Homemaking Homesteader

Updates from the Homestead

08:54, 2008-Dec-14 .. 1 comments .. Link

Well “old man winter” is here.. the temp is 25 and we are currently having the first snow of the year. So far it’s just a dusting which I am happy about.. but since it is still falling and the weather man is predicting more we will see how it all ends. Right now I have a fire going and the house is toasty and I suspect I will be keeping that going all day and through the night. Jacob brought in LOTS of wood

(guess he deiced to make sure I was very well stocked.. no heading out into the snow and cold at 4am for him!

)

We finally got our Christmas tree up and the house decorated! Yea! It looks so festive in here now. Yesterday I got my daughter’s Christmas package all wrapped and packed up so tomorrow when Tobin and I head into town for our date night we will drop it off at the post office. I have all my Christmas shopping done (I admit that I only went out once to shop.. all the rest was done online.. I just love the UPS man this time of year! LOL) and I am down to 2 sewing projects left to complete and then gifts to wrap and I am done!

Now it is time to move onto my Christmas menu.

No church for us this morning due to the snow and slick roads.. so we have a day to relax, listen to Christmas music and maybe do a bit more baking. Emily and Leanne were adventurous last night and made peppermint patties.. yum.. hope they freeze all right because otherwise they will be gone before we know it! LOL.. so far we have made great progress in getting our goodies in the freezer. Here is a recipe similar to the one she used: http://homecooking.about.com/od/candyrecipes/r/blcandy6.htm

I made some snickers bar fudge the other day and it turned out delicious! I now want to make some butterfinger fudge and milky way fudge. I got the idea from a lady on my message board. You use chopped up candy bars in place of the chocolate chips. It works great! I used my scale to measure out the candy bars to make sure they equaled the right amount. You may be able to just chop up the bars and sub 2 cups of chopped bars.. I did not measure it out after I weighed it to see if it was about the same.

Marshmallow Fudge aka.. Candy Bar Fudge

4 Cups mini marshmallows

2/3 cup milk (I used half n half but evaporated milk would work and regular milk would probably work too)

1/4 cup butter

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 cups (12 oz.) chocolate semi-sweet morsels – I used chopped up candy bars in place of the chips as stated above

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine marshmallows, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a large cooking pot. While stirring bring to a full boil. Reduce heat and continue stirring and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla add chocolate chips or candy bar pieces (which ever you are using). Stir very well until chips or candy bar pieces are melted. Pour into a 9x9 pan that has been buttered. Chill.

I am giving this fudge away as gifts. My plan was to cut the fudge up into squares and put them in those gift tins that you can purchase just about anywhere. Then Emily had a great idea last night. She suggested lining the gift tins with saran wrap and just pouring the fudge into these instead of the pan. How easy is that!

Then we both had the idea that you could probably do two layers.. just put wax paper and maybe another layer of saran wrap and pour the second batch on top.. that way the recipients has more than one type of fudge to enjoy.

Today’s winter menu will be food that warms and nourishes! I will be making a pot of soup of some type and probably dinner rolls and serving this with my winter salad. I call it my winter salad because fresh veggies get so expensive this time of year and I typically try and avoid the pricier ones.. so my winter salads consist of romain lettuce, spicnach, chopped red cabbage and grated carrots. The salad keeps well in the fridge for 2 or 3 days so we make up a big batch of it and a double or quadruple batch of homemade ranch dressing and we are set.

The goats need extra attention now too. The temps will be dropping down into the teens and that means checking on water supply regularly to make sure it is not frozen or replace it if it is. I am also giving them a little extra grain to help keep them warm. So Jacob will be in charge of that job and I will make a pot of hot chocolate for everyone this afternoon who has to go out and brave the elements.. they will have something to look forward to when they come in!

Stay warm & dry this Sunday on the homestead..