Honey Oat Pan Rolls ~ From Pile to File

Last Thanksgiving was my first attempt at making homemade rolls by pre-freezing the dough.  It was somewhat of a fail.

I decided to experiment with other roll recipes.  I made Honey Oat Pan Rolls.  A recipe in my pile of "try its."  This is a "Taste of Home" recipe that was in my 2014 Country Woman magazine and is available online.  The rolls are made with part all-purpose flour, a bit of whole wheat, and oatmeal. Oh, and there is a bit of butter too.  I did not use the Einkorn, only because I am waiting on another delivery.

Reflections of 2016 (that didn't happen)

Ha!  This draft never even made it to the blog.  The first year ever to not post a "reflections" post on December 31st. I gave it a title and that was as far as I got.

That's okay.  I think we all need a break from my long posts.  I can get a bit "windy."
  

Mama Pea had me hankering for a wild rice/chicken soup, so the first thing I did was pull out my crock pot.  I put in lots of garlic.  Thanks for that idea by the way.

It's freezing cold here again.  Brr!  I wanted it to stay cold, and we got more than cold.  Everything is frozen stiff. It took me several minutes to don Hubby's old full body carhartt, muck boots, thick gloves, hat, scarf and sunglasses.  It was very bright out, but oh so cold.  I managed to do all the outdoor stuff at once, including get the mail, and take the dogs out.  Funny thing about the dogs.  Jesse, the oldest one, loves to eat snow, so getting him back inside was a chore.  Even with the temperature so cold.  

Today, the wind will be less wicket and hopefully we'll see the temperature rise a bit. 

The Study

Although the room is still in the "works" I have photos to share. The kids are already using it for doing their homework.
 

 I love the saying on this tiny sign.  It also ties all the colors of the room together.  There is a bit of that country red in the curtain and the matching runner.

Random Tidbits

Many of my houseplants died while I was in the hospital.  Hubby and I picked up a few to bring a bit if life and beauty to homestead - Florida Beauty to the left and an Exotic Allusion Arrowhead in the upper right.

Rita the Rebel / Cantakerous Chicken

There always has to be that one chicken that can't behave.  Meet "Rita the Rebel."  

Or as Hubby calls her, "Biker Chick."

Day Off

I have a no-picture post today.  Oddly.  All the photos are on my phone right now.  

Hubby announced on Thursday, he was taking Friday off work and whisking me off for a night to celebrate our anniversary (which was in December).

I was totally shocked, happy, and surprised.  The kids are taking a day off too.  As soon as we arrived home yesterday, the girls all took off to spend the night up with their Army sister (Girls Night Out).

We had Date Night Out.

Random Tidbits

I decided to use those extra granny squares and make a matching washcloth for the bathroom.  I only had to make a few to finish this.  The yarn is back in the closet until the other projects are done.  It saved me from having to make another hand towel (at least for now).

What's on the breakfast plate?

Tiger the Toddler ~ Derailment Day

Tiger just loves to act like a toddler.  The last few mornings, he's been making his walk in front of the computer to get my attention.  He's also been doing is paw under the bedroom door routine, and meowing to be fed.  Bangity, bang-ity, bang.  Why oh why does he not go fetch his "mother" and wake her up?  I have no idea.

We removed the gate from one of the entrance-ways into the kitchen.  We removed it to move furniture, and we decided to leave it out, and test the water so to speak.  The dogs are so used to it there, but then again, King jumps it every afternoon when the bus pulls in.  We'll see how well they do with it down.  They too, have been acting like toddlers lately.  It feels strange not to have to open and shut the gate100 times a day now, but sort of nice too.

No eggs? No Problem

I continue to play around with the einkorn whole grain wheat flour.  I used 2 cups to mix up this bundt bread.

Firewood

  2010, our first year of cutting wood by hand.  I year I will never forget. I broke the sledge hammer once, and only once back then.

Rain, (Rain's Garden Blogspot) asked me to share how we keep our firewood supply.  Back in 2010, the first year of collecting and cutting and splitting wood, we did not have a wood splitter.  

I basically split the wood with an sledge hammer and wedge.  We had large rounds, so I rolled them out and worked them that way, every afternoon, just before the kids got home from school. 

Monday Madness

We are already going through a second batch of homemade hot chocolate.  The chill was in the air.

Bailey's too?  Don't mind if I do, ha ha! (that was Sunday morning).  Today, there is very little chill.  I won't even need to fire up the wood stove today. It's a good day for hanging my laundry outside.

Einkorn Flour Tortillas

In the past, I have made homemade tortillas using white organic flour.  

First, I made flour tortillas with organic/non-gmo canola oil.  You can read about it here.

Downside of making them with the canola?  You use a lot more oil than in the einkorn tortillas I'm about to tell you about, and the smell of the oil stinks up the kitchen.

Second, I made them with real lard.  You can read that post here.  

A huge bonus in making these?  You make them on a griddle, and they use no oil on the griddle itself.  Just the lard in the tortilla.  Very easy to make and less mess (and no smell).

Simple Living

When we moved to this homestead, I had no idea that I would be changing in many ways.  I went from city girl, to farmstead girl.  

I've come to find new ways to simplify our lives, live healthier, and in a much more self-sufficient manner.

Dust Bunnies ~ Peanut Butter Cookies

My 17 year-old laughed as I sat at the computer and whined - nothing to blog about today.  Who wants to hear about my day of painting (which continues today)?

Ha!

I also spent yesterday with the dust bunnies.  Lots of them.  If you don't think you have too many books, just move a bookshelf.  Well, the bookshelf is not moved just yet, but the books are all off and dusted.  

I found more books to donate to the "donation station" in my progress.  I was so happy to get that job done, but now boxes and a laundry basket fill my living room floor with dog temptations (books).  I must move quickly and move the shelf and re-shelf the books I am keeping.  Either way, I was thrilled to get this far, on this job.

Random Tidbits

If you are wondering how my "to-do" list is going....slow.  I can't seem to get a job completely done.  I need more patience when it comes to painting.  The taping part is so much work.  I need to talk myself through it, and not roll my eyes so much.  Even the kids are avoiding it like a plague. 

If you are wondering if I've been able to take a tea break at 2pm, I have.  If you are wondering if I have been stealing away at 4pm for an hour to myself?  Ha, yeah.  That's not happening.  I think the change of weather, and longer, brighter nights are keeping me from curling up with crochet.  The 4 o'clock hidey hole, was mainly to stock up for the Farmer's market, but that's been difficult to do.

We just went from warm/rainy weather back to snow and cold.  It's nothing but a few flurries.

I whipped up a bowl of slaw.  Organic cabbages went on sale.  This tasted so good since we haven't had cabbage for a while.

Einkorn Flour ~ Baking and English Muffins

Upon learning from a few blogger friends about einkorn flour, and the health benefits (and less gluten), I had to try some.

I first checked the library system for the recipe book, but could only borrow this one:

I wasn't able to borrow the other cookbook einkorn has.  In fact, there was only one copy of this particular book to borrow from our inter-loan system (from other area libraries).

Homemade Condensed Tomato Soup ~ From Pile to File Recipe

I noticed that a few of my recipes I collected to try, contained quick-to-buy processed foods.  One of those "food" ingredients happened to be condensed tomato soup.

I have, in the past, been consistent in making homemade condensed chicken, celery, mushroom, and even cheddar cheese soups.  So making this was super easy.  Last year's tomato harvest gave us a good supply of canned tomato sauce.

I decided to not whip up a recipe, but freeze one to see how well it freezes too.

Make this when you have opened tomato sauce and have extra that needs used up.   I may even try this by adding water to make "tomato soup" and compare the taste to my lemony-basil tomato soup I canned last fall.

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining Diary of a Stay at Home Mom today.  It's Happy Homemaker Monday!

Bourbon Blueberry Banana Bread

Say that three times - Bourbon Blueberry Banana Bread.  Ha!

I made up the recipe.  Sort of.  I whipped up a loaf of it, and frosted it with an oh-so delicious, bourbon-y frosting.  Not kid friendly, but a guaranteed way to make your bread last longer if you do have kids. 

Oh, and I forgot the oil, but because I added blueberries, I was lucky it added some moisture to it.

Shopping Day ~ Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Saturday was a big shopping day.  We hit four stores to restock dog food, salt for the softener tank, organic meats, and so forth.  We had to make one stop for a new printer too.  We had the trunk filled, our stomachs were empty and screaming for dinner.

Thankfully, before we left, I filled the crock pot.  It's my healthier version of Pasta e Fagoli.  I make this with whatever I have, and it always tastes good.  Some years I use tomato sauce and paste, with extra broth, but this time I used some tomato basil soup and paste.  The combination was delicious.  I just had to boil the penne noodles and add them when I got home.

Random Tidbits ~ Project Complete

It was a high of 74°F here yesterday.  The wind kicked up, but boy it was the strangest and oddest weather for us.  Although I don't think it broke any weather records.  I honestly don't remember it ever being this warm in February. 

Woke up to find this fella laying near the driveway.  It's not an odd thing.  Every year we find one there for some reason.  Usually after a rain storm too.  He is far from the river that runs behind us, but he may be on his way there from the ditch too.  We left him alone, but King wanted to eat him.

Millet Crust ~ Fruit Trees

Looking for ways to cook green beans? Or Millet?

We had a very good harvest of green beans and this combination of vegetables was not only delicious, but utilized my garden goods we stocked up on.

Here is what I did using organic and homegrown ingredients.

This and That

The homemade Kahlua I gifted at Christmas has been a hit.  You can get the link to it here.

Random Tidbits ~ New Recipe ~ Tip

 Beautiful sunrise. Although we ended up with cloud cover the remainder of the day.

Grab a cup of java or tea today.  It's a long post.

Discombobulated

Honestly, today feels like Monday.  I feel sort of discombobulated due to everyone's schedules being wonky yesterday.

Two things happened that surprised me.  I don't even have photos.  Yikes.

One, I dressed for cutting wood, and as I was putting on head gear (to keep the wood chips out of my hair) Hubby said, "I going to go pick up R to help me cut wood."

"What?"

Happy Homemaker Monday

Today I am joining Happy Homemaker Monday with Diary of a Stay at Home Mom.  It's sort of a strange Monday for us here.  One, two kids are at sleepovers because school is closed today for President's Day.  Two, Hubby is home too. Three, our Vet-Tech in training is home.  Our daily routine is about to be spiced up by spontaneous events. I hope you enjoy today's post.

This and That

The southwestern quesadillas were wonderful!  The recipe is from Food Network (available online).   These are wonderful with our without the sour cream/lime dip to dip them in.

Projects in Progress

What is on my knitting needles? 

A dishcloth.

What's on my crochet hook (s)?

Popcorn Test #2

I checked the popcorn for the second time.  I took 6 kernels and used coconut oil.

The results?

Homemade English Muffins ~ Tea

I got a small batch of English muffins made.  I love these for making breakfast sandwiches.  I used the recipe at Edible Existence blogspot.  It requires very little ingredients (1 Tbsp. of honey) compared to the Honey Wheat recipe that King Flour has.

Once my einkorn flour arrives,

Random Tidbits

It was time to send this book back to the library.   I flipped through it and scanned one recipe.  It gives you a twist on some foods.  For example, there is a recipe where you shave the broccoli stalks to make a salad.  There are even a few recipes for using apple peelings and cores - apple wine jelly was one.

Oh what a relief it is....

...plop, plop, fizz, fizz....oh what a relief it is....

Happy Homemaker Monday

I'm joining up with Sandra, at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom, for Happy Homemaker Monday today.  My back is getting a super work out (and a painful one).  I'm on my 6th load of laundry, and have 2 more to go, and it's already noon.  Yikes.

Random Tidbits

We've been having some beautiful sunrises and sunsets here lately.


Good news!  Vet-Tech Daughter-in-Training, has an interview at a Vet clinic!  She has been working at a dog kennel, caring for animals and doing a lot of grooming too.  We are excited for her.  She is working so hard with her schooling, and getting wonderful grades.  She's also working hard at her job.  Even if it isn't the right job, it's a positive start.

Kitchen Fixin's ~ New Recipes ~ My Hour Off

I used the last of the sweet potatoes for dinner.  I'm thrilled they lasted this long.  Do you see that recipe?  Ha!  It's in my pile on the counter, but half of the recipe is missing.  It's for a beef barley soup, which is really not new to me.  However, I decided to use all the ingredients, but use my crock pot, and leave out the beef.

Funny story about this.  I was on my knees, digging through the freezer looking for beef, when I found one last bag of frozen garden tomatoes.  I was so excited the girls laughed at me.

Random Tidbits ~ New Recipe

My extreme clean continues.  .  . but slower.

Every crafting container is being opened, but I know in reality, some drawers and containers will have to wait for a rainy day or next winter.  My kids are all growing up, and we just don't use some items like acrylic paints.  I think 90% of the bottles I had in a container, were dried up and tossed.  Top news, right?
 

My days are continuously emptying, sorting, tossing, donating, and getting organized.  I spent a few days putting recipes back in the "homesteading" binder, and canning recipes back into their binder (have been laying around the kitchen since last November (yikes!).  I am emptying the "try it" recipes from plastic page protectors, and filling the trash.  I (gulp) saved a few to try when the garden is producing once again.  We love sugar snap peas, and I'm always looking for a new way to cook them.

It's a good thing I took the time to hand write two recipes.  When I went to put them in the recipe box, I found all the recipes the kids used at Christmas, all in one slot (not even close to the correct tab).  I would have gone bonkers this next Christmas looking for them.

Hubby joked that I'm on "round 3" of cleaning out the utility room and our closet.  He's probably right.  But....the reality of daily chores has increased as well. 

What's Cookin'? ~ Tips ~ New Recipe

Tip 1:  I found another way to use leftover (when there is any) whiskey butterscotch sauce.  Bake a cinnamon/brown sugar coffee cake, and drizzle some on 10 minutes before it comes out of the oven.

I baked the coffee cake, but no sauce to be found (sad face). 

Tip 2:  I opened a jar of home canned hot sauce to make jalapeno poppers, but need to use the rest up before I forget I opened it.  I found that adding home canned hot sauce to greens is a wonderful way to flavor them up.  I used them on spinach recently.

We are short on eggs.  The colder weather has slowed production down, but no need to panic (I told myself).  I had a good supply of ingredients to make a crock pot of steel cut oats (with apples, walnuts and raisins).

Got Wine Corks?

My name is....and I am a wine cork hoarder.

It's true.  I have had this tote of corks in my crafting supplies for years.  Many years.  Since before we moved here.

I have made many Christmas tree ornaments over the years, gifted many, and maybe even sold some.  I can't remember.

..... so I'm him-hawing at letting go of these corks.  Or keeping a handful.  Or not.  

Today, I decided to take you down "wine cork memory lane" (and myself) to decide if I shall pass these corks on.  They were not saved for storage over the years.   I have been a bit creative.