Homemade Vegetable Soup & other shenanigans

There are many times I feel like blogging by the end of the day all I want is my bed. What's been going on here? Well we are in full swing with chores with all the cows home and winter has hit. We have all had some form of sickness. Fever, sore throat, sore all over, runny noses - Thank goodness NO puking as of yet. Hoping the bugs leave us soon. My farmer has been sick for five days now and his taste buds have pretty much disappeared. Yesterday he commented that some of my homemade vegetable soup would hit the spot. (Unfortunately being Celiac he can't even has chicken noodle soup when he is sick!!) So I started making soup. He is not a big soup fan and so when he requests it - I make it! This is one of my favorite soups.

You will need:

-A large stock pot
-Water
-Soup bone, beef or pork
-Carrots, diced
-Potatoes, diced
-Celery, chopped
-Peas
-Tomato Soup
-Bay leaves
-Parsley
-Salt & pepper
-rice, macaroni or barley (optional)

Put your soup bones in the pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil and let them simmer for at least an hour. Probably more like 1.5 hours. DO NOT add water to the pot when you see it boiling down. When that's done take out the soup bones and discard. Strain the broth to get rid of miscellaneous from the bones.

You will notice that I did not add amounts of stuff on the ingredient list. I do not measure, especially with soup. The wonderful thing about soup is that if you feel you did not add enough, you just add more!!

Now add your bay leaves, parsley, salt and pepper and tomato soup. Now for the tomato soup, I added 2 quarts of my own homemade. You can use canned from the store as well. (it has gluten in it so I can't do that) You could also add canned tomatoes instead and I think it would be good too.

While the broth simmers with the greens chop up your veggies. For my large stock pot I probably did 8 cups carrots, 8-10 cups potatoes, 1-2 cups celery and 2 cups peas.

Add veggies and simmer till they are cooked through.

When the kids and I eat it we add whipping cream to the soup, my farmer does not. All depend son your taste buds and what you like. You could also add onions to this soup and it would be good. I can't cook with onions so I leave them out.

Then because it makes so much extra, I fill quart sealers and put the extra soup in the fridge. It will stay sealed in the fridge for a long time and is soooo handy for days when you don't feel like making lunch.

I am trying to get into the Christmas spirit but I'm having a hard time getting into it. Not sure why. Maybe I'll feel it when we get our big tree up. I'm making myself finish Christmas shopping because we're still not done. And the kids have been asking to make snowman cookies.....so I will have to start Christmas baking sooner than later!!

We had a great 50th Birthday Party for my Dad last weekend. Most of the Friesen family and a few friends made for a full house!! It as faspa and cake and coffee. My Auntie Trudy and family made this awesome semi cake for my Dad. It was a great evening.

Anyways, have a great night!

Ashley

My favourite granola bar recipe

These granola bars are so delicious I could eat the whole pan myself!! So yummy. And I even make them gluten-free.

I'll add the recipe from the computer tomorrow.

Edited to add recipe:

Peanut Butter Granola Bars 

Ashley

Baked BBQ Farmer Sausage

Tonight I thought I'd share a favourite recipe of ours. We love farmer sausage here and it's nice to do more than just fry it. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup ketchup

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

1 tbsp cornstarch

Method:

Broil sausage for about 5 minutes. Keep an eye on it. Mix the first four Ingredients in a bowl. Then put 1 tbsp cornstarch into 1/2 cup of water and shake until smooth. Add cornstarch mixture to the sauce. Pour over sausage and bake until it bubbles. Serves good with rice or potatoes. 

(The recipe actually says to bake till sausage is done and then put sauce on, I prefer to broil them)

I did take some pictures but I'm not great at taking pictures of food. Especially sausage!!!! Lol. 

Try this recipe soon!

Ashley

A Day to Make Perogies

 Perogies are a food that with it are attached many fond memories for me. Perogies were something we grew up eating lots of. And not the ones you buy out of the store either. Cottage cheese perogies are what we grew up eating. With farmer sausage usually and cream gravy. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! I remember helping my Grandma make perogies.

 Mine turned out quite beautiful I must say...and tasted even BETTER! I ended up with 17 cottage cheese and 2 dozen potato and cheese. The kids really enjoyed helping me make them. Mostly they loved turning the handle to roll out the dough. I loved doing that too as a kid. Corey was laughing at me. I would tell Tanner, Ok, go slow - not too fast! So he'd start and I'd say, Not so slow!! LOL. I remember getting the same lecture from my Mom and my Grandma. Have to find the happy medium.

 So we'd roll a piece of dough out like this, put a scoop of filling on it, fold it over and use my pampered chef press and seal to close and cut the perogy out.

 Here I'm doing a cottage cheese one.

 Tanner is cutting out a perogy here.

 Here they are rolling the dough all by themselves!!! I have to say that they were very helpful with making perogies. It was nice.

 A pan full of gold here :)

The left over pieces of dough, we eat the same as the perogies. Boiled or fried with cream gravy. Growing up if kids didn't like the cottage cheese filling them this is what they usually loved to eat instead.

I bought the Mennonite Girls Can Cook recipe book the other day off of Amazon and I'm in love. I also love their blog. This is the recipe I used to make these perogies.

I forgot how easy they really are to make...might have to make them a lot more often!!

Ashley

Calving Update & a Hamburger Recipe

We have been really busy!! We are in full swing calving right now and of course the majority come in the middle of the night. We've been having upwards of 5 and 6 calves in the night. And even though we lose sleep and are tied to the farm for weeks...calving really is one of our favorite times of the year. I am feeling a little left out this year! Having a newborn and temperatures of -20 and -30 make it pretty much impossible to get out to the barn with the kids. I have got out to the barn two times with Whitley.

We've also been shipping grain. Our sunflowers are all gone, our canola is gone and most of our oats. Still one more load to go. Unfortunately it's that time of year that the big bills are due....

Other than that we have not been up to much. Just enjoying my kids and hibernating. And drinking lots of coffee of course!

Here is a recipe that we had for supper last night. I definitely went on the make again list!! Everyone loved it. The best part is it's a hamburger recipe and there's certainly no shortage of hamburger around here!

Barbecued Hamburgers

Hamburgers:
1.5 lb ground beef
2 eggs
1 cup oatmeal
salt/pepper
3 squirts Worcestershire sauce
Fry hamburgers.

Sauce:
1.5 cups ketchup
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soya sauce
1.25 cups onions, diced

Combine cornstarch and water. Mix other ingredients and bring to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture. Bring to a boil and pour over hamburgers in a casserole dish. Bake for ~ 45 minutes at 350. Serve with mashed potatoes. (or tater tots if your lazy like me)

These were SUPER yummy!! I don't really care for fried hamburgers...prefer them on the BBQ. But these were just delicious, you have to try them. I omitted the onions and I actually used 2 lb of burger. I also halved the recipe and put one half in the freezer for another day!

 My lifeline these days. Can hardly wait to get out on the verandah to drink it.

 Sunflowers leaving.

 7 weeks old here.

 Tummy time.

 All snuggled in <3

 Our basement is now 100% kid zone......it's so awesome for them to have this space now.

My farm kiddos!

Have a great day!!!!!!!!!!

Ashley

Some good recipes!

I have three recipes to share with you today. Two are for your sweet tooth and one is a supper idea.

I made this for supper last night...let me say, Easy! and Yummy! It was a hit with everyone!! The kids loved it and so did my hubby. The only thing I did different is I substituted the fettuccine for shell pasta because I did not have fettuccine. I got this from a farmer wife friend but I believe it's a Kraft recipe.

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo

220 g fettuccine, uncooked
2 fresh cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 (450 g) lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1-2/3 cups milk
1/2 (1/2 of 250-g tub) cup Philadelphia Cream Cheese Product
1/4 cup Kraft 100% Parmesan Grated Cheese
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves

Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, omitting salt and adding broccoli to the boiling water for the last 2 min.

Meanwhile, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 min. or until done, stirring occasionally. Stir in remaining ingredients. Bring to boil, stirring constantly; cook 1 to 2 min. or until sauce is well blended and heated through, stirring frequently.

Drain pasta mixture; place in large bowl. Add chicken mixture; mix lightly.

This next recipe I made for my mother-in-law's birthday party. It was soooooooo easy and very delicious. I will definitely make this again. It hit this preggo woman's sweet tooth right smack dab on the spot! I got the recipe off of Pinterest on this website...

 http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/07/29/frozen-caramel-toffee-ice-cream-sandwich-dessert/
 

Frozen Caramel-Toffee Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert

 

1 deep-dish rectangular, throw-away foil pan (9x13)
24 store-bought frozen ice cream sandwiches (I could only fir 21 sandwiches in my pan)
2 regular-sized tubs of Cool Whip
caramel sauce
chocolate sauce
bag of Heath bits (I used skor bits)
4 bars Heath or Skor candy bars, chopped (I only used 3 bars)

Directions:

1. Spray pan with cooking spray. Layer 12 ice cream sandwiches side-by-side in bottom of pan.
2. Spread one tub of Cool Whip over the top of the sandwiches. Drizzle caramel and chocolate syrups over the top of the Cool Whip and then sprinkle with toffee bits. Place in the freezer for about an hour.
3. Layer 2nd level of 12 ice cream sandwiches on top of the toffee bits. Spread with 2nd tub of Cool Whip. Drizzle caramel and chocolate syrup over the Cool Whip. Sprinkle Skor/Heath bars over the top. Place in freezer for several hours until firm.
4. When ready to serve, remove from freezer and use sharp knife to cut into squares.

So yummy!

Tips:

*For an outdoor gathering, we found this was easiest to eat when cut into squares and served in cups. Place a bunch on a tray for simple serving.
*Warning! This recipe makes a LOT. It keeps well in the freezer for several days. Make it only when you have a large gathering planned, or cut the recipe in half.
*It is suggested that you use the pan indicated in the recipe since you need to have a pan that is deeper than normal. If you have a deep pan alternative, go ahead and try that one (you'll need about 4 to 5 inches of depth to be safe).

Tapioca Pudding

3/4 bag tapioca
3 cups milk
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Soak tapioca overnight in water until thick and soft. Drain. Place in milk and cook tapioca in microwave till clear. (~20 minutes) Add sugar and eggs which have been whipped. Add vanilla. Cook again in microwave till thick. (~5 minutes) ******** I forgot to mention that when you eat it to add a spoonful of brown sugar and whipping cream to your hearts content!**********

This recipe is from Corey's Grandma Nelson. It is so delicious and easy to make. And I have craved it my whole pregnancy!

Enjoy!
Ashley 

 

Keepsake Recipes

A couple of weeks ago I stopped at my Grandma's for a sporadic visit while Tanner was in Nursery School. We got talking about canning and whatnot and I asked her if she had a recipe for Beet Jelly. I have a row of beets and the only reason I planted them is to use the beet leaves for soup...LOL. I remembered my Mom making Beet Jelly when I was growing up so I it might be a good way to use up these beets. (Well my Hubby informs me that he loves pickled beets but no one makes them anymore....after six years of marriage, I still don't know everything about him!! ;)) Anyways, Grandma dug out her little recipe box full of typewritten recipes. While she was digging for the Beet Jelly recipe she found other recipes that she thought I might like...One or two of them actually come from her Mom, so my Great-Grandma. Here they are:

As she handed them to me I snapped pictures of them with my phone. Much easier than writing them out! So once she got through them all and I handed them back she says oh you weren't interested in any of them? I laughed and said, Oh Yes! I took pictures of the cards with my phone! She laughed, shaking her head, well isn't that handy. lol.

Anyways, I was gald she shared these with me. I'm sure she doesn't realize it's very special to me!

Have a great day! We did finally finish that field of canola but we are having a heck of a time plugging both combines....Not fun! I'm on supper duty this weekend.

Ashley

Homemade dishwasher soap

Yes! This is for real and it does work!! I have been wanting to try this for awhile now especially since we moved and have soft water. Now tbe lady that I got this recipe from stated on her blog that she has hard water and that it works for her. But I asked my mother-in-law to try it in her dishwasher and it does not work with her hard water. With my soft water I was very excited to find that it works really well! 

The recipe :

1 cup borax
1 cup super washing soda
1/2 cup table salt
1/2 cup citric acid

Mix together. Use 1 tbsp per load. She says to use two tbsp in hard water. I also put vinegar in my rinse aid spot. I'm so excited that this works. Anywhere I can cut costs in my household / grocery bill is an exciting thing to me ;)

If you decide to try this, let me know how it works for you!

Ashley

Pizza Muffins

I got this recipe from Corey's Aunt Joan. When it comes to feeding toddlers, I'm all for finger food. I can't begin to spoon feed four one year olds! They are like little birdies sitting in a nest all fighting for that one little wormie their mommy is holding. Ha. My nerves can't handle that. Life is about simplicity! So here is a picture, I will post the recipe in my Country Cookin' link later today. Hope you are all having a GREAT day!

Ashley

Baked Potatoes in the Crockpot

Find this easy delicious recipe on my Country Cookin' page! You won't regret it.

Ashley

Homemade Beef Vegetable Soup

Check my Country Cookin' Link for this delicious recipe! It's staple in this house because it is yummy and we have no shortage of beef here! We had it for lunch today.

Stay safe on those roads today!
Ashley

What we have been up to.

Christmas has come and gone. I was glad to see it come but am glad to see it go. This week I finally feel like we are back to our normal routine. I guess whatever you call normal. Last week Monday I was adamant on working on potty training with Tanner. So far with a week under our belts we are doing AWESOME! And I say 'we' because I seriously needed to train myself also to be consistent with putting him on the pot. Also just staying at home, it's not like I am always on the run because I'm not but I didn't want to put him in a diaper at all except for naps and bedtime. He has free rein with the gitchies. So the idea of going somewhere in the van and him peeing all over his car seat was very unappealing. lol. For the last two days we have had very few accidents. Happy dance. I am all about the bribery. He gets a sticker every time he goes and a couple candies. I have a sticker book that he can put the stickers in and he is very proud of it.

 Tanner fell asleep at 5:30 pm on the couch like this the other day. This is the result of no nap. Potty training is tough stuff!

Ali has her second tooth poking out! Sheesh. The first one took a little bit to get used to. She just wanted to be a little savage with it. Someone had told me to give her a little flick in the chin/mouth every time she tried to bite...that didn't work at all for us. I did it twice and then for two days I fought with her to take the boob because she thought she was going to get it again! Her feelings were quite hurt :( Anyways we have sorted it out and it's going great now.

The house. There are so many little decisions to be made now. What kid of faucets for bathroom/kitchen, how many lights here, what kind of light fixtures, where do i want my appliances to sit, where to put the TV cord in the basement (I could not believe I had to decide that?!?! sheesh.Just a tad ridonculous if you ask me), and on and on! Well plumbing is all done upstairs!!! The electrical is almost done. Once the electrical is done then we can insulate the ceiling so we can heat  the basement to thaw it out so it can also be plumbed. I can hardly wait. That is an understatement.

The attributes of our house trailer I will not miss:

-The rodents
-Cold floors
-Drafty windows
-Three pane windows, if you have never had the joy of cleaning those suckers you need to so you can learn what the definition of appreciation is
-The furnace BLARING in the living room while you are trying to watch a TV show
-Ice cold master bedroom and boiling hot living room...there is no happy medium
-No closet/storage space
-The bugs
-Feeling like we are blowing away when it's hardly blowing at all! (Try being in it when it's actually tornado weather....eep)
-Doing laundry and waking kids up!

Those are just a few. Don't get me wrong, we do not have it bad at all here. I have been quite happy and content in this trailer. It's just with a growing family the shortage of space is getting old in a hurry. I had planned on going to do my dishes when I was done this but now it may have to wait until tomorrow. As I type I can here something scratching around under my sink which is probably my pet shrew. Does anyone else have/had issues with shrews??? I have probably caught about 5-6 of them in the past 6 months or so. They are so small that I can never catch them in normal mouse traps, I put out the big thick glue traps. Seems kind of ridiculous to put out a glue trap that is at least 5x7, an inch thick of glue and cost me btw $4-5 to catch one miniscule shrew. But they are gross and not aloud to live here. There I'm sure I succeeded in grossing you out tonight.

On the weekend we finally finished Ivomecing the cows, tidying up the fall calves, dehorning and denutting. It was actually a beautiful day so I took Tanner out to watch while Ali was sleeping.

On Sunday a friend and I threw a shower for her sister-in-law. It was a great turnout and a very nice afternoon. I made a fruit pizza and cupcakes.

 Five months apart.

 C'mon...I know you are drooling.

 This cupcakes have Jello Frosting on them. SOOOOO easy and yummy. Jello Frosting Link

 Baby K.

Today was a busy day. The colts went on a truck to Alberta, we got a load of feed pellets, worked on the house and went to town first thing in the morning for plumbing supplies.

Oh yes and I forgot to mention that the elements in my oven quit today while baking buns! I think it was having a temper tantrum bc we paid for our new stove this morning. lol. 

Anywho, that's all for now folks.
Ashley