Making friends is easy... when you give them cookies ;)

This past week I spent several lovely days and nights in Asheville, NC at the Type A Parent Conference. Type A was my second bloggy/social media conference and it was fantastic.





I whipped up a batch of these Butterscotch cookies from my Real Farmwives In the Kitchen series where I am baking my way through 10 recipes of Sweet & Simple to help make some new friends ;)  This is recipe #4 --I believe.

Here is the recipe if you ever find yourself in need of some friend making ;) These work perfectly... just sayin'

Anyhoo... I have to say that the lead up to this conference was MUCH different for me than it was prior to Blissdom ya know, when I was SCARED. TO. DEATH.

I was far more laid back before Type A, which had a lot to do with amazing and welcoming experience I had a Blissdom and also because I knew that some of my Blissdom buds were going to be there...

Like Michelle

And Bernice :) 

That and my Real Farmwives pal Heather was also coming and going to be my roomie!

Laid back was very much the theme of Type A for me. 

There were plenty of outstanding sessions and information that I will definitely be processing and utilizing in the coming months as GOODEness Gracious gets her make-over and design overhaul. 

But, much like Blissdom, some of the best takeaways are the relationships you build with all of the amazing bloggers that I am blessed to call friends.

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Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)

Family Night Tickets Winner

And the winner of the 8 pack of tickets to Family Night at the Ball Park is....

Congrats to: Sarahespn!

I will be in touch soon with the details for your tickets! See you at the ballpark!

Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)

If you give a gal a bucket...

Have you ever read the great children's books by Laura Numeroff  like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie? We just LOVE them around here.

So, when the Red Hill General Store sent me this lovely galvanized tub from their Bucket Outlet and asked me to write about what I would do with it, I immediately thought of those books and came up with my own little version ;) I present to you... If You Give A Gal a Bucket...

If you give a gal a bucket...

She'll might just ask her facebook community what to do with it...

And they might just give her all kinds of ideas that will make her want to...

Fill it with Gal's INFAMOUS Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins... and that will make her thirsty...

So she'll fill it with one of her favorite beverages...

Ice cold beverages... which will make her hubby want to ice down some of his favorite beverages...

Which will make her want to ice down some Indiana wine... 

Including some Watermelon Wine...

Which will make her want to slice up some watermelon...

Yummy red juicy watermelon...

Which will entice her daughter to sneak a piece...

Which will make her think that her Facebook pals had some really great ideas...

But then she will realize that there is one suggestion that her hubby might just take a little too far... Just sayin'

Which will make her wonder what she should do with that bucket now...

While Red Hill General Store did provide me with a bucket to blog about for this post the pictures, ideas and opinions shared here are my own and I am sure they never intended a grown man to attempt to take a bath in a 3.7 Gallon Tub... Just sayin'


If you would like to win a galvanized embossed tub (without bathing grown man-- he's all mine ladies), head on over to Real Farmwives of America and Friends for a chance to win.


And, if you want to see what the other farm gals did with their buckets, check out RFOA's Facebook page that has all of our blogs in one place!

Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)

Pie Crust Questions Answered

Dear Reader-
Many of you have asked lots of questions about the Pie Crust Mix post a few days ago via comment, Facebook Community and email. So, I thought I would do a quick little post to answer all of those questions :)

Q. Can I store this in the pantry or does it need to go in the fridge?
A. You can store this recipe that uses shortening (not butter) in a sealed container in the pantry.

Q. Is that Pastry Blender electric or how does it work?-- I wish I could see it better.

A. It is not electric-- it is a hand mixing tool that you use to cut the shortening into the flour. It works a lot like a potato masher, but is designed to make easy work of cutting things like butter and shortening into dry goods like flour. Here is an image of it and affiliate link to it on Amazon.

Q. Do I have to have a Pastry Blender?

A. No. Truth be told, a lot of folks use their food processor, but if you recall my food processor and I very much dislike each other... we are actually thinking about therapy... but I really don't think she is going to change (and I know I am not ;)), so I usually just glare at her from across the kitchen...  Anyhoo, prior to getting the awesome pastry blender for Christmas, I used to opt for blending with two forks, it just takes a bit more time and elbow grease.

Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)

Always Ready Pie Crust Mix

Dear Reader-

This recipe for Always Ready Pie Crust Mix struck me by surprise... I never knew you could do such a thing!

So, when this FREEZE-O-RAMA Mama saw this OAMC (once a month cooking) recipe in Sweet & Simple, I instantly knew it was going to be my Recipe # 3 for my In the Kitchen with Gooseberry Patch project with the Real Farmwives of America and Friends.

You just take 6 cups of all-purpose flour...

And 2 Cups of Shortening

And 3 t Salt

And blend it up with a pastry blender... 

Truth be told, this was my first time using a pastry blender... and until now, I didn't understand what the big deal was... 

Now I do. 

LOVE how easy it blends well... pastry stuffs ;) 

Genius name if ya ask me... just sayin'

Now keep 'er sealed up tight until you are ready to use it.

Now then I gots to thinkin'... 

I probably won't remember that 2 Cups mix should be mixed with cold water 1 T at a time (up to 6 T)... 

Then I probably ought to note that somewhere...

Then I remembered the most fabulous markers (besides Sharpies) known to man... Wet Erase Markers.

You might recall that I recently discovered the most lovely fun way to keep track of my grocery list literally on my fridge! 

So, it occurred to me that I could do the same right on the smooth side of my pie crust container.

Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)

Fresh Peach Pie

There are few things that my dad likes more than peach desserts.

So it was only fitting that when I was flipping through Sweet and Simple -- preparing for my second of 10 recipes that I am cooking/baking on behalf of the Real Farmwives of America and Friends-- and saw this recipe for Fresh Peach Pie-- I knew what I was making for Father's Day.

First, I took 1/3 Cup of Flour...

1 Cup of Sugar

and 1/2 Stick of Butter

Mix up until crumbly and set aside.

Meanwhile in a pie plate near you... Take one pie crust and add a layer of peaches.

Sprinkle some of your mixture over the the top of your peaches and repeat...

Peaches...

And mixture... and repeat until all them peaches (and mixture) are gone...

Now put your top crust on and flute your edges... or just press them shut with a fork like I did...

Make sure to cut some vents so this baby can let off some steam... nothing like pent up peach rage... just sayin'

Now sprinkle on 1 T of Sugar...  And pop into a 350 degree and bake up for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden.

Now a word about the um... well... amateur rustic looking nature of my pie... 

As I have shared before... Martha doesn't live here... and, besides... ya know when you go to a pitch in and you see a pie and you wonder to yourself "Is that homemade or store bought?"... 

Well, folks won't wonder when seeing my pies... your welcome...

Dad took one bite and told everyone that it was awful.

I smiled.

That is Dad's way of saying it was so good he wanted it all to himself.

To further his point he took all the leftovers home :)

Enjoy!

Psst... after I made this baby I realized the recipe was by Gerri Phillips of Paoli, IN-- My home town!

How cool as that... I asked Dad if he know her and low and behold told me that it was none other than my bloggy bud Jamie's mom! Small world ;)

Tomorrow I will share my third of the 10 recipes-- FREEZE-O-RAMA style-- Always Ready Pie Crust Mix... perfect to keep in the pantry for a pie crust in a jiff. 

Oh and in case you were wondering. Gooseberry Patch sent me this book to check out and at the end of my 10 recipes one lucky GOODEness Gracious reader will win a copy of their own of this delightful Sweet & Simple cookbook.

Links featured on GOODEness Gracious are often affiliate links. GG often receives products for free to review. GG opinions are however very much Cris' own. Just try to get her to say something she doesn't believe in... dare ya ;) If you have any questions about the products or recommendations found on this blog, just pop us an email :)