"Healthy" Granola Bars with Flax Seed

On my raw milk run at Stutzarts Pantry in Belleville, I ran across this 1 lb. sack of flax seed for .79! I thought it was a bargain and even though I didn't know how I would use it, I bought it anyway! 

My family is not very good with eating granola in our cereal or yogurt but maybe granola bars would be appetizing for them??? And if not... You know who gets to eat it! Yep, me. At least with this recipe I can use the excuse its a healthier choice! 

Since flax is the new wonder grain with sooo many health benefits I found out through reading that the seeds must be broken or milled for their nutrients to actually be nourishing. So I ran them through my Ninja food processor to beat them up a bit. Then messed around with some available ingredients I had in my pantry. 

1/2 butter- melted on stove top in medium sized pot and set to the side.

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup flax seed

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 cup raisins (I would have preferred dried cherries but didn't have any) 

Heat the oven to 350•F. Coat a 9x13 pan with non stick cooking spray and set to the side. 

Melt butter and remove from heat. Whisk in the flour, sugar, honey vanilla extract and cinnamon. Add the raining ingredients and mix well. 

Transfer the ingredients to your pan. 

And using a sheet of wax paper, press down firmly to pack in all the goodies! Here Maddies hands doing the hard work of packing together and evening it all out. 

Remove the paper and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown at 350•. Allow the granola to cool for one hour in the pan, then transfer  to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into bars. Makes 16-24 rectangle bars. 

I think the next time I make granola bars... I'm going to substitute some things with peanut butter & chocolate chips- Junk It Up a bit! :)

Elvis Presley Jailhouse Rock Cake

After seeing this recipe float around on fb a few days I decided to make it! I love anything with cream cheese icing and the pineapples were a huge bonus!! I made a 9x13 sized cake and shared with my parents half of it because I knew my kids and Marc wouldn't touch it. After it sat in the refrigerator overnight the pineapple soaked into the cake and it was even better!! Yum! And it was so stinkn' easy! 

Here is what you need:

1 box white cake

8 oz. pineapples crushed with juice

1 cup Sugar

Cream Cheese Icing: 

8 oz. cream cheese

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp. vanilla

 3 cups Powdered Sugar 

2/3 cups crushed pecans 

Bake your white cake by following directions on box. Once cooked poke holes through cake. On stovetop combine sugar and pineapples and stir until sugar is melted. Pour over cake. Let the cake cool completely before adding icing.

Icing: combine butter and cream cheese until well mixed (make sure both are softened before mixing) add vanilla and powdered sugar. Sprinkle pecans over cake after iced. Super Easy and oh so yummy!! 

Homemade Tortillas

It seems we are in a major rut routine when it comes to Supper. We HAVE to eat Tacos every week...this is not something I prefer, however when 3 people will clean their plates and it only takes 10 minutes to cook... I give in! I have to be in the most bland family ever! Marc will throw away any food if it has a small piece of onion or pepper. Mason drives me bonkers with his meals...he won't eat soups, chillis, casseroles, anything topped with cheese and hardly any condiments! BTW, I'm the condiment queen...Maddie eats like a mouse...tid bits here and there every 30 minutes (I know, it's my responsibility to teach them to sit down and eat a full meal 3 times a day so they will eat all of their meal, however... I would have to listen to her persistent squeaky voice begging for food all day long!! And I just can't!)This is horrible but this is how we do Tacos...I cook our ground beef and make my own seasoning. WAY better than the store packets and no extra junk is added! Here's the recipe: We MUST have corn on the side and cheese dip...otherwise I better not even think about making tacos. And we have to have hard taco shells and tortilla chips. Mason eats 3 hard shell tacos with meat & picante sauce only with corn on the side, Maddie has a deconstructed plate with meat, cheese, sour cream, and corn...and maybe a shell or chips but she never puts it all together! Weird I know! Marc throws on his chips Meat, cheese dip & corn....yuck. Now the way to do it is like me... Make a huge taco salad with EVERYTHING but no corn! I'm the queen of condiments so I like to have cheese dip, lettuce, cheese, jalapeños, tomatoes, onion, beans, verde salsa & sour cream!  Well now that Mister Marshall has arrived I have had to stop my awesome eating habits! No Dr. Pepper, Mt. Dew, onions, peppers, rotel (that means no cheese dip), broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and I'm thinking garlic is causing gas pains too. (This is where a really sad face should be added!!) So when it comes to Tacos, I really dread it! This last week I decided to change things up a bit and make from scratch some Tortillas that I saw on Pioneer Woman. They are very time consuming but very worth it! Here's how:

• 2-1/2 teaspoons Baking Powder

• 2-1/2 cups All-purpose Flour

• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

• 1/2 cup Lard Or Vegetable Shortening

• 2 Tablespoons (additional) Lard Or Vegetable Shortening

• 1 cup Hot Water

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir together. Add spoonfuls of lard or shortening (use 1/2 cup PLUS 2 tablespoons), then use a pastry cutter to combine the ingredients. Cut mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together. Lightly knead dough 30 to 40 times, or until it becomes a cohesive ball of dough and is less sticky. Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to rest for at least an hour. Roll into ping pong size balls, place on a tray, cover with a tea towel, and allow to rest for another 20 to 30 minutes. I ended up using two ball size per tortilla. I didn't feel like tgey were large enough. When you're ready to make the tortillas, heat griddle or cast iron pan. One by one, roll out balls of dough until very, VERY thin. Throw tortillas (one by one) onto the griddle. Cook on each side for 20 to 30 seconds, removing while tortillas are still soft but slightly brown in spots. Remove and stack tortillas, and cover with a towel to keep warm. Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing tortillas in a container. To warm, nuke tortillas in the microwave, or wrap in foil and warm in the oven. Your tortillas will shrink up while cooking each side so make sure you thin it out as much as possible! 

So yea, after an hour in a half of waiting for this dough and pressing out 16 tortillas.... We sit down to eat and NO ONE but me grabs one! Did I mention my family doesn't "Do" change!?!? So in all my efforts to make a change, it didn't go over to well. However, Marshall had a tummy ache free night and I guess that is all that matters! 
I wish I would have kept the left overs because they would have made great Quesadillas or even Sopapillas!! Next time...oh well! 

My New Love- Coconut Oil

I've been reading a lot about ways to naturally take care of my body and ran across Coconut oil and all the health benefits of using it. While shopping in my favorite store TJ MAXX,  I saw a jar of Virgin Coconut oil for $5.99. I HAD to have it of course and am so happy I did. There's more than 100 uses for coconut oil but here's how I've been using it lately:

* I use it as one of the ingredients in my lotion bars and Chapstick but can simply be spread on lips as lip balm. 

* Since its cold & windy outside my face has been extremely dry and flaky so before bed I use it on my face like lotion.  

* Coconut has a high heat content when frying foods with which will make everything crispier.

* eye makeup remover

* Marshall's dry scalp (cradle cap)

* burns/scrapes/wounds- coconut oil helps speed up the healing process & numbs the pain.

* Anytime I have a cold sore or sore throat I'll spread some on the area and it numbs the pain & speeds up healing time.

* 1 tbsp in hot teas help speed up the recovery time of sickness/flu. 

* Marshalls diaper cream

* Maddies frizzy/static hair

Many Many More!!

I did purchase another jar of coconut oil at Walmart for frying foods with or anything I didn't want the coconut flavor in. The Virgin Coconut oil is sweet and taste like coconut which is great for lip balm or cold sore/sore throats since I am basically ingesting it. This bottle from Walmart Supercenter was $3.89. Even though this is 100% Pure, Virgin is always best in everything of course. 

Here is a recipe I made with the virgin coconut oil for coughs or sore throats and it taste good too.

Rustic Pickns'

I LOVE Antiques!! I love to buy them or even just go to different Antique stores to look! BUT my Favorite thing to do is dig through people's Barns and Old Houses to find their junk but someone else's treasures! 

It all began when I started collecting several things here and there and decided I had too much junk so I started using online yard sales through fb to get rid of my items. I soon found out that people were looking for items I had and wanted more! One thing led to another and I ended up creating a name and fb page, Rustic Pickns'. 

I have been buying items I find here and there or I'll consign items to sell. If someone has a "honey hole" to pick, I'll go and pull out items I know I can sell for them. Most of the time I bring the items home with me and sell the item and return 70% in cash to the previous owner. It's a great way for someone to earn extra cash but get rid of their unwanted goods. 

Today, I'm opening a booth for the first time at the Ft. Smith Flea Market. It has turned out great! I have a few consigners I'll be selling for and getting rid of a few of my own things. 

I love the atmosphere of a flea market or auction! Everyone is so nice (98% of these people are in their retirement years-- I've always said I'm an 80 year old in a 28 year olds body!) I want to buy and hoard a million things I see too!! 

Rafter U Rodeo Company

On Monday Marcus headed out with our good friend Les to sell a few horses at the Guthrie, Oklahoma Bucking Stock Sale. We personally were only selling one horse but Les took five. We joined Les in the business of raising bucking horses about two years ago. Les' late husband, Jim Fusee of the Wagon Wheel Rodeo Co. was one of Marc's great friend but also his mentor. Jim showed Marc the rodeo business and took him on the road some. After purchasing a couple of Jim's horses, Jim was in a fatal car accident. It was quit devastating to us all.

Les didn't want to retire the rodeo scene and Marc was in the process of buying some more great bloodlines, so they became partners to carry on raising outstanding bucking colts in memory of Jim.

When I married Marc, he had been rodeoing for awhile and its not a switch he could just turn off. And at the time, I was "wild and free" and really enjoyed every minute of it. THEN, he had a few Rodeo Accidents and I became tense and terrified every time he got on to ride a bronc.

In January 2007 we had our 1st boy, Mason and things HAD to change! Not only was his healthy body important but was so was the money!! Hospital bills could not be an option and paying entry fees were not important in my eyes compared to paying the bills!

BUT....it never really ended! He would still enter rodeos AND buy some bucking horses on the side and it just was too much. Since Marc's body is aching from all the broken bones and his back is literally like an 80 year olds.. (Doctor's Words) I made a deal with him. "You get on another horse...you won't have wife!" Okay, so it wasn't exactly a good deal for him but it had to be done! So he opted out and kept me....Smart Man! He has always been in the Rodeo scene and there is nothing that can take that away from him so we started buying horses more and more and more ...did I say more enough?  And then one day we had a stud colt of our own with a great bloodline. AND SO it began. The Rafter U Rodeo Company developed.

 (Marc told Mason to pick out any horse in the pasture and it would be his...well he picked out the STUD...so now he's Mason's.)


We enjoy putting on Rodeos or bucking horses at the arenas for the boys wanting to practice. Marc tries to teach younger boys how to ride because the sport of Rodeo is slowly dying and he wants to keep it going of course. But here lately...we have been breeding our horses with Les' horses and have really fell into some great broncs. Marc and Les are in the process of creating a brand for the horses and plan on attending several fraturities. We attended our first in September 2013 and WON 1st Place!

I do have to admit, it was pretty fun and after she won Marc said, Okay it's time to sell her! I immediately said no, she's my horse (She wasn't really but since she was so good I wanted her and I really didn't want to sell her.) We named her Miss Rodeo Alley and I think she is now branded 962. (Not for sure on brand).
She is the horse Marc has taken this week for the sale. He wanted to check the sale out but she will be bucked and bid on. However, I see her being loaded back up in the trailer and brought back home! Marc doesn't let go of his horses to well. Main reason why we have 30 plus head of horses. Ridiculous.

But, it's his dream to do this and I love him and I want him to be happy. I'm just glad he's not on the horses anymore. You can follow the Rafter U page on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/rafterurodoes

Homemade Baby Wipes

After reading the ingredients of baby wipes...I kind of freaked out! And so I started making my own to use at home.This weekend my supply ran low and so I opened a pack of store bought wipes because it's JUST EASIER!! Then today a link popped up in my fb feed of kids breaking out in these horrible rashes. Here's the link:

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/baby-wipes-causing-itchy-scaly-rashes-some-babies-2D11898693 

This made me think, "Taking 5 minutes to make my own wipes compared to two seconds of ripping open a package was well worth my time!" So I hurried up to look up my recipe and started to fold napkins to fit into my wipe container.

Once you use these wipes you will be amazed!! I love the way it leaves Marshall's bum soft and silky but clean! I know there will be absolutely no rashes in his future and he will have a refreshed bottom...the way a babies butt should be!!!

Here are the ingredients for homemade wipes:

1 roll strong paper towels (I used Bounty and cut the roll in half using my bread knife and then removed the center card board. Then bi-fold your wipes to pull easily out of container.

1 old wipe container or any seal-able plastic container. 

1 3/4 Cup of boiled water (cooled) or distilled water

1 Table Spoon 100% Aloe JUICE (not gel or lotion..Juice only)

1 Table Spoon Witch Hazel

2 Table Spoon Pure-Castile Soap (I use Dr. Bronner's)

1 Table Spoon 100% Olive Oil

* You could add a few drops of essential oils to this if you like.

Mix the ingredients together in a jar (I use a Quart Size Mason jar) and pour over folded paper towels in container.

 Every 5 minutes for 15 minutes turn container over so all liquids soak into each paper towel. Below is a picture of using a very large container and just sticking the whole roll in while pulling the center out to break for wipes. This is easier because you don't spend the time folding napkins.

It's a new year!!

If time (and Marshall) allow me, when I wake up in the morning I lay in bed and think about what needs to be done that day. I'll set small goals to do and usually by the end of the day I'll have those "things to do" finished. So before 2014 approached I set a few goals to accomplish for the year.

Here they are for 2014...

Raise & butcher rainbow ranger chickens

Raise and butcher meat rabbits

Buy a cow/goat for milking

Make butter

Make cheese

Make French bread

Make "sandwich loaf" bread

Make my own healing salve (Neosporin)

Start Cloth diapers for Marshall

Sew a skirt for Maddie

Grow veg plants from seeds to "Save" the seeds for next year.

Can can & can some more! 

Find & cook 100 brand new recipes!

Vacation in Shipshewana Indiana.

Start blogging! 

It's a huge list and probably the hardest one will be the vacation sadly :(. I love love love Shipshewana but that's a whole post in itself! 

BUT, it's January 12th and I've already accomplished a few items on my list. Obviously, I've started blogging! This is something I attempted before but never had time to think about and so it never developed. I've always wanted to blog and so now I'm doing it and I'm going to STICK to it! (At least for this year) Plus, after posting a picture on fb people have asked for recipes or how to do something so I just figure Ill put it all in one place with details! How exciting!! 

I've started my list of 100 recipes to make this year. It didn't start out too great. (I'll post about my biscuit making later.) Even though I have the best cook in Arkansas as my mom and I learned a lot... There are several things I don't know how to do. I can butcher a deer, fish, squirrel and fry it up with the best fried potatoes... But 'baking' is another story. I'm also so tired of buying pre made items from the grocery store with all the GMO and additive mess so I'm teaching myself some new tricks.

My (soon to be)100 recipes:

French bread

Butter

Cheese

Biscuits 

Mayo

Potato cakes

Italian cheese cake

Cream cheese cake

Roasted tomato soup

Crunchy peanut butter candy 

Cherry walnut squares

Praline ice cream squares

Layered turtle cheesecake

Chai tea mix

Cuban panini

Parmesan potatoes au gratin

Easy breakfast strata 

Raspberry almond coffee cake

Honey chipotle ribs

Waffles from Scratch

Pancakes from Scratch

Pizza crust from Scratch

Tortillas from Scratch

Sopapias from Scratch

Fritas 

..... I'll keep adding more

But, I don't just want to make it and move on. I want it to be really good! And that is why I ended up making biscuits FOUR stinkn' times!!! 

I accomplished Butter making already too! And that makes you wanna "slap Jo Mama crazy!" Here's a picture of our awesome butter that was devoured in one day!

So I would say I have a pretty good head start on my list. And hopefully my posts will inspire a few followers!! So bring on 2014 and all the new challenges ahead!