It is hunting season again, and there is no worse feeling than finding that trophy winner and letting him slip through your fingers because he spotted you from afar.  Make sure that the camouflage you are wearing from head to toe is not for naught by camouflaging your field ammo can.

 

First thing you will need to do is obtain an ammo can.  Rural King recommends the all plastic Plano Molding Field Ammo Box 1312 or the Plano Extra Large Field Box 1812 to keep your precious ammo out of the elements.  SKU: 031801244   SKU: 031801666

Next you will want to sand down you ammo box, making sure the surface is smooth of nicks and sanded down so that the spray paint will adhere well.  Make sure to wipe away any sand dust or any other dirt or particles that may be present.

Now you will want to purchase some natural colored spray paint, forest greens and browns work really well. SKU: 049213515  SKU: 049212671   SKU: 049212642

     

 

Now that you have your spray paint, open the ammo can and lay it flat, if you are going to be working over a surface other than grass you will want to put down some type of covering, flattened cardboard boxes work very well.

Now shake the spray paint can and start spraying, keeping an even distance from the ammo can surface to get an even coating and avoid lingering in one spot too long.  Spray in a somewhat random pattern, you need a blotchy sort of final product without any recognizable pattern.

Give ample time for the paint to dry in a well ventilated area.

Fill your ammo can with whatever your ammo of choice is and Happy, Safe Hunting!

 

 

The man cave is a special part of the house designated to the owner’s pursuits and entertainment, including spending time by himself or with his buddies.  The man cave should be filled with the essence of the things you enjoy most, be-it sports and hobbies, paraphernalia from your favorite teams, to a well-stocked snack bar.

Step 1: Choose the Space: Obviously, the word “cave” is very loosely used in developing a man cave.  The space can be your attic, garage, an unused bathroom, the shed out back, a basement, or anywhere else that is spare, has plenty of elbow room, and is left unused for the most part.

Step 2: Be prepared to negotiate: Having your own man cave may require delicate negotiations and compromises in the house, you may need to agree to something in exchange for the chance of building your own man cave. One of the other things you might end up agreeing to include: a sewing room, exercise room, TV playroom, astronomy observatory, sauna and spa, model collection space, and anything else your spouse/partner/kids/teens/other householders think is fair to twist your arm for. Give in as much as possible; the resulting peace will be worth it.

Step 3: Decide what you want your man cave to look like: Be as creative as you can be, but this also means you don’t have to try too hard unless you want to.  Make sure to keep the theme simple, your favorite stuff will stand out better if the room is not too crowded and cluttered.  Paint or paper the walls a color that will lift your spirits, brighter colors will give a sense of more light coming in and more space.  Make sure to do some research and check out photos of other successful man caves and what normally works.

Step 4: Decide what you want your man cave to contain: This is where things begin to get exciting and it might be hard to restrain yourself, things to think about including:

–A mini fridge, you do not want to have to leave your man cave every time you need a new beverage.

–A HUGE flat screen TV-the bigger the better.  Does not matter if you are watching a game or your favorite action movie, you do not want to be caught watching it on your mini portable tube.

–Really comfy armchairs-As many as you can cram in so your buddies have a place to sit

 Simmons, The “Big Dude” Microfiber Cuddler Tan Recliner; SKU: 109920100

–Games: It’s impossible to ever have too many of these in your man cave, from board games to card games, a pool table to a table tennis table, whatever fits in and do not forget lots of video games plus the console.

–Computer with internet access:  You will want to be able to check if your fantasy team is winning, right?

–Outdoor furniture: More rustic, durable, and fits most man caves.

 Lifetime 8 foot Utility Table 2980; SKU: 019810045

Step 5: Make sure you include sports equipment to keep you fit, or at least let the wife think you are: The man cave cannot be all fun and games, reserve a space for the physical activity of choice to keep you fit, strong, and manly.  Think dumbbells, jump ropes, or a bench press.

 

Step 6: Have some reading material and gadgets on hand: Magazines, books, 3D puzzles, strange gadgets nobody’s sure what to do with yet.

 

Other Tips:

-A man’s man cave is his cave; don’t let anyone tell ou how to decorate or arrange

-Keep supply of seemingly useless junk on hand to entertain you and your buddies.

-No room in house for a man cave? Consider the garden shed, tool shed, or tree man cave.

-Be sure to understand why you want a man cave in the first place.  Without a full understanding of this, you may not end up with what you wanted in the first place.

-Is it to display a collection of “manly” things that don’t fit the décor of the house?

-Is it to have some hobby or quiet time?

-Is it to keep noisy activities from disturbing others?

-Will others spend time there, or just you?

It is very easy to make and can your own apple cider.  Actually, if you are making applesauce, you can have extra juice from cooking the apples.  This is an easy recipe for making apple cider, although it is called apple cider, it is not fermented.  This will turn out much tastier than any store bought apple cider and by selecting the right kind of apples to use the cider will be so sweet it will not need any sugar, making it actually healthy for, unlike many store bought ciders.

The difference between cider and apple juice is that apple cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone any filtration and will still have some coarse particles.

Prepared using this recipe, your jars of apple cider should have a shelf life of 18 months to 2 years, all without any special attention at all.

 

Directions for Making Cider

Ingredients and Equipment

• Apples
• Filters (Cheese cloth, coffee filters, etc   SKU: 006201780
• Water bath canner  SKU: 009420267
• Jar Grabber (for hot jars) SKU: 006200341
• Ball Jars  SKU: 001280011
• Lid lifter   SKU:009400821
• Jar funnel SKU: 006200396
• Large spoon or ladle  SKU: 006201049
• At least 1 large pot  SKU: 009420267
• Sieve (metal/plastic sieve or colander)  SKU: 006202307

 

Recipe and Directions

 

Step 1- Selecting the apples: This is the most crucial step to entire process, because you will need sweet apples so that you do not need to add any sugar.  Apples like Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji, and Rome are great for cider, and make sure you use a mixture instead of all one type.  Honeycrisp and Pink Lady are also wonderfully sweet apples.

 

Step 2-How many apples and where do I get them?  You can always pick your own, or get them from your local grocer.  Although many people do enjoy going to their local farmer’s market or orchard for bulk purchases (I also have always felt these are the places to go for the freshest produce).  You will yield about 12 to 20 quarts of cider for every bushel of apples, although it is safe to count on 15-16 quarts.

 

Step 3-Wash the Jars and Lids:  It is important to have your jars and lids already cleaned by the time you start the cider making process so you are not challenged with the task of doing everything at the same time.  I would recommend using the sanitize cycle in your dishwasher, but if you do not have a dishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.  Keeping them hot will prevent them from breaking when you fill them with cider.  Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water for 5 minutes and use the lid lifter to pull them out.

 

Step 4-Wash and cut the apples: Wash apples in plain cold water, and chop them without peeling them.

 

Step 5-Cook the apples:  In a larger, thick-bottomed pot, put about 4 inches of water and a good portion of apples (make sure they are completely immersed) into the pot and heat on high with the lid on.  Once it begins to steadily boil turn the heat to medium until the apples are soft all the way through.  If you have an electric juicer, simply juice the chopped apples and skip to step 7.

 

Step 6-Sieve the cooked apples:  There are quite a few ways to separate the juice from the pulp, skins, seeds, stems, etc.

I’m sure you have seen all the amazing chalk paint projects. Folks find old chairs, benches, tables, or other pieces of furniture found a garage sales or flea markets. Chalk paint gives surfaces a matte, distressed, or antique look. To save some money and create eye-catching, aged pieces, use this recipe to make your own chalk paint at home.

 

If your garden has produced more vegetables than you can eat or know what to do with, you may want to consider freezing the excess harvest in order to enjoy your hard work later on in the year.  Most garden veggies can be frozen and will keep well if stored properly in airtight containers.  When freezing veggies always start with the highest quality of your yield to ensure best results and you will also need to blanch most veggies using boiling water or steam before loading up your freezer.

 

Steps

Preparing the Veggies

1. Select young, freshly picked veggies.  Garden veggies that have already been sitting out for several days will lose some of their freshness, and freezing may cause them to lose additional flavor.  To ensure that the vegetables stay fresh for as long as possible, choose vegetables that are just barely ripe or slightly unripe.  Steer clear of overripe veggies which may go bad even when frozen.
2. Avoid veggies with blemishes, bruises, and soft spots.  If you do use damaged garden veggies, remove these damaged spots before beginning the process.
3. Wash your vegetables.  Even if the garden they came from is organic and free of potentially harmful pesticides, they will still be covered in dirt and bacteria.  If necessary, use a potato brush to gently scrub away any stuck-on grime.
4. Cut up your veggies.  Remove any non-edible parts and chop the veggies into your preferred size for eventual serving.

Water Blanching

1.  Fill a large pot with at least 1 to 2 gallons of water.  A blancher pot, which holds 6 to 8 quarts of water and contains a perforated basket for holding food works best, but any large pot that comes with a lid will also work.
2. Boil the water over high heat.  The water should reach a full boil before you add your veggies.
3. Place 1 lb of your prepared veggies into a metal steaming basket.  A wire-mesh strainer or cheesecloth may also work.
4. Lower the veggies into the water.  Make sure they are completely immersed.
5. Cover your pot with a lid.  Boil the veggies for as long as necessary according to expert boiling times.  These do vary.  For instance, cut corn takes 5 minutes while asparagus takes only 4.
6. Remove the veggies from the pot and immediately transfer to large container of ice water.  By shocking the veggies with ice water, you halt the cooking process and preserve the color of the veggies.  Keep the veggies in the cold water for the same amount of time as you boiled them.  Water must be at least below 60 degrees Fahrenheit and use approximately 1 pint of water for each pound of veggies.
7. Drain veggies completely.

Steam Blanching

1. Boil 1 to 2 inches of water in large pot.  You need a pot that has a lid and fits an interior rack.  The rack must be positioned 3 inches or more above the bottom of the pot.
2. Place a single layer of prepared veggies in a steaming basket or cheesecloth bag.  Do not pile the veggies so the steam can be evenly distributed.  Asparagus, broccoli, and chili peppers do the best using this method.
3. Set basket onto rack.  Cover the pot and continue heating for as long as necessary for each veggie.
4. Remove veggies from the pot.  Shock veggies by transferring to ice bath.  Allow ice bath for as long as steam.
5. Drain veggies completely using strainer or large pasta drainer.

Packing and storing

1. Lay blanched, drained veggies flat on shallow tray.  Veggies should be arranged loosely in a single layer and should not overlap.
2. Place the tray in the freezer.  Wait until the veggies are firm before removing tray.
3. Fill freezer bags or freezer containers with frozen veggies.  You must leave an appropriate amount of empty space to allow food a chance to expand as it freezes.
4. Label each bag/container with a felt tip marker.  Write down the contents of the package and the date food was frozen.
5. Place the sealed, labeled packages into your freezer.  For best results, only pack 2 to 3 pounds of veggies for each cubic foot.  If the veggies are packed any tighter than that, they may take too long to freeze.
6. Keep the temp of your freezer set at 0 degrees Fahrenheit.  The majority of garden veggies will retain their freshness, taste, and nutritional value for a year or longer if kept at this temperature.

Tips

• Start with easy-to-freeze veggies if you are new to the process.  These include green beans, carrots, peas, peppers, squash, and sweet corn.
• If freezing your garden veggies goes well, consider freezing fruits as well.  Most fruits freeze well, especially those in the berry family.
• Make sure to look up the exact recommendations for each garden veggie before blanching and packing.  Each veggie has its own specifications concerning selection, preparation, blanching method, blanching time, and packing method.  Under-blanching may stimulate the enzymes inside the veggies, causing them to decay.  Over-blanching may cause your fresh garden veggies to lose nutritional value and flavor.
• Avoid freezing garden veggies that are almost always eaten raw, like celery, lettuce, and cucumbers.  These veggies do not survive the blanching and freezing process well.  However, veggies that can either be eaten raw or cooked, like carrots, do very well in the freezing process.

Things You Will Need

• Knife  (Buffalo Tools Butcher’s Knife Set MPKS10; SKU 10555224)
• Blancher  (Columbian Home Products, 7.5 qt Canning Blancher 6140-4; SKU 9420869)
• Steaming basket (Norpro, Stainless Steel Vegetable Steamer 175; SKU 6201227)
• Cheesecloth bag (Norpro, 36” Cheesecloth 357; SKU 6201780)
• Freezer bags (Ziploc, 1gal Freezer bags 00389; SKU 6660761)
• Freezer containers  (Ball 8oz Plastic Freezer Jars; SKU 1281200)
• Shallow trays (Wilton Recipe Right Cookie Sheet; SKU 17480257)
• Felt tip marker (Sharpie Black Single 35010-SH; SKU 4215590)

Canning is not as tough as you may think. It’s a great way to save all your homegrown fruits and vegetables, which is a great way to save money on the homestead. It’s an easy way to begin preserving produce for the winter. By following Ball’s 3-step process for beginnings, you will be canning in no time!

Can’t decide between Brownies or Cookies?? Get creative and make yourself some BROOKIES!! It is my favorite dessert as well as extremely easy to make..

Ingredients

For the brownie layer:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

For the Cookie layer:

• 1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
• 2 Tbsp milk
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 large egg
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp baking powder

Instructions

1. For the brownie layer, melt chocolate chips with butter for 1 1/2 minutes in microwave safe glass bowl. Stir until smooth. Add sugar, flour and eggs and combine completely.
2. Pour into a 13″ x 9″ baking dish lined with parchment paper.
3. For the cookie dough, beet Crisco with butter. Beat in milk, vanilla, sugars, peanut butter and egg. Add flour salt and baking powder.
4. Drop cookie dough onto brownie batter layer. Smooth evenly.
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove and cool completely. Refrigerate and cut into bars.

If you are really feel like it, you can use store bought cookie dough and brownie mix and it would be seriously amazing as well, but we all know everything is better when it is homemade!!

 

Are you looking to spruce up the decorations your house? Do you want to put your own artsy creativity in your house? Making your own picture frames is a great way to being putting your own creativity in your house. One interesting Do It Yourself Picture Frame that I came across was a Clothespin Picture Frame. It’s really simple and easy to do on a rainy day where you want to stay inside or a hot day when you want to stay inside in the air conditioning.

Supplies Needed:

• Hot Glue Gun
• Glue Sticks
• Poster Board
• Clothespins ( Which Can Be Purchased at Any Rural King Location)
• Any Other Decoration You Want to Add (Beads, Glitter, Glue, Etc.)

Instructions:

• Step 1: This is where you use your creative side. You will need to cut out a shape of your choice on the poster board in order to begin making your picture frame.

• Step 2: Once you have the shape cut out you will need to get the clothespins glued to the poster board with the hot glue gun. You will just add clothespins until they fill the entire poster board all the way around as shown in the picture.

• Step 3: Now this is the time you may choose if you want to add decoration to the the clothespins or keep the clothespins all natural.

• Step 4: Now it is time to spruce up your house with Creativity. You can hang this in any room of the house from Kitchen to Living Room to a Bedroom.

5 Things To Do On A Rainy Day!

Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day!! As children we would sing that little song in hopes that it might actually get ride of the rain so that we could go outside and play instead of being cooped up in the house all summer. Since the rain comes and goes as it pleases we have to find fun things to do inside. So I have come up with some fun things to do while your stuck in the house. These are great family activities that everyone can enjoy. Try one the next time your family is stuck in the house and let us know how it went.

1. Indoor Treasure HuntHave someone hide some things around the house and then create a map or clues to find them.
2. Create a Family Recipe BookEvery family has recipes that have been past down. Be creative and make a scrapbook of those recipes.
3. Camp In the Great IndoorsWho says you have to be outside to camp. Clean out the living room and set up that tent, cook some marshmallows over the stove and sit around telling ghost stories.
4. Bake Some GoodiesSomething that everyone loves is a fresh baked cookie or pie.
5. Organize Your Own Film FestivalEveryone enjoys watching movies. Dig out some of your old favorites and just relax on the couch and eat some popcorn. 

Are you deciding on what to get your Dad for Father’s Day! Make him something! As we know some dads are Candy Lovers! So for those Candy Lover Dads, you should make them the following dessert for Father’s Day.

Dessert Ingredients

• 1 pint(s) chocolate ice cream,  softened
• 1 (9 inch) ready-to-fill Oreo cookie crust
• 3 tablespoon(s) creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup(s) caramel ice cream topping
• 1/2 cup(s) salted peanuts
• 1/2 cup(s) coarsely chopped Snickers Popables candy
• 2 pint(s) Ben & Jerry’s “In a Crunch” ice cream

Dessert Directions

1. Spread chocolate ice cream over bottom of cookie crust. Stir peanut butter into caramel topping. Drizzle 1⁄3 cup on ice cream; sprinkle with 1⁄4 cup each peanuts and chopped candy. (Freeze until ice cream is firm.)
   
2. Top with scoops of peanut butter ice cream. Stir 1 to 2 tsp water into remaining topping mixture; drizzle over top. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts and candy. Freeze at least 4 hours.
3. About 20 minutes before serving: Refrigerate pie to thaw slightly.