Cinnamon Rolls for Lunch?

A longtime girlfriend of mine came to Four Sisters Farm for lunch today.  (She is in the pic below with her two precious children.) I have missed her SO much and am grateful for her visit.  We got acquainted when our families attended the same church years ago.  She is precious and loves the Lord with all her heart, all her mind, and with all her soul...and she loves the people around her the same way.

One of my favorite things that happened several times when we were together with others who didn't know us well...someone would ask if she and I are sisters and I was quick to reply "Yes!  We have the same Father!"  Of course, then I explained that I meant God our heavenly Father.  It blesses me to know that people see something similar in us because I think she is so awesome!!

I was pleased to give her the "nickel tour" of the house because she had only been here once not long after we bought the farm; then we settled into our basement (I mean "lower level") to gab and I felt like I was talking a hundred miles an hour to try to catch up.

I had made some homemade rolls in honor of her visit and decided to make part of the dough into cinnamon rolls.  I jokingly said that we could eat cinnamon rolls for lunch and skip the food that was good for us...she thought that sounded like a great idea...and we did...because we could.  Ha!

Mmmmmmm.  "Sister", you can come for lunch anytime!!

A PF Chang's Memory

Last night EJ and I had a tasty Anniversary dinner at PF Chang's.  (Thank you to my sweet girlfriends who gave us the gift card!)

While we were enjoying the delicious Lettuce Wraps and Kung Pao Shrimp, I reminded EJ of a special PF Chang's memory.

April 26th, 2007...my due date with Wubba.

I was one swollen, emotional, exhausted pregnant woman.

I was feeling sorry for myself.

I wanted this baby out!

Since it didn't look like he was coming anytime soon.  I asked EJ to take me, Grammy and little Bubba to PF Chang's.  If I couldn't get my baby tonight could I at least get some tasty Chang's?

EJ said, "sure."  Anything for the crazy pregnant lady.

That afternoon, while Grammy watched Bubba, I started getting ready for dinner.

While I was showering I starting having some crazy contractions.

Then all the sudden...POP!  My water broke.

Do you know what my first thought was, "Oh no, now I'm not going to PF Chang's for dinner!"

What is wrong with me?

Needless to say we went to the hospital and not to PF Chang's.

EJ's folks brought me some delicious Chang's to my hospital room the next day.

A new baby and a tasty dinner.

Life was good.

natural consequences

When you have a new baby it is your job to keep their little belly full.  You measure your success as a mom by how they gain weight.  There is some kind of connection between mothering and food.

When they are toddlers you are still trying to make sure they eat the right stuff and enough of it.

When they reach 4 (or so) you begin to have this conversation...

"Sweetie, this is what's for dinner.  This is what we are eating.  If you are hungry, you will eat.  You don't have to eat if you are not hungry.  But, the kitchen is closed after dinner.  There will be no snacks."

Then your child continues to turn up their nose at the food before him.

Then dinner is over.

Then it is time for bath and bed.

Then said child begins to whine.  "I'm hungry!  I want a snack!"

The mother-food connection in your brain starts to freak out.  Oh my stars!  My poor baby is going to starve to death.  So you consider going back on your word.  After all, the child is probably very hungry. 

Then you pull yourself together.

"Honey, Mommy told you that when dinner was over there would be no more food.  You chose not to eat and now it is time for bed."

Much weeping and wailing ensues.  Mostly from the child but some from you as you sit in the other room and wish they didn't have to experience natural consequences.

Ode to my Crock Pot

My dear, sweet Crock Pot
I need to thank you a lot

You make this busy momma smile
You work hard when I'm gone a while

Chili, soups, roast, lasagna
The ovens got nothing on ya

BBQ beef, stuffed peppers, teriyaki chicken
You are always welcome on the counter in my kitchen

Chop, measure, season, slice
The ease of preparation is oh so nice

Throw it all in and walk away
You stay here and cook all day

Next thing I know, bada boom bada bing
it's time for the dinner bell to ring

You light up this lady's life
and make everyone think I'm a rockin' wife

So today I'm gonna shout
Thank you Crock Pot for helping me out

Processing a Deer

Okay, those of you non-hunter, non-meat eater types might want to skip this post.  (Did you know that Rock Star eats no meat and Pretty Princess eats very little...just a fun fact for you).

Anyway, Pop, Grammy and I worked together to make use of the deer Pop brought home from a recent hunting trip.  Now, I must say that I never saw the deer and I like it that way.  It was already in meat form by the time I had to touch it.  Good work on that Pop.

This is fat and meat.  You have to grind them together to create the sausage and ground venison.  For the sausage, you also add seasoning.

I am a big dork and somehow deleted the picture of Grammy.  I did, however, manage to keep the picture of her hands.  So there you go, proof that Grammy was there putting meat into the grinder.

I told Pop that this doesn't gross me out.  In fact, I find it sort of fun.  It reminds me of the play dough toy I had as a kid.  Remember those?  You put the play dough in and push that lever down and it comes out in different shapes. 

We made 10 pounds of breakfast sausage and 20 pounds of ground venison.

Go Team!

I think Pop and EJ are still on the hunt so we may need to do this again.

Are you totally grossed out or impressed with our skills?

Many Parts Are Edible

Recently when EJ and Farm Chick were gone and the Cowboys were in good hands with us (Grammy and Pop), we had an interesting food (I use the term loosely) adventure. Pop took the Cowboys for a walk one afternoon and Bubba came back to the house with a handful of weeds. He was adamant that he was going to “cook” them and eat them. Pop just shrugged his shoulders and said, “He’s been carrying them around for more than half an hour to get them home and cook them.” Being the reasonable Grammy that I am, I said, “Okay.”

So we put them in a little water (after washing them thoroughly, of course) and microwaved them a while. Pop and I smelled them and I thought maybe our little connoisseur had picked up some dill…Pop thought it was sage…Pop’s a connoisseur too.

So Bubba got out his fork (I love Pop’s expression here) to taste his concoction. He concluded that it wasn’t “done” and needed to be “cooked” longer wrapped in a dishtowel and maybe eaten with ice cream (hmm).


So he wrapped it in a towel and let it cook…

And tried it again.

And yet again.

He even tried it with a little peanut butter which all of us connoisseurs know makes everything taste good…sort of like ketchup, right?


Not so much. He hasn’t brought anything in from the field since. Oh well. Who knows where this will go. Maybe Bubba will be some sort of health food guru some day. Remember Ewell Gibbons and the pine tree? Many parts are edible. (They just might not taste so great.)

I've got mad skills

Mad cookin' skills that is.

Here is my homemade pizza the heavenly homemaker taught me to make. She has the most wonderful and frugal whole food recipes out there.

I have been preparing for a crazy month ahead (garden responsibilities and basement renovation) by cooking and freezing meals. So far I have 8 meals put away. Now that we live in the country it's not so easy to run through Taco Bell when we need a quick meal. We have to plan ahead now. Also, we are working really hard at "giving each dollar a name" (as Dave Ramsey says) at the beginning of the month. All you Financial Peace people out there understand! :)

Got any favorite recipes that work well when frozen? Do share.

First planting of the season!!! WAHOO!!!

So I set out to plant some peas today. I didn't have much time and needed to get two 30' rows from bare ground to in the ground and watered. I had a "helper" who wanted to bring another assistant along with him. I kindly declined the assistant's help (the dog). However he was REALLY ready to get into the garden...a place in which I have been rather protective of since we put up the fence so as to NOT disturb the soil before planting since I had tilled it...oh.....about a million times! Then a million more with poo. "Don't step in the dirt" was a very common phrase coming out of my mouth for the whole afternoon.

So we set out...he on one end of the garden "raking" it to perfection for some later date, while I to work on the peas. So I put steaks on the ends of both rows with lines run between them to mark where the peas would be planted. This was done after I had raked the area to a nice level plane. Then I took my nifty "row hoe" as I'll call it...it looks like a hoe in the shape of a piece of pie. This dug a trench for me to put my pea seeds into. I read on the KSU research and extensions website that you're supposed to plant them 1-2" apart...for 30' that's alot of seeds...for those of you who are mathematically challenged that's 180-360 seeds per row and 360-720 total! LOTS OF SEEDS! Here's a pic. See how nice and straight and neat they are?

Then I packed them down and built my trellis. I had T-posts driven in-between the two rows then I had 3 10' long 2x4s that I lashed to them. In those 2x4s I had nails about ever 8-12" sticking out of them. I then created a grid with my line to create the trellis for the peas to grow on. Rather inexpensive if I do say so myself!

Then I had to water of course, I don't have my drip system in yet, so I had to use a fan sprinkler to water them with. I do however have the system on order and it should be here within a week. You will of course hear all about it when it gets here. To help with the watering and the drip system, Pop is getting the well working again so that we can use the well water to run to the garden! YAY...today the electrician was here getting well house power. Now all we need is to get the pump a goin'. Here soon we'll have the garden running on all gears...it's kinda weird to finally have some seeds in the ground and some plants actually starting to come up.

The last thing is that the eldest buckaroo and I prayed over the peas and asked that God would bless the garden, the peas, and all the plants that would be planted in there. We asked that he would bless the people who work on it, the people who eat the food it provides and the animals who eat what's left (the chickens). How cool to get my 3 year old talking to the LORD ALMIGHTY about our garden!

Jeremiah 29:5-6 This is the LORD talking...

"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease."

How cool...

I go shopping in my basement

After 8 months of living here, I have finally filled the pantry. I kept meaning to do it but other things always got in the way. I love the prices I find at Aldi but the closest Aldi is not close at all. I hardly ever get there. One recent Friday afternoon I talked my "anti-shopping" husband into going with me. Pretty Princess came over to watch the cowboys and away we went. We filled two carts to overflowing. It was awesome to get it all organized and finally have a plan. Both fridges/freezers are full as well. The only thing I will need to purchase at the grocery store is fresh fruit, veggies & milk. If the chickens kick it in gear I won't have to buy eggs either. Do you notice all the boxes of diapers? I hit the sale of the century at Target. Those boxes are normally priced at $25 each. Well, I happened upon a clearance and purchased them for $12.50 each. And I had coupons! I ended up paying $11 per box. That is unheard of when it comes to name brand diapers. (I am not a diaper snob...Wubba can't wear anything else because of his super sensitive skin)

I can't wait until my pantry is full of my own canned products...salsa, spaghetti sauce, pickles, etc. How exciting! I guess I better make sure my whole family is planning to help "put up" the garden this year. There is going to be a lot of food!