Flowers for Leontien

Hugs to my friend who is battling cancer!! Here are some flowers to brighten your day!

Lots of love dear Leontien!!

The Best Way to Freeze Cookie Dough - 2 Maids a Baking

Who doesn't love fresh cookies from the oven?!?

I know I sure do!!

Here is a quick and easy way to ensure you can have cookies whenever you want!

Chocolate chip cookies are a favorite around our house and with the guys that work for us at the farm. I always make a double or triple batch. I bake about 30 and then I freeze the rest.

This is the best way to freeze cookie dough!!

I only use a scoop when making cookies, like this OXO Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop, it makes your life so easy! Scoop and tray like you normally would. 

Pop in your freezer. Notice you only get to see a small portion of my freezer, it is for your own good... it is scary in there!!

Leave in the freezer for a couple hours or overnight. 

Pop the frozen cookie balls into a freezer bag or freezer container. 

Pull them out when you are ready to use them. Let them sit on a cookie tray for 30 minutes and then cook according to directions. 

Happy Baking!!

Can't wait to see what you linked up this week!!

Note: Affiliated links are used in this post.  

Meet Ken, Our Dairy Nutritionist

Meet Ken, Ken (on the left) is our Dairy Nutritionist. He has a PhD in ruminant nutrition aka nutrition for animals that digest their food by first eating it and then regurgitating (cute, huh) a semi-digested form called cud. These animals, including cows, then eat their cud, a process called ruminating. Hope you weren't eating while reading this portion!

Ken comes to the farm about once a week. While he is at the farm he was the glorious job of watching what goes in the cow and what comes out... maybe you shouldn't eat during this part either... He is like a glorified Dietitian but for cows!! Another part of his job is to look at the overall "condition" (whether they are skinny, just right or getting a bit on the chunky side) of each group of heifers and cows. You see, depending on the age and stage of lactation (whether or not they just had a baby) the cow needs different nutrition requirements. Baby calves need a different menu or diet then "teenage" heifers or cows who are about to give birth. Ken helps us make sure they are getting exactly the nutrients they need. 

We try and grow as much of the food for the cows as possible, including hay, corn, and soybeans. But, because each field can have a different soil type, possibility for a different amount of rain fall and many other factors, not all hay etc. is created equal. Ken randomly takes samples of all of our feed ingredients and will adjust the "ration" or menu depending on the quality to make sure the cows continue to get the nutrients they need. 

Ken also checks in with our team to make sure that the menu that looks good on paper is actually just as tasty for the cows. We can come up with the most balanced "ration" but we aren't going to get very far if the cows don't eat it! Just like everything in life communication is very important!! 

I hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about Ken and how we keep our bovine beauties menu's looking good and tasting great! 

You are now in the all clear in terms of eating. I promise not to mention burping or pooping any more during this post!!

I had to get one more in there for ya! ; )

Robert Redford Dessert - 2 Maids a Baking

This is one of those desserts I would have never thought I would have liked until I tried it. 

You see I am not a big fan of cool whip, cream cheese or pudding. But, apparently when you put them all together I love it! 

You start by making the first layer. 

Mix the flour, melted butter and nuts. 

Spread into 9x13 pan and bake.

Start on the second layer. 

Mix together cream cheese, powdered sugar and cool whip. 

Spread over 1st layer. 

Put in fridge to cool. 

Mix together pudding.

Pour over second layer.

Even out the layer.

Top with remaining cool whip.

Store in fridge until ready to serve. 

Enjoy!!

Robert Redford Dessert:

1st Layer:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 sticks melted butter

1/2 cup chopped nuts

2nd Layer:

1 cup powdered sugar

1 8 oz. package softened cream cheese

1 cup cool whip

3rd Layer:

1 large package instant pudding mix (I prefer chocolate)

3 cups milk

4th Layer:

remaining cool whip

Mix 1st layer and press into 9x13 pan, will seem skimpy - just keep flattening it out in the pan. Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove and cool. Mix 2nd layer together and spread over 1st layer. Place in fridge to cool. Mix the pudding with milk and whip for 2 minutes. Spread over second layer. Spread remaining cool whip over all and chill. Garnish with chopped nuts or chocolate shavings.  

Can't wait to see what recipes you link up this week!! Thanks for all the love last week!!

Happy Baking!!

A Bun in the Oven - 2 Maids a Baking

Dear Readers,

I have been keeping a secret from you!!

A secret that has changed my lifestyle and will change our lives.

This secret has had me sleeping 10-12 hours a night.

This secret has changed my appetite to one similar to a picky 3 year old.

This secret has kept me from blogging as much as I would have liked.

This secret has kept me from visiting all of your sites as much as I would have liked.

I miss you all!!

This secret is worth going through all the above and more!

The secret is that we are having a baby!!!

We are almost 23 weeks along!!

Here is a picture of our sweet little chubby baby sucking on that thumb!!

And in case you are one of those people who likes to see prego pictures (I am one of those - some how it seems a lot cuter on other people!) here is a picture from Easter. 

My hubby will get bad if I don't mention the fact that he had to feed the cows Easter morning hence his fabulous attire!! And no my hair doesn't normally look like that... we had some killer winds blowing around during egg hunting! 

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter!!

I can't wait to see what you link up below!!

Link as many recipes as you would like and be sure to visit and make some new friends!!

Kids and Easter

I love to do Easter activities with my kiddos to help them remember the true reason we celebrate this holiday! It's easy to get wrapped up in egg hunts, coloring eggs, and the Easter bunny (all of which we enjoy) but we always try to spend some time reflecting on Jesus!

We made the Easter Story Cookies last year and while the kids loved making them - they didn't taste as good as they would've liked! So, we went back to the Ressurection Rolls this year! These are by no means an original - in fact, we did these at church years ago but they are such a great way to remind your kiddos of the Easter message and they taste great!

Ingredients
One can of crescent roll dough
Large marshmallows
Melted butter
Cinnamon sugar
Bible

Read John 19 while the oven is heating up. Unroll the crescent rolls - these represent the cloth that they wrapped Jesus in. Give your child a marshmallow and explain that it represents Jesus - pure and white because he was without sin. Roll the marshmallow in melted butter (symbolizes the embalming oils) and then in the cinnamon sugar which represents the spices used to prepare the body for burial. Then wrap it in the crescent roll making sure to pinch it together tightly. (No need to worry about the shape of the roll.)

Put the rolls into the tomb (oven) and bake according to the package directions. While baking, read John 20: 1-18.

Open the tomb when finished and let them cool. Then break apart and discover that the body of Jesus (marshmallow) is gone! Jesus is risen!

Happy Easter!

How to Make a Fake Bread Loaf

I had the opportunity last week to make 24 FAKE loaves of bread! It may sound strange but it turned out to be really fun and a great project to involve my kiddos with!

The story behind the fake bread loaves - our church had a fire last fall in the children's wing and thankfully nobody was hurt, but the entire wing had to be shut down for a few months and overhauled. In this process, the rooms were painted, upgraded and 'themed'. So, we needed some fake loaves of bread for the market! These are actually quite expensive to purchase, so our Children's Director found a recipe online to make fake bread loaves and I got the chance to make them!

Check them out:

Don't they look real???!! They are so simple to make and you already have the ingredients in your kitchen.

Recipe for fake bread loaves

4 C. of flour

1 C.salt

2 C. water

Stir and shape into loaves with hands

Cut a slit in the top

Bake at 300 for at least an hour

*In order to get them to 'brown' properly, we brushed melted butter on them!

Once they are cooled, you can shellack them and even add sesame seeds to make them look more real.

I watched so many people pick them up, smell them, look them over, and tap them on their fist (they get hard as a rock) this past Sunday at church! They couldn't believe that we had actually made them!!

I can see this being a GREAT project for your child's play kitchen or even for table decorations!

What have you baked lately?

Can't wait to see!!

Link your recipes below!!