Bacon and Other Random Pins

Some people use Google.

Others Yahoo or even Bing.

I know some folks who use YouTube.

But there's this place on the Internet where you can find recipes, the latest crafting ideas, cute outfits and even humorous quotes and cartoons.

What is this place you ask? Pinterest, of course!

As my first attempt at completing a writing prompt over at Mama's Losin' It, here are my last five Pins...

5.  I use Pinterest as a keeper of all things. 

Source: amazon.com via Megan on Pinterest

I write a weekend post over at Real Farmwives of America and I featured a book review last weekend that included this book.

4.  I use Pinterest to make me laugh.

Source: iwastesomuchtime.com via Megan on Pinterest

True statement. Sad, but treatment.

3.  I use Pinterest to improve my skills.

Source: loveveggiesandyoga.com via Megan on Pinterest

Or at least that's the plan. I did read through this post on photography tips for food shots.

2.  I use Pinterest to document some of my favorite memories.

Source: galinthemiddle.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

There are many photos (better photos) out there of this exact same image, but this is my perspective and I love it.

1.  I use Pinterest to proclaim my love of bacon (and also S'mores but that's another post).

Source: mcphee.com via Megan on Pinterest

I think bacon represents more to me than just the world's most perfect food (it is though).

I grew up on a farm in Indiana and we raised pigs (and corn and soybeans). My dad and grandpa spent their days in the barn while we played in the toolshed or out in the yard.

When we piled into my dad's truck (or in the back - those were the days before seat belt laws), the signs were many that he raised pigs.

From the rubber boots in the back of the truck to the grease crayon (used to mark the back of a pig when sorting them) on the seat to the mounds of paper on the dash, dad's truck was his office. Looking back, I now know where I get my organization skills...dad's truck cab looked very similar to my desk in my office!

Bacon might be something that most people buy in the store (I do too) but it's something more to me. It's a reminder that there are people, like my dad, who spend their lives raising food so that I can enjoy bacon at breakfast...and lunch...and supper.

Or, maybe it's just bacon...who knows!

Simply Smores Cookies

I had some mini chocolate chip cookie dough in the fridge and decided to bake them up tonight and make my own ice cream cookie sandwiches.

Then I saw these...

via

...and I knew what I had to do!

Mine weren't nearly as pretty and fancy as Martha's, but they were delicious and oh so simple to make.

I started with already baked mini chocolate chip cookies. I just made four but you can do as many as you want at a time. I turned my oven to broil and let it heat up.

I put a quarter of a square of dark chocolate on top of two of the cookies and left the other two plain just to see if the chocolate chips were enough chocolate.

I didn't have any jumbo marshmallows so I used Marshmallow Fluff - a spoonful on top of each cookie. Then I popped the pan in the oven for a couple of minutes...just keep an eye on them after about a minute and a half because they toast quickly after that!

They were DELICIOUS. I definitely liked the ones with the added chocolate piece better but I ate all four of them.

I didn't abandon my idea of making mini ice cream sandwiches...

There are now a dozen of these babies inividually wrapped in my freezer waiting for me!

I'm linking up to Show Us Your Life at Kelly’s Korner.

Where There's Fire, There's S'mores!

Mom called this morning and said "Your dad wants to burn the brush pile so we are going to roast hot dogs." I replied, "What time?"

Because with my family, where there's fire - there's s'mores!

While we normally enjoy a bonfire once the sun goes down, with Daylight Savings Time that's not until after 9 p.m. this time of year and it was Sunday which means a school night for the little ones and a work night for the older ones, so we started earlier today.

BTW, I'm not complaining about the longer evenings because this means I can usually get a walk in after work even if I work late!

This was a special bonfire. It was our first at the log cabin my dad is building. My dad had always wanted a pond so a couple of years ago, he had one built. Then he wanted a log cabin, so he and a neighbor (who's a master builder) are building one. It always amazes me the breadth of skills my dad possesses! I guess that's a farmer for you!

He also roasts a mean hot dog...

and a great marshmellow!

There's an art to making a perfect s'more. The chocolate to marshmellow to graham cracker ratio has to be just right. Today we used the small snack size Hershey milk chocolate bars and had to ration them so we wouldn't run out. Soooo, our s'mores were a little light on the chocolate.

 

But they were still enjoyed, especially by some of my nephews.

While others just wanted the marshmellows.

Time at the cabin also means Gator time. No, we don't have alligators in central Indiana. I'm talking about a John Deere Gator - something else my dad had to get once he got his pond and started on his cabin. It's more fun getting from the farm to the cabin in the Gator than it is in the truck!

Tonight my nephews pretended they were the A-Team and the Gator was their van. (My brother-in-law enjoys introducing them to old TV series!)

I was told that I couldn't be B.A. (aka Mr. T). I guess the lack of gold chains and mohawk disqualified me - that and I was a GIRL. But they did let me be the girl in the show, you know the one that stayed in the van.

After a while, pretending to drive wasn't enough so Grandma took them on a ride.

I can't wait for many more evenings at the cabin this summer. It's a time for family. It's a time to be outside. It's a time for fun. His smile says it all...