Sweet Berry Farm

It's strawberry pickin' time!!!

 My mom and I decided we needed to go strawberry pickin' and headed over to Marble Falls, TX. I've been itching to go ever since I found out Sweet Berry Farm was open for strawberry season.

Along with the rows upon rows of sweet strawberries (March-April) they also have blackberries (May - June), tomatoes & onions (May-June), and potatoes (May).

Nana and I were able to pick two boxes of berries in no time at all. Yep, we went without Trouble.  He cried when he found out we went while he was at school. Don't worry I promised to take him next chance we got.

Trouble's tears dried up quick when he saw the all-you-can-eat berry buffet I had going on in the kitchen. I even made him a fresh strawberry icey... boy was that delicious!

If you happen to be anywhere near Marble Falls be sure to stop by and enjoy all that the farm has to offer. (I highly recommend their homemade ice cream.)

Sweet Berry Farm
-The farm is closed on Wednesdays.
-They have plenty of shaded picnic tables to use so bring a picnic.
-Cash and Checks are accepted.
-No pets allowed.
-There is not an entrance or parking fee.
-No need to bring containers other than your old Sweet Berry Farm box. Fruit must be weighed in their boxes.
-They are open all Holidays during the season.
-Oh, and don't forget the camera!

I think I'll start celebrating Strawberry Week. (If the boys get shark week, I get strawberry week.) Expect to see... all things strawberry this week.

Passport Envelope

As I was checking out our family passports I had a thought. Wouldn't it be nice to have a cute little protective envelope for each passport? A way to quickly tell whose is whose.  Here's how I made Trouble's passport envelope. Before I attempt to explain what I did, know that I am in no way shape or form an experienced seamstress. I just wing it.

I started with two sheets of scrapbooking paper and a roll of clear contact paper.

I cut the paper down to about 9  1/2 x 8  1/2 and stacked the paper with their backs together (good side out).

Then I put contact paper on the front and back sides of the paper and trimmed off all of the excess contact paper. So that I have one piece of paper covered in contact paper.

back

front

 
 Then I started to wing it sew. I folded the bottom up making a pocket and stitched around the sides and bottom.

Then I stitched around the top flap of the envelope.

Now I could fold down the top flap and it looked like a little envelope.

The whole time I was sewing I kept inserting Trouble's passport to make sure the size was right.

I grabbed these little Velcro closures and attached them to the envelope.

Done, ready for vacation!

Roasted Jalapeno Chicken

I bought a bunch of jalapenos this weekend with the intention of making jalapeno jelly but never got around to it. So I thought I'd do something different and roast chicken with a spicy jalapeno marinade.

What you need:

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 fresh jalapenos, stems removed
• zest of 1 lime
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 of a medium onion
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 pounds of on-the-bone chicken pieces or 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces

What you do:
To make marinade, throw first 8 ingredients in the blender and pulse until thoroughly combined and chopped.

Pour marinade in a large zip-lock baggie. Add chicken pieces to marinade bag, toss to coat all chicken pieces. Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dump chicken & marinade in a large greased baking dish or cast iron skillet. Roast until chicken is just cooked through (about 1 hour).

Transfer chicken to a serving platter.

Place the cast iron skillet on a burner over medium heat.

Scrape the browned bits on the bottom and mix the pan drippings until it is reduced by about half.

Pour gravy into a bowl and skim fat off the top. Serve gravy with chicken.

 Enjoy  y'all!

decidedly-healthy-or-horridly-decadent-blog-hop

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

These are by far my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I think the combination of melted butter, brown sugar and that extra egg yolk make it over the top sinful delicious. I adapted this from a recipe I found while searching for snacks to make for Trouble's soccer team. The kids loved the cookies so much they forgot all about losing the game!

What you need:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1  1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup white chocolate chips

What you do:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a bowl, blend butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well mixed.

Beat in vanilla, egg and egg yolk until light.

Fold in the sifted ingredients until just blended.

Fold in chocolate chips.

Drop cookie dough 1/8 to 1/4 cup at a time onto greased or parchment paper covered cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 2 inches apart.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to racks or paper towels to cool completely.

Men will adore you. Women will ask for the recipe and children will wish you were their Mommy if you make these... I promise!

Personalized Notebook

Trouble loves the comic book character Wolverine. Why? I have no idea, but... Trouble now want's to be a Mutant Super Hero when he grows up. Sounds dangerous like fun! Trouble asked for a Wolverine notebook so he could write stories about his favorite super hero. I have no interest in tracking down a Wolverine notebook so I knew I was going to have to make one.

I pulled out the Modge Podge, a paintbrush, some pictures of Wolverine (from a coloring book) and a spiral notebook.

Next I brushed a layer of Modge Podge over the front of the notebook.

Then laid the pictures of Wolverine in the Modge Podge.

I brushed a layer of Modge Podge over the new cover of the notebook and let it dry.

 Done!

Trouble was thrilled to see this new notebook.

I was thrilled to see him using his new notebook.

This project can be done with whatever pictures, photographs, scrapbook paper etc... you like.

Thursday