| September Menu Plan | ||||
| Breakfast | Lunch | Dinner | ||
| 1 | Thursday | ham and egg cups | meat and cheese sandwiches | bbq chicken, corn, salad |
| 2 | Friday | hash browns and fried eggs | ravioli's garlic toast | quesadillas, salad |
| 3 | Saturday | french toast | frozen pizza | sweet and sour pork, rice |
| 4 | Sunday | ham and eggs | burritos | hot dogs, mac & cheese, apples |
| 5 | Monday | cinnamon rolls | chicken nuggets | rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans |
| 6 | Tuesday | sausage and egg sandwich | chicken salad sandwiches | tacos |
| 7 | Wednesday | breakfast burrito | pizza pockets | spaghetti, garlic bread, salad |
| 8 | Thursday | apple and cheese quesadilla | peanut butter and jelly | chicken and dumplings |
| 9 | Friday | cheesy eggs on toast | egg salad | cheater chilladas, chips and salsa |
| 10 | Saturday | breakfast kebabs | nachos | hamburgers, pasta salad |
| 11 | Sunday | cereal | pasta salad with ham | chicken salad sandwiches, chips |
| 12 | Monday | muffin and sausage | peanut butter and banana | san francisco chops, noodles, veggies |
| 13 | Tuesday | breakfast burrito | pork sandwiches | chicken and rice, broccoli |
| 14 | Wednesday | hash browns and fried eggs | ham and cheese rollups | pizza |
| 15 | Thursday | ham and eggs | pizza pockets | beef and barley soup, rolls |
| 16 | Friday | apple and cheese quesadilla | peanut butter and jelly | fried chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw |
| 17 | Saturday | pancakes | chicken nuggets | chef salad, peppery popovers |
| 18 | Sunday | french toast | chicken salad sandwiches | veggie soup, rolls |
| 19 | Monday | muffin and sausage | meat and cheese sandwiches | pulled pork, coleslaw |
| 20 | Tuesday | breakfast burrito | pork sandwiches | chicken parmesean, noodles, broccoli |
| 21 | Wednesday | egg in a hole | peanut butter and jelly | pancakes, eggs, bacon |
| 22 | Thursday | cereal | egg salad | ham, mashed potatoes, carrots |
| 23 | Friday | breakfast kebabs | ham spread | chili, cornbread |
| 24 | Saturday | cheesy eggs on toast | frozen pizza | pork roast, rolls, salad |
| 25 | Sunday | ham and egg cups | cresent dogs | biscuits and gravy, eggs |
| 26 | Monday | breakfast burrito | pork sandwiches | tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches |
| 27 | Tuesday | apple and cheese quesadilla | pizza pockets | taco soup, chips |
| 28 | Wednesday | sausage and egg sandwich | ham and cheese rollups | meatloaf, french fries, carrots |
| 29 | Thursday | hash browns and fried eggs | peanut butter and jelly | lasagna, garlic bread, salad |
| 30 | Friday | cereal | meat and cheese sandwiches | split pea soup, cornbread |
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Menu Planning...until life intervenes.
Second day of school. So far so good. I took last night and today to compile a menu for the month. Breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. Not really knowing the kids' schedules this far out, I am kind of taking a risk. I did plan on softball practices and tournaments. At this point I am looking forward to baking rolls and simmering soups. What usually happens is I don't take the time to prepare accordingly for the listed meal or the store is out of the ingredients I need to create the meals. It will take forming a new habit to look at the menu every evening and get in my head what I need to do in the morning, whether it is starting the crockpot or making bread. I will also need to take the meat out of the freezer with enough time to thaw. Which explains why I still have a whole chicken in the freezer....by the time I think about what's for dinner, there is no time to thaw it out. And because Murphy's Law rules in my house, I will end up getting the job I interviewed for yesterday and I wont be home to cook dinner anyway....I guess worse things could happen. So here is my menu plan for September. I'm crossing my fingers I can make it work.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Ahhhh......fair is over.....
We had no idea what we were doing. We joined 4-H. We got some goats. We got some chickens. We went to fair. The preparations were the kind that make no sense at all until you actually go through it once. Record books, posters, market, breed, fitting and showing, showmanship, herdsmanship.... we learned a whole new language.
It was an amazing experience. We camped at the fairgrounds. The kids were at the barn every morning at 7 AM, except for the last day when they let the kids sleep in an hour. They cleaned the stalls, cleaned the barn, and basically made everything presentable for the public. As soon as that was done, it was show time. Country Boy showed two chickens and a market pen of 3 chickens. Country Girl showed one of her goats. Country Diva showed a market pen of 3 chickens and one of the goats.
We got to know more families in our 4-H group. The kids made friends with more kids from the group. We learned more about what it means to go to fair. I never before realized how much work the kids put into the barns and project animals they bring to fair.
The next time you walk through the animal barns at the county fair, do so with the understanding these kids have been there all week- morning, noon, and night. They get up at the crack of dawn to care for their animals and get the barn ready for visitors. Then they have the nervousness of showing their animals and trying their hardest to be the best. There are some kids who have worked all year to raise a market animal that they, more than likely, have become very attached to. They know on the last day of fair they will be saying goodbye to that animal. This is a lot for kids to deal with, but they all do it with grace and maturity. I was so impressed with every kid in all of our barns and how much they worked and how respectfully they treated all of the animals.
As for the new things we have learned... Fitting and showing is the same as showmanship. Record books are best worked on all year, not the week before fair. Posters need to be created to hang horizontally, not vertically. Herdsmanship is the time the kids volunteer to sweep the aisles of the barns durning the hours the fair is open. They get ribbons based on how well the barn is cleaned. The kids get ribbons for everything. Ribbons are awarded differently than I had thought. There can be multiple blue, red, or white ribbons awarded in a group. Then there are the top two exhibitors in the group who get champion and reserve champion ribbons. Pigs fight when in the show ring. Goats can pick locks. Cows tear paper off of bulletin boards. Chickens used to free range don't like sitting in cages all week at fair. Cranky chickens bite. Animals used to well water will not drink city water. River water is a good stand by. If that wont work, try Gatorade. Our goats like Gatorade....
The exhibit hall was fun...Country Diva got to find the school projects her teacher had submitted for the class. Country Diva also submitted two photographs for 4-H. Country Boy submitted 12 photographs for 4-H. I submitted 3 photos for open class and a jar of mango jam.
The ribbon count for the family goes like this- Country Boy got 2 reserve champion ribbons, 14 blue ribbons, 2 red ribbons, and 3 white ribbons. Country Girl got 1 reserve champion ribbon, 4 blue ribbons, and 1 red ribbon. Country Diva got 7 blue ribbons and 6 red ribbons. I ended up with a blue ribbon for my mango jam and 3 red ribbons for my photos. The kids earned 5 blue ribbons each for herdsmanship, but they don't award the ribbons, they just pay the premium money.
Premium Money!! As far as we understand, blue ribbons are worth $3 each, red ribbons are worth $2 each, and white ribbons are worth $1 each. Then on top of that, Country Boy and Country Diva sold their 2 market pens of 3 chickens for $200 each pen at the livestock auction. Country Girl has plans to sell a pig next year and make $1000. My kids have found their money making opportunities.
We are already thinking about next year's fair....
It was an amazing experience. We camped at the fairgrounds. The kids were at the barn every morning at 7 AM, except for the last day when they let the kids sleep in an hour. They cleaned the stalls, cleaned the barn, and basically made everything presentable for the public. As soon as that was done, it was show time. Country Boy showed two chickens and a market pen of 3 chickens. Country Girl showed one of her goats. Country Diva showed a market pen of 3 chickens and one of the goats.
We got to know more families in our 4-H group. The kids made friends with more kids from the group. We learned more about what it means to go to fair. I never before realized how much work the kids put into the barns and project animals they bring to fair.
The next time you walk through the animal barns at the county fair, do so with the understanding these kids have been there all week- morning, noon, and night. They get up at the crack of dawn to care for their animals and get the barn ready for visitors. Then they have the nervousness of showing their animals and trying their hardest to be the best. There are some kids who have worked all year to raise a market animal that they, more than likely, have become very attached to. They know on the last day of fair they will be saying goodbye to that animal. This is a lot for kids to deal with, but they all do it with grace and maturity. I was so impressed with every kid in all of our barns and how much they worked and how respectfully they treated all of the animals.
The exhibit hall was fun...Country Diva got to find the school projects her teacher had submitted for the class. Country Diva also submitted two photographs for 4-H. Country Boy submitted 12 photographs for 4-H. I submitted 3 photos for open class and a jar of mango jam.
The ribbon count for the family goes like this- Country Boy got 2 reserve champion ribbons, 14 blue ribbons, 2 red ribbons, and 3 white ribbons. Country Girl got 1 reserve champion ribbon, 4 blue ribbons, and 1 red ribbon. Country Diva got 7 blue ribbons and 6 red ribbons. I ended up with a blue ribbon for my mango jam and 3 red ribbons for my photos. The kids earned 5 blue ribbons each for herdsmanship, but they don't award the ribbons, they just pay the premium money.
Premium Money!! As far as we understand, blue ribbons are worth $3 each, red ribbons are worth $2 each, and white ribbons are worth $1 each. Then on top of that, Country Boy and Country Diva sold their 2 market pens of 3 chickens for $200 each pen at the livestock auction. Country Girl has plans to sell a pig next year and make $1000. My kids have found their money making opportunities.
We are already thinking about next year's fair....
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
A Day to Celebrate!
We have an egg! One of our Black Sex-Link market birds laid the first egg of our flock today! So roughly it breaks down to a $350 egg. It is the cutest little brown egg! I am so excited for the girls!
We will need to check the nest boxes several times a day now. We will also need to check the goat barn since the hens have taken to hanging out in there during the day.
Oh my gosh! It's like Christmas! I gotta go check the coop again!
We will need to check the nest boxes several times a day now. We will also need to check the goat barn since the hens have taken to hanging out in there during the day.
 |
| In the nest box |
 |
| Hanging out in the goat barn |
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Front Porch Progress
I had the plants all planted in time for Country Girl's softball team party. We got the gates on the deck done in time too. In addition to building a picnic table and putting up a screen door, both of which we painted barn red (what other color is there, anyway?). It was quite a whirlwind of activity. The party was tons of fun. The girls all got to try and catch a chicken. That was pretty hilarious. Since the yard was ready and we had plenty of food leftover, we hosted the family 2 days later for the Fourth of July cookout. I made my first ever beef brisket on the grill. It was fabulous. The view from the house of the fireworks was amazing. You never knew where to look. There were fireworks going off all around us. Just beautiful. The kids got to do sparklers and we had purchased a few small fireworks to do in the driveway. The rest of the evening was spent sitting around our fire pit. It was a great night.Sunday, June 19, 2011
Strawberry Garden
I am on a mission to create a unique garden area in front of my house. My goal is to find unusual containers to plant edibles in. The first planter is the wagon I rescued and re-purposed from mom and dad's house. This wagon was left by the previous homeowners and dad had relegated it to the back of the property with other dead, dying, or otherwise decrepit pieces of equipment. Since I love all things red, I just new it would have a great life at my house...I had considered planting watermelon in it, putting red and white geraniums in it, something cutesy and country. After visiting with my sister and seeing how well her patch of wild strawberries were doing, I decided to go on a wild strawberry search on my property and see if I could get a good patch started. It didn't take me long, literally it took me longer to walk down the hill than it actually dig up and transplant the strawberries. I love this little planter bed. I will need to add some garden mesh over it to keep bunnies and deer out, but for now it is good. The next planters are some old enamelware coffee pots without the inside pieces. Those are screaming for geraniums and a prominent placing on the steps up to the deck. Since it is a rainy yucky day, I think I will venture into the garage and search for the camping box....
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Ranch Dressing Recipe
Anyone who LOVES ranch dressing, this is for you. My kids have ranch on everything. Country Diva has ranch with a little of anything else on the side. I think she sneaks in and drinks it straight from the fridge....
Here's my recipe-
1 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups mayonnaise (I use the kind with olive oil, only bought when $2.50 or cheaper)
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons onion powder (or a wedge of onion chopped super fine)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dill
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1. In a glass measuring cup mix the milk and the lemon juice. This creates a very thick liquid used instead of buttermilk.
2. In large mixing bowl combine mayo, sour cream, onion, garlic, and other spices. Stir well. After the milk and lemon juice have sat for a few minutes, stir. Add to mayo mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk.
3. I store this in a mayonnaise container in the fridge- more to keep it camouflaged than anything. This recipe will make more than the 30oz jar will hold, so you may need another jar. Quart size canning jars work wonderful. It must be kept in the fridge. This is super thick, like a dip, so you will be able to thin it down to the consistency you prefer.
Hope you enjoy it! I did a cost break down and per ounce, this cost half as much as a 24 oz bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch at Walmart. That's what is important to me! Having the ability to make it myself gives me the option to add that extra kick of garlic or dill or what ever I am going for. Maybe if I add more onion Country Diva wont like it as much.....hmmm.....I may be onto something here.....
Here's my recipe-
1 cup skim milk
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cups mayonnaise (I use the kind with olive oil, only bought when $2.50 or cheaper)
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons onion powder (or a wedge of onion chopped super fine)
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons dill
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon seasoning salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1. In a glass measuring cup mix the milk and the lemon juice. This creates a very thick liquid used instead of buttermilk.
2. In large mixing bowl combine mayo, sour cream, onion, garlic, and other spices. Stir well. After the milk and lemon juice have sat for a few minutes, stir. Add to mayo mixture. Mix thoroughly with a whisk.
3. I store this in a mayonnaise container in the fridge- more to keep it camouflaged than anything. This recipe will make more than the 30oz jar will hold, so you may need another jar. Quart size canning jars work wonderful. It must be kept in the fridge. This is super thick, like a dip, so you will be able to thin it down to the consistency you prefer.
Hope you enjoy it! I did a cost break down and per ounce, this cost half as much as a 24 oz bottle of Hidden Valley Ranch at Walmart. That's what is important to me! Having the ability to make it myself gives me the option to add that extra kick of garlic or dill or what ever I am going for. Maybe if I add more onion Country Diva wont like it as much.....hmmm.....I may be onto something here.....
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Chicken Cure!
We took Pipsqueak, the market chicken with a vision problem (insert joke here), to the vet a few days ago. The vet put some chicken droppings under the microscope to see if she could identify what we were dealing with in our flock. BINGO! Coccidiosis! This is a parasite that does nasty things to a chickens insides. So after a $30 fecal test and a $12 medicine picked up at the feed store, our chickens are on the road to recovery. Having lost 4 birds and being told that Pipsqueak probably wouldn't make it through the night, I am so relieved to have everyone healthy again. Pipsqueak is doing fabulous! She answers to her name and follows me around the yard. She is kind of a flaky bird, not it the absent-minded sort of way, she has dandruff or whatever chickens get. I am guessing it's because she doesn't know how to take dust baths since she can't see what the other birds are doing.
The goats...the goats are great. They are put up into the back yard every day to mow. It is taking them a long time to get the yard trimmed up really well. We might have to break out the weedeater. If there weren't so many rocks we could use the mower, but I just don't feel like replacing any windows right now.
Clementine likes to jump onto the barbecue by the back door. Cute now, but when she is full grown-- we will need a new barbecue. We picked up a bag of diatomaceous earth for chickens and goats. This bag of fossilized diatoms is supposed to help get lice and mites off of the animals. We plan on making a dust bag out of an old pillowcase to dust the goats. The chickens will get a top of the line pit for dust baths. We picked up a bag of play sand to mix with the DE. We are planning on digging a hole about the size of a small plastic wading pool to put it all in. Hope all of the chickens are as excited about this as I am!
 |
| Pipsqueak |
The goats...the goats are great. They are put up into the back yard every day to mow. It is taking them a long time to get the yard trimmed up really well. We might have to break out the weedeater. If there weren't so many rocks we could use the mower, but I just don't feel like replacing any windows right now.
Clementine likes to jump onto the barbecue by the back door. Cute now, but when she is full grown-- we will need a new barbecue. We picked up a bag of diatomaceous earth for chickens and goats. This bag of fossilized diatoms is supposed to help get lice and mites off of the animals. We plan on making a dust bag out of an old pillowcase to dust the goats. The chickens will get a top of the line pit for dust baths. We picked up a bag of play sand to mix with the DE. We are planning on digging a hole about the size of a small plastic wading pool to put it all in. Hope all of the chickens are as excited about this as I am!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Chicken de-population
Well, it's been a tough week to be a chicken around here. There is something, viral or bacterial, going through the coop. One of the black sex linked chickens the kids had for their 4-H project, died on Sunday night after a few days of being unable to stand up. We think that could have been caused by Marek's disease. Not totally sure though. We took her out of the coop and quarantined her in the garage in a dog kennel for those few days, hoping to nurse her back to health. We completely cleaned the chicken coop to remove any bad germs that might be in there. All of the feeders and drinkers got washed in bleach. The coop got sprayed down with disinfectant. Yesterday I went down to the barn to get a shovel so I could do some gardening. I went to the coop to talk to the chickens and saw our 2 buff orpingtons dead on the floor of the coop. I called Old Goat over and he took the birds out, no sign of injury. It looked like they just fell over dead. So we replanned our day. No gardening for me. No fencing for Old Goat. We got all of the chickens out of the coop and proceeded to strip it out again. We whitewashed the inside and put in two windows for more ventilation. Supposedly the lime used in the whitewash kills bacteria. While down there I noticed one of the gold laced Wyandottes not running around like the other birds. She just stood there all hunched up. She didn't fuss when I picked her up like they all usually do. We decided to quarantine her just in case. She came up to the garage and went into the dog kennel. I mixed up some whole oats, cornmeal, flax seed, and sunflower seeds for her to eat, noticing how boney she was. No fat or muscle anywhere. Just skin and bones. I put a little apple cider vinegar into her drinking water. She drank some water, but I couldn't get her to eat. After dinner I cut up a mango and took the pit out to her, hoping she would nibble off some of the fruit. This morning I went out to check on her and she was dead. It is so frustrating not knowing how to help your animals.
I made a vet appointment and I am taking Pipsqueak in to get checked out. It appears she has a vision problem. Hopefully this Avian vet will be able to give me some information on what is happening and what I can do about it. I just don't want to lose the entire flock. Today everyone looks healthy and lively. No one is hunched over. No one feels like skin and bones.
Country Girl said she was ok not doing market birds, since we are one short for her pen of 3 for fair. The golde laced was Country Boy's show bird. Luckily we have another gold laced to take her place.
In August when we go to fair we will have the two goats and 8 chickens- 2 show birds and 6 market birds. At this point I just hope the birds are all still alive come fair time....
Today, I will finish my garden project and get the seed starts out of the green house and into their container garden since they have outgrown their little soil pods. No sense losing the garden as well as the chickens....
The windows are salvaged from an old camper. Gives the chicken coop a very stylish look....
I made a vet appointment and I am taking Pipsqueak in to get checked out. It appears she has a vision problem. Hopefully this Avian vet will be able to give me some information on what is happening and what I can do about it. I just don't want to lose the entire flock. Today everyone looks healthy and lively. No one is hunched over. No one feels like skin and bones.
Country Girl said she was ok not doing market birds, since we are one short for her pen of 3 for fair. The golde laced was Country Boy's show bird. Luckily we have another gold laced to take her place.
In August when we go to fair we will have the two goats and 8 chickens- 2 show birds and 6 market birds. At this point I just hope the birds are all still alive come fair time....
Today, I will finish my garden project and get the seed starts out of the green house and into their container garden since they have outgrown their little soil pods. No sense losing the garden as well as the chickens....
The goats really appreciate the viewing window. Now they can check on the chickens without getting stuck in the pop door!
Friday, May 27, 2011
In the beginning....
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