~Perfect backyard chickens, or indoor pet chickens if you prefer. Seramas are the smallest breed of chicken in the world. One of the things Seramas are bred for is temperament. They are very personable and enjoy human attention. Most are not very cold hardy and do need protection from extreme cold.~

*Friendly,Easily handled,Calm,Bears confinement well,Quiet,Docile

SO with the first backyard eggs of the year I made my first batch of cake pops ever! They are so very yummy! My family got a cake pop maker for Christmas and its been fun so far!   My favorite out of the 2 flavors that we made on ~nEW YEARS eVE ~is the yellow cake dipped in white chocolate.

My family and I had fun making them and definitely we loved eating them.  We got the Bella cake pop maker from JC Penney with a holiday discount coupon to make the deal even sweeter! Maybe I am a little bit weird, but cake pop makers (like waffle irons) seems like a more sanitary and an easer way than the old fashioned cake ball recipes where you have to crumble and roll the cake by hand, especially if you want to involve kids on the process of making them.  An extra easy step to take is to just use a regular cake mix instead of cooking cake from scratch. The first time we made cake pops it was with Yellow cake mix, white chocolate chips, semi sweet choc. chips, and sprinkles from the grocery store to keep it simple.

I have heard that white chocolate tastes much better than white Wilton’s candy melts as the coating for cake pops. I am eager to try this out for myself! We also mixed semi sweet chocolate chips with white chocolate chips in a small microwave safe bowl and melted them just a minute and stirred then another 15 seconds stirred again and I had a milk chocolate dip that tasted a lot like hostess chocolate donuts. But I really cant wait to try chocolate brownie cake balls dipped in the white chocolate. My daughter and I also have red velvet cake balls at the top of the list. Then Lemon, Almond creme, Carrot cake, Strawberry, Spice, and Pumpkin, and donuts of course. Remember, I have lots of little fresh bantam eggs to use.

There were 10 little differently colored eggs in there with my favorite little Americana hen on top of them waiting to lay her little green one for the day.  She laid it calmly and quietly in front of me and let me take eggs out and pet and watch her all the while!  SO cute!  When she was done she jumped out to get some fresh scratch with her “sisters” AAAAwww!

I brought in my 2 handfuls of eggs to show the little kids and Caity squealed “Oh a PINK ONE!”  Then I proudly held up the freshest green one and we ooo-ed and aaw-ed again!

This could be the most “princess-like” Duchess Catherine has looked since she married Prince William, she does it not disappoint.

At the “Night of Heroes” event at London’s Imperial War Museum to honor members of Britain’s armed forces for heroism. Kate accompanied her husband, and brother-in-law, Prince Harry, on the red carpet, and while the boys looked charming and dapper, Kate totally stole the show.

First off all, let’s discuss the fact that Kate’s dress was velvet. Velvet!  What a fantastic way to spice up an otherwise plain gown. The dress would be gorgeous no matter what material it was made of, but the velvet really takes it over the edge!

The thing that struck me the most about Kate’s look, though, was her ability to look so “fancy” without changing much. Her hair looked the same as it always does — down with loose curls — and her makeup was sort of the same as usual, a little softer perhaps. Overall, she didn’t look that different from how she normally does. What was it that made her look so “royal” then?

It was the jewels.

The usually minimalist Kate opted for a necklace — a real necklace. And earrings and a bracelet.We’re talking jewels fit for royalty. The statement necklace was made of rubies and diamonds and was given to her as a wedding gift, and the bracelet and earrings were diamonds, as well.

Velvet gown, rubies, and diamonds. This is the kind of stuff I’ve been waiting to see Kate in. This is the kind of stuff that reminds us all: She’s not always just like us; sometimes, she really is royalty.

Make sure to check out LIFE The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton An intimate account of the Royal couple, featuring breathtaking photos from the April 29^th Royal Wedding.

This adorable post was found on Cafe Mom Presents The Stir…

Trying to make something different from the norm for dinner with the same old ingredients, that everyone will love?  I threw together some of everyone’s favorite ingredients into the casserole dish and it turned out PRETTY DARN YUMMY!  Please let me know what you think, or if you have a recipe suggestion that you’d like to share.

Creamy Onion Chicken Noodle Bake Casserole

Ingredients

• 5 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 12 ounces egg noodles
• 1 pouch Lipton onion soup mix
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup milk
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup french fried dry onions
• 1/2 shredded cheese

• 2 new potatoes (about 6 ounces)
• 1 small clove garlic (I like it garlicky so used 2 cloves)
• Salt
• 4 teaspoons butter
• Freshly ground pepper

1. Peel potatoes, and slice them very thinly. ( I ised a mandolin for this step for evenly cooked slices) Peel and mince garlic, then mash it, along with a generous pinch of salt, with the flat side of a large knife until it is a paste. Work about 1/2 teaspoon butter into it.

*Add several cloves of garlic mashed with salt to my potatoes.

I came accross this yummy recipe on the adorable website More Than Burnt Toast.

“Oeufs” by Adolphe Millot for Nouveau Larousse Illustré 1897-1904, published in Paris.

To take a look at  the full sized image and individually extracted images of each amazing egg, click on the following link.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Oeufs002b.jpg

Just like Aunt Bonnie makes!  Moist and sweet, the walnuts and pineapple make it a special treat!  This is a great addition to your fall holiday buffet. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup finely shredded carrots
• 1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Another trick for picky eaters could be to remove the nuts and top with frosting and you can go all out with decor if you so choose (or get bossed into it by your tiny daughter

If you don’t use a produce wash and produce brush for rough and ground grown fruits and veggies you are not going to get the germs out.  Rinsing it is NOT enough.  Its easy enough to use your own mild dish detergent, then pat dry.

Its so important to remove whatever we can of these pesticides that have been shown to negatively affect us, especially children.  Things particularly like apples are going to need more than a quick rinse under cold water :/

Here’s how to get the grime and pesticides from your produce safely:

Make your own fruit and vegetable wash with Mild dish soap in lukewarm water.  Be sure to use a produce scrub brush for produce grown on or in the ground.

Make your own produce disinfectant spray. Use 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water in a new and labeled spray bottle. Spray onto your fruits and veggies and let sit for a minute and scrub and rinse clean, gently pat dry.

There are also commercially available produce washes and sprays which are citrus based.

How to wash Romaine Lettuce

Use 2 oz of your choice of Produce wash in a bowl gently swirl lettuce leaves in the bowl, they wont be as crisp but they will be clean.  It will get rid of listeria and e coli which is our main objective.

If you dont have a produce wash at all, then at least rinse it with cold water and cut under the water.

Some fruits and vegetables can be cleaner or dirtier than others.  You may have heard about The dirty dozen and the clean fifteen: What you should buy organic and what you don’t have to.

“The Dirty Dozen” list includes:

• celery
• peaches
• strawberries
• apples
• domestic blueberries
• nectarines
• sweet bell peppers
• spinach, kale and collard greens
• cherries
• potatoes
• imported grapes
• lettuce

All the produce on “The Clean 15” bore little to no traces of pesticides, and is safe to consume in non-organic form. This list includes:

• onions
• avocados
• sweet corn
• pineapples
• mango
• sweet peas
• asparagus
• kiwi fruit
• cabbage
• eggplant
• cantaloupe
• watermelon
• grapefruit
• sweet potatoes
• sweet onions

It doesn’t always mean organic is going to be better or cleaner.  Organic does use manure for fertilizer and things like cantelopes are grown on the ground, so wash and scrub your produce!

We actually have very safe food in the US, with more testing all the time.  But we all should listen to the experts about needing to eat more fruits and vegetables, and this means its even more important learning  how to wash them appropriately, especially for developing children.

I enjoy my food more having full confidence in knowing that I have done a little bit more to make things as safe as can be for my family.

Trifles are traditionally served in a large glass bowl so all the layers can be clearly seen and enjoyed. A trifle’s sequence of layering begins with slices of cake on the bottom, followed by a sprinkling of alcohol, then a layer of  fruit and/or jam, then a creamy smooth custard layer, softly whipped cream, and finally the trifle is garnished with crushed cookies, sprinkles, or more fruit.

Blueberry Trifle Recipe

Pound Cake:  Cut eight 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) slices of pound cake. Measure the diameter of four trifle glasses and, using a cookie cutter, cut the pound cake slices into eight rounds so they will fit snugly into the glasses. 

Mascarpone Cream:  Place the heavy whipping cream, mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla extract in a large bowl.  Whip until soft peaks form. 

To Assemble the Trifles: Place one round slice of pound cake in the bottom of each trifle glass. Sprinkle each slice of pound cake with about 1 teaspoon Grand Marnier. Next spoon about 1-2 tablespoons of Blueberry Sauce on top of each round of cake. Cover the sauce with a few of the fresh blueberries. Place a large dollop of the whipped cream/mascarpone mixture on top of the berries. Repeat the layers, starting with the pound cake. Cover and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours to allow the flavors to mingle.

Just before serving sprinkle each trifle with come crushed Gingersnap Cookies.

Makes 4 – 1 1/2 cup servings or 6 – 1 cup servings. Preparation time 15 minutes.

Blueberry Trifles Recipe:

8 – 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) slices of Pound Cake (home made or store bought) (can also use a sponge or butter cake or ladyfingers)

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier or other spirit, optional

1 cup (240 ml) Blueberry Sauce

1/2 pound (227 grams) fresh blueberries (approximately 2 cups)

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream (contains 35-40% butterfat)

2-3 tablespoon (25 – 35 grams) granulated white sugar

2/3 cup (160 ml) Mascarpone Cheese

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 crushed Gingersnap cookies (home made or store bought)

Mascarpone – is a soft unripened cheese that belongs to the cream cheese family. It is a thick, buttery-rich, sweet and velvety, ivory-colored cheese that has the texture of clotted or sour cream. It is sold in plastic 8 ounce (240 ml) tubs and can be found in specialty food stores and in the deli section of grocery stores.

Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/BlueberryTrifle.html#ixzz1YjZbExPU