March 31, 2012

had an AMAZING day today with the entire family...

had an Easter Egg hunt for the grandkids.....we had a blast!!!



Had a great dinner.....the menu was: ham, sweet carrots, green bean casserole, corn, garlic mashed potatoes,  crescent rolls and apple pie......everything but the potatoes were grown/made on the farm.

Crescent Rolls: (ALLRECIPES.COM)

4 1/2 tsp yeast

3/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup shortening

4 cups flour

dissolve yeast in the warm water......stir in the sugar, salt, eggs, shortening and 2 cups of flour...beat until smooth...add the other 2 cups of flour....knead for 5 - 8 minutes...cover and let rise until doubled  ~1  hour

punch dough down...divide in half.....roll each half into a circle....spread butter on top of dough....cut into wedges...roll wedges from wide to narrow...place on greased baking sheet ....cover and let rise until doubled ~ 1 hour

bake at 400 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes until golden brown...brush tops with butter



we don't have any pictures of when they came out of the oven because everyone was hungry

...they looked and tasted wonderful!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 30 2012

today is my brother Tim's 55th birthday....Happy Birthday Timmy!!!

Nick, Amy, Lucy, William and Blake and the little dog too arrived this afternoon.....Lucy lost her first tooth within minutes of being here......very cool......then we made 2 apple pies for the family gathering tomorrow....

Lucy putting the pie crust in the pan



2 pies ready to go in the oven



then we were off to see the chickens...the white rocks first....

then the chicken mamas (Lucy's has named this one Milkshake)

Amy made us dinner.....it was called Pasta Fagiali Soup....LOVED it!!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!



March 29, 2012

doing the final preparations before the family arrives....our 3 kids with their spouses and 15 grandkids.....that is a full house of 23....and we LOVE it when everyone can come at the same time.

OK....so i put the grocery expenses total out there for the month of March, and we are WAY over our budget of $160 monthly....so here are some of the things purchased this month that aren't in our normal monthly expenses.

• stock up stuff - flour (3 kinds) , sugar, rice, potatos, onions about $125
• Easter candy to fill the grandkids eggs about $60
• extra items necessary to feed 23 people for several meals

Looking forward to a full house....will post many pictures and recipes!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 28, 2012

getting ready for the family to come this weekend....so today is BREAD day.....need to make some sandwich bread (recipe on January 29th)

I do all my rising in the oven....here is the TRICK...heat it to 200 and then once the timer tells you that you have reached that temp...turn the oven off.....place the bowl/pan in the oven for the suggested time ... it works perfectly every time.

so this bread rises once in the bowl and then rises again in the bread pan.....once it reaches about 1 inch above the pan then you bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

I also use the OVEN SPRITZING TRICK...place a cookie sheet (with sides) in the lower rack under where the bread will go and put about 3 cups of boiling water in the cookie sheet...it keeps everything moist. 

It came out great...now a quick brush of milk over the top and ready to serve...

Now onto HOT DOG buns (recipe on March 12th)

with 15 grandkids coming to visit this weekend....I wanted to be ready just in case they asked for hotdogs....the bigger buns also work great for sub sandwiches ...

Pleasant Dreams!!!



March 27, 2012

we had a frost this morning...but everything did well.

worked on the green house again today

it is all cleaned out and set up to start my seeds next week



Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 26, 2012

the temperature reached 32 degrees last night / this morning....but the concern will be tonight...it is supposed to be in the upper 20's...so one more night of covering the cherry trees and buckets over the flowers.....we put some straw on the strawberries tonight...so we should be good to go.

this is our little strawberry patch before the straw

turned the house furnace back on after 17 days of no use...that is AMAZING and quite helpful on the monthly bill for March.

cleaning out the Greenhouse today ....will plant the seeds for the garden next week...so we have to get everything out of the building to make room for all the tables

Meatloaf for dinner....recipe on Feb. 7th

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 25, 2012

had a GREAT day at church....Pastor spoke about going after your dreams..... http://www.h-hcc.org/

more flowers have opened up, including the tulips

did a complete mowing of the front 3+ acres.....so our property is divided into 3 sections....the farm area, the middle section where we used to keep the horses and will one day have some cattle, and the back section that has trails, a bunk house and a big fire pit area.....each section is 3+ acres....so when we mow the whole thing, it takes several hours.

this picture is taken from up in the Cupola.....backyard of the farm area

this picture shows the office, greenhouse, barn and gym in the side yard

Love how all the trees are in bloom...we have a FROST forcasted for tonight....I will cover the cherry trees, only because I can reach them...for the rest of the trees, we will have to hope for the best.

Had leftovers for dinner.......Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 24, 2012

a cloudy, overcast day....but very productive....Ross is working on the landing and I did all my shopping in jackson and ordered the ceiling tiles for the upstairs project.

the chickens are doing great....no deaths....so 40 is still the number....yeah!!!....they like their new digs....this will be home until they are big enough to roam the fenced in area ..... as long as the weather cooperates ....

 2 - 3 more weeks for the White Rocks (males)

a little longer for the Rhode Island Reds (females)



had a potato/sausage casserole for dinner....with corn on the side

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 23, 2012

Rain....Glorious.....Rain

got about an inch and we needed it....I also needed the break from working outside :)

I did some cleaning of the cupboards and the freezer and found some box/bag foods that needed to be used...so for dinner tonight...we are having hamburgers on the grill....onion rings....veggies and a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting......of all of these items....I made the hamburger buns, pickles and ketchup from scratch......oh well.....gotta use up what you have!

we hope you have a GREAT weekend!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!! 

March 22, 2012

another warm 80+ spring day in Michigan......started cleaning out the greenhouse....in order to do that....all the outdoor furniture had to be cleaned and then put on the porch or placed on the property.....so another long day of working on the farm.

I had prayer meeting tonight at church...so Ross made dinner....baked chicken breast with carmelized onions and mushrooms...topped with bell peppers and mozza cheese.....with a side of green beans....it tasted AMAZING!!!

weatherman says that it will be awhile before we see the 80s again...

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 21, 2012

another all day WORK day at the farm.....my car thermometer read 91 degrees at one point ....I am sure we broke another record ....got the chicken coop renovations almost complete.....just a few more hours tomorrow and we will be good to go for a long time.....new front door....new brooding area in the front....and all the mess from the last tenants removed :)

View from the back room looking towards the door



view from the front door....brooding areas on both sides

back room....ready for the chicken mamas to start laying eggs

salads for dinner.....too tired to eat

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 20, 2012

first day of Spring.....today is Ross' sister Barbara's Birthday....Happy Birthday Bobbe!!! we broke
another record high today in Michigan....80+ again....love all the work we are getting done around the farm......mowed portions of the grass that were getting long.....that is a new one for the record books too.....the earliest we can ever remember mowing.....or for that matter being able to do anything outside.

the girls enjoying a WARM march night on the back porch

we had the wheat Fettuccine noodles I made the other day for dinner.....with butter and cheese....

Ross added some shrimp to his...

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 19, 2012

last day of winter and it was another beautiful day here in Michigan....80+.....we really need to mow parts of our yard.....last year we mowed the property on April 29th....and we commented then how early that date was.....going to hold off as long as we can....I am still trying to grasp the reality of $4 a gallon gas for our service vehicle and car...let alone the zero turn mower that chugs gas.

made some Croutons today out of the rest of the sandwich bread........cut into squares....whatever size you desire...... put them in a bowl and spray them with butter.....then add your seasoning....we use Garlic Herb Seasoning from GFS .....spread it on a cookie sheet and cook at 300 degrees until all the moisture is gone out of them...it took about 20 - 25 minutes.

we grilled split chicken breast for dinner....

rounded it off with garlic mashed potatoes, corn and apple sauce

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 18, 2012

Great morning at church....www.h-hcc.org....part 4 on Passion!!!!

Taking advantage of this amazing weather, started cleaning the chicken coop....YUCKY work....but greatful that it is so warm so early in the season.

Pictures of one of the flower gardens & blooms:

Salads for dinner.......Love that it is almost 8pm before it gets dark.....combine that with the warm temps and we are getting all kinds of projects done at the farm....WOOOHOOO!!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 17, 2012

Happy St Patricks Day!!! another 70+ degree day here in Michigan. Finished weeding my flower gardens....I have Daffodils already in bloom....just incredible....March 17th.

Ross had to work all day...so I was on my own for meals.....had some cheesy bread for lunch ( these were the hot dog buns I made the other day )

made some cookies for church tomorrow....

Chocolate Chip Squares & No-Bake (this recipe is on Feb. 13th)

Chocolate Chip Cookies Squares: (one of the family recipes...we have 2)

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup softened butter

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 cups chocolate chips

mix sugars, butter, eggs and vanilla together....add flour, salt and baking soda...mix well....add chips and spread onto a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes

I use a pizza cutter to get equal bar sizes....

I cut it right when I take it out of the oven and then take them off the pan once they have cooled.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 16, 2012

the tornado that hit Dexter yesterday was an EF3....Thank GOD no one was killed or even hurt.

another warm day in Michigan...looks like the next full week is going to be in the mid to upper 70's.....Amazing!!!!  We have had our house furnace turned OFF for over a week now.

the kitchen aid got a real work out today...made a couple loaves of sandwich bread first.......then put the attachment on and made LASAGNA noodles for dinner....the Spaghetti Sauce recipe is on January 1, 2012 - as well as the noodle recipe. This was the first time I made Wheat Lasagna noodles....they worked out wonderfully and with the leftover dough I made FETTUCCINE noodles.

the bread was the hot dog buns from the other night

Thanks for the Noodle attachment Mom & Tim....
you guys need to get up here and let me make you some dinner!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 15, 2012

today in Michigan it reached over 80 degrees....I worked in my flower gardens....at least one month earlier than I ever have before. A tornado touched down in Dexter Michigan...less than an hour east of us.

My niece/God-daughter Angela celebrated her birthday today!!! Happy Birthday Sissy!!!

we did the first move of the chickens today......we moved the meat chickens into a BIG brooding bucket....they will stay in this for approx 2 more weeks and then they will be big enough to go into the chicken coop......the laying hens were then divided into the 2 smaller brooding buckets and they too will be fine for 2 more weeks.....the meat chicks are double in size from one week ago......the laying hens are much slower in growth......all 40 are still healthy...good eyes and good feet!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!!

March 14, 2012

what a wonderful warm day here in Michigan...76 degrees......1 week until Spring officially starts.....I think we skipped right to summer....I really do hope that winter doesn't come back.

had a great , easy chicken dinner tonight.....chicken breast on the stove with cream of mushroom soup and then serve it over rice.....with a side of green beans.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 13, 2012

still working upstairs on the landing......should take about a month to complete.....but it will be so nice when it is finished.......lost power to all the outlets on the south wall of the kitchen.....not sure what has happened.....ross will investigate more tomorrow.

we had leftovers for dinner but wanted to try a new dessert....I picked my moms peach cobbler.....ok...full disclosure.....I said I would post the good, the bad and the ugly......well clearly....I wrote the recipe down incorrectly......so I will check with mom tomorrow and find out what i had wrong...for sure the cinnamon is 2 tsp....not 2 Tbsp...I didn't remember hers being so brown...i will post the recipe that I used with the corrections i think need to be made and make other changes if needed......regardless.....it tastes GREAT....just looks really dark with intense cinnamon flavor! lol

Mom's Peach Cobbler:
1 large can of peaches
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
3 - 4 Tbsp flour

heat the peaches, sugar, cinnamon and flour on the stove until it thickens....I made a regular pie crust and put it on the bottom of the dish ( i used an 8 x8...which was wrong...should have been a 9 x 13...not so deep ) and kept the extra dough to decorate the top.....I have seen the crust used just on the top as well....pour peaches into the dish and bake at 375 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes

a little extra sugar on top before it goes into the oven

good thing we LOVE cinnamon



Pleasant Dreams!!!

March 12, 2012

we took the day off work to continue on the landing.....lots of hard work but it will be amazing when we are finished.

made chilli dogs for dinner.....first time to make the hot dog buns ....heres the recipe:

Hot Dog Buns: (allrecipes.com) with some changes
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
4 Tbsp butter
4 1/2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

put the milk, water and butter in the microwave until it hits 120 degrees (about 2 minutes)....in your bowl....mix together 1 3/4 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt....add the liquid into the flour ... then add the egg. Stir in the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time...when the dough doesn't stick to the sides, knead for 8 minutes.

divide dough into 2 sections.....I rolled mine out at about 6 inches wide and then cut it at 4 inches so each little section made a rectangle.....you can get 12 - 16 pieces out of this recipe.  Roll it tightly from the longer side ....place on a greased cookie sheet seam down and pinch the ends. let these rise for about 25 minutes.

bake at 400 degrees for 14 - 18 minutes until golden brown...turn onto a wire rack.

here is the finished product...chili recipe on January 9th

Pleasant Dreams!!!