Fair pictures!

Not much time today...but I thought I would share a few pics from the State Fair. Nothing fantastic...just Cate having a good time! :)

Update on the chickens coming soon.......

The Fair is HERE!!!!

The Kansas State Fair is in town!!! And I am a self-proclaimed State Fair junkie! It probably has to do with all the years I spent in 4-H....but anyways, I am so excited. I was driving in town today and there was a ton of traffic with people bringing in tractors, concrete displays, animals, and all kinds of cool things! The atmosphere of it all is soo intoxicating!

Now for those of you who have never been to a State Fair (or even if you have), there is nothing like the Kansas State Fair. (At least in my opinion.) The place is like it's own city for 10 days. There are over 1,000 exhibitor booths, and 300+ food booths and that doesn't include exhibit entries! Such as the things the 4-Hers bring and don't forget Open Class! There are foods, clothing, photography, arts and crafts and etc, etc. It's awesome! lol...I know I am a little obsessed...but I want you to understand that this is not just some little State Fair; this is a huge event! I've been lucky enough to see if from many aspects. As a 4-H fair participant, on FACS bowl teams, and as a exhibit participant. I've also worked in several food booths over the years as well. It is quite exciting to have been able to see all these different aspects of the fair...and it's probably why I like it so much. :)

In the past, I have been known to be at the State Fair 8 out of the 10 days! In recent years, it hasn't been nearly that much...but this year I decided to try my cooking skills again and enter the food's open class. So I am sharing with you what I made. And if you are at the fair, be sure to look and see if you can find my cookies! Have fun!

Buried Cherry Chocolate Cookies

1 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1. Drain cherries, reserving juice. Halve any large cherries. Beat butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in cocoa powder and as much of the flour as you can with mixer. Stir in any remaining flour.

2. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place balls about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Press your thumb into the center of each ball. Place a cherry in each center.

3. For frosting, in a small saucepan combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Cook and stir over low heat until chocolate melts. Stir in 4 teaspoons reserved cherry juice. Spoon 1 tsp. frosting over each cherry, spreading to cover. (If necessary, frosting may be thinned with additional cherry juice.)

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on cookie sheet 1 minute. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Enjoy!

What's for Supper?!

Time for a little segment on food! One of my favorite past times is eating. :) I love food! Especially comfort food....

Here is a quick background on my culinary expertise :)

I grew up doing 4-H and my mom was an ex-home EC teacher....so I learned how to read recipes and correctly measure ingredients; when to use a dry measuring cup versus a liquid, etc. I was a pretty good baker. When I was 14, my mom decided that I should learn how to be a "cook" as well...so that way I could make something other than cookies and bread. So one night a week it became my "job" to cook supper for the family. There was no recipe for how to properly cook German sausage or pot roast. I had to learn what was the correct heat and time needed for all of these home cooked meals I loved. Casseroles were also a big staple at my home...being an economically smart way to stretch the groceries. So I learned what items should always be in the pantry and what items should be pared together and which should not. I am very grateful for these lessons...it has made me a fairly successful cook in the kitchen. Although I am no gourmet chef, like those on Top Chef! I am not afraid to try something new! And I also feel comfortable enough to take recipes as a "suggestion" and often substitute one ingredient for another with no hesitation. With that...I plan to share with you a few of the meals I will be making over the fall. I am all about homemade and quick. So with that, a look at what we had for supper last night...

In honor of all those currently harvesting apples ;)

Brown pork chops in a small amount of oil. Takes about 2 1/2 minutes on each side over medium heat.

Place pork over sliced apples and onions. Drizzle mustard and honey mixture over top.

Bake for one hour in a 325 degree oven.
Bon Appetit!

Holidays

I just got my new Holiday Catalog for Uppercase Living today and I am sooo excited about it!!! Not that I want to go on and on about it here...but Preston is out of town and there is no one else to tell! Even if he was here, he doesn't get nearly as excited about this kind of stuff as I do :)



The Holiday Catalog is soo cool!!! Uppercase Living has introduced tons of new product. There are this adorable turkey placemats that are actually chalk vinyl, there are place card sets, new iron on vinyl, and some awesome gift sets! I want one of everything! lol. This is why I get in trouble with this company. I try to sell and make some money, but I always just end up buying stuff for my house. haha. This catalog has also gotten me into thinking about the holidays...with this hot weather we have been having, I could go for some snowy days, cute sweaters, and boots. Plus some yummy hot chai tea!



Looking forward to cooler weather and the joyous holidays!

~Sarah

Coop Update

Busy day today...but I thought I would post some pics of this weekend's activities~

Chickens roaming around. They are getting all their feathers!

Cate playing around the coop. Preston built a rectangular frame for the outside run.

Preston working on the roof.

The finished roof!

(to the right)





The start of the inside part....this is where the "girls" will stay at night and where we are going to be putting a roosting box, for when they lay eggs!

And last of all...a little video of Cate serenading her daddy as he worked.

Till next time!

~Sarah

Time to Build a Chicken Coop!

The chickens are growing so fast! We decided this weekend that it was time to start building their run so we can get them outside. They will out grow their box on the table within the next few days! When we originally thought we were going to be able to build an actual coop, we went searching the web and found some really neat sites!

This YouTube video is one of our favorites. And is what we were planning on building, until we found out that we can't build a structure like this in town. But we are able to build a run and so we based our outdoor run off this instructional video.

There are some really cool coops out there. I think this one is pretty neat! It has wheels so you can move them around your yard, which makes clean up nice and easy! It's a bit pricey though...but if you don't want to do the building yourself, totally worth it. I also like the website diychickens. It gives some really neat pictures and gave me some good ideas of what we wanted. They also have plans available for sale for those who feel they need some instruction. And backyard chickens is once again a favorite of mine! It has over 450 designs and pictures on it!

But we went for simple. We took a trip to Home Depot Saturday night and purchased 10 2x4's, chicken wire, a sheet of plywood, and nails. We will be going back to buy some more to put the roost in, in the shed. But these are all the materials we need to start the run. Preston put together part of it that night.

He added 4 legs and put another rectangle on top; so we ended up with a big rectangular box which we will enclose with chicken wire. More to come soon!!!

~Sarah

A few of my favorite things....

Time to take a little break from the chicks and share my latest art project. I am a big fan of arts and crafts. It's something I've always had an interest in, but didn't actually think I was good at it. So I stayed away. It's only recently...in my more adult years, and in my quest to decorate our home on a budget, that I have realized that I am fairly good at painting and little crafty projects! I also really like it. The fact that it is a way to release stress is also nice :)



I painted Cate's room last spring and thought that I had finished it up. It was the first room in the house that I actually made curtains for! Which is sad, 1.considering that we have lived in this house for 3 years, and 2. because I am a very capable seamstress! But the walls were looking bare to me and so I thought I should put up all the ballerina pictures I have accumulated over the years. I didn't want to spend a lot on frames though and I wanted them to match her room. Walmart has these great photo frame sets that I was able to purchase for a very reasonable price. Plus if you ship it site to store, you only pay tax and no shipping! It's a great deal really and I use it all the time! Then I went to Hobby Lobby (a must store for any arts and crafter!) and bought a bottle of spray paint and one bottle of blue acrylic paint and one in pink. (I like the brand Folk Art.) It was a very easy project and one that I enjoyed thoroughly. I added some ABC's at the bottom, that I bought from myself through Uppercase Living. I also added a little saying above her door:



And I have to say...I really like the whole room! I can officially say that I am done with her room! Now on to the next room....the basement and bathroom!!!