Cookies and BBQ Sauce

No, they don't go together very well.  But I'm going to share two recipes with you. 
This weekend, I baked a batch of White Chocolate Chip Macadamia Nut Cookies.  I found this recipe while doing my daily Tasty Kitchen scan.  I've always loved these cookies from Subway, but never thought to try making them myself.  So here was an adventure I decided to take.  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/desserts/white-chocolate-chip-macadamia-cookies/
Check out the recipe here.  They are DELICIOUS!  But, if you've never bought macadamia nuts before, I must warn you, they are not cheap! But o-so-worth it!

Another little recipe I wanted to share.  We are having a "party" for my mom's special birthday in a few weeks and I am making lil' smokies.  I love them and I'm super excited to finally use the BBQ sauce I purchased last year at the Pride of Dakota show.  First of all, for those who don't know what the Pride of Dakota show is, it's where tons of vendors from around the Dakotas come to showcase their products.  There's lots of food samples, chocolate, wines, vodkas, soaps, and crafts.  You name is, someone in the Dakota's has it!  You can search vendors on the website here. 
I purchased a mustard BBQ sauce from Bonnie's Country Classic BBQ.  She had a sample of this with lil' smokies, and I loved it.  So much easier then preparing the usual BBQ sauce for those lil' guys.  She has other flavors of sauce along with salsa, marinades, seasonings and rubs.  You can purchase her products from her website as well.  I highly recommend her product!

Enjoy :)

Linkin' up!

Today, I am linking up to Pinke Post blog.  She is another North Dakota farm gal with a great family story.  Check her out! :)

She's doing a "Your Favorite Pioneer Woman Recipe Linky Party" and I'm a joinin'!  PW is one amazing lady and I love her cookbook!  I will be honest, it was tough to find just one recipe to call my favorite, but I pulled on that is simple and most anyone has the ingredients to throw it together. 
And since this is the first time I've ever used the Linky tool, I'm showing off my rookie skills.  I've already linked PW's site to Pinke Post thinking I knew what I was doing.  Guess we will have to try this again!

Cowboy Breakfast Sandwich -  this is the one I'm using as my favorite.  Check it out.  Hubby loves this, but I should tell you, we have never tried it with the jalapenos.  If your brave, go for it!

A couple ideas

Seems I have been MIA in the blogging action.  I'm still here, just living a boring life with no pictures to tell stories.  But, I decided I should share a recipe and a helpful tip!

First, the recipe. 
The recipe I am linking to is not the exact recipe I use, but very close!  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/roast-sandwiches-with-au-jus/
French dip sandwiches have become a household favorite.  Except, we now ran out of roast.  Looks like we will have to wait til the family butchers again!  Anway, this recipe calls for a can of onion soup, I use a packet of onion soup mix.  Either way, I'm sure it delicious!  And I use the darkest beer I can get at our local bar, which is a Sam Adams dark ale.  The flavor is amazing!  Also, we like to use pepper jack cheese because it's what we usually have on hand. 

I also found an easy way to use this recipe for left over roast beef and gravy.  I put the gravy in a pot and add a little beer to thin it out and I add mushrooms.  Boil for 5-10 minutes, depending on amount of gravy.  The longer you boil, the more flavor the beer brings out.  Half way through, I put in the leftover roast beef I just pulled apart (or shredded, how ever you like it).  When I decide I'm too hungry to wait any longer, I pile the beef and mushrooms on a hoggie bun and top with cheese. Easy supper!  Enjoy :)

Now for a tip: We learned from a friend, the best way to remove bugs from your car. 

Picture Source

These little guys are amazing! I knew there were many uses for dryer sheets, but I never knew about this one.  Just wet the dryer sheet with clean water and wipe.  Very little scrubbing needed.  The only thing you will need is to make sure you have soap and water to wipe after the dryer sheet.  They do leave a little film on your vehicle if you don't wipe it off.  But try it, it's pretty awesome!

QUESTION!!

Hello fellow bloggers.....does anyone know why I cannot comment on some blogs using my google account?  Some have the option to put in your name and URL, but some don't.  And on the ones that don't have that option, I click Google Account and it asks me to log in, so I do, then it brings me back to the comment but still won't let me post it!
Frustration today!
Thanks :)

Weekend of fun

As you may recall (or may not), Saturday was my birthday.  A quarter of a century, yes, I clearly remember! 

We had a BBQ with some friends and family.  Some people brought yummy food to share.  I, as usual, ate too much.  Didn't even have enough room to drink or make a s'more!

A good friend made a LARGE bowl of Gooey Chex Mix.  I forgot to get the recipe, which is probably for the better.  But then I did research online and found it....dammit!  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=182842  Here is the link.  She had everything except the cashew halves.  It was like heaven in a bowl....or giant gut ache in a bowl.  Whichever you prefer!

I didn't have my camera out to take pictures of all the horseshoe throwin', card playin', eatin', little kids runnin' around, drinkin' action.  But I took 2 pictures of my favorite gifts!

Beautiful flowers from some wonderful friends who couldn't make it to celebrate

And this little guy!

If you don't know what that last picture is, I will tell you.  ahh..... one word....Amazing!
This is the head massager.  Some like it, some don't.  I, personally, love it!
Even better when hubby does it for me.  I almost fell asleep...only he gets bored after about a minute and quits!  We're working on it.
Thanks to my sister-in-law, I now would rather sit on the couch and playing with this little guy. 

So, after the long weekend of food and celebration, my parents took me out Sunday night to my favorite Mexican restaurant....The Hat!  And gave me an awesome birthday gift.  I would picture it here, but then you would all know how spoiled I am! :)

I'm off to enjoy my head massage and relax before some friends come over!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, my sister in law reminded me today that I am a quarter century old today.  Thanks Bri! 

We are having people over to our house for a BBQ and good times.  Hubby spent a long time putting together horseshoe pits (seems to be his new favorite game) and cleaning up the garage in case of rain.  We are hoping to have the fire pit lite and plenty of foods, fun, friends, family, and drinks!

I will be posting later this week my list of things I want to accomplish before I turn 30.  Ugh, that's only 5 years away, I better get my butt in gear!

So, in honor of the last 25 years, I am raising my glass of (yucky) wine and toasting to myself.  Here's to the next 25 years and an even better time! :)  Thank you to all my friends and family who have brought me through those 25 years and made them awesome!

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Gardening is something that my mom and I did together when I was younger.  I never thought I would have my own garden one day. 

Last year was the first time I tried out this long lost skill of mine.  Hubby tilled up a spot and manured it and I picked out some random vegetable seeds to plop in the ground.  I should probably explain why I randomly picked seeds.  In our small town, we have sandy soil.  Hubby didn't bring in top soil when he put up the house.  We spent lots of money and time trying to get our front and side yard to grow, so I was pretty sure a garden would be a large FAIL.  I was quite wrong! We had cucumbers and beans and peas coming out of our ears!  It was fantastic to see my hard work come to life.

This year, I was pretty convinced that I could do it again and it would be weedless like last year.  I was partially wrong.  Most of my garden grew, but there were 10 times more weeds.  I do blame this on the late start and all the moisture though.  Hey, we all have to find something to blame things on!  But, in the last 2 weeks, we have had some fairly dry and hot weather.  I fail to find the perfect time to water the garden, so my cucumbers were a little wilty.  I finally decided to I just had to water on Saturday night.  We may have joined some friends at the local watering hole and left the water on.  Let's just say, if the peppers could talk, they would have been shouting "Save us!" 

So, after a few hours of my time spent planting seeds and pulling weeds, I think my time has paid off.

My first good radish! Most of the plants went to seed before producing a large enough radish though.

This year's first kohlrabi!

First time growing peppers! And hubby enjoyed a pepper and summer sausage sandwich today :)

We LOVE cucumber salad! And it looks like we will have more then we can eat again this year!

This is the massive pile of cucumber plants!

My sunflowers.  They are all taller then me now! Can't wait for them to produce!

And this would be the beans....they no longer look like this.  I blame it on the hot weather....GONE

....our beloved peas.  I had 3 that tried to grow, but they gave up....I blame the moisture

So, you saw my vegtable gardening skills, here's a look at my flower garden skills!

This is my hydrangea plant!  I've read that they don't grow so well in ND, but this thing is rockin'!  I killed 2 rose bushes already and my SIL said that roses are hardy in ND.  I beg to differ!  So I will enjoy the beautiful greenish, white flowers that this bush is producing.  I'm stocked to bring some in the house!

Enjoy the nice temps and fresh produce from your gardens!