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!