INGREDIENTS
1.5 cups Kix cereal
1 cup Wheat Chex cereal
1.5 cups Rice Chex cereal
1.5 cups Oyster Crackers
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup honey
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground powdered mustard
1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup sesame seeds

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 300*, line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine Kix, Wheat Chex, Rice Chex, Oyster Crackers, and Peanuts in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl mix olive oil, honey, Worcestershire sauce, coriander, mustard, paprika, and salt. Mix well.

4. Pour liquid mix over the dry cereal mix and stir until all coated.

5. Scatter the mixture on prepared cookie sheet making sure it's spread out evenly. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds on the mixture.

6. Place in oven on middle rack, bake for 30-40 mins. Stirring mixture occasionally for even toasting. Set aside to cool. Mixture will get more crunchy as it cools.

7. Transfer to an airtight container or a serving bowl. Enjoy!!

Mixture makes about 5-6 cups

My Boss' son is graduating from High School this weekend. So for the graduation party she wanted to put some pictures of him on Wood (like the video below). She saw it on Pinterest. So since she was spending most of her time with family and getting the house ready - this became my job! :) I was very excited since I too had seen the video on Pinterest and thought is was a GREAT idea! So I was up for the mission...

I started with 10 blocks of weathered wood that she had her hubby cut from the wood in the barn. Then we realized that we didn't have the Gel Medium that it tells you that you need. Hmmm. She searched Hi and Lo and still nothing - so when we were about to scrap the idea and do something different we remembered that the new tenant next door was the art teacher for the high school. And guess what?! She had some! Yippee! I started by wiping all the pieces of wood down with a cloth, measuring and printing the pictures. Next step was to apply the Gel Medium. So far so good. Pressed the pictures, color side down, rubbed out all the bubbles, let dry over night.

Arrived to work this morning very excited about the next process which was to wet the backs of each of the pictures with water and rub off the paper to reveal the image. Easy Peasy - Right? I mean the gal in the video makes it look like it takes no time at all.

After trying the first one, then the next, and then the next one after that, I realized something very important... this was not going as easy as the vid shows. Thinking to myself - I must be doing something wrong. So I rewatched the video, then I read the comments below the video - and I saw one comment that said "if all the white won't come off then just get it as best as you can without pealing off the picture, then apply the mod podge and it will take care of the little white areas." Awesome! So that is what I did...

I was so excited this worked! So next I printed out all the pics that I had applied the wood grain layer to. Set out my wood blocks and applied a thin layer of Matte Mod Podge to the wood. Next I placed each of the pics on the wood blocks, and smoothed out all of the bubbles. At this point, you can either wait for the underlayer to dry OR you can do what I did (because I can be impatient) and just coat the top of each of the pics with a thin layer of Matte Mod Podge. I then set them outside to dry. Here is the finished product. What do you think? Personally I like it a lot and I like the way it still looks a little weathered but with a whole lot less hassle!

Here is the wood grain photo I used as the wood grain layer >> Download <<

This is our new deck. We made it out of 13' siding pallets that we got from a lumber yard. We put three of them together and reinforced some of the wobbly boards to make it a little more sturdy. We finished this a couple of weekends ago, but tonight was our first time having dinner on it.

Some of our friends are kinda shy, so I will just post the pics of us :). My hubby also got our hammocks out of the garage and Petey decided that he wanted to joinme on it. Of course once he was up there he wasn't so sure about it - lol.

One of the tree branches that my hubby cut off the tree last weekend, we have turned into seating - it wraps around the outside of the deck.

We still have a lot if work to do around it, but I am so excited to have most if the heavy lifting mostly done.

The Bear Paws - those are my favorite! When my hubby and I got married (almost 12 years ago) we honeymooned in Big Bear, California. We bought our first set of Iron Bear Paws and every year since we have tried to buy a set. Although after we pulled them all out of the garage we realized we are a few years (sets) behind. This is only part of them. The rest will go throughout the yard as a paths.

I was craving pizza tonight and didn't have dough or crusts made so I whipped out my Multigrain Crispbreads from IKEA, added sauce and some toppings, placed in the oven to melt the cheese and Walla - Mini Pizzas - so yummy!

Each crisp is only 40 calories each with 3 grams of fiber a piece (with out toppings)

Every once in a while I like to take cookies over to my friends at the lumber yard - but one if the gals is on a strict gluten free diet. So this week, I came up with this combination of recipes for an awesome, chewy peanut butter cookie that has great flavor and is gluten free. I don't even miss the flour!

Ingredients:
1 cup smooth peanut butter*
1 cup crunchy peanut butter*
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 large egg, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line bake sheet with parchment paper.

Place all ingredients in a stand mixer bowl and mix on low. Using a cookie scoop, drop 1 1/2 tablespoon of dough on bake sheet. Flat cookie with a fork in criss-cross design. Bake cookies for about 10-12 minutes or until golden around the edges. Rest cookies on bake sheet for 2 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

*I like the combo of the two. But you can make it with just one kind if you would prefer.

I saw this original recipe on the Mountain Rose Blog and I just HAD to make these for my hubby that loves Chai Tea! So with out further ado, here is the recipe, with my changes.

Ingredients
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 teaspoon sea salt
1 3/4 sticks softened butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

Powdered Chai Spice Mix
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1/8 tsp clove powder
1/8 tsp nutmeg powder

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, powdered spice mix, and sea salt together.
3. In another bowl, beat butter and sugars until fluffy and creamy. Add egg and vanilla to the butter and sugar mixture and beat until combined. Scrape bowl with spatula.
4. Gradually add flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until it just becomes smooth.
5. Gradually add oats and mix until well combined.
6. Roll 2 tablespoons of dough into balls with your hands. Place on parchment lined baking sheets about 2 1/2 inches apart.
7. Bake until cookies are golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

I have been wanting to do Meals in Jars for some time now. This isn't a new concept. For me, I want to use them as my convenient meals. Yes, I realize that some of these are crock pot meals. So I will explain. I want to be able to grab my crock pot, grab a jar, pour the contents of the jar and the water in the crock pot, cover, and set time. I don't want to have to gather everything  and measure it all out the morning of. I would rather use that time for sleeping :). I hope you enjoy these recipes. If you have suggestions or variations, I would love to hear them. Please note that all the recipes are adjusted to my tastes. So if you don't like a lot of salt, or you hate mushrooms, you can leave them out or adjust the recipe to your tastes.
Some of the items I dehydrate myself but for the majority of the dehydrated & freeze dried items I purchase from Honeyville.

CLICK ON LABEL TO DOWNLOAD LARGER PRINTABLE VERSION - FILES ARE JPG'S

These recipes are for me to use within the month - even though they will stay fresh for longer, if you are going to store them for longer periods of time, I recommend using oxygen absorbers. Here is a great page on making your Meals in Jars for Long Term Storage >>Go to Page<< Chef Tess has more great recipes if you want to experiment with more Meals in Jars.

Ingredients
1 pound ground turkey
1 jar enchilada sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 dozen corn tortillas

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly coat 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.

Brown ground turkey on med-high heat. Once meat is cooked through add 3/4's of the can of enchilada sauce. Stir throughout the meat, reduce to medium heat. Cook for another 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.

Heat corn tortillas in the microwave, I do mine all at once, covered with a microwave safe bowl so it steams them. Be careful when removing the bowl - very hot and steamy.

Layout first tortilla (making sure to keep the others covered so they don't get cold), add 2 tbsp of meat mixture, top with 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese. Fold sides in and place in pan (seam side down). Proceed with the rest of the tortillas, meat, and cheese until your pan is full. Spread the remainder of the sauce on top of enchiladas. This will be a very thin layer.

Cover with foil, place in oven, bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, remove foil from top, add a light layer of cheese, place back in the oven (uncovered) for 10 more minutes, or until cheese has melted.

Top with Homemade Salsa and serve.

About 3 years ago, I started making my own French bread and baguettes. I couldn't believe how easy it was. Yes, it does take a little time, especially with the rising, but it is so worth it! I usually just set the timer and go do other things (like clean) for that amount of time. Usually I make them on the weekends, and I make them in large batches. That way I have them on hand when I don't have much time to cook after work. I wrap each of the baguettes separately and place in our deep freezer. Then when I want one for dinner, I take one out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter for about 10 mins (while the oven is heating up to 350 degrees). I place the baguette on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for about 10 minutes to warm it through. Walla! Hot bread with dinner!

With this batch that is pictured I doubled the recipe and also made a baking sheet of smaller ones. My hubby loves to use them for sandwiches!

I hope you enjoy making these as much as I do.

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 packages active dry yeast
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups warm water or whey (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
Cornmeal
1 egg white, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon water

Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl stir together 2 cups of the unbleached flour, the olive oil, the yeast, and salt. Add the warm water to the flour mixture. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes total). Shape dough into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl, turning once to grease surface. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double in size (about 1 hour).

3. Punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 4 portions. Cover; let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease a baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal.

4. Roll each portion of the dough into a 14x5-inch to 16x5-inch rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side; seal well. Pinch ends and pull slightly to taper. Place seam side down on prepared baking sheets or baguette pan. In a small bowl stir together egg white and water. Brush some of the egg white mixture over loaves. Let rise until nearly double in size (35 to 45 minutes).

5. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Using a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across the top of each loaf. Bake for 20 minutes. Brush again with some of the egg white mixture. Continue baking for 8 to 10 minutes more or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Immediately remove bread from baking sheet. Cool on wire racks. Makes 4 baguettes (56 slices)

Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens 2001 Cookbook. Changed it to use some Whole Wheat flour and Olive Oil.

Today my friend gave me some Fresh Raw Milk that she had just milked from Bella this morning. I was so excited, I have been wanting to make cheese for so long! I made lots of goat cheese last year, but this year all the goats are feeding their babies, so no milk to buy. So you can understand why I was so happy to get this milk from my friend, Lesa!

Later this afternoon, we went out to her and her hubbies farm and I got to meet Bella and her new babe, Baby Bella :). Sweetest cows I have ever met! My hubby and I petted them, scratched the top of their heads, and even got cow kisses (on our hands). So tonight, I made cheese! Yummy, fresh, no weird ingredients, cheese!

Original recipe makes 1 pound

1 gallon whole milk
1 pinch salt
1 large lemon, juiced (or 1/2 to 3/4 cup lemon juice)

Pour the milk into a large pot, and stir in a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pot.

When the milk begins to boil (small bubbles will first appear at the edges) temp will register at 195 degrees, remove from heat. Stir lemon juice into the milk, and the milk will curdle. You may need to wait 5 or 10 minutes.

Line a colander with a cheesecloth, and pour the milk through the cloth to catch the curds. What is left in the cheesecloth is the Farmer's Cheese. The liquid is the whey. (I keep the whey and use it my bread recipes and in my garden.) Gather the cloth around the cheese, and squeeze out as much of the whey as you can. If you like a drier cheese, you can hang the cheese inside the cloth and let more whey drip out. Once your cheese is the consistency you want, Wrap in plastic, or place in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator.