5 Questions for Your Friday...

Ok so not really five questions more like four questions and a statement. And I am well aware that I could just go to Pintrest for most of these things. But sometimes Pintrest overwhelms me and I don't know what to trust, you guys are my readers I trust you!

1. I posted a new salad recipe late last night that would be the prefect addition to your Labor Day Weekend BBQ’s. Check out the Grilled Peach Salad with a Peach Vinaigrette Here


2. So we are heading out on a little vaca later next week. A couple of my questions revolve around this. We haven’t been on a long road trip since Charlot was about 2 and we did most of our traveling during her sleeping times. Well this trip we are going to travel as much as possible during the evening and nap times but it is long enough that we can’t do all of it then. My first question is what are some car essentials that I am not thinking of? …I know snacks and drinks but other suggestions would be amazing.

3. Still on the trip… do you have any great snack ideas to take? I would prefer to not be feeding her fruit snacks for 14 hours.

4. Ok this is a bit weird but you read my blog so you should be accustom. I am like a magnet to mosquitos they love me. I have approximately 467 bites on my legs currently. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem I would just wear jeans and let them heal. But one of my dearest friends is getting married in a few weeks and I just so happen to be one of her Bridesmaids. The deal with this is my dress only covers to my knees. I would prefer to not look like I have mumps all over my legs for her pictures. They seriously could scare her future children if they looked back at her pictures. YIKES! Any who do you have any good remedies for healing these puppies quickly?

5. Ok I am sure I am behind times and you are all going to tell me to get with it but…Can someone please tell me about Jamberries??? I think that is how it is spelled. I have been invited to a few events on Facebook and I am still confused. Do they work? Do they stay on? Are they expensive? Help this out of touch old lady!

Thank you for your time this afternoon! And Please Help ME!

Grilled Peach Salad

This summer we have had some amazing peaches available all around from the grocery stores to the local orchards it has been a good year. To celebrate momma Linda's birthday last weekend I decided to make a peach inspired meal and this dish got the meal started off amazingly well. I even broke out my parents wedding china to make the meal even more special. Isn't their china pattern beautiful?!?!?

Ok back to the salad. This salad was very flavorful I especially LOVED the dressing. The combination of greens and toasted nuts provided a great crunch in contrast to the soft warm peaches and the pops of sweetness from the blueberries. I do believe the next time I make it I will go dinner sized and add some grilled chicken. 

Grilled Peach Salad with Peach Vinaigrette

Dressing

1/4 cup Peach Preserves

1/4 cup  EVOO

1 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1tsp Honey Mistard

1/8 tsp Kosher Salt

Mix all ingredients in a mason jar with lid seal tight

Salad (8 servings)

2 medium heads Romaine Lettuce

1/2 bag Baby Spinach

1/4 cup each Pecan Halves and Sliced Almonds 

1/2 cup Blueberries

4 Peaches (peeled sliced in half and grilled) 

1/4 cup Shaved Parmesan Cheese

On a plated layer greens and top with nut mixture. Add on some blueberries. And then slice each peach half into four pieces. Top with cheese and serve with dressing. 

Enjoy!!!

Some days are better than others....

I had a recipe post all ready to go but this just kind of hit me tonight so sorry the recipe will have to wait. 

Some days this whole parenting gig is not easy! Ok that is most days but some days sure are more fun than others. Tonight was one of those for me. She was wired from the moment I picked her up. We were rushing around for my mom to get her from me so I could go to a meeting and the first of many meltdowns occurred. 

After the meeting I headed to my parents to eat supper with them and pick her up. When I walked in I could tell wired had moved to miss sassy. Oh yes that's right we are at the I am going to tell you what to do and if you don't do it I am going to do one of many things including, asking you more rudely and loudly, talking like a baby, screaming, talking nonstop and my personal fave whining. 

To spare you all the gory details lets just say all of the aboved mention tactics were deployed this evening. She was in fine form. And to add to it we had the battle over eating a meal versus snacks plus she wanted to play twenty questions. Oh my. Plus I know that I committed my cardinal sin in taking out a stressful and tiring day on her. Mom of the year award please. 

Don't get me wrong I am so so thankful that The Lord decided to make me her mom, and I know I need to be thankful. I am just saying some days the thankfulness come easier than others. 

I guess The Lord knew I needed help tonight, because as we were tucking her in tonight she out of the blue grabs me and says "I just love you soooo much mom!" He really does know what we need to hear. I also know The Lord has a sense of humor as well because as I finished tucking her in I said "I love you sooo much to Charlot!" She then says,....

"Mom can I have a snack!" I couldn't help but laugh and think help me!

Please tell me I am not the only one these days happen too?!?!?!?

Berry and Black Pepper Glazed Pork Chops...And Winners Announced!!!

So I haven’t had a ton of time to do much cooking over the past few weeks between the fair and northern Iowa work trip. Thus this weekend the kitchen was calling me!!! Saturday morning Charlot and I headed out to the grocery store for a large stock up trip! During the trip I found some lovely boneless pork chops. But this recipe it begins a week earlier at the…you guessed it…the fair.


See a week ago Saturday the hubs and I took Charlot to the fair to actually you know see the fair, not just the inside of the hog barn. One of our first stops was the Ag. Building, home of the biggest pumpkin contest! This building also houses many Ag based companies selling different products. Well the hubs tells me that Charlot and I can walk around while he stops to talk to some guy about something for the farm. I kind of blanked out due to the smell of candied almonds. Oh I forgot to mention this building also houses many vendors selling food products and giving samples. This is amazing for my love of grazing. As Charlot and I are wondering, a nice young man asks me if I would like to try some of their granola. Well of course.

The next thing he does changes the game! He gives me a little cup of granola and has squirted some nice looking jam on the top of this little sample. I am a bit spectacle at first, but then I tried it and man oh man it was delicious! I couldn’t get past how good the jam was, it was perfect for me full of berries and smooth, no big chunks of berries, PERFECT!

I was sold; I will take a gallon of that very jam! Oh it only comes in pints; well I’ll just take one then! I didn’t even know what it was called or what fruits it had in it they just wrapped it up and I paid the bill. Then when I got home I had to have some more of the greatness that is when I discovered it was a lovely blend of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. The jam is from, or should I say was from my jar is empty, The Nutty Berry Farms check them out. Great on toast, waffles, biscuits, salad dressings, and glazes for pork.

Well that was a long story to get to a recipe. But that was some seriously good jam. I cooked these pork chops over the weekend and found the flavors amazing! You could use just about any berry jam you prefer.

Berry Black Pepper Glazed Pork Chops

4 ½ thick boneless pork chops

½ cup jam

1 tsp black pepper

2-4 tbsp EVOO (you want enough to thin out the jam could be more could be less)

Mix the jam, black pepper and EVOO together adding your desired amount of EVOO for consistency. Reserve a few tablespoons to use as topping when serving. Smear the glaze mixture on to the pork chops and allow them to marinate for about an hour prior to cooking. Place pork chops on a hot stove top grill (outdoor one is fine as well), grill for three to four minutes per side glazing the chops the entire time. Serve hot and with reserved glazed.

Ok so now we are to the important stuff the winners!!! Thank you so much to all who entered!!! I hope to be able to continue doing these giveaways, and I will as long as you guys keep liking and sharing my work! I love all of these products I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!!! Thank you again for reading about my crazy life!

First Place- Jackie Clements- you will receive an 8 cup Food Processor from Hamilton Beach

Second Place- Cindy Lamberson- you will receive a Set of Three Trudeau Mixing Bowls

Third Place- Telpha Heuman- you will receive a Set of Norpor Cut-n-Flex Cutting Boards

Friday Fast Five...Giveaway

1. This may quite possibly be my favorite picture from the entire fair. She looks so proud of her ribbon. The ladies who do the photography in the hog barn at our fair are amazing. They are great with kids and pigs alike!

2. I have noticed that we have very few pictures of the three of us together. I mean we have lots of the Hubs and Charlot, some with Charlot and I, and tons of just Charlot. But not so many of the three of us together. I don’t want my kid to grow up thinking we were never together. So this is my attempt to take more pictures of all of us together! Oh why thank you I am amazing at taking selfies, HA!

3. This may be the saddest picture from the fair. This was just shear seconds before my child realized we in fact were not taking Miss Minnie home with us that she had been bought and was being taken to a new home. This was just seconds before she ripped my heart out by asking “why does Minnie have to get a new home.” And this was just seconds before the Hubs said “because selling pigs at the fair is what we do.” Lastly seconds before Charlot said, “Ok I’ll just pick another one out at home.” By the way I was still in the corner crying while my kid was suddenly over it.

4. The last several days I have been in WAYYYY northern Iowa for meetings. Though the drive nearly killed me 7 hours, the climate was amazing. Considering it was the hottest week of the summer in Missouri and it was in the mid 70’s there. These are a few of the pictures from my trip, my co-worker may kill me for posting her picture. Plus we went to a Sioux Falls S.D. Canaries Minor League baseball game, it was a ton of fun. I had never been to a minor league game, I am feeling I will need to go check out the KC T-bones after having this experience.

5. LAST BUT NOT LEAST!!!! BIG, HUGE,MAJOR, Thank you to all my readers… this week I reached a milestone!!! My wee little blog here reached 25,000 page views. That seems so crazy to me, I kind of thought only my parents read this thing! So in celebration of this I am having a…you guessed it…a GIVEAWAY!!!

Here’s the deal I want you to help me spread the word about this little project of mine. You have the opportunity to gain four entries! One by commenting on this post, two by liking my new Facebook page for the blog link Here , three by commenting on the Facebook post that links to this post, and four sharing the Facebook post. Please tell me in your comments what you love about the blog and what you want to see more of!!!

Oh you want to know what you are going to win!!!! I am going to be giving away a few of my favorite kitchen gadgets three to be exact, the first will be a food processor, my absolute favorite kitchen utensil. The other two are still being determined!

So get all your entering done by Monday at noon! Winners will be announced Monday afternoon!

Momma Linda's Day at the Fair

This year momma Linda and I were intrusted to take the final hog down to the fair to get her checked in. Mainly because we needed to be down there anyway for an awards ceremony for my momma (more on that in a minute!) 

Any who that morning I headed out to my parents to get the show on the road. First I managed to back up to and hook up the trailer on the first try (I don't need to mention the hubs truck has a back up camera), next after a few tries, ok six, I managed to back the trailer up to the loading area. I then proceeded to run in the house and shout to my dad about what an amazing trailer driver I am! He laughed, guess he wasn't as impressed. 

Next momma Linda and I got the gilt out and loaded in one try no troubles! Things were looking up! We headed out to enjoy the fair. Now once we got to the fair the rather large Miss Minnie decided she wanted to rain on our parade a bit and be a bit difficult to unload. The unloading standoff ended with Minnie off the trailer and momma and I looking a little worse for the wear, like poop on our knees. 

Finally Minnie was settled in and painted with her assigned number,now it was time for momma and I to beautify so we could attend an afternoon tea, yes we are fancy. The tea was to honor the nominees and winners of the Missouri State Fair Woman in Agriculture. An award the my dado and I nominated momma for. Now let's just get one thing straight my momma is the backbone, the heart and labor force behind much of our farm always has been and continues to be. She didn't win the award but was most definitely honored to be nominated and recognized. 

I really hope momma Linda and I will make the momma daughter day out at the fair thing a tradition. I loved working on the pig with her, watching a pie contest, enjoying a nice lunch and just being together. Next year momma we will be in that pie contest!!!! Thank you again for a wonderful day! 

Dreams Achieved...2014 MO State Fair Recap 1

Well hello blog world!!! After taking a week hiatus I am back, blogging and the fair just didn’t go together! This week I am planning on recapping some of our biggest events of the fair. And hopefully on Friday I will have big GIVEAWAY announcement for all my wonderful readers!

I began showing sheep at a pretty young age I think I was probably six or so. And I continued to show sheep for several years we even began raising some of our own lambs that we showed both at our local and state levels. We did just fine with these animals but never were super successful. Note I am fully aware that what you gain from showing has nothing to do with the ribbon you receive.

Then we began showing hogs when I was in Jr. High and we did pretty well. After a few years we started farrowing a few litters each year and began showing pure bred registered hogs, this is when my dream started.

I would watch these shows and see these little tinny tiny kids showing animals with their parents. Then I would watch these kiddos winning their state fair classes. And for some reason it became a dream of mine to continue that tradition with my family so it hasn't just been my dream but my parents, brother and the hubs dream. Some days I wonder what was I thinking, but most days I am so thankful.

When the hubs and I started dating the first thing we purchased together was a registered Hampshire gilt. That is when I began to realize that maybe just maybe this guy would help me achieve my dream and would hopefully share the dream. The longer we dated the more passionate he became about raising hogs and the day we got married his hogs and my families hogs also joined.

So back to the dream. I knew I wanted my kiddo to show, but more importantly I wanted her to show animals that we all had raised. Ones that she had the chance to see being born weaned and raised. Also I didn’t just want her to show I dreamed of her being that cute little kid that was in the ring showing with her momma and walking away with the blue ribbon. (I had hopes that maybe someone else would see her showing and would start a dream of their own)

Last Monday when she and I walked into the show ring with Daisy I was hopeful. As we walked in the judge took a minute to lean down and talk to her, which was so nice of him. And from there forward Charlot was driving Miss Daisy. My heart was racing (I know I am crazy) as he continued to look at the class and gave Daisy a few more look overs. Then it happen he asked Charlot to pen her pig in the first pen.

I know that doesn’t seem like a big deal to most but for me and my family I thought it was an awesome thing! As she and I walked out of the ring that day I had tears in my eyes, not for the blue ribbon, but for the dream achieved and the tradition continued.

More from the State Fair tomorrow!

The Latest Edition of...The Things She Says!

Driving one day this is what I heard in the back seat


“Shoo I don’t really like you”

“If you are looking for your momma go outside!”

Me- “Charlot who are you talking too?”

“That fly right there!”



Playing one night after bath.

“Mom I was born to have this tuba!”

She is showing me a straw and I am not certain she knows what a tuba is.

Me- “Oh you were?!?!”

“Yup when I was a tiny baby!”

What do you say to that?



Over dinner one night…by the way the children she is talking about go to her sitter with her.

“Momma Graidyn has a brother right”

Me- “Yes”

“Emerson she has a brother too”

Me-“Yes”

“Chase what about Chase”

Me-“He has a sister”

“And Liam?”

Me- “I think he has a sister”

Me thinking I knew where this was going- “Why Charlot”

“Cause I don’t need any of those!”

I was wrong and I am certain her father and I will take that into account! HA!

Last but not least…DO NOT GO SHOPPING WITH MY KID!

We had been looking at jeans at a boot store and she kept picking out all the super sparkly ones. Finally I just gave up and said I didn’t need any of those.

We then head to another store. As we walk in she notices out loud of course!

“Momma these jeans don’t have any jewels or diamonds or sparkles!”

Me- “No they don’t”

“Well don’t you want pretty ones”

Me-“Not really sweetie, they look super cute on you and little girls like you. But this Mom doesn’t really need them” meaning they wouldn’t flatter my rumpus

Why oh why did I explain myself!!!

About that time a lady walks by wearing sparkly jeans and my child announces…

“Well THAT LADY HAS LOTS OF SPARKLES AND SHE A MOM!!!”

We will no longer be welcomed back at that store!

Thankful Thursday's...Fair Time

As I sit here this morning in Iowa preparing for a meeting to start I can't help but wish I was somewhere else. Not just anywhere else but somewhere very specific, Sedalia Missouri. That's right I wish the lady at gate six that greets me each morning had punched my hang tag and put my bracelet on for the day. I wish I had walked into the barn to be greeted by JR and his staff, some of my favorite people in the world. I wish I had chips under my feet and listening to the sound of hogs in the morning. That's right I truly wish I was at the amazing Missouri State Fair. 

No fears though I will be soon with the next generation of showmen in our family! This will be Charlot's first year taking the reins and showing alone, let's hope. So today I am oh so thankful to have grown up at the Mo State Fair. And I am even more thankful to be raising my child there. Lastly I am thankful that I live in a state that this week decided to protect the rights of next generation of farmer, ranchers and show kids alike. I am so happy to know that my kids kids will know the love of showing! Get out and enjoy the fair!

Parmesan Zucchini Fries…

 Here is the recipe I introduced you to yesterday and due to some demands I mean requests I am posting it today! This is a perfect light and healthy side for anytime of the year. I am keeping it short today due to my crazy long mustard story yesterday. Thank you again for all of your continued reading of my crazy crazy life.


Oh BIG news the blog is getting ready to reach a huge mile stone that will include a giveaway! If you want this to happen sooner get your friends, your momma, your brother, your sister and your dog to start reading!!! HA!

Parmesan Zucchini Fries

6 small zucchini

½ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup panko bread crumbs

¼ tsp season salt

¼ tsp black pepper

EVOO

Pre heat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Take your zucchini and cut them into thin spears you should get approximately 8 spears per zucchini. Lay spears out on the baking sheet cut side up and brush each spear with EVOO to get an even coating. In a small bowl mix parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, and seasonings, take this mixture and sprinkle it liberally over the spears.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is soften then turn on your broiler and broil the fries for an additional 3-5 minutes to brown the coating.

Bacon Cheddar Honey Mustard Chicken...

 Our local grocery store has this wonderful points program, that each time you shop there you get a certain number of points for the items you buy. Then with these points you can purchase selected items each week if you choose. Well I am that person that has a ton of these points and I never use them. Mainly because I forget to use them or I don’t look to see what the selected items are that week. I really had a point to this…oh yea points. I was walking down an aisle a week or so ago heck it could have been a month ago I really can’t remember. Should I be worried about this???


Again sorry back to the point of this story, I was cruising the store and happened to see that I could get a lovely selection of mustards for a certain number of points that day. I grabbed my standard yellow and head out. But something in that moment told me to stop and think about this. I was practically getting this for free so why not live a little; there were so many flavors to choose from. The honey mustard just kept calling my name. Throwing caution to the wind, it was free why not; I grabbed the honey mustard and ran out of that aisle before I changed my mind.

Little did I know that I had no clue what I was going to do with this mustard and that, that would drive me crazy. I feel that after all of the above story if you are still reading my blog it is a shear miracle, but I promise there is a recipe at the end of this madness. I tried just using it on sandwiches and in wraps but I didn’t feel it was reaching its full potential. Then in a dream or maybe in desperation for something different to do with chicken breast this jewel was born.

Chicken marinated in honey mustard, grilled and topped with bacon and cheese. Hum yes please I would love some! And I did and so did the hubs as well as the kiddo. This is an easy family friendly recipe that can be made on your inside or outside grill. One request ENJOY and don’t tell anyone how crazy I am.

That was two requests I am terribly sorry!

Bacon Cheddar Honey Mustard Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

¼ cup honey mustard

¼ EVOO

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ tsp red pepper

2 pieces of bacon cooked and broke in half

2 pieces of thick sliced cheddar cheese cut in half

Mix mustard, EVOO, and seasons in a large bowl add chicken, stir well to coat all pieces of chicken. Allow chicken to marinate for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Grill chicken on a hot grill pan or on an outdoor grill. Once chicken is nearly done top with bacon then cheese to allow cheese to melt but not become runny.

Remove from grill and enjoy, I served mine with parmesan zucchini fries.

 

One Busy Three Year Old…

Over the past week we have had one crazy busy three year old at our house. She has a fuller social calendar than her momma. Am I sad about that no, I kind of like my hermit life. Back to the kid. She has had Frozen themed dance camp, vacation bible school, and her first pig show of the season. This little lady has been active.

The dance camp she attended was so much fun each day the girls got to dress up like princesses and meet a new charcter from “Frozen.” All the dances they learned were to some of the songs from the movie. It was a very fun camp and a great experience for Miss Charlot. The best part was is her cousin Mia attended the same camp so they got to spend the week together.

Posing after camp one day

Walking each other to VBS

Some kind of Charlot made up dance move

Dance Selfie

Oh what a pair

Mia and Charlot also attended VBS together with their cousin Dexter, quite the trio. I am not certain their teacher was really ready for these three. But I know they loved every minute of it. On the final night of VBS they had a little program where they sang songs and showed all of us parents what they had learned throughout the week. It was such a cute program Miss Mia was quite the singer, and Charlot gladly provided her back up.

Lastly on Saturday Daisy and Charlot made their world debut!!! It was a lovely day and as I told my dad who asked how it went (they are traveling in Alaska so they couldn’t be there). “It went great!” “They walked in the ring, walked around, got their dollar and got out. No crying kid and a happy pig!”

Here is a shot of momma who has had more windshield time this week than necessary!

Hope all of you have an amazing week!!! I am off to take her to swimming lessons!!!