Saturday, March 31, 2012

Caramel Crunch Bagels

It's the Mrs. here, with one of my FAVORITE, EASIEST recipes!!!
I have made this so many times, for so many different types of events, and it's always a hit.  Plus, these are ingredients that people usually have around the house so you can make it on a moment's notice.  Girlfriends coming over....coffee and caramel crunch bagels!  Family staying for the weekend......caramel crunch bagels for everyone!  Big day at the office for the Mr. and need a "special breakfast"......caramel crunch bagels!  Hosting book club.....well...you get the idea.  
mix, spread onto bagels before broiling
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tb. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamin
**sliced almonds, optional**
Spread onto bagels and broil until bubbling
A few tips:
1. It depends what you're serving these for, but I honestly like serving them on mini bagels best (i also use whole wheat because then I can tell myself they are healthy-ish-ha!).
2. It mixes and spreads best if the butter is softened (room temp), and not melted.

done!
(my camera and picture taking ability
don't do these justice)
3. If you are making this for a family breakfast (as I often am) and don't use all of the mix, have no fear!  Just put it in the frige, and soften again the next time you want to use it.  If you plan on doing this, I would wait to mix the almonds in so that they don't get mushy.
4. Use a cookie sheet with sides if possible.  If you don't have one, I would recommend putting foil, or another large cookie sheet below....the caramel topping tends to run a little as they are broiling and makes a very sticky mess if it spills all over your oven. :)

That's it!  Really!  I think I might go mix up a batch of these right now.....what are you going to make these for?  I'd love to hear!

....if you missed it, another fun and easy recipe is cake in a cup...

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Outdoor Tip #3

It's the Mr. here with a short, Spring tip for all you deer hunters out there.  I've been anxiously waiting for Fall and have been doing some research to pass the time.  Now is a great time to go out on your hunting property and make some mock scrapes.  "Scrapes" is a term used to determine markings on trees when a buck rubs his antlers on the bark as a sign of territory during the rut.  Hunters use scrapes as a sign that at least one buck is in the area.  The larger and higher the scrape on the tree, the larger the buck.  Bucks also lick the edges of tree branches to mark their territory. They visit scrapes year-round, so hunters can go out and make mock scrapes to attract bucks to a certain area near their trail camera.  Just take a deer antler (or something similar to it's size, shape and durability) and rub the antler on the sides of trees about 5 - 6 feet high.  Rip off some bark along the edge of some branches of the same tree to show signs of licking.  Finally, put some buck urine on the ground for other bucks to smell.

Early spring is a great time for this because the lack of foilage (leaves) makes it easier for the deer to see your fresh scrapes.  Pick spots at or near water (streams, lakes, ponds etc).  A mock scrape will bring velvet bucks to the area of your trail camera all summer long, and can start a pattern that can increase your chances of seeing more deer in the fall.

One more quick tidbit.  We just purchased some minerals to see if they attract bucks to our property.  Minerals are a great way to help increase antler size.  There's several different types of mineral, so you'll have to do some research on what works for your area.  I read some reviews online and we ended up going to our local Gander Mountain to purchase Trophy Rock All Natural Mineral Lick.  It's a 12 lb.  life size rock that looks exactly like a rock.  We also purchased a 20 lb. bucket called Lucky Buck Mineral.  We'll just spread the mineral grain along the ground, stumps, and rocks.  We'll put these near trail cameras so we'll let you know if we see anything. 

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

MINE!!!

Mrs. here with a somewhat reflective post. :)  Nothing new or profound, but just struck me today.
Over the past few days, Little Miss's new (and favorite) word is "MINE!".  Everything that she can see or put her hands on she proudly shouts "MINE!".  She finds a toy or snack, gives a possessive squeeze and shouts "MINE!"  A little friend wants her doll, she holds on tight and shouts "MINE!"  I mean, this is not one of those words that we work so hard on getting her to say. It can take days to get her to say sweet things like "love you"....yet somehow by watching me, watching the world, she has learned this simple word and it's meaning.

For some reason, watching her in this new stage brought some conviction to me today.  The stuff that Little Miss is so possessive of is not really hers.  Yes, we have given it to her to enjoy or use, but we (like any other parent) want her to share....her snack, her toys, her books, etc... But I realized that this is the way I live so often.  Just like we provide for Little Miss's needs (and many of her wants) my Heavenly Father is doing the same for me.  He has generously provided for me in so many ways....and yet when someone with a need comes my way, instead of sharing, I just give my stuff a possessive squeeze and shout "MINE!".  Someone needs me to share my time, my resources, or something that isn't convenient and I just stand there and shout "MINE!"  Again, I'm sure this is not a new or profound thought to anyone, but I want to use this opportunity.  When I work with Little Miss on learning to share, I'm hoping that God can continue to work on me and ways that I can share as well.  Gotta' love how much a God can teach me through a toddler! :)

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Outdoor Tip #2



It's the Mr. here with an overdue post about my newest outdoor tip: don't buy it, if you can make it for less.  To illustrate this tip, I'm going to show you my latest endeavor.  I've been trying to get a little more into building my own fishing lures.  I've built some with friends and am trying to accumulate a few things here and there to accomplish this.  The first thing you need is the vice.  Some vice's go for up to $100, so I thought I would try to make one for a fraction of the cost.  I found a 4-inch C-clamp and a needle-nose vice grip.  The next step is to weld  a 1/4 inch rod to the C-clamp and to the vice grips. (No problem if you don't have a welder....just borrow.  I used a relatives, and it took us just a few minutes.)  Finally, I bent the top end of the rod at a 90 degree angle to give the weld a little more support on the vice grips.  Done!  Not only was I able to make this tool for less than the cost of buying it, but I will be able to make my own lures as well.
90 angle weld on vice grips




Finished product

Monday, March 12, 2012

ABC Dates

Hello everyone!  It's the Mr. and Mrs. here, back after a brief hiatus from blogging after a couple of vey busy weeks.

We already blogged about what we did for our "A" dates (see post about dating a-z).  Now onto B and C.  We had to combine these into a couple of nights to plan around our anniversary and babysitters, but we still managed to check both letters off our list.  Here's what we did:

On our actual anniversary day, I (Mrs.) got 4 Calalillies (one of my favorite flowers, and the first time Mr. had gotten them for me!!!) in honor of our 4 years of marriage.






Then we took Little Miss to Cold Stone for dessert...as you can see, she was less than thrilled about waiting for her ice cream until after a picture.
The next evening we visited an Asian Bistro.  The food was amazing, and it was fun to try out a new spot.  We finished the night by watching Courageous, which if you haven't seen, you must watch some time. And there you have it!  Nothing too crazy, but it got us thinking outside the box for what we might normally do.  We've already got a few ideas for upcoming letters, but could use a little help with ideas for D and E.  If you have any, post some in the comments!