Meet Ruger!

                 I'm sorry guys for not posting my Tasty Tuesday yesterday, it's been a little crazy here, with bad storms in the area that caused me to unplug yesterday! As you remember, we had to say goodbye to our beloved dog in March, the hardest thing we've done! Since we've always had a dog, the house was feeling really empty so I started the search on the Boxer rescue sites, hoping to find one close by, no luck. Thanks for Facebook and a weekly status in search of one, a friend said she knew of someone who had boxer/mastiff pups, well, a light went off! We were wanting a boxer for it's size, since we've had a couple of Mastiffs, so we went out and looked at them. This guy comes right up to me, licks my leg and starts to tug on my dress. Now, keep in mind, all day I was thinking of names even before looking at the 4 pups she had left, Ruger keep popping in, so when the owner said this guy was the feistiest and she called him a pistol, well, that confirmed his name for sure!!! We go pick him up later today!!!

             The baby chicks are still in the house, we've been working on the coop every waking/good weather day so hopefully they can be moved out side this weekend, not sure how a puppy will get along with a dozen chicks? lol  Wish us luck, we haven't raised a puppy in over 30 yrs. so this should be fun!

Tasty Tuesday

            With our temps nearing 90 later today, ice cream might be a refreshing dessert after a evening of weeding, but have you ever thought about baking it as bread? The Hungry Housewife has and I must say, it looks pretty darn good! Can you imagine the fun of playing with different flavors? It will probably be too warm to have the oven on today, so I'll be saving this recipe for a cooler baking day but will enjoy the notion of ice cream bread till then!

Ice Cream Bread

Makes One 8 x 4 loaf

2 Cups Ice Cream, any flavor, softened
1 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour

Preheat your oven to 350. Spray and flour a 8 x 4 loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl mix the ice cream and flour together until just combined.
Scoop into the loaf and and smooth out.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the loaf comes out with a few crumbs stuck to it.
Remove from the pan and allow to cool (if you can wait that long)!

For best results..use full fat ice-cream!

Thyme Tower

             I've been wanting to make a Topsy turvy tower for sometime now, and I finally did it!! I also created a new bed just for it, a mint bed: pineapple, orange, chocolate and grapefruit mints with a thyme tower in the middle! So easy and fun, that I think I'll make a smaller one with the rebar I have left over! It's addicting!

Mini Kitchen Makeover

                For the last 2 weeks, I've been stuck inside for the most part, loved the rain but really needed to get outside and get things done! Being the person who can't stand to just sit around and waste time, I gave our kitchen a mini makeover. I just painted one wall, the wall that was a mocha color, it needed perked up and upgraded to a satin finish, the color found me: homemade butterscotch, yummy!

          The after results lead to changing just about the whole kitchen around. I added a small table/island with 2 stools for extra seating and work space and it just so happens to match my hutch, that's when I knew it was the right choice! And behind the hutch is my chicken wall, from there in one corner is now my coffee corner and at the other end of the newly painted wall, is my recipe desk. Remember that white side board I painted and used as a island, it now resides in the dining room and matches the china hutch!
     It's amazing how a can of paint and one new piece of furniture can make you feel like you have a new kitchen! Now to find a puppy! lol

P.S. the ground is drying out from all the rain, so no Tasty Tuesday this week, got outside chores to do before the next rain, tomorrow! Stay tuned next week, I'll make it up to you!

My peeps!

           I'd like you all to meet our "Dirty Dozen" with Rooster Cogburn leading the flock! Our baby chicks are 2 weeks old and growing daily! Due to the cold and wet weather, the coop has been put on hold, but we remain hopeful that it will be finished in time to move these guys outside, they are outgrowing their make shift brooder! Our peeps are Silver Laced Wyndottes and I can't wait to see them running our 2 acres like pros!!!

Mother's Day Hutch!

                  What a difference a day makes, just yesterday we had the windows open and it was in the high 70's and muggy, today it's only making it to 37, rainy and cold, even snow just 2 hours away!! This is crazy!! So, with all the complaining about May weather, I realized it's also Mother's Day very soon, so I changed out my hutch display to honor the mama's in our family, past and present! I'm very blessed to be a grandma to 5 sweeties, so Mother's Day is extra special! Now, back to the crazy weather......hoping I don't lose any plants!!

Tasty Tuesday!

              I'm sitting here on the first day of May, in my 80 degree office, as we are having another oddly warm day in the Ozarks, and this week is only proving to get odder: snow in the forecast for Thursday after a cold front makes it way through the state, at least it will be cooler! This is too early!

     So, what finds me in my news feed today, this recipe for a cool cheesecake made from iced coffee, perfect! From Just Short of Crazy, that also explains our weather!!! Enjoy!


Ingredients

• 1 cup finely crushed graham crackers
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 2-8oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon + 1½ teaspoons International Delight Vanilla Light Iced Coffee
• ½ cup sour cream
• FOR SAUCE
• 1 cup International Delight Vanilla Light Iced Coffee
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees
2. In a smal bowl combine graham crackers, sugar, and butter. Mix until well blended. Press graham cracker mixture into pie pan or springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 5 minutes. Let cool completely.
3. In medium bowl cream together cream cheese and sugar, add egg and blend.
4. In a small bowl mix together cornstarch and International Delight Vanilla Light Iced Coffee until smooth. Add to cream cheese mixture and mix well. Fold in sour cream.
5. Pour cream cheese mixture into cooled graham cracker crust and bake for 45-50 minutes. Do NOT overbake. The center should still jiggle a bit when you pull it out of the oven. Let it cool to room temp and then chill for a minimum of 6 hours in the refrigerator.
6. SAUCE: In a small bowl mix together the heavy whipping cream and cornstarch. In a small sauce pan bring the International Delight Vanilla Light Iced Coffee to a boil -watch carefully and be sure not to burn the coffee. Add whipping cream and reduce heat to medium. Whisk until sauce thickens. Remove from heat, let cool and serve over cheesecake.
7. Serves 6-8.

I spy spring!

            The hills are alive and green again!!! The redbuds are just about done blooming, so are the dogwoods but plenty of color can still be found in the Ozarks, and I'm loving them all!!! The weather is another story, one week it's hot, ( low 80's, too soon) and the next it's cold, with frost warnings? The poor plants are so confused! But, we work outside when we can, the coop is coming along and the chicks are doing great, you can see the start of wing feathers already! I'm late in planting seeds but not worried about it this year since we had  a hard frost last week and another is in the forecast later this week, but I've still got 5 good months ahead to garden all I want, in between the weather woes and chickens! Trying to go with the flow and enjoy each day, each bloom and each project that gets marked OFF the list! Happy spring!!

Tasty Tuesday

                 I'm sorry I didn't have time to post yesterday, our baby chicks arrived and since the coop isn't ready yet, I was scrambling for a make shift brooder of sorts to keep them warm and safe till they out grow it! But our "dirty dozen" survived the night and are doing good!

     I don't know what I did before Pinterest, gosh, I hate to think about it! We had a family birthday dinner over the weekend and I needed a dessert other than cake, so I picked this! Not sure of the original poster but it came from Pinterest and it's one of those recipes that makes me wonder, why didn't I think of that!! No name to it either but so easy!
All you do is layer graham crackers and vanilla pudding, the recipe does call for homemade pudding but I cheated and use the quick boxes and it worked fine. You can do as high as you want with layers or you can make mini ones, that's the beauty of this dessert but it must be made the day before and allowed to sit in the fridge over night, so the layers can break down, soften and turn into a yummy treat! I made a chocolate sauce for the top but you can use frosting/icing too. Next time, I think I'll try a chocolate pudding, oh the possibilities!!

    I've also been working on my mini kitchen make over, can't afford to re-do the cabinets like I had hoped, but for the price of paint, this will perk up this 5 yr. old space! A photo shoot will follow once I'm done!

Spring Hutch!

                Four themes later, it's my spring hutch! This year of hutch displays is fun!! I'm really anxious for the next one, Mother's Day, I'm working on a extra special display! Our spring weather hasn't been as much fun as decorating my hutch, but it is what it is! This week, it's actually spring time, 60's and sunny. Last week was a different story, it was in the low 80's for most of the week and felt more like June, muggy too! Then storms came through, left some rain and brought back actual April temps., very comfy!

     We've started on the chicken coop, our peeps arrive this week! It will be so nice to have chickens and fresh eggs again!! The gardens are coming along, slowly. They are confused too with weeds not having a problem at all!

      We've also began the search for the next dog, a boxer this time. Beginning with local or near by rescues but haven't lost my heart yet, but I will! Would love a puppy but are looking at young adults too. It will happen, I'm sure! Well, time to get back at those weeds before they totally take over! Wishing you a bright day!