"Sgt. E." Bars

So many memories come back when I make these! They were a regular in school lunches, and a favorite snack growing up.

There was a name change to the bars when I was in high school. My older brothers recruiter Sgt. E. ended up being a close friend to the family, at school one day he was offered a bar from one of us, and from that day on he would HOUND us for his favorite "cookie". There was never really a name for these before that, so in honor of his love for these, we changed the name :)

RECIPE

1 cup butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups brown sugar

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups rolled oats

Fudge Nut Filling

1-12 oz. package chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup finely chopped nuts

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Stir in rolled oats. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Set aside while you make filling.

In saucepan over boiling water mix together chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, butter and salt. Stir until mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla extract.

Spread about 2/3 of oatmeal mixture on cookie sheet. Cover with chocolate mixture. Dot with remaining oatmeal mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly browned.

ENJOY! Cut up into desired bar sizes and store in freezer. Cause that's where I put everything. I even prefer to eat these frozen. But eat as you like! These are awesome!!!!

Counting Down....

Baby's Room!

My picture taking skills aren't that awesome, excuse me. But you get the gist of it... this is the nursery!!! There are still those finishing touches, pictures n things to be added. I'm sure I will organize everything 2 million times in the next few weeks. I kinda got everything set up in there last night and it finally has that almost finished look instead of a storage look :)

My parents were here on a short stop on their way back home and it was so nice to see them! Even if it was for just a day! I'm happy that they got the chance to actually see me pregnant and everything. I love that my mom got to help set up the baby room last night! I asked my Mom a million questions about babies etc. ... my Dad got a few laughs out of the huge look in my eyes about me just thinking about the baby coming so soon. I know that everything will be fine.

I'm over thinking about the delivery... now it's after the delivery that I can't get out of my head. A baby is actually coming and it's staying here... not going home to someone else, it's mine, and I might break it! It's always so cute to see other people go through pregnancy and see their babies, it's all "AWE and butterflies" but I've never thought of all the crazy random thoughts and emotions that may go through their heads. Not to seem down at all about any of this... I am THRILLED to have a baby and be a Mom! Absolutely thrilled! I just know that I used to look at people who were married and/or about to have babies and think AWE! and not give a thought to what it is actually like. Marriage is great! Love it! It's a lot of work. Pregnancy and babies are great! Love it! But that's also a ton of work, and there are all the great things to follow... I guess what I'm trying to say is, just think past the AWE! moment all you "awe"ers out there :) It's kinda scary to!

I'm 36 weeks 4 days pregnant today! I thought I should take a picture again and show the belly progress!

No bare belly picture this time... I pull my shirt up and go OOO I'm getting reeeeally pregnant now! (well to me anyways) So as soon as that shock wears off, then maybe we'll do a bare belly shot. My belly has dropped a bit in the last week so it's not so out there. At the last check-up everything was good, babies head is down ... waaay down. Somewhere around a 5 pounder now and will be gaining 1/2 lb. a week, I think... so by the time the baby is due it should be 7 - 7 1/2 lbs. Which is fine by me! I was expecting bigger by the end for some reason.

I've been staying busy and working still. I work part time so it's not that bad at all. I don't know when I'll stop, I just know that if I stop I'll be at home and go craaazy waiting for the baby to come. Especially if it's late! We are on the count down! So exciting! Can't wait to have everyone meet Baby MAC!!!

Lately...

Life has been crazy busy lately... and good!

It's harvest! Harvest is actually almost done by now! So exciting! That means more family time, and we can have a first year behind us! Casey has been working so hard, I'm so proud of him! :)

I am really excited to see all the bright Fall colors this year. Being from Central California, Fall means everything goes from blah dried out brown to green, and then it gets foggy for a few months .... that's all. But here, all the fields go from bright green to brown, and the trees really put on a show before they finally lose their leaves. Which hasn't really happened all the way yet, the trees are just starting. Yay! Maybe after a few years here I won't be as amazed, but I hope not to lose that. It feels special to put on a jacket, bake apple pie, look at pumpkin recipes, and be outside enjoying it all! There are SEASONS here! All with their pros and cons, but I am happy to see them this year! I've got to put pictures up!

Speaking of seasons.. there is hunting season. I probably shouldn't kid myself that I'll see Casey a whooole lot more after harvest cause he'll be gone in some tree stand or duck blind or something... oh well! :)

In pregnancy news...

I am 32 weeks/8 months as of Sunday. We have less than 8 weeks to go, and we are soo excited! There's baby showers coming up, finishing the nursery stuff, reality has to set in a bit (don't know if it will)... all sorts of things to get ready for this little one! :) I am really enjoying being pregnant! Ya, there are the long nights of repeated trips to the bathroom, waking up every time you have to roll over, sitting there with your mind spinning, and you lose almost all brain function in decision making, and so on but it's sooo worth it! There's a BABY that's YOURS at the end of it all!!!

There is something that I feel I need to tell the world though... If you don't know a pregnant woman, don't touch her belly!! It's just gross, and very uncomfortable. Maybe some pregnant woman like complete strangers touching their body, but I am definitely not one of them, so please don't do it, or attempt it. EW! EW!

The nursery has had some changes, there are new curtains up, and the deer are out of there! Yay! I will post pictures once it's closer to being finished!

Until then ... take care!

Crib is up! Deer are not down! :)

So yay! Our nursery has made progress! I am super excited about the crib and love it! I was looking in there this morning and couldn't stop giggling at those deer in there. I had to share...

Eeew! It's pretty bad huh? You know what is sad about this? I would bet that this isn't the only baby room with deer heads in it out here in Central Illinois. Casey was looking in there and said "Hey Tara! If the baby is a boy, then we should just keep those in there! He could wake up and go to sleep looking at the deer, and dream about all the hunting we will do with each other! It would be AWESOME!!" Haha not really. Sometimes I can't tell how serious he's being either, I think he secretly really likes that idea. It's a good memory while it lasts...

Besides that randomness.. Here's the crib! And other shots of things we've been getting together to put in the room.

So this is where we are at! I've been wanting to keep everything neutral and interchangeable, not really going with any theme just mixing and matching. :) And whether it's a boy or girl I'll be happy to throw more colors in!

I thought I mind as well throw in a belly shot. I haven't done to many of these. I'm not a huge fan of pictures, but it's for a good reason! I have 12 weeks 5 days left!

More Food!

Yes! More food and recipes to share! It's cooled off a bit so I can turn on the oven without making the kitchen over 85 degrees! And being pregnant, I suddenly have a lot more patience to actually go through with making things cause I soooo look forward to the end result!

Salsa

2-99 oz. cans whole, peeled tomatoes

1-16 oz. can tomato sauce

8 medium onions

12-20 jalapenos

1/2 C. sugar

4 oz. cider vinegar

4 tsp. canning salt

Dice and combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. Put in jars. Makes about 2 gallons.

I used this as a base recipe and changed a few things. I used a grocery bag of tomatoes (how much that is, I don't know.. 5-6 lbs?) no tomato sauce, and 6 jalepenos with seeds. I added 3 Tbsp. cilantro, 2 tsp. lime juice, and 1 Tbsp garlic. I pretty much just threw in there what sounded good, and taste tested as I went.

Pumpkin Puree!!

I used the boil method and really like how it turned out. I used these 3 smaller pumpkins and it made a one quart jar of puree. I did learn though, that you have to freeze puree or keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days, just canning it supposedly doesn't keep it like it should.

Pumpkin Wheat Honey Muffins

These were made immediately after the puree, they sounded so good! (minus the raisins, cause I can't stand them) They didn't taste to 'healthy' either, I was kinda nervous for that. I will be making these again once this batch is gone... which may be sooner than later.

Other than food, there has been a lot on my mind lately. I don't know why, but suddenly I feel like the baby is coming tomorrow and not in 14 weeks. There's so much I have to get done! We haven't really touched the nursery. There is only a dresser/changer in there and 2 massive deer heads, which of course the heads are not staying in there. They are just in there to get out of the living room.... and will hopefully move to the office soon. Casey can't wait for bow season, so he can get another monster buck on the wall. Which is fine I guess, I just don't want to be greeted by them when I walk in the front door, or have them hanging over our poor babies crib. Oh no no!

Anyways... We did recently get a crib for the nursery from Grandma Kathy! We've had it for a couple days. I honestly almost cried when I wanted to put it together immediately and Casey said no, cause it was quarter after 8 at night, we had just got home and hadn't eaten yet. (he was right and being rational) It was still in the box until this morning... I am forcing myself to wait until Casey's day off tomorrow to put it up WITH him. I wouldn't be able to get all the bolts and screws as tight as he would ... at least that's what I'm telling myself so I don't do it today. So in the next while I will have the giant deer heads moved out of there and the crib up! Would love to share pictures of everything as it gets done!!!

What's Been Cookin...

Something great about moving out here on the farm is Grandpa's garden. He really beefed it up this year cause he knew Casey and I would be eating from it to. We have had parsnips, green onions, onions, beets, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet corn, peppers, peas, cucumber, and zucchini just to name a few. My freezer is overflowing!! Once that overflowed I asked Grandma McCausland to show me how to can. I had seen it done, but not really done it by myself. So now I've started canning on and off and I really enjoy it. It's not near as hard as I thought it would be. So I wanted to share what I've been making and plan to make with all this!

Sweet Zucchini Relish!

I made this recipe exactly as written and it is FABULOUS!!!

I didn't mention raspberries up there but they grow wild here and I made these muffins. They were very easy to make and very yummy.

Raspberry Buttermilk Muffins

Pumpkins are just starting to come out of the garden and I plan to make Pumpkin Pie Squares, and I'm planning on making pumpkin coffee bread which sounds amazing! So many fun recipes to bring in the Fall season! Maybe I'll try a soup with them to...

Last weekend I made Blackberry Cheescake!

Make your own graham cracker crust... it's not that hard!

Apples and pears are almost ready to! I am planning on making Apple Gouda Ladder Loaf. Made this last year and Casey looooooves this! I didn't have gouda cheese so I substituted that with vanilla yogurt, and was very happy with how it turned out! I also want to can (or freeze) apple pie filling, thinking about doing an apple pear crisp, and trying to find a recipe on canning pears.

Last weekend I made salsa... which was a combo of about 3 recipes and I had never made it before. I have a huge bag of tomatoes on my kitchen table again, so I'll be making more and try to remember what I did and write it on here. Sucks cause I really like how it turned out, so hopefully this next batch goes over well.

Corn Tip!!

When shaving corn off the cob, put the smaller end of the cob into the center of a bunt pan while shaving, and shaved corn will fall into the pan instead of all over the kitchen.

I am just starting out on making a lot of this, but I'm really liking it! And no I don't bake all these goodies at once. These are my favorites from the past year to six months. Freeze what goodies you bake, so you don't feel like you have to eat it before it goes bad! Bread, cookies, cupcakes, leftovers, everything!! Makes more sense to me.... :)

So happy baking and cooking especially as fall is coming and the holidays!

Baby Update :)

Baby McCausland

This is an ultrasound picture from our appointment around 2 1/2 weeks ago. It's the babies profile if you're trying to figure out what it is. I'm so proud! I loved being able to see Casey watch the baby on the monitor to. He's going to be such a good Dad! The ultrasound technician was so great, she made the appointment really fun. Baby measured really well, and weighed in 2 ounces above average. So he/she is eating well! And yes, that's right, we aren't finding out the sex of the baby. GASP! I personally find it soo exciting not knowing. To each their own in that area. Pregnancy isn't always the funnest thing, but it's so unexplainably great at the same time! Just thinking about all the things happening inside you, and what the baby is going to be like. Looking at your body in absolute shock every few days :) and running to show your husband, who yes is amazed, but he tells you 'YES there's your belly I see it every day, hasn't changed that much since yesterday.' haha. But I still think it's my job to run to him and ask him to stare at it all the time. I am enjoying pregnancy! All of it!

We have just over 3 months left until our due date, and I can't wait to meet this little one. Children are such a blessing, and life is so so precious. I love reading Psalm 139:13-16

"For you created my inmost being:

you knit me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me

were written in your book

before one of them came to me."

How amazing is that?? Gives me so much to think about! Well I think that's a good note to end on for my thoughts today....

Papa & Mom Visit

Made this blog and haven't touched it!! Oh well...

Some awesome things have happened in the past few months! I'm going to have to make a few posts out of the highlights and get back into doing this blog.

My parents came to visit for 10 days, which was so exciting for me, it was so nice to see them! Got to show them all around the farm and the Illinois countryside! There is something just so comforting in having your mom in your kitchen talking and cooking with you, and sitting on the porch in the morning with everyone watching the day begin. And Papa.... well, he got to go hunting and fishing and do all sorts of 'man things' with Casey. He was having the time of his life!

They were off to do their 'man things' and didn't really want a picture.. but stopped for a second to indulge me. Notice of course their matching shirts! Good times had by all!

On other more recent random notes... Summer has been flying by! This pregnancy has been going so fast to! I cannot wait to meet our little baby! Aaaand! I have gotten a great job at a local hair salon, working first as a receptionist/assistant, then will eventually be doing hair there! Woo hoo!

Here it is..

Making a blog was something that I didn't want to do for a long time. But, after some persuasion from a few loved ones.. I warmed up to the idea and this is it! I think what I want to do with this is to keep it as a family diary. Something for my kids to read from waaaay back when they weren't here yet. I would have been fascinated to read about my parents when I was little.

A little more about what's going on in my life. There is a lot of new and firsts right now, it's a big year full of so many life altering changes. My husband Casey got out of the Marines, after 5 years of service, in February. We had our bags packed and drove straight through from 29 Palms, CA to Havana, IL (which takes around 28 hours if you were wondering). We have the great opportunity to be able to farm with family here in Illinois, so this year is when we started! Corn and soy beans! Casey and I had our first wedding anniversary on March 21. It's crazy how fast a year goes! Then found out March 30th that we are pregnant with our first baby due to arrive December 5th! This first has taken over most of the other ones. I am 17 weeks pregnant now, happy the first trimester is over, there is starting to be a hint of a belly, and I can't wait to meet our baby! All these things rolled into one make it quite an interesting time for me!