Cookies with Bacon!

Yes you read that right, I made Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookies with BACON! Most of you , like Tara are saying yuck, The rest of you are probably saying SERIOUSLY?! But I am here to tell you they were really good! I am not the biggest bacon fan but when I found this recipe I knew I HAD to try it. I knew if anything I could send them with the Husband to work! Well actually I did send them all only because I knew I would eat them ALL and it is getting swim suit season and I don't need to add Bacon cookies to my butt! ;)

Her is the recipe, it came from June issue of Food Network Magazine.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip-Bacon Cookies

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of chipotle or ancho chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 strips bacon (1/3 pound)
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped honey- roasted peanuts
• 1/3 cup bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350* . Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, chile powder and salt in a large bowl.

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 4 to 6 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; reserve 2 tablespoons of the drippings and set aside to cool. Crumble the bacon, discarding any chewy bits.

Beat the butter and reserved bacon drippings in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the peanut butter until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the granulated and light brown sugar until creamy, about 4 minutes, then add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

Reduce the mixer speed to low; add the flour mixture in 2 additions, scraping down the bowl as needed, until just combined. Stir in the peanuts ( I didn't add peanuts because I am allergic! But ii am sure would just add that much more!) and all but 2 tablespoons each of the chocolate chips and bacon.

Form the dough into 12 balls and arrange 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten with your fingers (the cookies will not spread in the oven); press the reserved bacon and chocolate chips on top. Bake until golden, 12 to 14 minutes. Let the cookies cool 2 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, yeah right mine lasted less then an hour at Cam’s work! We also ate at least a dozen the 2 of us!! ;) Look at all that Bacon goodness!

These would be really fun Fathers day cookies! Or for the Bacon lover in your family, I know every family has at least 1! I was also thinking they would be fun to bring to a neighborhood brunch or Barbeque! Ok well they are good enough to take anywhere or hoard them for yourselves!

Welcome Wenesday: Purple Froggie Clay Stuff

We are so excited to share another guest blogger with you today. Cindy from Purple Froggie Clay stuff is here to share herself and a super yummy recipe with all of you. I must say I totally cheated and had to try this right after she sent it to us! Yummy plus extras for lunch!

Recently I have been selected to be a guest host on Moms Of All Trades which is such a beautiful blog and such wonderful ladies that run it! Thank you very much Kori and Tara for this fantastic opportunity!

I've been asked to say a few things about myself, and that's the most difficult thing for me to do.. I can say loads of things about others, but when it comes to me, I draw a blank most of the time.


So, here goes... I just turned 40 on May 15th, I've been married to a wonderful man for 17 years. Our son will turn 16 this July. We've lived in our house for 15 years and I love it here! 
I create jewelry and sell it in my online shop called Cobalt Moon Jewelry. 


I am a Twilight fanatic! I've read all 4 of Stephanie Meyer's Twilight Saga books, at least 10 times each and the online book that was posted of Edward Cullen's version, at least 15 times! My parents and sister are my best friends and I rely on them quite a bit for moral support. 


That's about all I can think of, I don't want to bore y'all any more.. lol


So, here's what I've decided to share with y'all :


I ran across this yummy recipe that I have made several times for my family. It can feed a small army! 

It's called Mojito Chicken found on Food.com

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons lime zest
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 chicken breasts, skinned and boneless
• 2 limes, cut in wedges
• 6 mint sprigs
• 4 cups cooked rice

Directions (Prep time 15 min. Total time 40 min.)

1.     Combine lime zest, lime juice, orange juice, honey, garlic, cumin, chopped mint, olive oil, and salt in a small bowl.

2.     Transfer one half of mixture into a covered container and refrigerate.

3.     Transfer the remaining the remainder of the mixture into a gallon size Zip Lock bag and add the chicken.

4.     Squeeze out the air from bag and seal.

5.     Let chicken marinade for at least 2 hours, or over night.

6.     Cook rice according to package directions, set a side

7.     Preheat skillet

8.     Remove the chicken from the bag and discard excess marinade.

9.     Place chicken in skillet and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally.

10. While chicken is cooking, pour reserved marinade into a small saucepan and bring to boil.

11. Transfer cooked chicken to a cutting board and cut into cubes transfer chicken to platter and spoon hot marinade on top.

12. Garnish with lime wedges and a sprig of mint and serve.

Thank you to Kori and Tara for inviting me to guest host with y'all!!

Old to New Cufflinks

A while ago i was sitting in church and i saw a man wearing some cufflinks. They were these huge fake diamonds and even though I'm about 100% sure his wife bought them for him i could be wrong maybe he likes them. All i know is my husband wouldn't be caught dead in them so i thought why not make my mtn man some manly cufflinks.

Kori found an ugly pair and bought them for me and I've waited till closer to Fathers Day to do something with them.

I used a wire cutter and cut the top off.

I took 2 parts off of this bracelet.
 
I had to hold it up as it dried. After they dried i added a bit more to make it even more secure.

The one is not completely centered i hope i don't have to take it apart. We will see how it works.

Now what to put in here! Since my husband moves dirt for a living i thought about filling it with dirt and putting a clear coat on the outside. What do you guys think? What fun things are you guys doing for the men in your lives?

From Boy to Minnie!

Miss A was invited to a Minnie Mouse Birthday party! I had already made he a Minnie Skirt and she needed a black top to go with it. Well having a huge selection of quick stores to run to aka Wal-Mart (yes I knew about the party for weeks and I totally put it off!) After the crappy week I had last week of course locating a black shirt was next to impossible! I am very lucky to have awesome friends and Heidi came to my rescue with this black shirt. It was a boys shirt with a pocket but I was NOT picky! I knew what I would do. Do you ever have an awesome image in your head and know there is no way you can mess it up?! Well this was one of those ideas and YES totally messed it up, but I also saved it. That should count right!!

I started by taking off the pocket and gutting the cute invitation. I used my glue stick and stuck the Mickey head to the shirt.  Make sure your glue stick is washable!Next I broke out my Clorox bleach pen! I went around the entire Mickey working from the Mickey out. In my head this would have made cool white streaks that would look like the Mickey Head was busting out of the shirt! Because it was Black I didn't think it would go Orange (keep this in mind for Halloween!) I let the Bleach sit on the shirt for 30 minutes to get it as light as possible. I pulled off the Mickey head and rinsed out my shirt. I was a little bummed and thinking CRAP! What will I do know. I have to admit my AWESOME Mickey was looking more like a Bear/Lion and NOTHING like a Mickey. I must say I felt a little sad and alone. I knew it was a total fail so I really couldn't hurt it by trying some options. I ran to my craft room and grabbed my fabric markers to try to at least make a Pink Bear Lion shirt!! Well not loving it or knowing who to call and bounce ideas off of I decided to attempt an idea seen only attempted by children! I grabbed my Black sharpies and started coloring!! I know, I know, but this is what I ended up with! I even got complements on her shirt! WOOHOO!! I was a little proud of myself and I now know what NOT to do!!

What are some fun ideas you have used your bleach pen for besides that swear word , housework! ;)

Tulle Cute

Have you seen these fun types of hair bows at stores and boutiques? Do you love the prices tags of $5.00 or more?! Do you have a large stash of ribbon, fabric,or tulle stash and now there is a purpose you have been holding on to it? Keep reading then! I have a SUPER talented friend who has 4 girls and she makes the most amazing bows. I guess with 4 girls she had to learn or she would be broke!  Besides being a great friend and teaching me how to make these she also has the largest collection of ribbon in the county (even going up against Wal-Mart!) so I will stay on her good side ;) (Thanks Heidi!)

So are you ready to make some hair “Pretty’s” as Miss A calls them!

Items Needed:

• Ribbon & Tulle
• hair clip
• mini rubber bands
• glue gun
• lighter or clear nail polish (to seal off the ends of your ribbon)

You will start by cutting strips of your ribbons and tulle, about 6in unless it is for a older girl and you want it larger. You will need at least 15 strips and on the tulle you will want it about double the width of the ribbon (this gives them the fluff!). I like double bows because she wears a lot of pig tails. If you are making 2 line up both sets of strips to make sure they are identical when you get them glued on.

Next you are going to take your mini rubber band and start tying your strips on it.Here is a better close upOnce all of the ribbons are tied on this is what your rubber band will look like. Next turn it so that all the knots are like this. You are going to glue it on your clip and this way you will get glue on every not and make sure your ribbons stay put if the rubber band breaks.  Once it is glued on try them on immediately to your model. I made these after bedtime so I had to use my extra model. Panda Bear made a great stand in! Of course you know the look he really is wanting to run and hoping none of his neighborhood buddies see this! They are so much fun and your girlies will get so many complements on them. I Love all of mine but I also would like to have about 50 more!

I don't think I could pull them off at 30! But for a almost 2 year old PERFECT!

Welcome Wenesday: Thrifty 101

We are so excited to have Michelle here today guest posting! You will love it! Also check out her glitter toe post too, I have totally tried these and it works like a charm! I am also thinking the Castle Room looks AMAZING!

 Hi Everyone!  I'm Michelle from Thrifty 101. 

 I'm so happy to be posting on Moms of all Trades today! (Thanks Kori and Tara!)

I'm a wife and mom of 3 boys and I LOVE HOME DEPOT!!   I LOVE DIY projects and will tackle any project I can to save money.  I started Thrifty 101 last year to share ways that we can all save money.  I cover ideas on DIY projects, planning vacations on a budget, Internet deals, everyday living and money saving tips.  I have had so much fun watching my blog grow over the past 9 months and meeting amazing blog friends.

I'm so excited  to share with you my most popular post; DIY Garden Box tutorial. 


Last year I decided to try my hand at gardening.  I was just hoping to get enough produce to grow to justify the money I was investing.  My soil here is sand and rock.  So I had to use planter boxes.  I did some research and found that the cute vinyl garden boxes are EXPENSIVE!!!  Lots of companies and home improvement stores have "kits" that you can use to build your own boxes, but they can be pricey too.  Ultimately it's just a wooden box right?  That's what I figured, so I started on my garden box adventure.....

Supplies:
Wood planks to make a 12" deep box.  So either 2 layers of 6" or 1 12" wide piece.   (I used 12X2 pieces that were 12 feet long)
Galvanized screws so they do not rust
Weed paper
Level (a right angle would also be helpful, but it's not necessary)
Drill
Latex paint or some kind of sealant for the wood.
Staple gun
Scissors or utility knife
Top soil

First cut your wood into the dimensions you want.  One 12X2 12 foot long piece of wood will make a 3'X4' box or a 2'X6' box.  The helpful people at Home Depot or Lowes will cut the wood for you for FREE to take home so you don't have a 12' piece of wood sticking out of your car. :)

Paint your wood to seal it from water and rot.  I used a white Latex outdoor paint because I wanted it to match my white vinyl fence.  It's important to use Latex as opposed to Oil Based because you will be eating the items out of your garden and you don't want them tainted with oil from the paint or stain.

After the paint was dry I then put the boxes together in my garage and carried them to the backyard.  I didn't get many pics of this part (sorry) but all you do is align your boards at right angels and screw them together.  If you are super picky this is where your right angle would come in.  For me a box is a box and as long as all the sides are at right angels it was good enough for me.  I used 3 screws across each edge and I pre-drilled the holes so the wood would not split.  (The 3rd screw is buried in the photo) Here is a close up of a joint:

Another option is to use a right angle joint.  I used this to extend my strawberry planter that was already in the ground  Here is what they look like, just screw them in and you're done.

The next step was my Birthday present from my husband.  :)  The area I wanted the boxes was not level.  There was a generous slope to our yard in that spot, which is why I chose that spot.  Lots of sun and we didn't use it at all.  But of course I wanted the boxes level.......so my hubby cut out the sod (I'm talking with an axe and shovel), dug the area level and helped me adjust the placement of the planter boxes with a level.  We would eye it level, insert the box and realize it wasn't level. Then we would take the box out and make the adjustments and try it again.... and again....and again...  One of the planters has a corner that sticks above the ground about 2 inches due to the slope.  That means we buried that one corner 10" into the ground to make it level. This was a VERY tedious process and I think it was quite possibly the BEST Birthday present I've received. :)  If you choose a flat area this process will be dramatically easier for you then it was for us.

*Note: It is not necessary to take out the grass if you use weed paper.  BUT from what I've read and from what friends tell me...."grass finds a way" into your planter and it over runs it.  Why waste all the time and effort building a box and keeping weeds at bay if you are going to plant it on top of grass that will eventually work its way up?  My opinion is you should remove the grass from under the box.

So after the box is level and set, the inside looks something link this.  Framed in crappy dirt. ;) (minus the annoying Butterfly bush in the way)  I used part of an existing planter for one side, and a retaining wall as the other side of my box for this planter. (I actually cut the sod, dug and leveled this one all on my own.) :)

To keep weeds out of your planter, you need to apply weed paper:

I used a staple gun to attach it to the inside of my box.  I put down 2 layers.

Then fill with top soil.

And here are my raspberry bushes.  I built a trellis for these and up them up since the photo.

 And here are 3 of the 4 planters I built and my two little apple trees on the left and right.  The middle bush is a rogue Butterfly bush that I don't have the heart to cut down.  If it starts making my strawberries not grow, that sucker is GONE! LOL
You can see the slope on the front right box and the box on the left on the right side.

I planted a "Salsa Garden" with tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers.  I also planted basil (we loved having that on hand for cooking) carrots, pumpkins and cucumbers (which didn't work) and my strawberries and raspberries in separate planters.

It was a lot of fun gardening this past year.  I learned a lot and I'm excited to plant again this year.  I've already got garlic that has sprouted and now that my strawberries and raspberries have established roots they should produce a ton of fruit this year.  Bring on Spring!

Other popular DIY tutorials you can find on Thrifty 101 are

DIY Glitter Toes

 

Thrifty Kitchen Table Makeover 

  How to paint a castle room tutorial

~Michelle

A Quick Gift

So I bought a few necklaces and I had full intention to borrow Kori’s soldering iron(i hope i spelled that right) and make my own mini picture frame to add to them
 
As i was trying to find the little glass i was looking for I came across a new product that Hobby lobby carries and I will be honest I went a little crazy! I bought a bunch almost 1 in each size.

It was so easy to just print out a cute picture, measure it out and cut it.

Each frame easily opens and my favorite part is that I can change out the pictures.

Here is the backside.

I added it to my necklace and that's it!

I’m not the biggest jewelry fan but I love my new necklace. I cant wait to wear it.

I even made one for my husband but used the bigger one and instead of a necklace I made it to hang from his rear view mirror. He loves it!
The little picture frames are so cute and were only $2.47 so it was money well spent.