Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins

I recently purchased a really neat cookbook from Big Lots. It's Paula Deen's Cookbook For The Lunch-Box Set. 

The first recipe I wanted to try was the Blueberry Buttermilk Muffins recipe. I still had some delicious blueberries from the farm in my fridge.  

The book is set up for kids to be able to help. This is the page that shows all of the tools and ingredients that you need.

Here is the recipe. It wasn't too difficult, but it wasn't like any other recipe that I had made before. I don't do much with buttermilk.

I took pictures of all of the steps along the way. Maybe it was too much, but it was fun! I used 2 cups of blueberries and 2 tsp vanilla instead of what the recipe called for. I thought the extra blueberries would be good. We love vanilla in our house, so I add extra to everything!

Coating the blueberries with the dry ingredients.

Mixing the wet ingredients.

 Putting the wet ingredients into the "well" of the dry ingredients.

The batter is mixed well.

I used a 1/3 cup (per the directions) to get the batter into the muffin pan.

Almost finished.

The muffins baking beautifully in the oven.

Don't they look delicious??

This one had an "accident" so it was the first one to be eaten! It was nice and warm and fresh from the oven! Yummy!!

These were some of the best blueberry muffins that I have ever had! The next time I make them, I don't think I will add quite so many blueberries...maybe stick to what the recipe calls for. My husband was a big fan of how I made them. Both kids loved them too!

Going Green

I have recently joined a group called Environmental Booty. I am actually a proud Blog Ambassador. They are all about being environmentally friendly. I wanted to take a moment to share how my family is "green": We have our own chemical free garden (with fruits and vegetables). We buy whatever fruits and vegetables we don't grow at a local chemical free farm. We use recycled water from out spouting. We recycle whatever we can (ie plastics, paper, metals). There are others thing that we do, too.

I am curious, what do you do to be "green"?

While you think about your answer, please visit Environmental Booty. They are currently doing a great  giveaway! They are giveaway a Bamboo Bottle. Made of bamboo and glass, it is long lasting and great looking! You don't want to miss out on this one!!

I look forward to hearing to hearing how "green" everyone is!

Kraft Foods Picnic Basket

I want to take the time to thank Baby Loving Mama and  Kraft Foods for the wonderful picnic basket that I won! I was so excited when the box arrived!! It came filled with all sorts of goodies!

It also came with 8 coupon for FREE items!! I am looking forward to trying to some of the items!

They also included a 2011 Kraft Foods Summer Picnic Basket Recipes. It has about 10 or so recipes that are perfect for summer cookouts!

I was so excited about getting the basket that I didn't even realize that the side not pictured has a zippered pocket on it.

This was the first giveaway that I have won since I have started entering giveaways through other people's blogs! It was such a wonderful experience!! I can't wait to have more picnics with my family!

My poor baby...

This week has been a rough one!  My youngest turns 1 next week, and he spent the last week sick -miserable actually. The first time that he has ever been sick and he has an ear infection and (more than likely) strep throat! His fever was at 104.3 at the highest. A trip to the doctor on Monday made him feel much better with some Amoxicillin. Here it is Friday, and he's covered in red spots! Another trip to the doctor later and it turns out that my poor baby is allergic to Penicillin!!

Downy Unstopables - Review

I was recently sent this full-sized sample of Downy Unstopables to try thanks to Vocalpoint.

It came in this neat box.

 What is it? A new laundry scent booster. The dissolving scent beads go in before you start the wash - so more scent infuses into your clothes, sheets, and towels - and the freshness lasts for more than 30 days. *

Unstopables comes in two scents Fresh and Lush. I had the pleasure of trying the Fresh scent. It smells to nice. It makes my whole house smell so fresh when I bring laundry through it. 

You can see the beads a little better in this picture.

You can use a little or use a lot. You shake the beads into the cap and place them in the washer (top or front loading) before you add your detergent or fabric softener. Drop your clothes and in start your washer. The Unstopables will dissolve in hot or cold water. The freshness lasts until the next wash.

I highly recommend trying Downy Unstopables! All of our clothes, towels and sheets keep every room in my house smelling so fresh!

Thanks again to Downy and Vocalpoint for letting me give Unstopables a try!

What do you do when stores don't have what you are looking for?

I figure out a way to make it!!  My younger sister and her husband have been looking for coasters for their new house. Not just any coasters, mind you, but coasters with cork on the bottoms. To be honest, we don't use coasters. I'm not sure that very many people in this world still use them, but that's what they are looking for. I decided that since we can't find any for them, that I would make them coasters! I'm crafty, so I'll figure something out, right?

I went to AC Moore and found a 4 pack of cork tiles. They came in 6" x 6 " squares. I knew that was too big for a coaster, but since I don't know what a normal size coaster is I decide to make mine 4" x 4" squares.

This is the package for the 6" x 6" cork tiles.

These are the tiles taken out of the package prior to cutting them down to 4" x 4".

 I forgot to take pictures during the next couple of steps. I measured and marked the tiles to the size that I wanted. I then used a box cutter to cut through the cork. It is much harder than you think to make it look nice and straight as cork doesn't cut nicely.

Once, they were cut, I used my paper cutter (it's a Fiskars scrap booking one) to measure and cut my pictures down to 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" squares.

This picture shows the cork cut to 4x4 and the pictures cut to 3 1/2x3 1/2. I was checking to see how they looked.

Next, I used my laminating machine to laminate each of the pictures. You can use the laminating stuff that is sticky on both sides. (I only used a machine because it was given to me.) Make sure that there is laminate on all sides of your pictures. Then, you want to trim the laminate to the size of the cork. Then, using super glue (I used Loctite Super Glue) attach the laminated pictures to the cork. I put the glue on the back of the pictures in stripes along the middle and then on the 4 corners of the cork before attaching. This way, I didn't have to worry about the glue running off the pictures.

(This picture refused to load correctly!) This shows the laminated pictures attached to the cork base.

I let them sit overnight with a heavy box on them. I don't know that it was necessary, but I'd rather be safe than sorry! Once I took the box off, I trimmed off any pieces of laminate that over hung.

This shows the coaster from the side.

I made them with family pictures that we recently had taken. You can make them with any picture that is the size you want. I plan to make some of other holidays to add to their new collection.  It is a neat way to share pictures with friends and family!

Blog Hopping for the Weekend

Grab your coffee... take a seat... and the let the hopping begin!

Feel free to add your blog to the list. Let others see how great your blog is!

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Blog Hop closed Wednesday 7/13/2011

Shillington Farmers Market

Our favorite place to get chicken is at a (some-what) local farmers market. When we want freshly butchered chickens, we go visit Randy at Hartranft's Poultry & Seafood at the Shillington Farmers Market. They are located at 10 South Summit Ave, Shillington, PA 19607. The market's phone number is 610-777-7675. Their hours are Thursday and Friday 7am - 6pm and Saturday 7am - 2pm. His sign is fairly new one, but his stand has been there for a good number of years. He has whole chickens, chicken breast / legs, ground turkey, turkey breast / legs, eggs (both brown and white), turkey sausage, and more! I can't remember what all he has. His newest addition is sliced chicken breast for chicken cheese steaks.

We enjoy taking the kids and walking around. It isn't a super big market, but it is decent sized and has a large variety of stands. There are a couple of produce stands, a coffee shop, a bakery, a deli, and many more.

Burkholder's Ever-Green Farm

I have posted a few times about the local farm that we like to go to for fresh produce. I wanted to make sure that I posted a few pictures of their farm, along with their information. If you are ever in the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania area in the summer time - you should really stop by! They are such a wonderful couple!

Burkholder's Ever-Green Farm

705 Franklin Street

Denver, PA 17517

717-336-5444

Owned by Dan and Margi Burkholder

 Last year we picked up a flier that has what months some of the produce is ready. The picture is a little bit blurry, but they have handwritten in the months when each are ready. Asparagus (and other spring vegetables) - mid April-June; Red Raspberries - some late June + July, most August-September; Blackberries - July-August; Blueberries - July-early August; Gooseberries - late June-July.

Located in the borough of Denver in northern Lancaster County, our farm has been in agriculture since 1795 and owned by the extended Burkholder family since 1924. In local history books, it is identified as the Evergreen Farm and we wish to keep it Ever-GREEN.

When you drive up to their farm, you will see the Asparagus, Blackberries, and Red Raspberries on the left side of the road. I am not sure if they have anything else on this side or not. I know they have their Blueberries, Lavender and Gooseberries on the right side of the street. Their house, horse boarding, antique shop and produce stand are also on the right side of the street.

This is where you purchase their produce. They have an industrial refrigerator for their produce. They have lavender hanging to dry. They also have fresh herbs on a table and sometimes they have onions, too.