Pumpkin Patch-Finale

Homemade Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, strained
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Mix everything together in a large mixing bowl until completely combined. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker for a few minutes until it is a smooth, cool consistency. Alternatively, place the bowl in the freezer and stir mixture every half hour until it reaches desired consistency.

Found a yummy recipe via Pinterest from The Nap Time Chef.

Cowboy Gathering

With a title like that how can you go wrong?!

A week from today I am attending the 1st annual Flint Hills Cowboy Gathering. Friday will consist of a concert and Saturday will be a fun filled day with poetry, music, and vendors. Laurel Hill & 2Chick Couture will be one of those vendors :) I'm really excited to finally set up with a place that focuses on the western lifestyle. Chunky jewelry and blinged-out caps should be a hit.

Comfort

Pumpkin Patch-Part 3

Perfect for a brisk Fall evening!

Pumpkin Pie White Hot Chocolate

Ingredients:
3 cups whole milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon cloves
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 ounces white chocolate (roughly chopped)
pinch salt

Directions:
1. Heat the milk, pumpkin puree, and spices in a sauce pan until it just starts to simmer and remove form heat.
2. Add the chocolate and stir until it has melted.
3. Pour into mugs and top with whipped cream and garnish with cinnamon.

Zoe- I thought of you on this one!

Big Chicken

Happy Thrifty Thursday!
Today I'm sharing another of my great buys at the auction I attended.

Yes it was a little windy when I took this picture of the lamp

Some of you might think its a little wild, well that is totally Trix.
How could I resist it though!?
1) True essence of Trix
2) County yet Couture
3) With one of my business's name being 2Chick Couture, it was a must.

Who you are!

I feed the World....What's Your Superpower?

Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to speak to.....well more like "with" a group of young ladies with a passion and interest for agriculture. The group was diverse in their backgrounds and  current involvement with agriculture. An added bonus was that America's Heartland a a weekly series that airs on PBS stations around the country and on RFD-TV had sent a man to video tape the evening. The show is featuring 2 farmers from McPherson county. I will keep you posted on that!

My personal goal for the evening :
1)Leave them with a confidence that no matter your profession or age you can always be an advocate for Agriculture

2) Encourage them to educate themselves to better be able to deal with a variety of situation regarding the rural lifestyle

3) Have them teach me something new

I really hope I succeeded! I know that #3 can be checked off.
When we talked about the frustrations of being in Ag production one that really seemed to stand out was the late hours for their husband. Understandable, however those husbands are out there working hard to get a field planted or harvested or...... Then it came to me. "Your husband is out there producing not only to support your family but also to support families across the world." So the saying came, "He's out feeding the world"  One of the ladies said, "I guess I can take care and feed the 2 kids at the house, cause HE'S OUT FEEDING THE WORLD."

I believe we each should look at the positive we are not only doing for ourselves and family but for the world.

More posts on this great experience of mine.

Pumpkin Patch-Part 2

This one is actually kinda healthy. The author tried to tweak the recipe to make it better for you.
I say that my recipes are tested and approved. This one didn't pass my approval, but did the rest of the fam. If you want to try a different filling is what I would suggest. Make a cheesecake like filling, just cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Just a thought.

Pumpkin and Cream Bread

Yield: 2 loaves

Batter:

1-1/2 c. pureed pumpkin

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce

1 whole egg

3 egg whites

1 c. all-purpose flour

2/3 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. Stevia Cup For Cup sweetener ( I used granulated sugar for this part as well)

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Cream filling

8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

1/4 c. granulated sugar

1 T. all-purpose flour

2 egg whites

1 t. vanilla extract

1. For the Batter: With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin, applesauce, egg, and egg whites on medium speed until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, Stevia, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture.

2. For the cream cheese filling: Beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, egg whites and flour until creamy and smooth.

3. Grease 2 8x4x2" loaf pans. Divide half of the batter between the two pans. Pour half of the filling in one pan and the other half in the second pan and smooth with the back of a spoon. Top with the remaining batter.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Don't overbake or your bread will be dry on the edges. Cool and remove from pans. Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

World Food Day

Yep its today!  World Food Day "is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger. " source

The first thing I thought about was how lucky I am that I don't have to worry about where my next meal is going to come from. Sad though, that in many countries this is not the case. Fact: 925 million in chronic hunger worldwide (source United Nations)

The second, Thank a farmer or rancher if you ate a meal today. Those are the people that are producing and allowing us to eat and have that secure feeling. We need to increase the awareness of where that food is coming from and how it reaches our table.

Facts:
90% of Kansas land area is devoted to Agriculture production.

In the United States, one acre of wheat (depending on wheat class and where grown)yields an average 42 bushels of wheat.

Kansas is the largest wheat producing state, A bushel of wheat yields 42 commercial loaves of white bread source


I just wanted to give you a few facts to think about and help you put into perspective what a farmer/rancher does and how that effects you. If one KS farmer quits planting wheat, how is that going to impact you? Maybe not drastically, but think if every KS  farmer quits? Would you be able to afford a loaf of bread to make a PB&J?

So for World Food Day, be thankful and let a farmer and rancher know that their hard work is worth it. If your in Ag production as my family and I are..... Keep up the good work- I am grateful!

Agri-Women Farm Tour: Alpacas

The Flint Hills Chapter of Kansas Agri-Women toured Prairie School Farms.

It was a beautiful day and we learned quite a bit; everything from the nutrition, to sheering, trimming of hooves, and the weaving process of the fiber. The owners were wonderful hosts and not only did they make it educational but they also hosted us in their house for a delicious brunch and  our monthly meeting.

Each of their animals has a unique personality.
Alpacas were exported from Peru in the mid-1980s 

The hair of the alpaca is called 'fleece' or 'fiber' rather than 'fur' or 'wool.' Alpaca fleece has 22 natural shades

This guy's fiber is a favorite among the local buyers at the yarn shop.
They are sheered annually.

The noise that alpacas make is humming

Its best to educate at a young age!

Couldn't resist this!

Alpaca babies are called Cria

A little practice showmanship.

Side jaunt to the chicken coop. This adorable coop is from repurposed wood and salvaged items. Everywhere we looked and saw something cute they had a story about where it came from, what it had been, they are great stewards and examples of rural resourcefulness.

Thanks again to Prairie School Farms!

Wedding attire?!

I wish this was a simple post saying what to traditionally wear to a wedding. I received an invitation to a wedding reception. I was totally confused on what to wear. It had been 90 degrees and then all of the sudden it was 45. I thought this wedding is outside. How do you dress for that. Then I think about the couple. I have been friends with the groom for years and more recently met the bride and we get along great. He is a cowboy through and through. She is spunky and fashionable. So do I wear boots jeans and a fun shirt? Do I wear a skirt and boots, do I wear a dress? I didn't know. Then to add to the complicated mess it started raining the night before the wedding. I wasn't sure, so I called up my best friend Abby that was going as well and we made a strategy. This way we both looked "the same" and if we were too hot, too cold, of felt out of place we would be in it together.
Plan of action:
Cute nice jeans (I wore trouser jeans)
Fun going out sleeveless top (incase it was 90)
Dressy Cardigan (incase it was 45)
Anderson Bean boots (for dancing)
Lots of great jewelry and a good hairdo


Well turns out we were perfect, some of the cuter gals there, if I do say so myself. A showed up late (but he apologize 100times) he had been shipping cattle, getting panels,...you know the drill. We definitely made up for it by dancing almost non-stop. The 2 of us ended up being the last couple off the dance floor and walked out with the DJ.


Wanted to share my wedding gift I made. It matched their rustic chic wedding motif.

The bride told me she got quite a few of her wedding reception decor ideas from Pinterest. After Abby heard this, she joined that night!  The reception was held at a B&B. They moved it into the barn because of the cold weather. Take a look.

Stocktanks held the beverages.

                                                    CONGRATS to the newly married Oleens!

Thrifty Thursday

Well I've finally gotten around to starting my THRIFTY THURSDAY, Today is my grandma's birthday, so I think it only appropriate that I show you something that really tells what an influence she has been on me and my family.

My grandmother is a hard working, honest, loving, forgiving, Godly, cancer surviving woman! She is who has influence my love of old thing(she & my gpa own an antique store) and country items. I went to an auction this past weekend. Trix the lady who passes was one of my grandma's close friends, so of course I wanted something to remind me of that (the best items I got of true Trix character I'm holding for next Thursday. Trix was the owner of "The Calico Inn" the best little place in the world to eat. So here is my item related to the Inn.

 I couldn't resist it has LAUREL on it! I only paid $5 !!! Can you believe it?! Stands about 2 1/2 feet tall. I love it!

Blessings

Count your rainbows, not your thunderstorms.

Pumpkin Patch-Part 1

I ran onto a homemade Pumpkin Granola at at The Rustic Chick. It really gets you into the Fall season. I used a large can of Pumpkin so I decided to go ahead and try these other pumpkin recipes that I have  found on Pinterest, online, in cookbooks, etc. So October is going to be Pumpkin Recipe Month

Pumpkin Granola

4 cups rolled oats

1 cup almonds, chopped

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tbls. maple syrup

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional: 3/4-1 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl: mix together oats, chopped almonds, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until well combined.

In a separate bowl: combine brown sugar, pumpkin puree, applesauce, maple syrup and vanilla extract and using a whisk or fork, whisk until smooth.

Add wet (sugar) mixture to the dry ingredients with a spatula, mix until everything is coated. If it seems too dry, add a little more applesauce and maple syrup.

Spread the granola mixture onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Carefully remove and mix for even baking. Then bake for additional 18-20 minutes or until granola looks nice and golden.

Remove from oven and let cool before stirring in the dried cranberries. Store in airtight container!

State Fair

I have bummed into a few of you and you asked how the state fair meeting for Kansas Agri-Women went (it was a month ago). Well the answer is "GREAT" We accomplished alot and really looking forward to the National meeting in November.

I didn't take much time to look around the fair, as I had other things to get done, but I did make sure I stopped by one of my favorite parts---The Butter Sculpture.

This year it was monkeys riding sheep. Rather humurous.

So much detail, the turtle, the tree on the left that you can't see was made of butter as well. Very cool!

Where are you?

That's probably the question you have been asking, I haven't blogged in 2 weeks, except for those I had automatically posted.  No I didn't take a vacation to Europe ( I wish), I didn't meet the man of my dreams and run off (again I wish), I have just been doing the usual; crafting, on the road, going to conferences, wedding showers, and getting ready for the American Agri-Women National convention we are hosting in Wichita, plus much more. .......

I'm going to have alot of new posts with lots of info on a variety of topics, but mostly AGRICULTURE!

Lets start with the Pumpkin Patch, a large craft fair that is held in Manhattan. It was a 2 day event and we did really well. 2Chick Couture's schedule is full for craft fairs and shows until February.

We will be at the following:

Nov 9-12 American Agri-Women Convention-Wichita, KS
Nov 12-Buttons & Bows-Manhattan, KS
Nov 26-Homemade for the Holidays-Manhattan, KS
Dec 3-Christcringle- Ft.Riley, KS
Dec 10-The Magic of Christmas -Riley, KS

One of the items I made that really went well were the feedsack tote bags.
I have a variety of designs, horses, cattle, chickens, all purpose stock feed,....

Here are pictures of a bunch of the sacks after I have washed them and then hung them on the line to dry.

If your looking for Christmas presents, myself and 2Chick Couture are here to help!

Prayer

"Life is Short, Handle with Prayer"