Easy Cajun 'Gravy'

Fried fish, rice, & Cajun gravy...yummy!

 

 

1 can cheddar cheese soup

 

2 cans or about 2 cups of  Ro-tel style tomatoes, undrained

 

Garlic powder

 

Salt & Pepper

 

Cajun seasoning or red pepper

 

In a pot combine all ingredients.  Season with salt & pepper to taste. If you like it extra spicy add some Cajun seasoning or red pepper.

 

Bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes.  Serve over rice, fish, or whatever you desire!

 



From the heart

While I usually enjoy life on our little homestead, there is one aspect that always takes some getting used to.  Life. 

I have to say sometimes 'life' can be happy. The birth of new baby animals, getting to see first hand the hatching of eggs & the mother hen's instinct to protect her young, watching kittens and puppies being born & nursing, feeding a baby pig from a bottle, moments like that are incredible.

There are the funny (kind of) moments when you learn not to turn your back on certain roosters, that your Australian shepherd & a Rat terrier can turn a back yard into a crater of holes in no time flat, and that mom freaks out if she sees a snake, or even a snake skin, and when a racer pokes his head out of a wood pile mom can really run fast!

The part that is the hardest are the unhappy times.  When you wake up and realize that something has gotten into the hen house and killed just about everything.  When it's time to take animals to the slaughter house.  When your beloved Rat terrier, who was like a little best friend gets cancer & dies.

Then there are the 'interesting' learning moments like animals coming into season & animals aren't shy when it comes to mating.  Also that not 'cutting' a male goat is never a good idea... too much info??? lol  I am glad though that my children got to experience everything, even this as it led to many teachable moments.

We're in a stage of sadness at the moment. The thing is many of our animals are getting older.   Our hens just about all stopped laying (age), our 'big pig' was sent to another farm to be bread only to find out she is barren.  A shih Tzu that was a stray I think is finally coming to his end.

Cost is a big issue too. Along with everything else, animal feed is going up.  Way up!  The fact is we don't need animals or things here that are just money suckers with no purpose.  We have been basically a one income family for 17 years.  I really know how to stretch a dollar.  Even at times now I don't always have to but it's just ingrained in my brain to not let anything go to waste.  My husband even more so & if you've ever been here it's evident by the 'supplies' or 'junk' that he's got stacked around to use one day.  --We actually do make use of most of it but it's still a bit of an eyesore.

 The other thing is our children are older too. (19 & 14)   Keeping up with chores is more of a task, just mowing our place takes a day.  I like the little homestead, and we do not have any plans to move but there are just many changes that need to take place.  Adjustments in schedules, prioritizing what we really want & need. 

Sometimes even just writing this it does make me a little sad.  I do miss many things but then again I'm happy to be in a new/different stage of life. --I think...

~Mama

Saving Electricity

I just love the sight of clean sheets blowing in the breeze.

Happy Saturday!

Cayenne Pepper!

I haven't posted in a little while as we've been busy. We have been back to homeschooling for a week now & other things around here are getting adjusted.  I will share some of that later, but for now here's our latest project. 
This was our first time to try to make our own spices from scratch and it turned out very well.  Before putting them into the dehydrator the peppers were washed & set out on towels to dry.
My husband took the following pictures:

This is a quart sized jar. So 1 full dehydrator yielded almost a quart of ground pepper. 
It smells wonderful, almost like a spicy, smoky smell & taste.
I'm very happy with the results & have another dehydrator full & running now!

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

This is my adaptation of the "fotato" soup recipe that's been going around.

1 bag frozen cauliflower
4 cups water
4 tsp. tomato/chicken bullion
3 wedges light laughing cow cheese (I used the vegetable flavored one)
1/4 cup bacon bits
salt, pepper, garlic powder

In a soup pot put the water, bullion, and cauliflower.  Cover & let simmer for about 10 minutes or until cauliflower is tender.
Now remove from fire & use a stick blender (or could put about 3/4 of it into a regular blender)  Blend up until most of the cauliflower is mashed. Leave a few 'chunks' or blend it all.
Now put back on the stove and add in the bacon bits & cheese. Stir until cheese melts & then add seasonings to taste.
This was a really great, low calorie lunch with a small salad.  It made about 4 good sized bowls.

If you try any of my recipes I'd love to hear your comments.

Church Chicken

In the crockpot before turning on

 

The past 2 Sunday's I've started this in the crockpot before we went to church & by 2:00 it is done.  Add some potatoes or rice and a veggie & you have a delicious Sunday dinner.

Place chicken in the crockpot (bone-in breasts is what I used because they were on sale)  Leave the skin on or not, you're choice.

Place some sliced onion & garlic on top of chicken.

Sprinkle with any seasonings you like.

Cook on high for about 6 hours.

Remove chicken to a platter & slice.

You can use any combination of seasonings you have on hand. 

Here are the ones I've done before:

*onion, garlic, basil, salt & pepper
*onion, bell pepper, Cajun seasoning blend
*sliced lemon, salt, & lots of black pepper
*garlic, salt & pepper, fresh rosemary

Have fun with it & enjoy!

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups grated zucchini
2 cups sugar
1 T. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 T. cinnamon

In a BIG bowl mix together zucchini, oil, sugar, & vanilla.
Then add in  the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon & salt.
Mix *by hand* until all blended.

Divide into 2 greased loaf pans.

Bake at 350* for about 45 minutes or until center is done!

*This is really good & it freezes well too*