LABOR Day...

So the guys are off from work today!
We've been enjoying the unordinarily cool weather in the 80's. So my husband decided with the 3 day weekend we'd get going on the new pig pens. We've got the main beams concreted in the ground. -This took much time & muscle from my husband & son as the ground back there is soooooo hard.
They have gone to home depot for the wood to frame the roof. The actual roof will be tin that we got for FREE! Woo hoo! We already have the gate & most of the pannels so other than the roof it's not costing us too much. (Wood has gone up like everything else though)
Yesterday after a day of working we made a trip to Sams and then enjoyed the evening out on the porch. We made bbq chicken, mexican corn, baked potatoes, & lemon pound cake. The cake was on sale at Sams and oh my is it good! I see that as a yummy breakfast with my coffee for the next couple of days....I'm so bad. lol
Today we'll be grilling again this evening. Hamburgers this time & probably just chips to go with them as we'll be busy.
I will share some pictures of the pen when we finish & also probably have it on our youtube channel. --I'm really enjoying the youtube!
Hope ya'll have a fun labor day.

Salad, beautiful salad...

Garden: lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, pea pods, radishes
Mexican: lettuce, tortillia strips (or chips), taco meat, beans, cheese, tomato
Asian: lettuce, chinese crunchy noodles, mandarin oranges, cabbage, shredded carrot
Dinner or meal:
-Pineapple salad- lettuce, red onion, grilled chicken, grilled pineapple
-Fried- breaded chicken strips & any toppings
-Cob- lettuce, diced ham, chopped boiled egg, & any other toppings
Those are just a few. Get creative & enjoy those salads!

A productive Monday

I got quite a bit accomplished today. Deep cleaned the living room & kitchen AND got my new craft room in order.
Now next week for the fun stuff. Get some bright fun things for the craft room...material for curtains, peg board, etc. Since it's not in the house I am going to go with some really fun colorful decorations. I can't wait!

Mid August Around the Homestead

So it's mid August so I thought I'd share a few things that we've been doing around the homestead.

~Once a week baking - on the porch of course as temps have not been below 100 in quite a while.

~ 4 batches of soap made

~Canned some pinto beans for the first time

~ Organized all the pantry's and freezers

~Made a small koi pond

~Died our big pond blue (it's really neat looking)

~Doing some evening fishing

~Getting ready for a rummage sale

~Homeschooling (Started back Aug. 1)

~Lots of swimming
~Got my daughter signed up for dance class

That & probably more I'm forgetting. Along with making sure the animals don't run out of water. It's been a hot, hot summer with no rain. Most plant life around here is shriveled up.

I'm ever so ready for fall!

Cooking Day Today

I had a cooking day today.
I made:
Granola cereal
Chewy granola bars - heavenly homemakers recipe
Mexican chocolate dipped pecans
Breakfast burritos (freezer)

Tomorrow I plan on making:
applesauce muffins (freezer) - heavenly homemakers recipe
pancakes (freezer and for our breakfast)

I also cleaned out 2 of the pantries and the small freezer. I spent most of the day indoors other than to hang clothes on the line. It's been around 106-110 the last few days so the dryer will not be on any time soon! The only plus is the clothes sure don't take long to dry.

Healthier Chicken Nuggets or Strips

Most of us enjoy chicken nuggets until we started hearing here & there about what "bad" things are in them. Then we watched a show called "Kill it, Cook it, Eat it." Well after seeing all the "junk" we have all given those babies up!
Of course, there is a healthier way to make something similar and much tastier too!

Homemade chicken nuggets/strips

Take some boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
Cut them into nuggets or strips.

In a bowl mash up cornflakes OR rice krispies OR use bread crumbs.
Add a little onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, & basil.
OR (another OR) just use shake & bake like my mama does. They're good.

Roll the chicken around until covered.

Put on a sprayed cookie sheet. Then spray the top of the chicken with the spray. (Get one of those misters you can put coconut or olive oil in)

Put in oven on 350 for about 30 minutes or until done.

YUMMY!

*In case you're wondering why I have so very many "or's," it's because I use what I have on hand for many recipes & it almost always turns out fine. No need to run to the store for bread crumbs when you have crackers, etc.

Back to school

Starting our 2011-2012 school year today.