Four Beans and Sausage and Tidbits

Four Beans and Sausage to the rescue yesterday.  You still need to dice an onion (and I use bell pepper frozen from the summer garden, and home canned ketchup), but it's a one crock pot dish meal.  It was perfect for my Monday Madness in getting back into the groove of homesteading/adulting life again. 

While the crock pot did it's work for dinner, I took some time to make a sausage and potato breakfast casserole (real potatoes), bell pepper from the freezer, and added onion, garlic, jalapenos and dandelion greens (jalapenos from the freezer as well as the dandelion greens).  I only used 6 eggs and 1/3 cup milk for this 9 x 13 breakfast.  It is a bit spicy with the jalapenos, but we like it.

Thankful for leftovers today, so I can continue to catch up with bill paying, laundry, and my weekly to-do list.

I'm hearing that black kitchen utensils can leach poison into our foods when heated (or hot?).  Any truth to this?  If so, what are you replacing all of your mixing spoons and spatulas with?  I do have wooden utensils, but I still need spatulas and mixing spoons, soup ladles etc.

Library Loot Update . . .

I went on a library book binge, in hopes to find the recipe for the chicken noodle soup/chicken and rice soup starter in a jar. 

Gifts in Jars by Natalie Wise

The library books are rolling in, and the book above contains recipes for Chicken Noodle Soup in a Jar, and two other soup recipes.  If you are looking for homemade Christmas gift ideas, there are a few good ideas. 

                                  Layered Soup Mixes in Jars, by Jackie Gannaway

Some recipes in this book, that I thought would make great gifts (or for yourself) were:

-Rainbow Bean Soup Mix in a Quart Jar

-Cajun Cornbread Seasoning Mix - baby food jar or small  canning jar (I'm going to try this one myself soon)

-Navy Bean and Ham Soup Mix in a Pint Jar

-Chicken Noodle Soup Mix in a Pint Jar

Four Beans and Sausage and Tidbits  © December 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart

We Skipped Thanksgiving

 

Instead of the traditional frenzy and hustle of baking, cooking and washing a ton of dirty dishes (and house cleaning), we took off this past holiday, and enjoyed it on a larger scale of relaxation.

Our adult kids do not cook.  They rely (and expect me) to do all of the cleaning, hosting, cooking and baking.  One year one kiddo brought the ham, and one brought a fruit dip.  My fruits of my labor walk out the door at the end of the traditional big meal as well (pratically zero leftovers for us).  I get tired of the lack of help, and needed a break.  Cooking/baking from scratch is work, and does have it's limits.

Thankfully, my husband was on board with me, and we instead, relaxed in the midst of a cabin in the high wooded hills.  The best part?  A hot tub.  The snow arrived, and it was  a cozy retreat.

We have discovered new places to hike, and new adventures with nature in the future.  We did not miss the traditional holiday feasting one iota.  All of the kids had their own meals with other family, so they did not lack a large meal.

Reality is back in full swing on the homestead.   Coffee is brewing.  The sun is rising, and we are looking at finishing another home project, with another one moving up on the list.

The Christmas tree has yet to be put up, but it's on the list in the next week or so. Although our retreat put us behind on the chicken run build, the weather here was way too cold anyway.

Two solar chargeable light bulbs have arrived, and I will be testing them to make sure they work.  If these work out (for the new coop), we may invest in a few for power outage use as well.

December is here already, and it brings new adventures.  

We Skipped Thanksgiving  © December 2024 by Kristina at Pioneer Woman at Heart