October Goodies

I love Pinterest for so many reasons and one of them is because I have about 25 different goodies to make with my kids.  I'm getting started this weekend!  Spook Mix, Mummy Dogs and freak pudding are up!

You may not know, but if you have an abundance of boys in your house, they really like things to be freaky and gross.

The older 2 just aren't too into pumpkins and the occasional happy jack-o-lantern.  I love making these goodies (and crafts too) around Halloween because it gets my teacher fix filled.

Fried Squirrel

Over the weekend, my oldest 3 boys went hunting with their Daddy and Poppy.  Of the several things they managed to kill, one was a squirrel.  Sweet.  Thankfully, Poppy cleaned the squirrel and then sent it home so I could cook it up.  Last night, I did just that.  I didn't get a picture and I so wanted to!  I tossed the pieces in flour, salt, and pepper and then fried it like chicken.  There was so little meat on the bones, the boys had to chew around to even get a bite.  My oldest said it perfectly when he described eating squirrel:  if I was stranded in the forest and needed to eat to survive, I would eat a squirrel.  I bet it would taste better then.  And I bet he's right!  I'm not interested in cooking squirrel again, thanks.

Pinterest Recipes

I've been trying some pinterest recipes lately!

Here are a few I've tried:

Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
This one was awesome and yummy.  If I made it again, I would use less butter.


White Queso Dip
I'm a huge fan of the white cheese dip we eat at our local mexican restaurant.  I wasn't sure how this recipe would turn out because it calls for atypical ingredients.  But we were pleased, it was great!  It's thick - more like a dip.

Bean and Rice Burritos
These were good - I used brown rice.

Clean Banana Bread

As the kids are getting back into the swing of school, homework, practices and bed, I am going to try harder to make time to blog.  I have a lot of pictures, foods, stories and rattling to do post about!

Food:

I'm still not what you call a clean eater (check out Misty's blog) if you want to know more about it!

But I did make some CLEAN banana bread the other day!

1/2 cup butter at room temp (I used FAGE)
1 cup sugar (I used organic raw)
1/2 teaspoon salt (sea salt)
2 eggs (farm fresh)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. flour (I used organic whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3 ripe mashed bananas


Mix the butter, sugar, salt, eggs and vanilla together in a bowl with a spoon or whisk.  Sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder together (i just sift it right into the bowl with the other stuff).  Mix with spoon.  Add mashed bananas.  Mix it all up together really well and pour into greased loaf pan (I used Pam).

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Delish!

Billy Bob's Dairyland

I decided to post today about this favorite restaurant of ours in Branson, MO.

It's called Billy Bob's Dairyland and it is heavenly.

We first stumbled upon it about 8 years ago during a weekend get-a-way.

We'd started going to Branson to celebrate our anniversary 2 years prior to that and had had a terrible time finding good places to eat.  Some of you might think that is crazy talk because of all the restaurants in this town but we must be picky (not really).  However, since this was our anniversary celebration, we were looking for something like Ruth's Chris to eat.  We spent the first two years eating at every restaurant that looked nice/good.  Disappointed every time.  We found ourselves twice at Sonic because there you at least knew what you were getting.  We also ate a few meals at Cracker Barrel (which we love but we can eat there anytime).

So, this one lonely night of looking all over for a place to eat, we stumbled upon this little diner on the corner of the strip and another street.  The parking lot was packed (a good sign).  We knew there was no place like Ruth's Chris and thought maybe good diner food would be suffice.  We had to wait to find a seat and wait to get our food (they make it fresh).  While we waited two different important looking people came in to get food to go.  Upon further eavesdropping, we learned they were picking up food for big name performers.  Must we pretty good, we thought.

We both ordered the cheeseburger basket and chocolate shakes.

Every burger is made by hand and is 1/2 pound.  They are cooked on a griddle, the buns are toasted on there as well.  The fries are wavy cut and perfect.  The shakes are made old-fashioned.  We were in heaven.  We ate there twice that weekend.

Now, ever since that night, we eat there at least twice every time we go to Branson.

Usually lunch both days.  We started taking our kids with us about 4 years ago.  They love it too.

They like to order the chicken strips, foot-long hot dogs, onion rings and grilled cheese.  They also love the sundaes and twist cones.  

We go there often enough, the regular workers are beginning to remember us (always a good sign).  We have "our booth" too.

I have a shirt that says Billy Bob's (I'm a dork).

About 5-6 years ago, Branson changed the path of the Strip and Billy Bob's was set to be torn down so they moved their little joint.  Now it sits more toward the north end of the Strip, same side of the road as Dixie Stampede, next to a Phillips 66 gas station.  

Please visit the next time you go, you won't be disappointed!

(and they don't take credit cards...only cash or check).

Clean Blueberry Muffins

So...I'm not really what you would call a "clean eater."  I'm more of a healthy-when-I-want-to-by kind of eater. But lately I've given more thought to what I put into my body.  A friend of mine has started a clean eating website and posts recipes that she's tried in her home.  I'm not quite there where she is, but I've taken a few baby steps.

This morning I used Ina Garten's recipe for blueberry coffee cake muffins.  I subbed in a few things:

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

1 1/2 sticks softened butter (I used one stick salted ((all I had)))
1 1/2 cups sugar (I used organic pure cane sugar)
3 extra large eggs (I used 4 of our farm fresh)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream (I used one cup FAGE)
1/4 cup milk (I used 1/4 cup almond milk)
2 1/2 cups flour (I used organic whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt (I used kosher)
2 half-pints blueberries (I used some that we picked earlier this summer)

Pre-heat oven to 350.  Use muffin liners or spray with cooking spray.  Using electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time.  Then add vanilla, sour cream (FAGE), and milk.  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Slowly add that to mixer bowl.   Fold in blueberries.  Scoop batter evenly into muffin pan (mine made 16).  Bake 25-30 minutes.  Mine took 25 and then I let them cool about 10 minutes.

And guess what?  Not only were they delish, I didn't have to feel very guilty about eating one!  My kids loved them (though I avoided the word "healthy" as my boys tend to categorize that word up there with shots and homework).

**These were about as "clean" as I could get for my household.  I'm sure there are cleaner routes but as I've said before, baby steps.


Here's Misty's website:

www.cleanformyking.blogspot.com

http://clean4myking.blogspot.com/

4th of July Goodies

Well I thought I'd not managed to take pics of the goodies I made from the 4th.

But surprise!  I remembered that I'd taken some quick pics right before everyone showed up.

I posted on my other blog that I had to scramble to find 4th of July themed things at Wal-mart a couple of days before the 4th.  I did not have any luck with that and had to dig deep to come up with something.

A Pinterest idea.

Do you know how hard it is to find blue sugar sprinkles?

Everyone else must have made these this year or blue sprinkles are almost extinct.

Vanilla cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting.

Topped with blue and red sugar and a little flag toothpick (thanks Mom for giving those to me last year).

Another Pinterest idea.

Sugar cones dipped in white chocolate, topped with blue and red sugar.

I'd hoped to top them with actual 4th of July sprinkles...but none to be found.

Next year, in May, when I start seeing 4th of July stuff, I will buy it.

Geesh!