Making the Perfect Hard Boiled Egg - A Tutorial

It's getting close to Easter and everyone knows that the dreaded coloring of mass quantities of eggs is in their immediate future. Why not get those eggs cooked properly the first time so you can use them for various recipes that are totally DELICIOUS!

Put your clean eggs into a pot and cover with water.

Bring to a full rolling boil and cover with lid and remove from heat.

Let sit for 15-20 minutes and then drain hot water from the pot. Rinse the eggs with cold tap water and then put in egg cartons to chill in the fridge to prepare later. Make sure you mark your egg containers if you also have raw eggs in the fridge or you might end up with a surprise when you try to crack an egg open to eat.

Now that you know how to make hard boiled eggs, you can make devilled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, or even color Easter Eggs. 

Chicken Whisperer & More

Sunday we headed to the Tractor Supply Co in Columbia, MO to see The Chicken Whisperer who was giving a mini-clinic on Backyard Chicken keeping.

We had a great time and would suggest that you check out his Facebook page to see his next stop so you can learn a little about the backyard chicken movement. Learn how to get started and really what NOT to do that you see folks do all the time on some of the larger followed webpages.

At TSC I was able to finally get a wheelbarrow for my gardening escapades. Clearanced for $30. YES! It came in handy yesterday for getting all the straw and mess from the garden plot all rounded up and put into a mulch pile.

After the trip to TSC we headed for Jo-Anns to get more plastic snaps for my training pants making addiction. (why do I subject myself to this torture?) Of course with a vehicle full of boys, they see a Goodwill Store and wanted me to stop there so they could check it out. Glad they suckered me into it as I landed a score with a Little Tikes basketball goal for Jake for $6.

I'll be busy for the next few days preparing the garden for planting and all fun things that make muscles you forgot you had ACHE. So the blog posts will be few.

Eggs? What do I do with them all?

So anyone who has gotten chickens for getting eggs will know that most happy and healthy chickens will lay one egg each day. We forget in our infinite wisdom that we add more chickens to that mix and say... 5 more in my case will drop anywhere from 4-6 eggs a day. So instead of 'chicken math' issues, we see a new problem of 'EGG MATH' hitting our little homesteads. What do we do with all our extra eggs our families won't be able to consume? Just imagine it... in 7 days time you will have at least 3-4 dozen eggs. How many do you eat or use each day? Don't rely on selling them as you always have one  person to undersell you in your area. Pfft on $1.50 a dozen as it doesn't even cover your feed costs and even shelter for your chickens.

I got a little behind on mine last fall and donated some to a local food pantry. I cut egg cartons in half so it could help more folks. Then after I brought my eggs to a more reasonable amount, I hit the search engines to find recipes and how to store my excess eggs. I was surprised to see how long FRESH from the chicken eggs last even at room temperature. Two months or more depending on if I washed them or whatever. So I found some great recipes and uses and will share an awesome one in this post today.

Egg Noodles

2 eggs
1 C Flour
1/2 tsp salt

Mix the flour and salt together with a fork. Make a well in the center and put two eggs in the center. Beat the eggs first and then bring in the flour from outside the well to mix into the eggs. When fully mixed it is a sticky mess. You will put this out onto a lightly floured board and knead it. Do this about 5 minutes until it is a nicer shaped ball without any clumps left of dry flour. Let sit for about 5 minutes or so. Cut this in half and roll out SUPER thin 1/16" or less on a floured board. Then take a pizza cutter or a sharp knive and cut whatever size noodles you want them to be. (Think lasagna to linguine sizes too) Then lay these cut pieces on a wire rack or pasta rack to dry at least 30 minutes. No more expensive Amish noodle packages or the frozen packaged noodles! You can totally dry these things and put in the freezer if you have any left. (but you won't)
To cook these noodles, toss them in boiling water or soup and cook until al dente.

I've had to cut mine into smaller lengths so people don't steal too many out of the pot and leave others without. If you are gluten free, you can substitute your own gluten-free flour that works best for you. You do not have to use semolina flour to make good noodles. Just jump in and give it a try. You can make spaghetti, wide noodles, linguine, lasagne, ravioli, and even pizza rolls from this stuff. The trick is 'thin' to make a nice noodle. If you have a picky eater in the house, let them help you make this and they will eat their work.

Have a great day!

Chick Days and Knowledge

If you've been to any of your local farm or feed stores lately you've surely heard the peep peep noises from certain dedicated store areas to these little fuzzy bundles of cuteness. Those little bundles of cuteness can control your life in some of the worst ways if you aren't careful and get sucked in.

Last year I was concerned about the high cost of food and wanted to become a little more self-sufficient in providing a little bit of relief to that hefty food bill we were getting. It really annoyed me that many of us living from check to check have to give up some types of foods over others due to the high prices of some of the basic necessities. EGGS were one of those things. Those little packaged items are priced like gold when you want to get them from the store. Brown eggs costing more than white eggs and heaven forbid we shoot for free-range eggs and pay even more! One thing I want to get off my chest right now is that: EGG COLOR DOESN'T MATTER! All egg color represents is the various breeds lay different color eggs. Same eggs no matter what color have nutrition in them. The color of the yolk is determined on the diet of the chicken who lays them. Yes, store bought eggs look anemic with the pale yellow color. Many of those eggs come from hens that are in cages and are fed a diet without all the other things that most barnyard chickens get. Ignore the call for vegetarian fed chickens too. Chickens are NOT vegetarians. They are OMNIVORES. They eat meat, they eat veggies, they eat grains, and they eat stuff that might just gross you out... BUGS! It's okay and fine for them to eat these other things. Their bodies need it for proper nutrition and nourishment.

Anyhow, if you want to take on a few birds to try for eggs and have never done this before... chickens really aren't that hard to raise. Note that chickens are livestock and you will need to check into the laws in your locale on whether you can even have any at all or if they have an anti-roo law. Also check if you have a maximum amount of chickens you can have. Chickens are meant to be kept in outdoor housing. Not in your house in your living areas. Yes, we might bring in chicks that we are brooding and under a light source for heat when it is cold outside, but ideally they need to be in a coop. So items you need to get started are more than just those fuzzy chicks. Get yourself knowledgeable first before you let a child or your nurturing side take over and just buy a bunch of cuties. Are your kids or you going to show your birds at shows? Are you only wanting eggs? Are you wanting meat? Are you willing to eat your chickens? Questions galore. I don't want to scare anyone off of birds, they are fun and easy... but they can be work as well.

For more info on raising chickens there are some good resources on that on the internet. Be careful of the fun groups that people dress their chickens and treat them like family. This is NOT healthy for the chicken or you if you think this is acceptable. Think Salmonella. Be safe and remember these things do poop and can't be trained to only poop in certain areas or poop at times on a leash or something. Poop carries bacteria. Bacteria can make you sick. Think about it.

My hangout with chickens that has had the best info and a little fun mixed in is:
 Buckeye Chickens on Facebook
Also check out their blog:
http://americanbuckeyeclub.blogspot.com/

There are a few more places I frequent on the net including various college pages with legit info on them that can be of use. You want facts, not fluff. Check your local county extensions or their websites for 4-H related info as it is of better use than almost all of the poultry magazines aimed at backyard chicken enthusiasts.

I'm going to end this blog today on this note. Do some research. Buy the basics to raise a few chicks if you want. A plastic tote, heat lamp, feeder, waterer, shavings are the second step. Pick breeds that are easier to work with for climate to your locale, temperament, and size of egg or bird you want. Then make or buy a coop with a small yard attached. Free range if you want, but be prepared for hawks, eagles, fox, coyote, coons, possums, neighbors dogs, and other predators to come in between you and your chickens. Leash laws in towns mean NOTHING to stupid owners that let animals loose after the animal control officer is off work for the day or weekend. Don't give predators a free lunch. Contain your birds and keep them safe. Be a good steward for your birds.

PS: Just checked my email in one of the many email services I use and found this little goodie for $30 worth of stuff from Manna Pro. Check this link and sign up to get a booklet for Poultry Related items: http://info.mannapro.com/poultry--coupon-book-email-offer

Diving in and going back to the basics

You never realize how you come to a point in life that you feel like you aren't getting anywhere until you reach it. Times now demand so much of our money to even feed our families or just have the basics with never a chance of frills and total fun frivolous things. We watch our neighbors swapping out cars every two years while we drive old beaters with over 200K miles on them that are paid for. We see fancy gadgets, jeans, power tools, and even kitchen appliances that we might hope to have, but will not be able to afford unless we work more hours or cut back on our spending to SAVE for it. Just recently we decided to make more items from scratch so that we aren't getting all the preservatives AND to just save money. No coupon clipping, as that was a fruitless venture of actually spending more money to buy the items that I probably WOULD NOT have bought had there not been a coupon for it in the first place.

So, while hitting this little time in my life of new recipes and adventures in baking, cooking and even making my own cleaning supplies, many times I've been asked for recipes that I've been making. So this little blog will become my journal AND my go to cookbook for anyone and everyone to follow along. I encourage all who read this to take a little time out of their day to make their own things. Quit relying on large companies to make your things for you and never know what all the ingredients are or if they are safe for you to eat. Remember just recently that a nationwide sub sandwich chain decided to take a certain ingredient out of their recipe after it was found it was also used to make yoga mats? Blech! Do you really want to eat that? What if I told you that bread is actually easy to make by hand? You don't need an expensive KitchenAid stand mixer or an expensive bread machine... all you need is a large bowl and a fork. So you say yeast packets are expensive? I agree with that, but if you buy it in the little jars and use 1 Tablespoon of yeast in the recipe for each package a recipe calls for, you can make bread for at least 1/2 the price of buying store bought.

Also, I hear people complain that it takes too long to cook a meal when their families are hitting all the after school or evening family activities and want to hit a fast food place because it takes too long to cook. Well, guess what... canning, freezing, or precooking meals on a day that you aren't running like mad will SAVE you time, money, and stress. In this blog we will look at living on a dime, learning how to cook, learning how to can, learning how to bake, how to care for chickens, gardening, and just tons more bits of info so you can survive the great recession without near as much fear. Feel free to interact and share your favorite recipes, garden plans, or whatever has helped you through the rough times. Welcome to the blog!