Foraging? A Thing For the Future?

I came across a blog earlier today that sparked my interest because of it's "One Acre Farm" title.  Since we moved to our own "Acre", there are several trees and a few shrubs that I just have no clue what they are.  I took agriculture in high school but can't for the life remember anything other than my time spent on the dairy team.  I guess I should have paid more attention.

So this sweet lady over at this blog was talking about foraging.  Whether it be outside your home where there are wild berry bushes or on public land 10 miles outside of town where sugar maples are to draw sap from.  I guess I've never thought about "wild foraging"...it just never occured to me.  

It really struck home with me though.  When I was a kid, we lived on 5 acres and next to us was 30 abandoned acres full of fruit trees and I'm sure more that I had no clue about. One of my favorite things to search through the woods for were honeysuckles.  I could spend hours just going through and finding those bright yellow flowers that had the slightest amount of sweet syrup in them.  

I remember going to my mom's with Joe back in May and we walked to the back forty of our property and I got giddy seeing those honeysuckles.  I had Joe try one...he didn't seem impressed and gave me a crazy look.  He clearly didn't grow up with honeysuckles and didn't see the excitement in it.

Back to the topic...  Have you ever thought of foraging through the wild to find berries, nute, sap, or even wild animals?  I'm interested to read more on it to see where around me I can forage and see what goodies I can find.  

Until next time....

Image by: https://auntiedogmasgardenspot.wordpress.com/tag/honeysuckle-extract/

Canning Corn

Early July in the Midwest isthe start of corn season and it is a glorious time of year.  The fields of green and the glimpses of tassles everywhere are just beautiful.  Row upon row of crops are how families make it through the year.  Kids with farm trucks selling corn out of the bed.  I wouldn't want to live any where other than the Midwest when it comes to farming season.  

I did my usual this year and got a huge amount of one thing thinking I'd be able to get through it no problem.  Earlier this year it was leaf lard.  I bought 75 pounds in January....finished it all in October.  Luckily the corn is a different story.  It only took me a week to get through the 10 dozen ears I bought.  This was the best corn I've ever purchased.  Out of all of those 120 ears, I only had to cut the top portion off of maybe half a dozen ears.  Joe helped me with it which was a God send.

I can't remember how many pints I got out of it but it was somewhere in the ball park of 44-50.  That will last us all of this year.

With corn, you want to cut it off the cob and rinse away the hair.  I raw pack mine and add 1/4 teaspoon of canning salt and cover with boiling water.  Pints are pressure canned at 10 pounds of pressure for 55 minutes, quarts for 1 hour 25 minutes.  Let jars rest for 18 to 24 house.

Make sure to either compost the remains of the corn or toss it to some chickens.  Don't let it go to waste!

Have you canned corn before?  What is your favorite thing to can?

Kombucha

Does anybody have any tips on growing your own scoby?  I'm currently going in with a friend and buying from another lady, but I'm a DIY-er & I would love to start brewing my own.

I've just been introduced to this new world of what I call"hippie drink".  From what I've read on the internet, the health benefits are beyond amazing.  & I tell you what, my gut has never been happier.  that may be a little TMI, I aplogize...but seriously, if you have tummy problems, drinking this on a regular basis will make you better.

There is a ridiculous amount of information you can find on this super drink on Mr. Google.  For starters though, it aides in detoxification and cancer prevention, improves gut health, boosts your immune system, and can improve joint care.  I love all the health benefits and I'm learning more and more about this drink on a daily basis.

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is made from a scoby (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) which is the "mother" and you need this in order to start brewing your own kombucha.  There are several places to buy these online, or you could get one from your kombucha connection.  My favorite thing are the abbundance of flavors you can get, especially if you have a local kombucha brewing connection.  I've tried everything from purple carrot to cranberry vanilla to ginger and I haven't met a flavor that I didn't like.  

Here are a few links to help you get started with your new kombucha craze:

http://www.foodrenegade.com/kombucha-health-benefits/

http://draxe.com/7-reasons-drink-kombucha-everyday/

http://www.eatlifewhole.com/2013/06/what-is-kombucha-and-is-it-really-good-for-you/

Have you tried kombucha?  What are your favorite flavors?

Canning Sweet Potatoes

My friend from Slogan Adventures stopped by the house the other day to show me some Norwex products, which I love, and to learn to can some sweet potatoes.  We did a little gossiping, she introduced me to kombucha, showed me how to clean my house with no chemicals, and I showed her how to can sweet potatoes.  What a sweet trade off!  

With the holidays coming up, what better food to can than sweet potatoes?  I mean, you could can pumpkin but yuck...sweet potato is way better. ;)  I do love everything pumpkin except pumpkin....weird huh?  Growing up in the south, the sweet potato is more common for fall baking so that it what I've stuck with.

When canning sweet potatoes you could go about it 2 different ways.  You can either boil them for about 5 or 6 minutes until their skins come off and then cut them into 1 inch cubes OR you can peel them and cut them into 1 inch cubes without boiling them.  Once you've got your taters cut up, raw pack them into jars.  Now, once again you can either cover them with salt and boiling water or you can cover them with a syrup.  I use an extra light syrup on mine which you can find in the Ball Blue Book of Canning.  I believe I used 1/4 cup of sugar to 5 cups of water.  Pour this over the potatoes to 1 inch headspace and pressure can quarts at 10 pounds of pressure for 1 hour and 25 minutes or pints for 1 hour.

Let rest on the counter for 18 to 24 hours.  

Don't let those peels go to the trash.  Make sure you compost or find some starving (ha) chickens to give them to!

Canning Turkey Broth

The evening after Thanksgiving dinner consumed, the boys were watching football on the tube & I went into my happy place to put dinner away and start on turkey stock.  Being in the kitchen, preferrably alone, is my happy place at its finest.  

I've been on this kick where I'm trying to eliminate trash as much as possible, so making stock with a Thanksgiving turkey is an easy way to do that.  I took my two crockpots and divided the turkey carcass into them.  I took the onion, garlic, and rosemary that cooked inside the turkey and added into the crockpot along with a couple of bay leaves and a palmful of peppercorns.  I filled them water and set on low.  I ended up cooking it for almost 24 hours then I turned them off to cool.I strained the stock and put them aside to cool so I could skim the fat off the top.  

Once the fat is skimmed, I brought the stock to a boil and got my pressure canner ready.  Stock or broth is canned at 10 pounds of pressure for 25 minutes for quarts or 20 minutes for pints.  I ended up with 5 quarts of gorgeous amber colored stock.  I tossed the cooked veggies to the chickens and the carcass was tossed in the trash.  Two uses out of one turkey is pretty good.

Do you have any tips on what else to do with a turkey carcass?   

A New Home, A New Start

A week after returning from our honeymoon in Lake Tahoe, we closed on our house.  September & October have been very busy months but they are ones that have been full of so much excitement.  This was a big decision to make for us because we travel every couple of years with Joe's company.  It saddens me to think that in 5 months we may have to travel to another part of the country and leave our "A Whole Acre" behind, but I know we will always return.  

We are so in love with the home we chose and I love the feeling that my -future- children will grow up on this lovely property to make countless memories.

What have you accomplished this year?  Any big changes you've made in your lives?  

Building Post-Compost Tumbler

Thanksgiving was spent with my dad, stepmom, & Joe.  We had a wonderful time but Joe & I were antsy to start on a couple of outdoor projects since we had 65 degree weather for 2 days.  You can't ask for better temperatures in November.

Joe wanted (I needed him to do this pronto because I can't take chickens in my house anymore) to start on the chicken coop and I wanted to make my compost tumbler.  If you would like directions on this, please go to http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/diy-how-to-make-a-compost-tumbler/  and she can show you what to do.  I followed her directions to a "T" and it came out like a dream.

I plan on composting everything from scraps that the chickens won't eat, wood chips, mulched leaves, coffee grinds and filters, egg shells, and tea bags, just to name a few.  When composting, you shouldn't use dairy or meat or anything else that will spoil or mold.

Do you have plans to build a compost pile or tumbler?  What are your fail or success stories?

The 5 New Ladies

Finally not out-numbered by men, our household has gained 5 new ladies.  3 Red Sex Links & 2 Buff Orphingtons.  They spend their days chirping, pillaging through their wood chips looking for new treasures, and making big messes for me to clean up on a daily basis.

They are indoor chickens as of now and living a life of luxury.  I'm not sure what made me think that getting chicken at the end of October would be a good idea...but I did...and I'm glad I did.  They are a joy to have in the house and the 2 dogs love them.

We got them on October 31st when they were 2 weeks old, just 4 days after officially moving into our home.  They spent all of  a week and a half in their beginner stock tank where they learned to jump out onto the floor on day 3 of having them.  Joe built them a 4' by 4' pin until we could get their coop built and so they could no longer jump out onto the floor.  They are loving their new space.

They have started receiving scraps, and have had their wings clipped.  (Post on that coming soon.)  Our dogs enjoy gazing at them through the fencing, somewhat irritated that they aren't able to herd them.  It will be entertaining to see them out and about when they are able to graze outside.  

Do you have chickens?  Have you ever had indoor chickens awaiting their turn to go outdoors?

Lard and numb fingers

Yesterday I decided to pull the remaining 40 some odd pounds of leaf lard out of my freezer and render it down. Pro's?  I have 6 quart jars in addition to the other 6 I have left from the last go around. Con's?  It took 10 hours, a numb finger and a gorgeous day of gardening gone to waste. But by golly I've got enough cooking fat to last the rest of the year! I wasn't able to get through all of it so there's about 15 pounds in the freezer until I can get to it on another rainy day.

I've been reading up on the all the different cooking oils and why which ones are good and why which ones are bad. Man! There is so much information out there it's unbelievable.  I had read about canola oil and its bad effects several months ago and decided to pull up some links on Google to see what other research I could pull up. It really and truly is disgusting what we put in out bodies. 

Now let's go to lard. For the longest time it got a bad rap for being fattening and all this crazy mess. Well...lets see here. Lard comes from pig fat. Not from a toxic genetically modified plant.  Not from a chemical factory. But from pig fat. And you cook it down! That's it! It's got less the amount of cholesterol than that of butter and guess what? It is full of monounsaturated fats which are...wait for it! GOOD FOR YOU AND YOUR HEART!

Just go here to read some information for yourself:

authoritynutrition.com/canola-oil-good-or-bad/

I've made the switch from vegetable oil, Crisco, and canola oil. Will you?

What oils do you cook with? Do you read the labels on your items before you buy them to we what's going into your body?

Rant for the day over. Thanks for stopping by, yall!

Recent Days

Here's a little peek into what I've been up to lately.  A few weeks ago I called the butcher shop I dealt with last year to see if they had any pig fat I could pick up.  A week later I was hauling home 74 pounds of leaf lard home to render.  Just a heads up for anybody wanting to do this...don't get 74 pounds.  Period.  Ya know, maybe you could start with like 10 pounds or 15 pounds but don't get 74.  Wish me luck cause I'll still be doing this by next year...haha.  

This is the finished product after making it through about half or the lard. 7 quarts and 5 pints.  I am using this to replace all of the Crisco and canola oil in our house.  Once you render it, it has this gorgeous solid white color that is so rewarding.  My favorite way to use it is in pie crust, but I've also fried chicken fried steaks in it.  The possibiliies are endless!

I made this pallet thing around 3 years ago when we were living in Rhode Island.  It was unfinished and has been holding my wine glasses in my kitchen for the past year and a half or so.  I finally got it down the other day and sanded and stained it because I saw this awesome pin of a pallet cookbook and iron skillet holder.  Long story short...here's my copy of that pin.  Thanks whoever you are!  I'll try and find her site and tag it so you guys can follow her or him.  

That's really about it guys.  Other than trying to plan this darn wedding, I've just been crafting & cooking & being a good house-fiance!

Hope all is well in y'alls neck of the woods!  Til next time...........

Skillet Pot Pie

I found this recipe the other day over at OneHundredDollarsAMonth  & made it that very night.  It's one of those recipes that you see and you say to yourself "I have everything I need and it looks impossible to screw up".  Those are my kind of recipes and they always turn out the best.  

Do you ever notice how things like that happen?  I feel like if I spend hours looking over a recipe and try my best to make it perfect, it's a fail.  But spur of the moment recipes like this?  Piece. of. cake.  It's very versatile and you can add or take out whatever you like or don't like.  ( this is really off topic but that last little reminded me of a scene out of Fried Green Tomatoes...yes I can recite the. entire. movie. Don't knock me!)

Onto the pie:

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees, pop the skillet in while it's heating up.  Take it out after a bit and melt 1/3 cup butter.  Once that's melted and starting to bubble, whisk in 1/4 cup flour.  Slowly incorporate the chicken broth and salt & pepper & other spices until it starts to thicken.  Add in your chicken and veggies and give it a stir.  Top with a homemade pie crust and brush with a yummy egg wash.  Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Finished product!

Skillet Pot Pie:
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper
1 can mixed veggies
2 cups chicken breasts, cooked & shredded
9" pie crust

Enjoy!!

Cheesin' on Tuesday

As I was cleaning out the fridge today, I spotted some broccoli I bought the other day and a little light bulb went off in my head. Joe LOVES broccoli cheese soup...and I don't.  Well I didn't think I did.  Until today!!

I was hoping and praying I would find a broccoli cheese soup in one of the Pioneer Woman Cookbook's I received for Christmas & I struck gold when I found an awesome recipe in her new Holiday Cookbook.  

Her recipes are so easy to follow and the pictures she shows during the process make any recipe foolproof.  I love you Pioneer Woman!  Now, let's get down to business.

1/2 stick butter
1/2 onion, diced
1/4 cup flour
3 cups heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
broccoli heads, cut into florets
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded

Turn your dutch oven on medium high heat and throw in 1/2 stick of butter to melt.  Toss the diced onion in and let it cook for 3 to 4 minites, stirring occasionally.  Whisk in 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and whisk constantly for about 2 minutes.  Add in your heavy cream and stir until thoroughly combined.  Add salt and pepper to taste and the nutmeg and then the broccoli, then stir to combine.  Pop the lid on it, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for about 25 minutes.  When that's done cooking, add in the 1/4 cup of chicken broth and cheese and stir.  Make sure you taste to see what seasonings need to be added.  I love black pepper so I added more of that.

I am officially a broccoli cheese soup convert.  It will probably be on our weekly menu until spring hits.  Enjoy!

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to pick up the 40 pounds of pig fat I've been waiting on since last week...more on that later.  ;)

Do y'all have any favorite broccoli cheese soups?  Are you a non broccoli cheese soup lover like I was?!  

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from me, Joe, and the boys! I hope yall have a very Merry Christmas amd very Happy New Year!

Yesterday was spent with Joe and I going to see a movie, then coming home to open presents and do absolutely nothing else.  We spent the previous weekend with my parents and my brother and his super sweet family. Today was spent doing a ton of housework and cooking a delicious ham. Sounds fun, right? 

I love spending time with family, I really do. But it's nice to have some alone time in the rush of the holiday season. I'm thankful for everything I have with Joe and our boys and quiet holidays like this give me time to realize how much I really do have.

Have a good holiday y'all!  I'll include my super yummy ham recipe in a few days.

Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

Joe and I decided that we would not travel this year for the holidays due to extensive travel throughout the year. Instead, we decided to keep a low profile and have a few of his co workers over for a late Thanksgiving dinner. We had a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner with an oven baked turkey, buttermilk mashed potatoes,  crockpot dressing, crockpot sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry pomegranate sauce, and a sweet potato pie.  I get full just from reading that list!

I'm not one that likes cranberry sauce... I'm also one that has never actually tasted cramberry sauce...Joe makes fun of me for this. I know, I know...you can't not like something if you've never tried it before but, hey! Its my party and I'll cry if I want to. 

I remembered at about 2 o clock on Thanksgiving Thursday that I hadn't yet gone to the store for cranberry sauce and I was not about to leave then and go. I'd watched the Thanksgiving Live show on the Food Network earlier in the day which made it about the 4th time I'd watched it  since that previous Saturday.  You could say I was a professional by this time when it came to Thanksgiving....haha only kidding!  I remembered seeing Alton Brown's recipe for homemade cranberry sauce and decised I'd give it a shot.  The only ingredients I had that he called for were cranberries and honey so I'd have to improvise...I didn't try the main recipe but I think this one is much better!

          Cranberry Pomegranate Sauce

1/4 cup cranberry-pomegranate juice
1/4 cup apple cider
1 cup honey
1/2 bag cranberries (I think its a 12oz bag)
Arils of 1 pomegranate

Mix together both liquids and honey in a medium saucepan amd bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce to a medium-low heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.  Add cranberries and pomegranate arils and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the cranberries burst.  Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a mold of choice ( I used a pint and a half mason jar ans it was the perfect size) and refrigerate for 6 hours up to overnight.

I could have eaten this stuff straight out of the jar on crackers it was so good! Make it for Christmas and enjoy all the compliments you'll get!

Easy Nights

For the past week and half or so we've had pretty low temperatures in the 30's.  I had some pepper plants outside that I was trying to let ripen completely before I set them out for seed drying.  But...since I was late planting them and they clearly weren't hitting their fully ripe stage, I went ahead and snatched them off the plants before frost hit.  I put them on my kitchen windowsill in hopes that they will ripen.  

If y'all have any tips on this, please share!  

Agave, bamboo, and another plant I'm not sure the name of!  Getting everything inside before cool weather really hits.

Baby red bells & cayenne peppers

Tobasco peppers waiting to be turned into homemade tobasco sauce

This morning I had all intentions of coming home after work and spending the day mastering meatloaf....but that didn't happen.  Starbucks & Jason's Deli sounded like a better idea so I decided on making an easy dinner instead.  Ever have those days?  I have them about 3 times a week (and I usually cook 5 out of the 7 so it happens more often than not.)  

With the chilly temperatures we've been having, I figured a comfort food was in order.  Joe will be excited to see that chili is on the menu instead of meatloaf.  He wasn't too thrilled when I told him that's what I had planned for the evening.  

Now, chili is one of those dishes that everybody makes different and I think you like whatever you grew up on.  I'm a simple person so I like simple dishes.  When it comes to chili, I don't want to spend my time throwing in veggies, curing the sauce, using a bunch of herbs or whatever else it is that people put in it.  Okay so it may not be too complicated, but I like eating what I grew up on and veggies were not in it!  

My chili has tomato sauce, chili beans, homemade taco seasoning, extra chili powder, and ground beef.  I brown the ground beef and drain it, add it to my pot of tomato sauce, chili beans, and seasonings, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes.  Voila!!  Easy peasy lemon squeezy.  Add a pan of homemade buttermilk cornbread and a big ole' glass of milk and you've got a delicious and easy supper.  

Chili Ingredients

2 cans tomato sauce

1 can chili beans

1 pound ground beef (or ground deer)

2 tablespoons taco seasoning

1 tablepsoon chili powder

I'd love to hear your variations on chili and what you grew up on!

Monday Night Dinner

Tonight I sit here watching The Voice, tummy full, glass of wine in hand, and the sound of power tools in the background.  Joe is busy making a new feeder for the boys' food and water bowls.  I came across this yummy deer roast recipe from my favorite blog and it was just as delicious as it looked on her post.  You can find it here.

I fell upon this blog about 2 years ago when I was starting to research my obsession on canning.  You'll often see my refer to it because this incredible woman is full of so much knowledge and I admire her greatly.  Okay...back to this kick ace dinner.

My family hunts (and when I say my family, I mean my dad and stepbrothers), and we've learned to surround ourselves with hunters as well because of our love of Deer.  I will eat deer any way I can: in spaghetti, fried, slow cooked, baked, you get it...  Throughout the year we have deer stocked in our freezer but today I used my last deer roast.  It was a sad day, but also a glorious one because of how good this deer roast was.  

First I took my deer roast, dried it off well, and seared it in my cast iron skillet with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.  You just want to sear it til it's nice and brown on each side.  

Then I took some of my frozen onions and browned them in my skillet to get all of those yummy juices soaked into them.  

Now, you'll want to take your roast of your skillet once it's browned on each side (before you put the onions in) and place it on a plate or cutting board to let it cool a bit.  Cut about 5 slits in the top of your roast and place sliced garlic in it.  If you really like garlic you could probably add a whole clove in each slit but I'm a little leery of that much garlic so I opted to use one clove for the whole roast.  Next time I'll use more garlic for sure.  

Place your roast in the crockpot.  She calls for 1 teaspoon of thyme, 1 tablespoon parsley, mushrooms, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and pepper to taste.  I'm not a fan of thyme, and I had no mushrooms on hand so I used 1 quart deer broth (you could substitute beef or chicken broth with bouillon cubes just  make sure it covers the roast), 1 tablespoon parsley, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, the onions from the skillet, and topped the roast with 1/2 stick of butter. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 7 hours.

When the roast was cooked, I took it out and placed it on a platter and covered it with foil to let it rest.  I then added 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of corn starch with enough water to make a paste and poured it into my crock pot (set on high still).  Be sure to stir it well and let it simmer for about 30 minutes and you'll have your gravy!  I sliced my roast and covered it in gravy because I felt it looked more homestyled.  Joe did not grow up on deer like I did so sometimes he gets that shy sparkle in his eye when I tell him deer is for supper and it's a new recipe.  Rest assured that if you are not a venison fan, he said you couldn't tell that this was deer. I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or if he was bashing my cooking but he seemed to enjoy it and so did I so I didn't care too much.  

For my sides I used a quart jar of my canned potatoes, drained them, mashed them and mixed them with some buttermilk, salt and pepper.  And some zipper cream peas from my stepmom's garden.

Just some good ole southern homestyle cooking to make a perfect night.

How to Freeze Pepper & Onions

I don't know about you but I love having peppers and onions on hand for cooking.  Frozen bell peppers and onions are so handy for soups, stews, tacos, casseroles, sauteing, and more and they are so easy to do!  Anytime I find bell peppers on a good sale at the grocery store (or in the summer time, at the farmer's markets) I love to buy a few, dice 'em up, freeze 'em, and keep 'em in the freezer.  Onions, I do the same.  Costco always has sweet yellow onions for pretty cheap and just recently my MIL gave me a few of her homegrown onions.  

This is a pretty hard process so be sure to follow closely.....

Dice your bell peppers and onions.

Spread them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Pop them in the freezer for 2 hours.

Take them out and bag them.

Told you it was hard!

About to go in the freezer

Out of the freezer and into bags

Canning Potatoes

Yesterday was a busy day with laundry, canning, cleaning house.  Man what an exciting day!  It was a gorgeous day out and the dogs enjoyed playing outside for the majority of the day.  I wish I would snapped a few pictures on my camera phone...  Joe was at a dinner meeting so I had some yummy frozen corn dogs for supper.  

Back to the topic.  Last week our local Price Chopper had 10 lb bags of russet potatoes on sale for $1.99!  HOLY COW!  I already had 1 10 lb bag and 1/2 a 5lb bag of golden potatoes and another 1/2 a 10 lb bag of russets in the pantry but I couldn't pass that good of a deal up.  

First thing I did was peel my potatoes.  

Next I diced them up into 1'' pieces and put them in a large dishpan with cold water.

I boiled my pot of water and got my pressure canner ready with 4 inches of water in the bottom of it.

I warmed my jars in the dishwasher on the heat warmer setting and brought my lids and rings to a slight simmer.

Fill your jars with potatoes, add 1/2 tsp of canning salt, and fill with water to the 1/2" headspace line.

Make sure to get your air bubbles out with a non metallic object and wipe the rims of your jars with a damp washcloth.  

Place your lids on your jars, put on your rings, and put jars in your canner.

Process at 10 pounds of pressure for 40 minutes.

Wait til the pressure goes down completely, places your jars on a double folded dish towel, and let rest for 12 to 24 hours.

I did 2 different styles of potatoes, long cut potatoes for french fries and cubes for mashed potatoes.

Once I pull out a jar to use, I'll let y'all know how they cook up!  Otherwise we'll be having lots of mashed potatoes!  I'll be finishing up my potatoes tomorrow by doing slices, more fries, and more cubes!  Hopefully potatoes won't be on my grocery list for a while!

Change is Good

So when I first started this blog, I wanted to make it kind of personal but mostly just about my crafting, canning, cooking, couponing, etc.  But the more I read my favorite blogs that I can connect with , I feel like my readers would connect more with me and my blog topics if I shared with you more of my daily life. (Hope that made sense)  On days that I don't work, I enjoy piddling around in the kitchen, a little bit of crafting, and more piddling around in the kitchen.  I'm always looking for ways to cook more from scratch, preserve food,  and use less processed food.  The blogs I read on a daily basis (you can find them on the right side of this page) continually inspire me and I hope I can do this for y'all from here on out.  I hope to post more and would love to hear about any topics you would love to learn about.

Here's a look at my family and I hope to share more with y'all as the days pass!

My Fiance, Joe, & I

My babies, Boomer (the bigger guy) & Rango

Boomer sporting his doggles

Homemade Chicken & Dumplins

The HF (that's right!  that handsome boyfriend has now become the handsome FIANCE!...more on that later) and I have been going without chicken for a while...and he hasn't been a happy camper.  While I try and keep us on a strict grocery budget of $200 a month, he has no problem with buying whatever he wants for food.  Needless to say, I keep up with all the grocery buying.

A guy that the HF works with passed on to him a flyer for whole organic chickens from an Amish farm for a pretty decent price so we ordered 10 of them (6 for us, 4 for some friends).  Yesterday I spent the day cutting up all of the chickens and dividing them up into bags for later meals and last night I made our first chicken dish in over a month!

Here's the recipe for the best chicken and dumplins you'll ever eat:

1 1/2 quarts homemade chicken stock

3 chicken legs, shredded

3 chicken thighs, shredded

Dumplins (recipe below for those)

1 can evaporated milk

lots of black pepper and some salt

Pour your chicken broth into your pot and bring it to a boil, drop in your cut up dumplins (about 1/3 of them) into the boiling water and wait til they set, then throw in a handful of chicken.  Repeat with the dumplins and chicken until it's all gone then pour in the can of evaporated milk, turn the heat down to simmer, and pop the lid on it.  Let simmer for an hour then they're ready to eat!

Dumplin recipe:

2 cups self rising flour

pinch of baking powder

pinch of baking soda

3 tbls olive oil

buttermilk

Mix together your dry ingredients then mix in enough buttermilk til the mixture is moist but not sticky.  I don't measure my buttermilk so use your best judgement.  This is a recipe that my step mom passed on to me and it is also her biscuit recipe!

No picture for this recipe because we ate them faster than the time I could grab my camera...maybe next time!