Today, Dustin and I are going to have our post-wedding garage sale. We don't have much but we needed to have a sale to get rid of all our older stuff to make room for our wonderful wedding gifts!

Since its Saturday, I thought I would share a recipe since I haven't done that for such a long time! I'm honestly going to try to get better at posting tasty recipes that we've tried! So here we go!

(Warning: This kick might have a little kick-I mean my mouth of on fire!)

Ingredients:
3 cups Macaroni Pasta noodles
1 pound Ground Beef
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
¼ cups Fresh Parsley, Chopped
1 cup Milk
2 cups Of Your Favorite BBQ Sauce (Our favorite BBQ sauce recipe follows directions)
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese
BBQ Sauce As Garnish

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray. (I used my Pampered Chef round baker.)
2. Cook and drain pasta according to package directions.
3. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8-10 minutes until beef is brown, drain grease. Stir pasta, 3 Tablespoons of parsley, milk, BBQ sauce, mozzerella cheese and 1 cup Monterrey Jack cheese into beef in skillet. Stir well.
4. Spoon mixture into casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese and parsley, plus a swirl of BBQ sauce across the entire surface.
5. Bake uncovered 30-40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Enjoy!

Our Favorite BBQ Sauce: Jack's Best Pals Master BBQ Sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cups of ketchup
2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of tabasco (We don’t put this in)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of pepper flakes
1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper (We put a small dash)
1 tablespoon of garlic powder
2 tablespoons of celery salt
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/4 cup Jack Daniels
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup apple juice

Directions:
Combine all ingredients, except the Jack Daniels, in a saucepan and heat slowly until the mixture turns ruby red about 10 min. Take off heat and add the Jack Daniels. Stir and enjoy over ribs or steak, basically anything on meat!

It's county fair time! I think I'm going to be going on my third year of not attending the Meeker County Fair, but don't quote me. Meeker County is home for me and living on an agricultural operation, the local county fair was my favorite summer activity of all time. I was a proud 4-H member for 10 years and FFA member for 6 years.

I started showing cattle when I was in 3rd grade and several years later, I picked up another specie–sheep and then after that I showed hogs for a couple years. The only specie of animals that I didn't show was dairy, chicken, rabbits, and goats–only because my mom freight over the thought of them on our operation.

Before I continue to ramble on, all I have to say is thank you to my big brother for instilling some hardcore work ethic into me. I wouldn't be the person that I am today if he would of just sat back and let me slack off on my projects.

Since I finally got that off my chest, I have created some amazing memories with my brother. Do you know how many hours youth put in a day working on their livestock projects? It's a lot! They are up before the rooster crows to get them into the barn before the blazing heat strikes. After a nice bath and coat drying, they brush and brush and brush till their animal's coat is nice and shiny. Now with lambs, its a different story because you have to give them a slick haircut and practice setting up their legs and making sure they brace. (Bracing helps them define their muscle conformation, which is a plus in market lambs.) You have the same concept with beef animals but you hold onto a halter and position their feet with a show stick.

This process is what my brother did very well. He made sure that I was out in the barn brushing my animals for at least an hour and that my animal was well cared for. Leading up to a cattle event, I cleaned the livestock trailer and we loaded up all the supplies–showbox, chute, fans, hair blower, hose, and chairs.

As I grew out of 4-H and FFA, my family and I have been blessed to mentor a couple of youth that lived in town and wanted an agriculture experience. They were able to try all species but down the road they found their niche.

This is Karin (aka, my little sister not by birth). Her and her brother were our first ones to join us on the farm!

This year, we have to young girls showing pigs and I wish them the best of luck as I won't be there to root them!

Alyssa

Autumn
(Photos taken their first year showing pigs in 4-H. I use to babysit them when they first moved out to the country. Their parents wanted them to be involved in something and enjoyed being out on our farm!)