Steadfast Steps

Quotes

2012-05-14T23:38:00.002-05:00

Sometimes my kids say the strangest things and I always think I want to remember the funny conversations but soon forget, so here are two conversations before I forget!

Wichita: You already have a milk mustache.
Wyatt: Where?
Wichita: Right there.
Wyatt: Right where?
Wichita: Right there. Look at your face.
Wyatt: I can't see my own face!

----------------------------------

Wyatt: There is a little spot of blood in this egg.
Mom: It won't hurt anything, sometimes that just happens.
Wyatt to Wichita: Be careful when you eat these eggs - there is going to be a scab in one of them.

:)

Menu Plan Monday

2012-05-14T16:14:00.004-05:00

For the next few weeks my menu is going to consist of some of the less eaten "leftovers" in my big freezer. I am still on a mission to get this freezer completely empty by the time my chickens are ready to butcher in about 2 months. I can transfer some things to my 2 refrigerator-freezers, but not much will fit there so most of it needs to be eaten.

Here are the things we will be eating for supper this week:
BBQ beef ribs
Eye of Round Roast (didn't even know I had that kind of roast!)
Chicken - I think I will half it and grill it with a vinegar-butter baste (only 3 more chickens remain)
Biscuits & Gravy - we'll use the LAST package of pork sausage for our favorite meal!
Pheasant - wrapped in bacon and put on kabobs on the grill

Side dishes will be frozen sweet corn (still about 10 bags left), green beans (also trying to finish off the stuff I canned last summer before my garden is in full swing), canned beets, and canned potatoes.

I need to finish off my frozen zucchini and canned pumpkin so I also plan to make zucchini bread & pumpkin cake for snacks/dessert.

Lunches will be light. We are outside a lot more now that it is warm and sunny. We will have lettuce, radishes, & broccoli from my greenhouse. Probably also have a few sandwiches, smoothies, apples/oranges, and fresh veggies.

Check out OrgJunkie for more great menu ideas!

Frugal Friday - Using What You Have

2012-05-11T07:34:00.003-05:00

One of the best ways to be frugal is to make use (or make better use) of the the things you already have. Many of us deal with clutter issues and not enough storage space. Yet we often find ourselves buying more. It is easy to overlook ways to re-use old things in a new way.

The first thing that comes to mind is clothing. My kids are forever needing new clothes - either they have ruined or outgrown their clothes. Instead of buying new (or even buying used) there are several ways to make the old things last longer.

make fancy patches for holes - you can even add a few extra "patches" for fun
add length to shirts, pants, or skirts using ribbon or lace
when the clothes are finally unwearable save the good pieces and make a quilt

The same principle applies to your furniture. Take your old worn out couch and recover it. With a little studying you can teach yourself how to refinish your wood table. Learn a few simple woodworking skills and repair your chairs instead of throwing them out. And it doesn't take much effort to repaint something and make it look new again!

You can even think of better ways to use the food in your pantry and refrigerator. How many of us put the leftovers in a bowl, only to dump them in the trash a few days later? I know I have been guilty. When you put together a meal think of how you can incorporate the leftovers from a previous meal into your menu. For example, we love to take day old mashed potatoes, shape them into patties, and fry them on the pancake griddle. This is a perfect way to use mashed potatoes that have become a little dried out. Use the bones and leftover chicken bits from roasted chicken to make chicken soup or broth. You can use it at your next meal or can it for future use. Take those small portions of leftover veggies from several meals and throw them all together in a stew. Find ways to use the ingredients you already have as a substitute for something else - I make butter so I have lots of buttermilk. I have learned to use buttermilk in recipes that call for water or milk. This way I am not letting my buttermilk go to waste.

There a many ways to make better use of the things you have. Just try these two simple things: Before you throw something away, ask yourself if there is any way to reuse that item in some other way. Before you buy something new, ask yourself if there is anything you have at home that you could use instead. This not only helps you be frugal but it also helps you be green!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-05-09T10:48:00.000-05:00

Spring = new babies! (and lots of them!)

kitties

lambs

turkeys

calf

chicks

piglets

#CoronaRita & Cinco de Mayo!

2012-05-01T23:42:00.001-05:00

This post brought to you by Chili’s Grill & Bar. All opinions are 100% mine.

Cinco De Mayo is more than just the 5th of May. The holiday of Cinco De Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated throughout the state of Puebla. In the United States, Cinco De Mayo is a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. Whether you are of Mexican descent or not, you can still celebrate this day in honor of the Mexican heritage many US citizens share. And what better place to celebrate to than Chili's - a restaurant that takes pride in its Southwestern heritage. "Because," as they say, "where we come from, tradition is everything."

Chili's is a fun, bold restaurant with something for everyone. They offer everything from the traditional southwestern style foods, like fajitas & quesadillas, to southern favorites, like baby back ribs, to typical American style foods like a burger and fries. They also have seafood, steaks, salads, and soups, as well as a complete dessert menu. And to top off your meal you'll want to try one of Chili's famous margaritas - like the new CoronaRita Margarita - made with Jose Cuervo Especial Tequila and Coronita.

Chili's is spicing things up with a bold new look. Many of their locations have been updated to give you a fresh, spacious atmosphere. They have flat screen TVs and new lighting, seats & wood tables with more room to kick back. New awnings and an updated pepper logo, coupled with bold colors, awesome artwork, and wooden wall hangings bring out their strong southwestern heritage.

Living hours from the city, it has been too long since I have been to Chili's, but who could ever forget the taste of their trio fajitas - made with grilled steak, chicken, and lime & garlic shrimp. This mouthwatering dish would go great with the CoronaRita Margarita. It makes me hungry just thinking about it!!

Summertime & Cinco De Mayo is the perfect time to spend time with family & friends and try the new CoronaRita at Chili's. Check out their huge menu with tons of great choices - something to satisfy every taste.

You must be 21 years or older to drink alcoholic beverages and as always, please remember to drink responsibly.

Gardening - the all natural way

2012-04-30T16:45:00.001-05:00

This post brought to you by Whitney Farms. All opinions are 100% mine.

Gardening is one of my favorite things to do. Early in the spring I am itching to get my fingers in the dirt and plant some seeds. I have a hard time waiting for the "frost-free" date, especially this year. The weather has been so nice and the grass has been green for ages! One of the greatest challenges, for me, is finding natural products to use in my garden. For times when I don't have enough or don't want to use my own homemade compost, I want something safe, natural, and organic if possible. After reading about Whitney Farms® line of 100% natural plant foods and soil, I think I may have found that "something more". In business for over 25 years, they offer organic plant food and soil with no additives or artificial junk. Their organic soil is made from REAL earth.

So why use Whitney Farm's product over all natural, homemade compost? Well, there are several good reasons I can think of:

it is easy to apply (think bag vs. wheelbarrow and pitchfork)
it is virtually dust and odor free (think smell of dirt after a rain vs. smell of barn freshly mucked)
it is specially designed to have the nutrients your plants need (think no more guessing game!)
there are times when homemade compost is not ready or you just don't have enough

If you are already using a commercially prepared plant food or potting/planting soil, then Whitney Farm's products are definitely your most natural choices. The closer you can get to the way God made it, the better it will be for you and your family! So why not try it on this year's garden? You have nothing to lose. In fact, if you click here: Whitney Farms® you can get a $3 off coupon. Happy Gardening!!

More pictures

2012-04-19T07:08:00.000-05:00

These are the rest of the feast pictures - we weren't able to everything exactly "kosher" but even with some small substitutions most of the food turned out very good. We won't be making chicken soup with matzah balls again anytime soon and as Wichita so graciously pointed out: "You don't have to worry about me getting drunk - this wine is NASTY." Well, I guess that fear can be put to rest. ;)

upper left- potato kugel, upper right - almond macaroons & haroseth, center - chicken soup with matzah balls

Seder plate - horseradish, boiled egg, salt water, parsley, lamb shank bone, haroseth, matzah, & on left Elijah's cup with wine

tangy lemon bars & grape juice

The Grand Finale

2012-04-19T06:33:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we finished our unit on Ancient Egypt which included studying Egypt, deserts, all along the timeline from when Joseph was sold to the Egyptians to when the Israelites left Egypt after the 10 plagues. We made a Nile rive of clay, carved pictures into stone (plaster), made a shiny golden pyramid, created a booklet all about deserts, dissected a frog, tried lots of Egyptian foods, made a timeline, drew a mural, and many more things. Being a unit study we were able to study Egypt, the Bible, and deserts in all of our subjects (except Math) so each subject built on and added to the others. I enjoyed the unit and so did the kids. So far, this has been my favorite curriculum!
We ended the unit with a Passover feast and a skit based on the Bible verses when Moses was left in the river and an Egyptian princess found him.
Here are pictures of the skit:

Miriam and the basket with Moses in it

Pharaoh's daughter and her slave girl

Montana loved dressing up - she even made herself a wig :)

Pharaoh's daughter asks the Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for her

Pharaoh's daughter, Miriam (Moses's sister), and Moses's mother (also doubled as the slave girl)

The kids each made their own desert booklets containing information on lots of different desert plants and animals. Here is Montana with hers:

And this is our feast: We had chicken, chicken soup with matzah balls, potato kugel, haroseth, tangy lemon bars, almond macaroons, wine, and grape juice. We ate on our fancy chicken plates and everyone had to try some of everything. Most of the food was pretty good!

Making it Official!

2012-03-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

Sunday was an important day for us. Wichita & Wyatt both joined the church! I couldn't be more proud! After completing a class to fully understand what they believe as Christians and as Nazarenes, they had a meeting with our pastor and then were offered the opportunity to become members of the church. This is an affirmation of their faith - a step towards giving their life completely over to the Lord. Their membership ceremony at the church was followed by a reception for all 4 new members. Thanks so much to all of our family & friends who attended and to our church family who always welcome our family with open arms!

Here are my two handsome young men :)

SNAP to it!

2012-03-20T18:00:00.001-05:00

This post brought to you by Scotts®. All opinions are 100% mine.

In Nebraska, where I live, Spring has sprung - and quite early I might add! I can't be sure that it is here to stay, but we have been enjoying 60+ degree weather, sunshine, and even a few rain showers for the last 3 weeks. The grass is green, the trees have baby leaves, and even the weeds are already starting to pop up - which means crabgrass in my yard!! Although I am not a very good lawn person, when I have bothered to fertilize or weed kill, I usually turn to Scott's. It seems to work and the price is competitive.

For those of you who use Scott's lawn products (and those who don't yet!), Scott's has a great new lawn care system. It is called the Scotts® Snap® Spreader System. It is simple and easy to use. It eliminates the guess work and the mess of traditional spreading products. You simply snap, lock, and go! This is my kind of system!

In addition to their new system, they also have Snap perks on Facebook. If you 'like' their page you will be entered to win the sweepstakes. You can win a trip to a major league baseball All Star game or the World Series, or a lawn makeover. If you explore their facebook page you can find more ways to enter. You can also play the instant win game every day between now and October 31 to try and win a Home Depot gift card.

Whether you win the sweepstakes, or not, you can't lose with Scotts® Snap® Spreader System. So SNAP to it!!!

Barley Cakes

2012-02-28T11:10:00.000-06:00

We are learning about Egypt & the desert alongside of Joseph & his life in our new homeschooling curriculum. Last week we created a Nile River, played an ancient Egyptian board game, and made barley cakes. The barley cakes were amazing and I thought I would share the recipe here. They are so good we have decided to permanently replace our regular pancake recipe with barley cakes. I was able to get barley flour from Azure at a price comparable to regular flour and the barley flour gives the cakes a somewhat nutty flavor. Everyone in our family likes them and some of them don't prefer pancakes so this is a great new addition to our recipe collection.

Barley Cakes
1 1/2 cups barley flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. honey
1 egg
1 cup milk (or buttermilk)
1 Tbsp oil

Mix all ingredients together and fry on griddle or greased frying pan just like regular pancakes, until golden brown on both sides. Serve with honey & butter (or pancake syrup). This is a very small recipe - makes about 8-10 small pancakes.

Because of the sand that often got into the food and the rough textures of the hand ground barley, these cakes would have slowly ground down the teeth of the ancient Egyptians - which has been noted in studies of mummy teeth. Barley was a popular grain in that area & time.

You can also get barley flour from Amazon - just click below:

Healthy Living- Growing Your Own

2012-02-21T08:47:00.000-06:00

One of the best ways to eat healthy is to grow your own food. If you grow it yourself you know what is in it, what it was "treated" with, and how it was preserved/prepared.
Like I have mentioned several times before, start small. Till up a small space in your yard and start with a few vegetables that your family likes to eat. Green beans, peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and squash are easy to grow and will provide you a nice variety all summer long. Make it bigger the next year and add some more vegetables. The better you get at taking care of your garden, the more you will learn about growing, preparing, and preserving the things you grow, and the more you will be able to do. Eventually you could even grow and dry your own herbs. You may want to consider building/buying some cold frames to extend your growing season.  Of course, you can always put up a greenhouse to really extend the season.  You can buy small stand-alone greenhouses for as little as $50 or you can build something bigger - the possibilities are endless. Growing your own vegetables allows you to control where your food comes from, what chemicals are used on them, and to enjoy the taste of FRESH vegetables.
If you have the space and the ambition, you can also raise your own meat.  This takes a little more time, money & space, but is well worth it. Chickens are easy to raise, very affordable, and easy to dress for the freezer. I have also canned chicken meat for easy use later. Most other meat will need to be processed by a meat locker, but don't let that deter you! You can raise a pig and/or a lamb in a small area - you can even raise them together and they will do great. All you need is grass and a little grain.  Pigs & lambs only take the summer to be ready to butcher so you won't have to worry about shelter for the winter. A beef is probably the most intensive and costly to raise, but still beats the price and taste at the local grocery store.  It takes about 18 months to raise a beef from a calf to butchering size.   You will need a grass and/or hay and grain. If you are raising it on grass/hay only, it will take longer, but will be worth the wait. You will need to consider how you are going to water and shelter a beef calf through the winter. One other great way to obtain meat for your freezer is by hunting. You can get deer, turkey, dove, duck, goose, etc from someone who hunts (or shoot it yourself). These meats are easy to freeze and are affordable to obtain.
The one other thing I would highly suggest growing your own (again if you have space & time) is milk. You could also look into getting these products from a local raw dairy (if available in your state).  There is a lot of controversy over the quality and safety of raw milk, but I am definitely a proponent FOR raw milk. I have done lots of research and have personally experienced the difference. Raw milk is packed full of great minerals & vitamins. Store milk is filled with hormones and many of its vitamins have been killed during the pasteurization process. Milking your own cow or goat will provide you with milk, cream, butter, buttermilk, cheeses, whey, and more! You will have "leftovers" to feed your pig, calves, sheep, and chickens!
While growing all of your own food may not be feasible for you, you can start small. You can grow a tomato plant in a pot on your apartment balcony or under a grow light. You can use a small area in your yard to put in a cucumber plant and make your own pickles!  You can build a cold frame and grow your own lettuce.  I enjoy growing much of my family's food and am thankful for the health benefits it provides.  Not to mention the fabulous taste of fresh food I grew myself!

Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T11:34:00.000-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day to each of you!!! Don't let today be the only day you remind your family & friends how much you love them!

We have been quite busy around here - I haven't had much time for blogging. I have been feeding calves, milking cows, baking, cleaning, and reorganizing! The kids have been busy with their new matchbox race car track. Yesterday we set up their tent (12'x8') in the dining room and they "camped". We returned a few unwanted Christmas gifts to Walmart and purchased a tent. There was just no way they could wait until summer to try it out, despite the fact that it took up the ENTIRE dining room!! They enjoyed it and I was glad I let go of my perfectionism for a day so they could camp out in the tent! (I did reclaim my dining room this morning though!)

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes! May you each have a glorious day! I promise to be back blogging soon!

Pantry Challenge - Final Week

2012-01-30T19:14:00.000-06:00

The end of January brings us to the official final week of the Pantry Challenge. Overall, I would say it was a good thing. It made me stop and think about how much I spend on groceries, what we are eating, and involving the kids in the process of food preparation! Here are the final results:
Goal #1: Spend less on groceries. Goal accomplished! I did have to make a trip to the local grocery store this week for sugar and a few other items. We happened upon some overripe pears that were in small bags for 99 cents a bag. We bought all 4 bags and there were some really nice pears in there. We ate quite a few, made pear bread, pear crisp, and tried baked pears! We also decided to buy lettuce, tomatoes and tortilla shells because we haven't had tacos in months! So my total spent this week was $35.25. That brings my January total to $109.61. I wasn't far under my $125 budget, but I'm pretty happy with how I spent my money this month. I got several really good deals on fruit, and still have enough to last most of February.
Goal #2: Make more room in my cupboards. Besides one lonely box of Jell-o and a small can of diced black olives, I don't have any items in my pantry that we don't use on a weekly basis. Goal accomplished!
Goal #3: Reduce the stuff in my freezer. Still a work in progress! I greatly reduced the amount of frozen vegetables, made a nice dent in the meat supply, and almost cleared out the frozen milk. We still have quite a bit of stuff left, but considering it has to last until mid-summer, that's probably a good thing!
Goal #4: Have fun! We did have fun this week in the kitchen. We tried baked pears and pear crisp this week, which we have never had. Both turned out really good. I also did a lot better this week in ~~letting~~ making the kids help more with meal preparation.

I enjoyed this month, but I also realized that I already do quite well when it comes to eating from our pantry. We don't buy a lot of things we don't use. We do need to work on eating out less though. We spend a lot of money in that area because it costs so much to eat at a restaurant. Eating at home is so much cheaper and better for you, I just need to make myself do it. I am hoping by teaching my kids to cook, that they can cook when I don't feel like it, avoiding eating out due to pure laziness! I will be continuing on my quest to get my freezer emptied out for defrosting! I hope you have been inspired to eat from your own pantry by all the great bloggers who participated in this pantry challenge. Be sure to stop over at Good Cheap Eats and see how the month went for everyone else.

Pantry Challenge - week 3

2012-01-22T22:33:00.000-06:00

Our pantry challenge is still going, but we struggled a little this week. We had lots going on and Kevin was gone for 4 days. When we have a lot going on, we tend to eat quick & easy meals so we didn't use a lot of our meat and we ate a Subway a couple times with our gift card from Christmas. When Kevin is gone we like to eat breakfasty type foods because he doesn't prefer breakfast for supper or lunch. We had pancakes, waffles, sausage, and french toast. This uses up baking ingredients and bread, but again not much meat or vegetables. Hopefully this week we can get back on track and finish cleaning out that pantry! Here is how I did on my goals:

Goal #1 - Spend less on groceries. This week I ordered my groceries from Azure so it was my big spending week. I ordered 38 pounds of oranges, 20 pounds of apples, 5 pounds of flax seed, and 25 pounds of oatmeal. I spent $62.68. I also had to buy a frozen pizza, a box pizza, and a bag of shredded cheese for a 4-H cooking lesson (comparing pizza costs, tastes, & prep time) which cost me $6.99. Added to week 1 & 2 total of $11.58 - my total for January so far is now $74.26. I am well under my $125 budget for the month, so if I can stick to it for next week I will be very happy with this challenge!

Goal #2 - Make more space in my cupboards. I used 1 jar of pizza sauce from my pantry so I didn't get much accomplished here this week.

Goal #3 - Reduce the stuff in my freezer. Didn't get far on this either. Most of the meat I thawed out for the week is still in the refrigerator, so we will have to get that used right away this week.

Goal #4 - Have fun! We had a lot of fun making pizzas for the 4-H lesson. We learned that we will never again buy the pizza kit in a box. The sauce was terrible, it cost more than homemade or frozen, and it took longer to prepare than homemade and frozen. We did like the homemade pizza and frozen pizza about the same, but overall homemade pizza was cheaper per serving. We also enjoyed making and eating waffles & pancakes this week. We also made homemade pretzels this week - it was fun bending them into lots of different shapes! We may not have accomplished much else, but at least we had fun this week!

How is your pantry challenge coming? Want to see how everyone else is doing? Check it out over at Good Cheap Eats.

All pain....No Gain

2012-01-17T15:00:00.001-06:00

This post brought to you by Walgreens. All opinions are 100% mine.

Sometimes you need to fill a prescription by next week, so you place a mail order for a 90-day supply. Sometimes you need a prescription on a Tuesday afternoon when you leave the doctors office, so you stop by your local pharmacy and get it that same day. Sometimes you need a prescription on a Saturday night at 10pm because you just realized you ran out of medication. It is times like this that you rely on Walgreens to help you out. In fact, you might rely on Walgreens in all three of the above scenarios. How would you feel if you were forced to fill your prescription at a different pharmacy, further away, with less convenient hours, fewer choices, and higher prices?

If your prescription insurance plan is managed by Express Script and you are a loyal Walgreens customer you may have to do just that. Walgreens and Express Script were unable to come to an agreement when their 3 year contract ended on December 31, 2011. What does this mean for you? It means that to use your in-network pharmacy, you will have to go somewhere other than Walgreens. And since Walgreens dispenses generic medications more often than other pharmacies, you may also have to purchase more expensive, name-brand medications.

Walgreens values your business. They are taking steps to minimize the disruption by offering a special discount on their Walgreens Prescription Savings Club. For the entire month of January, the price of annual membership is only $5 for an individual - a savings of over 70%. Membership saves you money on over 8,000 medications, discounts on prescriptions & supplies, and bonuses when you purchase Walgreens and Nice! brand products. A family membership offers these benefits to you, your spouse, your dependents under age 22, and even your pets, for only $10 a year.

I 'liked' Walgreens on Facebook to show them my support for what they are doing. I hope you will too! You can also find Walgreens on Twitter to see the latest happenings and product updates. Walgreens is in the business of serving their customers with convenient store locations, convenient hours, and competitive prices.

So look for the Express Script name on the back of your prescription insurance card to see if you are affected. Then let Express Script know how you feel about this change. Stop by your local Walgreens and sign up for the Walgreens Prescription Savings Club today. Make your voice heard. Don't settle for all pain, no gain.

Healthy Living - Eating REAL Food

2012-01-17T10:00:00.000-06:00

The next step on our journey to healthy living was to eat more "real" food. When I talk about real food, I am referring to food that generally doesn't come in a box off a shelf at the grocery store.  I recently heard a tip for eating healthy that recommended eating from the "perimeter" of the grocery store. Generally, you will find fresh fruits and vegetables, refrigerated dairy products, fresh meat, and frozen foods around the perimeter of the store. Most boxed, processed, & bottled foods come from the center shelves.   The fresher a food is, the less processing it has been through, the better it is for you.
You may be thinking that it costs more to eat fresh. That's what I thought too. However, if you watch for sales and shop smart you can eat healthy on a very small budget.  You can also find affordable fruits and vegetables at food co-ops (like Azure), farmers' markets, and from your own garden.  At first, it was hard for us to make this switch. Like I mentioned before, I was trying to save money, not just eat healthier. We started out by trying to eat more fruit and vegetables and less "boxed" convenience products. We also grew lots of tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, beets, carrots, etc in our garden. We were able to can a lot of veggies and ate them fresh from the garden as often as possible. Once you are in the habit of eating fresh, it is easier to do so, even in the winter. Now we order 20-30 pounds of fresh fruit from Azure every month. Any fruit leftover at the end of the month is either frozen or canned to use later. The fruit from Azure is much cheaper than our local grocery store and mostly organic. We eat the vegetables we have canned ourselves, along with some fresh vegetables from the store when we can find it on sale.

Eating fresh is an important step in healthy living. First, you get a lot more vitamins and minerals from your food. The longer food sits or the more it gets processed, the fewer nutrients it retains. Second, fresh foods do not usually have additives like artifical colors & flavors or sugars. Third, fresh food tastes better.   Although fresh food may cost a little more initially, the savings will come in the form of fewer doctor visits and less supplements/vitamins. Fresh food tastes better, nourishes your body more, and helps keep you healthy!

Pantry Challenge: Week 2

2012-01-16T10:24:00.000-06:00

Week 2 of the the Pantry Challenge and we're still going strong! I am starting to feel like I am actually accomplishing something this week. Despite my busy schedule with all the new calves, we managed to eat most of our meals at home and only made one stop to the grocery store.

My first goal is to spend less money on groceries. I did grab a bag of oranges and a head of lettuce while we were at the store. The 5 lb. bag of oranges was on sale for $1.99 and the lettuce was $1.59. So this week I spent $3.58. That brings the total for January to $11.58. :)

My second goal is to make more space in my cupboards. We didn't eat a lot of canned food this week, but we did use up a couple things I have had forever, finished off the peaches, and are down to ONE package of Jell-o left. We also finished off the last package of whole wheat spaghetti noodles (I bought several packages and it turned out we didn't like them so they have been tough to use up).

My third goal is to reduce the amount of stuff in my freezer. With 3 baby calves to feed we are making quite a dent in the freezer half of it is full of frozen milk. We also used up some more meat and a few packages of vegetables.

My fourth goal is to have fun. I can't really say that I enjoyed cooking this week. I mostly just tried to get through the week with all my extra chores to do. I didn't try any new recipes, but we did make No-Bake Cookies with chocolate peanut butter - that turned out really good (and very chocolatey!).

If you are doing the pantry challenge, I hope it's going well! If not, it's never too late to hop on board. Head on over to Good Cheap Eats and see how everyone else's pantry challenge is going!

The craziness continues.....

2012-01-13T09:11:00.000-06:00

Saturday morning my friend Dawn called to tell me about a cow she saw on Craigslist. I checked out the pictures and had to call about it. She was a 7 year old Jersey cow that had lost her calves in December and was now almost dry with mastitis in one quarter. We came a negotiable price and on Monday morning we were off to buy a cow! Arriving at the farm to see Molly, I realized that she was in worse shape than I had anticipated. She was in a small pen in muck 6 inches deep. She was not getting proper nutrition and the mastitis in the left rear quarter was out of control. But Molly's personality completely won me over. She was curious, friendly, and quiet. She let us rub her and mess with her. I knew we were taking her home. I also knew I had a long road ahead with regards to helping her get healthy again. She needed good food, minerals, decent hay, and a calf to clean up the mastitis (a calf can heal mastitis twice as fast as I can because of the constant butting/massaging the calf gives her). She had a little milk in the other 3 quarters and I am hoping to bring her back to full milk by putting calves on her. We stopped at the dairy on the way home and picked up 4 heifer calves - 2 Holsteins and 2 Jersey crosses. We picked out the newest born calves we could find because they have the best chance at survival. The dairy doesn't treat the calves real well, so it wasn't surprising that we did end up losing 1 this morning. The other 3 calves are looking great. Molly has adopted 2 of them (she wanted all 3, but we decided 2 would be enough for her to handle and we will bottle feed the other one). Molly is already looking better and her mastitis is slowly, slowly loosening up. Today I turned Molly and the 2 calves out into the pasture with the rest of my cows. I am excited for the possibilities I have with her!

Molly

Molly's adopted calf - June

Molly's other adopted calf - Daisy

Bottle calf - Squirt

Squirt's barn buddy - Becky (the lamb we got in December that was an "oops")

Amish Cake Pie

2012-01-10T13:32:00.000-06:00

A couple months ago I got a cookbook called The Homestyle Amish Kitchen Cookbook - Plainly Delicious Recipes from the Simple Life. It has some great recipes in it. I have tried several new recipes and have yet to be disappointed. I really enjoy cooking homestyle foods from basic ingredients. This week we tried "Cake Pie" and once again we were delighted with the results. Here's how to make it:

Use your favorite pie crust recipe to make an 8 or 9 inch single pie crust. Place this in your pie pan.
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1 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter & sugar together. Mix egg & milk together. Mix flour and baking powder together. Alternate adding milk/egg mixture and flour mixture - stirring after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well. Set aside.
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4 Tbls. cocoa
1/2 cup sugar
6 Tbls. water
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Mix together cocoa, sugar, water & vanilla.
Pour chocolate mixture into the unbaked pie shell.
Next pour the mixture you set aside on top of the chocolate mixture. The chocolate will come up around the edges. The pie crust will not be very full - don't worry it will rise during baking.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes - toothpick in center should come out clean.

Cool & Enjoy!

This recipe is unlike anything I have ever had before. The center is cake-like (tastes like a homemade pound cake) with a thin layer of chocolate on the bottom and sides that is chocolate pie consistency & taste. Of course, the whole thing is completed by pie crust (which I love!). Very interesting & very yummy! I will definitely be making this recipe again!

Pantry Challenge Week #1

2012-01-09T17:06:00.001-06:00

The first week of my pantry challenge went well. Here is an update on how I worked toward my goals for the first week:

My first goal is to reduce my spending for the month (and stay out of the grocery store). I did have to go to the store, but it was for good reason :) I found a coupon in my local ad to buy 2 bottles of grapefruit juice (on sale for 2/$4) and get a 5lb. bag of grapefruit for free. I did this twice so I spent $8 this week on groceries.

My second goal is to make space in my cupboards. I am mostly trying to get through the older stuff that I bought once upon a time and never used. We made quite a dent in the pile of Jell-o I had in the pantry, we also ate about half of the case of peaches my mother-in-law gave me. I also did some cupboard reorganizing this week. Refilled and labeled most of my jars. The pantry is looking good!

My third goal is to reduce the amount of meat in my freezer. We are still plugging away on this. I got out the meat for week and several bags of frozen veggies.

My fourth goal in the pantry challenge is to have fun. I tried a new recipe this week (which I hope to share later this week), and I spent Saturday morning doing some baking for my family. I love to put on an apron and spend the day in the kitchen baking up goodies and trying new things! :)

I hope your pantry challenge is going well! I am excited to start week #2!

Phase II - Complete

2012-01-06T22:08:00.000-06:00

Several months ago, when I got my last batch of broiler chicks for the summer, I had this idea to try and raise my own broiler chicks for next year. I was told that broiler chickens cannot survive as long as most chickens because they grow too fast and will die of heart attacks or their legs will give out. I was also told they cannot lay eggs. And I was told that if I ever got them to lay eggs they would not be fertile or hatchable. Well, if you know me, you know I don't like to listen when someone tells me something cannot be done. I formulated a 3-phase plan to make my dream a reality and I started on Phase I.
Phase I was to raise some broiler chickens well past the usual butchering age of 10 weeks. I started with about 20 chicks and once I could tell the hens from the roosters, I sorted off 6 hens and 2 roosters to save. I intentionally chose the smallest ones. I continued to feed them reduced rations and at 10 weeks they were just over half the size of the others chickens that were ready to be butchered. At about 15 weeks I let them out to live with my laying hens. They were surprisingly sturdy and able to fly almost as high as the laying hens. They walked a little slower and ate a little more, but at this stage I was pretty sure they were going to make it. Unfortunately, I lost both of my roosters to two separate accidents on the road. I guess now we know why chickens (especially stupid broiler roosters) should not cross the road. Phase I - complete.
Phase II is to get the chickens to actually lay eggs. I waited and watched for some white eggs to begin showing up in my henhouse. In October and November my chickens all stopped laying completely, so I knew the broilers had yet to lay eggs despite being way past the age they should have started. Finally in December the hens slowly started back up. I was getting a white egg almost every day and even though I have a hen or two that lays white eggs, I was crossing my fingers that this egg belonged to a broiler. In order to know for sure if this was one of their eggs, they needed to be separated. This week I was able to get a space made for them in the barn and I put all 6 broiler hens and the rooster I plan to cross them with in the barn. Then I waited for the coveted eggs to appear. I peeked in on them tonight and WOOHOO! 2 eggs! Most surprising of all is that the eggs are BROWN!! I had been expecting and looking for white eggs. They may have been laying longer than I realized. Oh, how I love proving people wrong! Phase II - complete.
So on to Phase III - actually getting the eggs to hatch. I am going to wait 1 week before I start collecting eggs because I don't want them fertilized by any of my other various roosters around. Then I will collect 10-12 eggs and incubate them. I should know about 6 weeks from now if my experiment was a success or a failure. Stay tuned......

Something to think about......

2012-01-05T16:52:00.000-06:00

Thousands of years ago the Mayans predicted that the world would end in 2012. Many people believe this to be true. Others believe that a major, world-changing event will occur because of the "aligning of the planets" on December 21, 2012. Being a Christian, I believe only God knows when the world will end - it could very well be 12-21-12, but it could also be tomorrow or 10 years from today. The Bible advises us to be prepared for the future but not to worry about tomorrow.

I haven't much studied up on the Mayan prophecy to know exactly what they predicted or why, but I know that it has got some people worried. Between the scariness in the world in general, and the end-of-the-world predictions, there are many people who feel we need to prepare. And while I agree that it never hurts to be prepared for an emergency, there are people who will wait until the last minute and start hoarding food/supplies. I think there are still people with canned foods in their pantry from Y2K. :)

Being prepared for an emergency is a good idea. Having food to eat and water to drink if you lose power, communications, and/or transportation for several days or weeks is a wise move in preparing for a disaster. I happened upon a blog today about emergency preparedness and one commenter had this wise piece of advice that I would like to pass along to all of you:
One thing that we need to realize is that even if nothing happens in one year one thing that will happen is the panic buying that people will do. I expect major shortages of just about everything from about October through December. People are going to start hording…just in case. We need to make sure we are prepared so we don’t get caught up in that panic.

Are you ready for a disaster, natural or otherwise? Are you prepared for the future? The world WILL end and when it does the ONLY thing you need to have done to be ready is accepted Jesus as your Savior. The rest he will take care of.

Healthy Living - Baby Steps

2012-01-03T11:47:00.000-06:00

As I have learned from Biggest Loser, getting and staying healthy requires a permanent lifestyle change. If you have already made this change in your life, I applaud you, and would love to hear your comments on what you are doing to continue this change. If not, I hope you will join me in this series as I show you some of the changes we have made in our lives and more that we hope to make.

Dave Ramsey recommends "baby-steps" in his books on financial freedom and Fly Lady has a "baby-step" program to becoming more organized & neat. Change is never easy, but baby-steps can be. If you look at where you want to be compared with where you are today, it can be overwhelming. If you just look at the first step the entire task doesn't look so daunting. Over the course of the past year we have taken many small steps towards eating and living healthier. We have many steps left to take, but I feel we have come a long ways. You don't have to do your baby-steps in any particular order. Start with something important to you or that really needs to change and go from there. I didn't lay out a plan or even have a final end in mind, I just add each change as I think I am able. I talk to people, read blogs, read books, and search the internet.

When I first decided to make a change in our lives it was primarily to save money on our food budget each month. So my first step was to make all of my own bread. I started out small, making a loaf here and there. For the first several weeks I was just trying to get good at making it, finding a recipe everyone liked, and adjusting my kids to eating homemade bread because the texture is so different from store bread. I gradually reduced the amount of bread I was buying until I was making all of it myself.

Making my own bread was important for two reasons. First, I could save a lot of money and second, I knew bread would be healthier made fresh, at home, from ingredients I can pronounce. I now make about 2 loaves a week and I make it all on one day.

After several months of eating nothing but homemade bread, I bought a loaf at the store one day. As I placed the loaf in my cart, my middle son exclaimed, "Look mom - that bread comes already cut!" I think now about how far we have come since that first "baby-step".

Pantry Challenge

2012-01-01T19:54:00.000-06:00

I have decided to join the Pantry Challenge at good (CHEAP) eats and I would love to invite you to come along. I love the idea of using what I have, rather than buying more. I have been on a mission lately to declutter my entire house and reduce the amount of "stuff" we have that we are not regularly using, so this pantry challenge will fit right in with my goal. Since there are no rules to the challenge, here are the goals I have:
#1 - Reduce my spending for the month. By ordering fruit and a few essentials from Azure, I think I will be able to cut my total budget in at least half and not go to the grocery store even once this month :)
#2 - Make space in my cupboards. I like to stockpile, but I do have some things in my pantry that have been there forever and really need to get used up.
#3 - Reduce the amount of meat in my freezer. Like some of the other participants, my freezer is overdue for a defrosting. Having a VERY full freezer can be a mixed blessing. I know we have enough meat/veggies to see us through several months, but eventually I need to see the bottom and do some intensive thawing and cleaning. This really needs to happen before we butcher chickens this summer and begin to once again fill the freezer.
#4- Have fun. I love to plan. I enjoy cooking (usually). I like to try new recipes. I am excited to have fun seeing what kinds of great things we can eat this month while saving money.

The pantry challenge host will be posting a link each Monday so we can see each other's progress, so I intend to update and link up on Mondays. Feel free to join me! Happy Pantry-Challenge-January!