The Size,Shape and Color of my eggs

Now that my chickens are finally laying, I love looking at the different size, shape and color of the eggs my chickens lay! I love educating the neighborhood kids on that fact that not all eggs are uniform shape, white and come out of an egg crate. I asked one of the boys if they wanted to see one of the eggs my chickens laid....he said "I know what an egg looks like!" I replied "Oh really?"  I brought out my eggs (and a few from my friends chickens). He got to see blue eggs, olive colored eggs, dark brown, light brown, big and small eggs. He was shocked by the variety! I find the variety and diversity of chicken eggs amazing and fun. Here is a picture of the eggs I have been getting from my "chicky poo's". I would love to see photos of your chickens eggs! Leave me a link so we can all check them out :0)

Looks like a face !!

This is linked to Barn Hop Mondays.

Best Blondies

This is one bar cookie I should have NEVER made. Why? Because it is to good and to easy.  A bad combination! This recipe comes from the cook book The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. Enjoy!

Blondies

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter, melted
1 3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips divided
walnut pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease and line a 13X9 baking pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl mix flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until combine, then allow the butter to cool slightly before continuing. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Fold the flour mixture into the sugar mixture and stir until it is almost combined, then add 1/4 of the chocolate chips and walnuts and fold them into the butter. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate ships and walnuts evenly on the bars, all the way to the corners. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 16 to 21 minutes.

This is linked to Melt in your Mouth Monday, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday, Good Eats, Ultimate Recipe Swap and Sweets Saturdays.

Crazy Squirrel

When we go to Sawgrass Lake Park, we normally take pictures of the aligators, birds or turtles. But this time, there was this crazy squirrel that would run away when we walked by. I think we are all trained to think that is what squirrels should do, so when this little guy wouldn't budge...it kinda freaked me out.

I also tried my hand at a little "photography". I thought I had found the perfect background for a nice shot of the kids. So I set them up on this bench to take the photo. Oh....they looked so cute!

Two seconds after taking this photo....they both fell backwards into the bushes. My aunt said I should have taken a picture of that tooo...but all the screaming and crying prevented me from thinking about that!! Thankfully......they were ok :0)

Happy Camera Critters!!!!

Thai Red Coconut Curry with Chicken

Lately I have been a little obsessed with curries. I have been experiementing with different pre-bottled sauces but FINALLY decided to venture out and make curry from scratch. Guess what? It was SUPER easy!! Click here to find a cheap and easy way to get all those "fancy" spices. Also, scroll down for a photo tutorial on how to make the curry!

Thai Red Coconut Curry with Chicken

1 can coconut milk
2 tsp ginger VERY finely minced (I used my microplane)
3 garlic cloves minced
2 Tbs oil
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 salt
2 heaping Tbs red curry paste
2 boneless chicken breasts diced
2 carrots sliced
1 onion sliced
1 pepper (your choice) sliced
any other vegetable you want to throw in
ex.) green beans, peas,cabbage zucchini

In a medium size pan heat 2 Tbs oil (I used coconut oil). Add garlic, ginger and spices. Stir until fragrant. Add the cream from the coconut milk. (If you have never used coconut milk before, the can will be divided...one half a thin clear liquid, the other half a thick coconut cream) Stir until fragrant about 2-3 minutes. Add the curry paste, stir until dissolved. Add the remaining coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the remaining ingredients including the chicken. Yes, you add that last! Once the pot comes to a boil again, turn down and let simmer until the chicken is cooked through. Serve over fragrant basmati or jasmine rice.

Baking Pasta - Kitchen Tip

I have been trying to make some dinners ahead to refill my freezer supply. One way I do that is by making a double batch of dinner and freezing half. This weekend I made a baked pasta recipe, Baked Mostacolli. I have found after some trial and error this recipe turns out best by under boiling or par-boiling the pasta. Rather than boiling the pasta for 10 minutes as the box calls for, I only boil the pasta for 8 minutes. This allows for the pasta to finish baking in the oven making it perfectly al dente when served out of the oven (rather than being a little mushy because it is over cooked). This is ecspecially helpful if you are freezing this dish!

This post is linked to Tammy's Kitchen Tips.

Baked Mostacolli

This recipe is courtsey of my friend Gene at Living So Abduntantly. She gave it to me YEARS ago and I am surprised it isn't on her blog yet!

Baked Mostacolli

1 1/2 1lbs hamburger
1 garlic clove minced
salt and pepper
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 jar of your favorite speghetti sauce
1 box mostacolli - cooked
4 cups mozzarella cheese

In a large skillet brown hamburger and garlic together. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add oregano and basil. Drain and set aside. Mix in cheddar cheese soup and speghetti sauce. Add to cooked nostacolli. Mix together. Add 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese. Place in a large baking dish. Top with additional 2 cups of cheese. Bake covered at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Remove tin foil and cook for another 10 minutes until cheese has browned. Serve!

Hawk vs. Chicken

This weekend I "chicken sat" over at the Sunnyside B&B. My friend currently has (had) 17 pullets, that was until a hawk discovered her backyard. On Saturday, we went over to check on the chickens and let the dogs out. My neighbor girl (11) and Savannah (2) opened the back door and screamed! They saw the hawk attacking and eating one of the pullets. The hawk immedietly took off leaving us the corpse of a headless pullet. Savannah just kept saying "Mommy, it is so sad, the chicken is dead". The neighbor girl didn't know what to say and asked what I was going to do. I told her I would clean the mess up and used it as a learning opportunity to explain the food chain. You see, so many people here in the city don't understand why anyone would want to raise chickens in their backyard. Although gruesome, death is a cruel reality of life. In the animal kingdom, chickens are pretty low on the totem pole. Us city slickers are used to having our meat delivered on a styrofoam tray ready to be cooked. No blood, guts or a pile of feathers to be cleaned up. So although we were quiet sad about losing a chicken, I was glad to be able to use it as a teaching tool. UPDATE: Two more of my friends pullets have been killed by hawks since Saturday. Clearly the hawk remembers where he/she found the easy prey. If anyone has any good ideas on how to keep the hawk away please comment below! My friend has decided of course not to let the pullets out, but we still would love your input! Thanks!!!

This post is linked to Barn Hop Mondays!

Coconut Dream Bars

I love this recipe. I first saw it on the Martha Stewart Show. They were endorsing the cookbook The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread. After making 3 amazing recipes from the cookbook (getting the recipes off Martha Stewart's website) I decided to buy the cookbook for myself when I found it on sale. The first recipe I made from the cookbook was the Coconut Dream Bars. They are truly that good. I wanted to take an amazing picture of the finished product. I was to hasty at cutting them because I wanted to eat one while the chocolate was still gooey. So my pictures aren't the best. Check out the recipe and my tip on how you can let your toddler help make these cookies! Enjoy!

Gooey Coconut Dream Bars

Ingredients

• For the Crust

  • 3 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 20 crackers)
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

• For the Topping

  • 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • 2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
  • 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center of oven. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper; set aside.
2. To make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and salt. Pour mixture into prepared pan and press into bottom of pan using your fingertips.
3. To make the topping: In another medium bowl, mix together chocolate chips and coconut; sprinkle evenly over crust.
4. Pour condensed milk evenly over coconut and chips, covering the entire surface. Transfer to oven and bake, rotating pan halfway through baking, making sure the milk does not get too brown or bubble over in the pan, 26 to 32 minutes.
5. Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 20 squares. Serve immediately, or wrap each bar tightly with plastic wrap and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

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Getting kids to help in the kitchen

My Savannah has been helping me in the kitchen since she was old enough to sit in her bumbo chair. I have had to get more creative the older and smarter she gets with how to let her help! I let her help me make these amazing Coconut Dream Bars. We had to make a graham cracker crust, so I let her beat the graham crackers in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin. She had a lot of fun and felt like she was really helping. It kept her busy as I gathered the rest of the ingriedients.



Have your toddler place the graham crackers
in the bag.



She had to stop and make sure they tasted ok..



Let them go crazy with the rolling pin!

This post is linked to Raising Homemakers, Tammy's Kitchen Tips

Our First Egg!

For the last 6 months I have been patiently waiting on my chickens to lay. Every time I would go outside to check on my chickens I would hold my breath a little before looking in their coop. I was hoping to see a little brown egg waiting for me. I started thinking my chickens were defective, they weren't going to lay. Then one fateful day last week, Savannah and I went to clean the chicken coop and we saw it. Our first egg. We were both so excited. At that time I wasn't sure which chicken had laid the egg. But today that mystery was solved! I went to give the chickens some food and found my Momma chicken and Snowball in the coop. When they got up I had two eggs! I could tell that Snowball had been the first one to lay, and today was Momma chickens first egg. I don't have a picture of Momma's egg to put on here yet (it is coming...don't worry) but here is Snowballs egg. If you don't know, Snowball is a small white cochin. She is very sweet and loves to be held. She always lets the kids pick her up. Even though her eggs are small, they are dense and have a very large yolk.

This is linked to Barn Hop, Miscellany Mondays

Getting things done

Every once in awhile I need a swift kick in the pants to get things done. I question where all my time goes and what I have to show for it. I have always been an "anti-goal" "anti-list" gal. Having 2 kids and a household to run has changed that. Having a blog helps because it can help hold me accountable to get the things done on the list!!! So, Lord willing, (children permitting) here it goes! This is what I want to get done today.

1. The laundry (EVERYTIME it is on here, and trust me...short if a picture which will NOT be featured on here anytime soon...you have no idea how dire my laundry situation is)
2. Clean Savannahs and Atlanta's room.
3. Change all the bedding on everyones bed.

And oh ya, that doesn't include the obvious take care the kids and feed everyone lunch and dinner. Yup....those go without saying!! So with that I must say GOODBYE and wish me luck....cause the baby just face planted and is crying...Savannah says she needs "more food please" and that list won't do itself!!!!

Handmade gift for less than $5.00

Let's face it, giving gifts can be expensive. Every year I feel like there is  one more person that I need to give a gift to. I don't want to sound like an ungiving person, I am not. I love to give gifts! However, we live on a budget, a very tight budget that has very little wiggle room for gifts. I have found that by using my love for baking and card making I can make a very nice gift for less than $5.00. I made this gift for my daughters preschool teacher. I packaged 5 homemade chocolate chip cookies and a stack of homemade thank you cards (something teachers tend to use a lot). I placed them in a nice gift bag. The thank you note her teacher gave me summed it all up, "handmade gifts are gifts that come from the heart".

This is linked to Work for me Wednesdays, Tip Junkie, Raising Homemakers, Wednesdays at the Well, Frugal Fridays.

Easy Chicken and Pasta

Easy Chicken and Pasta

2 cups Zesty Italian Dressing
1 pkg of chicken breasts
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 box penne pasta, cooked
fresh basil
Parmesan cheese

In a baking dish combine Italian dressing, chicken breasts and diced tomatoes. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Using a knife or your kitchen shears, shred chicken. Pour all the contents of baking dish over pasta. Toss with fresh basil and Parmesan cheese.

Uses for Kitchen Shears

My boss gave me a $25 gift card for Bed Bath and Beyond. I bought a new pair of kitchen shears. Why you ask? Because there are so many uses for them!!! Here are some of my favorite!!!

1. Cut up speghetti for the kids (or you).
2. Cut up raw bacon into small pieces for frying bacon bits. Works better than a knife.
3. After braising chicken to shred for another recipe, you your kitchen shears to shred the chicken. You can do it while the chicken is still hot without buring yourself! Check out this easy recipe.
4. Cut up fresh herbs for making speghetti sauce.
5. Use it to cut up hot dogs for the kids.
6. OK, you can use it to cut up just about anything for the kids. It is quicker then using a fork and knife, but not as pretty. Two year olds don't care, they just want their food!!

 This is linked to Kitchen Tips with Tammy, Tip Junkie Frugal Fridays

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole

This is one of my husbands favorite side dishes. I seem to make it a little different each time I make it, but the last time I wrote everything down so someday when my kids ask "mom how do you make that" I will have something to show them! Enjoy!!

1 bag of frozen country style shredded hashbrowns
1 can of Campbells Cheddar Cheese Soup
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
2 garlic cloves minced (or garlic powder)
salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

In a large measuring cup, mix together cheddar cheese soup, sour cream and butter. Add pepper and salt. In a large bowl place hashbrowns. Add wet mixture and mix well. Place into a greased baking dish. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil and bake for another 30 minutes uncovered.

Sweetening Apple Sauce

Growing up, it was a fall ritual to make apple sauce using the apples from my Grandma's apple tree. I loved that apple sauce because the apples were very tart and that was how I liked my apple sauce. My mom liked to add lots of sugar to the apple sauce and my dad liked lots of cinnamon and lots of sugar. We were all at odds with each other because I would complain that everyone else "ruined" the apple sauce. So to make everyone happy, my mom and I (because I always helped) would either can or freeze the apple sauce unsweetened. That way we could all sweeten the apple sauce to our own liking. This is also a good tip if you use apple sauce in baked goods because those recipes often call for unsweetened apple sauce. Please check out this amazing crock pot apple sauce recipe on my good friends blog! Enjoy!!

This is linked to Kitchen Tips Tuesdays. Tip Junkie Tuesday

Cooler Weather means Lots of Fun

When I lived in Ohio the first cool day meant the end of Summer and the beginning of a long cold winter. Where I live now in Florida, the first cool day means the end of the summer hibernation and time to get outside and enjoy the weather!! We let the tourists enjoy the hot humid summer and wait until the weather dips to the mid 80's. Today was the perfect day. Crisp 70 degree air greeted me and my brood as we started our day. We went to Sawgrass Lake Park and enjoyed the alligators and other wild life. We cleaned out the chicken coop, the backyard and a few of my container gardens. I let my niece be the "photographer of the day" a coveted position. She did well until she discovered the  "record" option and started taking videos of everything including my not so flattering side as I bent over to clean the chicken coop. Those videos will not be featured here today, but the amazing photos she captured (I took a few too) will be featured. Added bonus? The whole day was FREE!!! Gotta love that! Please enjoy and tell me how you enjoyed your weekend at your homestead!!

This post is linked to Barn Hop, Miscellany Monday, Frugal Friday, Critter Camera