Piggies in a Bacon Blanket

 What do you do when you're a hungry low carber who keeps bacon, cheddar and 

good quality hot dogs in the freezer?  

You pull out your ingredients and make these Bacon Wrapped Cheddar Hot Dogs!   Because everything is better with bacon!    And I do mean EVERYTHING! 

I'd seen the video making the rounds on facebook so I had to try them!  The dogs/cheddar/bacon combo alone are pretty salty alone so serving them on a double bed of helps balnce the salt out.

I make sure to purchase the highest quality hot dogs with the lowest carb amount per dog.  Most have added sugar (up to 3 carbs per serving) and some have 1 carb per serving.  

They're easy peasy to make.

Cut lengthwise slits in your hot dogs and stuff it with slices of american or your favorite (make sure it's real) ccheese.  Wrap one piece of bacon around your hot dog and place on foil covered pan.  If you like you can hold the bacon in place with toothpicks but mine came out great since I stretch the bacon so it holds well.   

Bake at 400 degrees until bacon is nice and crispy. 

These would be great for a bbq or traveling.

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Have a Lovely Day!!!

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

This and That~ Photography Style

These are some shots that I took last year from various parts of Chicagoland.  

I had them in queue but never hit publish.

This was taken near Crawford Steel Company as mentioned in a previous post.    I simply love this image.

It reminds me of this song by Casting Crowns~  All You've Ever Wanted.  Isn't it true that we all have that inner desire to be loved and accepted by the One who  created us and loved us?  All He has ever wanted is our heart!  

The hubs and I stopped at Joong Bu Market in North Chicago last year and we couldn't help but get a bite to eat.  Makes me homesick for the Land of the Morning Calm where I called home for over 11 years.  

A precious friend gave us a gift card to a local Italian place in Dyer, Indiana so we had a date night.  This was on of the first images I converted to black and white using a photo shop class that I took.

This was taken at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle when I visited with my sister.  Those butterflies flying and flitting around are very difficult to capture!  

From our backyard here in Chicago Heights taken with my 105mm 2.8 macro.  Love the depth of field with this lens and it remains one of my favorite lenses of all time.  It's so versatile.  

A study in shadows with the incredible edible egg using the window coming in from my dining room window.

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Crawford Steel Company~ Graffiti Wall in Brighton Park, Chicago Illinois

I love architecture.   And I love street art.  The colors,  the design, the creativity... it's mesmerizing!  And very photographable!

Last year, when the snow was still on the ground, we did a drive by (pun intended!) to Chicago at Crawford Steel Company. It's a dynamite area in Brighton Park where the Steel Mill allow prominent and upcoming graffitti artists to tag predeterined footage along the outside perimeter of their building. 

 The murals even extend to the overpasses of the freeway and it's awesome eye candy!

I'd love to go and visit on the day(s) that they are actually doing the painting and take pictures of the works in progress.

Hello future photo shoot! If you've enjoyed this post please leave a comment below. 
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Have a Lovely Day!!!

The Country Cook

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

How much should Organizing Cost?

How much do you think organizing should cost?  
I've seen many bloggers and vloggers go 'all out' and spend a ton of money on getting their homes in order.  While that might be fine for them, I don't have the expendable money to buy hundreds of dollars in organizer doo~dads even tho honestly I'd love to.  Sometimes it's dishearteing to watch those professional organizing videos because it leaves us with the impression that we have to have certain tools to be successful in organizing.  I disagree entirely.  I am not saying that I haven't spent any money on organizing but I am trying to be as frugal as possible. 
 I think that organizing can cost nothing or next to nothing.  
And I like a good challenge.  
The main purpose of being organized is to help us better manage life, our finances, and help identify potential savings opportunities.  Organizing should help us SAVE money, not SPEND it. Here are a few tips that cost nothing (or next to nothing) that will stretch your budget.  
Clutter~ get rid of it.  This is the biggest deterrent in having an organized home.  I can't stress how important it is to declutter!!!  It might take a year OR MORE to get your home entirely decluttered and after you are finished, it will be something that you have to work at on a daily basis.  Even 15 minutes a day working on clutter really works.  Clutter is equal to Chaos and getting rid of it really does so much for our well being!   I've been inspired by flylady to ask a few questions about clutter~    Do I love it?  Do I use it frequently enough to justify keeping it?   Have I used it in the past year?  Does it help me feel more peaceful?   I can't stress how much more I am at peace since the clutter is gone from my life.   It is completely liberating.  
Take a picture~  Another thing I do is take a picture of my rooms.  There are SO many things that I MISS when I look at my rooms because I am used to what I see in everyday life.  When I take a picture I see things through new eyes.  I recently took a picture of underneath my kitchen cupboard and wasn't aware of the water stain on the back of the wall.  Having that in a picture made it stand out and notice just how bad it looked.  Pull out your digital camera and take a picture of all the rooms in your home.  Even the garage, basement and wherever your 'stashing' area is.  A picture can really help us see things we wouldn't normally see and can even help give ideas for decorating.  
Reuse~  I've made my own homemade laundry detergent and could have bought a fancy schmancy container with a spigot on the end to easily pour it into a cup every time I do laundry.  Instead I chose to save that money and recycle the containers from the Dole Juice that we have purchased.  They are thick plastic and have lasted us over a year.  We've used them many times over for years.
Go Thrift Store Shopping~  There are some things that I do buy retail, but every time I go retail I am usually in sticker shock!  I have found wonderful things thrifting that are great in keeping me in my budget.  It takes determination, patience and sometimes just being in the right place at the right time.    Those gems are so worth it.  
Don't go Thrift Store Shopping~   I know, I know!  First I recommend going thrift store shopping and now I say don't go thrift store shopping.  In trying to be frugal and maintaining a clutter free home, I REALLY tend to be choosy in what I buy.  It's so easy to justify a purchase because it is a few dollars, but those little spends add up to a big dollar amount.  I feel quite a bit of accomplishment when I can walk out of a Thrift Store with nothing in my hands.  
So, there you have it!  In a nutshell I think organizing should cost as little as possible!

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Have a Lovely Day!!!  

The Country Cook

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Wonderful Korean Chili Powder! 고추가루

After living in Korea for a total of 11+ years I've grown to love Korean chili powder.  It's the best chili powder on the market and beats the American version in the spice bottles by far.  It's chunky,  flavorful and packs a spicier kick.

Whenever we go to the North Side of town I try to arrange a trip to the Joong Bu Market .  When I step into that place I turn into an emotional train wreck with all of the wonderful memories of living in Korea,  but that's ANOTHER story.  :)  

It makes wonderful chili beans, seasoning for all meats or a garnish over deviled eggs that is so pretty.  

Look at that lovely texture! 

I do hope you try some Korean Chili Powder!

                                           And if you do, I'd love to hear about it!  Please leave a comment below!

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Have a Lovely Day!!!

  

The Country Cook

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating

Get the Scoop!

This is an old post that, for some odd reason, never got published... so here ya go!  :) 

I purchase 25 pound bags of flour at quite a substantial savings since I bake my own bread.  Instead of lugging the entire container out of my pantry I've made a handy dandy scoop out of a recylcled plastic gallon jug, fill it up with flour and take it to my kitchen counter work space.  I had a brilliant idea with measuring as well!  Since my bread recipe calls for 5 cups of flour, I've scooped it in, and drew a line on the outside to tell me how much flour to use every time without measuring.   It works like a charm!

I can think of a few other places to use these~   

In the sandbox for kids, as a scoop for dog food,  for scooping sugar,  for scooping out salt to melt ice, feeding chickens, bailing water and the list goes on.....

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Have a Lovely Day!!!

The Country Cook

Chic on a Shoestring Decorating