Trying to be Pioneer Woman

      My husband is doing field tiling with his uncle for a couple weeks this summer, about 2 hours away, and he told me that  I could make some food to send with him when he heads down every Monday. I asked him what he would like, and he named a few things, and one of them was lasagna. I have always wanted to make and taste PW's lasagna, but I tend to have the bare minimum ingredients around, so I never could make her's. I decided that since this would be for my hard hard working hubby (that I will only get to see Saturday evenings, and Sundays for the next 4 weeks) and co-workers, I would splurge and just go get all the ingredients needed.

I boiled 12 lasagna noodles in water with 1 Tablespoon olive oil, and salt. Then when they were still somewhat firm, I removed them and placed them on foil, like PW says to do. Then fry up 1 1/2 lbs ground beef, and 1 lb hot breakfast sausage. Drain the grease, and PW says to add 2 14.5oz cans of whole tomatoes, juice and all. I had 2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes, so I decided not to go buy canned whole tomatoes. Also to add 2 6oz cans of tomato paste, and simmer on low for 45 minutes (I doubt I Simmered mine for 45 minutes, I just simmered it, until I was ready to use it.)

Next combine 3 cups of cottage cheese, 2 eggs (that were layed yesterday! HA! Beat that PW!! ;-) and 1/2 cup of PARMESAN cheese, NOT mozzarella, like what I thought, if you do, just pick out the mozz cheese, it's not that bad :)

Now here is where I kind of slacked, PW says to get fresh parsley and basil, well I didn't I just used dried that I had on hand.... I don't know how much I put in of each, but I just did what I thought looked like what was in her picture, when it was all mixed up.

                                      

Now layer, noodles........

Cottage cheese mixture, then sprinkle mozz cheese over the cottage cheese.........

Simmering beef mixture :).........

 And repeat, then sprinkle more parmesian cheese on top of the last layer of beef. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until bubbly. (By the way all these dishes, and some from this morning and last night, can all be washed, dried and put away before it is done baking!!!!! (I NEVER get that done, so I had to brag a tiny bit :)

I got to thinking that I have never had PW lasagna, and I wouldn't if I sent ALL this down to Roseburg with Hubby. I will admit, I was kind of jealous they would get it all and I wouldn't.... but since I had 2 extra noodles left, I decided to save a little bit of each layer to make my own mini PW lasagnas. I couldnt think of anything small enough to cook them in, then I remembered these CUTE barbed wire designed ramekins? rumikens? however you say them, sute little round dishes with barbed wire on the side, that my sister-in-law's parents gave us for a wedding gift. How perfect!!!

Here is my little mini lasagnas...

 And I had to get a picture of the design.......

 And TA-DA! A generous sized meal for the guys, and 2 little ones for me. !

Our Crazy Chickens!!

I know it has been a while since i have posted, all  I can say is that this spring has been very busy! Anyways, today is one of the first Saturdays Leon and I got to spend at home together. There have been many strange new happenings with our chickens.....

First of all our huge buff chicken is now a rooster, it crows, it's huge, and it is mean! About 2 weeks ago I went out to gather the eggs, and we knew it was a rooster because of it's crow, so I decided I was going to keep space between him and me. Well I guess it wasn't enough space. One minute he was pecking at the ground, and then all of a sudden he perks up, and comes after me, I scream/squeel, "BRODY" (my dog's name) at the top of my lungs, hoping he would come kill this mean rooster that just came after me, but he didn't.... I kicked at the dumb bird, and my shoe fell off, but I turned to step on the hot wire, so I could get out of the pen, but right before I did, I realized I didn't have my shoe on, so I had to quick get it back on, then I could step on the wire and get out!

Leon didn't believe me that the rooster attacked me, so he went out there when he got home, and at first the rooster didn't do a thing, then it just snapped on Leon too! Leon gave it a quick kick, then he swung his leg back and really let the bird have it! It hit the side of the trailer, then slid down between the wheel well and the trail, wiggle out, then staggered away. So there, the rooster really IS mean!!!!! I have told some people about how my rooster just snapped and became mean, and 2 other people told me their roosters just started to become mean also!!!! I don't know why all of a sudden they are mean, but I'm not doing chicken chores until that rooster is gone!

This is the rooster crowing

Another random chicken experience was that yesterday, the neighbor kids came over and told me there were like 18 eggs in the side of their dad's seed shed, that borders our chickens and cows. I had just woken up from a nap, so I wasn't sure if I herd them right, but I did. They went over to the side of the shed where 2 boards had been removed, and the kept pulling out egg after egg!!!! They were all white eggs, and we only have 2 chickens that lay white eggs.... We have been getting at least 1 white egg a day, so that means that 1 of the chickens has been laying in there consistantly for the last few weeks!!!!

Last but not least was that today when Leon gathered the eggs, he found this monster egg up in the nose of the trailer, where 1 of the chickens has made a nice little nest out of hay. I don't think these pictures do the egg justice, it could be a triple yoker!!! This egg is HUGE!!!!!!!

The egg on the right is the size of what I would consider a large or close to jumbo egg, like one you would get from the grocery store, the egg on the left is our monster egg!

And this is just a cute picture of Moose, that I couldn't help but post :)

Our First Egg!

I was JUST thinking about how long it has been since I blogged, knowing it had been a while, and I couldn't really think of what to blog about. So I decided to go out and feed and water my chickens, and check on my puppies hurt leg. When I opened up my chicken coop door, I saw it! The first egg from my chickens!!! It is a small brown one!!  I am sooo happy!!!

I'm trying to get my dogs used to being around chickens so they wont kill them.....

Life around me is FULL of new life! TWO of my friends had a baby yesterday, another two are due VERY soon (one of them is my sister in law), I know A LOT of pregnant ladies, and one my chickens layed an egg today! New life is so precious, even if it is a poop covered egg :)

I have always been amazed at how new baby animals just know what to do when they are born, get up and start feeding! Even human babies, without any instructions (except for the getting up part :) )! Also studying how animals work from the inside out, seeing how in the brain and nerves, that EVERYTHING has to be just right, so the body can function, and messages can be sent through ion channels to tell you something is HOT or cold, it hurts, or telling you "You'r upside down". I just can't help but be in awe of our creator, and how His blueprints for our lives make us function.

Baby Cake

I have been seeing these cute diaper cakes all over the internet, and I have wanted to make one so bad! My friend had her baby shower last night, so my other friend and I made 1 for her! I had read a few tutorials online, but I never found 1 that i liked exactly how they put it together, so like me recipes, I took a little piece from each tutorial to make my own diaper cake variety :)

 The very first thing we did was roll the diapers up. We used small rubber bands to hold them together. I bought an 84 pack of size 3 diapers to make this cake. We only used probably 60 diapers to make the cake though.

 Here are the little decoration things we put on the cake, and the diapers.

 This is a random close up of the base. We rolled up the diapers for the base, then held together like 3 rolls of diapers with a rubber band, we really just stuck rubber bands all around to make sure they all stuck together :) We substituted 2 diaper rolls for a bottle of baby powder. My friend did the cute bow (it is far above my talents ;)...) I had an idea of what I thought would look cute, had no idea how to do it, and she made exactly what I was thinking!

 We laced the yellow ribbon on the second tier with the letters that spelled out her last name (Yoder), and on the top tier we laced the word Baby. We held the ribbon down with hot glue.

 We kind of just stuck the socks and little animals where we could fit them on.

Ta-da!!!

Mini Lasagnas

Recently I have been spending some of my free time browsing Pinterest, mostly the foods, and craft sections, and while browsing I come across MANY recipes I want to try, like this mini lasagna! It really fun to make, and I think it is easier than making a full blown regular lasagna (and they are cute!) 

The recipe I kind of followed, used amounts that were JUST under what I would consider normal, like they said to use 12 oz of ground turkey, (I used beef) but the 12 oz?? I just used a whole pond of beef, also for the ricotta cheese it said to use 1 1/2 cups, but the whole container was almost 2 cups, so I just used the whole container. I also don't remember how many oz's of pizza sauce they said to use, because I don't buy pizza sauce, I used the stuff I made and canned this summer, so I just added what I thought looked like the right consistency for lasagna. which was almost a whole pint.

 So, begin by frying up your burger, and half of an onion. Drain when it's all brown, then add almost a whole pint of pizza/ spaghetti sauce, salt, pepper, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp basil, and 2 minced cloves of garlic.

 Use a whole 8 oz container of ricotta cheese. and mix in 1 tsp of dried oregano....

 Now spray the cup cake pan, and open the won ton wrappers!

 Place 1 won ton wrapper in each hole, and I found that using a small cookie scoop worked best to scoop the cheese, and the ground beef mixture, worked best. So layer cheese, beef, then another wont ton wrapper.

 Then again layer on top of the second wont ton wrapper, cheese, then beef mixture...

Pre heat your oven to 375, then sprinkle the tops of the mini lasagnas with mozzarella cheese, and bake for 10 minutes, or untill the cheese is melted!

I made these to feed 4 people, and I was worried 3 wasn't going to be enough for everyone, but we had 3 left over lasagnas, these little things are more filling than you may think.... Also I have to admit, I think I forgot to add salt and pepper to these, so to me at least, they tasted a little bland, but everyone else thought they were great (I wonder if they were just trying to be nice :).....) 

The Recipe..

1 lb ground beef

1/2 onion chopped

almost 1 pint pizza sauce

3 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

8 oz ricotta cheese

24 won ton wrappers

mozzarella cheese

and SALT and PEPPER! :)

Bake 375 for 10 minutes

Super easy "Fancy" bread!

So first, I want to give my friend Ruth all the credit for exposing me to this, and coaching me on how to do it! :)

The other day Ruth told me about this artisan bread that is really easy and very delicious! I'm not really the best at making breads. She told me that you just dump all the ingredients in a container, mix, let "rest" for 2 hrs, then set in your fridge for up to 2 weeks, and you can pull out a chunk and make it whenever! This amazing bread is from artisanbreadinfive.com . It takes seriously like 5 minutes to mix, no kneeding, and no punching it down!!!! In a 5 to 6 qt container add the following.... That's all!!!

1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/4 T kosher salt
3 C luke warm water
6 1/2 C all purpose flour

Seal like 3 corners of the lid, so there still is an opening. Let it sit out for 2 hrs, then you can either cut a chunk off to make a loaf, or put it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, and you can pull it out to make a loaf whenever you want! When you do get a chunk out, sprinkle the top of the dough that is in the bucket with some flour so the dough doesn't stick to your hand when you grab it.


 Get out some corn meal and sprinkle it onto what you are going to let it sit on before you cook it, something your not going to bake it on (I used my cutting board). The corn meal keeps it from sticking to the board, I guess you an also use parchment paper, but when you bake it you have to remove it like 15 minutes before the bread is done cooking. SO back to shaping your dough, shape it, then let it sit on the corn meal covered surface your not going to bake it on :) for at least 40 minutes. While it is "resting" pre heat your oven to 450 degrees, and immediately place what you are going to bake it on, into the oven, and a broiler pan on the shelf below it.

The people from "artisan bread in five" recommend to use a flat cast iron baking plate, or a pizza stone (if using a pizza stone place broiler pan on lowest rack, and place stone on rack like 2 racks higher (so you dont crack your stone when you put the water in)

I dont have either and Ruth had a brilliant idea of turning your cast iron pan upside down and using it that way :) What a great idea!!

After the oven is heated, slide the dough onto the pan, then add 1 cup hot water to the broiler pan and close the oven door!! I think the steam helps make the crust. I made a small loaf because I wanted to just try it quick, and it was only Leon and I, so I baked it for only 20 minutes, but a full loaf will take 30-40 minutes.

This was the most easy and delicious bread!!! (for a gourmet bread) I like my good ol' sandwich type homemade bread, but Leon and I love to dip bread in oil and balsamic vinegar, and this bread is PERFECT for it!!!! YUMMMMMMMERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Shoot out

I know it's Valentines Day, but I'm not in the loving gushy mood this morning, what I'm in the mood for is shooting!!!! We brought our chickens home last night, and zip tied all the fence to the bottom rail so that NO dogs could get in....then this morning 8 chickens were dead, and some were just injured, that is why I'm in the mood to shoot!!! We have 10 chickens left, and they are secured in a horse trailer that no animal could get in...hopefully...... Now Brody has a dead chicken tied to his collar, I hope he gets the point!!! Anyways.....

The other weekend my brother came down, to have a man date with my husband :) They both had Cabela's gift cards and wanted to spend them, also my sister-in-law was out of town, so Tony my brother decided to hang out down here with us. I had to work that morning, so they went shopping, then they were going to have a shoot out after they got back, and this is what I came home to....

 This is my dad's shot gun that he gave to my brother, I know it's a 12 gauge, and really long and heavy.

 Moose and Brisko slept through most of the shooting!

 Brody kept going in front of the shooters, and wanting to chase the skeet, so we tied him up.

 Some of their trucks...Everything is represented, Nissan, Dodge, Chevy, Ford.

 This is our friend's son Peyton, he brought his gun too.

 My brother's gun.

 I don't know who's guns these are...

 It was freezing, so the puppies kept me warm :)

 This is the back of my car...the loading station.

 This was our makeshift target...

I just have to brag a tiny bit....I WON A GAME OF ELIMINATION!!!!!!! :) Then I quit shooting on that high point. For those of you who don't know, elimination is when you all line up and the first person yells "pull" the thrower throws the skeet, then whoever yelled "pull" gets 1 shot to shoot the skeet, then if they miss the next person gets a try, and if they shoot it, the then first person is out...I survived, and won a game :)