Trying to get back

So with trying to get back into the swing of things, I need to start writing again. I'll start by adding some prepping activities. Ordering in bulk is my start. So I got a few 5 gallon pails and a large sack of Processed sugar and and bleached flour. Hopefully I won't need it in an emergency setting, and will just use it for a cost savings perspective. I'm ordering some screw-on lids gamma lid. I'll keep you posted.

Saturday night off

Insert your favorite joke here...........................................

Why shouldn't you tell a secret on a farm? 
       Because the potatoes have eyes and the corn has ears! 

French Bread Pizza

The kids love this! It's not a lot of work either. If your making this into a Pizza I skip the egg wash.

Ingredients:

6 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon cornmeal 1 egg white 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

1.	In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
2.	On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3.	Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.
4.	Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.
5.	With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

A little trick I picked up, while your kneading the bread by hand, fill up the bowl with hot water and let sit. After your done kneading, dump the water and just wipe out bowl with paper towel and then rinse. Cleanup is a breeze.                                                                           After water, then just wipe clean

Before water

Let bread sit, cut horizontally. Lay out on baking sheet tray, Top with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese and season to taste. Set under broiler till cheese is melted.  Side note; forgot pic of finished product. oops.

why oh why are you doing this to me?

I'll try not to do this to you after today,,,,,,, but another few things. Thanks FDA for having our backs.

And if your not sick enough

For those reading the last couple of posts, as if that wasn't enough. Here are eighteen more things to find out about.

More food problems

The more I read the sicker I get. Why are these things aloud in our food. Why would our government allow this? Lord only knows, but I've lost my appetite for the day. Thanks world, I knew you were on my side,,,,,,,,,NOT!

Took a little break

So life got in the way for a few days. Scouts, kids, and other commitments had to take priority. Meanwhile back at the ranch................ Freakin gross, that is all I can say.

Another day, another fact

And this is gross. 

Ahh breakfast on a day off Scrapple sandwich

mmm, mmm, gooood.

Breakfast on this snowy Monday morning with family and guest Sarah.

Ingredients

Four 1/4-inch-thick slabs scrapple
1 cup instant flour, such as Wondra
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for frying
4 slices American cheese ( I used white)
4 Farm fresh hen eggs
8 slices soft white bread ( I used Italian)

Directions

Dredge the scrapple in the instant flour and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Heat the butter in a saute pan or skillet over medium heat and gently brown the scrapple on each side, about 3 minutes. Remove the scrapple from the pan and place on a paper-towel-lined tray. Top with the American cheese and allow to slowly melt on top for about 2 minutes. Discard the butter and wipe the pan.

Fry the eggs sunny side up in fresh butter and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggs over the slices of scrapple and cheese.

Layer the scrapple, egg and cheese between 2 pieces of soft white bread, making 4 sandwiches total.

Day 28 another kid knows what's going on.

Day 27 why you should be cooking for yourself

As I have tried to say, we are all part of the vicious cycle. Does it really take that much longer to cook something from scratch. Isn't the few extra minutes worth the trouble to know exactly what is in your food? I think it is.

Day 26 why you should raise your own chickens

For your educating pleasure.

Day 25 57! then what's in Heinz 57 ketchup?

Lost a baby today. Not sure what happened. She was laying down, not looking good. Picked her up got her to drink water a few times, laid her back down 30 minutes later she was gone.

Wow scary thought.

Day 24 eggs and fat info

Just read an interesting article. Can't wait till my babies start laying now more then ever. Come on ladies let's get to work.

Eggs, which are actually among the most nutritious foods you can eat (provided they come from organically raised, pastured hens) have long been accused of causing heart disease simply because they're high in cholesterol. But dietary cholesterol has little to do with the cholesterol level in your body, and numerous studies have confirmed that eating eggs does NOT raise potentially adverse LDL cholesterol in your blood. Studies have also failed to find any evidence that eggs contribute to heart disease.

Day 23 my babies have finally arrived

Got a call yesterday (I was doing a field trip) while I was down in Roanoke from the post office in Dullas that the chicks were in if I wanted to pick them up. While I would have been ecstatic to have them here a day early, I was not driving an hour and half to pick them up. He said they'd be at my local office Monday anyway. So I got the call they were at the local post office around 8:30 am ran into town for a few last minute things and picked them up on the way home. I expected them on Tuesday or Wednesday, but I was ready for them regardless. For once I was prepared. They've adjusted quite nicely, quieted down quite a bit too. But boy are they messy. Last time I used cedar shavings as a base. That was a pain clean and dusty too. I read on Facebook (Pet Chickens of Virginia) about a tip for using puppy training pads instead. Cleanup looks like it might be easier, time will tell. I got 10 Rhode Island reds, 15 Red Rangers plus they gave me a extra one and 1 that looks like a Buff Laced Polish. Time will tell if it's a he or she. I have no clue how to sex a bird, not at this point anyway. Total of 27 birds.

 

Day 20 Chicken fried Steak with taters

Who doesn't like chicken fried steak? Everybody does, unless your a freak or from some Northern foreign country or something. :p Just kidding, not.

Ingredients

Cube Steak

Flour

Chili Powder

Kosher Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

Eggs 2-3

Milk Cup -Cup 1/2

Peanut oil (or your favorite frying oil)

Heat 1/4" of oil on high in a large skillet or cast iron skillet is best. 

This in my opinion is a season to taste recipe. Mix dry ingredients together in a shallow tray or dish.  Mix eggs and milk in a bowl. Dip Cube Steak through mixture and carefully lift to slightly drain. Lay down in flour mixer and lightly press into flour. With a fork or if you don't mind club fingers flip and push. Repeat as many times as necessary to cover meat in flour. Lay steak into oil slowly from one end to the other in a left to right motion, do not drop into oil. Fill pan with as many steaks that will fit. Mine hold 3 easy. Fry until golden brown  (about 3-5 min) and flip over for same time repeat for each steak. Drain on a paper towell lined plate.

Gravy

3-4 tbl. Butter

3-4 tbl. AP Flour

2-3 cups milk

Melt butter in a sauce pot. Whisk in flour until all the butter is absorbed.  Slowly add milk while whisking. Turn heat down to med-low. and whisk every 30-45 seconds until thickens (approx 10-15 min.). 

Mashed taters

10 Potatoes

4 tbl Kosher Salt

2 cups milk

Peel and slice potatoes 1/4" slices. Put into 4 or 5 qt pot. Cover with water and season with a good pinch of Kosher salt. Boil till potatoes are fork soft (approx 15 min). drain add butter and milk and with electric blender or stand mixer mix until smooth. Salt to taste.

Plate meat and potatoes and cover with gravy. Enjoy

Day 19 Carrot Cake

First time making a cake, well does cheese cake count. I did that once and the center was gooey. So this is a go round of a horse of a different color.

Ingredients

Carrot Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups finely grated carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple
Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Carrot Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Grease and line three 8-inch pans (for a 3 layer cake) or two 9-inch pans (for a 2 layer cake)
3. Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and sugar.  Add the oil and using an electric mixter on low, mix together, adding in the eggs while mixing.
4. Once combined using a wooden spoon mix in the crushed pineapple and then the grated carrots.
5. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a cake tester poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean. (Times will vary if you are doing the 3, 8 inch or the 2, 9 inch cake pans)  
6. Set the cake pans on cooling racks and let cool for 5 minutes, then turn out of the pans onto the racks and let continue to cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in the sugar and the vanilla. 
2. Beat until nice and spreadable.

Assembly

1. Put the first layer of cake on a cake plate. Spread some frosting on it.
2. Repeat with 2nd and 3rd layer.
3. Frost the entire outside of the cake.

Original Simple Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe found at Grandmothers Kitchen Recipes.

Day 18 French Onion Soup

     Made everything from scratch for this meal. Only thing that could have been better, would have been to grown my own vegetables and have my own dairy cow for the cheese and milk and eventually butter.

French Onion Soup                                           Serves 6
3 tbs Butter
1 1/2 lbs Onions thinly sliced
2 1/4 tsp Sugar
3 tbs AP Flour
14.5 oz Beef Broth
1 1/2 Cups Water
3/4 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Dried Minced Onions
3/4 tsp Beef Bouillon Granules
1/8 tsp Garlic Salt
1/8 tsp Black Pepper
6 slices French Bread (recipe below)
3/4 cup Swiss Cheese or Slices of Provolone to cover crocks

In pot melt butter, add onions and sugar. Cook on low heat until lightly browned. About 1 hour.  When ready sprinkle flour over onions and stir until well blended. Gradually stir in beef broth, add the water, salt, dried onions, bullion, garlic salt and pepper. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes  and cover. Set temp to low for 45 min. Ladle soup into bows or crocks. Insert bread into each bowl., cover with cheese and put under broiler for 5 min.

French Bread

6 cups all-purpose flour 2 1/2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups warm water 110° F 1 tbs. cornmeal 1 egg white 1 tablespoon water

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.

Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.

With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

Garlic Butter
2 cups heavy cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 Garlic Bulbs roasted. (cut tops off, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast 20 min. @ 350° 

Mash garlic into a paste. Put into mixer bowl and pour cream into mixer bowl. mix 15 minutes, or until the butter separates. Strain off the liquid. Season to taste with salt if you like. Press butter into a small bowl with the back of a spoon to further remove liquid.

(for best results but whisk attachment and bowl in freezer for 10 min.)

Day 17 "the MANLOAF"

After much awaited anticipation.

      I have made this again with photo's. This is second time making this dish. First one was a lot better than the first, so I'm gonna scale back to the original recipe and re-group. I just think it needs a little tweaking. This is my first recipe for a dish, I normally do not follow a recipe to a "T". Or I just go along with my gut instinct. So here goes;

Mashed Potato's                                                   Serves 6
3 -4 medium potatoes
1/2 Lbs. Bacon
1 tsp. Kosher salt
3-4 tbs. unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 450°
Peel and slice potatoes to 1/4" slices put into a 4-5 qt. pot and cover with water. Boil for approx 15-20 min. While that is happening line a baking sheet-pan with tin foil, and lay out slices of bacon in in baking sheet-pan. Cook for 20-25 min until just crisp. While that is all doing it's thing, mix remaining ingredients in a stand mixer bowl with whisk attachment. Mince bacon (leave foil on baking sheet). and drain potatoes. Put the bacon and potatoes in the stand mixer bowl and pulse until ingredients start to come together. Set on med for 5 min and reserve mix in a medium bowl.

                                 

Keep oven on at 375°

Meatloaf

15-20 saltine crackers

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tbs. Kosher salt

1 tbs steak sauce

1 med. onion

2 tsp. minced garlic

2 eggs

1/3 cup milk

3 lbs. Ground beef

1 lbs bacon reserved

Chop crackers in a food processor. Mix all dry ingredients together. Put beef and dry ingredients in stand mixer bowl with paddle attachment. Pulse to blend. Mix wet ingredients and pulse to blend. Mix on medium for approx 5 minutes or until thoroughly blended.

Now the fun begins.

Take bacon and weave into a mat design in baking sheet-pan. Take meat mixture and spread evenly over weave. Take the potato mix and form a row of potatoes in the center of bacon/meat mat.

Roll into entire contraption into a log. Flip over so seem in on bottom. Cover with foil and cook until meat is 165° (when checking temperature of meat do not stick thermometer into potato mix).

Sauce

1 cup ketchup

2 tbs. Brown sugar

Spread sauce evenly over log and return to oven for 5-10 minutes. Slice. Enjoy

Day 16

     Not much happening today. Got two of the kids to stack some wood. Waiting on this storm to come in and dump some snow. Gonna try and knock some fixer upper jobs tomorrow since schools are closed.
     Contact has been made for pigs. They have some, so we will see what happens.

Day 15 Okay I kinda cheated

Long day, got 3 hours sleep and spent the day doing Scout stuff and didn't get home till 5:00 pm so I made rippers for the family. HEY THERE'S BACON, so how can it be bad for ya?

Hot Dogs

Bacon

Toothpicks

Deep-fryer

Wrap hot-dogs with bacon, stick toothpick through end of bacon so it does not unravel. Drop in deep-fryer for approx 2-3 minutes. Eat & Enjoy. mmm mmm gooooood.

Day 14 cookies from scratch

High five!!!!!!!! So Savannah and myself made Butterscotch Oatmeal cookies from scratch. She said it wasn't hard to do, and actually enjoyed it. As well as they were better tasting than a processed cookie and she knew every single ingredient in them. Oh and was able to pronounce all of them too.

Hopefully I've got a convert on my side now (patting myself on the back).

Ingredients;

3/4 cup butter, softened 3/4 cup white sugar 3/4 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 cups rolled oats 1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2.	In a large bowl beat the butter or margarine, white sugar and brown sugar together. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well.
3.	Stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the oats and the butterscotch chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
4.	Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown.

Day 13

I DON"T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!! First our food, and now us!! You don't mess with mother nature. Other than that things on the home-front are normal. Need to get firewood up to the house, or should I say get the kids to stack firewood.

Day 12 Supper

 For tonight's Supper. I made Chip Beef Gravy over mashed Potatoes. To be honest I had seen this on Facebook someplace, but as usual I made it my way (it might be the same who knows).        Serves 6

Mashed Potatoes

15 medium potatoes

1 stick of butter

3 pinches of kosher salt

1/2 cup or more of milk or heavy cream

Peel potatoes

Cut into 1/4 inch slices and add to deep pot.

Cover with salted water and boil on high till potatoes are soft

Strain and put in large bowl or stand mixer. 

Mix by pulsing till begins to mash

Add butter and salt and milk

Increase speed until desired consistency

Chipped Beef

3 Packages Dried Beef

4 Tb spoons butter

5 Tb spoons AP flour

1/2 gal milk

pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Meanwhile cut up dried beef to desired size. Add dried beef to skillet on med/high. Cook till edges just start to burn. Add flour tbl spoon at a time and mix until it has absorbed all the butter. Add pepper and milk and turn heat down to med/low. Stir occasionaly till milk thickens. Serve over mashed potatoes.

Another child hit the nail right on the head!

Post by Home Farm Ideas.

I'm a slacker

Yeppers,

     Took a couple days off. A Freemason event, hanging with friends and some Scouting stuff. So it wasn't all pleasure. Peeps should be here. Contacted a farm on the hogs,,,,,,,, hopefully it will all come together soon. I did make an excellent supper tonight. However I keep forgetting to take pictures so I can post them along with my recipes. We did have taco's, I didn't make anything from scratch per-say, I did make my own taco seasoning though.
      I need to get disciplined to remember to note and photo everything.

Day 7

You've got to watch this! The young girl towards the end, you go girl.

Post by Home Farm Ideas.

Day 6

Not much to say tonight. Going tomorrow night to get a lesson on butchering hogs, or the very least making sausage. We'll see how that goes. Meanwhile http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven-kurlander/hold-the-mayo-azodicarbon_b_4767706.html

Last thought of the day; I'm still waiting for my peeps to show up and I need to decide what breed of swine to raise. Red wattles were my first choice. However closest I can find is a 2 hour drive. I may just go another route.

Day 5

This is exactly what I'm talking about! http://sustainablepulse.com/2014/02/19/roundup-linked-global-boom-celiac-disease-gluten-intolerance/#.UwVMZfldXnj let's keep messing with nature and see how it fights back.

Last thought of the day; Why do we have to live in a McDonald's world? Does everything have to be now, can't anyone wait anymore?

Day 4

Temperature was up a good bit this afternoon. So some of the snow is melting. Soon as it's gone I got to get off my butt and get this place straightened up. I tend to be a pack rat. Some might say a hoarder.  I think collector of things would be the best description. I save things in case I might need them one day. Then when I do decide to throw something out, I end up needing it. Or something is needed and bam I have it problem solved. I can't win either way.  I have a lot of outside work to do and I have been a coach potato too long. Time to get off the coach and get working. So as the snow melts in is now a becoming a mess out there. Chicks should be here soon and I need to be ready for them. We kept them in the house too long the last time I tried this.

Thought of the day; is the rest of the family going to help me achieve the goal I have set? Time will tell. I hope the kids do, they need to know where vegetables come from and how to be self reliant and not dependent on others to provide life sustaining necessities.

Day 3

Not much happening on the homestead today.

      Picked one kid up from the hospital with no diagnosis, and another from school that was throwing up. Waiting on the Chicks to get here. Hopefully the warm weather will get here soon. I need to work on a second chicken tractor and modify the one I have now. Found some really neat idea's for some cool modification to make egg collection easier.

     Last thought of the day...... Need to get a banana tree. Looks like it does the body good :)

Another Day....

     Well another day in life at our homestead. I said to myself I was going to post here everyday for a month to get in the habit on doing daily posts. Life does get in the way at times. Yesterday was the wife's birthday and I spent a good chunk of the day clearing up my mess about the house for her surprise party. Then partook in some libations. The next day was Scout Sunday with the Cub Scouts and the rest of the day spent in the ER with my youngest boy. Never a dull moment.

     I did manage a some point to order some chicks from a chicken hatchery. So with some luck, hopefully all that will be behind me and everything will turn out alright with the little one. Now I can hopefully get working on finding some Heritage Breed hogs within a short driving distance and start working on getting some animals here on the farm.

Our new beginning

     They say when one door closes another one opens. I decided to take matters into my own hands and open another door. Not that I don't like door number one, it's just that I want to try and take my family down another road and see where the path leads us.

     My wife thinks I have become obsessed. Perhaps I have. The more I try and talk to her about what I find, the more she says I am obsessed. She called me a hippie today. A hippie? Hmm. They seem to be a happy group. Sure I'll be a hippie, if it brings me and my family some solitude and well  being. Some self confidence, to the fact that we won't need to rely on other people to provide for us. If it means living a healthier lifestyle. "You better not give up meat, cause that's where I draw the line" she told me. Give up meat,,,, never. I love me a good steak with all the fixins. Some juicy bacon with some eggs (liquid chicken) and home fries. The more I read on what is allowed in our food, the more mad I get at our Government agencies for permitting it. We all hear the stories about "do you know what's in a hot dog?" Or did you know they (USDA) allow a certain parts per millions of mouse droppings in our food supply? Could these stories be actually true? I thought to myself NO WAY! No way would our Government allow us to eat things we really weren't designed to eat. No way would "they" allow poisons to be ingested by the Citizens of this great country we call home. I try to instill values with the kids, I try to teach them to be good people. I try to teach them to be productive. I now I am trying to teach them to be self reliant.

     My quest to provide good wholesome food for my family. Food that won't encourage sickness. Food that will keep their bodies healthy. Keep them out of the doctors office. Keep them healthier than I am myself. To give them the insight that there is more to nourishment than pushing 2 minutes on a microwave. This is my quest.

    It all started for me the day I found out azodicarbonamide was in flour. Here I am cooking things from scratch not only to try and help feed my family healthier food. To eat as little processed food as we could. I must admit I enjoy cooking from scratch. I enjoy taking several items and creating a masterpiece. Call me Alton Brown or Bobby Flay. That's cool I joke and call myself Chef Boy R Dee. I feel like an artist working on a live set. The plate is my backdrop and the ingredients are my palette of colors. Like many things in life as mysterious as it is, when something comes a knocking it pop's up elsewhere. Shortly after I found out about this ingredient the rest of the world did too. Wasn't it bad enough that we are eating cellulose. Wasn't it enough that I have IBS, and needed to be on a high fiber diet. Fiber that I thought was derived from whole wheat or other grains. Not a tree. So my quest went on, and I was forced to dig deeper. Things keep popping up like; Why are we the only country to mandate refrigeration of our eggs? Food is supposed to be natural, healthy and most important, enjoyable. Not a blop of goop like you see served to prisoners in a movie. The ingredients should not be the first two rules of Fight Club. I am Mike's colon and this is his quest.