.

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles

4. Pineapple Chicken (right here!)
5. Check back tomorrow for another yummy chicken recipe!

Sharing some HP love

2011-07-16T23:36:00.007-04:00

It's the weekend for sharing some HP love!

So in the spirit, be sure to check out my guest post on the HP books over at the Real Farmwives of America! :)

Snacktime: Chocolate Popcorn

2011-07-14T06:34:00.000-04:00

Here's what I'm snacking on:

Super easy, super fast and satisfies my need for a chocolate fix. Pop up some popcorn, give the plain stuff to the kidders, then top yours with this:

Yum! And yes, I'm eating my way through my new Dove Chocolate Discoveries starter kit...I call it gaining product knowledge.

On a related chocolate note, I'm thinking of starting a weekly chocolate recipe linky party. I'm thinking you can never have enough chocolate recipes. What do you think?

In the Kitchen: Creamy Chicken & Noodles

2011-07-12T06:23:00.001-04:00

As promised, here's my 3rd recipe installment from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes.

My kids are HUGE chicken & noodle fans...but according to them, mine is never as good as Grandma's—until now. They loved this huge crock of chicken & noodles! Here's what you'll need:

Combine 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 2-10.75 cans of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup of butter (sliced) and 42 oz. of chicken broth in your crock pot. Cover & cook on low for 8 hours. An hour before serving, remove the chicken, shred it and return it to the slow cooker. (I forgot to take pictures of this part—sorry!)

The recipe calls for a 24 oz. package of frozen egg noodles, but I couldn't find frozen ones, so I just used bagged ones. Stir in the noodles, cover and cook another hour. If you are not using frozen noodles, I recommend keeping an eye on the noodles so they don't get over cooked & mushy. Once they are cooked to your desired consistency, you are ready to serve! The recipe calls for serving in bowls, but my kids like more noodles and less broth, so I just added a whole big bag of noodles, which made it thicker than the recipe actually called for, so we served them on plates with some veggies. You do your own thing and it will all be good.

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken

3. Creamy Chicken & Noodles (that's this one!)

4. Stay tuned next Monday for Pineapple Chicken

In the Kitchen: Tammy's Italian Chicken

2011-07-11T07:58:00.000-04:00

You have no idea how thankful I am this In the Kitchen with the Real Farmwives of America & Gooseberry Patch project came up! It has saved my summer! I was seriously in a non-motivated rut about cooking, and here's one more example of a fun and simple meal from my Slow Cooker Recipes cookbook!

Today, I'll be showing you Tammy's Italian Chicken from the Family Favorites chapter of the cookbook...right on page 6. This was so easy and so yummy, I totally get why it's considered a family favorite! Here's what you'll need:

Arrange 2.5# of frozen chicken breast in your crock pot. Mine were already seasons with garlic & herbs—and they were on sale to boot. Sprinkle with a 1.5 oz package of spaghetti sauce mix. Add a can of diced tomatoes (mine were already seasoned with basil, garlic & oregano) and an 8 oz can of tomato sauce.

Here's everything in the crock pot. No stirring or mixing necessary. Now I bought 15 oz can of tomato sauce & only used half. Next time I will just dump the whole thing in if I buy a bigger can by mistake. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high got 3.5 - 4.5 hours. I popped mine in after lunch on Friday and it was ready to go just in time for dinner. Yum!

Whip up some penne pasta and add some Parmesan cheese if you want, and you're good to go. It just doesn't get much easier than that.

Stay tuned for more recipes from my Gooseberry Patch Slow Cooker recipe cookbook. I'll be cooking up 10 recipes, then giving away a brand new copy thanks to my friends at Gooseberry Patch. For more great recipes - including a lot more Gooseberry Patch ones - head on over to the Real Farmwives of America and check out what the rest of these girls have going on.

Jane's recipes from Gooseberry Patch's Slow Cooker Recipes:

1. Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2. Tammy's Italian Chicken (that's this one, you know!)

3. Stay tuned tomorrow!

In the Kitchen: Hot Fudge Spoon Cake

2011-07-05T07:33:00.002-04:00

Last week my new cookbook from from the Real Farmwives of America partnership with Gooseberry Patch arrived!

To recap in case you missed it, Gooseberry Patch has generously provided me with two copies of this cookbook. I'll be cooking 10 recipes, then giving away a copy of the cookbook to a lucky reader!

If you know me, it won't surprise you that the first section of the cookbook I honed in on was the desserts. "Ooey-Gooey Desserts" is what the chapter is actually called. And the Hot Fudge Spoon Cake started screaming my name. Loudly. It's a chocolate thing.

The cake was simple and delicious! Here's the recipe:

(Please forgive my picture quality—I didn't have my camera with me and was forced to resort to using my phone's camera)

Isn't my little crockpot cute? Love the red—plus it was only $4 on Black Friday 2 years ago! It's a medium-sized crock pot. I have two large ones as well, but I always try to use the smallest one I can because I seem to get better results that way.

Here are your ingredients:

Mix together 1 cup each of flour and brown sugar, 3 tablespoons of cocoa, 2 teaspoons of backing powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Then add 1/2 cup milk, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. No eggs, so theoretically, the batter is safe to eat. Just saying.

Add it to your crock pot and make sure it's evenly spread out across the bottom.

Next, mix together 3/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly across the top of your cake batter.

Then, add 1-3/4 cup hot water poured directly over top. Don't stir.

That's it! Put the lid on your crock pot, turn it to high and wait 2 hours. Here's what you get:

Spoon it into some bowls, top with a little vanilla ice cream and your set for chocolate bliss.

Bucket of Cords

2011-06-27T14:43:00.001-04:00

First off, apologies for the delay in the posting of how I used the cute little bucket from Red Hill General Store. For some unknown reason, my Internet is not working today...so I'm typing this in the movie theater with my kids while they are watching Cars 2....with one of their friends...cause my iPad doesn't get 3G service anywhere near where we live....but it does in town.

So like my fellow Real Farmwives, I really liked my cute little bucket from Red Hill General Store...

First I wasn't sure what I was going to use it for, though. I thought about as a popcorn tub or a drink tub for yummy some goodness...like my chocolate martini mix from Dove Chocolate Discoveries....

I thought about using it to corral my boys' clean socks...

But then I finally decided to use it as a storage solution for all of my phone and electric cord pieces. Are you as overwhelmed by all these in your house as I am?

This is just the tip of the iceberg. There are TONS more where those came from...and I hate to get rid of any because they all seem to have different ends and I'm afraid I might NEED one some day...

I wanted to put it up with the cords for my computer that I corralled with my bags from my 31 Gifts party...

But I thought it needed something else...a remind to the man fo the house as to what was inside....

So I modge podged some lettering on it after I cut them out with my Cricut and my Cheerful Additions cartridge from Creative Memories...

Ta da! And here's what's inside....

I 'm very grateful for Red Hill General Store for providing me the bucket to review, but my thoughts, opinions and uses are of course my own.

Please head over to the realfarmwivesofamerica.com for a chance to win another fabulous Red Hill product and be sure to stop by to visit my fellow farmwives on Facebook to see how the rest of the ladies put their buckets to use.

Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Dirty Jobs: When things don't go the way you plan

2011-06-24T08:39:00.000-04:00

Confession: I don't have too many dirty jobs around here. The hubby does most of the ickiness here with the sheep, and my brother takes care of things down the road at my mom's house with the horses and cattle. So I had to really think about what I was going to write about for this Dirty Jobs post with my Real Farmwives of America gal pals.

Then it hit me. I knew.

Ever had one of those crappy days where nothing goes right? My hubby & brother were both out of town in the middle of winter and my mom was in the midst of chemo—so that left me to do chores. (And of course, this was the coldest part of the winter, too!)

'Cause evening chores are not bad enough feeding the bucking horses, bulls, mean old mama cows and sheep, the creek was seriously frozen over. Imagine my joy at trekking up and down the creek dragging a huge spud bar with me through deep, ice-crusted snow up and down the creek trying to break up the ice for the stock to drink. And that was the highlight of my experience.

I'm sure many of you can relate to the stress and trauma of trying to get everyone out the door in the mornings.

Don't let their cute faces fool you—they are a handful.

I usually get to my office around 7 a.m., which means leaving my house by 6:30 a.m. That's usually not a problem, because hubby puts the kids on the bus before heading out to work. Since he was out of town & I was doing chores here and at my mom's house, she volunteered for the job. I thought it was especially clever of me to have the oldest 2 spend the night with her so I didn't have to get them up and ready in the morning. But my Baby Boy was having none of that, so he stayed home with me. No problem, right? Only having to get one ready and out the door is a breeze compared to three.

Hubby left me strict instructions for feeding here. My brother left strict instructions for feeding there. Hubby promised me that he left me a pair of old Carhardts that had belonged to his uncle here for me and that they would fit me no problem so I could just slip them on over my work clothes, do chores & still be ready to go. Apparently his mathematical skills of comparison are sorely in need of development. There was no way those overalls were going to fit me. I mean, look at him in that picture up there. Look at me. Get my drift?

Imagine my dismay—all dressed for work in a cute sweater dress and tights—when I discovered no overalls that fit me. Ug. Was I changing again? NO. I was stressing about getting to work anyway, so I slipped on my Ugg-like boots that I was going to wear to work (cause with all the hard, crusty frozen snow I didn't think I would get them dirty!) and took Baby Boy with me to do chores. And I resolved to hurry so I wouldn't freeze to death. I busted water in the tanks and had him hold the hose to fill them while I grained, hayed and checked the ewes. Thankfully, no babies that day.

What a cutie, right? As I'm across the creek feeding, and Baby Boy starts yelling about his pee pee hurting - which is how he identifies his need to tinkle. Don't ask me why. I've quit asking. I tell him to go in the house and use the bathroom while I finish up—he's less than 50 feet from the house, but the door is around the corner where I can't see it. He heads off and eventually starts wailing, crying and screaming more. I finish up and head up to the house to see what his latest dilemma is.

Apparently, he couldn't get the door open with his gloves on - so he peed his pants on my porch. Nice, right? 'Cuz I'm not already stressed & running behind.

Back in the house, change his clothes, get him ready for preschool again and head to my mom's house —all this time remembering that I'm stuck choring in my sweater dress, tights and boots I was wearing to work — and it's COLD!

I get to mom's take Baby Boy in the house and head to her barn. I fall twice on the icy, crusty snow, my legs are so cold I can barely tell they are there, and then I go to let out Silent Scope.

We bred and raised Scope on our farm, then sold him to go onto the PBR Tour. Last winter we brought him back home for his retirement. He's older now, but still babied beyond all reckoning. My mom especially spoils him. He was in no hurry to leave his pen in the barn to head outside for the day. I was trying to hurry him along and slapped him on the butt to get him moving.

Apparently, he didn't like it. He promptly lifted his tail and dumped a big pile of nasty, loose, squirty bull poop everywhere —which of course splattered and splashed up all over my boots. Ug.

So what thanks do I get? The appreciation? When I whine to my hubby about nearly freezing my legs off because of Carhardts he left me didn't fit, getting a "crappy" start to my day all over my boots, etc., what does he do?

He gets me my own set of Carhardts for Valentines Day —so I can do chores for him in comfort. Then he tells me it will be like a big hug from him every time I do chores in them. He's so full of it.

I am your Father

2011-06-19T09:09:00.012-04:00

Have you heard? My kids are slightly OBSESSED with Star Wars.

So when I saw these at Hallmark, I knew I had to buy them for Father's Day:

The mug was the real deal breaker. I mean, how can you turn that down for Father's Day?

(Imagine the heavy breathing & James Earl Taylor's voice). "I AM your father."

I knew the frame would be perfect for some Halloween pictures....'cuz we've only dressed up as all Star Wars characters FOR TWO YEARS IN A ROW.

And besides, the force DOES run strong in my family (the force of destruction & chaos that is!). I'm thinking of getting another for a picture from the Jedi Training Academy if this one gets taken to the office by the hubby.

They even had Star Wars Fathers' Day cards! Here's the limerick on the front, in case you can't read it in the picture:

In a galaxy far, far away

The Force, Luke learned to obey.

Solo was brave!

The Princess was saved!

And the Death Star blew up!

Hoo-ray!

In ANY galaxy,

In ANY time,

There's never been

A Dad like mine!

Breakin' out the slow cooker

2011-06-18T13:51:00.001-04:00

To be honest, I haven't felt like cooking much of anything lately. I'm in a funk. So I'm anxiously awaiting some inspiration:

Yep, the vote is in and the people have spoken! This summer my family will be feasting on the labors of my slow cooker thanks to the folks at Gooseberry Patch and their In the Kitchen partnership with the Real Farmwives of America.

I'll be sharing 10 recipes from the cookbook with you, then giving away a copy to a lucky reader!

I'm kind of excited—it seems like there's never time to cook in the evenings and get something good on the table after work before heading out with the kids to ride the horses. So this should be fun. Stay tuned to see what's cookin' first!

It's a girl thing

2011-06-17T08:01:00.000-04:00

Here's his idea of morning coffee:

Ick. Not that there's anything wrong with Folgers—it's the straight up, black thing that makes me gag.

Now THIS is MY idea of morning coffee:

If you can't read the labels, that's some Dark Chocolate Cream creamer and some Chocolate Truffle Godiva Coffee. I didn't want to scare you, so I left the massive amounts of sugar out of the picture.

Chocolate: it's a girl thing.

Help decide what my family will eat!

2011-06-08T06:06:00.002-04:00

Have you checked out my friends at the Real Farmwives of America?

Super cool ladies! But did you know we've also teamed up with Gooseberry Patch?

Gooseberry Patch has generously offered to supply me with not one, but two Gooseberry Patch cookbooks! One for me to cook from and one for me to give away to you! Which cookbook?

You get to pick! Stop by the Real Farmwives of America site and vote, please! Here are your 3 choices:

Speedy Suppers

Comfort Foods

Slow Cooker Recipes

Once you've voted at the Real Farmwives site, I'll cook and share recipes from the book you select, then give away a second copy to one of my readers!

So go ahead and vote—help decide what my family will be eating this summer!

What a difference a year makes!

2011-06-07T08:56:00.000-04:00

Last year Bubby won a buckle for being pole bending champion in his age group at the youth rodeos we attended.

But let's be honest—his strength was consistency, not so much speed.

Do you remember his horse Beavis stopping for bathroom breaks during their "runs"?

Well, this year we've decided to go with some different rodeo/show organizations. The kids are love, love loving our decision, and here's my cowboy a year later..."tearing it up" last weekend.

No walk-trot barrel for my cowboy! He decided to compete against kids 7 years older than his little 6-year old self in the Small Fry Barrels. He may not have placed, but I couldn't have been prouder of Bubby & Beavis. I'm so proud of the work he's done to improve so much!

The Lime in the Coconut in the Bathtub

2011-06-03T08:08:00.000-04:00

This morning, Bubby woke up bright and early and was ready for a bath. Now this alone was almost cause for me to go into shock...'cuz my boys are not necessarily overly fond of bathtime...until they are actually IN the bathtub...then they love it.

He decided he wanted a bath in the big tub in my bathroom...so I hung out in my bedroom putting laundry away while he enjoyed his bath...until he started singing at the top of his little voice:

I'm hoping it was the Muppet version he was thinking of and learned it from...because all I could think of was Midnight Margaritas in Practical Magic.

The Grand Old Flag

2011-05-30T05:42:00.007-04:00

Wishing you a happy Memorial Day as we remember those we love who have gone before us as well as all of those who have willingly sacrificed life and limb by placing themselves in harm's way to protect the freedoms we hold so dear!

She's a grand old flag, so enjoy your day—and this little tribute by Bubby's kindergarten class during their honors program! (That would be Bubby in the light-colored plaid shirt in the back row happily swaying back and forth. Is he not just cute?)

God shed his grace

2011-05-29T13:54:00.000-04:00

Yes, God has indeed shed his grace on us! Nothing speaks of that grace truer than the sweet, pure, clear voices of children.

We soooooo thoroughly enjoyed the patriotic music celebration by Sissy and her second grade classmates this week that I had to share this little snippet with you.

(Sissy is front and center wearing red leggings with her skirt...Man, I love that girl!)

Especially as we remember and celebrate this week, we also celebrate God's grace.

Overheard at dance class...

2011-05-20T06:18:00.000-04:00

How did I get so lucky?

2011-05-19T09:42:00.001-04:00

Sarcasm aside, I really do get it: I AM lucky. God has blessed me innumerable ways. Not the least of this are the 3 blessings I live with...ok, 4 when the Old Man is behaving himself and when he FINALLY manages to take out the garbage.

But seriously, folks...about that littlest one...

Don't let that innocent smile fool you...

There are days the devil dances in those big beautiful brown eyes.

There are days he makes me shake my head. There are days he makes me laugh out loud. There are days he makes me want to cry. And there are days he gives me heart failure.

Do you remember Beavis?

Beavis is Bubby's horse...a lovely, precious old gent who is not in a big hurry to get anywhere faster than he absolutely has to. In fact, it sometimes takes a near act of God for Bubby to get him wound up into a trot.

Bubby was not feeling well one night when I took Sissy out to ride, and since Baby Boy insists on riding either Beavis or Sparkplug as we finish up, I thought this would be a fun chance for him to get to ride a little longer than normal. Bad idea, momma.

Actually, all was going well. I saddled Beavis and led Beavis & Baby Boy around the arena while Sissy was riding. He did great! In fact, he did so well I took the lead rope off and walked with Beavis and my precocious little 4-year old around the arena. Again, he was doing great.

When will I learn to leave well enough alone?

We were getting ready to quit for the night and put the horses away. Sissy was cooling out Sparkplug. I told Baby Boy he could turn Beavis in one small circle by himself, come right back to me and we'd put him away for the night.

Maybe it was the idea of putting the horse away that did it. The world may never know.

He picked up the reins and pulled Beavis around like a champ...especially considering this was the first night ever I had turned the reins over to him alone and let him be in control. Not a smart move apparently.

As soon as he got Beavis turned away from me, he started clucking, yelling and kicking for all he's worth for Beavis to "run like the wind." And for once, Beavis listened with no extra encouragement.

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!

There they went, trotting around the arena. He had a good grip on the saddle horn as his little butt bounced in the saddle and a grin a mile wide on his face.

"HA HA HA!!" he called back to me, looking over his shoulder. "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME NOW!!!!"

Now God bless Beavis, because normally if I'm running behind him, it's in an effort to get him to go faster with Bubby. So of, course, he didn't stop when I went tearing off after them trying to catch them as they made their way around the arena.

I had to send Sissy & Sparkplug to cut them off at the pass.

Then I pulled him off the saddle, held him by the shoulders and gave him a firm lecture.

"You are not riding horses anymore by yourself, young man, until you can learn to listen to your Momma!"

So what does he do? We went to watch our newest bulls buck at a high school rodeo last weekend with the boys. He's no sooner out of the truck and into the arena until he's tracked down his favorite uncle to ask him a question.

"Uncle C, can I please ride one of your bulls today? Pretty please with a cherry on top?"

We're putting on another bull riding this weekend. Pray for me would you?

A Perfect 10

2011-05-18T06:37:00.000-04:00

My mom swore me to secrecy....she didn't want anyone to know about her hidden stash...her bountiful harvest...her lucky find....

It's been about 2 week since the big find...so she finally gave me permission to share.

Have you ever eaten wild sponge mushrooms?

My mom loves to hunt for them after wet, rainy spring days. At least this weather has been good for something!

My brother found the biggest patch we've ever, ever, ever found while out fixing fence one day.

He called my mom to come help pick them and bring containers to put them in. They took Sissy with them.

In less than 30 minutes, they had picked a perfect 10, beautiful pounds of some of the biggest, most perfect and beautiful sponge mushrooms I've ever seen.....

So many that we couldn't eat them all if we wanted to.

I mean, can you imagine 10 pounds of mushrooms?? In case you're wondering, that's enough to fill both sides of your kitchen sink.

So we took some to the auction. 10 pounds of mushrooms is apparently equal in value to about 10 large bales of hay for the stock. Who knew?

Dark Chocolate Cheesecake......Mmmmmm

2011-05-17T16:09:00.001-04:00

Have you been wondering what I made with the Dove Chef Series dark chocolate I won at the quarter auction this weekend? Well, wonder no more...here it is...Dark Chocolate Cheesecake!

Here's how I made it:

Start by creaming the cream cheese and sugar for 2-3 minutes in an electric mixer. Scrape the bowl, then cream them another 2-3 minutes to eliminate any lumps.

Mix together the eggs, egg yolk and vanilla, then add to the cream cheese and sugar.

Ah, yes...my secret ingredient. Are you drooling yet?

Look how cute they come packaged together in the box! No cheap paper wrappers here!

Ah yes....at this point I'm almost speechless in my bliss.

Melt 5 oz. (that's 2 and a half of the bars shown above) in the microwave on 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth and creamy. Try very hard to refrain from licking the bowl clean at this point. Otherwise, you'll just have to start all over again.

While the chocolate is melting, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of cocoa powder in 1 teaspoon of hot water.

Once the chocolate is melted, add 3 tablespoons of heavy cream to the bowl.

Stir until smooth.

Then add in the cocoa dissolved in water.

Stir again until smooth.

Add the chocolate mixture to the cream cheese mixture and blend together in the electric mixer.

Yes, I think we need more chocolate...link an Oreo crust for our cheesecake.

Pour the cheesecake mixture into the pie crust, then bake for 40-45 minutes at 300 degrees.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool completely before chilling it at least 3-4 hours in the refrigerator. Chill it overnight if you can make yourself wait that long. I dare you.

Before serving, break out the mixer again and whip up some more of that heavy whipping cream with sugar.

Remember how we used 2.5 bars of chocolate? Grate up the remaining half bar into cute little chocolate shavings.

Top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream, a sprinkling of chocolate shavings and a drizzling of caramel syrup. Then treat yourself and enjoy! You deserve it!

Here's a printable copy of the recipe (just click to be directed to a full-size version):

Just what can you do with a quarter these days?

2011-05-16T14:56:00.000-04:00

Well, you can go to a quarter auction!

Ever been to one? Me neither...until this weekend! My mom & I joined my friend Karen (who is a Dove independent chocolatier!) at her table this Saturday at a Quarter Auction raising money for Relay for Life. We bought our seats at Karen's table (which was a fabulous deal in itself because Karen fed us fabulous concoctions made from the Dove chocolate she sells!) and brought along 2 big bags of quarters.

Confession: I forgot to go to the bank and get my quarters. My mom came to my rescue. No one person should seriously have access to that many quarters on that short of notice...but she does! And I was glad!

Basically the way the quarter auction works (or at least the one we went to!) is that each item up for bid has a set number of quarters for its bid...some smaller items had 1 quarter bids and the biggest items were 4 quarter bids. Everyone gets a paddle for bidding, and each table has a cup to collect quarters.

When each item comes up for bid, everyone who wants to bid on that item puts their quarters in the cup, and a runner from your table collects the quarters. When your quarters go in, your paddle goes up. A number is drawn, and if it matches your paddle number (and you bid!) you win! If the person whose number was drawn did not bid, they just keep drawing until a winner is found.

My strategy was to bid on everything...57 quarters worth of bids ($14.25 for normal folks). And guess what?

I won!

First, I won an adorable little mini purse and gift certificate from Premier Designs jewelry....

But my absolute favorite thing was a gift bag from my friend Karen full of fabulous Dove Chocolate Discovery deliciousness!! So what kind of goodies did I get?

How about a full 1/2 pound of chef series Dove dark chocolate (just wait to see what I made with some of it later this week!). Plus, some amazing chocolate-covered pretzels and chocolate covered graham crackers and some chocolate mousse mix.

I think I'm in Heaven.

How about you, do you love chocolate, too?

And, don't forget to check out my friend Regina's Relay for Life fundraising! It's a fabulous chance to buy some of the products you know, love and use every day while helping to kick cancer's butt!

How has cancer touched your life?

2011-05-04T07:16:00.004-04:00

18 years ago, in the fall of 1993, my mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. In the years immediately following her diagnosis, she underwent numerous surgeries and fought long and hard to conquer this invader to her body. Until the spring of last year, she had been cancer-free for over 5 years.

Last spring, her cancer returned...worse than before. She again underwent surgery, this time resulting in an colostomy. That was followed by months and months of chemo. She has again emerged victorious from the other side. Her doctors are cautiously optimistic. But cancer had definitely touched our lives.

That's why I am so excited to share with you an opportunity make a difference in the battle against cancer. Soooo many advancements have been made...but there is still so much work left to do!

My friend Regina, from Kess Designs and Kess Fitness is joining the 2011 Pickaway County Relay for Life. Each team chooses a cancer they are relaying to battle, and Regina chose two:

Pancreatic in memory of her mother who lost the fight to this terrible disease, and
Lymphoma in memory of her father-in-law who also lost the fight to cancer

I'm sure both of them are looking down and smiling with pride over her hard work and dedication!

There are several ways you can support Regina's efforts to battle this disease, and all are very painless!

Join her team or make a direct donation online from the comfort of your computer!
Do you Zumba? My bff does and loves it! Regina is also selling gift cards to KESS Fitness
for Zumba. You can purchase $25 (5 paid sessions), $50 (10 paid sessions) and $100 (20 paid sessions) gift cards. For each gift card sold through May 14, KESS will give $2 to the relay team! Buy for yourself or for a friend! Remember 6th session is always free!
Are you an Avon girl? Just purchase your favorite Avon products to help Regina raise funds for her team!
Maybe you're a foodie and Pampered Chef is more your thing? Whether you shop for yourself or for gifts for someone special, you're purchase can make a difference! Just click "Shop Online" in the bottom left corner and enter the host name: First name: Relay for Last name: Life and shop their online catalog!
Do you remember my Thirty-One Gifts party and give-a-way? Shop Thirty-One Gifts to help raise funds! For every $31 spent in May, you can earn Mini Zipper Pouch for only $2.31! Just click on the "Shop" link above, then click on event.
Is jewelry more your thing? Anyone who books a party through Premier Jewelry consultant Bonnie Moran before May 13 (in-home or book party!) will earn 10% of their party total for the Relay team as well as a free bracelet for herself just for booking. Hostesses can also earn $100 in free jewelry!
Regina is also selling tickets for 3 raffle opportunities with the drawings to take place on May 14. Tickets must be purchased separately for each of the following items to be given away: Thirty-One Gifts wristlet wallet ($1/ticket—drawn on May 14), 1 month free Zumba ($1/ticket—4 winners drawn on May 13 and 14), and a 50/50 drawing ($1/ticket or $5/6 tickets to be drawn on May 14). Contact Regina via e-mail for tickets.

I applaud Regina for her efforts in battling this disease that has taken so much from so many. Please support her efforts in the fight against cancer!

Dooby Dooby Moo!

2011-05-02T15:23:00.001-04:00

Do you love Farmer Brown & Duck as much as I do?

Duck totally cracks me up. I've even been known to use Click Clack Moo during my preschool programming on dairy farming and butter making at work....

So have you read Dooby Dooby Moo? (Imagine the Dooby Dooby moos sung to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.)

Duck & his barnyard buddies decide to enter the talent contest at the county fair to win a trampoline. I mean, isn't that what every farm animal dreams of?

I think our sheep share the dream.

Imagine my distress to walk out of the house last week on my way to work and glance over at the sheep pasture. They have confiscated my kids' trampoline.

I'm left with only 2 explanations:

1. The sheep confiscated it with the aid of a sneaky Duck friend (pretty sure my sheep are not talented enough to win it by singing at a talent show).

2. The big heavy winds last week picked it up, carried it 250 feet, up over the fence, and sat it nicely at the edge of the woods for the sheep to play one.

I'll leave it to you to decide which explanation is more likely. As for my kids? They are on the look out for a troublesome duck.

Dooby Dooby Boing!

Watch out, Mr. President...he'll be after your job next...

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Sparkplug: Tough enough to wear pink...

2011-04-28T06:22:00.002-04:00

He's a 26-year old confirmed bachelor. That's like 75 years old in human years. And he take can of my Sissy like nobody's business. Plus he's tough enough to wear pink and a little bling....

Every horse deserves to be loved by a little girl with all of her heart and soul.

His front legs sport pink splint boots and flowered bell boots for protection.

His back legs sport matching skid boots.

Despite his shaggy appearance, he rocks the green bling on his breast collar.

He even picked up some brand new pink reins this month.

He really likes the pink bling on his headstall.

And when he settles down for dinner when we're out on the road together, nothing beats dinner served with pink flowers and paisleys.

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In our Easter bonnets...

2011-04-27T04:29:00.001-04:00

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Angry Bird-day to Bubby!

2011-04-26T07:01:00.010-04:00

Are you an Angry Birds fanatic? Bubby is. He's crazy about it.

Original Angry Birds.....Angry Birds Seasons....Angry Birds Rio....he loves them all.

And the only type of cake that would do was an Angry Birds cake. He really loved it when his super charming Uncle Cowboy showed him the YouTube video of the playable Angry Birds cake.

And yes, I can thank his uncle for turning him on to Angry Birds in the first place.

But you may have seen my confession yesterday: I'm a procrastinator. I didn't have enough time to make those pigs and birds and let them all dry by in time for his party by the time I started figuring out what I was going to do for his cake. So I improvised:

Here's how I did it:

I started with a cake mix, And I baked half in a round pan and the rest as cupcakes. Bake as directed and let cool completely. Tun the round cake out of it's pan and level it if you wish.....I left mine in tact, because I liked the more rounded look for the bird since they are, indeed, round in the game.

Then arrange them like so:

I used a large cutting board as a base for our cake.

I used whipped icing instead of decorator icing because we like the flavor better in our house...but decorator icing would certainly set up firmer with more control.

Color one tub of icing red and spread it on the cake like this:

I always use the gel-type food coloring and am usually happy with my results. Obviously, I haven't cleaned up the edges yet. :)

I added a touch of chocolate icing to another tub of white icing to make it a light tan. I could have used tan coloring....but when given the choice, always opt for adding chocolate. It will never steer you wrong. Spread it in an arc across the bottom of the cake for the bird's belly.

Next, I used some black to outline the difference between the red and tan. Then I had to figure out where to add the face, so I freehanded that on with some black gel icing. It looks scary now, but once I color inside the lines, you won't see my mistakes too much.

I saved some of the white icing I used to make the tan to also make some orange icing for the beak.

And some I left white for the eyes, too.

I added black to his eyes, too.

Then it was time for the cupcakes...I iced them red, too...then kind of connected them with a giant blob/bridge of icing to the rest of the bird.

Then I headed to the scrapbooking supplies and cut some strips of black paper for his tail feathers. I used a knife to make the slits in the side of the cake and inserted them. And I added a little black outline around the edge of the bird to kind of connect the head feathers to the rest of the bird, but I might leave that off if I make it again, because the black gel icing was a little runny in the heat of the kitchen as you can see.

But Bubby loved it anyway!

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Linking to: Delicious Dishes

Color me crazy

2011-04-25T07:49:00.001-04:00

We're pretty much procrastinators here. The kids get it from me....but the Old Man was old enough when we started dating that he has to take responsibility for his own procrastination skills.

So it was Saturday afternoon until we sat down for our "treasured" annual egg coloring spectacular.

I had been to the grocery store that morning and came home with 36 eggs....18 for coloring (3 kids x 6 eggs each) and the rest for cooking and baking. The oldest two were with their grandma while I went shopping. I called and reported that I had picked up 2 coloring kits....

....and 6 eggs each. Chaos ensued. Apparently the world itself was near collapse. "6? Only 6? But, Momma! We need at least a dozen each!"

Never fear! Grandma to the rescue! They were in town and picked up another 18 eggs. Yes, seriously.

Sigh.

I went ahead and hard boiled all 36 of my eggs before they got home. Broke or seriously cracked 9. Yes, 9. Apparently I am an impaired boiler.

Of course it could have something to do with the fact that something ( don't ask....I have NO idea WHAT it originally was) found it's way onto my stovetop and managed to catch on fire with near 10-inch flames racing up the outside of my giant stock pot and turning it completely BLACK. Sigh.

So, now we have 9 eggs each.

They were ready and waiting when the kissers arrived home. Yippee! Yay!! Big-time excitement!! Sissy is super-thrilled about the tie-dye kit! Bubby loves the dinosaur kit! All set to go, right?

Wrong. Baby Boy walks to the tune of a different drummer. It was an amazing accomplishment to get him to put just ONE egg in a color. Apparently not a big fan of coloring eggs.

Sigh. 8 eggs for the momma to color.

Bubby colors 7 of his...all solid colors to turn into dinosaurs.

Sigh. Now there are 10 eggs for the momma to color.

Sissy colors 1 egg with the tie dye kit. She decides that's too much trouble. (Let me tell you straight up she is right!!).

"Momma, can you make me another tie dye egg?"

Sigh. Momma's count it now up to 11. Sure am glad we picked up all those extra eggs!

Finally, we were done!

My reward? Rainbow colored hands for sunrise church service this morning, no matter how many times I washed them.

Sigh.

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Hoppy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:00:00.005-04:00

Up from the grave He arose with a mighty triumph o'r his His foes!

Today is a day to celebrate our risen Lord and savior! I hope you have indeed enjoyed a blessed day among your family nag friends celebrating God's most precious gift!

While we were celebrating today, we had a tasty little bunny for dessert:

My mom learned how to bake this cake from her mom, my Grandma Wolgamott. Do you remember my chocolate cut out cookies? Yum! Then my mom taught me how to make this cute little bunny using 2 round cake pans and these:

We opted for funfetti cake because I thought the kids would think it was fun. White, strawberry or lemon cake would be equally fabulous for Easter or any other spring occasion.

Bake your cakes as normal and let them cool. Then turn them out of their pans and let them cool completely.

Once they are cool, level one of the cakes and turn it bottom side up. This will make his ears and bow tie. I don't normally bother leveling the second cake because I like the rounded look on the face of the rabbit. Then, cut the leveled cake into three pieces, like this:

Then, I cut the middle middle piece into 2 equal sized triangles for a bow tie.

I positioned mine onto my large cutting board for a base to make the bunny.

Ice the bunny and his ears white.

Grandma covered her bunny cakes in coconut...but my kids refuse to eat it, and my mom is no longer allowed to eat it either, because of her dietary restrictions. So feel free to add coconut if you like or want to!

You can make the bow tie whatever color you want...we opted for pink/strawberry because we wanted to make his ears and mouth pink, too.

Just freehand on a face. We used 2 pink, heart-shaped marshmallows to make his nose and for the middle of his bow tie. And we added some white polka dots to the bow tie.

Big thanks to Sissy for heading up the facial decorating committee.

Then enjoy! Have a blessed, blessed Easter!

Oh, and just wanted to mention, you should check out Ott, A's bunny cake, too...also made with round cake pans!

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Linking to Delicious Dishes

Iron Chef Challenge: Parker House Rolls

2011-04-19T09:03:00.001-04:00

Who doesn't love Parker House rolls, right? I mean, serious yum-factor, right? Did you know they were invented at the Parker House Hotel in Boston (now the Omni Parker House Hotel). Now those Parker House folks must have been able to cook because they also invented the Boston Cream Pie.

I searched and searched for a picture of the "original" Parker House rolls right from the Parker House Hotel, and found this mouth-watering gem from Libby at Plain and Simple of not only the Parker House Hotel's rolls but also their Boston Cream Pie. Both look pretty good, huh?

Now the Parker House site has links for the "original" versions of both their famous Parker House rolls and their Boston Cream Pie on their site, but I've fallen in love with the Pioneer Woman's Parker House roll recipe....mainly because it's a fabulous excuse to make sweet rolls!

Yep, the recipe for Parker House rolls is the same basic recipe I use for my cinnamon rolls with chocolate-caramel icing and my chocolate chip cookie sweet rolls!

So here's what I do: Mix up a batch of dough, just like you were going to make cinnamon rolls (see recipe here). Divide the dough in half. Now you could go ahead and make 2 big batches of rolls. But it's ok: go ahead and give in to temptation and use half for cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip cookie sweet rolls. You know your sweet tooth wants it.

I'll wait......

Satisfied the craving? Ok, back to the Parker House rolls...

Knead the dough you are going to use for rolls onto a floured surface lightly for about 10 minutes or so. Then work in back into a large ball, cover and let it rise for another 40 minutes.

After it's risen, gently roll it our to about 1/2 inch thickness and use a biscuit cutter to cut circles. Or, if you're like me and can't find yours, use a drinking glass....that's how grandam always used to make her biscuits anyway. She didn't need a fancy biscuit cutter. :)

Melt some butter in a bowl and ~~drown~~ dip each little circle in the melted butter. Then, fold them in half and press lightly to seal. Now, PW lays hers on their side on a baking sheet like this:

I like to freeze mine in smaller batches to use with dinner during the week... 'cuz what tastes better than fresh, warm, homemade yeast rolls, right? So I pack mine a little tighter, seam standing up, in aluminum pie plates and baking dishes, just like I use for my cinnamon rolls and chocolate chip cookie rolls. Depending on your pan size and how tight you pack them, half of the dough mixture should give you 3-5 pans of rolls.

If you're baking them right away, go ahead and cover the rolls and let them rise another 30 minutes. The bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Now if you want to freeze some, go ahead and pop them in the freezer before they rise (I like to double bag mine with freezer zip-lock bags). Move them down to the fridge a day or so before you need them. Once they thaw they may even start to rise in the fridge if they are there over day....if not, set them out to rise and bake as directed above.

I promise, your family will love you!

Here's a link a printable version of the recipe straight from PW.

Linking to 2 Maids a Baking and Delicious Dishes along with

Baby Boy turns 4

2011-04-13T06:30:00.000-04:00

For a "how-to" on the Percy cake, click here.

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Peep! Peep! Percy chugging through!

2011-04-12T09:39:00.002-04:00

Did you see the tale of the two chairs? Would you have guessed that handsome little prince just turned 4 years old?

ALL he told us he wanted was a Percy cake. Do you know Percy?

He's best friends with Thomas the Tank Engine.

Now both of my boys have been Thomas fans for a long time, so I've made Thomas cakes before...

Here is Thomas from Bubby's 3rd birthday back in 2008

Doesn't Bubby look so little back then?

And this was Thomas last year for Baby Boy's 3rd birthday.

I'd even made a cupcake tower for Baby Boy's 2nd birthday with cookie train cars on all the cupcakes chugging around a mountain...but I couldn't find the ~~proof~~ pictures.

But to be honest, I didn't have the time or inclination to go through that again....I needed something quicker and simpler. I guess that's a pitfall of being kid #3, huh?

So here's how we made a quick & easy, down and dirty, Percy cake.

I used 2 boxes of cake mix. The first I baked in a jelly roll pan.

The second I baked in a round pan and a small rectangular pan ( this one came from Pizza Hut's Tuscany pasta...I had saved it for my next cinnamon roll extravaganza).

Since I was using 2 mixes I went wild (not) and used 2 flavors. Bake the cakes and let them cool as directed on the box. And ignore my nasty stovetop. I was having issues.

Remove the cake from the jelly roll pan onto a cake board. I just used my extra large cutting board. I leveled the cake, then inverted it onto the covered board.

My mom had given me a can of this ready to use green icing. It was barely enough, but it did the trick. I wish I had more...but it almost covered everything and by the time it was spread on the cake, I was afraid to mix up my own batch of green in case it didn't match. Besides, 4 year olds don't really cake if you can see a little cake peeking through.

Spread green icing on the sides and outer edges of the top of the cake. If you have plenty of icing, spread it over the whole cake by all means.

Next, level the round cake, invert it and place it on top of the base cake. This will be Percy's face. Using your cake pan as a guide, cut an arc onto the small rectangular cake. It will be the engine's funnel and will need to fit up against the round face of the engine. Place it on the cake as well.

Go back and touch up your icing. You can see I still had some holes at this point on the bottom layer.

Mix up some flesh-colored icing and ice Percy's face. Then ice his funnel black. I just used canned chocolate for this, mainly because I have a serious love affair with chocolate icing...and I think it tastes way, way better than decorator icing.

Again, go back and clean up your edges and any overlaps. Then, I used a sparkly black icing pen to add Percy's face.

Some yellow circles make the engine's lights. You can see, the single can of green was not really enough icing, but I don't think he minded.

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The tale of two chairs

2011-04-10T18:52:00.004-04:00

There once were two chairs. They were pink and purple and decorated with pretty princesses. They were best friends with a little table that matched them perfectly. Many, many hours were spent by these three friends enjoying lovely girly events like tea parties with their favorite princess and her subjects.

Sadly, the chairs' friend the table lost a leg when Goldilocks sat on him. The chairs bravely tried to carry on alone, until one day, their beautiful prices was alas too tall to sit on them comfortably.

What was to become of these poor chairs?

Luckily, in the same kingdom lived an adorable, if ornery, little prince who was in love with Thomas the Tank Engine.

The chairs talked it over and decided that if they had a makeover and disguised them selves as train chairs instead of princess chairs, perhaps they could make the little prince fall in love with them and keep them safe in his castle.

First, they called their trusty friends cardboard and spray paint. They bravely amputated their own legs when cardboard suggested drill holes would make the perfect base for their legs to be painted a boyish blue while their bodies were painted a handsome red.

After two coats of paint, even their own mother would have had trouble recognizing them.

They carefully reassembled themselves and asked the prince's mother ( the Queen of the WORLD! you know) to go shopping for some Thomas the Tank Engine decor.

They invited the Thomas decals to live with them and their transformation was complete.

Indeed, the little prince DID fall in love with them.

And they all lived happily ever after.

The end.

PS - It's not really still snowy here, I'm just behind on my postings! :)
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A little chocolate and caramel, anyone?

2011-04-10T18:38:00.003-04:00

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! ---Psalm 34:8

Sunday morning cinnamon rolls are a tradition in our house. Sometimes it's Pillsbury, sometimes we may add a little chocolate chips to our rolls, sometimes we use Pioneer Woman's recipe, and sometimes we improvise.

And sometimes that's good.

As in really, really good.

Imagine my surprise as I'm mixing up a giant batch of cinnamon rolls (and a bonus batch of Parker House rolls...just wait until next week, folks!) I carefully measured to make sure I had all of the ingredients. Hours of mixing, rising, rolling, cutting and baking....only to discover I did not have enough milk for the icing!

Oh calamity!

Right?

Wrong?

Chocolate saved me.

As in Hershey's chocolate-caramel coffee creamer.

Seriously, be still my heart. I substituted this for the milk in my icing recipe. And substituted vanilla for the maple extract.

Just one word describes it: heavenly.

I took 3 warm pans to 3 neighbors. They now fall at my feet when they see me. They love me.

The one little boy (a second grader) unabashedly hugs me in front of all his friends at school whenever he sees me. He tells them all I make the very best cinnamon rolls. Ever. Amen.

Here's the printable recipe for the rolls and the icing (just click).

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