Sunday, March 24, 2013

What a weekend

 Today I slept in til 9:30am. As my darling went off to work I got myself ready for house work. I took a shower, put up my hair, put on one of my favorite skirts, and tied on my favorite apron.



 I mixed, I kneaded, and I baked my butt off today.

 What did I make?



No Bake Energy Balls,

~*Caitys Kitchen*~


1 C. Dry Oats (non instant),
1/2 C. Peanut Butter,
1/2 C. Ground Flax Seed,
1/2 C. Chocolate Chips,
3/4 C. Honey,
1 t. Vanilla,
1 t. Cinnamon (sugar if you like a bit of sweet.)
1/2 t. Ginger,
 Mix together in a bowl, roll into balls (easier said than done, gets very sticky) I put mine in the freezer to harden a bit, Store in the fridge.


Instant Energy before a walk, run, bike, shopping trip, what ever! They are very good. I'll be making more of these.

~*Caitys Kitchen*~


 Soft Pretzels! (For the freezer.

1 1/2 C Flour,
2/3 C. Milk,
2 T. Oil,
2 t. Baking Powder,
1 t. Sugar,
1/2 t. Salt.

 Mix in a bowl to form soft dough (will be very sticky). Plop out onto a floured surface knead twice, divide dough into TWO Balls, knead 10x's each, Let rise for 15 Min.s Divide each ball into Eight (8) equal balls, roll the balls into ropes, Twist ropes into Pretzel shape, Place onto greased baking sheet, brush with egg wash and lightly salt, Bake 425* for 11 mins.


This is a recipe my little has used for a long time. The book she got it from she won from the library a very long time ago. I don't remember what we entered, but we each got a cook book. (The women who worked at the library noticed that we always checked out cook books along with craft book. So we always got cook and craft books if/when we ever won anything.)

 I am keeping the pretzels in the freezer, so that when I get home from work, and am hungry for a snack, I can just grab one and heat ti up in the microwave and chow down! :)

~*Caitys Kitchen*~


More Cheese-It Crackers!!


I LOVE these! They are as addicting as the boxed kind, but WAY better for you. I will make so much more of these!!


 I have also made....

~*Caitys Kitchen*~

Mini Chicken Pot Pies.

For these, I used one large chicken breast, seasoned it with Italian dressing, then shredded it. Added some frozen stir fry vegies, let them all cook together.

~*Caitys Kitchen*~


 Then made a Biscuit mix from scratch,
3 C. Flour,
4 t. Baking Powder,
1 t. Salt,
6 T. Shortening,
1 C. Milk.
Sift all dry ingredients then cut in shortening and milk. Knead on a floured surface. (roll out to 1/8" thickness and  cut and bake at 425* for 12 mins.)

I took some bits of the biscuits and smoshed them into a muffin tin, added the chicken pot pie filler, then placed some more biscuit on top. Baked it for 12 mins at 425* and TADA!! :)

They are sooooo good. I love them.





Hope you have a good Snow Day Tomorrow!
 Many Blessings,
~*Caitydid

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Spring Challenge! WEEK 1!!

(UPDATE!)

 Today is the first day of Spring! WOO-HOO!!!

That also means today is the first day of my Spring Challenge of  ~*NO~PANTS~SPRING*~.
So I will start this post of what I'm wearing today,


Leggings, thick socks, Long Denim Skirt, Green Long Sleeve, Boots, and a warm Jacket to protect me from the chilly wind on my way to work. :)



 And a little pattern I found on how to make your own dress,


D.I.Y. Pinterest




 And a pattern I found on how to make your own skirt for this seasons challenge!


D.I.Y. Pinterest




 Good Luck to you, and enjoy.

(and trust me, if you lived in jeans all winter and all of a sudden start wearing skirts and dresses, everyone will think you are going out on a Hot Date, also, if it's still cold where you are I would recommend long skirts and dresses and leggings til the sun gets hotter.)

*Update...*

I will keep adding pictures to this post instead of one post a day with just a picture of an outfit. I will do the posts in weeks. So at the end of this week I will upload the pictures I have taken and add some more patterns for you, then next week I will start a second week post, and add pictures daily to that one for a week then continue in that pattern til the first day of summer! So much easier. :) 


Blessings,
 ~*Caitlynn

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Spring Challenge...





 So this Spring (March 20, 2013 is the first day of spring by the way) I want to challenge myself (and you too) Starting March 20th, I'm going NO PANTS!
 Yes that's right, No Pants, meaning, Skirts, and Dresses, Everyday for the rest of Spring.
So I'm going to start making some skirts, and finding skirts at the thrift stores. I really like wearing skirts, they make me feel pretty, and very lady like. I wear only dresses and skirts to church now, and as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer I will be wearing them more often.
 This is a good challenge to do because it will help you to see that you have more to wear than just jeans and a tee shirt, or shorts and a tank top. You don't have to go all dressy all the time, just a nice skirt and a tee should do fine, or a dress and sandals will work too. But I must stress the rules!


http://pinterest.com/aricait/never-too-old-to-play-dress-up/



  1. The Skirt or Bottom Hem of the Dress CAN NOT come more than 2" above the knee. Or no shorter than finger tip length (put on a skirt and let your arms fall naturally if you can feel the skirt hem on your middle finger tip you're in good shape, if the hem goes above the finger tips, it's too short and needs leggings!!)
  2. If you must go out and work or you work where you are required to wear pants, like I am, then you are aloud to wear pants/jeans. But as soon as the shift/job is over, back in to that skirt/dress Missy!
  3. Have fun with it! 

http://pinterest.com/aricait/never-too-old-to-play-dress-up/



The reason for rule #1 is because this challenge is to make you feel beautiful and show you that you don't need to show off your 'cheeks' to do so. And honestly, who wants to flash 'down there' every time you get out of your car or sit in a chair?!?! NO ONE! And NO ONE wants to see that either.
 I'll be posting photos of my outfits, so you can get some ideas of how to go about NO PANTS SPRING. You can also go to my Pinterest Board (Never too old to play dress up) To see some ideas I have found.
If I feel like I wont sweat myself to death, I may continue on into Summer as well. But lets face it, sometimes skirts and summer don't mix well, They tend to act as a sweat box and your legs seem to melt, so it all depends on the temperature. I'll keep you updated and hope you join me in my challenge. :)


http://pinterest.com/aricait/never-too-old-to-play-dress-up/



 Many Blessings,
~*Caitlynn

Monday, March 11, 2013

Memory Lane.


google image



 For as long as I can remember, my family has been going to the rodeo. My grandpa Tony used to be in the rodeo, and would try to break retired rodeo horses. I miss going to the rodeo with grandpa, he would always make sure I got all the cowboys autographs and talk with the barrel racers and trick riders. I've always wanted to be in the rodeo as well, I wanted to do it all, Bare Back Bronc riding, Trick riding, Barrel racing! This past Saturday My darling and I got to go with Momma, daddy, My little sister and her boyfriend, and My older sister, her husband and the little ones. Busy was all excited to be there. Little man on the other hand, he was just happy to be passed from person to person and then taking a nap on his ma'amoms lap.
 I was so happy to be going. I haven't been to a rodeo in a few years. It gave me a chance to cowgirl up and show my rebel spirit. Though this was a small show, it was still fun. I fear that the rodeo is a dying thing. Not as many people are wanting to join or go see it. I remember when I was little, there were 12 trick riders in the arena at one time, doing all kinds of stunts!

google image


 They would hang off the back of the saddle and drag behind the horse! Or, they would stand on one leg in the saddle and then flip over! Oh it was awesome! And there were like 20+ riders for the broncs and bulls. We would get a program and keep track of scores and then guess who would win the final round. And the barrel racers!! They would zoom in and turn the barrels like it was nothing and quick as a flash they were gone and waiting for the scores. The whole arena would be shouting, hooping and hollering. I would be at the edge of my seat cheering the riders on and almost in tears when someone would get bucked off and run over by a 2 ton bull. Oh man, those where the days.
 This time around there were maybe 15 riders all around. One trick rider, and 10 barrel racers. It was small compared to memories, but it was still fun. Fun being with family, doing something we have not done in a long time. Just sitting there with my sisters, giggling about how cute the cowboys were and remembering taking pictures with them. Then joking with mom and dad about sneaking down and just jumping on a horse and showing all those 'boys' up with my skills (again it was a joke... I'm not that good) And then sitting with my husband and telling him all my stories and explaining how the whole rodeo works and how they come up with the score. Then seeing the kids, Busy standing on her seat cheering and shouting for the cowboy to stay on the bull, and then little man snoozing through the whole thing!
 Saturday, March 9, 2013 will always be a night to remember. Mostly because it was a family outing that was long over due.

 Well now that the rodeo is over I'm sitting here in my apartment wishing I still had my horses to ride, and race. Maybe one day I will have some more money saved up, and after we buy a house, I can buy another horse for my future kids to ride with me. And then I can continue on with the rodeo tradition of going every year and make more great memories like the ones I hold so dear now.


With Many Cowgirl Blessings,
 ~*Caitlynn

Monday, March 04, 2013

Gold Fish Crackers




 GOLD FISH CRACKERS...

These were super easy to make and sooooo good! I'll be making these more often than not. I got the recipe from Pinterest, and the link sent me too the cup cake project blog I copied the recipe and gave it a try. This is how they looked.......




 And now here is the recipe....

1 C. A.P. Flour, 4 T. Cold Butter cut into small pieces, 8oz of Cheese, I used left over shredded colby jack and shredded sharp cheddar (to use it up before it went bad) 1/2 t. Salt and Pepper. 

Pulse the above ingredients in a processor until it looks like corn meal.




 Then add water VERY SLOWLY like a drop at a time with the processor on low. Only add enough water to make the "meal" Ball Up and Ride the Blade. I knew when that was because my processor almost took a dive off the counter! :)






 Then Wrap the Dough Ball in Plastic Wrap and Put in Fridge for 20mins-24hrs. 



Roll out to 1/8" Thickness, using a small cutter I used stars. Cut out as many as you can. Place on a baking sheet lined with Parchment paper. I didn't have any so I just sprayed the pan with oil. I sprinkled mine with just a touch of salt. You could also sprinkle with Parmesan cheese too. Yummmm... Bake 350*f til they are golden and crispy or about 15-20 mins. 





 Then Enjoy!