Farmgirl Chaos

Howdy Kitchen: Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 04:33:00 +0000

Thanks to Pinterest...I now have a fabulous and easy meal

Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken!

The Pinterest link can be found here....Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken.

However, for some reason, the direct blog link does not work.

Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken:
4-6 chicken breasts

Hawaiian style barbecue sauce {or whatever you have on hand)

Can of crushed pineapple
Put in a crockpot on low for at least 6 hours

When I made this, I had some King's Hawaiian Dinner Rolls on hand.

So I made myself some little Hawaiian Chicken Sliders.

I think my friend Amy had her's eaten before I even sat down. :)

This morning, I received an 'emergency/911' call and then text from my coworker.

She wanted to make this, but couldn't remember if there was to be water added or not.

NOPE! The barbecue sauce and juice from the crushed pineapple will be enough.

If you want, you could probably leave the chicken whole, and maybe even add a slice of swiss cheese to the chicken, and then throw it in the oven for a few minutes.

But I chose to shred mine, then added some more of the 'juices' from the crockpot.

It was sweet, but full of flavor.

What other great and few ingredient crockpot meals do you have?

I am pretty certain that I will be making this again soon!

YUM!

Finally....The Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:41:00 +0000

Well over a week after I said I'd post the winner....but better late than never, right?

Remember when I posted about using a ceramic egg tray as an earring tray?

Well, I finally input the numbers at random.org, and it came up with a winner!

Comment #1, which was by Donna!

Here's what you won!

An update on my closet and cleaning.....

things are getting there.

There's still a pile of clothes I'm trying to sell.

I have a big bag to donate.

And my craft/junk room hasn't been touched yet. :)

I'll get there some day!

And on a snowy note....

We have finally been getting some good snow and winter weather in Iowa!

Here's my view from this morning

when I went to clean off my vehicle.

A wet layer of snow, with some ice underneath.

Fun times! :)

Howdy Kitchen: Peanut Butter Caramel Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:01:00 +0000

Thanks to seeing a post at The Kitchen Tutor, I was inspired.

I have made the typical cream cheese fruit dip many times before.
It's a great 'go to' dip for fruit....or even pretzels!
{I love sweet and salty!}

Because I'm weird and sometimes have texture problems with food,
I thought I'd leave out the peanuts from the dip, but add something else.....

PEANUT BUTTER!

Oh my, was it a great thing to do!

Here's a rough idea of the recipe I used.

1 8oz block softened cream cheese

1 cup brown sugar

vanilla {to your liking}

1 cup peanut butter

milk

I first mixed the cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.

{I hardly measure vanilla...is just pour it in.} :)

I then added in about 1 cup of peanut butter. Maybe less, maybe more.

{Again, I didn't measure...just did it.}

Mix it all up. At this point, it will likely get very thick and sticky.

Now is when you start adding a few pours of milk, then mix.

Keep mixing and adding milk until you get to the texture/consistency you like.

Not too thick, but not runny.

I can guarantee you this...

I WILL be making this dip again. Hopefully soon!

I didn't even dip any fruit in the dip this time. Just pretzels.
Oh, I did spread some on cinnamon bread and warmed it up in the microwave :)

Delicious!

Cleaning Craze!

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:41:00 +0000

Finally!

I have gotten in to the cleaning groove. :)

It makes it easier when I have friends that help out.

My friend Joy and I have planned to help each other until both of our places have been cleaned, purged, and stuff sold/donated/thrown.

She came over Saturday afternoon. I went to her place this afternoon.

Yup. This is good.

Now I'm on this kick to just sell everything!

While going through my clothes again, Joy had a fabulous idea.

Joy's Tip:

Take pictures of the 'sell clothes' as you pull them out of your closet, drawers, etc.

Then fold them up.

One thing I would do differently:

Write down the Brand & Size {& maybe Color & Description} as you go,
right after you take the picture.

Once I got all the pictures loaded to my computer.....

{A photo of my computer screen. I used Picasa to load photos to my computer. And the screen shot was just too fun and colorful to not take a picture.} :)

I then had to go back through and get the brand name and size written down,
since I didn't do that before.

All the clothes had to be handled again.

But, for some reason a few of the items didn't load.

So maybe it was a good thing that I had to go through them all again.

So, if you want to go shopping in my place for clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, decorations.....come on over!
I'll even treat you to a slice of chocolate pudding cheesecake. :)

Now I have a pile of 'SELL!'...and am hoping it sells soon!

The town I live in, as well as at least another local town, have Facebook pages where you can post things to sell. What a great idea! It makes it easy to deliver or pick up things.

I have a bag full of tshirts that will be donated to a local clothing closet as well.

Maybe cleaning can be fun! :)

At the Farm! Friday

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 23:17:00 +0000

Wow.

It has been quite awhile since I have done a farm post.

Today seems like a good day for one. :)

The Monday after Christmas, I was getting ready to head back to my place.
My dad and brother at one point asked if I'd be back on
Wednesday to help with cleaning out a bin.

Well, I hadn't planned on it. I didn't have the day off.
I was scheduled to work Tuesday and Wednesday, and then had Thursday and Friday off.

But, due to having a comp day that I hadn't used yet, I made it happen!
I went back to work for one day, then headed back to the farm. :)
{I probably spent more on gas than I made!}

I got to join my brother delivering one of the loads to the elevator {local coop}.

I haven't ridden in his 'new' rig, so it was nice to see it...

and feel how loud it can get. :)

He and dad also got themselves a 'new' grain hopper.

Very nice, if I do say so myself.

It cut the number of trips probably in half.

Living about 4 miles from the elevator,

each round took about 1 hour.

Loading, driving, weighing, unloading, weighing, returning.

I really wasn't needed until the bin was mostly empty.

At first, I was helping the corn into the pit.
But according to dad, I was doing too much work. Oops!

Eventually he kicked me to the sweep auger to help push it along.

Sure, it has a little wheel on the end.
But it needed pressure to keep moving in the right direction.

On either Thursday or Friday, I had the joy of driving the

'newest' tractor to a town that is about 25 miles from the farm.

It took about 1 hour to get there...traveling just above 20 miles per hour.

It was actually fun...until I got to town.

It does have a stop light.

And it turned yellow right when I got to it.

I didn't stop. :)

But I made it to the fix-it shop in one piece,
without any new scratches or dents to the tractor!

Driving the tractor to town saved a few hundred dollars instead of loading it on a semi.

It gave me 1 hour to enjoy some countryside I haven't visited in years,
and some that was new to me.

{Took back roads, and avoided all gravel. It was raining and would have been a mess.}

{I love my iPhone! It took all these pictures. Dad even figured out how to take a picture of me working! And yes, I did climb a bin to get a couple of the pictures. It was a little tricky...climbing the bin, removing gloves, getting out the phone and taking pictures without dropping it, returning it to my pocket, putting gloves back on, and climbing back down.}

Head over to Fresh from the Farm. You can see the Farm Photo Friday entries, as well as sign up for the Gooseberry Patch cookbook giveaway!

Organize: Earring Tray

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:59:00 +0000

Have you ever had a completely random thought jump in to your head,
that came from no where, and it was awesome?!

Don't you love it when that happens?

My recent thought was perfect, as I am in the process of cleaning out my closet.

The thought.....

To use a ceramic egg holder tray to hold some of my earrings.

GENIUS!! {or at least I think so} :)

Lastly, I have just been placing the earrings on my dresser.
It was just inconvenient to try to put the earrings back on my little screen door.

Luckily, I had an egg tray sitting up in a cupboard.
I think I picked it up a couple years back on clearance at Jo-Ann's.
{The yellow one above.}

I did pick up another one from Fishs Eddy when they were running a sale.

I decided to put the earrings that I wear often in the egg trays.

I have a mini screendoor that I use for the other earrings that aren't worn nearly as much.

And since I was getting things organized, I also got my dresser top cleaned up.

I have a few flower pins.

This little crate was full of other stuff.

But I cleaned it all out and put my flowers in there.

I think I need to find a better way to organize these...

maybe another thought will hit me someday soon.

The final product. It isn't fancy. But it's functional!

And it's your lucky day!

I'm giving away a celery green egg tray to one lucky winner!

Maybe you want to organize your earrings now as well.

Leave a comment with an organizing tip or suggestion,

and you'll be in the drawing!

I'll randomly select a name on Saturday, Jan 14.

{And if you don't use it for your earrings, no problem!}

Closet Clean Up

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:26:00 +0000

Happy Friday!

Head on over to The Project Girl,
and join me as I work on cleaning out and organizing my closet.

While you are there, please share any additional
closet cleaning/organizing tips you might have/use/heard.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Project 365 {or 366}

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:50:00 +0000

The past few years, I have seen people share pictures for every day of the year.

Wow. What a great effort that takes!

1/366
{Last night at the farm and seeing the tree lit}

Taking the picture.

Uploading it to your computer.

Then finally posting it!

I have always thought it would be fun to do, but have yet to do it.

2/366

{Cow shaped sprinkles from Stringtown Grocery in Kalona, IA}

Until NOW!

With my new fun toy {called an iPhone}, I am now trying hard to achieve this.

I am currently using Instagram to share the pictures {for now}.

It's a free iPhone/iPad app.
Go get it NOW! if you have one of these devises and don't have the app yet!

3/366

{Caucus time!}

So far, it has been rather easy to take 1 picture a day using my iPhone.

I sure hope it stays that way!

4/366

{An enjoyable series of books. Over 40 books....and I have read almost all of them.}

I have also come across a couple other apps....

{both are free!}

Project 365

My365. {And yes, it looks like it's in Chinese!}

Even if you don't have an iPhone, most phones these days have cameras.

So you can still take 1 picture a day as well!

Join in the fun!

Back to Reality

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 03:45:00 +0000

Since December 17, I have worked only 2 days! :)
The rest have been vacation days, university holidays, and a comp day....
all spent at the farm!

Gina and Jay {who live in Germany} were able to return for Christmas this year!

Because of this, I wanted to be sure that I was with them as much as possible.

I haven't seen them since last November.

Plus, they got to meet a couple of their newer nephews as well.

During my time at the farm, I did some crafting {including some that were Christmas gifts!}, played with kids, helped clean out a corn bin, played with kids some more, watched lots of Hallmark movies {I don't have cable...but the farm does!}, took a few shopping trips with various family members, and played with some kids.

As you can tell, I played with my niece and nephews a lot.

Things definitely got crazy and loud at the farm when they were all there.
But it was fun!

This being my 7th Christmas in my position,
I don't recall ever taking so many days off over Christmas.

I kind of liked it. It was definintely crazy fun! :)

But...today it was back to reality and I was back to the office.

I don't start traveling to my schools until next week,
which is also when classes start up again.
It is nice that campus is still quite for the next couple of days.
It definitely helps to get back in to the working mode.

I finished off my evening with caucusing for my first time!

I live in a small town, and there were 4 different caucus locations.

The numbers for my location were definitely under 100.

But I'm glad I went.
It was a great learning opportunity to better understand
the process of selecting the next President of the United States.

Do you caucus?

Howdy Kitchen: Gingerbread Cheesecake

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 21:18:00 +0000

At Christmastime, my love for mint grows about 100 times. :)

I have made a few various mint-type cheesecakes. And any that I have eaten, I have loved!

This year, after talking to a recipient of one of my free cheesecakes,

we decided to go with another traditional flavor for the holidays....

GINGERBREAD!

I haven't made a gingerbread cheesecake before, so was a excited about making this.

One ingredient I knew I would need....molasses.

Since I wasn't sure about the other spices, I searched online and ended up with

Martha Stewart's Gingerbread Cheesecake recipe

as my inspiration for the recipe.

But, because I am me, I did change it up a bit...but not much.

I actually made 2, with 2 different crusts.

The first crust, I crushed up Keebler Gingerbread cookies.

The second, the remnants crushed up from the gingersnap cookies I made for the mini gingerbread cheesecakes.

Filling Ingredients:

4 8ox blocks of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar
4 oz sour cream

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup molasses
{I started with 1/4 of a cup, but it just wasn't enough for me. So, if you aren't afraid, take a quick taste sample to see if you want to add more or not.}
1 1/2+ tsp ground ginger

1+ tsp ground cinnamon

1+ tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cloves

Directions:

1.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, or whatever temp you have learned is best to bake your cheesecake. I bake mine at about 315-325. A lower temp, but for a few more minutes.

Make crust.
I mixed about 2 cups of crushed cookies with at least 4 Tbsp of melted butter.

If it isn't moist enough to form the crust, just add more melted butter.

Beat cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in sugar, vanilla, and sour cream, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping sides of bowl as needed. Beat in molasses and spices. Pour filling into crust.

4.
Bake until cheesecake is set but still slightly wobbly in center, 60 to 65 minutes.
After removing from the oven, run a knife or spring form pan tool around edges of cheesecake to loosen the filling from the edges.
Let it cool on a wire rack. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 8 hours (preferably overnight).

Topping Idea:

Put a dollop of Cool Whip on each slice of cheesecake, topped off with a cinnamon red hot.
{For some reason, I think of little gingerbread people having red hots on them as buttons or something.}

Or better yet, make your own whipped cream!
I'm thinking even cinnamon whipped cream could be good.

Check out a chocolate whipped cream recipe I made and alter it to your liking,

or even this recipe from the Farm Chicks.

Whipped Cream Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon honey

Add all ingredients into a large {chilled} bowl and whip until stiff peaks form.
Refrigerate any leftovers.

To make the mini cheesecakes, I used a Norpro 3919 Mini Cheesecake Pan that I ordered from Amazon back in May. I haven't used this pan up until now, and hadn't even opened the packing up. I knew I didn't want to lose the little bottoms of the pan.

But wouldn't you know, when I opened it up and unwrapped those little round things, 2 were missing!
Now to see if I can get replacements for them.

But that pan is pretty sweet! I need to keep playing with it, to figure out how long to make the cheesecakes. But everyone seemed to enjoy them today when I took them on my school visit {there were rave reviews from the counselors and secretaries}.

:)

Enjoy!

Christmas Cheer

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 06:07:00 +0000

I was on a baking kick Thursday night.

Two gingerbread cheesecakes.

18 mini gingerbread cheesecakes.

Frosted mint brownies.

And I didn't get any cleaning done. :)

But, I did pull a light fixture off the ceiling when I attempted to change the light bulb.

I guess that is what you get with cheap apartment lighting.

Oops! Good thing the landlord will be here to fix it later.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a little something with you today,

to spread a little Christmas cheer!

You can download it here.

I used various kit items from Shabby Miss Jenn to complete the little sign.

{Her kits are pretty much AWESOME!}

In other news....Gina and Jay return to Iowa in less than 45 hours!

I hope you enjoy the Christmas cheer.
You can download and print it yourself, or send it off to the photo lab of your choice.

That's what I did.

A Baby Changes Everything

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:00 +0000

How about a little Christmas music love?

This song is on Faith Hill's Christmas album, Joy To The World.

Christmas Garland

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 06:20:00 +0000

Since I never posted about this project last Christmas,
I thought I'd share it this Christmas.

Also, because I don't have any Christmas decorations up this year!
But that's what you get when you are out of state kid wrangling for one week,
busy with work the next week, then heading to the farm for over a week for Christmas.
{And getting to see my favorite little sister!!}

To be honest, I have no idea where the inspiration for the project came from.
If it is from someone out in blogland, please let me know!

Otherwise, it must have been in my head. :)

To start, I punched out a LOT of circles {in 3 different sizes} and 'flowers' from a coordinated set of scrapbook paper from HobLob {half price, of course!}.
To add some other texture to the piece, I also used brown kraft paper.

By the end, my hand was so sore from all the 'punching'! But I wasn't done yet.

I then took little stacks of the circles and flowers and put a hole in the middle of them with my Crop-A-Dile.
{Which again, I got at Hobby Lobby, either half price or 40% off.}

Now it was time to string them!

Prior to this project, I purchased a BIG needle. I have no idea what kind it is, but it was great.

The end was fairly dull, which I didn't care about. My only concern was that I had something that would hold the jute twine in place, but would work to thread/string the cut outs.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. After I punched out all the shapes and punched the hole in the middle, I crushed/wadded up each of the pieces of paper. I know I did more than one at a time to make things go faster.

I did this because it gave more texture to the design in the end. Otherwise, it just wouldn't have looked the same. {You can tell they are crinkled in the 1st picture.}

Scrapbook paper garland {snake}

On the ends of the garland, I made loops because I used little 3M hooks to hang it.

After I hung it up, I came up with another idea of hanging my Christmas cards from it.

Love it! Had I actually decorated this year, I would have put some scrapbook paper on the clothespins.

But, maybe that will happen next year.

This was an easy craft that I did while watching movies.

It's also one that kids could help out with. Especially the crumpling of the paper.

One of these years, I think it would be fun to make mini garland to drape around like swags.
I would use a small circle punch only, instead of different sizes.

What Christmas crafts have you done?

Now, if I could only get going on finishing my nephews gift! I know he'll love it.

I just need to {start and} finish it!

FYI....only 3 more days until I get to see my little sister! :)

Custom iPhone Cover

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:06:00 +0000

Today I posted at The Project Girl on how I made my own iPhone cover.

Head on over HERE to check it out!

Burlap Board

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 06:29:00 +0000

Lately, when I have posted, I feel as I could be playing.....
Where's Nicole?

Yesterday afternoon I arrived to my destination in Missouri.

I have the privilege of watching my cousin's 4 kiddos for the week.

Day one has already been an adventure, bloody nose and all. :)

Awhile back, I signed up for a Christmas Gift Exchange over at Craftaholics Anonymous.

First off, I struggled with figuring out what to make.

Then I struggled with finding time to make it.

Now, I'm struggling with getting to either a post office or a UPS store.

I'm hoping I can find the post office in town and finally get it sent!

What I finally end up making...I don't want to give up!
{Luckily, I bought enough supplies for 2. So I'll get to make myself one.}

Of course, I found the idea at Pinterest. But here's the direct link.

I did use a canvas board for the base of it all.
I also found cork board that fit the exact size of the canvas board.

It was rather nice that I didn't have to cut any cork. :)

I then used spray adhesive to attach the cork, following the directions on the can.

After I let the piece completely dry, I wrapped it in a piece of burlap, using a staple gun.

{Luckily, I have a nice neighbor/friend who lent me a staple gun.
I think I need to get one for myself!
There are so many times I could use one.}

I cut the burlap down to a size that would wrap around nicely.
That was the messiest part. But I got it done!

I then added the upholstery tacks around the edge.

But at this point, I knew I needed to add something more, to make it more 'from me'.

That's when I pulled out some eyelet lace, as well as mini clothes pins.
{Which I stapled to the canvas board as well.}
I added scrapbook paper to the clothes pins, both front and back.

Yes, there are lots of clothes pins.
More options that way!

{Not to all be used at once.}

Because I was short on time, I just took all these pictures with my iPhone.

It's my newest toy...and I'm sure having fun with it!

The final product.....

Turkey Break Recap....

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:25:00 +0000

...in Instagram form.

Thursday Daily paper....Black Friday ads on the left, news/info on the right!
Maybe my sister-in-law and I ran to Kohl's and Younkers........for the midnight sales.
Crazy? Yes.
We were in and out within 2.5 hours,
which includes about 25 minutes drive time there and back.

The sweetest, new nephew.

He even dressed for me on Turkey Day. {Bib and onesie were gifts from me.}

Of course we had to play outside the next day.
Lots of time playing with the cats and Kasey, the new dog.
{I couldn't get a good picture of her...she kept trying to get my phone!}

As well as lots of kiddos!
{The niece and all the nephews were at the farm most of the weekend,
my mom watches a boy on Friday,
in addition to 4 kids I wrangled Saturday and Sunday.}

At some point this fall, my brother got himself {the farm} a 'new' Ranger.
Let's just say, I had fun with it.

Taking these boys on a tour of the farm, as well as checking cattle.

Uncle Adam, Dad, or Adam {depending on which kid you are referring to}
in the field with the 'new' strip-till bar

A kid is never to young to learn how to farm!

These kids were a great help in picking up the fall/harvest display
of pumpkins and hay bales for Grandma.
We even got a treat when we were done!

{How many kids can fit on a Ranger?}

The Saturday boys. Another tour of the farm.

But more fun, watching Uncle Adam work in the field with his 'new' strip-till bar.

{And it was a windy and chilly day at the farm!}

Time to warm up a bit while cruising in the Jeep, in the comfort of the shop.

And not that I'm excluding these girls....they were just being girls!

Hiding out in my sister's {former} room, finding fun hair things, make up, lip gloss/stick,

doing make-overs, etc. Most times intruders weren't welcome. :)

Thursday, there were 6 kiddos at the farm.
Friday, there were 7 rascals running around.
Saturday, go up another number to 8 pipsqueaks making lots of noise.

And Sunday, let's top it off at 10 whippersnappers!

The farm will be much more quite tomorrow with only 3 boys.

Plus, I'm guessing Kacey {the new dog} and the cats will enjoy the break from all the kids.

What a fun and enjoyable and crazy break it was!

And I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!
{Well, maybe in a few days.}

Hope you all had much fun with your family and friends.

Long Distance Thanksgiving Blessings

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:23:00 +0000

The distance doesn't really matter...
when the hearts are close.

Thanksgiving Blessings

Oh, give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good!
Psalm 118:29 TLB

Yet another Thanksgiving will go by where our whole family can't be together.

BUT...Christmas is just around the corner!

And I can't wait to see Gina & Jay!

As of today, only

more days until they return to Iowa for Christmas!

I know there are many eager people to see them...especially a niece and some little nephews.
:)

Howdy Kitchen: Pumpkin Coffee Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:58:00 +0000

Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

{Recipe found at Tasty Kitchen, from Heather's Dish}

Yup. This stuff is as good as it sounds!

And it is as good as it looks, too!

I followed this recipe pretty accurately....until it came to the topping.

Here's the recipe....with my little change.

Ingredients for Batter

⅓ cups Water
1 can Pureed Pumpkin (15 Oz)
2 whole Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 box Yellow Cake Mix (18 Ounce Box)
1 teaspoon Baking Soda

Ingredients for Topping
½ cup Brown Sugar
½ cup Flour
4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
¼ cup butterscotch chips
¼ cup toffee or bits of brickle

Ingredients for Glaze
¼ cups Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
¼ cups Heavy Whipping Cream

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large bowl mix together the water, pumpkin, eggs,
1 Tablespoon of vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until well combined.
Add the cake mix and baking soda and mix until just combined.

Grease a 9×13 pan with butter and pour batter into pan.

In a small bowl mix together 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour,
butterscotch chips, toffee/bits of brickle, and melted butter.
Use fingers to sprinkle over the top of the cake.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

For the glaze, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and heavy cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer.
Remove from heat and stir until all sugar is dissolved.
When cake is finished baking, poke holes in the top with a toothpick.
Pour glaze over the cake, making sure to cover all surfaces.
Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

I actually made 2 of these tonight. 1 for the weekend, and 1 to take to and share at work.

Enjoy! And happy baking.

Happy Birthday Carson

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:33:00 +0000

Happy 2nd Birthday Carson!

You are my favorite {and only} 2 year old nephew!

I hope your day is filled with many fun things, and lots of playing outside or in the shop.

See you next week!

:)

Happy Birthday Gina!

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:10:00 +0000

Happy 27th Birthday Gina!!

When I see you next, maybe there will be lots of snow on the ground,

so you can do this!

Farm Boy Love!

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 04:28:00 +0000

What's better than spending the weekend at the farm?

Spending 3 full days at the farm, hanging with some cute farm boys, celebrating a birthday,

and seeing the other niece and nephews from across the river for a few hours.

Usually when there's a birthday party, a gift is a good thing to have. :)

I have had an idea of what I wanted to make for Carson for awhile,

but had yet to make it.

Of course, it didn't get finished until about an hour before the party!

Oops!

But, I think this is my favorite 'freezer paper stencil project' to date.

You can find my other projects here and here.

I can guarantee you that I WILL be making more Farm Boy shirts,

but with a twist! :)

Front: {pardon the awful pictures...I was in a hurry to get it wrapped and get to the party!}

The back....which totally makes the shirt 'perfect'!

If you look closely, you'll see that there is a little white outline around the tractor {and the letters as well}.
This was not intentional.

I started with trying to paint on white letters. But even after a few layers, it looked pink.

Therefore, I had to pick a different color. Blue it was.

The colors look great together...in my opinion.

After painting on the blue and pulling the freezer paper off,

I liked what I saw. Blue letters with a white outline.

I'm not sure how it happened...
but I'm guessing it is from the paint drying and making the shirt shrink a bit.

And here's the birthday boy, sporting 3 of his birthday items.

1. Styling hat.

2. Amazing coat.

3. Trendy Farm Boy tshirt.

{I tried to get the dude to smile...but he was too busy chattering.}

Kasey Girl

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:18:00 +0000

After a few months of being dogless on the farm,
there is now {FINALLY} a new pup!

This little lady is CUTE! :)

She's part German Shepherd/Mountain Cur.

And Kasey is her name.

According to the description of a Mountain Cur,
it seems as if Kasey will have an enjoyable time on the farm.

There are plenty of squirrels and racoons for her to chase.

Well, once she gets a little older.

Kasey and Carson have a love hate relationship.

Carson loves to pet her....and play a little rough.

But he hates it when Kasey loves to get a little rough....

and tackles Carson.

As these two grow up, it will be fun to see how things play out.

For some reason, I have a feeling that Kasey will soon learn to not:

-Nip at our legs

-Paw at our legs
-Try to climb up our legs
-Step on our feet as much as she can
-Try to bite our hands when we pet her
-Try to lick our hands when we pet her

But, she is still very much a puppy. So for now, it's expected.

Howdy Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 15:13:00 +0000

This was originally posted over at The Project Girl.
Put I thought I'd share it here as well.

Pumpkin bread. Pumpkin cheesecake. Pumpkin muffins.
Pumpkin cookies. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin fudge.

Pumpkin....I can't get enough of it!

In case you haven't figured it out, I LOVE pumpkin! :)

Thanks to my good friend Pinterest, I came across a delicious
pumpkin pie dip that will NOT disappoint!

But first, let's think about presentation.

{I need to give props to Mindy of Best Energies Best Affections for the idea. Thanks Mindy!}

Maybe it's just me, but I do enjoy food presentation.

I'd much rather eat/serve chips out of a bowl, instead of a bag.
I'd much rather eat/serve caramel, dips, salsas, etc out of bowls,
instead of the containers they came in.

So, when I wanted to put together a little treat platter to share at work,
I wanted it to look nice.

1. To start off, you need fun bowls!

While in San Francisco for a work training, I got to shop at Anthropologie!
{There isn't a store located in Iowa. Sad, I know!}

Because I can't afford the clothing, I went and looked at the House & Home items,
because that stuff rocks!

In the end, here's what I came home with.

Aren't they awesome?! {I now wish I would have gotten more!}

2. Next, get some sort of big platter, tray, etc. Thanks to Mindy and her grand idea,
I used a vintage round cake pan.

This isn't just any cake pan. I found it my Grandma's attic.
So it does have some meaning behind it.

3. Decide what you want to put in the bowls for dips and dippers.

I decided to go with honey wheat pretzels, honey graham crackers, and grapes.
I would have used apples as well....if I had some on hand.

I served honey crisp apples with this during a craft day, and the ladies loved it!

4. Now for the dip!

Pumpkin Pie Dip

{Original recipe found here.}

My version of the recipe....

Ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2.5 cups powdered sugar
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1+ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1+ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1+ teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:
Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
Add pie filling, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and vanilla, beating well.
Cover and chill.
Serve with favorite dippers!

5. Enjoy!

It not only tastes delicious, it looks great as well!

Another fun idea would be to use clear/white/solid colored bowls,
and add the fun to the pan itself.
Just line it with some scraps of material, scrapbook papers,
or one of your favorite cloth napkins.

Obviously, I didn't think about that ahead of time. But I will next time!
I just wanted to use my new bowls! :)

This idea originated from Mindy as a veggie tray.
She had assorted veggies in different bowls, with a Ball jar of dip in the middle.

With the holiday season upon us, have fun with your treat/snack/dessert/drink presentation.

Don't be afraid to think outside the box! You very well could be the hit of the party!

Photo/Hair Fixin' Swap!

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 22:59:00 +0000

Awhile back, my friend Ashley got in touch with me and proposed a service swap.

I take their family pictures.....she will cut/color my hair {when I finally decide to cut it!}.

Um, yes please! That trade works for me!

However, I haven't really done any 'posed' photography before.

{And taking Mitchell's pictures don't count.}

So...I did my best, and here is what you get.

The pictures were taken in their new back/front yards.

We did lots of moving around and adjusting and twisting and more moving....because the sun was so bright.

I think I'll do better next year. For some reason, I was nervous!

So Ashley! Let's keep the service swap going. I like it a LOT!

Howdy Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie Dip

noreply@blogger.com (Farmgirl Chaos) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 04:47:00 +0000

I am going to be mean to you all...... :)

Here's a peak at a post I have schedule for Friday over at The Project Girl.

Until then, you can drool over the picture.

You are welcome! :)

Farmgirl Chaos

Howdy Kitchen: Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken

Finally....The Winner!

Howdy Kitchen: Peanut Butter Caramel Dip

Cleaning Craze!

At the Farm! Friday

Organize: Earring Tray

Closet Clean Up

Project 365 {or 366}

Back to Reality

Howdy Kitchen: Gingerbread Cheesecake

Christmas Cheer

A Baby Changes Everything

Christmas Garland

Custom iPhone Cover

Burlap Board

Turkey Break Recap....

Long Distance Thanksgiving Blessings

Howdy Kitchen: Pumpkin Coffee Cake

Ingredients for Batter

Ingredients for Topping

Ingredients for Glaze

Preparation Instructions

Happy Birthday Carson

Happy Birthday Gina!

Farm Boy Love!

Kasey Girl

Howdy Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie Dip

Photo/Hair Fixin' Swap!

Howdy Kitchen: Pumpkin Pie Dip