Rainy day picker upper

July 28,2012

It's been one of those off and on rainy day weekends,but we don't mind...... we will take the rain to make up for the lack of, not very long ago.  I don't know about you, but rainy days makes me want to curl up and sleep all day.  But i can't let myself do that, so i wanted to share with you what i whipped up this afternoon...... an easy homemade iced vanilla latte..............
Yep........a nice afternoon picker upper, to get me up and moving, literally.
You don't need any fancy machines to whip up this refreshing drink, just a little arm muscle.

you will need about 1 cup of milk, you probably can use half & half cream, or a little of both.  I only had 2% milk which worked but I'm sure adding the cream would have made it that much better.

Ok.....This is where the arm workout comes in.......Ooooops....i forgot to tell you that making this drink requires a little workout before you get to indulge.  Pour the milk into a jar with a lid, making sure the lid is screwed on tight.  Now shake, shake, shake..........you want to get a froth going on.  Put on some music and get out your chair and shake, shake, shake...... it's a picker upper in two aspects, a jolt of caffeine, and a work out.....     come on....you can do this.....
Mine built up a froth in about 10 minutes.....  see that did'nt take long.

This is a great way to use some leftover coffee, which i had some left from this morning.  The recipe calls for a strong brew coffee or espresso.  I guess it depends on the strength you like your latte.

Pour the coffee into a mug or glass with ice, to your own taste, leaving enough space to add your milk and other flavors.

I added a little vanilla, cinnamon, and drizzled honey on top for sweetness.  You can create your own flavors, and top with cream if you like.  This can be done hot as well, by hand mixing the milk over a low heat on the stove, but i prefer a cold one, and i liked the shaking of the jar method better.

Now doesn't that make you feel better, knowing you had a little workout before indulging, and it's HOMEMADE!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a little something for a rainy day....


             Live simple.....................Sheryl

Louisiana shrimp and garden fresh veggies

July 24, 2012


Hi everyone, earlier today i was trying to figure out what to cook for dinner.  The past few weeks i have been trying to eat out the freezer to make use of what we have stored, and try not to run to the store for something to cook.  Sometimes it's a challenge to come up with something that everyone will love.  I, on the other hand can make a meal out of a few fresh vegetables and some leftover meat.  With rumors spreading that the cost of groceries will be on the rise again soon, we all need to  practice making use of leftovers, and to become more creative in the kitchen.

My peppers caught a second wind, with the much needed rainfall we have been getting, my plants jumped up and made some beautiful peppers.   So I pondered on what to do with them tonight.........Hmmmmm i love some stuffed bell peppers.  We ate deer loin over the weekend, and deer/pork ground meat burgers yesterday, so i have had my fill of meat the past few days.  While digging through the freezer, i found a pack of shrimp that i put up earlier in the year.  When i do get to put up shrimp in the freezer, i savor each and every pack, knowing they are far and few between.  The past few years Louisiana shrimp were expensive, so i don't splurge often on such a delicious southern treat.

Well it looks like our taste buds are in for a special treat!!!!!!!!!!!  I decided to stuff the peppers with a shrimp and kale mixture.  My husband has been on a diet watching his carbs, so stuffing with rice was out the question.  He suggested i use some kale to help with the stuffing part instead of the rice, and since i have alot of that in the freezer, i thought Hey..............that sounds good.

I cooked onions, celery, bell pepper, garlic and tomatoes down until wilted, added the blanched kale and let it cook down about 15 min.  Threw in the diced shrimp seasoned to your own taste and a handful of fresh parsley.  Wilt that down a few minutes, careful not to overcook the shrimp. I added a little bread crumbs to absorb any liquids, and stuffed the peppers then topped each with a little more breadcrumbs and a pat of butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-30 min.  The peppers were blanched before i filled them with the stuffing. 

This with a green salad and leftover blackeye peas is" what's for dinner" at our house tonight..........

How are you being creative in the kitchen?  What sort of dishes you are making to stretch the budget?  Would  love to hear about them.


              Live Simple........................Sheryl

blogger giveaway

July 16,2012

Hi friends, just wanted to share with you a great giveaway.  Berte, From River Bend Farm is celebrating 100 followers on her blog with a giveaway.

  She is an awesome lady, with a big texan, christian heart, that blogs about her chickens and horses on their farm.  Click on the link above and follow her blog and you too can be entered into her giveaway.  Read some of her stories and happenings around her farm.  She has the cutest chicken house, you just have to see it.


         Live Simple....................Sheryl

Double Stuff

July 12, 2012

Our Belted Galloway cow "Oreo" had her calf this morning. It's another double stuff Oreo looking calf. How exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She was not bred to a purebred Galloway bull this time.  We wanted to throw something else into the mix and bred her to the black bull we had. 

This is the whole "Oreo" family, "Maggie" ( in front), was her last years calf born 7/29/11, and the new baby born today 7/12/12. 

Not sure if it's a male or female yet.


While trying to get pictures of the new baby this evening, a parade was passing by and getting in my view.................

 

A parade of lambs............  Rosie leading the pack, followed by Jolie, and the two new girls Shiloh, and Ellie.  They adjusted fine, grazing happily with the rest of the herd.  They will be bred this fall and winter and be lambing for us in spring next year.  If anyone is interested in purchasing lambs, contact us.  We will have both registered purebred St. Croix and unregistered St.Croix/Katahdin cross.


    Live Simple.......................Sheryl

Dehydrating Figs............

July 9, 2012

The past few weeks, it's figs, figs, and more figs.....it's that time of the year, all at once these sweet fruit are ripe, and ready to pick. 

I have to fight the bees and wasp to gather the sweetness.  I loose so many to these flying insects.  I guess i need to get into bee keeping and set up a hive close by.  That would be some awesome honey produced by these little critters.



I found someone else who loves their sweetness as much as the bees do..................

My granddaughter just loves them, she runs straight to the tree and reaches for one every time we're walking out in the back yard.

I have been making preserves with them for some time, and wanted to try something different. I own a dehydrator and i guess i never thought to give it a try with figs. 

SO .........slicing away i went............................a four quart bowl full filled up my five tray dehydrator.

I dried them for 12 hours, which was the shorter period of 12-15 hr time recommended.  I was afraid to dry them to a crisp so pulled them out at 12. Instructions say to be sure no beads of water appears when sliced, i found some had a tad bid of moisture still in them while others felt really dry.  They looked and tasted really good. I put them into mason jars with lids to store for later use.

I have plans to use these in a trail mix i plan on making later. But they are excellent to just snack on right out the jar.  As the days went by my stash got smaller and smaller, we could not resist opening that jar and popping one into our mouths, just like candy...Hmmmmmm

As I got ready to post this information, i noticed some of them starting to mold a little.....guess the time in the dehydrator needs to be longer to be sure i get every bit of moisture out of them.    I will have to try another batch before the bees get them all......

If anyone has other ideas to use figs, let me know........My daughter and i roasted a few in the oven, stuffed with cream cheese..........ohhhhhhhhh they were pretty good, great little appetizer served up on your favorite cracker or pita chip, drizzled with a little honey.

Enjoying the taste of summer.....................

                                             Live Simple..............Sheryl

Happy 4th of July

July 4,2012

Hi everyone, wishing all a happy and safe 4th of July celebration.  Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have lost their homes and lives from the fires in Colorado and the Dakotas.  We should be vigilant of the fact that alot of areas are in drought conditions, so saftey or avoidance of fireworks should be on our minds.  As a homestead with animals, my concerns are for the safety of our animals.  Because our pastures are dry, im concerned that careless flying fireworks could ignite these fields.  Animals that are in fenced in fields have no way to escape the danger of fires. So please use good judgement when setting off fireworks.
  I will be praying for safety over the 4th celebrations.

God Bless America!!!!!!

      Live Simple.........................Sheryl