Blue Jeans and Cotton Tees

I hate waste.

I love turning something apparently useless into something wonderful…

…like chicken bones.

Last night Angel Girl and I made a chicken pasta dish for supper. After I had cut the raw chicken off the bones, I noticed that there was still some meat left on them.

Instead of throwing them out – I dumped the bones and skin into the crock pot and covered them with water.

I threw in a skinned and halved onion,  some celery, and a scrubbed carrot (cut in chunks).

Then I added a few peppercorns, some dried sage, parsley and thyme.

I turned the crock pot on low and forgot about it.

This morning I had a rich dark chicken broth waiting for me!

I drained the broth and refrigerated it.

The bones and vegetables went to the chickens since they had given up their lives for the sake of the broth and had no flavor left.

The fat will rise to the top of the broth as it cools and can be easily taken off and thrown away.

Now I have a nice broth to use in a soup, or in any recipe that calls for chicken broth.

It’s a good feeling to use up even the scraps – although I may never attain to Mrs. Rachel Lynde’s high standards…

“Anne’s a good housekeeper…I’ve looked into her bread box and her scrap pail. I always judge a housekeeper by those, that’s what. There’s nothing in the pail that shouldn’t have been thrown away and no stale bread in the bread box…”

Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery

My kids are learning to drive.

And I thought potty-training was hard! Ha!

Now they are careening down the highway in a moving vehicle with passengers.

The scary thing about teaching someone to drive is that to learn they have to actually <gulp> drive.

They can study the books, watch the videos and ask all they questions they want – but until they actually get behind the wheel and start the vehicle, they will never know how to drive.

A few weeks ago my husband let our oldest drive the entire family to my sisters house – 3 hours away – at night – on New Year’s Eve – in frigidly cold temperatures and snow – on the interstate – and through the city.

I sat in the back seat and prayed.

As I prayed, I heard my husband telling our son what route to take to get there, and I realized that although he had been there thousands of times before – my son had always gone as a passenger.

He had never been in the driver’s seat.

He had never paid attention to the route. He never needed too – Dad was driving.

But now he was behind the wheel. He was the one assessing the road conditions, watching the traffic, following the route and making the decisions.

Just like his life.

From birth, his dad and I have been instructing and training him. But now he’s moving to the driver’s seat.

It won’t be long until he’s out on his own – making his own decisions.

It will be our turn to take the back seat and watch him choose the route he takes.

But believe me – we’ll be praying!

Long cold winter nights just call for fresh bread!

There’s something about the sun setting early against a snow covered landscape that makes us think about comfort foods – hot and filling soups with warm fresh bread!

We’ve had many of these evenings lately – including one this week.

Dagmar blessed us all with a yummy homemade Chicken Enchilada Soup and fresh hot potato rolls.

These rolls were delightfully soft little yeasty bundles so warm from the oven that the butter melted right in.

Words cannot adequately describe the aroma in the house while these little babies were baking! I’m so glad she doubled the recipe!

Potato Rolls

1 package active dry yeast (1/4 ounce)
1/4 cup warm water (110 -115 degrees)
1 cup warm milk (110-115 degrees)
1/4 cup shortening (we used butter)
1/2 cup warm mashed potatoes (you can use left-overs reheated in the microwave)
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, shortening, potatoes, egg, sugar, salt and 2 cups flour; beat until smooth.

Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and form into rolls. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 degree for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Remove to wire racks. Serve warm with lots of butter!

Yield: About 2 dozen.

Trust me – your family will rise up and call you blessed!

Have you ever had clipped a recipe (or bookmarked it on your computer) that really looked yummy – but it turned out to be a total dud?

It happened to me this week. I found a recipe for a blueberry baked oatmeal with no added fat that sounded promising and quite healthy. Angel girl helped me mix it up and we served it to our hungry crew at breakfast.

If I was expecting applause and smiles of appreciation – I was sorely disappointed.  It just didn’t taste that good.  At least they were polite – there were no sounds of gagging.

(Note to self – the butter in a traditional baked oatmeal is critical to the flavor of the final dish!)

I have since removed the link from my bookmarks – but I still have a half of a pan on the counter.

What do I do with it?

Part of me wants to feed it to the chickens – at least it will recycle into eggs. But I’m frugal enough to want to salvage something from it – I hate to waste precious blueberries!

In desperation – this morning I offered a treat from the candy bucket to any one who had a piece for breakfast.

What was I thinking? Bribing my kids with candy to eat a healthy breakfast?

Then I thought I would crumble it up and toast it to make a granola type topping to sprinkle on parfaits.

Yeah right – that didn’t work so well. Dagmar just walked in and asked what that mess was on the counter. Oops…at least that piece is going to the chickens.

<sigh> This one has me stumped.

My mom has had one of these massive kitchen fails  that has become a legend in our family folklore.

It was a regular run-of-the-mill evening meals. We had all gathered around the table and watched mom place a casserole in front of us.

The room was instantly quiet. For once in our lives all five of us were speechless.

We stared at that pan with looks of helpless horror. That was supper?

The top covered was covered in melted cheese – but under the cheese it looked suspiciously – green.

Dad prayed.

Mom served.

No one spoke.

We all began to push the cheese around with our forks and discovered that it truly was green underneath – (gulp) and somewhat fishy. A few ventured to take small bites.

Words can not adequately describe the taste. Yes, there was some gagging. It was a canned salmon and spinach concoction with melted cheese on the top.

Mom thought it would be a good way to use up some things from the pantry – never dreaming that the spinach would turn the whole thing green. She had the best of intentions but it was still a massive cooking fail.

My dad finally put his fork down and asked her to please never make this recipe again. We kids all cheered and mom laughed.

She threw the recipe away and Dad popped popcorn.

I never learned what happened to the rest of that infamous casserole – but we never saw it again.

While the true name of the casserole is clothed in oblivion – we will forever remember it as “The Green Fish Loaf” – mom’s most famous cooking nightmare.

At least I come by it naturally.

Anyone care to try some blueberry baked oatmeal?

I’ve linked this post up with my friend Myra over at My Blessed Life for her Friday Fails Fun!

This winter has been a dozy already!

We really had a lovely fall temperature wise- and a nice long one.

But once winter finally decided to make an appearance the first of December – it came with a vengeance.

We had our first major storm the second week of December with about a foot of snow dumped and strong winds to blow it around.

That was followed by the infamous (and deadly) Christmas Blizzard of 09. We had just barely gotten that one cleaned up when the next one hit this week.

From what I can figure – we get a new storm about every 2 weeks. At this rate – we should have snow up to the second story windows by March.

The snow itself isn’t so bad – I guess – but the arctic cold that comes with it is! With air temperatures below zero day after day – things start to break down. Important things – like vehicles and well pumps.

The combined effect of continual snow, wind, and frigidly cold air is numbing to the mind. It makes everyday things – like simply feeding the chickens – a nightmare.

We have a 4 feet high by 21 feet long by 10 feet wide drift that starts at the back door and covers the driveway and the house that is so packed in our tractor can’t budge it. The boys dug it out after the first snow – but gave up after Christmas since it keeps blowing shut.

Now we drive around it – over the lawn.

Just getting to the car means walking all the way around the drift – or through it. Try unloading a van full of groceries like that!

But my minor concerns are nothing compared to the large livestock producers in the area. Keeping the critters fed and water in this weather is both time consuming and dangerous.

Area schools have already missed several days of classes – and the winter is just beginning.

But it’s not all bad.

We’re safe and warm.

We have a wonderful furnace and nice thick insulation.

Our pantry and freezers are well-stocked.

We have electricity, running water and internet access.

But mostly we have rest.

My calendar for January is almost empty because no one has ventured to plan anything. Just imagine – an empty calendar.

I’m sure that once the weather warms up and the snow stops blowing – my schedule will start filling up. But for now – I will relish the quiet days with the wind blowing, the snow falling and my family around me.

Rest.