Friday, December 27, 2013

Farm Animals

   I was out walking around our property recently and was enjoying visiting with the farm animals.  They each have their own personality and I never get tired of looking at them or taking their picture.  If this is not your thing, just skip today's post and I'll see you tomorrow.  :-)

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
Our blue Cochin chicken

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
Our nanny Boer goat.

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
Jasper

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
Mozart, our tufted duck

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
Don't you just love his pompadour and his coloring?!

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
Sheera, our guard dog.  We love her so much and she is so protective of our family.

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
She is a mixed breed.  Her father was a  Polish rooster and her mother  was the blue Cochin.

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
"Y"...well just because.  (lol)

Blue Silkie, Boer nanny goat, mammoth donkey, tufted duck, video of rooster crowing, country living, backyard chickens, melody extreme cheapskate,
The woods are still pretty in the winter time. 


Rooster crowing and duck quacking



Just our rooster looking around

 


Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Pinterest


Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Merry Christmas!

   I just wanted to take a moment and tell each of you "Merry Christmas".  I cannot convey how much each of you mean to me.  I pray God blesses you all today and over the span of the next year.

Merry Christmas, Countrified Hicks, Melody Rose Extreme Cheapskate, pioneer living blog, a pioneer woman
Ron, Melody (me), Ronny, and Bub!



Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Follow us on Pinterest

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Classic Sugar Cookies

   Everyone likes a good sugar cookie and this is the recipe we always use.  These turn out really soft and are quite tasty.

angel cookies, Christmas cookies, Christmas tree cookies, Classic sugar cookie

Classic Sugar Cookie

                     3 c. flour                               1/2 tsp. salt
                     1 tsp. baking powder            2 sticks butter
                     2 eggs                                   1 1/2 c. sugar
                     2 tsp. vanilla

   Sift the baking powder, salt, and flour together and set aside.  Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy and then beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Now, blend in the flour mixture.  Cover the bowl and put in the refrigerate to chill for a minimum of 2 hours. 

     After the dough is chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Roll out your dough onto a floured surface about 1/4" thick.  If you roll out the dough too thinly, the cookies will be crisp and not soft.  Cut out cookies with cookie cutters.  Bake for 8 1/2 minutes.  You know they are done when the centers are no longer wet.  Do not overcook.  Decorate or frost as desired.


angel cookies, Christmas cookies, Christmas tree cookies, Classic sugar cookie


Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Twitter
Follow our Youtube Channel
Follow us on Instagram

Easy Mexican Wedding Cookies

    Mexican wedding cookies are simple to make and are a great light tasting little cookie.  You may not know these cookies by name, but once you see them, I'm sure you'll recognize them.


cookies to serve at weddings, light cookie for holidays, Mexican wedding cookies


Mexican Wedding Cookies

2 sticks butter, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 c. powdered sugar
1 c. chopped walnuts

    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Beat the butter, 1/2 c. of the powdered sugar and vanilla together.  Add in the flour and walnuts.  Shape into 1" balls and place on a cookie sheet and bake for 14 minutes.  When they are done, roll them in the remainder of the powdered sugar.  

cookies to serve at weddings, light cookie for holidays, Mexican wedding cookies


Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Twitter
Follow our Youtube Channel
Follow us on Instagram

Grinch Cookies

   Grinch cookies are colorful and the kids go crazy for them and they taste amazing!

cookies for Christmas, Grinch cookies, how the grinch stole Christmas


Grinch Cookies

Butter pecan cake mix
6 T. butter
2 eggs
1 tsp. cornstarch
green food coloring

    Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and powdered sugar together and then set aside.  In a mixing bowl, mix the cake mix, butter, and eggs together until well blended.  Stir in the food coloring.  I used 12 drops but use how many you want to get the shade of green you desire.  
    Now, drop blobs of the cookie dough into the powdered sugar.  It may look like it will not work at this point but just go ahead and plop a big spoonful in and try it.


cookies for Christmas, Grinch cookies, how the grinch stole Christmas

 Coat the dough blob well and then place on a cookie sheet.  Place them a bit a part because they well spread out.  Bake for 8 1/2 minutes.


cookies for Christmas, Grinch cookies, how the grinch stole Christmas


Other cookie recipes I know you will love include:  my No Bake Cookie recipe and my Classic Sugar cookie recipe.  


Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Twitter
Follow our Youtube Channel
Follow us on Instagram




Dirty Snow Cake

   The Dirty snow cake is a kid's favorite.  It tastes really good and it looks just like dirty snow.  It is generally a hit at Christmas parties.



Dirty Snow Cake

Box of white cake mix
chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos)
milk
butter
eggs
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. lemon juice

    Mix up the cake according to directions but in place of the water use an equal amount of milk; instead of oil, use an equal amount of butter and use one more egg than the recipe calls for.  Making these changes makes the cake taste more like you would find in a bakery instead of just a boxed cake taste.   
 
     Once the mix is blended, stir in the flour, salt, vanilla and lemon juice.  Most boxed cake mixes are too sweet and these ingredients help to offset this and again, just makes a better cake.  
 
    Crush up 1 c. of sandwich cookies and gently fold into the batter.  Pour the batter into a cake pan and bake according to the box directions.  
 
    Once the cake is cool, frost it with white frosting and then crumble up some more cookies and sprinkle on top.  

                                 
             Other fantastic recipes that I make with Oreos include Oreo Fluff, Air Fryer Oreos and Oreo Dump Cake!     






                                                                    
Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Twitter
Follow our Youtube Channel
Follow us on Instagram




I shared this recipe with the following blogs:
Hope in Every Season

Pecan Pie Bars

  If you love pecan pie, this recipe is for you.  It is not as sweet as a pecan pie but equally as good and serves more. 

Christmas desserts, pecan pie bars, Yummy Christmas recipes


Pecan Pie Bars

     For the crust:

         2 c. flour            
        1/2 c. powdered sugar
        1 c. butter

     Mix the crust ingredients together and then pat them into a 9" x 13" cake pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

         THEN

     For the filling:  
    `   1/2 c. sugar
        3 eggs
        1 c. light corn syrup
        1 tsp. vanilla
        2 c. pecans
        1/2 tsp. salt

      Mix the filling together and then pour over the cooked crust and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Remove from heat, let cool and then cut into bars.

pecan pie bars, Yummy Christmas recipes, Christmas desserts


I make an excellent Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars too!  Check it out!


Follow us on Pinterest
Follow us on Twitter
Follow our Youtube Channel
Follow us on Instagram

The Easter Story

This is the reading of the Easter story from Luke 23:33 -56 on through Luke 24:1-53. It is from the NASB and there is no preaching other t...