When life gives you beans

When life gives you beans, sometimes you burn them!

 Those are not black beans! I burnt these beans to a crisp

When that happens you have to wipe away the tears (because you almost burned down the house and dinner is ruined) and come up with something else for dinner fast because the family is telling you how starving they are. So you are going to start all over again and create something better

This is a really easy dish. My kids and husband love it! I use it for burritos, with rice or on top of homemade nachos. You can add whatever you want to it but here is the recipe I use

1lb. ground beef or turkey

3 cups of beans ( I use kidney/pinto and black beans.)

1 cup old fashioned oats

1 small onion

3 cloves of garlic

2 tbs taco seasoning

1 cup of water

salt to taste

cook the meat and then add all other ingredients and let cook on low heat, covered, for about 20-25 minutes

Baking soda, Use it, you will like it!

I make most of the cleaners we use but I didn't always. I was just living my life, spraying my home with toxic commercial cleaners. I remember whenever I cleaned the bathroom, I would actually have to take breaks while cleaning, just to get fresh air. That should be a red flag! But I went along for years, oblivious of the dangers. I figured, if they sold it for everyday household cleaning then it was safe to use right? 

Well, I finally came to my senses in 2009 and I haven't looked back. Not only am I actually able to clean my bathroom without going into an asthma attack which I don't have, I save sooo much money.

So today, I will talk about one of my favorite cleaners. Baking Soda! You probably have it in your kitchen and you have probably read about the wonders of baking soda from a million other bloggers but that is because it is amazing stuff.

I clean my bathtub, sinks, toilets and rust stains with baking soda. Baking soda has so many uses!

When cleaning say my bathtub, I just sprinkle it around the tub, take a damp little scrub pad and add a little muscle. It doesn't take too much effort and you will have a very clean bathtub.

 very clean tub with messy little ducks

I can feel comfortable letting my ducklings swim in my tub because it is clean and when they are done, I clean it with baking soda and spray it with a homemade disinfectant( I will talk about it another day) and it is people friendly again. When you have animals you have to share your tub at times but in my home we are prepared

Just a homemade girl style

I love clothes! What girl doesn't? When I am working at home at least during the summer you will find me in capris and boots and I think I pull it off paretty good. But, if I am going somewhere, unless it is the local feed store, I try to look presentable.
Since this blog is about me, I decided to post some pictures that reflect my style off the farm(aka my 1/2 acre).
I hired a model but it turned out she wasn't a very good one.  She is pretty silly though so I decided to use her anyway

This outfit has me written all over it. I would have paired the top with a cardigan but my model said it was too hot.
This whole outfit cost $22. That includes the shoes. If my model had cooperated and worn the little cardigan, the outfit still would have cost under $26
I never shop retail. Retail is a waste of money, it is completely unnecessary  and I am on a budget. I shop clearance and thrift store and have even found great stuff at flea markets.
I make sure when I'm shopping for clothes, that I have the time to browse so I don't miss anything.

You gotta have Boots!

I have a great love for boots and you will often see me wearing them. I believe a gardener/homesteader/farmer needs boots and maybe some more boots. Work boots are a must for your everyday working needs. If you only have one pair, make sure they are a comfortable pair. There are many good, comfortable work boots. My favorite are a sturdy pair of Justins. These are my go to work boots as long as it's not raining.Of course they are perfectly fine in the rain but because I like to dress according to weather I have a pair of rain boots for rainy days.
I used to work in flip flops until I got one of them caught in a crack on our brick wall while pulling weeds and fell off my garden wall......twice. We have moved since then and I no longer have a terraced garden but it's better to be safe. I feel nice and safe in my sturdy little Justins.

snooty little ducks

My hubby Joe, loves the ducklings. The ducklings don't love any human. They consider us all a necessary nuisance. They chirp at us to feed them and once they have food and water, they screech at us to go away. They are funny little creatures.

Joe loves watching them swim in their pool. They get upset if he gets too close and they swim to the other side.

 Joe being shunned by the babies

The last 2 weeks on the "Homestead"

I haven't posted anything for a few weeks. The chore list has seemed endless. We have had rain almost every day for 2 weeks! It has done wonders for my garden, which went from little tiny plants to "I need a bigger garden" plants

 before the rain

  After the rain

                          

  And of course with all this rain comes the weeds. I am still trying to                                                                       catch up on the weeding

Along with my growing garden, I have been raising ducklings. They are so stinkin cute but man are they messy. In the last week they went from being little and messy to double in size and messier.

                                             

Figgy, Fille and Lulu at 2 weeks old

                                        

 Figgy, Fille and Lulu 3 1/2 weeks old.

The ducklings needed a new temporary house until we move them to the coop so we went shopping. My daughter thought she should test it out to make sure it was big enough

The girls have been laying lots of eggs. I plan on freezing some of the excess for the winter.

We ordered some new furniture a few months ago. The first couch that was delivered was broken. The replacement couch was delivered last week and to our surprise was also broken. It took another week to get it straightened out.

My family and I have been experimenting with different smoothie flavors lately. Even with the rain, it has been very hot outside and we have been living off of sandwiches, salads and smoothies so we have to get creative.

Avocado, spinach, mango and strawberry smoothie. It looks like pea soup but it was surprisingly     delicious                       

My husband was out of town for 17 days, missing out on all the happenings here but he was very thoughtful and sent me flowers.

The Gardener

Let's recognize the gardener for a moment. She is passionate about her plants. She doesn't see them as plants, they are more like her children. She tends to them daily. She feeds and waters them, prunes and guides them, encourages them.
The gardener is determined. She expects her plants to grow and will combat birds, critters, insects and plant diseases to insure that each plant reaches it's potential.
The gardener is reliable. She gets up at the crack of dawn to make sure her plants get weeded and watered before it is too hot outside (for the plants and for her of course)
The gardener is curious and creative, an artist if you will. The dirt is her canvas. She likes variety and color. Creating her garden is an outlet for her creativity. It is true that Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and to the gardener, her garden is a beautiful work of art. She plants many different plant varieties to see what she is capable of growing. She learns from her mistakes but is never deterred from learning and planting something new.
The Gardener is a hard worker. Her hair may be a tangled mess, she may have dirt under her nails and on her clothes. She may even be a bit sweaty but she will work until her job is finished.

  

Most importantly, the gardener believes in miracles. She has seen each one of her plants as a seed. She has watched them grow and thrive. she has seen them wilt and wither and then come to life again. She has pruned disease off of them, until they were just a stem and watched them come back stronger. 

 

Have you hugged YOUR gardener today?

Top 3 dinners of the week

Back to the daily grind. I have spent the last week planning a memorial service that will take place across the U.S in Oregon. It was not an easy task and without the help of some very wonderful people, I don't know if I could have done it. At least not as well. But I have ignored my regular duties long enough.
I am truly a simple woman. I love recipes that are healthy or at least follow my 80/20 rule and are very simple in making. I don't want to spend my life in the kitchen. I have weeds to fight with and chickens to laugh at.
Here is what has made it into our top three easy dinners lately.

Our #1 go to dinner this week is taco salad.
My kids love taco salad, heck, everyone loves taco salad and you probably even have a good recipe memorized. It is fast, easy, budget friendly and healthy
Our Taco salad consists of
1lb cooked ground beef or turkey(whatever is in the freezer)
1 C. black beans
1 head of lettuce (any kind)
1 tomato
1 can olives
1 small onion, diced
1 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1 pk taco seasoning
1 reg. size bag tortilla chips
sourcream
salsa

I mix everything except the chips salsa and sourcream, those go on top or the side

 Beans and rice are a staple in my house. They are healthy and filling. I can make large batches of beans and rice and freeze them.
Most of the time we eat beans and rice in one of two ways. with a tortilla or without. We always top our beans and rice with lettuce, tomato, sourcream and salsa. Cheese if we have it. It is a cheap, healthy and quick dinner and it is our #2 go to dinner this week

Our #3 is BBq chicken and vegetables with rice or mashed potatoes.
One day I was low on ingredients. I had some boneless chicken thighs, 1/2 bottle of bbq sauce, a head of cabbage, a few carrots and an onion.
I decided to mix these ingredients and serve it with rice. My family loved it, including my ever picky 19 year old daughter. They now ask me to make this dish regularly.

1lb cooked and shredded boneless chicken
1/3 head cabbage, sliced into thin strips
3 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 C. bbq sauce (commercial or homemade)
2 C. water
6 C. cooked rice or you can use mashed potatoes, it is still yummy

In a skillet mix cooked chicken, carrots, onions, cabbage, bbq sauce and water. stir, cover and cook on med/low for about 20 minutes or until veggies are cooked through. Serve over rice or potatoes.

This is another inexpensive and fairly healthy dish depending on the bbq sauce and what you put in your mashed potatoes. My potatoes are pretty healthy but I use regular store bought bbq sauce because I have yet to find a bbq sauce recipe that I like. I usually have cooked chicken in my freezer to cut cook time down but it still doesn't take very long if you have to cook it. Sorry, I don't have a picture for this one but my family loves it and it is a great way to get the kids to eat vegetables.

It's all for you Bran

I don't think people realize how much a death in the family affects you until it happens. I know I fell into that group. I would feel sadness for someone who had lost a family member. Never really knowing how they felt. My grandparents died when I was younger, but that was before I could really understand it. The death of a young person however, pierces straight through your heart causing it to shatter. The ache is so profound you can't catch your breath. You feel like crumbling into a million little pieces.
This has been my experience over the last week. my sweet nephew Brandon, passed away at the young age of 21. He had Lupus and struggled with his health. He spent the last four months of his life trying to regain it. Brandon's moment of triumph, was being called home by our Heavenly Father.
Death. It hurts the living, the loved ones left behind. It leaves us aching, trying to continue life with a hole in our heart. But it can also serve a purpose. It brings people together. The best parts of us shine. acts of service, compassion, empathy. People you have never met want to help. All for a sweet young man who was too young to leave us. His mourning and broken family has seen a wonderful side of humans.The human race becomes what God intended us to be. Love.

Brandon Lee Karey Potter
 July 16, 1992-May 23, 2014