3 kids and lots of pigs: welcome to my pig pen

Bubby and his work jeans

2012-01-09T05:30:00.001-05:00

Bubby loves him some work jeans AKA jeans he can wear on the farm and get dirty with no repercussions. In fact every new pair of jeans he gets, he asks if they can be work jeans. And much to his dismay the answer is no quite frequently. Now don't get me wrong, he has about 5 pairs of work jeans, but to him you can never have too many work jeans so I knew when I had the opportunity to review a pair of Wrangler jeans I knew that Bubby would be the ideal reviewer.

Bubby couldn't wait to try out his new work jeans. In fact he put them to work right away in the house and found out they were perfect were helping him slide down the hallway

and decorating his John Deere Christmas tree in his room.

But truthfully, he couldn't wait to wear them on the farm and show them off to the pigs.

His new Wrangler jeans were perfect for meeting our first litter ever of 4-H pigs.

Bubby really loves his new jeans and I love that they have an adjustable waist which is such an amazing feature in children's clothing.

In fact, Bubby's only concern was that his new wallet wouldn't quite fit in the back pocket,

but in the scheme of things he was just ecstatic to have a brand new pair of work jeans... especially Wranglers.

Thanks Wrangler!!

Now to win a pair of Wrangler Kids' Jeans, please visit The Real Farmwives of Ameirca's page and sign up.

While Wrangler did give me a pair of jeans to review, all thoughts, pictures, and opinions shared on this blog are my own.

Back to reality with the end of 2011 and the start of 2012

2012-01-07T17:31:00.001-05:00

Well as hard as it is to believe, the Christmas season has come and gone even though my Christmas tree is still in the process of coming down this weekend. It wasn't my intent to stay away the last few weeks, but I was trying to balance being a working mom and spending as much time as possible with my kids as Big Sissy and Bubby don't go back to school until Monday. I don't know if I succeeded really well with either one, but during my unintentional boycott of social media, I did have some great work appointments and some fun with the kids.

So I thought I would just share some of the highlights...

Thanks to Pinterest and B. jane brewing and her Hot Moma Makeovers, Big Sissy made matching shirts for herself, Little Sissy, my mother-in-law, and Cousins L, B, A, and E.

Big Sissy made some yummy cookies for Santa with some special Hershey kisses.

Little Sissy got to place Baby Jesus in the manger as Big Sissy read us The Christmas Story from the bible.

The Farmer read "Twas the Night Before Christmas before the kids went to bed on Christmas Eve in their coordinating Christmas pajamas.

My in-laws came over for our traditional Christmas breakfast on Christmas morning.

Big Sissy went from this

to this after donating four 8 inch pony tails to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program and a cute new haircut from Aunt L.

We rung in the New Year complete with a pork crown roast decorated by Big Sissy and a special 2012 cake made by my mother-in-law, Big Sissy, and Bubby.

We saw Alvin and The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked

and we cheered on the Lady Boilers to victory!

Now it is back to reality for all of us this week as Big Sissy and Bubby head to school on Monday and I have a lot of work travel to do during January and February that starts on Monday. So as much as we love breaks from our normal schedule; hopefully, the return of our routine will bring some regularity to our lives.

So what have you been up to while I've been away?

Christmas Tradition #7 from the pigpen

2011-12-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

It's here.... well almost. It is hard to believe that it is Christmas Eve. I've said it numerous times already, but I absolutely love this time of year and our family has built many traditions over the years that make the Christmas season very special for us. Today I will share tradition #7 and although I have more to share, they will have to wait until another year as I think it is appropriate to end with tradition #7 this year as it just might be my favorite.

When we decorate our house for Christmas soon after Thanksgiving, we love to set up our nativity as I'm sure many of you do. The nativity itself is not the tradition, the tradition is when Baby Jesus and the 3 kings arrive.

Baby Jesus does not arrive in our manger scene until Christmas Eve when we gather around as a family before going to bed to read the Christmas story from the bible. So since Thanksgiving weekend, we have been patiently waiting for tonight when we can celebrate the birth of Jesus and the real reason for the season.

Our 3 kings have also been waiting patiently since Thanksgiving weekend. You see they are making their journey to visit Baby Jesus on the Epiphany, January 6th. January 6th is my mom's birthday so growing up we always made a big deal of the 3 kings arrival on the 6th. So until they arrive on Epiphany, our 3 kings are "traveling" to our manger.

Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!!!

Christmas Tradition #6 from the pigpen

2011-12-23T06:58:00.000-05:00

I started sending Christmas cards after I graduated college. After we had Big Sissy, we included a photo with our Christmas card or sent a photo card of the kids. 5 years ago we started the tradition of taking our annual Christmas card photo with the kids thanks to a suggestion from Ice Tea. This year, Big Sissy, Bubby, and Little Sissy all wanted to old a pig so we were quite literally 3 kids and lots of pigs.

I thought I'd share some of our outtakes as there are a lot of them because if taking a picture with 3 kids isn't hard enough only someone like me would add not one, but three live pigs to the mix. As usual, after about 20 pictures, we ended up using the very first picture I took for our Christmas card thanks to closed eyes, moving and/or non-smiling kids, moving pigs, hair in the eyes, and operator error to name a few.

So with no further ado, here are some of our outtakes:

What do you do for your Christmas card picture?

Christmas Tradition #5 from the pigpen

2011-12-20T10:17:00.000-05:00

I can't believe we are less than a week away from Christmas. I have so much to do this week between work and kids' school stuff (they don't get out until Friday at 1pm) that I can't hardly even think about it or I'm easily distracted as I love this time of year.

Any way, I don't know if my mom started this tradition or if it was started before her, but she always made sure we had a brand new outfit to wear for Christmas. We would always wear this outfit for our annual Christmas picture (I'm the oldest of 4), to church for Christmas Eve, and anywhere else she wanted like the Christmas circuit. I have fond memories of my Christmas dresses over the years even if there was a point that I was tired of color coordinating with my siblings. (As a parent, I 100% understand why she did this.)

Since I had fond memories of this tradition, it is one that I have continued with my own children. Each year since Big Sissy was born, I have made sure that the kids had a new Christmas outfit to wear for church on Christmas Eve and for our annual Christmas picture.

Last night one of our great friends who is also an amazing photographer took the kids Christmas pictures and although I haven't seen all of the proofs, I'm more than pleased with the few I have seen as she shared a few on Facebook so be sure to head over to my fan page to check it out.

Did you get a new outfit for Christmas as a kid? Do you still today?

Christmas Tradition #4 from the pigpen

2011-12-15T12:03:00.001-05:00

I realize this may be hard for you to even imagine as it seems a bit surreal to even talk about now, but I used to go on the Christmas program circuit ever year... at least that is what I called it.

You see my grandparents belonged to several different organizations that had a Christmas party every year. I'm not quite sure how it all started, but from a young age I would go to the different Christmas parties with my grandparents and perform as part of the entertainment. I'm not saying I was talented, but the price was right... I was free.

In the beginning, I would sing a selection of Christmas songs. One year I even sang The Friendly Beasts complete with hand puppets for each of the different animals in the stable. (This really is an amazing Christmas song that Garth Brooks actually cut for his Christmas CD.) As I learned how to play the piano, I would take my electric keyboard to play for them in addition to singing and eventually moved on to playing the flute.

Really though I have great memories of doing this as a child and often wondered if I would ever be able to recreate it for my children. Well last year, it all came together.

You see I belong to a local club of Extension Homemakers with my mother-in-law (my grandma belonged to this as well) and last year I started a new tradition of hosting our Christmas party at the pigpen.

After a yummy meal, if I do say so myself, provided by my mother-in-law and myself, all of the children of the club members (well at least the daughters) entertain us by singing Christmas songs while Big Sissy accompanies them on the piano often with assistance of my mother-in-law. This party really is a lot of fun and something all of our members look forward to each year as our members range from 30 something to 80+ in age.

It is a long story as to why my mother-in-law is wearing a paper crown, but she is the queen of our family.

And ultimately, I'm really honored to be able to share the tradition of the "Christmas Circuit" with my children even if their circuit currently only has one stop.

Iron Chef Bake-Off

2011-12-15T06:24:00.000-05:00

As you know Ott, A from A latte with Ott, A has kept me on my toes this year in the kitchen with her monthly secret ingredient Iron Chef Challenges. It has been a lot of fun to work with some familiar and some new ingredients in the kitchen with these challenges.

Much to my surprise, I was named the winner of not only one, but two of her monthly Iron Chef Challenges. I actually won the artichoke Iron Chef Challenge in October and the turkey Iron Chef Challenge in November which led me to this month's Iron Chef Bake Off.

Instead of a secret ingredient, the monthly winners are competing in a Bake-Off sponsored by Taste of Home. Each of us were asked to make the exact same recipe of Cinnamon Raisin Bread and then take that bread to the next level by incorporating it into another recipe.

Believe it or not as soon as I saw the Cinnamon Raisin Bread recipe, I knew what I was going to make. My mother-in-law makes a bread pudding that puts most others to shame so I thought it would be the perfect thing to make for this bake-off challenge.

Aunt Nettie's Famous Bread Pudding
Ingredients
French bread to cover the bottom of 9x13 pan or 1 loaf of Taste of Home Cinnamon Raisin Bread
1/2 cup melted butter
8 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. salt
5 1/2 cups milk

Directions
Tear up bread and cover the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over the bread.

Beat 8 eggs well.

Add sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat well.

Add 5 1/2 cups milk and mix well.

Pour over the bread and let rest 15 minutes or until bread is soaked.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until center is set.

Serve warm with the whiskey sauce.

Whiskey Sauce
Ingredients
1 cup melted butter
2 cups powdered sugar
2 eggs
2 T. whiskey
1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans (toast pecans at 350 degrees for 7-8 minutes)

Directions
Melt butter on the stove top.

After butter is melted, remove from heat and whip in powdered sugar and eggs.

Add whiskey and pecans.

Drizzle over the bread pudding.

Enjoy!!!

I hope you not only enjoy the bread pudding, but also the cinnamon raisin bread as by following the recipe for it, you will end up with 2 loaves... one for the bread pudding and one to enjoy for breakfast or a snack.

Thanks again to Ott, A for all of her awesome Iron Chef challenges in 2011!

My Christmas gifts for you

2011-12-13T20:33:00.001-05:00

I couldn't believe when I logged in today that it has been almost 2 weeks since my last post. I knew it had been awhile, but I really didn't think it had been that long. It definitely isn't because I don't have anything to tell you. In fact, a lot has been going on around this pigpen and that may be why it has been a few days since my last post. I know I've said it before, but I'm really going to try to do better.

So as you know my good friends over at The Real Farmwives of America and Friends launched a new project a few weeks ago called In the Cookie Kitchen with Gooseberry Patch. I happened to be lucky enough to be one of the ladies that participated in their virtual cookie swap. In fact, I "gave" Graham No-Bake cookies to Miss Marybeth of Alarm Clock Wars. In addition to the virtual cookie swap, the ladies are also hosting a big cookie linky party with the opportunity for one of their readers to win a Gooseberry Patch cookbook.

Now who doesn't love a Gooseberry Patch cookbook especially one of their Christmas cookie themed cookbooks.

This being said, I couldn't pass up the chance to purchase 4 different Gooseberry Patch cookbooks a few weeks ago. As part of a big sale, I was able to acquire Christmas Cookie Collection, Magic of Christmas, Old-Fashioned Country Cookies, and Jolly Holidays. (Per Gooseberry Patch, a few of these are even retired.) I was so excited and knew these cookbooks would be a great way for me to help share the spirit of Christmas with all of you and my fellow realfarmwives and friends.

So here is where it gets fun for me and you...

I decided to keep Old-Fashioned Country Cookies for myself. Merry Christmas to me!

Since my fellow realfarmwives and friends aren't eligible to enter any of the contests held on their blog, I decided to use two of these cookbooks as a giveaway of sorts for my ladies.

So unknown to my fellow realfarmwives, they were secretly entered into my giveaway by two different ways.

My first winner is Miss Liz from Two Maids a Milking. She will be receiving Magic of Christmas. (I used random.org to determine this winner amongst all of the ladies that participated in the virtual cookie swap: Jane, Megan, Liz, Jeanette, Meggie, Marybeth, and Cris.) Merry Christmas to Liz!

My second winner will be receiving Jolly Holidays. The winner of this cookbook will be determined by random.org with all of real farmwives and friends that enter the linky party before it ends and those that participated in the virtual cookie swap except for Miss Liz since she already won.

And now one of my lucky readers has to chance to win a copy of the now retired Christmas Cookie Collection complete with a set of Christmas cookie cutters. You have several chances to enter and you can use as many or as little of the entries as you want.

NOTE: To be officially enter you must enter through the widget and click, "I did this" for each of your eligible entries.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Tradition #3 from the pigpen

2011-11-30T21:02:00.000-05:00

Even though I'm already talking about Christmas tradition #3, I can't believe tomorrow will be December 1st. How is it possible that we are 25 days from Christmas?

Any way, Christmas tradition #3 is decorating the Christmas tree.

The Farmer and I both grew up in houses with a live tree and we had a live tree the first couple of years of our marriage. In fact, I can remember bundling up Big Sissy for her first trip to the Christmas tree farm when she was only over a month old. However, we lived in a very small rental house the first three years of her life and once she was able to walk, we had a very tiny space for a tree. So we went the pre-lit artificial route that year and havent' looked back until this year.

This pigpen's tradition is to start decorating our house and Christmas tree the Sunday after Thanksgiving when we get back from visiting my family for the Thanksgiving weekend. Everything was going as planned this year until I got the tree out of the box and all set up.

After plugging in the tree, this is what I got....

a partially lit up tree.

Now this is not the first time I have had this problem. Two years ago, none of the lights came on, but after shaking it quite hard for quite some time all of the lights came on and down the road we went. Last year when I first plugged it in, the entire middle section of lights did not come on so I added a strand of lights and we were back in business. So this year when only part of lights came on, I was slightly depressed.

I shook the tree. I unplugged and replugged in the tree several times with no luck.

I wondered if this was a sign that we should go back to a real tree.

I decided to wait to talk to The Farmer before making any decisions and I'm glad I did.

After some discussion, we decided to get a new pre-lit artificial tree and since The Farmer gave me the go ahead I went ahead an ordered a new tree on Sunday night from Home Depot. (We ordered from Home Depot as we had a store credit to use and liked their online selection.)

When I ordered the tree, they said it would take 3-5 days for shipping after 1-3 days of processing. Well much to my excitement, the box was sitting by the door when I arrived home tonight.

Now I just have to find time to decorate the tree.

Are you a real tree or artificial tree family?

Big Sissy's Pumpkin Fluff

2011-11-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

I have to admit I have done a lot of Christmas shopping and decorating the last few days. So much that it is almost hard to believe that Thanksgiving was just a few days ago.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. We were able to spend Thanksgiving Day with The Farmer's family and then headed north to spend the rest of the weekend with my family. I even squeezed in some Black Friday shopping with my mom and sisters and we took the family to see the new Muppet Movie and created a whole new generation of Muppet fans.

Before I completely move past Thanksgiving, I wanted to share Big Sissy's pumpkin fluff that she made for Thanksgiving. Now Big Sissy can be a picky eater and I never pegged her to be a fan of pumpkin, but ever since she tried Gal in the Middle's pumpkin chocolate chip muffins she has been a huge fan. In fact we made some of Miss Megan's muffins for Thanksgiving as well.

Pumpkin Fluff
Ingredients
16 oz. can of pumpkin
8 oz. container of Cool Whip (we used fat free)
6 oz. container of vanilla instant pudding mix
1 t. pumpkin pie spice

Directions
Add all ingredients to a large mixing bowl and blend.

Serve with regular or cinnamon graham crackers or sticks.

I don't know what she calls this face. :-)

Enjoy!

Turkey: Two Ways

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

When Ott, A from a Latte with Ott,A announced turkey was the secret ingredient for her November Iron Chef Challenge, I immediately thought of two different recipes that could work. These recipes both came to mind as they can be made in less than 10 minutes each and always receive rave reviews from the pigpen. Additionally, they can be made with turkey breast from the deli case or with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or anytime you make a whole turkey or turkey breast.

So I decided I would go ahead and share both recipes with you as we all know we will be looking for many different ways to serve up the leftovers from Thanksgiving come Friday.

First up is my semi-homemade Turkey Manhattans. Now, you can make this recipe as homemade as you want or as semi-homemade as you want. At this pigpen, we usually go the semi-homemade route as it is hard to beat a delicious comfort food that can be made in less than 10 minutes.

Semi-homemade Turkey Manhattans
Ingredients
White Bread
Turkey Breast
Mashed Potatoes
Gravy

When making semi-homemade turkey manhattans, we use turkey breast from the deli case, Bob Evans Original Mashed Potatoes from the refrigerator case, and Heinz's Home Style Roasted Turkey gravy in the jar.

Directions
Prepare your mashed potatoes in the microwave as instructed. (This takes approximately 6-7 minutes.)

Heat your gravy on the stove top.

Place one piece of white bread in the middle of your dinner plate.

Add the desired amount of turkey breast. Then heat the bread and turkey up in the microwave oven for about 30 seconds.

Add the desired amount of mashed potatoes and then drizzle with the desired amount of gravy.

And you are ready to eat one yummy meal.

The second recipe I'd like to share is for a Cranwich. My mother-in-law made these when she used to work at a local tea room as their chef and it has become a treat for our family when she makes them.

Cranwich
Ingredients
Brownberry Whole Grains Health Nut Bread
Whipped Cream Cheese
Chopped Walnuts
Sliced Swiss Cheese
Turkey Breast
Leaf Lettuce
Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce

Directions
Chop walnuts and set aside.

Take one piece of bread and spread whipped cream cheese all over one side.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the whipped cream cheese.

Add a slice of swiss cheese.

Add the desired amount of turkey breast.

Top the turkey with a piece of leaf lettuce.

Spread the whole cranberry sauce on one side of another piece of bread.

Assemble the sandwich.

Cut into 4s and serve with a toothpick inserted into each fourth.

This sandwich is a real treat as it puts a real twist on a traditional turkey and swiss sandwich.

Hopefully these recipes have given you something to think about as you stare down your Thanksgiving leftovers and think of quick and easy weeknight meals that just hit the spot.

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Christmas Tradition #2 from the pigpen

2011-11-22T09:38:00.000-05:00

It is no secret that we love to bake at this pigpen when we can find the time. As if the Christmas season wasn't already busy enough, we try squeeze in lots of baking in the coming month. From puppy chow AKA reindeer chow to peanut butter balls, we love to bake during the Christmas season.

This is a tradition I picked up from my amazing mother-in-law. Usually during the month of November and December, she bakes up a storm of Christmas cookies that we then share with family and friends in addition to our family farm's landlords. (We rent some of our farm ground from local land owners that don't farm themselves, but want to keep their land in production agriculture. This arrangement is really a win-win for all as it allows them to retain ownership of their farm ground without having to farm it themselves and it allows us to farm more ground without having to own it all.)

My mother-in-law usually makes around 10 different kinds of cookies. Many are the same cookies she made the year before, but each year we do try to find a new recipe. This is one reason why I was so excited to be a part of The Real Farmwives and Friends In the Cookie Kitchen partnership with Gooseberry Patch as it allowed me try out a new recipe, Graham No-Bake Cookies.

Big Sissy gave them a big thumb's up!

After all the cookies are made, we package them up in cute containers and then deliver them around the countryside. This is a really fun family tradition and one that I'm glad my mother-in-law shares with me and the kids.

So Christmas Tradition #2 is baking Christmas cookies for our family, friends, and landlords.

What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

Wordless Wednesday - Bubby's Big Week

2011-11-16T21:08:00.000-05:00

It's been a big week for Bubby.

Yesterday, he lost one of his top front teeth

and gained a completely new smile and part of a new Christmas wish.

Today, Bubby turned 6 and celebrated all day long. (On a side note, where has the time gone? I mean how can my Bubby be 6.)

He took donuts to his class this morning. My father-in-law AKA Pop Pop picked him up from school and took him out to eat for pizza for lunch. And tonight, we had an impromptu family celebration at the Mexican restaurant complete with a homemade cake from my mother-in-law AKA Gamma.

So we all sang Happy Birthday and Bubby made a big wish before blowing out his candles.

Here's to hoping all his wishes come true!

Linked to the following Wordless Wednesday parties:

live and love ... outloud

Pinke Post

Project Alicia

Christmas Tradition #1 from the pigpen

2011-11-10T21:29:00.001-05:00

I realize Christmas is still 45 days away, but I must admit with the first sighting of snow today I'm starting to get in the mood. Now that doesn't mean I'm ready to decorate my house, but I have surfed the radio stations a few times looking for a good Christmas song as I love Christmas music.

Any way, I thought in the days leading up to and after Christmas, I would share some of my favorite family Christmas traditions with all of you. Some have been passed down to me by generations before me and others are ones that we started right here at the pigpen.

Christmas pajamas are tradition #1.

I don't know where I got this idea, but every year since Big Sissy's first Christmas I have bought the kids a new pair of Christmas pajamas for them to wear on Christmas Eve. They love putting on their new pajamas on Christmas Eve and, selfishly, it ensures that the kids looks pretty good in their Christmas morning pictures. (Their hair can often be another topic, but at least they are dressed in something that matches as opposed to some of Big Sissy and Bubby's random pajama concoctions.)

I try to coordinate the pajamas as much as I can, but this is getting harder and harder with Big Sissy getting older. (I can't believe she is 9.)

Today I stopped by Gymboree as I had a return to make and it must have been meant to be as they were having a sale on their Christmas pajamas. I was able to pick up a pair of coordinating pajamas for Big Sissy, Bubby, and Little Sissy for $12.99 each. The icing on the cake was I still got a refund after I purchased all 3 pairs of pajamas and made my return.

Now I can't wait to give them their new pajamas on Christmas Eve and capture their smiling and happy faces on Christmas morning.

What Christmas traditions does your family have?

A favorite appetizer from the pigpen

2011-11-07T09:29:00.000-05:00

It is no secret that we eat a lot of pork around this pigpen. As pig farmers it just comes with the territory.

A couple of years ago when I was pregnant with Little Sissy our great friends Troy and Stacy from South Dakota came to visit us. We had a blast, but when it came time for dinner, The Farmer thought he would just prepare an array of pork dishes for our friends. Since he was cooking, I didn't want to complain, but I was a little embarrassed that our menu consisted of bacon, pork burgers, sausage patties, and pork chops. Now don't get me wrong, I love each of these items and serve them a lot at our pigpen, but usually not all at the same time. The Farmer thought he would just showcase several of the items we had in our freezer and that he did. And he did buy a bag of potato chips to go with it so what more could I want. Needless to say it was all very good and filling and has fondly been referred to as Porkapalooza.

Well a couple of weeks ago, we were lucky enough for Troy and Stacy to visit us again. As soon as The Farmer knew they were coming, he immediately starting making plans for Porkapalooza 2. I didn't completely want to ruin his hopes, but I told him I would help with a menu.

Our menu consisted of one our favorite pork appetizer, lettuce salad, fresh fruit, and Cheesy Ham Potatoes which seemed to be a little bit more balanced than the original Porkapalooza.

It was so much fun to be able to spend some time with our amazing friends and Troy even helped make the appetizer which was like having a celebrity guest chef in my kitchen so I thought I'd share the recipe for one of our favorite appetizers. I don't even know what it is called, but we will go with Wrapped Smokies.

Wrapped Smokies
Ingredients
2 packages of Lit'l Smokies
1 pound of bacon
Brown Sugar

Directions
Cut each strip of bacon into 3-4 smaller pieces.

Wrap each lit'l smokie with a piece of bacon and use a tooth pick to hold the bacon in place. (You will probably run out of bacon before you do lit'l smokies.)

Place wrapped smokies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

When the cookie sheet is full of wrapped smokies, sprinkle brown sugar all over the wrapped smokies.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes as you want the brown sugar to start to dissolve/melt and form a sauce and the bacon is browned.

Enjoy!

Tip: I have put these in the crock pot to keep warm for serving as they need to be eaten warm.

Farmer Fridays - 2011 Harvest Season

2011-11-04T09:56:00.003-04:00

Well Harvest 2011 is not quite in the books for us yet as we still have a couple hundred acres of corn to shell, but the end is definitely in sight. I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from this year's harvest season for today's Farmer Fridays.

And remember Big Sissy shared some of her own earlier this month as she shared her view from the combine with us.

And just because our real harvest is almost over, doesn't mean Bubby's harvest is over. He is planting and harvesting crops year round in our house.

Don't be alarmed by the red equipment. He is a John Deere boy 100% just ask Miss Liz, but he will use whatever people will give him.

Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have about our harvest season.

Beef and Noodles in the Crockpot

2011-11-02T21:55:00.000-04:00

This is one of my most favorite meals to make as it one of the ultimate comfort foods in my opinion and truthfully this recipe couldn't be much easier. I found this recipe over a year ago when I picked up a package of Coe's Noodles. I can't always find Coe's Noodles, but I often use their recipe.

Beef and Noodles
Ingredients
2 -3 pound beef roast ( I usually buy whatever is on sale.)
1 package Dry Onion Soup Mix
1 can Campbell's Beefy Mushroom Soup
1 Tablespoon salt ( I often omit the salt and I don't think you can tell at all. )
7-10 cups of water (depends on how much your crock pot can handle)
1 package of Amish style noodles

Put everything in the crock pot except the noodles the night before you plan to serve the beef and noodles and cook all night on low.

Continue on low the next day until about an hour before you are ready to serve the beef and noodles.

Take the beef out of the crock pot and pull it apart into pieces. (I usually use two forks to do this and can often do it in the crock pot as the meat is tender after cooking overnight and during the day.)

Add the noodles giving them a quick stir when you add them to the crock pot. Do not stir the noodles again until you are ready to serve. ( I can't exactly tell you why, but it does something to the noodles per The Farmer.)

After about an hour, you are ready to eat some delicious beef and noodles and it doesn't get much easier than that.

Enjoy!

What a busy, but fun few days

2011-10-31T22:12:00.000-04:00

The last few days seem like a whirlwind. Big Sissy and Bubby were on Fall Break last Thursday and Friday and we tried to squeeze in as much fun as we could and that didn't end until just a few minutes ago as we just got home from trick-or-treat.

On Friday afternoon, we headed up North for a quick 24 hour visit with my family. My Aunt S came home from the hospital on Thursday so it was a blessing to be able to spend some time with her. (Thank you for all the prayers and thoughts. Please keep them coming as she still has a long road ahead of her, but she is doing much better than she was two weeks ago this time when she was suffering from an unknown at the time drug reaction.)

On Saturday, we had a family Halloween themed birthday party for Big Sissy, Bubby, and two of my nieces, Cousin B and A. Their 4 birthdays fall within a month of each other between October and November so we have tried to celebrate all of their birthdays together the last couple of years which always is a lot of fun for all involved.

We headed back home late on Saturday night so everyone could sleep in their own beds and be well rested for Sunday as we decided to head to Kelsay Farms after church on Sunday. You see I just happen to be lucky enough to know those Two Maids a Milking personally so they were kind enough to give us free tickets to visit the farm this year. Thank you again, Amy and Liz!!

Now I realize you may find it odd that as farmers, we would want to go tour another farm, but we love visiting Kelsay Farms. You see they are dairy farmers and there is just something about the cow. I have always been a fan and it appears my kids are too.

In fact, Bubby tells us all the time that he wants to have dairy cows in addition to pigs when he gets bigger so time will tell.

Any way, we had a blast at Kelsay Farms and were even lucky enough to spend some one-on-one time with Miss Liz.

We might still be in the corn maze if she hadn't been with us.

Now Kelsay Farms is closed for 2011 as they are only open to the public during the month of October, but I would suggest that if you live close that you put it on your calendar now for 2012 as it really is a lot of fun for all ages and Bubby highly recommends the chocolate milk.

Much to Big Sissy and Bubby's dismay, they had to head back to school today, but we squeezed in a little bit more fun as we went trick-or-treating tonight.

Trick-or-treating in the country is slightly different than when you live in a subdivision, but we wouldn't trade it for anything. My good friend Miss Megan from Gal in the Middle did a great job of explaining trick-or-treat when you live in the country so be sure to check it out. Let me just say our evening consisted of 2 1/2 hours in the car, 7 stops including one in a corn field, and over 41 miles on my van.

Needless to say, all three kids are fast asleep and I'm not far behind.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Grilled Garlic Artichokes

2011-10-27T21:15:00.000-04:00

I've decided that my kitchen must have been pretty boring before I met Ott, A and she decided to start challenging me with her monthly Iron Chef Challenge. Let me tell you for October, she did not disappoint as the secret ingredient was artichokes. Now I love me some spinach and artichoke dip and my mother-in-law and Uncle M make a good one, but I had never ever worked with a fresh artichoke until now.

After searching on allrecipes.com, I stumbled upon a couple of different recipes and decided to try out the Grilled Garlic Artichokes recipe for a Latte' with Ott,A's October Iron Chef Challenge.

Grilled Garlic Artichokes
Ingredients
2 large artichokes
1 lemon, quartered (I had to substitute with lemon juice as I forgot to pick up a lemon at the store.)
3/4 cup olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions

- Fill a large bowl with cold water. Squeeze the juice from one lemon wedge into the water.
Trim the tops from the artichokes.

Cut in half lengthwise.

Place halves into the bowl of lemon water to prevent them from turning brown. (Hint: I dip my apple slices in lemon juice or Sprite before serving at a party to prevent them from turning brown.)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, preheat an outdoor grill for medium high heat.

Add artichokes to boiling water and cook for about 15 minutes.

Drain.

Squeeze the remaining lemon wedges into a medium bowl. Stir in the olive oil and garlic, and season with salt and pepper.

Brush the artichokes with a coating of the garlic dip and place them on the preheated grill. (My kitchen adventures usually involve family, but these artichokes involved the whole family as my mother-in-law helped me with the grilling and Big Sissy took the pictures so I could run Bubby to football practice. Remember, there is never a dull moment at this pigpen.)

Grill the artichokes for 5 to 10 minutes, basting with the dip and turning frequently until the tips are a little charred.

Serve immediately with the remaining dip.

Now I must admit, we weren't quite sure how to eat the artichokes, but thanks to our friends at Ocean Mist Farms and their website, we got a great tutorial.

And thanks to the great tutorial and a yummy recipe, the artichokes got two thumbs up from Big Sissy which is not an easy feat and my mother-in-law used the leftover dip as a marinade for grilled potatoes the next day.

All in all, I'd say we conquered the artichoke with lots of help and will be trying them again at this pigpen.

My Food Day with a Hunk of Meat Monday recipe

2011-10-24T22:08:00.002-04:00

The Farmer's family and mine have been involved in agriculture and essentially food production for generations.

We hope it is something that will be carried on in our family for generations to come so essentially every day is food day on our family farm.

For generations, we have worked hard each and every day to provide the best care possible for our crops and pigs so that we can provide healthy and nutritious food for your family and ours. That is what it is all about.

As farmers, we not only take great pride in producing food for our family and yours, but we also feel it is our social responsibility to help feed the world. On our family farm, we take this literally a little closer to home as we donate pork to our local food bank throughout the year.

So how did my family celebrate Food Day today, we celebrated like we do every day by taking the best possible care of our pigs and harvesting corn as we are in full-blown harvest mode at our family farm.

I didn't have time to whip something up in my kitchen so tonight was a real treat as we had pizza in the fields. My kids love doing this during planting and harvest season each year. I may not have made the pizza myself, but I have confidence that the ingredients came from family farms just like mine across this great nation.

If I would have had the time to cook tonight, it probably would have been a pork recipe so I thought I'd share one with you in honor of Food Day and National Pork Month.

Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops
Ingredients
Cream of Mushroom Soup (I use 2 cans for 8 chops)
Milk
Pork Chops

I love this recipe because you can start with frozen or thawed pork chops and as much as I usually follow recipes, this is kind of an eyeball it/throw it together recipe that I hope you will like as much as this pigpen does.

Place the pork chops in a 9x13 pan. (I usually use Pyrex for this recipe, but I'm sure any 9x13 pan would work.)

In a separate bowl, dilute the cream of mushroom soup with milk to thin out the soup. (You can leave this as thick as you want or make as thin as you want.)

Pour the diluted cream of mushroom soup over the pork chops trying to cover all of the pork chops.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for a 2 - 2 1/2 hours or when a meat thermometer reads 145 degrees.

Enjoy this recipe and please let me know what questions you have about the food America's farmers work hard to produce each and every day for your family and mine.

Farmer Fridays - Do you believe in signs?

2011-10-21T19:42:00.001-04:00

This time of year our family is usually in full harvest mode harvesting our corn and soybean crop to ultimately feed our pigs. However, the combine has not moved on our farm since Monday night as the rain that we needed all summer arrived on Tuesday and didn't leave until last night. After it was all said it done, we got 3 inches of rain this week which means it will be a few more days until the combine is back in the fields.

The bright side of the cold, windy, rainy weather we had this week is that today was an absolutely beautiful fall day and tomorrow looks like it will be the same. For me, I'm hoping this is a sign that harvest will be back on track soon. Additionally, I'm taking this sign a little farther.

My Aunt S who was diagnosed with leukemia earlier this summer had a bone marrow transplant 4 weeks ago. She came home from the hospital a week and a half ago which was well ahead of schedule and all appeared to be going well until this week. Wednesday night she was readmitted to the hospital with some side effects that the doctors are still trying to diagnose. When she was admitted on Wednesday, the prognosis looked potentially grim, but it is starting to sound a little better today. We are still waiting on all the test results and only time will tell, but I'm taking today's beautiful weather as a sign that she is going to be OK. So I'm asking for all of your prayers and thoughts for my Aunt S as that's really all I can do as it is out of my control.

Angel Sugar Cookies

2011-10-17T22:18:00.001-04:00

I've had a bit sweeter than normal sweet tooth lately so it was of no surprise that I thought I needed to make some cookies this past weekend. It's also no secret that I'm a big fan of The Pioneer Woman so I thought a recipe from her cookbook was only appropriate. This is how I came to make Angel Sugar Cookies over the weekend and they did not disappoint.

Ingredients
2 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for the tops of the cookies
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions
Cream together eggs, oil, butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour. When you take the dough out of the refrigerator, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Use a cookie scoop or spoon to drop balls of cookie dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (I did line my cookie sheets with parchment paper.)

Smear butter on the bottom of a glass, then dip it into granulated sugar.

Use the glass to flatten the balls of dough, dipping into the sugar each time.

Repeat until all are flattened.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the cookies are just barely turning brown around the edges.

Cool before eating... I dare you to wait. :-)

Linked to the following party:

Semi-Homemade Pioneer Woman Guacamole

2011-10-15T11:24:00.000-04:00

As you know, I usually follow recipes to a T and take very few liberties when baking or cooking. In fact this was even a topic of discussion on my Goode friend's, Cris from Goodeness Gracious, Facebook page this week.

So I was kind of struggling when I found The Pioneer Woman's guacamole recipe in her cookbook.

It lists 3 ingredients, but provides no measurements. It uses words like some and big pile when referring to salt and pico de gallo, respectively. That being said I recently had an epiphany of sorts while reading this recipe, I realized that if I bought pre-made pico de gallo that I could have guacamole in a snap just about anytime we wanted since it wouldn't require any cutting.

I was so thankful this light bulb went off as it allows me to whip up guacamole in heartbeat as an appetizer for friends or even as a quick snack or light meal for The Farmer and me.

Ingredients
Avocados, 3/4 to 1 whole avocado per person per PW
Some Salt (I prefer to use kosher salt.)
Big pile of pico de gallo

Directions
Halve the avocados lengthwise. Remove the pit and scoop out the insides onto a large plate or bowl.

Sprinkle on some salt and mash way with a fork until you get the avocado to the consistency you want.

Throw on a "big pile of pico de gallo."

Stir together gently and you are ready to eat some yummy guacamole.

Enjoy!

Hints from PW: Always test guacamole with tortilla chips so you'll get a more accurate gauge of the salt content and adjust the salt to taste. Additionally to avoid browning, gently press plastic wrap against the surface of the guacamole until serving. Guacamole will keep in the fridge less than 24 hours. (This is why I like making it with pre-made pico de gallo as you only have mix up as much as much as you want instead of making up an entire recipe of guacamole.)

Farmer Fridays - Big Sissy's view from the combine

2011-10-14T21:26:00.001-04:00

When Big Sissy went for a combine ride the other day, she asked if she could take my camera so she could share her view from the combine with all of you. (I don't know if it is good or bad that she has taken an interest in my blogging, but I'm going with good for now.)

During Big Sissy's combine ride, we were cutting soybeans. As you know, we raise soybeans on our family farm in addition to corn, wheat, and pigs. We sell all of our soybeans to a local soybean processing plant. We then buy soybean meal from this plant made from our soybeans and those of other local farmers to feed our pigs along with corn raised on our family farm and other essential nutrients.

So with no further ado, here is Big Sissy's view (with her own commentary):

Here comes Pop Pop to pick me up

The soybeans coming out of the combine's auger to fill the truck

The soybean field

Pop Pop using GPS auto steer technology to cut soybeans without actually having to steer the combine himself (unbelievable, right?)

The combine cutting the soybeans

The soybeans in the combine's holding tank waiting to be unloaded into the truck

I hope you enjoyed Big Sissy's view.

Wordless Wednesday - Fall Fun

2011-10-12T06:00:00.002-04:00

What do you get when you have 3 kids and a soon-to-be Aunt?

Tons of fun in the leaf pile...

Thanks Aunt N for the fun! We love you!

Linked to the following Wordless Wednesday Parties:

Dagmar*s momsense

live and love...outloud

Mama Dweeb

Pinke Post

Project Alicia