November 23, 2012

cold, snowy day today!!!!

Amber, Lindsey, Kelsey and Kory did the passing chain to

fill up the wood rack on the back porch......

all finished....Thanks Guys!!!

then we worked on decorating for CHRISTmas....

normally for Ross and I it takes an hour or more to get everything

out of the basement....with 6 people working on it...we had everything

up and were already unpacking in under an hour....woohooo!!!

finished the day with 4 of the 9 trees up and decorated....

here is the front room tree....

we had Chicken on the grill and salads for dinner...

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 22, 2012

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

We normally go to Missouri for Thanksgiving...but this year we had

our celebration here at the farm....our son Joe and his family came over....

and some friends from Minnesota joined us as well....

we had Hor Dourves for Thanksgiving Lunch....3 different

kinds of chicken wings, shrimp and cocktail sauce, cheese/cracker/sausage tray,

chips & dip, chicken strips, french fries, chips & salsa

but for dessert...we kept it traditional.....made the apple pie from

our frozen fillings from last year....

then onto the pumpkin pie.....I have never made one before....

I froze the pumpkin earlier this month....

Pumpkin Pie Filling : this is for 2 pies

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

32 oz pumpkin

24 oz evaporated milk

mix everything together.....pour into 2 crusts.....bake at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes...then reduce the oven temp to 350 degrees and go for about another hour....remove and refrigerate

all 3 ready to serve.....made whipped cream too....

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Kory digging up the horseradish root to make the cocktail sauce....

then Lindsey, Kelsey & Kory did chicken chores!!! THANKS guys!!!

picked the rest of the lettuce from the garden tonight....

gotta love still having fresh lettuce on November 22nd.

I  have 7 lettuce plants that I moved into the greenhouse,

so we should be good for another month!!

Pleasant Dreams!!! 

November 21, 2012

another AMAZING November day....it got to 60 degrees...

we did the BIG clean of the house today....Ross in the kitchen cleaning

all the cabinet fronts, counters and appliances.....and me the rest of the house...

it took us both 7 hours a piece......looks wonderful...

all the rooms are ready for our friends arrival.....

Ship Room on the second floor...



the Rose Room....

they arrived at 10pm safe and sound.....looking forward

to several days of fun and fellowship!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 20, 2012

another beautiful November day....

got started really early this morning....canning Sauerkraut

was first on the list....

here is the crock...with the lid off....we put the cabbage in this crock

on September 20th...so 8 weeks later



first you take out the stones and pour everything into a stockpot....brint it to

a simmer...not to a boil...and can for 10 minutes in a hot water canner

this was our second batch of cabbage from the garden....we had to pick it a

bit early because of the frost....so it isn't completely white like most sauerkraut's...

we will mark this as fall kraut....it is much milder than the first batch.

yielded 13 pints....

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then off to work with Ross so we could grocery shop

together when he was finished....had to stop at 3 different

stores....and it was CRAZY out there...lol

we now have everything we need for our Thanksgiving

lunch (which is non traditional) and for our friends

that come tomorrow and will be here through the weekend.

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made a couple loaves of sandwich bread..... recipe on August 17th

made some Cranberry Lemon bread ....recipe on January 14th

4 little loaves ready for a quick snack....

1000 Island Dressing....before...

after it is mixed....

Ranch Dressing...before...

after it is mixed....

and then for dinner we decided to try a new recipe.....

found this one on tasteofhome.com

Home-Style Chicken Potpie :

Crust:

3/4 cup butter cubed

2 cups flour

1 cup shredded sharp cheese

1/2 cup cold water

put the flour and butter in a bowl ...using a pastry blender (or two forks) blend the butter into the flour, add the cheese...mix again.....then add water....it took us a little over 1/2 cup to make all the ingredients come together in a ball.....set it in the fridge for about an hour

Filling:

2 1/2 cups of halved baby carrots

2 cups celery

put these in a large saucepan with some water and cook until tender.

6 Tbsp butter

7 Tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup of milk

4 cups chicken cubed

1 cup onions

1 can peas

3 Tbsp chives

3 Tbsp parsley

2 tsp thyme

1 egg (beaten...to brush over the top of the crust)

in another saucepan...melt butter add the flour, salt , pepper , milk and chicken broth and stir until it thickens.  To the carrots and celery pan.....add the chicken, onions, peas, chives, parsley and thyme.

mix the liquid into the veggie pan and cook through...

on a floured surface....roll out the dough to fit a 13 x 9 inch baking dish

pour the mixture into the dish and fit the crust on top....

don't forget to cut in vent holes....brush with egg



bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes....let cool about 15 minutes before serving

it was an easy recipe....and it tasted GREAT....although we did make several changes to it and next time we will add potatoes to it...just didn't seem right having a potpie with no potatoes in it.

our guests arrive tomorrow....so crazy laundry, house cleaning day in store.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 19, 2012

the weather continues to be beautiful for this time

of year.....mid to upper 50's

busy day at work and then doing the major

clean on all the out buildings....nothing gets the

farm in shape like company coming....lol

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the other day we made a Chocolate Angel

Food Cake.....and i had a bunch of egg yolks left....

so I made another cake with those....

YELLOW CAKE :

3/4 cup butter softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

cream butter and sugar together...add egg yolks and vanilla...beat until fluffy

whisk together flour, baking powder and salt

blend the flour mixture into the butter mixture a bit at a time alternating with the milk

bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes...I did it in a bundt pan.....but any pan will do...

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25 chicken mamas....25 eggs....gotta LOVE it!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 18, 2012

took the grandkids to church with me today...

Pastor Bob started a new series.....take a listen...

www.h-hcc.org

it was our Thanksgiving meal after church...what a

spread....everyone outdid themselves.

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got a new granola bar recipe....this one does not require

the oven....so great for little helpers.....

it tasted AMAZING and it was so easy!!!

Quick & Easy Granola Bar :

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

mix these 4 ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat....

1 cup oats

1 cup rice crispys

1/2 cup dried cherries

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup craisins

1/4 wheat germ

1/4 sunflower seeds

mix these dry ingredients into a large bowl....

once the wet ingredients have melted together...pour into

the dry ingredient bowl and stir....

place some wax paper on a cookie sheet and

spread evenly.....I use the butter trick when spreading

anything sticky.....rub a pat a butter all over your hands...

then you can press with nothing sticking to you.

let refrigerate for a couple of hours....

this made 16 bars...they are not hard....they

remain chewy.

Pleasant Dreams!!!

November 16 & 17

Friday November 16, 2012

great day of weather .... sunny and warm 50 degrees 

the grandkids had a half day at school so I picked them up at 2pm for the

weekend....played games and made another cookie cake...

Gabby decorating...

Jacob putting on the finishing touch....



Chili-Cheese Dogs for dinner ....

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Saturday November 17, 2012

another beautiful sunny day!!!

we jammed a whole ton of stuff into today..... Building & Baking....

after breakfast we went for a walk into the back to decide what we were

going to do at the bunkhouse.....we put the floors in on the upstairs....

here are the kids looking through the hole before Ross covered

it up with wood....

then back up to the farm to shuck beans.... these were the beans

that were picked back in October and left to dry....

Gabby putting the beans into a jar for storage

Sophia doing the same.....

the decision for dessert tonight was something new...

Chocolate Angel Food Cake..... I made a regular

Angel Food Cake on July 24th....there are a bunch of

pictures of each step on that blog....just took a few pictures

of this one....

Chocolate Angel Food Cake :

1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/4 cup cake flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

put these items into a bowl and whisk together well and set aside

2 cups egg whites

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

in a different bowl mix the eggs whites, salt and cream of tartar.....whip these together on high until it starts to thicken....add the sugar a little at a time and keep mixing.....add vanilla...keep mixing.....this will get really thick....it took us over 15 minutes until that happened...so don't stop mixing...

add in the flour mixture a little at a time by folding it in with a spatula...

pour it into an ungreased 2 part pan.... run a knife through the

mix to release any air pockets...

bake at 325 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes...

here it is served up with some chocolate sauce as a drizzle....



finished the last cucumber and green pepper out of 

the garden for dinner this evening...

picked the first cucumber on July 10th...so that is over 4 months

picked the first bell pepper on August 2nd...so over 3 months

LOVE how the garden provides so wonderfully for us!!!

Pleasant Dreams!!!