Wordless Wednesday - Here Piggy, Piggy

For more Wordless Wednesday visit the home of Wordless Wednesday and A Beautiful Mess.

Recipe of the Week -- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Is there anything more heavenly to eat than chocolate? Oh wait there is. Chocolate and PEANUT BUTTER!! Seriously good!

These are my absolute favorite cookies. They are chewy and yummy and so unbelievably wonderful!

I guess you figured out I like these, huh? :o)

I've been making these as long as I can remember. I think the original recipe was found by my mom on a bag a peanut butter chips back when I was in middle school or something. (We are not discussing how long ago that was).


Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Hershey's baking cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups (12 oz.) peanut butter chips

In a large bowl, beat together all the ingredients except the peanut butter chips until smooth and well blended. Add PB chips. Drop by small spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350* for 8-9 minutes.

Cool on the counter and enjoy!

For more great recipes visit Two For Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

Crafty Friday 8/27 - T-Shirt Yarn

Happy Friday!! I have no idea why I'm in such a good mood, but I have felt inspired this week. I've done so many crafty things, but today I'm going to share with you one of the coolest recycled crafts ever!


Let me introduce you to T-Shirt Yarn. What is T-Shirt yarn you ask? Well, it's exactly what it sounds like. It's yarn made from old t-shirts. It's fun to knit or crochet with, but you can also use it like string and tie things or anything else your imagination can come up with.

Here's a cool video that shows you how to make it:


So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.




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Wordless Wednesday - Ready, Aim.....Squint

For more Wordless Wednesday visit the home of Wordless Wednesday and A Beautiful Mess.

Recipe of the Week -- Praline Syrup

Did the name of this week's recipe grab you? I think it sounds richly indulgent and oh boy is it ever!

I mentioned this recipe in a recent post and someone had asked for it so here you go.

I found this recipe originally in an old Ball canning book and just tried it for the first time recently. If you've read any of my canning posts in the last few weeks you know that we really like to know where our food is coming from. That's not to say that we don't eat the occasional mac & cheese or smoked sausage. Yes, I even by frozen fish sticks once in awhile, but not very often.

Every year during canning time I like to add in a few new items. Last year I canned ham & bean soup and applesauce for the first time. This year I'm going a little more exotic with fancy syrups and I might even make jelly for the first time. I even found a canning chili recipe that has some potential, but it'll all depend on how many jars I have left.

For all of you keeping track here are my updated canning totals:

• 12 dill pickles
• 13 Bread & Butter pickles
• 14 Sweet pickles
• 5 peas
  
• 41 corn
• 47 green beans
• 38 pizza sauce
• 5 gallon bags of frozen corn (not sure how many quarts or such that might be)
• 6 Spaghetti Sauce #1
• 3 quarts plain tomatoes
• 6 salsa
• 6 Spaghetti Sauce #2
• 6 chili sauce
• 8 praline syrup
• 6 applesauce
  

Last week's total was 157 plus the frozen corn. Now we are up to....drum roll please....211. Geez, no wonder I'm running out of shelf space! :o)

Ok, on to the recipe....


Praline Syrup

2 cups dark corn syrup
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 cup pecan pieces
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine syrup, sugar and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute. Reduce heat; stir in pecans and vanilla; simmer 5 minutes.

You can eat it at this point. It should stay ok in the fridge for a week or so. If you want to continue on and can it here's the directions.

Ladle hot syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust 2-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Yield: 4 half-pints

For more great recipes visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

Yippee! It's a Girl!!

How about a big "Hi, Hello and Welcome" to the newest member of our farm!

Oh, and it's a GIRL!! Really!

After having the distinct pleasure of raising all boys last year and the first wee one of this year was also a boy, I am happy to announce that this time around it's not a boy!

She was a text book perfect birth which always makes us happy. In fact, we went out to do morning chores and she was half out! No time to worry or fret because she was here!

Can you tell I'm excited??

I can tell you that she is in fact a carbon copy of her mother which was our goal. She's cute and speckled although the color variations are a little hard to see in pictures. She also has the friendliest personality that I've ever seen.

What she doesn't have yet is a name. I haven't been able to think of anything that suits her uniqueness. We've been calling her Rosie until we can think up an official name and for now I guess that will do.

Oh, and for those of you who have no idea what kind of critter she is....she's an alpaca.

Crafty Friday 8/20 - Felted Slippers

Happy Friday!!

Welcome to Crafty Friday and if you're new to the neighborhood it's simply a gathering of friends sharing their crafty ideas. It doesn't matter if it's knitting, spinning, painting, gluing, cooking, baking or creative recycling. We love all the ideas that come through here and it doesn't have to be anywhere near perfect. We'll still love you!

Last week I mentioned I had written my very first knitting patterns to make little mini knits. Those were a lot of fun and I hope to have them ready to release to the public soon, but I couldn't just leave it at those so I had to make something else up.

Once again I went on a search for a type of pattern and found nothing that met my needs. I've been wanting to try making felted slippers or technically fulled slippers (we'll save the distinction for another day). I love the idea of knitting a project and then felting it vs. just felting it around a mold or freehand. I think it gives a bit more control over the final size.

Anyway, I wasn't able to find anything so I just kind of started and made it up as I went. I knitted the slippers, finished the seams and then used the washing machine to felt it. Like magic I had a beautiful pair of slippers. Now the only trick is if I can do it again! :o)


Oh I also dyed up some certified organic merino yarn in a sport weight. We've got a few festivals coming up so I won't be putting it up on Etsy, but if you're interested in it don't hesitate to speak up.


So what are you up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? (click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.




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You Can Find Happiness Anywhere

I saw this little smile in the sink after my husband finished shaving. Isn't he cute?

Canning and Food Allergies

Last week I talked about the "why should I can" and also why you should try it again if you had a bad experience. You can find that here.

Today I've been thinking about another really important reason to can....food allergies.

Do you have food allergies? Do you know someone that does?

Did you know that:

• Food allergy is a growing public health concern in the US

• More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s one in 25, or 4% of the population.
• The incidence of food allergy is highest in young children - one in 17 in children under 3
• About 3 million children in the US have food allergies
• The CDC reported that food allergies result in over 300,000 ambulatory-care visits a year among children
• Eight foods account for 90% of food allergic reactions in the US: milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish and shellfish
• There is no cure for food allergies
• Food allergies are life-altering for everyone involved and require constant vigilance

Now how do you know what you are eating and if it contains something you are allergic to? The easiest is to read labels and federal laws require that companies clearly identify the eight main allergens on their labels. Ok, but what about the other 10% of food allergies? Do you know how to find out if what you're eating contains those?

For example...my nephews are allergic to a whole host of things. Most of which I have a hard time remembering so I clear anything and everything I feed them with my sister first. Most of the time I joke that the only things I can feed them are mac&cheese and hot dogs because they are the only things I know they can eat.

These little guys aren't allergic to normal things. They can have milk and eggs and wheat, but are allergic to strawberries, nuts and cinnamon.

Seriously...one of them is allergic to cinnamon! That is one ingredient that you WILL NOT find on a label. It's hidden in the "spices" listing. The only way to know for sure is to call the company that makes it and even then they aren't always sure. Recently we discovered that Lawry's Seasoning Salt has cinnamon. Would you have guessed that??

So how can you guarantee that these foods aren't coming near them? Home canning.

When you can your own food, you know for sure what's in it. I can make applesauce that has only apples and sugar or soup that only has real veggies, beans and farm raised meat. How about spaghetti sauce that is only tomatoes from your own garden, basil, oregano, onions and garlic? Doesn't that sound heavenly?

With these home canned foods I know exactly what has gone into their making and can feel comfortable feeding them to people with food allergies. You can do the same.

No more reading labels all the time. With home canned foods you can have a pantry filled with choices that you know are guaranteed to work with your allergy restrictions.

Wordless Wednesday - Moo

For more Wordless Wednesday visit the home of Wordless Wednesday and A Beautiful Mess.

Recipe of the Week -- Barbecue Snack Mix

I've been in a snack mix mood lately. With all the farmer's markets and such we've been doing, I always have to make sure that I have snacks and drinks for the kids. They've been eating a lot of trail mix, granola and crackers, but I just remembered this recipe. It's always a hit when I make it and it's super easy to make.

Now, this recipe is technically not mine. It's straight from the Chex mix box, but it's really good and a little different than other chex mixes.

Barbecue Snack Mix

3 cups Rice Chex cereal
3 cups Corn Chex cereal
1 1/2 cups pretzel twists
1 1/2 cups bite size cheese crackers
3/4 cup honey roasted peanuts
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1 tbls. vegetable oil
3/4 tsp. onion powder
3/4 tsp. garlic powder

In a large bowl, mix cereals, pretzels, crackers and peanuts. In a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients; pour over cereal mixture, stirring evenly until everything is coated. Pour snack mix into a 9x13 baking dish lined with foil. Bake at 250* for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Spread on wax paper to cool.


For more great recipes visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

A Day at the County Fair

What a day! Going to the fair can be a lot of fun, but not so much when it feels like it's about 200* out. (Ok, slight exaggeration, but it was HOT and humid).

We had a lot of fun walking around seeing the 4-H animals and cool tractors because a farm girl always needs some more, right?

I couldn't believe all the fair food. Some of it has to contain an entire weeks worth of calories in one bite (the deep-fried Twinkie!). We did splurge on an Elephant Ear though because no trip to the fair is complete without one.

All in all it was a great day and the kids have lots of new ideas for 4-H projects the can get started for next year.

4-H Judging Day

Judging day is over and it's time to enjoy the county fair!!

This was our first year in 4-H so we were unsure what to expect. I'd heard a lot of things about it both good and bad, but the day went surprisingly smooth.

The judging tables were well organized and the lines weren't too long. We made it through in record time and all the kiddos got blue ribbons on their projects!

Congrats to the kids and tomorrow we'll go and actually enjoy the fair.

I've Been Featured in Another Etsy Treasury!

Yippee!! I've been featured in another Etsy treasury! That's makes 5 in the last 4 weeks and each time it's a different product. And this time she went above and beyond and featured this treasury on her blog for extra exposure. Thank you so much Lovinsoap.com!!

I can't prove that these treasuries are bringing me sales, but it's still nice to know that people are finding and liking my items! That alone gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling!


That's my felted soap in the bottom row 3rd from the left (the brown and white). If you'd like to view this product for yourself, you can find it here.

Crafty Friday 8/13 - Mini Knitting

Friday the 13th. :( I'm not that superstitious, but nothing good ever happens on Friday the 13th. Maybe this time it'll be different. Here's to wishful thinking!

Welcome to Crafty Friday and if you're new to the neighborhood it's simply a gathering of friends sharing their crafty ideas. It doesn't matter if it's knitting, spinning, painting, gluing, cooking, baking or creative recycling. We love all the ideas that come through here and it doesn't have to be anywhere near perfect. We'll still love you!

Before I tell you about what I've been up to this week, let me tell you about a cool new site I discovered this week. It's called The Hive and it's a place full of crafty people. You can read lots of blogs from talented people and interact with fellow crafters. They even have a point system for things you do on the site so you can have some friendly competition going on as well. You can check it out here.

Okay on to the craftiness!

This week I've attempted something I have never done before. Do I have your attention yet? Drum roll please....

I am writing my own knitting patterns! AHH! Scary!! After 5 years or so of knitting I have taken up the challenge of using my own patterns.

They were born from the fact that I could not find what I was looking for anywhere. I could find ones close, but not quite right. So with a little math, some hard thinking and a lot of frogging (ripping out) I came up with these. A little sock and hat.


What do you think? I used some of my new line of sock yarns (specifically Klondike in Summer Storm) and made them. I was surprised at the way they striped, but they are just too darn adorable.

Would you like to see them to scale?


Tiny aren't they? I hope to have the patterns available to you next week, but what's in my head and the notes I scribbled as I went may not translate so well to paper. We'll see.

So what are you up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.




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Not Your Momma's Canning

I recently read a blog post where the writer was berating all things home canned and felt that home canning was vomit worthy because her mother canned and she thought it tasted gross. It got me thinking. I know this reaction is pretty common, but let me say that the canning of today is not your momma's canning.

There are few things that I suppose would make home-canned food less than appetizing. The first being that our society is way too dependent on processed foods. These are full of salt, preservatives, and things that even a highly educated person can't pronounce. If you can't say it why eat it! If this is what you are used to eating than yes, that home canned food is not going to taste right.

Did you know that most of the food grown in the US these days has been genetically modified or hybridized to grow bigger and more perfect with longer shelf lives so that industry can get more bang for it's buck? While they've accomplished their goals, they left out one important thing. Along the way they modified the nutrients right out of the plant. Have you ever compared those hot house tomatoes in the store with an heirloom tomato straight from your backyard? You'll taste the difference right away.

Canning has found a resurgence in population these last few years and because of it there are many, many new and updated recipes to can. We are no longer just canning stewed tomatoes or cut green beans. We are canning soups, chilies, salsa, kiwi jelly, syrups and even caramel sauce! Wouldn't you love to know EXACTLY what you are eating and where it came from?

A lot of you express fear of pressure canners, but these are not your mother's pressure canners. These are updated with more safety features and safe fails. Trust me...the way mine locks down there is no way that lid is coming off. It'll blow the pressure release valve first. You have to take some precautions, but it's not scary.

Now there are a few things you can do to insure that your home canned foods taste great.

1. Use the freshest produce possible! I can not stress this enough. If you put in mediocre food that's a week old, it's going to taste like mediocre week old food when you eat it. That is not appetizing to anyone.
2. Follow a published canning recipe. These recipes have been developed to specifically work for canning. Remember that these foods will sit and blend on your shelf. What may not taste exceptional when going in could taste phenomenal coming out. My spaghetti sauce is a perfect example. On the day it's made I could eat for dinner, but it usually tastes like it needs more salt or seasoning. It's a little bland, but after a couple weeks on the shelf the flavors have all blended and I think it would be worthy of the pickiest Italian housewife. :o)
3. Follow the processing instructions. When it says 10lbs. of pressure for 20 minutes don't assume 20 lbs. for 10 minutes would work faster. This will make your canned foods, well, just not good.

I'm pretty picky about what I feed my family. We raise a lot of our own meat, have a huge garden and preserve these things to eat when they can't be had fresh. The things we can't make on our own I buy from sources I can trust preferably local when I can. That's not to say that we don't eat the occasional box of mac & cheese or hot dogs, but these things are treats not the norm. In fact, when given the choice my kids will almost always pick fresh fruit or veggies over chips and ice cream. They understand the healthy eating and find joy in munching on food that they've had a help with.

Anyway, my point is, if you'd like to have that garden fresh taste all year long or to know for sure what you are eating try canning....again if necessary. Here are some of my fave books.

Now I'm on my way to make some of that spaghetti sauce and if I have time left today I'll also be making up some Praline syrup and canning that. Yum!

Oh and for those of you keeping track....these are the new summer preserving totals:

• 12 dill pickles
• 13 Bread & Butter pickles
• 14 Sweet pickles
• 5 peas
  
• 41 corn
• 47 green beans
• 25 pizza sauce
• 5 gallon bags of frozen corn (not sure how many quarts or such that might be)

That's 157 plus the frozen corn. Wow! Those shelves are filling fast. The kids are already begging for the pickles, but I told them they need just another week or 2 to taste really yummy.

Wordless Wednesday - Open Wide!

For more Wordless Wednesday visit the home of Wordless Wednesday and A Beautiful Mess.

Recipe of the week -- Honey Nut Granola

I never really thought I was a granola person, but now I am a believer!

My granola journey started as an idea of something to sell at the farmer's market. I see gourmet granola everywhere for $4-$6 for 8 oz. and it seems to sell. I go to these little Mom & Pop places and people are buying it. Of course my first thought was "I can make that sooooo much cheaper". Um.....not really I discovered.

There is a reason that that gourmet granola is so expensive. These ingredients are not cheap. If I buy in bulk they are a little better, but still......

I wanted to make sure that I was at least covering my cost and at best making a profit. I actually took the time to weigh every ingredient as it went in and figure my cost per batch. I know....I'm such a nerd :o). I discovered each batch cost me $5.70. That was the cost of the actual ingredients by how much was used. I didn't dare add up the cost of everything I spent because you can't just buy 1 tsp. of vanilla or 1 cup almonds. You have to buy them in larger quantities. I think I actually bought enough for maybe 4 batches or so.

The whole point of this is that I am in love with granola now and although it's expensive, it's still cheaper to make at home.

Honey Nut Granola

4 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300*F. In a large bowl, stir oats, nuts and sunflower seeds together. In a separate bowl, mix together oil, honey, vanilla and cinnamon. Add to dry ingredients; mix well. Spread mixture onto two ungreased baking sheets. Bake in preheated oven, for 10 minutes, remove from oven and stir. Return to oven and continue baking until golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before storing.

For more great recipes visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.

CSN Review...Finally!

I told you this review was coming over a month ago, and finally it is here! I hope it was worth waiting for!! I was given an opportunity to review an online shopping experience with CSNstores.com. If you haven't heard of CSN stores before, you are missing out! With over 200 stores all in one place, you can buy nearly anything you want without leaving your house-which is very important to me, a mother of 6 (3 at home), living life far from town!

I received a 40.00 shopping spree for the purpose of review and had a blast trying to decide what to review. If you know me at all, you know I love to spend time in the kitchen. I am completely fascinated by kitchen gadgets and although I'm limited on space I still always seem to buy some.

It was an obvious choice to pick my review products from the CSN store www.cookware.com. There were so many things to choose from. I had a tough time choosing. I will say though that I wish CSN had a better "similar product" feature more like Amazon's or a "people who bought this also bought" feature. Something that brought similar products more into view. I was specifically looking for tall shot glasses (for desserts), but couldn't find any and there was no easy similar products feature when I looked at other shot glasses.

The checkout process was painless and easy and I liked the constant email updates as to the status of my order. Also the items shipped in a timely manner and both shipped before the "your item will ship by" dates. I did find it amusing that one showed up by UPS and the other FedEx.

So what did I get?? I picked out this awesome marble rolling pin because I've been wanting one for forever and have never found one I like. It's beautiful and heavy which makes it great for rolling out pie crust. It even came with a base so it doesn't roll off the counter. Of course it's so pretty that I have to leave it on the counter to look at.
I also got a stainless bread box. It nice and functional. It holds more than I thought it would. I had a loaf of bread, a package of bagels and a package of hamburger buns all in there at once.
Overall I had a great experience with CSN stores and I will definitely be back again. Maybe I'll finally get that food processor I've been drooling over. They had that too.

Farmer's Market Fun

The last few weeks we've been hanging out at a farmer's market not too far from here. It's a lot of fun with some great people and they have a big playground to keep the kiddos occupied for the 4 hours we are there. What more could a girl ask for?

It's definitely been worth our time to set up a table down there. We've encountered several knitters and this last week a spinner happened by from Texas. I'm still trying to figure exactly what she was doing in that teeney tiny little town since she said she was up visiting her daughter in Chicago, but hey, she loved my alpaca!


Our newest addition to the farmer's market fare this past week was baked goods. Michigan just recently passed a law that allows for some non-commercially prepared foods to be sold directly to consumers. (I'll be writing more on that later). The granola I made up was the hit of the day! Everyone loved the fact that the Cherry granola was made with actual Michigan cherries. Next week I think I'm going to make up a blueberry granola.

Anyway, we have a lot of fun and if you are ever around come visit us at the Athen's Area Farm Market on Fridays from 2pm-6pm. It's right on M-66....can't miss it.

Crafty Friday 8/6

Sorry guys, but I haven't been particularly crafty this week. I know....so sad, right?

I started my scarf from last week's post and I have a couple other things in the works, but I've been spending my week canning and making lots of baked goods for the farmer's market tomorrow.

So instead of one of my crafty things, I am dedicating this post to my very talented daughter who just today finished her very first crocheted hat.

This was also the first pattern she's ever followed. Up until now she had only crocheted back and forth making scarves and such. Her first hat she gave to her sister and in the same afternoon made a second for herself. The hats are matching and she plans on adding a different colored flower to each to make them unique.

I love her creativity!!

So what have you been up to this week?

Do you have something to share? Let us know what you’re working on this week! It can be photos of a project, instructions, recipes, or anything else you feel is "crafty". If you have something to share with us on your blog, add your link to the current week's party. Just please be sure to:

1. Add the permalink to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the Mister Linky form below (need help with finding the permalink? click here to see a great post Darcy wrote on this!)
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to the party post on this blog! so that your readers can come and see what everyone else is working on today and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the button to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That’s what makes a party fun!! You don't want to come to a party and have no one talk to you!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to play along don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Crafty Fridays!
Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.





<center><a href="http://ourjourneytoasimplerlife.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i999.photobucket.com/albums/af114/TomorrowFarm/craftyfriday.jpg"/></a></center>

Etsy Sale!

Welcome to our first ever Etsy sale! I posted this on Facebook a couple days ago and realized I should also share it with you. Are you excited yet??

Everything in our Etsy shop is 10% off (excludes Spinolution wheels). Yarns, rovings, soap, spin kits....everything is on sale (excluding the wheels of course).

When you check out just add the code FB8810 in the message to seller box and your 10% will be refunded to you. (It's the only way it can be done on Etsy). The sale ends at 11:59pm EST Aug.8, 2010.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. I always love talking about our products!

Wordless Wednesday - Happiness Is....

For more Wordless Wednesday visit the home of Wordless Wednesday and A Beautiful Mess.

Canning is a Family Affair

As I've said before, canning season is upon us and everyone has a part to play.

The most exciting part for the kiddos is frenching the green beans. Frenching green beans?!?!?! I bet you're wondering what that is.

Have you ever bought canned green beans at the store that were labeled french-style? They're cut lengthwise instead of cut into bean stubs. That's what the kids do.

We have this cute little contraption that clamps onto the table and as they turn it, it cuts the beans. They fight over the fat ones because they're "squirters". Basically, the bean is juicy and as it's cut it squirts bean juice up and occasionally hits them in the face. For whatever reason this cracks them up. It also keeps them busy so I can get more canning done.

The grand total of jars so far is:

• 12 dill pickles
• 13 Bread & Butter pickles
• 14 Sweet pickles
• 5 peas
  
• 9 corn
• 47 green beans
• 6 pizza sauce

That's 106 jars so far if my math is right. That doesn't count the few jars that didn't seal. Those went in the fridge

The pizza sauce was big surprise. I wasn't expecting enough tomatoes yet to do anything. It was a very nice surprise though because we've been out for awhile now.

Now I'm off to sit down. This canning stuff is a lot of work. ;)

Recipe of the week -- BLT Macaroni Salad

It seems I've had a theme going on lately of summer fun food. Go figure. ;) It's hot and who wants to slave over the stove for hours in this heat? Not me.

So in keeping with this summery theme, I am giving you my most often requested recipe for BLT Macaroni salad. Now I love this salad so much that I make it even in the winter, but it's the perfect summer recipe. It's even better now as the tomatoes are starting to come in. In fact we just enjoyed our very first fresh from the garden tomatoes the other day. Whohoo!!

I have to admit though that the summer is starting to wear me down. I am so ready for cooler temps, warm fuzzy socks and a HUGE pot of chili with fresh baked bread. I'll settle for the salad for now.


BLT Macaroni Salad

1/2 cup Miracle Whip
3 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups cooked elbow macaroni (or any other shape you might have in the cupboard)
1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
3 cups shredded lettuce
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. Add the macaroni, tomatoes and onions; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate. Just before serving, add lettuce and bacon; toss to coat.


For more great recipes visit Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cooking Wednesday and Tuesdays at the Table.