Blue Ribbon State Fair--Blueberry Surprise French Toast Casserole

This recipe comes from my favorite source to find recipes ~ Taste of Home. You can find the recipe here. It's been a while since I had made this delightful dish so when I found blueberries on sale...
And then it was on to the oven....

And then on our plates ready to eat...

Monday Mystery Mission

This is the last week for the month of July Monday Mystery Mission. Next week I will draw one lucky name out of my hat and someone will be receiving some yummy skin loving goodies! I had several correct guesses for last week. Each person with the correct guess earned 5 extra entries in the July drawing. The correct answer for last week: NOTEBOOK PAPER.

This week we have an entirely new Monday Mystery Mission, if you choose to accept it...WHAT AM I? This one is really hard, it's not what you think it is! Put on those thinking caps...
Post your answers as a comment to this post (and be sure we know how to contact you should you win) and you will be entered into a monthly drawing for some yummy skin loving goodies. I accept guesses both on this blog and the blog feed on Facebook. If your guess is correct, you will gain 5 extra entries into the monthly drawing. Let's have some fun!

Sunday Silence

Autumn Goodness For Your Skin

Autumn in Vermont Soap ~ It's a crisp autumn morning in Vermont. Take a deep breath as you stroll along the mountain road and take in the picturesque views of the foliage. This soap fragrance captures a hint of apples sprinkled with cinnamon and cloves, add in a dash of balsam fir and cedar and then mellow it out with a touch of vanilla. Smells so yummy!

Speaking of Yummy! Your feet will be Lovin' our Loofah Soap in Perfect Pumpkin. We've taken a generous slice of loofah and submerged it in a luxurious helping of 100% Vegan Friendly Glycerin Soap. What can be better than a nice bar of scented soap that will both exfoliate and cleanse those rough, stinky feet? We've infused the soap with the essence of Perfect Pumpkin. Reminiscent of Pumpkin Pie coming out of the oven. What can be better than that?

How cute would this Perfect Pumpkin Air Freshener look on a shelf or in a powder room? This Perfect Pumpkin is lovingly hand crocheted with 100% Crochet Cotton Thread. We've stuffed this little guy full of soft fiber fill and scented him heavily with a Premium Quality Fragrance Oil ~ Perfect Pumpkin. Perfect Pumpkin is approximately 2 inches wide X 2 1/2 inches tall (including stem).

All American Mom

Earlier this month in celebration of my Birthday I was given this awesome Teddy Bear ~ The All American Mom Bear ~ my FIRST EVER Vermont Teddy Bear! Back track to the last week in June when we had a friend fly in for a week and took her to see the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. See that big Teddy Bear she's cuddling up to?
Now, I've been to this factory MANY times over the years without buying a bear, but this time I immediately fell in love with one of the bears on display because of the Patriotic dress she was wearing. She would fit right in with my kitchen decor and jokingly told Ashley the bear would make a great Birthday present (hint, hint), never dreaming she would actually purchase one for me.

These Vermont Made bears are the bomb! Very well constructed and come with a lifetime guarantee. If anything ever happens to your bear, just fill out the hospital admission papers and in a few weeks the bear will come back to you all fixed up and ready for more years of loving. These Teddy Bears come in a box with an air hole, so they can breathe. A snack in case they get hungry on the way to their new home, and some road trip games stamped on the inside of the box in case the bear gets bored. Here's a Question ~ What's the official beverage of Vermont? Answer ~ If you guessed Maple Syrup you are correct! The inside of the box is also stamped with the History of the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, and also some alternative uses for the box. One suggestion is to use it as a fish tank but warns it may only last 10 minutes, 15 if you plug the hole in the box.

As further proof that this is indeed an authentic Vermont Teddy Bear, you have to look very deeply into her eyes...
Yup, she was "Born in Vermont", which means she's the real deal!

Monday Mystery Mission

It was a lot of fun reading all of the guesses for last week's Monday Mystery Mission. Everyone has been entered into the monthly drawing. The correct answer for last week: KLEENEX TISSUE Creepy, huh???

This week we have an entirely new Monday Mystery Mission, if you choose to accept it...WHAT AM I?
Post your answers as a comment to this post and you will be entered into a monthly drawing for some yummy skin loving goodies. If your guess is correct, you will gain 5 extra entries into the monthly drawing. Let's have some fun!

Sunday Silence

Lemon Sunshine

Don't be fooled by this realistic looking lemon ~ it's really soap! So unique, so different and very popular this summer. Cheerful and lemony all wrapped up in a special bar of glycerin soap that looks great next to your sink and the awesome lemony scent will freshen the air.

You can find them here.

Lavender Twist Makes Its Debut

Lavender is best known for its Aromatherapy benefit of balance & relaxation. Made with a 100% pure and undiluted essential oil that originates in France this superfatted soap will leave your skin feeling extra pampered and loved. Fresh off the curing rack and ready to ship.

It's Christmas In July

We've devoted an entire section of our shop to Christmas and we've discounted those items by 20%. Yup, that's right! No need to wait for a revised invoice, just check out as you would normally. Get a head start on your Holiday shopping. But hurry, because the sale only lasts until July 22, 2009 and some items are in short supply!

Monday Mystery Mission Begins

Monday's have a bad wrap...1st day of the work week, Monday Blues, etc. But we're going to kick it up a notch and put some fun into Monday's. It's been a while since I held an active contest on my blog and as some of you may already know...life has been super crazy around this cow house for a couple months now. After catching my breath, I'm ready to roll full steam ahead once again. And with that comes a bit of whimsy and fun coming to you every Monday.

Every once in a while I take photos of items laying around the house and yard. The camera I use has an awesome super macro setting that brings out details you can't see with the naked eye, which intrigues me ~ I know it doesn't take much to entertain this cow. And so, this is where the fun begins...starting today, and every Monday after, I will be posting an image on my blog. It is up to you to figure out what the image is...some are really hard, others deceiving, and every once in a while there might be an easy one to figure out. One thing you can be sure of, each item is something found in and around most households. Post your answers as a comment to this post and you will be entered into a monthly drawing for some yummy skin loving goodies. If your guess is correct, you will gain 5 extra entries into the monthly drawing. At any rate, it will always be fun!

Here is your first Monday Mystery Mission, if you choose to accept it.... WHAT AM I?
Next week I will post the answer to this week's mystery image, along with a new Monday Mystery Mission.

Sunday Silence

Meet Miesmama...where Handmade Goodness Abounds

Miesmama is a mother to two who loves to be creative. She is also a fellow Etsyblogger, and my "neighbor" over in the Adirondack Mountains. I have had my eye on this stunning Strawberries and Cream Handbag listed in her Shop. Not only is it super cute, but its size is perfect for holding all of the summer extras one needs to carry around with them....towel, suntan lotion, etc.

Miesmama says ~ "my goal is to spread a little handmade goodness and personally try to be more self-sustaining. Each item is imagined and handmade by myself with love."

In addition to her shop, Miesmama maintains a blog you really must check out!

The Power of Pink

The past two days I've been enjoying the gorgeous views from yet another location on Lake Champlain. This time, the Basin Harbor Club.I was invited to participate in the Power of Pink Trunk Show that ran in conjunction with the Power of Pink Luncheon. 20% of sales were donated to benefit Ladies First in Vermont and the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer research. I was thrilled to be included in this fabulous event and had a great deal of fun creating these ribbon soaps.
I caught my "helper" snoozing on the job. LOL She is 4 months old today! I can't believe how fast she's growing already.

Cruising Lake Champlain

For the 4th of July we attended a lovely wedding on board a dinner cruise boat on Lake Champlain, Vermont. The dock where we boarded the boat was the same dock used by one of the ferries that goes between Vermont and New York. We watched several ferries coming in and out before we were permitted to board the boat. It was cold, windy and we were dodging raindrops but spirits weren't dampened by the weather. Fortunately they found a location somewhat secluded from the wind to set anchor for the ceremony. After dusk there were several firework displays around the lake that we were able to view from the boat. Here are some of the views of the lake from the window inside the boat while we were having dinner.

Grilled Potatoes

One of my favorite dishes for the summertime is a recipe I posted last year ~ Jamaican Jerk Chicken. Today I would like to share with you a side dish that I serve quite frequently throughout the summer ~ Grilled Potatoes. You will need aluminum foil, potatoes, onions, spices of choice, and a fat of choices (olive oil, bacon grease, butter, etc.), pan spray, hot grill, grill mitts, and a hearty appetite.

You can make small individual packets, or a couple large packets if preparing for a large group.

Wash the potatoes and slice thin ~ skin and all! If you aren't into eating the skins, then peel them before slicing. Put potato in bowl. Slice onion (if you dice they will over cook too fast) and add to potato. Add spices of choice (now would be a good time to add salt & pepper, too). I prefer Mrs. Dash because it is salt-free and I strive to limit my sodium intake because of hypertension. Add fat of choice (olive oil, bacon grease, butter, etc.) and mix together.

I prefer to spray the tin foil before placing potatoes and forming packets. HINT: Shiny side of tin foil IN helps radiate the heat through the food. :) To form packets I place one sheet of tin foil shiny side up, spray with cooking spray, add potatoes, place another sheet of foil shiny side down that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Then I begin to fold in sides until the packet is sealed up nicely. Smaller packets will take less time to cook than larger packets.

After all of the packets are ready, it's off to the hot grill (I prefer the old fashioned charcoal grills, not the gas grills but you can achieve the same results on a gas grill with a little tweaking). You will want to turn the packets every 10 minutes. These cook up relatively quickly ~ 20-30 minutes. I pull a packet off the grill and give a gently squeeze with the mitts to see if the potatoes are soft yet. These packets can be set aside while you cook the meat of choice.

You can add other veggies to the potatoes (peppers, peas, etc.) ~ experiment and have fun! I have found that cheese melts and holds up better when sprinkled as a garnish after the spuds have been cooked. Cooking the potatoes this way keeps the heat out of the kitchen, and you can personalize each packet for individual preferences (ie: onions or no onions).

Happy Grilling!