Re-purpose those Fruit Cups!

I saw an image the other day that was making the rounds of Facebook and it showcased a wide mouth canning jar with tortilla chips on the bottom and a small plastic cup inserted into the top to hold salsa, dip or something similar.  The small plastic cup had a link so that you could purchase them.  I saw the $11.00 sticker price - I am not sure how many you got for that price, but still, I was sure I could do better....

Now being the cheap thrifty person that I am I immediately thought to myself "It looks like a Dole Fruit Cup would fit right in there instead!"  Since I am a Mom of a grade-schooler who takes a cold lunch to school everyday, we always have the fruit cups in the pantry, so I set to work testing my theory.  I also want to add that based upon the comments on the original image another friend of mine (Judy) was thinking the same thing as me.

I set up my test kitchen and I am happy to report that the Dole fruit cups fit like they were made for the canning jars and no leaks either - I shook it, turned it upside down and even left it sitting on it's side for the whole day (yes I went to the day job and left it sitting on my counter by accident).

*Deal of the Day - Beef Stroganoff

Fall in love with our version of this popular Russian dish. Complete with our delicious country style noodles, sour cream beef sauce and mushrooms! A hearty dish that's welcomed with a salad and our Scrumptious Soda Bread or Honey Cornbread Mix. Just add water and round steak.   This is one of my all time favorites and it tastes just like you made it from scratch!  As an added bonus all of our mixes have no added preservatives or MSG so you can feel secure that you are feeding your family a wholesome meal - even if you didn't take hours to prepare it!

*Deal of the Day items are not eligible toward free host items or available on party orders*

Get it today for only $ 4.50 

(Product # 242D) 

Order Yours At The Mix Gal Shop by Clicking Here!

Look at my "Country-fied" Kitchen

I have been so behind on any personal posts that I thought I would share. A while back hubs and I actually got a whole day to ourselves and we hit a giant tag sale. Needless to say I was in heaven. The tag sale was being held by a woman who used to own her own second hand store so the treasures and bargains she had were un-believable!

This is my kitchen window sill (right above the sink). The Red dish to the far right is holding a candle and it was bought as part of a larger set.

My Primitive Welcome hung above my buffet. I think the cost was $4.00 

I have this awesome space above my upper cabinets which houses all of my favorite new and old bowls and dishes. I just love my new Rooster bowl! 

I am not a very good photographer, obviously! This whole compilation was purchased at the tag sale. Total cost was about $20!

 I thought I had taken many more pictures than this - it always seems like I am taking too many, but when I go to post them on my blog there are never as many available as I thought. One of these days I will actually remember to take some pictures of the kitchen when there are no dirty dishes and the kid's junk stuff is off of the island! At least now you have a little glimpse into my Country Kitchen! 

Thank you for stopping by The Mix Gal! Comments validate my blogging efforts, so I would love to hear from you. Take care and Keep Life Simple by Mixing It UP!
~♥KerrieLynn

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Best Day Ever!

 

Yesterday was Mother's Day and my family made sure that I had my favorite kind of day! The weather has been unseasonably warm for Pacific Northwest ~we've had temperatures in the upper 70s since about Friday so I decided that I wanted to go on a picnic (the first one of the year). First let me back up a bit.....my hubby spent a good portion of Saturday planting my Mother's Day gifts! He (and the girls) bought me quite a few flowers (both annuals and perennials) for Mother's Day so now I have a splash of color when I look out the living room window. This particular spot where he planted the flowers had needed some "help" since we moved into our house, prior to the flower planting it had been home to a couple of scraggly plants that the builder had planted and some wild flowers that the hubby had planted last year. I will get out to the yard in the next day or so to take some pictures.

 

So back to my Mother's Day picnic......since it was just the four of us I decided to keep the picnic fixings low key and we had hoagies, chips, potato salad (store bought) and grapes. We set out for Birch Bay about a half hour drive from our house. The park was filled up with people who obviously had the same idea as me, but we did manage to find an empty picnic table and parking spot.

  

We quickly set up our home away from home......once we were done eating my youngest decided to roll up in a blanket to play her video game (she's the lump in the front).

 

Since Mom couldn't be the only one taking pictures both my hubby and daughter got out their cameras and we had a little photo war.... Next, we headed off to the beach, the tide was out so quite a few more photo opportunities presented themselves......

 

The view from our picnic area!

We found so many things while walking on the beach......

 

A crab nestled in the rocks....

 

A Bald Eagle perched high in the trees...

 

Lots of "photo opportunities"....

  

Exploring.....

 

Wild plants growing on the driftwood....

 

All too soon the picnic had to end.....

  

One more picture......

The day was beautiful and we created some memories that will stay with me forever ~ it's the simple things in life that mean so much to me! We loaded up the van and headed for home and I found a new passion along the way......old barns! O.K. so it is not new but I managed to capture photos of three old barns as we drove along, so stay tuned for my Drive By Barns series. Thanks for stopping by and sharing a little piece of my life ~ until next time, take care!

Thank you for stopping by The Mix Gal! Comments validate my blogging efforts, so I would love to hear from you. Take care and Keep Life Simple by Mixing It UP!
~♥KerrieLynn

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Dickey's Barbecue Pit - Lynden, WA

www.facebook.com/DickeysBarbecuePitLynden

My family and I had the pleasure of recently enjoying the taste sensation of Dickey's Barbecue and oh what an experience it was! WARNING the following pictures contain Food Images and Descriptions that will make you want to rush out to your local Dickey's and get some Barbecue - please make sure (for your safety and the safety of others) that you only read during your local Dickey's Normal Business Operating Hours!

Dickey's Barbecue Pit is Managed By Dustin Benson! This is the sign located at the entrance.

When you arrive you immediately get in line to place your order and the food is prepared line style while you observe.  The first person cuts your meat selections to order and places those, the second person places your side orders and the last person gets you your Big Yellow Cup (all drinks are in the same size cup) and totals your orders.  It was busy when we were there so our wait in line was about 10 minutes or so, but once we got up to the counter the service was speedy. 

This is the menu that you choose from, we ended up choosing to each have the 2 Meat Plates with Drinks (Big Yellow Cup) and my youngest choose from the kid's meals.

Troy is the Assistant Manager (and Dustin's Dad) and you will find him working at the front counter or wherever help is needed!

Once you have your food items you move over to the side bar where you choose your soft drinks or cold sweet tea.  You also pick out the barbecue of your choice, Sweet, Standard or Spicy.  The FREE Pickles are also self serve and they are a meal unto themselves!  I got the biggest kick out of the "silverware" (they are plastic with a Silver finish), they fooled me at first glance - when I went to grab the forks, spoons and knives I was surprised at the weight - then I realized that they were "plastic wear".  This is the first time I had seen plastic utensils with a "Silver" finish!

The impressive Pickle Jar - no small portions here!

Almost a "Date Night"......

My hubby and I got an "almost date night" last night!  We both got off work a little early, went to our local fast food joint, planned our Christmas shopping strategy while we were eating, left and then spent the next 3 hours on shopping!  Time alone with hubby (plus the hundreds of other shoppers).

I have to admit that I was surprised at how little traffic there was both on the roads and in the stores!  It seems to me that the stores were much busier in past years.  I know it was the middle of the week and there are still 10 days before Christmas, but I expected more people.  What has been your experience this year with your holiday shopping?

The other thing that I noticed was that the toy department seemed a little "slim" this year in comparison to previous years - in fact I don't think that any extra toys were brought in like the stores usually do.  What I did see was an expansion of the holiday decorations, pre-packaged gift sets and candy.  The electronics department was definitely into the holiday spirit and seemed to feature more than the usual array.

Merry Christmas!

Now for some more of my decorations!  This is the setup that I did on top of my buffet.  I am currently using the buffet as a sofa table (due to space restrictions), but I think it turned out pretty nice.  As with most of my decorations each piece has a little story!  The two Santa Claus figures were a gift from my Paternal Grandma & Grandpa.  They are both deceased so these pieces bring back some wonderful memories.  The little Green sleigh was passed down to my by my Maternal Grandma - she's now 85 and as feisty as ever!  I got the snow bear at my youngest daughter's school Harvest Festival - I won the silent auction for the basket of Christmas goodies.  The large snow globe was a Goodwill find and features the nativity.  The Nutcracker was a gift from my MIL and the reindeer plays music and was a hand me down from her also.  The really tall Santa (all you can see is his legs) was another Goodwill find!

The Nativity

Below is this year's nativity scene ~ the actual set up changes just a little bit each year but the main pieces are always the same.  The actual nativity always seems so dark so I tried to put up a string of lights - it looks pretty good when it is lit up, but not so much for these day photos.  I had to use colored lights since I was all out of White lights.  I will have to catch some after Christmas sales this year to pick up a small strand of White lights just for the Nativity.

The nativity scene below was from 2007  - I actually like this display much better than this year's display, however the large angel has gone missing and the small white tree currently resides in my oldest daughter's room - complete with decorations.  I have several of the single pillar candle lights but they are currently in various windows throughout the house.

New Blogs to Follow!

A special "Thank You" is due to Dawn of Creative Cain Cabin!  I spent an hour this morning cruising through her blogroll and found a bunch of new great blogs to follow!





Most of the blogs that I found have some sort of focus on their homes so I spent the better part of the morning "drooling" over various Christmas displays and finding inspiration in their designs. I invite you to take a look at my blogroll and go check out some of these wonderful blogs for yourself.

As for me I am off to do some more drooling and reading.......

A Child's Christmas Village

This is what Christmas and holidays are all about......I got ready to type my blog post today knowing that I would use a couple of the photos I downloaded yesterday (showing off some more Christmas decorations) and I discovered this photo on my computer↓

At first I was wondering where did this come from and then I remembered that my youngest daughter had been "helping" me with the Christmas decorating.

She had taken a bunch of the decorations and arranged a whole village on the kitchen island.  Then she proceeded to narrate a whole story about what she created.  I didn't realize she had taken a photo ~ but I am so glad that she did, now every time I see this photo I will remember this special moment we shared together exploring her Christmas Village...... 

Christmas Past & Present

This post was originally published last year and rather than do a new one for this year I thought I would just share this again. The ornaments that are shown here are on the tree again this year and continue to be family favorites. As you can tell from the images, photography is not one of my strong points. I am hoping that Santa will bring me a new point and click digital camera this year and if not I might just have to start using my oldest daughter's camera!

Our tree is primary done up with Red & Silver and I will be taking some photos of it later today along with photos showing off some of my other Christmas decorations.  I have gotten quite a bit of inspiration this year from the various blogs that I follow so the decorations this year are slightly different than previous years.....the family seems to like what I've done and the youngest is happy now that Santa Claus can visit since the house is decorated!

One of my favorite ornaments.

My cat's new favorite spot.

My hubby bought me a whole set of Thomas Kincaid ornaments,
Snowmen & Santas!

From Christmas Past, this was on my hubby's tree when he was a boy.

Christmas Past, a set of these ornaments were on my Grandma's
tree every year. I used to love laying on the ground
and looking up at them.

Handmade by me, while in MOPs.

A little tree bling and my girls initials.

One of my most precious treasures - handmade by my oldest daughter.

Another precious treasure handmade by my youngest daughter.

Christmas - Homemade with Love!

One of our "homemade" creations!
This was made by my youngest daughter
(with a little help from Mama)

Whenever possible I love to make homemade presents, crafts and goodies - especially during Holidays!  In my mind there is no better time than Christmas to do so!

I recently found a great resource site which is chock full of Christmas Crafts and all things Christmas.  You can download their Free Ebooks without having to register, check them out at www.AllFreeChristmasCrafts.com

I am a pretty simple person so I like the craft projects that I can get done in a day or less (I am also impatient and want it done now).  This site seems to be full of quick projects and looks like there are plenty of projects that you can do together with your kiddos (the best kind in my opinion). 

Homemade ornament - this is one of my favorite Treasures!

Sour Cream Cut Out Cookies

Image Courtesy of Dreamstime.com

These cookies are one of my favorite Holiday Cookies, they are not as sweet as the traditional "Sugar Cookie" so they work great to frost and decorate!

Ingredients
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Shortening
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
3 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
6 Cups of Flour (approximate)

Directions:
Cream together the sugar and shortening, add the eggs and vanilla.  Mix well after adding.
Then add the sour cream, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Add the flour gradually (dough will be stiff) until just pliable enough to be able to roll out and cut easily.

Roll out about 1/4 inch thick onto floured surface and use cookie cutters to cut into desired shapes.  Place on lightly greased cookie sheet or parchment paper.  Decorate with colored sugars if you do not want to frost.  Bake in a 350 - 375 degree oven for approximately 8 -12 minutes.  Cool completely and decorate with frosting or royal icing.

Saturday Summary Week in Review (10/29)

I started the Saturday Summary as a way to sum up my week in a short list because lets face it - sometimes life just gets in the way of our good intentions of writing frequent, interesting and informative blog posts!  I know it's a Saturday Summary and today is Sunday  which demonstrates my point that despite my good intentions I haven't been able to post for a couple of days!

This has been one of those weeks where I know I was busy, but when I try to reflect on what happened during the week my mind is drawing a blank!  If the state of my house is any testimony of how busy I was then I must have been EXTREMELY Busy, since the house is a grade A Disaster!  I know that housework is definitely on the top of my need to do list today!  Without further ado, let me try to sum up my week!

Vintage Cast Iron...

I love vintage and antique items and every time I see something from the past I always wonder what it's story is - who has held this piece, worked with it and used it on a day to day basis.  I was in "lookie-lou" heaven this past weekend while we were at the pumpkin patch!  Everywhere I looked there were vintage pieces that fired up my imagination, not to mention envy!  Just look at all of this cast iron cookware and wonderful wood burning stove!

I like the big galvanized tubs with flowers - I think I would have put some more in the milk jugs!

Flirty Aprons!

Most of you know that my Country Gourmet Home Business is gourmet foods and food mixes......I love food and all things associated with food!  I am happy to announce a new affiliate - Flirty Aprons!  I have been searching high and low for the "just right" apron both for business and a different one to use at home!  I even went so far as to purchase material and I made my own!  It used to be (in the Olden Days when I was still in my teens) less expensive to make something yourself than to buy ready made......not so any more.

I spent a small fortune (the dollar amount which will never be listed so hubby won't find out) purchasing material, pattern, thread, trims, buttons etc.  After I walked out of the fabric store I realized I could probably purchase 3 aprons at the price I had just paid for material.  Thus began the search or quest for cute and sassy aprons!  I search high and I searched low - I found out that there are many small work at home business out there that make aprons and they are priced appropriately as a "home-made item" but not enough variety and price was still a bit high!

I recently stumbled across "Flirty Aprons" (now my newest affiliate) and they had exactly what I was looking for at prices I could afford!  My apron quest is over, now my apron collection has started!
I invite you to take a look at what they have to offer!

Click on the Image to See Flirty Apron's Selections!

Thumbprint Cookies

These are one of my family favorites and don't last very long at our house!

Thumbprint Cookies Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Shortening (half margarine if desired)
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar (lightly packed)
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup Flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Chopped Walnuts and egg white.

Cream shortening an sugar.  Add egg yolk and beat well.  Ad vanilla and mix well.  Sift flour and salt together and add gradually to creamed mixture, mixing well.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls.  Dip each ball into lightly beaten egg whites, then roll in chopped nuts.  Place 1 inch apart on un-greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes then remove from oven and quickly press thumb in center of each cookie.   Return to oven for an additional 8 minutes.  Cool baked cookies completely - then fill indention with jam or whatever filling you choose!

I Won, I Won, I Won, Yipee!

This week is my birthday week (Friday is my birthday), so it was a wonderful surprise to have an email waiting for me that said "Congratulations You Won My Giveaway"!  I have been a follower of Dawn at Creative Cain Cabin for quite a while now ~ I love to read her "What I Wore Wednesday" posts as well as pick up some inspiration on the many projects that she creates!

Dawn featured a yellow scarf in her last week's What I Wore Wednesday and looked so stylish wearing it too!  To my surprise the next day she started a giveaway for not one, but two scarves!  She had thought ahead and made two extras just to give away!

I am getting the Yellow Scarf and can't wait to see how it looks on me!

 Thanks Dawn, as always I love your Creative Cain Cabin blog and look forward to continue to read all of your posts!

Stop by and check out her blog and if it's your first time there, let her know that KL's Cupboard sent you over!