Feverfew ~ Catnip ~ Canned Hot Pepper Jelly

The rain went right off the radar on Tuesday.  Not a drop.  Rain on the radar on Wed. went right off the radar as well.  Sigh.  I had to pick and choose what would be watered, considering the well isn't getting filled up.

I finally got some feverfew put into the dehydrator for winter tea if needed.  I'm hoping if we get rain, I can dehydrate more (it's in a pot vs. the ground).

Once that was dried I loaded it up with catnip.  I make catnip tincture as an ingredient for my bug off spray.  I will also make some catnip pillows for our cats and Mom's cats if I have enough for both.  I want to make my tincture with fresh catnip.

We love hot pepper jelly (now that I know how to really make it hot).  We love it as a go-to snack for gatherings or snacking.  It's great with cream cheese on a cracker.  I couldn't find hot cherry peppers, and did not grow them this year.  I used habanero, serrano, hot banana, hungarian wax, and jalapeno.  We'll taste this in a few weeks to see if it's a good as last years.

The sunrise is quickly moving to the south.  Sigh.  I'm not even ready to pull root veggies (if they even survived this drought).  Just another sign we need to start winter prep.

I overslept again.  Gonna down some nettle/oat straw infusion later, but first I have some work to do.  I forgot to marinate chicken, so dinner is a change of plans, but I need to stick to my list today.  I totally missed some things yesterday.  It's gonna be a very hot above 90 degree day.  Praying we get rain.

Canning

Got another batch of Cowboy canned.

Canned a batch of taco sauce.  Makes my heart sing.  Haven't been able to do this for the last two years.  I you can with anything (tomato) sauce related, you know they are long days.  The end result is so delicious.  I can it in 4 oz. jars because that is enough for one meal for all of us and nothing is wasted or needs used up.  I can only fit 11 of them in the canner, so I put the remaining 1/2 pint in the fridge.  We'll be eating tacos or taco salad this week. Taco sauce from the store has corn syrup, corn starch (all gmo), and other preservatives.  So worth the time to can.  I'm hoping the other tomatoes ripen together so I can do tomato sauce next.

I didn't have time to bake a breakfast for a grab-n-go for all of us either.  I was so exhausted I overslept this morning.  I wasn't even up to kiss my husband before he left for work this morning.  I'm taking the day off today.  We expect rain anyway.  We did get a short shower of rain yesterday thankfully.  I was literally so exhausted I crocheted 6 sc and put it away last night.

See ya' in a few days.  Hopefully super powered from a day of rest.  Not sure if I will fall plant green beans.  I'm exhausted.  I do miss the taste of them already, but we have a 3-4 day window to get them in the ground before the temps lower.  Not sure fall planting will happen this year.

Happy Homemaker Monday

Daughter got the job!  She starts today!

Friday I needed to do some watering.  I also brought in more green bell peppers, and couldn't believe the size of this one.  Too bad I don't have a lot ready at once, because I would have stuffed and froze this one too.  

I spent the day freezing bell peppers, hot banana peppers, zucchini, and figuring out if I will be canning pickles yet or not.  I brought in more cucumbers. I filled my small dehydrator with comfrey and baked Lemon Zucchini bars too.

Guess who snagged some Einkorn flour?  Yep.  Limit of 2, but I'm on the list when it's restocked.

Saturday we rode the motorcycle all day and relaxed in the evening.  We took our youngest daughter, and she said it was just what she needed.  

My spring chicks are starting to lay.

Sunday, we planned another bike ride, but our radio stopped working, so it's torn apart and awaiting a new party.  I went to the garden and pulled all the bean plants.  Making our year end harvest at 15# and 4 oz.  Not the best, way better than last year, but we battled a drought this year.

Hubby went to help one of our biker friends put on a new fuel pump, so he had a working vehicle to head to work today.

Today, I'm joining Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. 



The weather outside is . . .
Muggy, hot in the 90's as it has the last 3 days

On my mind . . .
Not much.



On the breakfast plate . . .
Coffee, have no idea what I can bake yet.


On the reading pile . . .
Nothing.  Not it the mood yet.  It's still better to have books on hand when I am in the mood than not to have a book when I am in the mood.


On the TV . . .
The Lost Husband on Netflix


On the menu . . .
I'll be back if I come up with a menu.  Have no idea.


From the camera . . .

Looking around the house . . .
I need to put last night's dishes away.  I was too tired yesterday.


Chore I am not looking forward to this week . . . 
The start of ripping out my herb garden, laying down cardboard and re-starting a new one.  It needs to rain first.


To relax this week I will . . .
Work on Christmas ornaments maybe.  


On my prayer list . . .
Youngest, this country, our President, our biker friend and his family, and personal requests.

Random Tidbits

Photos of the sky before the sunrise this morning.

Well, we are not camping tonight.  Not at all this weekend.  I had to cancel.  We decided that the return of the awful heat would make us miserable.  We cook all meals over a campfire, and it would awful to do in 89-90 degree weather.

Yeah, I am bummed.  I was looking forward to unplugging and it won't happen.  Not anyone's fault but the weatherman.  The weather up until now was absolute perfect camping weather.

I got my dentist visit done.  So, first I went and got my crown glued back on, second, I went back the next day for a cleaning, so that's done before winter.  All the hoop-la they say about going to the dentist on social media is false.  I just had to wear a mask until they worked on me and wear it out.  That's it.  Other than they don't rinse as much due to the splatter of water, but they have face shields on etc.  Such a different world right now.  I took my crochet work with me, and finished another jar opener.  Then I drove over to my younger brother's house where Mom was babysitting the grandkids.  I gave them 3 cucumbers.  Apparently, my niece and nephew LOVE cucumbers.

On a good note, our youngest has an interview today with a different salon.  I think she is looking forward to it and she will be able to actually cut hair if she is hired.

The garden has been so-so.  The yellow squash is finally coming on, but plants are small.  The tomatoes are turning red, but the leaves are already turning brown. 

As for flowers, the zinnias haven't even bloomed and it's the end of August.  Despite watering, it's been a rough year.

I'm not sure if I will can pickles this year.  We don't really eat them that often (sliced pickles).

The chickens are doing well in the new coop, and no one has flown the coop since the last incident.  No raccoon sightings either.

There has been discussion about the new engine for my car.  It's been a slow process, but nothing is cheap.

I hope your weekend unplugs you somehow.  I will have to find another way now.

Christmas Planning ~ Free Printable ~ Other Ramblings

It's official.  The last breakfast casserole is our new Christmas morning breakfast now.  I will make it a few more times and add greens, ground mustard and possible half spicy sausage to try it that way.  It's going in my "Christmas" Binder.  

The honey roasted caramel corn is definitely in the recipe box and will be in the treat list for the holidays.  

I found a free printable online at the Homestead Hustle, it's called Product Pricing Worksheet.  It's great to keep track of cost and sale price for homemade or homegrown items you sell.

I bought myself a few new stitch markers.  So adorable!

My fall center piece made from a free metal strainer, and decor from the dollar store (bought by one of my girls).

Made a cucumber/tomato salad.

Picked another 1 1/2 cups blackberries to freeze.

Froze a quart bag of diced green bell peppers.

Not a BlueBell ~Chickens are Named

New hen

Older Auracana

Clearly, the one on the right (new) is not a bluebell egger.  I have a feeling they mixed up the batch when putting them in or out, and gave me a breed of Araucana.  It's definitely different from my older hen.  The head is different on her.

I named the newer hen Dolly Carton.

These two naughty ones are the ones that flew the coop and took us for a run.  I named them (left to right) Thelma and Louise.

I'm thinking Cookies and Cream for the 2 barred rocks, Bluebell for the blue/gray.  Now to finally come up with names for my older two hens. Dixie Chick for my Araucana.  I'm still working on the Buff Orpington.

Random Tidbits

Although, it's super convenient to use potatoes of some sort in a breakfast casserole, this one was delicious.  I have been trying to limit the carbs, sugar/starch etc. lately.  It makes a 9 x 13, but you can cut the recipe in half for a smaller family.  I cooked sausage vs. buying pre-cooked, and of course organic. 

The recipe is online at Pretty Providence, and the recipe is called "Best Breakfast Casserole."  Although I can't say it's the best of any casserole I've made, it is very good.

To relax yesterday, I made more of the jar openers.  They are becoming popular.  I have two more pending orders.  One wants 4 of them and another wants at least 2.  I think I will make one for the camper for us too.

I am waiting to see if I can get 16-20 bell peppers ripe all at the same time to stuff.  I may have to do it in half batches this year.  I had to dig and dig for Mama Pea's recipe for stuffed peppers.  We haven't had them in the freezer for the last 2 gardening seasons.

Only one zucchini and some cucumbers (planted 3 varieties of cucumbers this year).  The rain helped start a few more on the plants, so here's crossing my fingers we get more squash.  The yellow is on, but the plants are smaller than zucchini this year. 

I figured my green beans would be done, but the rain brought on a ton of blossoms. If they don't amount to anything, I'll be yanking the plants for the season.

As for the chickens and the chaos, we are going to clip their wings vs. spend a load of cash to re-do the coop.  Much easier and I surely hope they can't fly higher than the fence.  They are really giving me a run for my money.

I was given a pass on having to make dinner last night.  My husband took me on a motorcycle ride and dinner out.  A much needed ride after all the stuff going on here lately.