Pioneer Woman at Heart

Okay, Mama Pea said she wanted "picture proof."   Here it is: I'm not moving very fast in all the get-up either, but it is keeping me warm and well covered.  I just have to be careful when walking.  Hubby's old carharrt is a bit long for me (oddly).  I had a problem with steaming up my sunglasses, but that morning sun was piercing my eyeballs yesterday.  I am thankful for it (sunshine), so no complaints. I wear Hubby's hat over the face mask in colder weather too. Want to know how far one roasted chicken stretched for us? Normally, one home raised, roasted chicken lasts about two days around here.  However, with Son gone (and oldest Daughter gone more often), we have more leftovers.

I have one kiddo who loves frozen yogurt.  However the stuff you buy in the store is processed with unhealthy ingredients (high fructose corn syrup etc).  I decided to buy some yogurt, and toss in some honey and my homemade vanilla.  The kids churned it in our ice cream maker.  As a kid, my siblings and I, always churned ice cream (on special occasions) with a hand crank ice cream maker.  I love my ice cream maker too.  We made goat's milk ice cream in it last year.  The results?

As of today, we've lost 5 meat chickens.  We've raised white rocks before, and had a lower mortality rate than these Jumbo Cornish Rocks. I can't tell if they are breaking their legs or having heart attacks, but from my research, it's common.  Next year, I will have to order more, and expect to lose a few.  Just sharing that tip for those considering raising chickens for meat.

I finally took the chicken necks from my freezer the other day, and today I will make homemade broth.  I will freeze it instead of can it, and most likely use about half of it before the current chickens are butchered. I have never made broth from scratch (strangely), so this is a new step for me.  I've always purchased it (gmo-free, organic) from the grocer.  However, prices have gone up to over $4/box.

. . .meat chicks arrived 2 days early.  Had to do a bit of scrambling, but got them all situated with a heat lamp.

In the midst of a mad-woman cleaning day, I ran across a box of printed cardstock that was storing an unfinished project.

I started my day out with some homemade hot ginger tea.  The stress here has been at it's highest.   And it's not Hubby.

I tried yet another recipe from my hoarded pile.  I did adjust it a teensy bit, and although green onion gives a dish color, I opted for shallots. It's not really called "Saucy" but it did make a lot of sauce, so I think I could cut back on the sour cream next time.  I am lucky to be able to find organic butter, sour cream and cottage cheese at our local grocer.  I also had organic whole wheat rotini noodles on hand for this recipe.  The family fought over leftovers, they liked it that much.