Chicken Carnage

We have had chickens for a couple of years now and were always told to watch for the pecking order to get out of control.  We raised our little brood from chicks and thought for sure our little ladies were the sweetest things ever.  They are little egg laying machines and my kids have named them all.  I told them not to name their food but they felt compelled since we no longer have a dog.  They play with the chickens and hold them.  "Look mom, they are so sweet!" 
A week ago, I went to check on the little dears to see how they were doing in our arctic weather and found them to be happily pecking below the roost.  Except, I noticed one of the leghorns was not down getting her morning drink of water.  "She must be laying," I naively thought.  When I opened the top of the coup I am sure the neighbors could hear me gasp.  Blood bombs looked like they had exploded all over the coup.  It was on the ceiling, the door, the wall, and a very large frozen puddle was sitting in the nesting box in the straw.  The leghorn was sitting, barely alive and covered in blood.  The white of her feathers and the white of the snow only increased the horrific scene.  The best part was that it was so cold all of the blood immediately froze where it landed.  She was covered in frozen blood and staring at me with a desperate look to save her. 
I called for my son to come and help me and as I was registering the damage two of the dear chickens came up to check out what I was doing.  They started for me as if to say, "she's ours, we are here to finish her off".  I had to shoo them off and work quickly.
 I have never been so thankful for Google and the internet.  We gently lifted our patient out of the coop and tried to asses the damage.  She had so much blood frozen all over her we couldn't find the wounds.  The cold probably saved her life because it slowed the blood loss down but we had to get her inside. 
As I held her little body I struggled with what I might have to do to "help" our little friend.  I am a wiz at cutting up a chicken that has already been processed but starting at the beginning was something I wasn't ready to embrace.  I checked online to see what to do.  Do you know you can Google, "how to clean up an injured chicken"?  Armed with some information, I decided to call my husband and seek his advice.  He is the kind of man that would come home from work to kill a bug for me if I needed it so I knew he would save me from the inevitable if it came to it.  He told me she would probable live if she made it through the night.  "Make her comfortable, and see what happens", he said.
Me and the kids worked calmly and I was so impressed with how unaffected they were by the carnage.  We set up a little pen for her in the guest shower and decided if she was going to live, she needed rest. 
The transition from saving the chicken to dealing with the aftermath became a nightmare version of "Dirty Jobs".  I learned online that chickens are attracted to blood.  Who knew?  I had to try to clean up the coop.  If you haven't ever had to clean frozen blood up in freezing temperatures, then you simply haven't lived.  The solution was screaming hot water in a spray bottle and Clorox wipes.  It loosened the mess, but Tilex was the real winner.  I bleached what I could get cleaned off and tried to mask the blood smell.  The only problem, trying not to kill the rest of the chickens with bleach fumes. 
We cleaned the coop as best we could.  It was at this point I decided chickens were horrible. 
I have since come back around to liking them again but I am jaded and am having a hard time seeing them as very cuddly anymore. 
Our little patient stayed in the guest shower for almost a week.  Chickens are not inside pets!  We had to slowly introduce her back into the brood and they wouldn't take her.  This presented another problem.  Where does she live?  The house smelled of chicken crap and I wasn't letting her back in.  We built a small extension to the coop that allowed the others to see her but not kill her.  Hopefully, we will be able to have her join the others as soon as her injuries are healed up.  For now, she has to look longingly through the chicken wire at the others.  She wants to be with them and doesn't seem to care they tried to kill her.  We didn't have a top on the little pen at first.  She figured out how to jump out and hopped her way through the snow and ice all the way to the back door where she pecked on the glass to be let back in. She knew she had it good inside.  The pen now has a roof.
The final task; I got to clean out the inch deep chicken poo from the shower.  There are some jobs that are so distasteful, cleaning hardly seems enough.  I feel like I need to replace the shower.  After bleaching and scrubbing over several days, honestly, the shower has never been this clean.  However, all of the kids have proclaimed they will never use the shower again.  Good thing we have other bathrooms in the house. 

Peanut Butter Bars

This recipe is a minor adaptation of the recipe I make for the Bountiful LDS temple.  It is divine.  There is nothing low fat about it and it is so worth it!

Equipment:
1 cookie sheet
stand mixer with paddle and whisk attachments-it really helps to have one for this recipe.  You can use a hand mixer too but it is a little more diffcult.
bowl scraper (spatula)
*if you have it:  difficult measure measuring tubes, here is the link to check them out.  I highly recommend getting one for the more difficult items to measure, i.e. mayo, peanut butter, coconut oil, etc.
Peanut Butter Measuring Cup
1 large mixing bow
dry measuring cups
measuring spoons
liquid measuring cups
frosting spreader

Ingredients:
Cookie
1/2 C butter
1 C white sugar
3/4 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C whole oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
 Peanut Butter Spread
1 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 C powdered sugar
1/4 C corn starch
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
1/3 C butter
4 C powdered Sugar
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/3 C milk

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease the cookie sheet and set aside.
In the large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the cookie and set aside.
In the stand mixer bowl with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars.
Add the egg and vanilla and combine.
Add the peanut butter and mix until completely combined.
Add the dry ingredients as quickly as they will combine without exploding out of the mixer. 
Spread the cookie dough onto the cookie sheet filling the entire sheet. 
Bake for 10-15 mins depending on how your oven heats.  The cookie should look lightly browned and it should have risen while baking.  Take care not to over bake the cookie.  You are aiming for a tender, chewy base to your bars. 

While the cookie is baking, measure out your ingredients for the two frostings. 
Clean the mixer bowl and replace the paddle with the whisk attachment. 
For the peanut butter spread, add the peanut butter to the bowl and whip.
Add the powdered sugar and add only enough corn starch to help absorb some of the oil in the peanut butter; whip till combined.  Don't exceed the 1/4 cup. 
Once the cookie has been removed from the oven,  let it cool and when it is still slightly warm, spread the peanut butter mixture over the entire cookie.  It is easier to spread the peanut butter when the cookie is still slightly warm. 
Then, let it cool completely.

For the chocolate frosting, clean the bowl out once more and use the whisk attachment again.
Add the butter to the bowl and whip.
Add the cocoa powder and then a splash of milk to wet.
Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time and alternate with the milk till the entire amount of both have been added.
If the frosting is too thick, add 1 T more of milk at a time until a fluffy consistency is reached. 
Spread the frosting over the cooled cookie and try not to eat them all right away!

Hoisin Sauce

This is a condiment that is not used up very quickly.  Buying an entire jar from the grocery store so it can sit in your fridge is a waste of money.  This makes about 3/4 of a cup and will last in your refrigerator for several weeks. 

In a small bowl combine:
4 T soy sauce
2 T creamy peanut butter
1 T molasses
2 t rice vinegar
1 minced garlic clove or 1/2 t garlic powder
2 t sesame oil
1 t Chinese hot sauce or cayenne pepper
1/8 t black pepper

Whisk well and store in a small mason jar.

Sweetened Condensed Milk-Homemade-Is It Worth It?

I am always on the lookout for ways to not go to the grocery store.  Some things are fun to make, some things are worth making from scratch, and some things aren't worth it.  I have found making your own sweetened condensed milk at home not to be worth it.  I have looked into several different recipes.  Some use powdered milk, some use regular milk, some use water. 
I tried to make up a recipe that uses powdered milk thinking it would be great in my Key Lime Pie.  It tasted nasty!  My Key Lime Pie was ruined and I spent way too much time trying to fix the recipe.  The recipe called for mixing powdered milk, boiling water, butter, and sugar in a blender for several minutes and you were supposed to have this great homemade version of sweetened condensed milk.  It was the consistency of caulking and had the often times foul taste of powdered milk.  The other problem is that my poor blender could barely mix the sludge.  I kept adding water to see if it would make a difference and ended up adding 3 times the water the recipe asked for and it still was way too thick and tasted awful. 
The next recipe I found called for just sugar and milk heated for two hours on the stove to arrive at 2 pints of yummy product.  This recipe is much better and definitely has the right flavor but two hours standing over a pot stirring?  I don't think so.  My time is worth more than that and for the few times I use sweetened condensed milk in my recipes, I just don't think it is worth it. 
I like being able to control all of the ingredients in my foods but sometimes it is easier to buy the ready made product from the store and save  yourself the headache of working from scratch.  So spend the $1.50 and by a can when you need it. 

The King Arthur Flour 200th Anniversary Cookbook

I love all aspects of cooking, but baking is my first love.  Many years ago I had the opportunity to attend a free seminar put on by the King Arthur Flour company and it was a spiritual experience.  The baker was demonstrating how to make a baguette and I was on the edge of my seat throughout her entire show.  It is hard to describe the joy I get from working with dough and knew afterwards I was a changed woman and needed to get home and bake.

As with most sponsored events such as this, there were door prizes!  I hoped and prayed, yes prayed, that I would walk away with the cookbook.  The universe smiled upon me and God just knew he had chosen wisely by allowing my name to be plucked from the canister of hopeful attendees names' scratched onto tiny pieces of paper.  When my name was called out, I shrieked like I had just won the Showcase Showdown on "The Price is Right".  It was mine!

Upon first inspection I found I was overwhelmed with its size.  I flipped through the pages of my new treasure and enjoyed reading about the history of King Arthur Flour in the opening pages.  As I worked my way through to the end I found I was holding a resource that was going to help me become the home baker I had always wanted to be.  It has been at least 10 years and I am happy to say that I haven't stopped using it.

I have accumulated other baking cookbooks over the years but find myself returning to the King Arthur Flour cookbook.  It is a comprehensive educational manual that helps the home baker create wonderful creations through simple to read recipes, easy to understand scientific explanations of how baking works, and a complete guide to tools and ingredients at the end of the book.  Some of my favorite recipes are whole wheat bread, scones, and sourdough english muffins.  I have learned how to be a better baker by utilizing this resource and continue to return to it for some of my favorite recipes.  

I highly recommend adding this cookbook to your collection if improving your baking is what you desire. 

Straight from the Garden Salsa

I was checking out all of the wonderful veggies I have been given this week and wondering what on earth I could do with them that my family would eat.  Salsa is always a winner at our house so this is what I have come up with.  My kids loved it!  If you let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before eating it the flavors really come together.  Ours didn't make it that long, we ate it right away!

Equipment:

Cutting Board

Good knife

Medium size bowl for salsa

small bowl and strainer for tomatoes

Measuring spoons

Can opener-if you add alternate items

Ingredients:
1 large tomato diced-salt it a little to help bring out some of the water.  Drain them before adding to the bowl
3 inch segment of a cucumber diced
1 small can of green chili

2 T minced onion
2 regular cloves of garlic-minced
1 tsp ground coriander or 2 T minced fresh cilantro
1-2 T lemon or lime juice or to taste
½ t salt or to taste
Optional:
1 small beet cooked and diced-the beet gives this salsa a very earthy flavor
1 can of black beans rinsed
½ cup of corn
1 jalapeno pepper diced-with our without the ribs and seeds

 

Procedure:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy with your favorite corn chips

Recipes from the Root Cellar, by Andrea Chesman

"270 Fresh Ways to Enjoy Winter Vegetables"

I found this book at the library last week and have fallen in love.  In my part of the world gardens are bursting with zucchini, yellow squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, beets, cabbages, turnips, and more.  These recipes help to break the home cook out of  the cooking ruts we sometimes find ourselves in.  You know one or two ways to prepare squash and that is what you stick with.  Squash is pretty easy to ruin.  They become runny, slimy and overcooked.  Does anyone know what to do with pumpkins except make pie or the occasional pumpkin loaf?  What do you do with a giant head of cabbage?
Andrea Chesman does a wonderful job of creating recipes that are easy to follow and the outcome is remarkable.  Her recipes are full of flavor and include easily obtained ingredients.  This book is also dedicated to the winter vegetable harvest which makes it a must have for gardeners.  I love that it allows me to feed my family foods in season and always serve them in new and interesting ways. 
I highly recommend adding this book to your cookbook collection!

Recipe Sample:
Winter Squash with Caramelized Apples
Serves 4-6
1 large buttercup, butternut, or red kuri squash, or 1/2 small baby blue Hubbard squash
4 T butter
2 large apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2.  cut the squash in halves if small, or into quarters if large.  Remove an discard the seeds and fibers.  Place skin-side up in a baking dish and add about 1 inch of water to the dish.
3.  Bake for 60-90 minutes, depending on the size of the pieces, until completely tender when pierced with a fork.
4.  Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Saute until the brown sugar is disolved and the apples are tender and coated in the sugar syrup, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.
5.  When the squash is done, drain off the water.  Turn the pieces flesh-side up, and allow to cool until they can be handled easily.  Scrape the flesh from the skins into a mixing bowl and discard the skins.  Mash or beat until smooth.
6.  Fold in the apples and their syrup.  Season generously with salt and pepper.
7.  If desired, reheat in a microwave or in the top of a double boiler set over boiling water.  Serve hot.

The Best of Basic Cookbooks

I have many cookbooks and enjoy some more than others.  I tend to look for cookbooks that specialize in a particular type of cooking rather than all purpose cookbooks which tend to cover a broad range of disciplines.  I find most of the recipes in those books to be easy to follow and are a great starting point for creating your own recipes that have your personal touch.  Most of us look in the fridge and try to figure out what to cook with what we have.  If you have a well stocked kitchen with the basics, having basic cookbooks makes coming up with the right recipe easier. 
There are some all purpose cookbooks that I really like and go to when I need to brush up on a cooking technique or want a beginner recipe that I can play with.  The following books I recommend having in your collection as go to multipurpose cookbooks.  They are especially helpful if you are trying to locate a particular recipe or technique and don't want to mess with the internet.
I also like to borrow books from the library before I commit to purchasing them.  Some well advertised cookbooks have fallen flat for me when I get my hands on them because there are only a few recipes in them I would make.  I have saved a ton of money by borrowing before I buy.  








1.  Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook-great all purpose cookbook and great gift for newly married people.  Each section has a great guide to whatever the food is, i.e. meat, seafood, cheese, vegetables, etc.  There is also a freezing and canning guide with beginner recipes.  Overall it is a great way to get started cooking and learning about foods.  This book is printed just about every year and has been updated since mine was published in ......1989!    









2.  America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook-really great recipes that have been tested thoroughly.  Excellent resource for techniques and they have some great product ratings too.  I have found the equipment ratings very helpful when I need to purchase a particular item for my home kitchen.  The food product ratings do not take into account organic foods or preservatives in foods.  They simply rate what their panel thought was the best tasting/texture.  I match the product ratings up to what I have learned about food quality and go from there.  I have found I rarely utilize this feature after putting the foods up against my own standards which include the food source and product ingredients.
The recipes are easy to follow and I have had great success with most of them.  They really have tested the recipes and found the best way to make my family's favorite foods.  I have found the information on the science involved in cooking to be the most helpful as I have learned to cook.  I use this cookbook quite a bit. 








3.  The Joy of Cooking-there is so much in this book it is hard to not have it on the list.  I use this when I don't know where else to look for cooking non-traditional foods or especially for how to make things that I would normally buy in the store like marshmallows.  This is not an easy read and previous cooking knowledge is helpful.  The beginning of each chapter has very good definitions and descriptions to help prepared the recipes.  There aren't very many pictures but is comprehensive. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Equipment:
very small casserole dish
mixing bowl
rubber spatula
cutting board
knife
measuring cup

Ingredients:
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c mayonnaise
1/2 c shredded parmesan
1/2 c mozzarella cheese
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 package of cooked spinach. You can buy the frozen spinach but I prefer to just buy fresh and cook it fresh.  Spinach takes very little time to cook in a pot and then I chop it before adding it to the recipe.
1 c chopped marinated artichoke hearts
Optional Ingredients: Add or delete any you may like
Red Chili flakes-to taste
Added garlic-to taste
1 T minced onion
Sprinkle some extra parmesan cheese over the top just prior to removing it from the oven for added flavor.

Procedure:
1.  Cook you spinach and then squeeze as much water out as you can.  You don't want to add watery spinach to this dish.  If you are using frozen spinach, thaw completely and then squeeze the water out then put it in the mixing bowl.
2.  Chop the artichoke hearts and add them to the bowl.
3.  Add all of the other ingredients and mix so it is thoroughly combined.
4.  Pour into the casserole dish and cook at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
  

Balsamic Vinegrette

Every home cook should have a fantastic balsamic vinaigrette recipe at the ready.  This is just such a recipe.  I keep a jar on hand in my fridge at all times and haven't had to buy salad dressing for years.  Salad dressing, particularly a vinaigrette, is so easy to make I marvel at the mark up on dressings when I venture down that aisle at the grocery store.  This is a recipe you pull out the good stuff for.  There are areas in your budget you can save money at the grocery store.  I would encourage you to buy high quality olive oil and Balsamic Vinegar.  You really get what you pay for.  The expensive ones really do taste better and yield a much better end result.  You don't have to use very much to get the flavor value either so you will be able to keep both for a long time without having to reinvest frequently.  I use about 1 bottle of balsamic vinegar a year-I get a big one-and pay about 15-20$ for that bottle.  It is worth it!
Really good olive oil is easy to come by in the grocery store these days.  You want to select one that is made for salad dressings.  It will be different than the ones identified for sauteing. 

In a pint sized mason jar combine:
3/4 c really good olive oil. 
3 T Balsamic Vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1 minced clove of garlic-a big one!
4 t dijon mustard
4 t snipped fresh chives
salt and pepper to taste

Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously until completely combined.  It shouldn't look separated at all.
This recipe makes about 1 pint of dressing.

For a yummy salad, cut up one head of romaine lettuce and place in a bowl.
Pour some of your vinaigrette over the leaves and toss to coat, about 1/4 cup.
In a skillet place 1/2 cup chopped pecans, 1 T of water and 2 T of brown sugar and stir continuously over medium heat.  
Heat until the water has evaporated and the sugar has coated the nuts.
Toss the hot nuts in with the salad along with 1/2 cup of dried cherries or raisins. 
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Multiply this times 3 or 4 to create a fair stash of this for the upcoming holiday season.  Use as you would pumpkin pie spice in your favorite recipes.  it is so much cheaper to purchase bulk amounts of these spices and make your own blends. 

Combine:
1 1/2 T cinnamon
1 t ground ginger
1 t nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves

Pumpkin Pancakes are a fun way to use your pumpkin pie spice!

Italian Spice Blend

This is and herb blend that works well as an addition to pizza dough or for bread sticks. 

Combine:
1 T dried basil
1/2 T dried oregano
1/2 t dried dill
1/2 t dried thyme
1/4 t ground garlic

Grind in a mortar and pestle so that it becomes a fine consistency.  You aren't looking for powder but it does need to be a finer blend to mix into the bread well.  Add your desired amount to the bread dough while you are kneading or brush the bread with olive oil or butter when it comes out of the oven and sprinkle it over the top of your bread sticks.  Either way it is delicious! 

Spicy Chicken Rub

This is a great rub for chicken, fish, or ribs.  The portions listed below are for one recipe.  If you would like more on hand, I suggest multiplying this by 3 or 4 to give you a nice bottle full.  Then you have it whenever you are ready to cook.  
Combine:
2 t ground garlic
2 t chili powder
1 t kosher salt-if you don't have this on hand, reduce the amount by 1/2 if you are using regular table salt.
1 t cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t cayenne pepper