2015 Resolutions

After a completely chaotic week of Holiday festivities, I am definitely glad for the chance to sit down and relax! Five days of running around to different houses, family gatherings and multiple Christmases, this Momma is tuckered out! We are still awaiting the arrival of our son, he's not due until the end of January but with my stomach already dropping significantly we were told to expect him any time between now and then.

Aside from eagerly awaiting our little man, I decided to sit down and start a list for 2015. Not so much New Year's Resolutions, more like goals of things to get done around the homestead. So, here goes...

• Build  a pallet fence around the vegetable garden
• Extend the "free range" area for the chickens
• Convert the front and back flower gardens into vegetable gardens
• Build a shelter and pasture for goats
• Get a puppy! (because an infant isn't enough to keep my hands full - haha)

Trying to keep the list short and manageable as I'll have an infant to care for as well, but I'm hoping to complete all of these by the end of 2015! What are your goals/resolutions for the upcoming New Year?

Turtle Cake

With the Holidays literally right around the corner, I couldn't resist posting my new favorite recipe: Turtle Cake!

Ingredients
1 cup chocolate chips
2 cups pecans
3/4 cup melted butter...
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) bags caramels
1 1/3 cups water ( or as called for by your cake mix)
1/3 cup oil ( or as called for by your cake mix)
3 eggs ( or as called for by your cake mix)
1 (18 ounce) boxes German chocolate cake mix

Directions
Prepare cake mix as directed.
Pour 1/2 of the batter in a 13x9 inch pan.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Remove and let cool.
In a double boiler, add caramels, milk and butter and stir constantly till melted.
Pour melted caramel over cooling cake.
Sprinkle on top 1 cup of pecans& chocolate chips.
Pour remaining batter on top and bake for an additional 20 minutes.

If you want to add the Caramel Icing, pictured, just follow this recipe:
Ingredients
2 cups brown sugar
6 Tbsp butter or shortening
6 Tbsp cream 
       *(or 3 Tbsp cream and 3 Tbsp evaporated milk) 
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking powder

Mix together the first 3 ingredients. Put on low heat and bring to a boil slowly. Stir very little. Let this boil for 5 minutes, then set aside. After letting it "rest" for a few minutes, add the vanilla and baking powder. Beat together and then spread on cake.
 

Maternity Photos

Saturday we had the opportunity to work with Kristen of Little Lion Photography and she did an amazing job! We had maternity/family photos taken and I am absolutely smitten with the 4 teasers she sent me and I can't wait to see the rest of the photos from our shoot. But, here are the few that I have! I can't believe Luca is due in less than 6 weeks and Billy couldn't be more excited for his arrival. The look on Billy's face just melts my heart!

Slacking

How has a month slipped by already?! Sorry for the lack of posts! With all the chaos of Thanksgiving and now Christmas and we're expecting our little man to arrive any time after that, things have been CRAZY! But, we are completely ready for his arrival. I take being organized and planning ahead very seriously (I swear I probably have OCD) and the car seat, diaper bag and hospital bag have been packed and ready to go for weeks. His nursery is completely set up, all his clothes are washed and packs of diapers are waiting! I'm sure there is something I'm probably forgetting though!

Anyway, we have been busy around the homestead and all this snow has been making things quite a mess! The chickens are very happy to have the gutter installed (their enclosed run is beside the back of our garage and all the runoff from the roof was flooding their run). We also put a roof over half of their run so even when it's raining they can go outside and not get soaked...it will also provide shade in the summer as well. Hopefully this weekend we will be butchering about 5 chickens and then I think our to-do list for the outdoors is fairly complete until spring - other than shoveling snow!

I have a couple posts that I'm currently working on so stay tuned and I promise to update more frequently! Happy Holidays!!!

XOXO

Chickens

I gave the hubby quite the scare the other day when I told him I was going to shoot some chickens...perhaps I should've mentioned that it would be with the camera. Anyway, here's a few photos of our brood...I'm slowly turning into that crazy chicken lady!

 Twizzlers (Twizzie) - Araucauna

 General Tso - Buff Orpington Roo

 Almond Joy (AJ) - Cochin Roo

 Cacciatore - Barred Rock

 Buffalo, Barbeque, Popcorn & General - Red Sexlinks & Buff Orpington Roo

 Toffee - Cochin Roo

Twix - Cochin

Freebies!

I try to only post these once a week, but there were a few that I found today that I couldn't pass up! Just click the title below the photo of each book to be redirected to Amazon. Remember, these were free at the time of posting BUT always check the price before clicking "Buy Now" to make sure it hasn’t returned to full price :)

Growing Herbs Indoors

Homesteading For Beginners

JeBouffe Home Canning

Backyard Chickens - 2 Book Combo!

Homesteading Essentials - From Plot to Pot - 2 Book Combo!

Deer Hunting - The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Hunting Deer for Food

"Lazy" Days

Occasionally I get bored and yesterday was one of those days...We finally got around to finish putting up the gutter around the garage. Having the chicken coop and run built along the backside of the garage may have saved us some supplies when building it, but whenever it rains the runoff was going directly into the chicken run and creating a muddy mess. Now the chickens will be very happy!

I also decided to "upgrade" one of the kiddie tables. I've never been a fan of character items to begin with so I had been trying to find a fabric I liked to replace the Cars top this one had, anyway. We also had this car mat. The kids were constantly getting frustrated because the mat would move or crinkle when they were trying to play. You can take these little card tables apart with a couple screws, I cut the mat to fit and stapled it in place on the back and then reattached the table. Problem solved!

Also, never sound a lazy dog in to wake the lil man up from nap...She decided he had a pretty good idea and joined him instead haha

Freebies!

Here are a few more great homesteading, canning and DIY books that you can add to your e-Library (just click the title below the photo of each book to be redirected to Amazon). Remember, these were free at the time of posting BUT always check the price before clicking "Buy Now" to make sure it hasn’t returned to full price :)

Canning & Preserving

Dutch Oven Cookbook

Raised Bed Gardening

Cheese Making at Home

Raising Chickens

Great Uses For Your Wood Ash

 
Chances are if you’re going to be burning wood to heat your home this winter, you’re going to have a ton (maybe literally!) of ash by the end of the season, before you just toss the ash aside, there are plenty of useful ways to re-use it!

Wood ash is extremely alkaline and contains potassium and calcium. It can also contain sulfur, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, magnesium and molybdenum, all of which are great for your plants depending upon your type of soil.

Enriching the Soil
Wood ash is great for certain types of soil, specifically soil that is overly acidic. Almost without fail, alkaline-loving plants such as onions, garlic and leeks will flourish if you add a bit of wood ash to the soil around them. The exception to this is if the pH of your soil is over 7. In that case, you may not want to use wood ash because it contains potassium and is very alkaline. It’s great to mix in if your soil is acidic but if it’s not, you’ll make matters worse.
If you decide to use wood ash in your soil, don’t apply it straight to your raw compost pile because it’ll react with the nitrogen and turn it straight to ammonia. You’ll lose that nitrogen that you’re working so hard to get. If you’re going to add ash to your compost in order to decrease the acidity (raise the pH), add it to mature, ready to use compost.

Wood Ash Protects Your Garden
Spread wood ash around your gardens to protect it from certain bugs that are harmful to your plants. It serves as a barrier to slugs and snails and some say that it protects against some beetles, too.

Use Wood Ash to Do the Dishes
Tossing a bit of wood ash into your dirty skillet will produce enough lye (and friction) to get your camp skillets good and clean. Some people even use it raw as soap.

Give Your Chickens a Spa Day
Chickens naturally roll in dirt as a way to cleanse themselves. This protects them from insects and pests such as mites and lice. However, if your chickens can’t roam, finding a nice dusty place to roll may be a challenge for them. Mix wood ash and sand equally and place it in a litter pan or baby pool, or just dump it in a corner of their pen. The wood ash kills mites and lice and the sand keeps the ash from blowing away.

De-Skunk Fido
Nothing is more disgusting than the smell of a dog that’s been skunked but if you have some extra wood ash, you’re golden. Just rub the ash into his fur and it will neutralize the odor.

For more ways to make use of all of your leftover wood ash, head on over to Survivopedia and read the rest of Theresa Crouse's article.

Chili!

It's that time of year when we start canning and really stocking up our food storage. When the weather starts to get chilly, I really start to crave warm, hearty soups and dishes. This is a friend's recipe for her awesome chili and it makes a LOT! 10 quarts and 7 pints to be exact. Great to have in the freezer for a quick meal down the road!

Ingredients

Brown 10 lbs of hamburger meat or turkey, set aside to drain
In Large pot add:
1 large red pepper chopped
2 large cooking onions chopped
1 regular size can of tomato paste
1 tiny can of tomato paste
3 cans of dark red kidney beans
about 8 small/regular size cans of various brands of chili beans
2 large cans of generic tomato sauce
about 4-5 large cans of various brands of chili beans
mix together and add about 2 cans of water (you don't have to if you don't want to) I wanted to and some of the water will cook off.
3 cans of Del-Monte Green Pepper and Onion

Spices: This is definitely an estimation.
2 tbsp of garlic powder
2 tbsp of paprika
1 tbsp of black pepper
1 tsp of Zatarain's Blackened Seasoning (this will give it a little kick)
2 tbsp of cumin
2 tbsp of chili powder
2 tbsp of onion powder
about 6-7 shakes of Worcestershire Sauce
about 2 tsp of fresh chopped garlic

Note: She did not add salt because she adds 1 tsp of canning salt to the jars before she processes it and cans the rest. Also, make sure you freeze any leftovers.

Let this simmer for about 45-60 minutes and then it will be ready to pack some jars. Once everything is mixed together process at 240 degrees, 10 lbs of PRESSURE and PROCESS for 90 minutes .

Freebies!

I love a good deal and who can beat free?! I'm always cruising Amazon looking through their freebie section for anything I can add to my arsenal. You can never read too much and there's always something to be learned. Here are a few great homesteading, canning and DIY books that you can add to your e-Library (just click the title below the photo of each book to be redirected to Amazon). Remember, these were free at the time of posting BUT always check the price before clicking "Buy Now" to make sure it hasn’t returned to full price :)

Canning & Preserving: All About Canning And Preserving Food In Jars

Pressure Cooking Cookbook For The Busy You

Urban Homesteading: Become A Self Sustainable Urban Homesteader To Get Off The Grid, Grow Food, And Free Yourself

Essential Oils and Aromatherapy

Combating the Cold and Flu with Essential Oils

It's that time of year again! Colds and the flu are sweeping through schools, daycares and work places. The cooler weather makes you more vulnerable to viruses because these viruses thrive in cool, dry areas. We break out our humidifier to help keep moisture in the air to not only assist in preventing colds and the flu, but to help our keep our nasal passages from drying out (I know I'm not the only one that is prone to nosebleeds in the winter). We also add a few drops of eucalyptus or peppermint oil to the humidifier's reservoir to reduce germs and it also acts as an air freshener!

Here's a few of our go-to essential oils for colds:
Peppermint
Eucalyptus
Oregano

These oils are great for helping to combat the flu:
Tea Tree Oil
Eucalyptus Oil
Lemon Oil
Lavender Oil

A steamy bath or shower helps, too. Drip about 10 drops of essential oil into the tub or onto a washcloth placed on the shower floor and breathe in deeply. Nothing makes me feel better than a nice soak with a good book in a steamy hot bubble bath - I could also easily live in a bath tub and the hubby has threatened to set a timer to kick me out.

Essential oils have more than one purpose. While they are great for medicinal uses, I also use essential oils to scent candles and soap, make multiple cleaning supplies, and lots of other things!

Fermented Chicken Feed

As many of you know, we have a brood of about 15 chickens. I have heard that fermenting chicken food results in lots of eggs, which was my primary reason for trying it out on our chickens.  We keep dual purpose chickens but our main reason for having them is for the eggs. Unfortunately, if they aren't giving us eggs or we have too many roosters hatch we butcher them. I really shouldn't say we, I don't do any butchering, I can't quite stomach it...yet! I will help butcher eventually!

Fermenting chicken food will improve the chicken's enzyme content and increase vitamin levels. Fermenting will also make it more digestible AND boost usable protein level. With all the good lacto-fermentation bugs in the food, the chicken's immune systems are given a boost and they have an easier time keeping disease at bay.  Healthy and robust chickens are happy and happy hens lay eggs.

Anyway, to ferment chicken feed, all you need is a container, chicken feed, water, and time. Right now, I use a quart sized mason jar and fill it half-way. Then I fill the jar with water until it covers the feed by about an inch or two. Seal it and let it sit for 3 days. That's it!

A three-day fermentation seems to work the best for us. Two days doesn't seem like quite enough time and anything longer than 3 days seems to create a more sour feed. You will know when the feed is ready when it is nice and bubbly.  The feed will have a sour smell, but shouldn’t smell rotten or putrid.  

If you want a steady rotation of fermented feed, start the same process in a new jar on day 2 and again on day 3. Also, on day 3 you will empty the first jar, feed it and refill it to start the fermenting process again. This way once you get going, you will have a container of fermented feed ready every day.

Please, keep in mind this is not my primary feed, the chickens still have access to regular chicken feed as well. If you will be using fermented feed only, you may need to go through some trial and error to figure out exactly how much is enough for your chickens.

Homemade Butter

We decided to try to make our own homemade butter, both for saving money and for health reasons (no reason butter should have more than 1-2 ingredient). And it is soooo simple to make!
Get heavy whipping cream and shake shake shake... No really, you're shaking for about 25 minutes then you drain, rinse and shake some more.

1.  We used mason jars to mix ours, fill the mason jar about halfway with heavy cream. Close it up shake.

2.  After about 5 minutes, the cream will turn to whipping cream. Keep shaking!

3.  The mixture will start to thicken and make a "shook shook" sound while you're shaking it.

4.  Now the fun part, it's going to separate into two parts. The solid piece should be a slight yellow color, this is the butter. The liquid is fresh buttermilk.

And people spend $20+ for a shake weight...they should just try making butter! 

5.  Now you'll want to pour the buttermilk into your extra container (if you're saving it). Take the butter and squeeze out the excess buttermilk. We simply pressed ours into a strainer with small holes so the butter didn't fall through as well. 
6.   Rinse with cold water and repeat until the water you're squeezing out runs clear. 

 That's it, you now have fresh butter (pictured above) and buttermilk.

"Pregnancy" Cookie Dough

I have been craving cookie dough for weeks but refused to let myself eat any because of the uncooked eggs....until I found an egg-less recipe that is great for pregnant mamas!

Ingredients
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1 cup flour
1/2 cup chocolate chips
pinch of salt

Directions
Mix together and savor the aweseomeness of cookie dough!

Non-Messy Maple Syrup Pancakes

My kiddos love pancakes. They also really, really like syrup. This also means a really, really big sticky mess. I've found syrup in places I didn't think it could ever exist in, after serving up a batch of light, fluffy pancakes. So I thought, why not add the syrup to the batter? The kids will get the same maple syrup flavor they love, and I have less of a mess to clean up. Genius! So here's my super simple recipe for Maple Syrup Pancakes.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup 2% milk
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon maple syrup (this can be adjusted...I add more for more flavor!)

Directions
In a small bowl, combine dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl combine the egg, milk, oil and syrup. Stir into dry ingredients until blended.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Flip when bubbles form on top of the pancakes. Cook until golden brown on both sides and serve!

And for my fellow Bisquik users, you can do the same thing...just mix the syrup with the liquids before adding to the dry mix.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

We started experimenting with making our own laundry detergent about a year ago to try to cut costs with the large amount of laundry we go through on a weekly basis. This recipe has worked the best for us and it lasts FOREVER! I made this batch almost 6 months ago and the photo below was taken earlier today....Granted, our "large" amount of laundry is 2-4 loads a week, but still...it adds up!

Ingredients

One 55 oz box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

One 4 lb box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda

One 76 oz box of Borax

Two 400g bars of Zote Soap

2.5 – 3 lbs of OxiClean (or any generic oxygen cleaner)

This makes 2 gallons of powder detergent, so don't forget to have a container handy to store it all in!

For mixing up the detergent I recommend picking up a 5 gallon bucket with a screw top lid.

Designate this your “Detergent Making Bucket” and keep it clean! I don't use my detergent supplies for anything other than making detergent.

You’ll also need a food processor and a large bowl to hold some of the ingredients.

Directions

1. Set aside the Zote Soap and the baking soda
2. Pour the remaining ingredients (Super Washing Soda, Borax, and OxiClean) into the bucket
3. Cut the Zote Soap in half lengthwise so that it will fit through the feed tube of your food processor.

4. Using the shredding disc on your food processor, grate the Zote Soap and transfer the grated soap to a large bowl

5. Change out the shredding blade in your food processor and put in the regular blade. Working in batches, place a small amount of the shredded soap into the processor along with the baking soda. Depending on the size of your processor the amounts may vary...I use roughly a 30/70 mix ratio (30% shredded soap, 70% baking soda)

6. Pulse the soap and baking soda until it forms a powder. The purpose of incorporating the baking soda in this step is to help prevent the Zote Soap from clumping. The baking soda should coat the soap so that it doesn’t stick to itself. If the mixture still looks a bit clumpy just add more baking soda until it looks like a powder. 

7. As you process the Zote Soap and baking soda just add each batch to the bucket with the rest of the ingredients.

8. Put the lid on the 5 gallon bucket and shake until everything is mixed well!

9. Once the ingredients are all mixed, you are ready to transfer it to your detergent container. 

 

Teaching Your Tot To Say "I'm Sorry"

This is something every child struggles with and I believe it's a parent's responsibility to properly teach their child what "I'm Sorry" means and why it is polite to say it. There are so many kids nowadays that mumble the phrase without a care as to what it actually means...sometimes I feel this is almost worse than if the child didn't say anything at all. I work with all of the kiddos to try to help them understand why we say we're sorry. I came across this article by Parents magazine and I believe they hit the nail right on the head...Here's an excerpt of the article, along with great tips on helping to teach your child how to say "I'm Sorry"...

"Although your child probably notices when her friend or sibling is crying, she may not consider that her own actions could have caused the tears. "In order for preschoolers to sincerely apologize, they need to more fully develop their capacity for empathy," says Michele Nealon-Woods, Psy.D., president of the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, in Los Angeles. "To help foster it, explain how one action leads to the next." For instance, tell her, "When you pushed Olivia, it hurt her. Hurting her was not nice. When you do something that isn't nice, you need to say you're sorry. You need to tell Olivia you're sorry for pushing her." (Be sure to restate the transgression so your child links it to the apology.) Once you've tried that approach a few times, involve her in the conversation. You might sat, "I see Emma is crying. Can you think of why she might be crying? I see you have her doll. Do you think she misses it?"

Even with more empathy, apologies aren't going to come easily for preschoolers. "They may feel guilty or embarrassed about their actions and try to avoid admitting blame," says Dr.Nealon-Woods. If your son spills a glass of milk or he mistakenly bumps into his sister in the backyard but doesn't want to apologize, let him know that being sorry about a situation doesn't always mean that he did something wrong. "Tell him that everybody makes mistakes, but the important thing is we say we're sorry even when accidents happen," suggests Dr.Nealon-Woods. What is he does something intentionally that hurts someone? Make apologizing easier by suggesting how he could make amends. For instance, if he wouldn't share with his friend at the playground, advise him to give up one of his turns on the slide for the friend or hold out another toy for him to play with. "Kids feel empowered when they can take action to fix the situation," says Dr.O'Bryon. "Thinking of an apology as one part of a bigger action plan helps it feel less daunting"

If you want your child's apologies to be heartfelt regret rather than simple magic words to get her out of trouble, don't insist that she apologize immediately. (If the situation needs to be addressed right away, apologize to the other child on your child's behalf and explain that you will discuss the incident together later.) "Kids sometimes need a period to calm down before their apology can be genuine and they are able to think about ways to make amends," acknowledges Dr.O'Bryon."




It's a little lengthy for a blog post (sorry!), but I found the article to be very enlightening and had great examples that I will be implementing with my kiddos. For even more tips and tricks on helping your child say "I'm Sorry" read the full article! This post is not sponsored by Parents magazine, I'm just an avid reader and enjoy their large variety of arts & crafts, snacks & meals, and great parenting tips & tricks.


Source-
Julia Savacool. "Saying Sorry." Parents. Oct 2014:  163-164. Print.

Crock Pot Meatballs

I've been turning in to quite the little homemaker lately. Usually I leave the cooking to the hubby, but I've been whipping up a bunch of different dishes the past few weeks. Last night's craving of meatballs and my obsession with my crock pot led me to making this awesome, and very filling, dish!

Ingredients

• ½ cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 12 ounces bulk mild Italian sausage
• 1 ¼ cups Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 (24 oz) jars pasta sauce (we can our own)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together milk and eggs until combined. Add ground beef, Italian sausage, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder; I found it easiest to just mix with your fingers until well combined.
2. Heat broiler to high, place on an oven rack about 4 to 5 inches from the broiler. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets with cooking spray or oil. Using your hands, shape (about 40) 1 to 2-inch meatballs from the mixture; place on prepared baking sheets.
3. Broil meatballs 6 to 8 minutes, flipping halfway through, until browned. Transfer to your crock pot - this recipe makes a LOT of meatballs, we only used about half of them and froze the rest and still had plenty left over (feeding a family of 3)
4. Top meatballs evenly with sauce. Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours in the crock pot until meatballs are cooked through to an internal temperature of at least 160 degrees F.
5. Serve by themselves, on top of pasta, on split hoagie rolls with cheese for meatball sub sandwiches, or with homemade garlic bread - like we did

The Results Are In!

Friday could not come fast enough. I was a bundle of excited nerves as we waited for our first ultrasound. The first half of the ultrasound was measurements and anatomy checks to make sure the babe had all ten fingers and ten toes and was perfect in every single way. We're measuring a little bigger than expected. I was exactly 20 weeks at the appointment and baby is measuring at around 21 weeks and 6 days.

We weren't sure we were going to find out what our little one was, but after lots of poking and prodding, walking around and laying on my side, we were finally able to get a shot and determine the gender!

It's a BOY!!!