Winter Edition

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Victorian Farm Christmas

I happened to stumble across the Christmas Special. It is very informative with a ton of great ideas.

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So You Want to Live in Montana...

This was shared by Patrice over at Rural Revolution!

WARNING*** Don't drink anything while watching this video..... You may have an uncontrollable urge to spit out your drink from laughing to hard*** Don't say I didn't warn ya!!

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Chestnuts

I thought that it would be a great idea to cook up so chestnuts for the meal. So I tossed some into a glass pie plate and into the oven they went. About 45 minutes later I smelled something. It wasn’t a burning but it was off. So I looked into the oven and saw that one of the nuts had exploded. So I figured it was time to pull them out.

Grim and the older two monsters were in the kitchen with me and we were laughing about the one that exploded in the oven when one decided to explode on the stove top. First let me say no one was hurt. But Grim and I were the worst hit. Since I didn’t think to take pictures let me give you a mental image. We were covered in what looked like very fine mashed potatoes. Our hair, our clothes and our kids all had to be cleaned up!

I guess that is why they say to score them before you put them in the oven. Oh well, that’s what I get for try to take an easy route! Better Luck Next Time... LOL!

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Can you help?

Jenna at Cold Antler Farm is running a contest and I entered. She wanted mason jar covers to help keep her coffee warm. I made felt covers and sewed them with embroidery thread.  And of course I couldn’t just do one. I made an entire set.

To have a chance to win, Jenna is going to go off of who likes which one from the response in the comments.

If you want to go over and vote you can do so here

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Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that everyone had a good day! Ours went well. I did make the dressing and the pumpkin pie filling from scratch. I am thankful that no one died from eating either… LOL! The cranberry yuck I made was a hit. Yes, I called it cranberry yuck because it is not what I like. I make for the others! Its more like a compote since I add walnuts to it.

Our menu consisted of:

Turkey

Dressing

Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes (baked)

Acorn Squash

Corn

Veg tray & Dip

Gravy

Deviled eggs

Cranberry Yuck (1bag cranberries, 1cup sugar, 1/2cup orange juice and 2 handfuls of walnuts)

Chestnuts **Story to come about the Damn Chestnuts**

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

Pumpkin Pie (homemade pumpkin puree)

Angel Food cake

Whipped cream (made from heavy cream)

Blackberries

So the only processed food was the pie crust, canned corn, angel food cake, mayo in the eggs and the can of sweetened condensed milk. Not to bad. Next year I hope to make my own of all the above listed ingredients.

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Goodbye / Hello

 

Good Bye Stovetop! Hello Homemade! This is the first time I will be making dressing from scratch. There are still a few things I need to learn how to make and this one will be able to come off the list!

Photo: Con Poulos/Woman's Day

Basic Herb Stuffing Recipe – Thanksgiving Recipes at WomansDay.com:

 

Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 10

 

Recipe Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for the pan
• 1 small loaf country bread (about 1 lb), cut into 1/2-in. pieces (about 10 cups)
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 2 large carrots, cut into 1/4-in. pieces
• 2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-in. pieces
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 2 large eggs, beaten

Recipe Preparation

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Oil a 3-qt casserole dish. Place the bread on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until very tender and beginning to turn golden, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Add the carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in the parsley and thyme.
4. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the bowl and toss with the bread. Fold in the beaten eggs. Transfer to the prepared baking dish, cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes more.

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Dinners for Occasions

Last year we were at the Living history museum around Thanksgiving and I was able to pick up a listing of a menu from Dinners for Occasions.

Thanksgiving Dinners

Menu No. I

(New England)

Our rural ancestors, with little blest,

Patient of labor when, the end was rest,

Indulg’d the day that hous’d their annual grain,

With feasts and offerings and a thankful strain.

~Pope.

Oyster Stew,

Celery,

Oyster Crackers,

Roast Stuffed Turkey,

Brown Gravy,

Cranberry Moulds,

Oak Hill Sweet Potatoes,

Turnips and Carrots in White Sauce,

Boiled Onions,

Chicken Pie,

Mince Pie,

Squash Patties,

Fruit Pudding,

Brandy Sauce,

Assorted Nuts,

Raisins,

Café Noir

My Menu will be a tad bit less impressive! LOL!

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Laundry Soap Concentrated

Now I would love to take credit for this idea but alas, (not smart enough to come up with it on my own)…. LOL!…. The credit for this goes to Dana at The White Silk Purse.

I followed her recipe to the letter. She said that the recipe should net 4 quarts I got almost 5. Not complaining just letting you know so that you don’t wonder why so much or so little. I will only post the ingredients here, but for the full explanation please go over and see Dana for the rest.

2 bars Fels Naptha

2 cups 20 Mule Team Borax

2 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

6 cups of hot water (+ more water as needed)

 

Soap Grated

Borax and Washing Soda

Water and Melting Soap

Separated Day Old Soap

Cooled Soap Top View

Whipped Soap

Of course I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. I will be making more. Dana says she figures she needs 18 quarts for a year. I’m going to see how long this lasts and then determine our needs.

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Thunder, Really!

Yep, we are in the middle of a thunder storm. It is November 14th and we have low 60’s and rain. Where is the snow? The squirrels are so fat that they can barely walk. The little black caterpillars are everywhere. So I wonder how long we will go without snow!

As with most things I only got a couple things accomplished that I had planned for this weekend. First I was able to make the laundry soap. I have a website, directions and photos to share tomorrow. And we were able to get the Christmas lights up. The soup bones must have been old, because the broth is milky. So that will go into the trash. The reason I didn’t get everything done was because my mom decided it was time to clean out her freezer. Everything that she wanted to replace came here. Some of it was good, some not so good! But I have 3 pork loins in the fridge thawing so that I can pressure can them up tomorrow. She has a couple more waiting for me to have time to cook them up. There was also a turkey found. So that will be used for Thanksgiving.

She was cleaning out her pantry so I got quite a bit of canned stuff as well. I know your wondering why she is giving me the food. She will only keep food on her shelves till they are close to expiring and then replaces it. Same with what is in the freezer. If it is getting close to the time, I get it because I will use canned goods past the use by date and I will can up any meat that is 6 to 12 months old.

With tonight I have 5 more bingos to work. That is all I am signed up for. I am counting them down. I really can’t stand the bs that goes with the program. What happens is that regular workers like me are bumped up to management and then become power hungry. So it is not the best work environment. But like I said 5 more! Then next year I only have to work 3 and that can be at my leisure. I get paid into my monsters student credit account to work bingo. I have been doing this to pay for band camp. I will have 1/3 of it paid for by the end of this year. I just need to decide if I want to continue to do this next year or just pay cash. I will probably work, it is just one of those rock and a hard place things.

Enough babbling!

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Weekend Adventures

This weekend will be ever busy…. I will be making soap, laundry soap and beef stock!!! Plus, bowling and putting up the Christmas lights.

I will share pictures as soon as I get them!

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Oh where oh where has the blogger gone!

We have been so busy since Halloween. Mouthy monster is now 8. Monster High is the thing here now. At least it isn’t that suck up B**** Barbie… LOL! Teenage monster is now done with Band, for the year. They went to states and scored in the top 5! Very Proud of her. Picky monster went and got her physical yesterday as well as two shots. She is all set to go to the tryouts for bowling next week. I think she will make the team. Her running average for the league is 118. If she makes the team she will be getting a varsity jacket for her birthday in July.

I have been baking bread, knitting a scarf and finishing up Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I had been spending a ton of time on Pinterest. I absolutely, love that place. I have so many pins. I just hope I will have time to follow up on most of them.

Here are few things that I wanted to share that I found. They are good for any time but with the holidays right around the corner, they are perfect!

Chocolate-dipped Peppermint Sticks

Give the Gift of a Homemade Spa Day

Free Mandala Printable Sheets

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And so it begins

Yep, you guessed it…. The silly season is now upon us!

This year is actually going to be very easy for us. The monsters will each be getting one big gift and a few small items and the rest will be homemade.

For family and friends I will be doing homemade. And this year will be made simpler by checking out Pinterest. They have a huge selection of things. If your not aware of what Pinterest is then you need to check them out. Great site, Lots of information. I have found salt scrubs, mint eucalyptus foot scrub, Candy cane sugar scrub, plus food items that make great gifts!

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