Down and Dirty Chick Starting

I was at my local Tractor Supply Company the other day picking up some duck food and I was so surprised by the overwhelming number of poultry products.

Tip Tuesday: Red Or White Wheat?

 Have you ever wondered what the difference is?  I have.  So, I thought you might have, too.

I've been using both for several years now.  And I can tell you from experience that neither one is red or white.

Chicken Fest: Homesteading At Its Best

Here's sweet Graci.  "Say Hello to my little friend."

The Best Homemade Brownie Mix Ever

Don't ya just love my table setting?  

Once you make these I'm pretty sure you will agree that these are the best.
Trust me.
We're brownie conniseurs.

We used to buy brownie mix by the case and mix 'em up every time we had company stop in...and also every time we felt like having some brownies.  Which was often.  But I haven't bought a mix in quite a while.

Tip Tuesday: Homemade Taco Mix

Homemade mixes are one of my favorite cooking tips-- they not only save money, but also the annoyance of not having what you need on the spur of the moment.  You know, like at 4:30, when you're trying to decide what to make for dinner at 5:00?

Tip Tuesday: Eating on the Cheap

Here's a pic of one of my recent grocery hauls.  I think we actually stopped into the store for lunch meat and buns.  But the "managers specials" got the best of me... 

Life on the Farm... Another Montage

Because I'm too busy to write words...

 I'll just show you what's been going on around the ole homestead in pictures.

A Homestead Montage

 Here's what's been going on around the ole homestead.

Lots of veggies, as you can see.

Oh my, I'm so amazed by my garden!

Come take a look...

Oregano drying.  There's plenty more growing out there in that pot on the deck.

Tip Tuesday: Do What You Can

 Boy, it sure would be nice to own 100 fertile acres, a root cellar, a spring-fed well, a milk cow, a gigantic thriving garden, an orchard, 1000 canning jars, a windmill, a wood burning furnace, a tractor and a generator.  Oh, well, at least I have a flock of chickens. 

Yep, that, and a few other things.

 Like spam.
 And rice.

Fresh Homemade Salsa!

Tomatoes & Peppers & Cilantro, Oh My!
This is one of the best things about summer.  Food wise, anyways!

Tip Tuesday: Homemade Yogurt!

I have no idea why it's taken me so long to get around to doing this.  Making yogurt is easier than just about anything else we make in the kitchen, except for maybe Ramen noodles.  But it's not much harder than that!

So, here's the lowdown.

We've Been Busy

Update on the garden progress...
Turns out that we do actually have some dirt in our yard!  Yay!  Noah and I started digging around a few weeks ago and discovered where the previous owners had their garden rows.  The cats and chickens then discovered them.  So now we're working on a fence.

Most of the tomatoes and peppers are doing great.  Very happy to get out of their tiny little pots.

Ruthie was enjoying digging.  We're trying that method of planting tomatoes super deep.

Benjamin's Whole Wheat Graham Squares

This morning Ben and I got a chance to do some baking together.  Actually, he's been sitting at the bar sounding out words for me while I bake up a batch of his favorite "graham crackers."  He cleaned the bowl for me.  : )

These are really easy and turn out sortof like a cross between a cookie and a cracker.  Just sweet enough to seem like a cookie.  Healthy enough for a snack.

Starting Seeds... A Happy Surprise

Hello there, little thing.
 

Easy Homemade Noodles

We just got done making a big batch of homemade noodles.  Have you ever tried it?
I used to think it would be hard to do, but...

They're really, super easy.  And cheap.  And delicious.

Lazy Man's Cabbage Rolls

By special request from a dear friend, I am going to attempt to tell you how I make this cheap and kid-pleasing supper.  It tastes like the old-fashioned pigs in the blanket that my mom used to make (I just discovered that they are actually called "galuskis" or "galumpkies"). My great grandma was from Czechoslovakia.  But that's sortof beside the point.

First I must warn you that I AM an artist.  Cooking is sortof improv for me, even though I usually start out with a recipe.  That way, if I don't have exactly the right ingredients, it's no big deal...usually something different and better results.  That's the case with this recipe.

Also, I have no pictures. I have my reasons...

1. I'm busy cooking.  I don't have the mental capacity to cook AND take good pictures.  The fact that several people are talking to me at the same time, and someone is usually playing drums or some other loud music and well, you get the idea.
2. My kitchen is dark.  It is evening when I make dinner, so there's no sunshine.  Boo. 
3. This is not a very attractive meal.  It looks like slop.  So, just use your imagination.
4. Most importantly....I'm pretty sure you can handle it without pictures.  You're smart and know how to chop things and brown meat and pour it in a pan.  That's my main reason.  : )

Here's a picture of a winking babushka, instead.  She's pretty cute.

So, here's the recipe:

Bargain Victory!

So, I already told you a little about how I afford to feed our rather large family on a rather small food budget.  Part of it is cheap dinner recipes.  Another part is cheap stores.  Literally, we call it "the cheap store."  I've been shopping there for a while and for some reason I thought that the owners were Amish. Now I think they're Mennonite.  Either way, I feel like a heathen when I go there.  I've considered buying a proper jumper to keep in the car for when I need to go serious bargain hunting.  But I can't bear the humiliation.  So, I'll just be friendly and hope they know that I love the Lord, too.
Not that it matters what they think, that's just my weirdness.

So, on to my awesome grocery haul.... Check this out!

Yep, that's what fifty bucks will get ya, if you're not too proud and you don't mind expiration dates being in the past.  : )

Cheap Eats for a Big Family

Has anyone else been trying to figure out how to make cheaper meals, lately?

I recently read an article where a mom of two little kids was bemoaning the fact that she had a food budget of $125 a week and wasn't sure how she was gonna make it work.  Are you stinkin' kidding me?  I feed my family of NINE on less than that!  And FOUR of them are teenagers!  Yep, it's true.  Maybe that's why they're all so skinny...nah, I do actually feed them.  : )

So, what do we all eat, you ask?  Well, I'll tell ya this much... it ain't deer.

I bake a lot of bread.  And bread related foods.  Lots and lots of bread.  Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy.

So, what goes with the bread?  (besides butter, real butter, of course.)  Yeah, you can't just serve bread for supper and expect a happy family.  That's where soup comes in. 

Lovin' My Girls... and the Rooster, Too

Have I told you lately how much I absolutely love my chickens?

I need to tell you so that if you are even remotely trying to decide if you want to try to raise your own, I might be able to tip the scale in favor of wonderful chickens.  So far, there is not one thing that I do not like about these birds.

Here's a few things that we've learned from our experience:

They are easier to care for than the dog. 

They make eggs.

They eat every bit of kitchen scraps and grody stuff out of my fridge and turn it into eggs.

Storing Grains

I recently heard the shocking news that you will be on the list for being a potential terrorist if you have more than seven days worth of food stored. So I guess that makes us Pantry Terrorists.   God Bless America! 
That's crazy, right?  (Vote for Ron Paul!)  It's also crazy to have any LESS than seven days stored up! All through history, humans and animals have stored up the harvest.  It's common sense. You can't even buy wheat in a bag that lasts less than seven days, unless you're feeding an army.  And I'm trying to feed a small army.
I've already told you about my grain mill, which I dearly love.  I grind wheat almost every day so I buy it in bulk from a semi-truck that comes through our area from somewhere in Montana.  There's lots of different places that you can buy bulk grains.  I order from here.  It's much cheaper that way.  But it does take a while to use it up. That's why we set out to learn how to store it properly so that it stays fresh until I'm ready to use it.  Here's what we came up with.... the most economical and effective method that we could find.

 Here's what you need: