One mans trash...another's treasure!

Saturday morning was fun!  I loaded Bee up and sent her to Grammy's.  Then the Hubster and I took our good friends Crystal and Matt around our neighborhood Garage Sale-ing.  FUN!  (Yes, we took little Zach with us).

 

Here's my loot!  (Pretty good considering we started around noon!!

 

Guess how much I spent?

Toy 50 cents.
Turkey Platter $3. 

So.  Much.  Fun!

xoxo
Summer

Friday Five!

Let's try a new fun thing!  Five things I am totally IN LOVE with!  Can you come up with five things?

1.  Mug Root Beer.  Obsessed... Ever since I had one in the hospital after giving birth to Rylie, I have craved them!  (The CRAAAAAZY lactation nurse scared me out of ever drinking caffeine again...I quickly recovered from my fear, no worries!)  I don't know what it is about them but it has to be a Mug.  

2.  My new plates!!!

 

They are perfect for desserts or small meals (I eat on smaller plates to make my food look bigger...I know that sounds dumb but it's an old dieting trick I learned from WW that really does work!)  The best part about these English designed porcelain beauties?  $1 each on the clearance rack of Marshalls.  AMEN!!

3.  TulsaKids Magazine!

Why?  Because our little Bee was in their photo contest a few months ago and made it to the final round.  She didn't win (boo, I know) but she was in the final ten so I still consider that quite an honor!

 

  They published their October issue Wednesday and I must say, these gems put the final 10 darlings on the last page and all of their pictures are oh. so. sweet!

4.  Fall = Sweets!  I made my sweet Daddy a "Crunch Bar" recipe for his birthday and they turned out ah-mazing!  

Sadly, he was dieting (and didn't tell me...) so I re-gifted to my wonderfully grateful and equally pleased father in law.  (I believe we share a great love of good food!)  The recipe is simple and the results are worth the effort, my friends!  (Recipe below)

5.  BLOCKS!  My maternity leave ends in a week and a half!  My time flies!  I had $25 to spend at the Apple Tree, a local teaching store (THANK YOU, Jones PTA!!), and instead of spending it on practical things like resource books and bulletin board stuff, I splurged and bought this amazingness:   

 That's right, a Castle Block Set.  Genius!  Just what my little friends will need to help spark some imagination in the block area!  (And a great behavior incentive...just sayin...)

TGIF Folks!

xoxo Summer

Crunch Bars Recipe 

(derived from Kraft Recipes)

Ingredients:

35 saltine crackers (about 3/4 of one sleeve)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 pkg. (8 oz) Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Prep:

• A jelly roll pan or casserole dish works best for this...cover it in foil
• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Line crackers along pan.
• Make sure your nuts are chopped pretty well before hand, you will not have time to chop them when you start cooking!
• Chop up chocolate squares as well.  They need to be about the size of chocolate chips.  (I tried this recipe with chocolate chips and it backfired...the chocolate never hardened, you need to buy the baking chocolate...)

1.  Heat butter and sugar in a saucepan and boil for under three minutes.  (I have a gas stove that burns hotter than hades...)  You are technically making toffee here so things can get nasty quick.  Watch the mixture as it starts to boil, or it will burn...you need a light brown color- think caramel or camel or tan, if it starts to get too dark (like coffee), take it off the heat! I stirred it as it boiled...  

2.  Pour toffee over crackers and use a spatula to spread it evenly.  (It hardens quickly...)

3.  Bake in oven 5-7 minutes.  Don't let the crackers burn, when they start to turn a little brown, take it out.  The toffee will seem to be floating on top of the crackers, bubbling. This is good!

4.  Cover toffee with chopped chocolate.  Wait five minutes.

5.  Use spatula to spread now melted chocolate over hardened toffee.  Sprinkle with nuts and press them into the chocolate.  

6.  Let cool and break apart to enjoy!

An Un-Bee-lieveable Birthday

Here's the Bee Birthday Blog Edition!

 

We had her birthday at our house, outside.  I LOVE fall weather, but it was quite warm that day.  I made all the cupcakes from scratch (vanilla and strawberry) with cream cheese and strawberry cream cheese icing.  (I"ll put the recipe on the next blog post...)  I even piped the icing by hand....all for it to melt in the too hot sun.  The bright side?  We had a wonderful turn out and Bee got lots of goodies!  

We felt very humbled, loved and blessed.  

Her party was cupcake themed...

. 

 I even found marshmallows in the shape of frosted cupcakes...They were delish!  They were in the baking aisle of Walmart next to choc. chips...and they were only a dollar a bag!  I cut some in half and put them on some of the cupcakes...  To make Bee's cake, I used to heart shaped mini cake pans and just frosted it with the strawberry cream cheese icing.  YUMMY!  She devoured it!

The worst part about turning one?  Shots...The next Tuesday she had 3 big doozies in her poor little legs!  How did Mommy make it better?  We found a Pumpkin Purse!

We celebrated MY Daddy's birthday one week later by lunch and shopping at his favorite place, Bass Pro Shops.  (See the purse?)

We have hit two more milestones..well maybe three...

1.  NO paccy!

2.  Drinking solely out of a sippy cup.

3.  Napping and sleeping all night in her new bed!  (I'd better hurry up and finish brother's bedding so it matches his OU room!)

Corn Made Simple!

     I have always boiled or grilled corn on the cob.  It's time consuming but easy.  Then my dad told me a SUPER easy way to cook it:

1.  Cut both ends off of the corn but LEAVE the green husks on.   (I peel the first two or three layers off, so the dirty, 'touched by everyone from the store' part is gone.)

2.  Microwave each corn for exactly two minutes....that's it...just 2 minutes!

3.  They are HOT-- be careful.  Remove husks and enjoy!

I'll leave ya with a corny joke:
Q:  What did the Baby corn say to the Mommy corn?
A:  Where's Popcorn? 

Ha ha ha! (The Doughty family is known for amazingly lame jokes...)

xoxoxo Summer

 

Scrub a Dub!

     I normally buy exfoliating scrubs at discount places (TJMaxx, Marshalls, Target...) but even those are pricey.  Then I found this little gem!

     I know it's a facial scrub, but I use it all over and it is divine!  (The scrubbers are made of crushed apricot seeds).  This big ol 'tub' of it is under $6 at Walmart, Target, and Walgreens! 

Happy Scrubbing!
xoxo Summer

Sunday Funday (plus OMG Chicken recipe)

Three things that make me smile today:

1. 

My new bubble gum pink disc my hubby got me!  SO EXCITED to attempt disc golf again...it's been four years since I've been on a course!

 

2. 

"OMG Chicken"

Super easy.  Super delish. 

*Recipe below*

 3. 

Finding Nemo 2 officially comes out 2016!  (I know that's a long ways away but I AM PUMPED.

 

Hope your Sunday is as relaxing as ours is.  Rylie did well in her big girl bed all night but woke us up at 7:00 am.  Eesh...

 

xoxo

Summer

 

OMG Chicken

Ingredients:

1 pkg of chicken breasts/tenders

8 oz (1 cup) sour cream

1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese (I buy the good stuff, not the cheapo 'powdery fluff looking' stuff)

1/3 c (estimate there) Italian bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Oven: 350 degrees

 

1. Use a meat tenderizer  to pound chicken down to cutlet thickness (about 1/2 inch or so).

 

2.  Mix all of sour cream and most of the Parmesan cheese together.  (save a small handful of the cheese to sprinkle on chicken later).

3.  In a greased pan, place chicken flat, sprinkle with salt and pepper.  I also had a Provencal (French) spice I sprinkled on for extra pep...I ordered it from Penzey's Spices.

 

4.  Slather sour cream mixture on chicken, sprinkle on Italian bread crumbs and top with Parmesan cheese.

 

5. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes (or until chicken is 165 degrees).

Bass Bunch Lately

 

   These past few days have been cray-zay!  Here's what the Bass Bunch has been up to:

My parents came up to visit (they live in Stillwater, about an hour away from Tulsa) for a shopping day with the grandbabies. 

Striking a pose at Chili's with Grandmother

Getting rid of gas!

    
I had to do some finishing touches on Rylie's First Birthday presents and make sure I have everything bought and wrapped for Zach's sister's baby shower this Saturday.

 

My super amazing friend I went to college with flew up from Houston, TX to visit us.  We have been busy busy playing hard and having fun!

 

Rylie has been so exhausted these past few days that she finally FINALLY FINALLY fell fast asleep in her big girl bed all by herself without us hovering, petting, singing, or just letting her cry it out (complete torture for everyone involved...).  She has had a big week of firsts..

Successfully switching from formula to cows' milk (with a hint of almond milk to coax her into drinking it)

(Sharing her sippy cup with buddy, Isaac)

Ordering her own meal off a menu instead of sharing with mommy (think not fried kid's menu or healthy sides)

 

 

(Waiting on her first kids meal to arrive!)

Big girl bubble baths...not splashing around in a measly 3 inches of water...

• BIG girl bed!  (I wish we had taken a picture of her before we turned off the light....)

Sometimes it's just completely overwhelming how blessed I am!  I swear I feel my Sweet Grandmother sitting on my shoulder smiling and whispering how proud she is of her great-grandchildren.  It's humbling...

Sweet dreams!
xoxo
Summer

Cast Away! (Skillet version)

     Every cook should have a cast iron skillet.  Lots of people are hesitant to use them, but after researching a little, I was SOLD on how versatile and low maintenance cast iron skillets are!

     My skillet was a gift from my parents (from Cracker Barrel, quite random, but I LOVE IT), so I have not experimented with other brands.  I looked up some info at Williams-Sonoma, and this is what they say about caring for cast iron skillets:

• Always wash skillet with HOT water and a nylon brush.  NO SOAP. I use these stainless steel scrubbies (SOAP FREE), available at Walmart, Target, whatever..)
• 'Season' skillet with oil (olive oil, vegetable oil...whatever you have on hand) *Season really means rub down inside and outside of pan with a soft cloth and oil.  Some people say to put it in the oven to set the oil, but that's too much maintenance for me...I just rub it down with oil after each wash.*
• Cast iron skillets are oven and stove top safe, you can even bake in your skillet!!!
• Skillets heat evenly and won't cool down when you stop cooking (excellent at keeping food warm)

The most popular brand I have seen is 'Lodge Logic' available at Target.com, Williams-Sonoma.com, andAmazon.com.

And I'll leave you with this..an "Easy" Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread recipe.  It has high ratings and simple, inexpensive ingredients.  Oh, I got it from foodnetwork.com!

Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread

Directions

This is a great recipe and tastes better, I find, when cooked in a cast iron skillet and served hot tableside. I have also served this recipe for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. Whether with jam and butter or fried chicken on the side, there are rarely leftovers!

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups coarsely ground cornmeal
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a 9-inch cast iron skillet inside to heat while you make the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the milk, buttermilk, and eggs. Whisk in almost all of the melted butter, reserving about 1 tablespoon for the skillet later on.

Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F. Coat the bottom and sides of the hot skillet with the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes and serve.

I wonder what rhymes with skillet,
Summer

Boots made for walkin!

After weeding out the horribleness that was my closet two weeks ago, I discovered I have lots of boots! But they wouldn't 'sit up' and they just flop over on the bottom of my closet. Fail.

My sweet sister told me something I NEVER thought of. Take magazines, roll them up, and shove them in the leg part of each boot to make them stand up tall. DUH!

Amen for sisters :)

Xoxo
Summer

Picture Perfect

     Although handwritten notes and cards are so much more meaningful, I opted for printed, colorful ones for Rylie's First Birthday.  I scoured the internet for reasonable, adorable options and much to my surprise, (if you know me, you will know how much I really DESPISE Walmart...) Walmart.com had the winning invite!  And for 28 cents a print plus free envelopes, who could pass that up? 

(Excuse the crappy photo quality...I blame my iPhone)

     I loved that I could upload my own photos and edit the text, font, and photos on my laptop and it was easy...like my Mom could figure it out!  (I love you, Mama, but we all know technology isn't your strength...even though you are quite the emailer these days... )

     Anyway.  I ordered the prints, paid online, and had them sent to site to store for FREE.  I chose that option because I wasn't in any hurry to get the prints.  You can have them sent straight to your house for super cheap (like under a buck I think) or you select the 1 hr photo option and pick them up at your local Walmart that same day.  How easy-peasy?

     I hate to admit it, Walmart, but you impressed me.  Click here to design your own invite, card, mug, blanket, mouse pad, poster, banner, wow it just keeps going!  Walmart has REALLY stepped it up!!!

Thinking I might be too biased about Walmart,
Summer

Taking a Stand! (cookbook that is)

     I'm not normally one to splurge at Williams-Sonoma but when I do, I make it worth watching the vein in my husand's neck bulge when he gets our credit card bill...  With that in mind, in my opinion, everyone should have one of these bad boys:

 

     It is a glass and stainless steel cook book holder.  Life changing, ya'll!  It protects my cookbook from grease splatters and liquid spills (I might be a tad messy...) and it wipes clean beautifully with just a Clorox Wipe. 

 

     It can hold small books, magazines (think Southern Living!), or big bulky cook books!  My favorite part about the stand is the conversions on the left hand side.  You'd be surprised how often those come in handy!

 

   Click here to order your spiffy little kitchen helper today.

 

*I did my homework and Amazon.com has some similar to the stand for about $10 cheaper...but I would still stick with the Williams-Sonoma one.  :)

Cooking up at storm in Oklahoma,
Summer



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Orange Power!