making life easier one loaf at a time...

the love for my bread machine grows stronger everyday!  silly statement i know,  but it is so very true. 

meet ken...

just kidding, i did NOT name my bread maker, but i do love it!  i don't care for the loaf size so i usually use it to make my dough.  bread dough, pizza dough, cinnamon rolls and even dinner rolls. 

LOVE IT!

i dump the ingredients in...put it on the dough cycle...

and within an hour to an hour and a half i have my dough.  all the...ahem...hard work is done for me!  when my machine beeps, i pull it out, prep it and viola!  for example...if i am making pizza for dinner i would add all the ingredients as per my bread machines instructions.  i would select setting number '10' which is the dough setting on my machine.  after it does all the mixing, kneading and rising it will beep to let me know it has finished.  i then pull it out, roll it out onto a preheated pizza stone, add our toppings and then pop it in the oven.  FINISHED!

pretty cool right?  i would do something similar for cinnamon rolls and dinner rolls.  i just follow the recipe and let the machine do most of the work!

so in conclusion, go get a bread machine.  just kidding, well sort of.  i wouldn't buy a brand new machine, if you can help it, but start looking at your local garage sales, goodwill's and consignment shops.  i have heard of some people finding bread machines for $5.  crazy cool right?

i am linking this post with The Barn Hop and Clever Chicks Blog Hop.

galloping, wilty leaves and peeking onions...

this past weekend was gorgeous!

see...didn't i tell you? 

during this very pretty and warm weekend were determined to get a lot done!

beloved added more fencing for the big kids (horse and donkey).  they now have the whole back pasture to graze on.  in the picture above if you look to the left you will see a group of trees, once they are in bloom, they will provide great shade and be a great place for the big kids to hang out in during the hot summer.  the area to the right, in the above picture is the back pasture that they now graze on. 

here is a picture of the fencing beloved worked on, all day saturday.  once the fencing was up and they realized they had more room, they ran and galloped and rolled all over the place.  it was adorable!

on friday after returning from topeka i realized that my broccoli, spinach, lettuce and strawberries were not looking too good. i had been trying to hold off on putting them in the ground because we have had some very cold days here. obviously they had other plans. i saw the droopy leaves and knew i needed to get moving. 

 

 

i quickly did my best to draw straight lines in the soil, dig some holes and then drop them in.  it was then that i added some organic compost to the soil.  after a good watering and a night in their new 'home' i came out to see this saturday morning.

 

{broccoli}

{lettuce}

{strawberries}

needless to say, i was pretty pleased.

and before i end this post i want to update you on my onions.  they are doing good.  they are peeking through and making their grand entrance.  see for yourself!

 

i know it sounds weird, but i love my growing garden!

i hope this post finds you doing well and i hope you all had a great and productive weekend.

i am linking this post with The Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Homestead Barn Hop.

peace and love to you all!

why dehydrating apples is not a good thing in this house...

so you all know my obsessive love with dehydrating right?  well today i am going to tell you why dehydrating apples in this house is not a good thing.

it starts something like this...

oooohhhh...aaaaaahhhhhh.  a nice full jar of freshly dehydrated apples.  yumm-o!

naturally the next thing that happens is this...

a handful here and a handful there and before you know it, you have this...

no bueno!  they are gone at lightening speed! 

so the morale to the store is this...if you dehydrate apples, do yourself a favor and put them in a super awesome jar and hide them!  hide them from not only the rest of your family, but from yourself too!

i am linking this post to Titus 2sdays, Teach Me Tuesdays, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link-Up

peace and love to you all!

dehydrating corn...

one of my favorite ways to preserve food is by dehydrating, it is simple and sooooo easy.  it requires very little work and even less effort.  well i guess i can't totally say it requires very little work because i guess it depends on what you are dehydrating.  

 

this time around i decided to dehydrate corn.  we love corn!  we love it a lot!  

 

i pulled it out of the freezer... 

  

laid it on the trays...

and turned on the dehydrator. 

in just 24 short hours this is what i had...

pretty simple huh?  no thought, no hard work...just dehydrated corn!

i like to oven can my dehydrated corn/veggies along with beans, rice, flour...whatever else we have in the basement.  if you have never oven canned before...you must!  you can read about it here and here. 

i am linking this post with The Homestead Barn Hop and The Clever Chicks Blog Hop.

peace and love to you all!

the prepper's cookbook...get it!

i first learned about Tess a few months ago when i stumbled across her website.  i liked what i saw and was very excited to learn more.

it wasn't until recently that i found out she wrote a book.  a cookbook...a PREPPER'S cookbook to be exact!  i heard all about it on Survival Mom Radio.  i listened to Tess's interview with Lisa and knew i had to have it.  as i listened to the broadcast, i was multi-tasking and purchasing her cookbook via amazon.  due to my prime member account, i was able to receive Tess's book in just 2 short days.  i got it today and was all smiles when the mailman handed me my amazon package. 

i didn't get a chance to actually sit down and look through the book until this evening. 

I LOVE IT! 

i am barely in chapter 2 and i have already underlined and highlighted multiple pages, bent corners and made notes to myself.

i stopped long enough to write a short but sweet blog post urging you to order her book.  it is so practical and to-the-point. 

the recipes look great and all her how-to info is a tremendous help to this beginner prepper.

so go out, buy it, order it...just get it!

kale chips!

not too long ago i was introduced by a very dear group of friends, kale chips.  i had heard about them but thought nothing of actually making them.

one afternoon a few months back i was at a 'play date' with the keiki and one of the things that we had were kale chips.  i loved them and so did the lil' one.  they are soooo easy to make it is disgusting. 

keep in mind every one's recipe varies but this is mine...

2-3 bunches of kale (organic preferably)
olive oil (you can use other oils like vegetable or coconut, but i found that i like the olive oil the best)
sea salt
seasonings of your choice (optional)

wash the kale and then pull the leaves off the stem.  i put my leaves in a big bowl and then decide if i want them smaller.  if i do, i just pull them apart more or i use my kitchen scissors, either one is fine.  on a side note, remember that the leaves do shrink a bit when baking so take that into consideration.

i then drizzle olive oil over the leaves and then use my hands to mix it.  i like to make sure all the leaves are lightly coated. 

add the sea salt, liberally, and then once again use your hands to mix it all up.  at this time you can add any other seasonings you like, just make sure to mix real well.

dump the leaves on your baking stone, or parchment lined cookie sheets, place in preheated oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes. 

i set my timer for 25 minutes and then i just check every few minutes after my timer goes off. you want them darker and very crispy.

when done, just pull from oven and enjoy!

i like to make big batches of these and then store them in a mason jar to snack on throughout the day.

i really hope you try to make these because not only are they super nutritious but they are super yummy!

i am linking this blog post to Simple Living Wednesdays, Homemaking Link-Up and Wise Woman Link-up.

peace and love to you all!

overcast skies and onions...

so even with cloudy skies and a chilly breeze beloved and i headed back outside yesterday to get a second tilling done on the garden.  before the tilling actually began i sprinkled organic compost, which i purchased at a local nursery, all throughout the garden. 

once that was done, the tilling began.

 

 

 

as beloved tilled,  i spent time raking and leveling everything out.  i didn't take a picture of it right after the tilling/leveling off, but oh-well.

 

anyhow,  after realizing that i couldn't plant in a straight row without some guidance, beloved quickly threw something together for me, hence the extension cord and t-posts.

 

 

don't laugh!  it was harder then i thought to evenly space out and make straight.  i have lots to learn!

 

after planting 4 rows of onion sets, we had to call it a day.  the weather was getting worse and we were starving. 

 

before we could clean up, i had to properly water the onions i had just planted.  little did i know that i hadn't left myself a visual clue as to where i had JUST planted.  dang it!  beloved took mercy on me, helped me find my planted onions and then hammered in a few sticks in, in order to help his beginner wife refocus.  he joked and told me that the sticks reminded him of tombstones for a family pet.  i smiled and agreed.

 

after a quick clean up, we headed inside and called it a day.  i couldn't believe how tired i was from just the little work i had done.  whoever called homesteading easy living had no idea what they were talking about.

 

fingers crossed that we are seeing the end to the cold/frost mornings here in kansas.  i have more seeds and plants to get going!

 

i am linking this post with Titus 2sdays and Teach Me Tuesday.

 

peace and love to you all!