I Conguered The Cinnamon Roll!

If you have read any of my previous postings you will know that I am bread challenged. As hard as I tried I never had much luck with homemade breads. Well just recently I am proud to say that I did indeed bake a loaf of bread and it was delightful. Well today I decided to tackle the cinnamon roll. Up until now any cinnamon roll that was baked in our house came from a tube. But today I did it!!! The whole house smelled delicious and my cinnamon rolls turned out perfect. I am so proud!!

The start of the dough!

Rolled out and spread with butter, sugar, and cinnamon (one whole stick of butter) yikes!!

 Rolled up and ready for cutting

Good thing I have a dishwasher, Im quite the messy baker :) 


Placed in a warm place to rise

I was worried that they werent going to raise because I kept getting sidetracked by this one

But thankfully they did. All ready to go into the oven! 

I

Frosted and ready to eat!!! Yum! Im not sure what Im going to do with them  because there is no way Im allowing myself to eat them all

It's such a good feeling when you try something you have always been wanting to do and you succeed at it! I even managed to chase after two puppies the whole time I was making them.My next challenge is going to be Hawaiian  Bread.

Heres the recipe I used ! The frosting is so awesome!

A Weed I Would Be Happy To See Right Now!

Its been a long cold winter... Bring on the Dandelions please!

Little Bitty Barn Baby

At our old farm we had baby barn swallows return every year to our porch. They had built a nest right around our porch light. Every year they would return almost on the same exact date. Once they arrived you knew it was going to stay warm and when you woke up one morning and they were gone then you knew it was going to get cold soon. Barn swallows are so graceful in the air and they are so beneficial to your property. They eat a whole lot of bugs everyday. One year one of the babies got to close to the edge of the nest and fell out. We managed to rescue him and before we put em back in the nest we took a few pictures.

He was so content perched on our hands 

He was starting to fall asleep

We climbed the ladder and put him safely back in the nest with his brothers and sisters

Some of the cutest little faces I think Ive ever seen. They always look mad. Safe and sound now!

I think Mom and Dad were grateful.

 Barn swallows are one of my favorite things about summer. They always follow the lawn mower and swoop so close to you for all those bugs you stir up. They are always welcome at our farm. Once they decide they like your home they will return every year and so will their children. I am looking forward to the arrival of my feathered friends this year. Not too much longer I hope.

Amish Meatloaf

This was really good and easy!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 1/2 cups crushed butter-flavored crackers
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 slices bacon
•  
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together ground beef, crushed crackers, onion, eggs, 3/4 cup ketchup, and 1/4 cup brown sugar until well blended. Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Lay the two slices of bacon over the top.
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, or until cooked through. While the loaf bakes, mix together the remaining 1 cup ketchup, vinegar, salt, mustard and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Spread over the top of the meat loaf for the last 15 minutes of baking.

Down The Rabbit Hole?

We finally had a nice day today and I got to take a walk out to our orchard. This is what I found.

Im not sure WHO or WHAT is responsible for this but they have made quite a few entrances and exits to their cozy home. 

I got a little closer and I swear I heard "Im late, Im late for a very important date. 

And the laughter of perhaps a Mad Hatter...

Oh wait! I smell skunk!!