Breakfasts

back in the day..

on cold winter days

we LOVED eating things like..

cream of wheat (oh MY!)

and Oatmeal

now

nice HOT breakfasts are the BEST way to start a day!

now, that we are gluten free

breakfast is FULL of more variety!

From Rice & Shine

to cooked Quinoa

and Buckwheat!

We still eat oatmeal,

 but now we cook Gluten Free Oatmeal

Check out these HAPPY little campers

Little Man is VERY happy to be sitting at the bench..

Mama is NOT so happy as he is

HE is a loose cannon unbound and not in a highchair

can we spell 

STRESS

See that bowl?

yummy!

Opa brings these amazing Syrups

Blackberry

Currant

Strawberry

Raspberry

OPA is very fun.

these have no odd dyes so even Buddy can partake

and he LOVES it!

Princess is Thrilled they love the breakfast she prepared

and I just love the happy faces!

eating

and getting bigger EVERY day!

What fun breakfasts do you love to make?

Waffles?

bacon & eggs?

Quiche? 

Crepes?

Breakfast Strata's?

hmmm

Tonight we made gluten free biscuits and gravy

breakfast for supper?

yep

wonderful!

feet

precious pitter patter of little feet

the thunder of jumping off beds over my head

cold toes on my belly

soapy feet pat patting on the mat

I could kiss your feet all day long

for now..

but time will change that

they will grow

and you will go

I just wonder where they will take you

May you walk in paths of righteousness for His names sake

YOU are loved

gluten free, dairy free, HOME made Chicken Nuggets

Gluten Free?

yes... 

makes things difficult

Dairy free

yes.. some of us (little man) are Casein free

yep 

that makes it MORE difficult 

but

we shall NOT be defeated

we WILL eat wonderful, nutritious, delicious foods!

To start

I got some eggs

I always save my shells,

my coffee grinds

my onion peels

potato peels

carrot peels

celery ends

etc

to go into my compost

I would LOVE a super cool compost bucket

like this neat one from OXO

or

like this one from RSVP

or

like this one from Le Chef

the French White Ceramic is darling

and it's being square is just

SO 

unique!

instead

for NOW

I am being very 

"Dave Ramsey" 

as we call it here at the farm

meaning 

Penurious.

what does "penurious" mean?

Adj.	1.	penurious - not having enough money to pay for necessities hard up, impecunious, in straitened circumstances, penniless, pinched poor - having little money or few possessions; "deplored the gap between rich and poor countries"; "the proverbial poor artist living in a garret"
	2.	penurious - excessively unwilling to spend; "parsimonious thrift relieved by few generous impulses"; "lived in a most penurious manner--denying himself every indulgence" parsimonious stingy, ungenerous - unwilling to spend; "she practices economy without being stingy"; "an ungenerous response to the appeal for funds

 you could also say cheap..

but penurious just SOUNDS nicer

but ..

really isn't

so we also say

"dave"

and I just use a bowl to put my kitchen compost in!
then I send out Buddy to dump it in the BIG compost

adding a little salt & pepper

I scrambled about 6 eggs  

in an ENTIRELY different bowl

cut up a bag (previously frozen)

of Chicken Breast

any meat works for this

chicken tenderloin, a WHOLE chicken

with bone

with out bone

really it's quite versatile 

yep

it's a super handy helper here at the farm

some day 

when I am not in construction zone

and I have a real kitchen again

I will be 100% 

(ok 95%)

Nourishing Traditions girl

making my own EVERYTHING

but for now

I need some healthy shortcuts

and Betty is THERE for me 

but as THERE for me as Betty is..

she's a bit bland

and THAT is ok

because I AM NOT!

I add a bit of 

Sea Salt

Mrs. Dash

Herbs de Provence

Garlic

Paprika

to her blend

I usually use a brown bag..

but improv is a good thing

and ALL I had was Ziploc

so 

Viva la Ziploc! 

I mix Betty's Blend

and MY spice blend together

by carefully CLOSING the bag

and shaking it a LOT

Buddy LOVES to do this part!

I just like to be the one who CLOSES the bag

because

well..

need I explain?

then I plug in and preheat my fancy dancy ELECTRIC skillet

I actually like this BETTER than any other way to cook it

I have had this for 14 years or so

it was my Tante Renate's before it was mine

I LOVE IT!

it has traveled ALL over the United States of America with us

that and my crockpots..

but to be frank, I am on like my 5th crockpot

and this thing is ONLY NOW

starting to show it's getting worn down..

I add my oil

now..

this is OLIVE OIL

yes

extra virgin 

yummy 

and all that.

(I get mine at Costco)

but it is again IMPROV of me to use it

because usually I use

cold pressed, organic (etc etc etc)

Coconut Oil

I get mine from Tropical Traditions...

but we ran out!

and Olive Oil is a plenty in our lives

(Costco is LOVED!)

so I will use it for this recipe

now to bread my chicken

I don't follow Betty's instructions EXACTLY

I drop my chicken in the GF mix

and then in the egg mix

and then BACK into the GF mix

shaking it well

and making sure it is evenly coated at each step

I do it all at once

as it is neater, cleaner and faster that way..

NOW I am ready for the cooking process

the THING about cooking in Olive oil is..

I won't get QUITE the same SEAR

as I would with Coconut oil

as the two oils have different smoke points

so I have a fan going

and my heat is a little less than is typical

see how nice it's starting to look..

cooking for a WHOLE crew

Machine Man

C.S.

Princess

Buddy

Little Man

Opa

and myself

means

a whole LOTTA chicken

so I grab a chair and a soda

(love coca cola)

and fry away..

putting the chicken between layers of paper towel to absorb the oils

it's the BEST!!!!

the breading LOCKS in the moisture making it hard to overcook 

(at least I think so)

so it ends up a crunchy nugget shell

with a moist piece of chicken inside

YUMMY!

a new view

do you remember this

sad sad scene?

Peggy the Pick up slidding into my new fire pit? 

ok

ALMOST

Peggy the Pick up truck stopping and parking someplace

NOT 

on my driveway

It was a laugh cry moment indeed.. 

but..

I was with UTTER confidence that my beloved

Machine Man 

would prevail and rescue Peggy.

and

(drum roll)

is that a NEW view for Peggy?

YEP !

The plan 

(what ever it was..)

was indeed successful

now to deal with things leaking 

and..

and... and..

ah.. well

Peggy is safe and sound

Passion to LEARN

There has been a LOT of talk in the news

and at my supper table 

of the cost of fuel

the cost of oil

the cost of...

and with ALL that chatter

one lad realized something..

he didn't KNOW anything about 

ALL of that

but he REALLY wanted to

he wants to grasp the things the men speak of

and not JUST be quiet

because of ignorance

and being I have been homeschooling 

for a VERY long time now...

and have, well a few books about..

and hunting around for something HE remembered seeing once

Buddy found THIS

packed it in his Zuca

and brought it up here for me to read to him...

pretty snazzy 6 year old

(almost 7)

wow!

I appreciate anyone's desire to learn

especially when it is derived out of a passion TO LEARN

to NOT be ignorant of the discussion and fake it anways

to NOT wait till a teacher "gets around" to teaching it

but to pursue it

with vigor

and passion

and take matters into one's own hands

it's lovely to see

in anyone

but especially satisfying to see in one's own children

so 

here's to learning about 

OIL

Nature Walk discoveries...

;

I adore Nature Walks,

or Nature Hikes

(there IS a difference)

I enjoy them all year round

now the snow has temporarily melted

I wanted to document some discoveries

fungal infection on a tree ?

this looks a bit like

a paraite

eek.. can trees get cancer?

It seems we need to chop 

and BURN these

before it spreads further

awww. 

this nice tree I can see from the Littlest room

is near collapsing!

perhaps it needs to just get cut..

in hopes of new growth and plantings having a chance

eeeek

this is infested!

Must be a favored spot of woodpeckers!

someone living in there?

this just doesn't look...

good..

does it..

Not all discoveries are wonderful

some are hard to take

but

TRUTH 

and learning it

is what matters

because when we SEE clearly 

that which IS true

we can wisely choose the best path to follow

to lead to health and healing

lessons God is teaching through His Creation from nature

a little treasure FOUND!

So... I have to tell you, with this precious garden and

ALL those glorious trails

we've been planning...

we have thought a lot 

and more thinking is likely to happen

but THUS far,

as far as WE can figure

there are three sorts of trails here at Blessings Farm

Prairie trails

Garden trails

Forest Trails

(FOREST does NOT = Forrest)

(Forest meaning oooodles of trees growing closely together

Forrest is our tractor)

so again...

Three sorts of trails..

for the Prairie trails we rather like THIS look

Just mowing/bushhogging a nice path

and perhaps leveling it off

it's nice to be wide enough we can drive on it 

Trails like THIS

we want to make mulch

we just have to get

a ginormous mulcher

so the wood can just decompose and we can add to it 

as we mulch

These also would be nice if we might level them, 

not only would it be nice to drive through the MAIN trail

but we LOVE to ride bikes,

and it would be a BLAST to ride these trails!

But then there is the garden area..

and for that I would like something different

perhaps some 

brick?

but...

that could get pricey right?

At least THAT is the look I got from Machine Man

a LOOK a bit like this..

"did you REALLY just SAY that?

Did that actually COME out of your mouth?

YOU can't be thinking

I don't EVEN have words

so I am NOT saying anything"

why?

because He might realize just HOW much that look SAYS

so I did

what I do

I grumbled a little

got NO where

figured it should be shelved

(note- not dropped, just shelved)

and I took it to the Lord in PRAYER

GUESS WHAT!

you know how I mentioned 

that when the Blessings & I went out walking

we could SEE more now that the grasses

were bowing under the weight of snow?

Do you recall how I saw the trail was actually wider

well

I confess

there's been some discoveries we've NOT been thrill to find

hidden in the tall grasses

(more to follow in a different post)

well HERE is one that made me LIGHT up with

EXCITEMENT

is that BRICK

good quality

THICK BRICK?

yep

it sure is

looks like a huge box of brick to me :)

hidden and forgotten by time

JUST waiting

for my walkways to be made :)

(dancing a jig)

Isn't God AWESOME!? 

so it's not gold, silver or oil

but it's a treasure to me

(smiling!)