September 30, 2012

been a crazy week.....glad to be back on the blog...

had a great day at church today....take a listen www.h-hcc.org

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bought a pontoon boat on Wednesday.....here is the sunset last night

out on Pine Hill Lake....so relaxing....



after church , our son Joe and some of his family met us at the

marina and we went out for a quick tour of the 3 lakes.

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found this recipe for A1 sauce....close...but will need to be tweaked a bit...

A-1 Sauce :

1 cup Orange Juice

1 cup Raisins

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

4 Tbsp chili sauce

4 Tbsp dijon mustard

4 Tbsp ketchup

2 Tbsp grated orange peel

mix all ingredients together in a sauce pan....bring to a boil.....boil hard for a couple minutes...let cool....puree in a food processor...keep it in the fridge.

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 total egg sales for September was $80.00 ...

we sold 40 dozen for $2.00 each... had to raise the price because feed went up.

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Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 27, 2012

yesterday was our Grandson Hunter's 15th birthday...

Hope you had a great day bud!!!

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this has been a crazy busy week.....work at Tri-State during the day

and then meetings at night...getting ready for an overnight women's

retreat at church Friday night until Saturday lunchtime...

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the blackbirds are starting to flock together.....tried to take a movie

of it this morning...but it didn't come out very good......they fill the back yard and

 the sound they all make is deafening....I will try to get a still shot of them from the cupola

and see how it comes out....will let you know....

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packing Ross' lunch for tomorrow.....LOVE just walking out to the garden at 10pm

to pick a melon to cut up....it tasted wonderful!!!  Only 2 more left  :(

Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 25, 2012

we have been in a very nice fall like weather pattern....no rain....but mid

to upper 60's for the day and mid 40's overnight....these temperatures

are forecasted for at least the next 10 days......the garden will still continue

to grow in this weather....WooHoo!!!!

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Ross was working in Northern Lower Michigan and saw these

incredible cloud formations....he sent me this picture...

these are called...Altocumulus undulatus....

I just call them....BEAUTIFUL!!!

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Ross has a cooking buddy out by the grill....this frog is sitting on the cover almost

every time we use it....he is not really afraid of us... he just jumps into the tree right behind

 the grill and hangs out there while we are cooking....the frog is called....

Common Gray Treefrog

love the bright yellow underneath on his legs and belly...



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we had fried EVERYTHING for dinner....bad for the diet...

but it tastes Oh So GOOD!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 23, 2012

Had a great Sunday morning at church....take a listen www.h-hcc.org

Ross went to the Detroit Zoo at 8am to participate in the Pancreatic Cancer walk...

our Son-in-law Nick lost his Dad Mark to this cancer last August....so this is

the second year Ross drove in to walk with the kids and grandkids.

got home from church and found this on my kitchen table..... it can only

mean one thing.....DEER season is upon us!!!

our son Joe pulls in the drive to pick up Ross to go get a deer he just shot...

our Bow season opens on October 1st....but Michigan has allowed a 2 day

 DOE only hunt....

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there are several ways to tell when your watermelon is ready to pick....

here is what we follow....

1. check the number of days that the package says to ripen...our seeds take 130+ days

2. check for the yellow spot on the melon and listen for the THUD when you knock on it

3. but most importantly....once the place where the vine attaches to the melon dies...

it should be ready to pick...

Perfectly RIPE.....Yummy!!!!

it weighed 16 lbs

Had Joe's family for Sunday dinner......7 kids and 4 adults.....

we made PIZZA...all from scratch....

takes 4 to feed everyone....



a fruit tray for dessert....

I made a picture movie for Joe's 30th Birthday...so we watched that tonight

before everyone went home....Great evening!!!

Lions had an interesting game today but lost in overtime...

Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 22, 2012

started this saturday morning off really early...up at 5:30 am to get things

done around the farm so i could get to church to help with a Pastor's breakfast...

LOVE having a room full of Pastors from all denominations!!!

on this first day of FALL (my favorite season of the 4)
it was a weird weather day......sunny this morning...

then rainy for the early afternoon.....then back to bright sun again...

then out of no where the wind went crazy and it started sleeting...

then back to sun again....temperature never got out of the 50's

Ross had the fireplaces going in both rooms....

Kitchen.... (propane)



Parlor... (wood)

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always canning to do.....yesterday we put up 24 pints total...

today we had to finish the rest of the tomatoes....so we

did Seasoned Stewed Tomatoes....

Seasoned Stewed Tomatoes :  (canning)

13 quarts tomatoes

4 cups onions diced

1/2 cup of garlic chives

2 Tbsp garden seasoning

1 Tbsp celery seed

mix together...bring to a boil...can in a Pressure Cooker for 20 minutes at 10lbs

 yields 14 quarts

Michigan vs Notre Dame....Good Game under the lights!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 21, 2012

we worked until noon at Tri-State....then off to the garden....

picked another 62 lbs of canning tomatoes....

did a quick check of what we have canned already this year and what we still

have from last year.....we are in need of RED HOT SAUCE and BBQ SAUCE...

Red Hot Sauce : (canning) yields 12 pints

4 quarts pureed tomatoes

3 cups mixed hot peppers

2 quarts vinegar

2 cups sugar

2 Tbsp canning salt

4 Tbsp mixed pickling salt

combine pureed tomatoes, peppers and 1 quart of vinegar.....let it thicken...we did this for about
2 hours... then add the spice bag of mixed pickling salt and the rest of the vinegar.....let it reduce
2 more hours...... remove the spice bag and can in hot pint jars in a Boiling Water Canner
 for 15 minutes

BBQ Sauce : (canning) our homemade recipe....yields 12 pints

9 quarts pureed tomatoes

4 cups pureed onions

4 cups pureed red/green peppers

4 cups pureed celery

4 1/2 cups vinegar

9 cups brown sugar

2 Tbsp ground mustard

2 Tbsp paprika

1 Tbsp salt

3 Tbsp molasses

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbsp cinnamon

5 Tbsp instant coffee

puree the tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and celery until it reduces by half......took about
3 hours... add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until desired thickness....can in hot pint
jars in a Boiling Water Canner for 20 minutes

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for dinner I made a meal that I make quite a bit in the fall.....Stuffed Green Peppers....

I love this recipe because it uses up the rest of the peppers from the garden and it

freezes wonderfully.....I will make 20+ meals and freeze.....love pulling them out

months from now for a quick easy dinner......the recipe is on January 14, 2012...

here are the pictures doing it from scratch....

cut the peppers lengthwise....remove the seeds..

in a skillet brown the ground beef....drain.....add the spaghetti sauce, uncooked rice and

durkee fried onions....mix it together and stuff in the peppers....

bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes covered......then add your mozza cheese and

more fried onions on top.....back in for 5 minutes and dinner is served!!!

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Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 20, 2012

started the day off by picking all the cabbage that was left in the garden....

washed, cut and ready to put it in the fermentation crock......

what you need to get started....

Crock....Harsch is the brand we bought a few years ago...www.miracleexclusives.com

Weights...2 piece...they come with the crock.....they go on top of the cabbage at the end

Cabbage...about 7 full heads will fill the 10.1 litre container                                       

Salt....we use canning salt...DO NOT use table salt

Scale...we put in 2 1/2 lbs of cabbage per 1 1/2 tsp of salt....so a food scale that goes to 3 lbs

Stamper...we use this wooden one to mash the cabbage down...or just use your fist 

this is how it works......clean the crock.....add about 1 lb of cabbage....sprinkle 1 1/2 tsp of salt on top....add the other 1 1/2 lbs of cabbage.....and then mash it down.......repeat this process until you get close to the top (NOT all the way....because you have to fit the weights in)

the cool thing is...after doing the process 2 times.....you can hear juice in the crock as you mash it....that is GOOD thing....when you have the crock full and you put the stone weights in...this juice should be about 1 inch over the stones.

here is the crock after 2 batches....you can see the juice already starting to come up

this crock has 5 batches in it ... approx 12 lbs of cabbage...

 put the stones in and press down and let the juices rise above it...

should be about 1 inch above the stones

put the lid on.....put a little water in the rim and let it sit for 6 -8 weeks...

it will then be Sauerkraut....woohoo!!!

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our front porch is a busy place during the late summer and fall....

Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 19, 2012

our son Joe turns 30 today....Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!!

in the upper 30's this morning....Love a crisp (almost) fall morning with

the flag waving....

had a great breakfast with cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon....

all from the garden...woohoo!!!



more seeds ready for next year....

made some treats for Joe's Birthday party tonight...

Chocolate Chip Cookies...recipe on March 17

Chocolate Brownies : (Betty Crocker)

2/3 cup butter

5 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup walnuts

melt margarine and chocolate over low heat...stir often.....beat sugar and eggs in a separate bowl for about 5 minutes.....add chocolate mixture on a low speed.....beat in flour just until blended...stir in walnuts....spread in 11 x 7.5 inch pan.....bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes...when the brownies pull away from the side....they are done.

let it cool and frost if you like.....I added more nuts on top...



took all 7 grandkids to Church for MOVIE night...we had a blast and

it gave Joe and Zoe a chance to have a nice quiet dinner....

then back to their house for a Birthday Party.....



Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 17, 2012

a wonderfully busy day.....LOVE getting a bunch accomplished....

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cut the salmon into chunks for canning....put it in a mixture of 2 quarts water

 with 1/2 cup canning salt... let it set for 1 hour

drain for about 10 minutes and put in pint or half pint jars

process in a Pressure Cooker for 100 minutes at 10 lbs pressure



we opened the little one....and it tasted WONDERFUL!!!

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then onto smoking the rest of the salmon...

soak it in the same brine solution....

placed it on the racks of the smoker

2 1/2 hours at approx 225 degrees....

then the seal a meal comes out....

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thought I was done canning greenbeans....and then Ross asked if I had

done any dilly beans this year....so we picked another 10 lbs of beans...

I had never heard of dilly beans until we moved here....basically instead of pouring water

over your beans when you can them....you pour the same mixture you use for dill pickles...

we put up 16 pints.....that should last him a year!!!

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and then for dessert we picked a watermelon...sooooo sweet!!!

Watching Monday Night football....

Pleasant Dreams!!!

September 16, 2012

Love Sunday's......Pastor Bob preached another message in his VISION

series.....take a listen... www.h-hcc.org

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lots of canning to be done today.....Salsa first...getting the counter ready....

the roma tomatoes blanched and cut into pieces instead of squeezed

all of the ingredients measured and ready to be mixed in...



all mixed together and ready to bring to a boil...

17 pints of Salsa and 3 pints of V8 juice



Salsa : (canning recipe) yield 17 pints and 3 V8 juice

38 cups chopped roma tomatoes

8 cups chopped onions

1 1/3 cups chopped jalapeno peppers (red & green)

1 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

2 2/3 cups chopped green peppers

4 Tbsp salt

2 2/3 Tbsp chili powder

2 2/3 Tbsp garlic powder

4 tsp cumin

13 1/2 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)

mix everything together in a large stockpot...bring to a boil...pack in hot canning jars...place in a

boiling water canner for 15 minutes.....before we can it, if there is too much juice.....we put a

strainer into the stockpot and push the salsa down...then ladle out the juice......

we can that separately as V8 juice...

for the rest of the tomatoes.....Spaghetti.....13 quarts

had a chuck roast in the crock pot all day....so dinner was easy....

total today... 33 jars of food...

17 pints of Salsa

3 pints of V8 juice

13 quarts of spaghetti Sauce

watching the Lions play on Sunday night football...not doing very well!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!