Honey Mustard/Curry Chicken

A very easy, delicious supper. Delicious served over plain rice.

3 Pounds of Chicken Breasts or Thighs. The recipe just says "chicken pieces", so I guess you could use bone-in chicken as well.
1/3 cup of butter, melted
1/3 cup of liquid honey
1/4 cup of Dijon mustard
4 teaspoons of curry powder

In a greased 9 x 13 pan, arrange arrange chicken in a single layer. Combine remaining ingredients, stirring until smooth. Pour over chicken. Cover and bake at 350 F, 20 minutes, basting once. Turn chicken over and baste again and bake for another 20 minutes. I would cook longer if the chicken is bone-in, making sure the chicken is fully cooked. Serve chicken over rice and cover with sauce....YUM!

MishMash

This is a real mishmash of a post...a little of this and a little of that all thrown in together in no particular order....just a little bit of what's going on around here.

I finally have some apple sauce canned! Yippee! I haven't done nearly all our apples and may or may not make up another batch, depending on my time, but I'm sure pleased to have this lot made. Just apples in this batch, no sugar, or spice. Perfect for little people. If I make up a second batch it will be a cinnamon/sugar applesauce which we enjoy.

I also sliced up some apples and tossed them in lemon juice, put them in freezer bags, in apple crumble quantity, and popped them in the freezer! They keep very well, and are great to bake with.

Henry's new sneakers...

This completes this year's canning. Phew................!!! My list on the sidebar will reflect most of what I did. I did do a bit more in some areas, and didn't get some stuff done at all, but overall we are very pleased with the quantities and it will keep us going until next year.

Another "golden oldie" on the dvd list this week. Bells Are Ringing, a cute bit of fluff that I thoroughly enjoyed while crocheting away the afternoon.

Our menu is looking pretty good this week,

Monday ~ We had Shepherd's Pie, which I hadn't made in ages...it was very good.

Tuesday ~ we tried a new recipe, Pepper Steak, from Mennonite Girls Can Cook. This will be in our regular menu rotation, it was delicious.

Wednesday ~ we will probably be out...errands and such.

Thursday ~we'll have Penne in a red sauce with Hot Italian Sausage

Friday ~is Rob's favourite... Garlic Lemon Shrimp on rice

Saturday ~we will have Nachos, probably in front of a movie, feet up, in the living room.

Sunday ~ is our son Jon's BDay supper. He has requested deep fried homemade Hot Buffalo wings, and I'll probably made a Ceasar salad to go along with it. Jon has asked for a everyday chocolate cake with chocolate icing for his birthday. I couldn't let it go just at that....I found one with a layer of marshmallow creme in it...so we'll give that a try and I'll let you know how it is.

At bible study a couple of weeks ago, which always includes a supper first, (we know how to pick our bible studies!) our hostess made a delicious Honey Curry chicken dish. I asked for the recipe, which she shared. As I was reading the recipe, I realized I had seen it in one of my cookbooks, and sure enough, found it right away. It's called Honey Mustard chicken in the cookbook, but no matter what you call it, it's delicious, super easy, and I will share the recipe in a separate post, very soon!!

We had Nessa, Cory and Henry for supper Saturday evening, and guess what Cory walked in with!
Aren't they beautiful??? He does spoil me! I'm so glad our daughter had such good taste in husbands! I will divide them up into 2 or 3 different vases, and spread the joy around the house.

Sunday was such a glorious day. The sun was shining, finally! Rob and I enjoyed a walk, and I helped him to load up our wood by the front and back doors. That will keep us going for a week or two. I do so much work in the house, but really love working outside with him, especially in the fall, when the temperature is pleasant and there are no bugs! I have a cute pair of work gloves, in a pretty green. I learned very quickly, shortly after we moved to the country, that I needed most of what Rob has in work clothes, in a female version.

It's hunting season here, this week and next. Rob has been out a couple of times, but since the deer population has decreased over the last few years, he is not to "intense" about it and we're not having any friends over to hunt this year. A few years ago we would pull into our laneway at night and the headlights of our truck would pick up the gleaming eyes of all the deer in our fields. The last couple of years that's not happening at all, we are seeing the odd deer here and there and that's it. Hopefully the population will grow over the next few years.

This morning I am off to the local H1N1 flu vaccination clinic, where I will keep Nessa and Henry company and provide support as we wait to get Henry vaccinated. Please pray this goes well. There have been long line ups and it's quite cold out there today (3deg. C), and also that he does not react negatively to the vaccine.

Although we are hoping for short lines, I am packing like we're going for a week! Lawn chairs, snowpants, heavy winter jacket, balaclava, wool lined mittens, snacks etc. It may take me a week just to get ready!!! I think I'm really getting to old for this kind of thing...... ;-)

Have a blessed Wednesday!

Niki

Happenings At Our Place

Well, things have been rolling along here, all tickety-boo....well, except for the Pandemic, of course, but we'll get to that later....

I have been enjoying crocheting a Rainbow Ripple afghan for my grandbaby # 2, arriving in April, Lord Willing. I must admit I have never worked with wool of this quality before, and I am sooooo addicted....I may never be able to use the run of the mill acrylic yarn again....which is too bad, as my budget definitely runs more to the acrylic than Merino wool.

It is simply heavenly. I can't stop touching it, it's so soft and, well, almost creamy....

I was inspired to do this little afghan, after we found out there was to be an Attic24 baby, and I fell in love with the afghan Lucy was crocheting for her little one. Nessa has been hinting that she would love a rainbow baby afghan for a while, and so I treated us to the delicious Minnow Merino wool Lucy was using and began...

Here it is, so far....

On the quilting front, a new baby quilt is in the works. It is made of soft, soft flannel, and will be backed by "Minky"... which is the stuff they use to make the super soft stuffed toys you find in stores these day. It's a teeny quilt, just perfect for the first few months, while the little one is still in the cradle. The pattern is called "Crazy Eights" and it is much like a minature "Turning Twenty" block quilt. I have 2/3 of the fabric cut and it should sew up quickly. I will be attempting to machine quilt this on my sewing machine!!!!!!!!!!!!! ....I hope it works out well!!!

I am also busy sewing for Christmas gifts....ssshhhh....but there is lots of busyness involved, I can assure you of that!

We watched another good dvd this week, an oldie, called Friendly Persuasion....about a Quaker family during the Civil War, very good.

New on my Sidebar is a graphic for the Down To Earth Forum, which I am a member of. Full of interesting topics, with lots of great ideas to learn from and be inspired by. Drop by for a visit! (Margaret, you'd love this place)

Ok, on to the Pandemic. H1N1. A very nasty bit of business that has created much fear and a certain amount of chaos in our area. We seem to be in a bit of a "hot spot" according to the news, and have several vaccine clinics running throughout the city, and coming to our neck of the woods next week. The vaccine is somewhat controversial as it has not been tested thoroughly, nonetheless, hours long line ups are occuring at the vaccination sites.

We are trying to be sensible. I have a large bottle of Purell by the front door, for everyone going in or out to use. My daughter Nessa and I had planned an enjoyable morning together at a Craft Fair, followed by lunch, this Saturday. We will still go, but will zip through the hall, and come home for lunch instead of staying. This virus hits young children and pregnant woman the hardest. Since Nessa is both pregnant and has a small child at home she is being very cautious and rightly so.

We are heading into town and then to the city, this afternoon, to do errands and groceries. We will stock up on fresh produce and milk...perhaps enough for 2 weeks, instead of only 1, so that in the event that this situation becomes worse, we do not have to head out next week at all. I'm also buying extra powdered milk, just in case. We are trying to use Purell wipes on shopping cart handles, and are careful to use yet more Purell after using doors etc. Other than that there is nothing much one can do other than just stay home as much as is practical and pray this will pass quickly and not be as serious as our "experts" have forecast.

On a happier note, I have started baking bread again. I tend to bake bread in the fall and winter and into early spring, then buy bread through the summer. My breadmaker broke several months ago, and rather than buy a new one, because, really I only ever used it to knead, I decided to learn to use my Cuisinart Food processor to do the hard work of kneading for me. So far it has gone pretty well. I have the basic Cuisinart, and it only came with a couple of bread recipes. A friend has the "upscale" Cusiniart and she got a lovely recipe book with it with lots of bread recipes, so I will probably copy out some of those. I also have to rework my breadmaker recipes for the Cuisinart, which I will do.

I'm also cooking more. This is the time of year I really enjoy being in the kitchen. Suppers this week have included Cabbage Roll Casserole, Turkey Rice soup with Dumplings, and Lamb chops. We are still getting really lovely Bok Choy out of our garden and so I've stir fried that, and put together a tasty tomato and sweet onion salad. A good friend blessed us with some tomatoes from her garden....yes, from her garden. This variety, which she knows as "Mexican" tomatoes, stores very well and are they every good. I haven't done any baking, which is good, and bad, if you know what I mean.....We've been enjoying Apple Cider and I did make a batch of Lemon Cordial to drink.

I still haven't gotten 'round to making applesauce....but I will and soon! I am enjoying the smell of the apples in our storage room though....just breathes Autumn to me.

May you have a blessed weekend,

Niki

Stocking Your Home

A friend of mine posted recently about her cold cellar/food storage area/freezers. They are on a farm, like us, and we have very similar habits when it comes to pantry stockpiling, canning and growing most of our own food. I thought you might like to know what we do for stockpiling and storing food.

Why do we keep a serious stockpile of food? Well, I must confess it is as much for the feeling of security and good stewardship as it is for emergency or economic reasons. I do consider our food storage a two fold investment. First, in the event of an emergency we are able to feed our family and others in need. Second, I feel a well stocked pantry is like money in the bank. Should a job loss or other financial catastrophe occur, we can grocery shop out of our pantry and freezer for quite a while.

But, when all that is said and done, it is the "feeling" that perhaps is my greatest motivator. I love looking at my full pantry shelves and I like that my adult kids can come here and "grocery shop" enabling them to eat a quality of food that you can only achieve with a homemade product and saving them money at the same time. I love giving my canning and our wonderful meat away as gifts to family and friends. People love anything homemade, even the simplest items, and it blesses us to give it, even more, I think, than it does the receiver. I love using all the Lord has blessed us with, and He has, in great abundance, to the greatest good. I love storing food away for the long, cold, winter, and the feeling of peace, accomplishment and security that comes with doing so. That is why I stockpile. Now, on to the practical details.

Other than fresh produce and milk, we could literally not shop for months if we needed to. I know that most families do not stockpile to this degree, but we live rurally, and don't drive into town to pick up a can of this or that, it's simply not convenient to do so, not to mention the price of gas. We are also blessed with true Canadian winters, and can have really nasty weather for several days, so want to have good supplies at home.

On the other hand, I read, not that long ago, that most families keep about 3-4 days supply of food at home. That's it. I've also read that if food stopped being delivered to city grocery stores, it would only take 3 days for the shelves to be emptied completely. So, even if you are a city or suburban resident, it does make sense to have a good food pantry and stockpile.

I do not spend alot of money on my food stockpile. We do have the huge benefit of growing our own meat, and have laying hens for eggs, but other than that, it is all either food I've canned from the garden, which costs literally pennies per jar, or is food we eat, at a terrific sale price and I buy lots.

A vegetable garden is an excellent start towards your stockpile. Even the smallest plot can produce an incredible amount of food. Start with a few tomato plants, for either canning or freezing, a cucumber plant or two, for fresh eating and for pickling, and some regular onions, which will store well for months. If you have more room, grow some squash as it is a good veg to keep through the winter. Make sure it is a winter squash and not a summer variety, as only the winter squash varieties store well. We grow Butternut squash and it stores very well.

When stocking up from the grocery store, look for an excellent deal, on a food item you would normally buy, and instead of buying only one or two, buy as much as your budget will allow. Can you buy 6 or 12 cans to put away? If so, do it. It is the beginning of your stockpile. The same with meat, can you purchase an extra couple of pounds of ground beef, or an extra chicken, when a good sale is on? But remember it only pays to buy what you normally eat and enjoy. A case of canned food your family doesn't like is a waste of money no matter how good the sale price was.

Try to steer away from processed "prepared for you" foods. You can store the basics much more cheaply and easily and cook it yourself. I cook mostly from scratch, in fact, almost entirely. The only "processed" food we indulge in is a frozen pizza occasionally, when we are not feeling like making our own. And, yup, I buy those when there is a good sale of our favourite brand, and I buy several.

Our regular grocery list consists of fresh fruit, veg, milk, yogurt (which we also make occasionally) butter, oil, hard cheese, flour, salt, tea, coffee, spices, popcorn (the real stuff), basic baking supplies, nuts, OJ, and bread in the summer, in the fall/winter I usually bake it. Alot of that list we purchase through a food co-op, so we buy in bulk 3 - 4 times per year.

If you remember, I just purchased 100 lbs. of flour which is enough for a year for us. Pasta is another item I buy alot of at once. I buy a big box of Lasagna noodles through the co-op that lasts a couple of years, and it is a fraction of the grocery store cost for a little box. We also shop at Costco for some items, and the rest at our local grocery store. We do purchase treats and special items, particularly if we are having company, or for a holiday or birthday. Our weekly grocery budget is very small, because we have so much food stored at home. Once you have a good sized stockpile you will start to see your weekly grocery spending shrink, and you will be using more of your grocery dollars to grow you stockpile further.

We decided to try to significantly decrease the amount of paper, and plastic wrap we use a couple of years ago. We've been using cloth table napkins for a couple of years now and we love them. Friends always think we're "fussing" if we pull out our cloth napkins when serving them a snack or a meal, but that's all we use and it's very nice that they feel fussed over.

We probably use 3 or 4 rolls of paper towels per year. We manage that by keeping a clean rag bin handy in a kitchen cupboard. So when there is a spill, we grab a clean rag to wipe it up. I will often use bowls with lids, or put a plate over a bowl of food instead of grabbing the plastic wrap. I do still use it, but not nearly as much.

We purchase the occasional bottle of wine, or good beer, every month of so, and a good bottle of single malt Scotch, maybe once every few years. Oh, and we are partial to Tortilla chips, which goes nicely with homemade Salsa. Other beverages are mainly water, and a homemade Lemon Cordial which we love. I sometimes make a jug of Iced Tea, and we will buy pop if we are having company that drinks it.

Oh and I can't forget Henry! He has his own part of our pantry, of course ;-) He has Goldfish crackers, small applesauces, cookies, raisins and he now knows how to help himself....so cute, cute, cute....!

I don't use many cleaners and detergents. My favourites are vinegar and baking soda, but I also use Comet for cleaning my kitchen sink and extra dirty scrubby type jobs, and buy a "enviro friendly" laundry detergent. The other laundry product I use is Borax, which is a natural mineral and an excellent laundry freshener. I keep some PineSol for heavy cleaning and some lovely smelling Mrs. Meyers for light cleaning. I have some window cleaner, but have also made my own and have an excellent recipe for it.

If you don't keep a pantry or food stockpile, I would encourage you to start small and with every grocery shopping, spend what you can on sale items, to slowly build up your supply. You don't need to spend alot each week, just a few dollars spent consistently over a period of time will make a big difference. Sort of like a savings account. Once you have a good supply of an item, make sure you rotate your stock, using up food before it turns, and then buying more when it's a good price to replenish what you've used.

Storage space for your stockpile is another consideration. You don't need to have a "room" for a storage area. Odd spaces in closets, in bins under beds, or in a garage are all good spots for storing foods. Try to think "outside the box" when it comes to storing your food stockpile, but make sure your storage areas are safe from pests and small furry visitors. Plastic bins are excellent food keeps, as long as they are made from food safe plastic.

So, should you stockpile? Absolutely! You will find it a real blessing and save some money at the same time. If you do stockpile already and have any tips or suggestions, please share them with us in the comments section. I hope you find this post encouraging, and perhaps even glean a tidbit here and there that you find useful!

Have a blessed week,

Niki

Please Pray

Noah needs our prayers, he is very, very sick.

Please pray,

Thank you.

Noah's blog.

Seed Giveaway

We will be saving seed from our Cinderella Pumpkins and our ginormous (sp?) Butternut Squash over the coming weeks.....if you would like some, please email me at

mrsmom497 (at) gmail.com

with your name and mailing address and I will be happy to send you some,

We should all have great butternuts for soup next year, and Cinderella pumpkins are known to be one of the best tasting pumpkins... I love seed sharing!

Have a blessed day
Niki

Squash Soup Recipe

This is an easy recipe, (except for peeling the squash which is a bit of a pain...) It uses ingredients most of us have on hand, and is very healthy.

1 medium Butternut Squash, peeled and cubed...fairly large cubes are fine (if your squash is on the large-ish size, as mine are, double the rest of the veg and broth)
1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 cloves Garlic minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp. Butter
1 medium to large potato, peeled and chopped
1 litre Chicken broth...I use the boxed one, or homemade
salt and pepper to taste

And that's it! I know...the temptation is strong to "spice it up", or add to it, but it really is delicious just as it is. My daughter has a recipe very similar to this one, but you add 1/2 to 1 brick of cream cheese to the soup, and she says it's very tasty that way too.

Ok, back to the recipe,

Saute the onions, garlic and carrot in the butter for a few minutes until tender, add potato and squash. Pour broth over veggies, make sure you have enough broth to mostly cover the veggies,bring to a boil and simmer until soft. Using an Immersion Blender (this is one excellent appliance) or a regular blender, puree until smooth. I like to leave the odd lump, for texture. Serve it up, with some good bread.

Since Thanksgiving we have been busy every day. Yesterday we went on a trip to the Sale Barn with our lambs. We got a good price for them, but I couldn't look at them as they were loaded into our trailer...so sad to see them go off to their "day of reckoning." But, that is the reality of farming, even small scale farms, like ours.

I've been cooking, cleaning, and visiting, and still no sewing! I need to have a proper sewing day, where I just say to heck with the housework, order some take away for supper, and spend the day at my machine.

I did finish the shawl for my giveaway, finally! It will be mailed out later today.

Made a Chicken Caccitore for supper this evening, and a big pot of Squash soup. I like this soup recipe, it is a creamed (pureed) soup, but without any cream. Healthy and yummy. I'll post the recipe soon. I have lots of squash in storage, so we will be having this soup regularly.

I took another Machine Quilting class....oh, my, word,.....well, lots of practise is required, is all I can say. I did enjoy it and I think I will buy some Christmas placement panels (inexpensive ones) to practise on. Our instructor demonstrated how you can quilt a queen size bed quilt on a regular sewing machine....I don't think I will be trying that anytime soon.

Library Riches this week....

A Book on Audio...

The Diary of a Farmer's Wife 1796-1797

This is an actual diary, not a work of fiction, and it is excellent. I found it fascinating. She gives lots of detailed recipes, as well, which I thought was very interesting, I'm tempted to try one or two.

To quote the description:

"This is the enchanting diary of Anne Hughes, containing the story of her life on a Shropshire farm with her husband. Anne tells of her day to day preoccupations such as pig killing and cheese making, love affairs and scandals, feasts and food and the seasons passing. But she tells it in such a tender and caring way that each event is important. An intimate look in to the way life was in the days before the Industrial Revolution."

A Well Kept Home: Household Traditions and Simple Secrets from a French Grandmother by Laura Fronty

Well, the photography is absolutely gorgeous. The secrets and tips, I found not so useful...unusual ingredients and techniques requiring equipment many of us wouldn't own. But if your library has it, it is worth an enjoyable browse through the pictures.

on DVD, a weird and wacky film, Grey Gardens, but poignant in it's way. Superb acting.

I have saved the best news for last...our daughter Jenny and her husband, Jeremie, are moving home this Christmas!!!!!!! I cannot describe how wonderful it will be to have all our chicks around us again. We've missed them so much, as they have us, and I have to say, it was mostly our other son in law, Cory, who worked this whole thing through with them! Lots of rejoicing and excitement going on in our families right now!

May your day be blessed, happy, & busy

Niki