No Bake "Cow Pie" Cookies

These Cow Pie Cookies are my go to sweet treat when I'm short on time in the middle of a big ole chocolate craving.  If you are not a great baker, I guarantee you can make these.  Well, that is if you can boil water....or the ingredients in this case.

2 Cups Sugar

4 Tbsp Cocoa

1 Stick Butter

1/2 Cup Milk

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

3 Cups Quick Oats

In a saucepan bring to boil the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Then add the vanilla and peanut butter and stir until peanut butter is melted.  In a large bowl combine the oatmeal and chocolate mixture.  On a sheet pan line with wax paper, drop by spoonfuls and allow to harden.   I've been known to stick them in the refrigerator or freezer to speed up the that process....remember, I crave chocolate.

{{{HUGS}}}

A Calf Being Born

The hubs called me tonight and asked if myself and my daughter could come help pull a calf.  Like a nice wife, I agreed to head over to help.  He told me he was going to go to the shop and grab the pullers.  I told him I had to change my clothes and we would head right over.  I had to take off my comfy yoga pants and put on a pair of jeans.  I considered wearing my yoga pants, but then I didn't want to ruin a perfectly good pair of yoga pants.  Don't you love yoga pants?!?

When my daughter and I got to the farm my hubs was watching the heifer {meaning she has not had a calf yet in her lifetime}.  She was laying down and pushing with all her might.  When we approached the heifer she got up and pushed.  And then....well, watch.....

The heifer seemed a little confused at first, but she made her way over to her newborn calf to clean him {or her} up.  Sometimes, first calf heifers aren't so loving and won't claim the calf.  If that happens, it means I would have a bottle baby calf.  So far, we haven't had any bottle babies this year.  We did bottle feed one calf, but after a while the heifer decided she liked the little guy and decided to let him nurse.   

  I love seeing baby calves born and this gal was kind enough to let me stand 10 feet away and watch.  The other heifers would come over and sniff the calf, but eventually leave.  I'll tell ya, it takes a village to raise a calf or maybe I should say herd!

So we did not have to pull calf which is always a plus!  Guess I should have left those yoga pants on!

  

{{{HUGS}}}

Meaty Cornbread Casserole

Do you ever go to your pantry and look for something to make and you can't decide on anything?  Yeah, I was at a loss the other day so I decided to throw some stuff together in hopes that it turned out.

I grabbed the following:

1 box of corn muffin mix

1 can of pinto beans

1 can of Ro-Tel tomatoes

Worcestershire sauce

Chili powder

1 package of Ranch dip

1 small onion

1 green pepper

2 cloves of garlic

1 pound of hamburger

Then later I grabbed:

1 8oz. can of tomato sauce

1 cup of shredded cheese

I diced the green pepper and onion and minced the garlic.  I browned the hamburger with onion and green pepper and then added the garlic when the meat was almost done.  Then I added the tomatoes, drained pinto beans, a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce, a tablespoon of chili powder, and the dry Ranch packet.  It seemed to be a little dry, so I added a small can of tomato sauce and allowed the mixture to simmer about 5 minutes.

Next, I transferred the mixture into a sprayed baking dish.  Topped it with cheese and the topped it with the prepared corn muffin mix and baked at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes. 

The cornbread will look nice and golden brown when it is finished.

Sorry for the horrible picture, but this is what I ended up with.

My hubs described it as thick chili with corn bread on top.  It had a little kick to it and wasn't too bad for my latest concoction!!!  

{{{HUGS}}}

The Herd....well a few of them!

I thought I would share some pictures of the mama cows and their adorable babies during a recent winter storm. Yeah, that's all!!

It was so cute watching the baby calves pounce around in the snow.  I think they really wanted to build a snowman!!!  Maybe, they wanted to make snow angels.  It was hard to tell for sure.

And this lady was trying to sport her best camouflage trying to blend in with the scenery, but I have an eye and spotted her anyway!!!  

Oh, then there is this gal, not to be confused with the prior camo mama!!!  She was clearly upset that I shot the picture from her bad side.  I'm sure when I show it to her she is going to go on a crash diet.  Pictures do that to us ladies!!!

As much as I have an itch for spring to arrive, I am grateful for the moisture in whatever form God decided to give us.  It was a beautiful wet snow and made for moments like these a few days later...

  

Yep, the glorious sight I get to admire living in the country!!!

{{{HUGS}}}