Kale Chips With a Kick = Amazing

I'm literally obsessed with these kale chips! It took quite a few attempts to make them perfect, but now that I've got them down, I could eat them with every meal and my husband hovers around the kitchen to get them fresh out of the oven. We love them!

Kale Chips With A Kick

Prep: 10 Min

Cook: 15-20 Min

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 Bundle of Kale

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Garlic Powder

Red Pepper Flakes

Pre-heat oven to 325

Separate kale from hard stem. Try to keep pieces as big as possible, but keep small pieces as well. Place kale in a large ziploc bag. Drizzle olive oil over kale in the bag. Seal the bag and shake it until the olive oil is evenly disbursed throughout kale. (Note: If you have an olive oil spritzer, you can skip this step and just mist the kale straight on the cookie sheet)

Dump the kale on an ungreased cookie sheet and spread into a single layer. Sprinkle remaining ingredients evenly over the kale. 

Place in pre-heated oven for 10-12 min. Until all smaller pieces are crispy and the larger pieces have crispy edges. Remove the smaller pieces and flip the larger pieces over and lay flat. 

Place back in oven for 5-7 min. Remove when large pieces are crispy. Enjoy!

The "Small Cows" & the Rat

Managing a house full of snorts, snoring and snuggle-time is a full time job and I love my little creatures! Here is my furry family :)

Daisy

Austin had grown up with Bulldogs and after traveling to Alaska to visit his parents one Christmas, I met Rudy, their bulldog. I was instantly in love with their personalities and quirks. We set out to find our new addition. Austin found Daisy on Craigslist and mentioned her to me, she was older (4) and this being our first dog together we were intent on making the right decision. Bulldogs have many health problems if not cared for and bred well so we told ourselves that we would be very thorough when deciding to get her. I also had a "kidden" named Pouncer who was very old so we wanted them to meet. I didn't want to stress him out too much.

Well, that went out the window the instant I laid eyes on her. She was gorgeous, smiling, and prancing about. I was immediately in love with her! After we brought her home for good we slowly came to the realization that she had not been cared for at all. She had been over bred, her eyes were milky, she had kennel calluses and she was missing one of her canine teeth. Since she came to be ours, she's been spayed, she's had 2 eyes surgeries, and a billion belly rubs. She literally lights up our house and lives. Best dog ever!

Wilbur VonWrinkelstein

Christmas 2012, we finally decided to give up on trying to find a rescue Bulldog and started looking for a breeder. Austin's parents suggested Magic Valley Bulldogs since they were so close to the house. We contacted the owner and were pleasantly surprised to hear he had a litter that would be ready by Christmas! His Dad was at Westminster this year, his name is "Purple Rain" and his mom, "Pole Dancer" is also a champion. We met Rich, the breeder, in a gas station parking lot an hour outside of Boise. We gave him the cash and we got the puppy. :) He was so tiny and snuggly, I had the hour ride home to fall in love with his grunts and puppy breath. We took him to Christmas at Grama's house where he attacked toes and snuggled necks, he was the perfect Christmas present. Since then, we've gotten to know his quirks and his personality is developing. He's hilarious! When he snuggles he likes to bite you until he falls asleep and then instant you pick him up he nuzzles in and goes to sleep. I'm not looking forward to the day I can't pick him up anymore because it's so sweet now. He's going to be a big boy and Austin can't wait but I sure can.

Gus Gus

I told myself that after my "kidden", Pouncer, passed away I would never have a cat again. I had had Pouncer since the 8th grade and he passed when I was 26. After a few lonely months I needed something small and furry so we set out to find a new smitten. We visited almost all the cat adoption centers in Boise and finally went back to the Idaho Humane Society where we had met Gus Gus. He was large with a cute white belly and his profile said he was social and curious. He had figured out how to escape from his cage into the adjoining cages to visit the ladies :) He loves his cows and when they're outside without him he has a fit and runs window to window to keep them in sight. He lets Wilbur chew on him constantly (he is currently resting on the desk with a head full of spiky slobbered fur) and he taunts him when he's out of reach. He loves to break into Austin's fly tying feathers and eat them and he's definitely curious about everything!

Seasonal Door Display

While wandering through Craft Warehouse around Christmas time, I stumbled upon a metal container with burlap attached to it. I bought about 4 of them, knowing if I got into the "crafty" spirit, the more the better! I created this fabulous seasonal door display that I am so in love with!

Materials:

Metal Container with Handle (I found mine at Craft Warehouse. It was about $12.00)

Black Acrylic Paint

Seasonal Silk Flowers (My "Spring" is shown below) I would suggest at least 3 colors and something in the arrangement needs to be more stick-like, like the lavender below.

    

Draw the letter on the burlap lightly with a pencil. Paint in the letter. Insert & arrange flowers and you're done! It's so easy!