Posted By Trixi
Since moving to the new homestead, our expenses have triple as far as groceries and gas. I have had to be creative as far as groceries are concerned. I am literally spending a fortune and can not wait to get some deer in the freezer but until then, we are trying to do some meatless dishes. Here is tonight’s recipe, super easy!!!! Black Beans and Rice I soaked my black beans all day and put them in a bean pot at about 3:00. I covered them with water about 2 inches above the beans. I added salt, pepper, garlic powder and 1 Tbsp. of oil and started to boil them. I turned them down to a simmer after bringing them to a boil. I simmered them for about 2 1/2 hours. After about an hour I started my brown rice. After the beans and rice were cooked, I added some rotel to the beans and simmered it for about 15 minutes. In a bowl I put rice and then topped it with the bean mixture. We added cheese and sour cream to our beans and rice. It was so delicious. We don't feel deprived at all. Blessings, Trixi
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Posted By Shan (Sweetie)
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Posted By ~Rebekah~ in Serenity Garden
Robert E. Lee had a chicken he took with him the whole time the Civil War was going. Many a soldiers tried to cook the chicken, but he managed to rescue it saying, “Boiling the hen will give us one fine meal, but keeping her alive will feed us every day.” So, as I said, not only are we preparing to buy a home, we'd like one with land so we can have our chickens. Today I emailed our county law division and asked them stipulations pertaining to keeping hens and the local zoning laws pertaining to the subject. I am awaiting for more information so we can keep in mind those stipulation while we look. In the meantime, as you may have already noticed, I'm looking at both city coops and plans for regular ones. I have an idea of what I'd like for a bigger one if we find a place in the country. I'll share those plans later. Right now, I'm picking out which chickens we'll order once we move. Let me just say that there are lots and lots of chickens out there. Bantams which are smaller in size and tend to lay eggs with more yolk than whites, then there are the common chickens, the specialty and the Cochins which have the cute feathered feet but have a reputation for being poor layers (please, all jokes aside here, I'm having a chicken breed crisis). There are crested breeds with feathered crowns and heavy breeds which are used for meat. With all those breeds, I felt more and more confused at choosing exactly which ones would work for our area with cold Northeastern snow and wind. Ones that were well mannered, lay eggs quite often, and are good setters. (now I'm starting to sound like a singles add.haha) Murray McMurray is a hatchary with good, healthy chickens. Not only do they sell chickens, but other game birds like turkeys, ducks, geese. Lets not forget about pheasants, quail, peacocks, and guineas. If your ever in the market, I HIGHLY recommend Murray McMurray at www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/index.html One decision I do know, we are looking for brown egg layers. So, that trims the list down a bit. The best part of Murray McMurray is they have "assortment" options for different breeds and egg colors. So we have now decided to order the BROWN EGG LAYERS ASSORTMENT. How easy was that? We know we wanted brown egg layers, we just weren't sure which ones to choose because we've never had any of them. Choosing the assortment, Murray McMurray throws in an assortment and you'll only know once they get to you which breed they are. I like that alot because we don't have to choose just one breed, but can see which ones we really prefer for our next order. In the Brown Egg Assortment, they guarantee 5 of the following breeds: Black Australorps; Lt. Brahmas; Dark Cornish; Black and White Giants; Buff and White Orpingtons; New Hampshire, Rhode Island Reds, Barred, White, Partridge, Buff Rocks;Deleware, Sussex, Turkens; White, Silver Laced, & Columbian Wyandottes, Red Star and Black Star. A couple other breeds we were introduced to from our homestead friends, and plan to also purchase are Araucana and Dominique Chickens. They produce green and blue eggs. Our friends called them "easter eggs". They're both pretty friendly and by exeperience with our friends when we were there, they are pretty good natured and do well in the winter months. Check out a Youtube video above that I found on the breed. How exciting to have made our choices. We hope to introduce them late summer, early fall when we close on a home of our own. Woohoo!
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Posted By Kim Wolf<>< in Homestead Kitchen
Believe it or not...IT'S SEPTEMBER!! Those cooler temps are on the way! I LOVE fall...it's my FAVORITE time of year!! Along with those falling temperatures that invite us to pull on our favorite sweaters, collect pumkins, go on hayrides and build bonfires comes my desire to make wonderful, hearty soups and stews! One of our family's favorite cold weather soups is Taco Soup!! Oh...it is yummy, stustaining, it's even attractive to look at in your bowl. Blessings from Ohio, Kim Wolf<>< TACO SOUP 1 lb. ground beef or chuck ~ Brown beef, drain; add onion, peppers, 1/2 of the cilantro and cook until onions and peppers start to get tender. |
I hope you enjoy it!!Posted By ~Rebekah~ in Serenity Garden
So I've been searching for plans for chicken coops. In our search for a home here in NYS, I'm trying to keep in mind we'd like some land in the country to have chickens, goats, etc. Sounds silly to those of you who know doug and I in real life, BUT we've always had this dream. Thing is, he works in the city limits and finding a small homestead or a home on a small piece of land within our budget, has proved to nothing more than trying. We won't let that get us down though. If the good Lord wants us in the city limits, then we should plan accordingly. Some cities allow chickens. In fact, some allow chickens, just not the loud roosters within the city limits. With that in mind, I've been looking for regular chicken coop plans AND small city type chicken runners that can move. You can imagine my surprise when I found a site by OMLET that sells Eglu's. Yup, IGLOOS for chickens are made from energy efficient polymers using modern construction techniques and at the end of its life it can be 100% recycled. Take a Look at their Brochure online in PDF Above you'll see a guide to keeping chickens. The little girl is SO CUTE and the eglu is in the picture. I just found the little girl to be so precious that I had to post this. My one true concern with this is in the harsh Upstate NY winters, how the chickens would get on and not freeze to death. This is where you avid homesteaders come in. What do you think? Have any ideas on what to do in the wintertimes? Have any other ideas or plans? How bout plans for bigger size coops if we do find a home with some land? Let me know your experience and feel free to comment. Blessings! Rebekah
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