I dub thee . . .

CORNED BEEF HASH FAUX FRITTATA



Ingredients
6 Medium Potatoes
1 medium Onion
1 can of Corned Beef
3 eggs
Salt and Black pepper to taste

Directions
Print this Recipe
1. Grate potatoes and onion.
2. Mix the potatoes, onion, salt and black pepper in large bowl.
3. In a buttered dish place half of the mixture to form the base.

4. Mix the corned beef into the remainder of the mixture.
5. Place half of the corned beef mixture on the base.

6. Beat 1 egg (seasoned to taste) and pour over the mixture in the base.

7. Add the remaining 2 eggs to the last of the corned beef mixture in the mixing bowl and mix well.
8. Pour into the baking dish.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes and let stand for 5-10 minutes.



Enjoy! :)

The right place at the right time

I had hoped to have about 50 meat birds and 25 egg layers and 25 breeders. I was really bummed when so many of our chicks died and the Yoder auction didn't have any chicks either. We continued to work with the chicks we have and have really learned a lot from these little guys. Most of them have 75% of their feathers and are used to the idea of night and day in the box setting. The have really taken to the box as home, though we will have to move them soon given that they are getting so tall. They can jump pretty high and if they get a little lift they can get on top of the box. They really like walking around and seeing whats going on, then they hop back in.

Today I sent dh to Orschlen's to get more chick feed and while there he noticed that they had a bunch of chick that were the size of our chicks. They were priced comparably to what we paid so I ok'd the purchase of a few more, when he went to ask the lady she made him an even sweeter deal. If we took all of the big ones they have then they would only charge us 41% of the asking price per bird. So instead of $1.79, we got 53 for $0.75 a piece. I had to laugh, because these are all Cornish cross chicks which are meat birds, lol.

Kansas weather is like a woman . . .

Very quickly she changes her mind. :) (I get to say that only because I am a woman, lol)

Here is what things looked like 2 days ago:


Today, this is what my yard looks like:




Dh went to work as this delightful storm was beginning, by the end of his shift things were in full swing and even at 20 mph he slid off the road into a ditch :( Unfortunately our other vehicle is parked at my work so I couldn't even pick him up. I got the call from him at around 7:30am and panicked immediately realising that he was stranded, and that he had walked 3 miles in the storm to get a signal to let me know what was happening. Thankfully God is always watching and one of the local business owners in the small town before ours was on his way to open up. He is also our second closest neighbor. He took dh to work with him and got him warmed up. Several cups of coffee later and time chatting with the regulars 2 of the guys offered to take him home and try to get him out. The truck couldn't get any traction because there was still a lot of water in the ditch, but it was very close to the other guys house so he went to get his tractor. Dh was able to drive home and for that we were exceedingly glad.

Dh has been eyeing a pair of overalls all winter and has waited patiently for them to get marked down. Last night they were finally at a price we could afford, as he went to pay he realised that he didn't have his debit card on him :( He was bummed. He looked for it this morning and still nothing, he figured he would have to call and cancel. We had gotten a package notice in the mail so he headed off to the post office, while there the lady says: "hey, you left your debit card here so I sent it with the mail man this morning", ain't small towns great :) This is the same mail man that always puts our packages in the car (if there is a car at home), instead of waking dh during the day, lol.

In other news:
The chicks have gotten so big lately, the roosters are so feisty, its hard not to take notice of them. They still have some flight and will fly up on the box, take a look around and then go back inside. Here are some recent shots of them:







And then of course there is stubby, the runt of the litter and she has no toes:


So how did you fair on this fine Saturday?

There's a storm a brewing

The weatherman (can't trust those guys) says we can expect anywhere from 7-15 inches of snow between tomorrow and the weekend. I'm really not in the mood for snow, isn't there someone I can call or write to take care of this? There really should be.

We posted the piano from the mobile home on craigslist for free, someone is coming to pick it up this afternoon. The mobile home has had a few offers, we will be continuing to accept offer through Sunday and make a decision on Monday. Please pray that we can have this over with quickly.

On a high note, I was very pleased with my new doctor and hope that she will understand/comply with my wishes to have very little to no poking and prodding from the nurses etc on the big day.

Surrendering our womb

I found this over at Faith & Family and man, it really articulated how I have felt about this for some time now. Here is an excerpt of the article:

This is the insight my friend shared with me, one that she herself had gained in a grief-filled moment of praying to the Blessed Mother.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her of God’s plan for her, she gave her famous answer. “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” In that moment, she handed her life over to God, but more specifically, she handed over her womb.

In that instant she agreed to do as God asked her. This would mean carrying the Son of God and watching him die on the Cross and eventually following him to Heaven, but Mary did not know that. She assented in spite of her lack of comprehension and by doing so showcased the incredible grace of God within her. And her journey as Christ’s mother began with that surrender of her womb.

I wrestled with the emptiness of my own womb during our waiting months, and my friend’s insight helped me to see Mary as my model in a special way. Our fertility struggles, I discerned, were my call to hand over my womb to God just as Christ’s mother had done, to accept God’s will for me to bear children - or not - in his timing. Praying for the grace to do that carried me through the months of our wait, blessedly short though it turned out to be.

As I’ve moved into the current stage of my life, I’ve continued to meditate on the idea of Mary at the Annunciation as an example for our lives. All Christians are called to surrender our lives to God, but we women in a special way are called to surrender our wombs to God. This is true for all of us, no matter what our vocations. Women called to religious life must assent to not bearing children; married women on all parts of the fertility spectrum are called to assent to God’s will for us as well, whether it means we will bear a dozen children or none at all.

Read the whole article here.

Like clockwork . . .

We have been in a good place with the animals and farm lately. Things are running on routine and have stayed fairly uneventful. I was pleased to see Marian yelling at Judd this morning as he wondered out of the assigned area and into the yard. She's a great cow alarm system, I'll miss her when she sells. I am waiting to see if Quinn will breed Zella, he seems to have struck up a friendship but not much else. His birthday is coming up so he may just not be ready yet, we'll see. On the upside he is not giving any trouble while he is away and that is always nice. If he doesn't do the job then she will come to Lot for a week or so, I'm sure that'll be 6 days more than he'll need, lol.

The chicks are in their ugly phase, though they are feathering out quite nicely. They seem to be a real mix of breeds, there is about 2 of every kind, the ones I suspect maybe boys are growing at a faster rate and tend to be quite ornery. The wing clipping has reduced the flying around but boy, they are still able to jump really high (for a chicken that is) and they can still get a little lift.

Sammy almost became a pound puppy once again, we caught him in the chicken box. Lucky for him, no chickens were harmed in this incident. He is in need of a tick bath, it is that season again :(

The pigs are coming when called for food and have gotten used to dh and even the rest of us. I took the kids to go visit them and they ran to the window when they heard us, lol. Missy is not above taking, grabbing and/or fighting for her fair share of food. I think I have explained that pigs are much like toddlers, there is an abundance of food yet everyone wants what the other has, lol. :rolls eyes:

The garden is no where near where I'd like it to be but I am pleased with the progress of the seedlings. I desperately need to start more but never seem to have the energy. :( My to-do list seems never ending.

My class begins in April and will go through the time I should be giving birth, this will be interesting. It's been a while since I have had to do that, lol. I gave birth to EE the say finals started and HG was a couple weeks before finals, ah good times, good times.

Well that's where we are this week, oh, and dh was trash burning and something exploded and hit him in the face, that was our bit of excitement. Fortunately it was not too bad, but I am curious to know what it was so we can be more careful not to have it in there.

We are showing the mobile home and Marian this week, and hoping to get what we're asking or at least close.

The time is now :)

I haven't had a lot the last few weeks to get everything for the macaroni pie, but we were blessed to get eggs and cheddar cheese from some friends and so all I had to buy were the noodles :)

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 cup cream (milk/evaporated milk work too)
2 lbs shredded cheddar cheese (I prefer white cheddar but regular sharp cheddar works)
1 lb penne noodles
1.5 tbs butter
salt to taste

Directions:
1. boil noodles till tender.
2. blend eggs, cream, cheese (use 3/4 of the cheese), butter and salt till they are fully combined and creamy.
3. mix with noodles, make sure every piece is coated with the sauce.
4. pour into a buttered pan and sprinkle the remainder of the cheese over the top.
5. bake in preheated oven at 350 for 35 - 40 minutes or until golden.

NB: I would normally use a big baking pan for this but since I haven't had a chance to fix the oven, I used 3 pie pans.

For the last 2 I had stuffing left over from the thanksgiving chickens so I used some as a bottom layer (my ode to Sheppard's pie) and the other I mixed with the noodles :) Not sure I'm willing to give you my mother's stuffing recipe just yet but I'm still mulling it over :) lol.

Here are your pics of this whole process:









Here is a quick look (pre-bake) at the stuffing (this was the bottom layer) and the other is the stuffing and noodles mix. :)

Chicks

Today we clipped the chicks wings, they were far more agreeable about it than I would have been. We got tired of having them fly out of the box, though we know that we will have to repeat the process after each molting.

I was so upset about missing out on the last dog house I had seen on craigslist, though in retrospect I really couldn't afford the $75, but that's not the point. I went on freecycle, a place I used to haunt a few years ago, and found yet another wooden doghouse but this time it was free. I was so excited, I email and then got no response. I emailed yet again and this morning there was a response, YAY!! WE were there in an hour and it was more than we even expected. WOW!! It's more than 25 years old and man is it in good shape. A coat of paint and a few shingles and it will become part of our new chick area. We are using Quinn's old pen as the other half of this run and wrapping it in poultry fence, with a tarp roof. Pics to come.

Sign the Petition to Fr. Jenkins

Petition to Fr. Jenkins


Dear Father Jenkins:


It has come to our attention that the University of Notre Dame will honor President Barack Obama as its commencement speaker on May 17.


It is an outrage and a scandal that “Our Lady’s University,” one of the premier Catholic universities in the United States, would bestow such an honor on President Obama given his clear support for policies and laws that directly contradict fundamental Catholic teachings on life and marriage.


This nation has many thousands of accomplished leaders in the Catholic Church, in business, in law, in education, in politics, in medicine, in social services, and in many other fields who would be far more appropriate choices to receive such an honor from the University of Notre Dame.


Instead Notre Dame has chosen prestige over principles, popularity over morality. Whatever may be President Obama’s admirable qualities, this honor comes on the heels of some of the most anti-life actions of any American president, including expanding federal funding for abortions and inviting taxpayer-funded research on stem cells from human embryos.


The honor also comes amid great concern among Catholics nationwide about President Obama’s future impact on American society, the family, and the Catholic Church on issues such as traditional marriage, conscience protections for Catholic doctors and nurses, and expansion of abortion “rights.”


This honor is clearly a direct violation of the U.S. bishops’ 2004 mandate in “Catholics in Political Life”: “The Catholic community and Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles. They should not be given awards, honors or platforms which would suggest support for their actions.”


We prayerfully implore you to halt this travesty immediately. We do so with the hope that Catholics nationwide will likewise call on you to uphold the sacred mission of your Catholic university. May God grant you the courage and wisdom to do what is right.

Sincerely,
(AS OF 3/20 AT 6 PM)

Patrick J. Reilly,
President of The Cardinal Newman Society

Candace de Russy, writer
National Advisory Board, The Cardinal Newman Society


Philip F. Lawler
Director, Catholic Culture Project


Fr. C. J. McCloskey III
Chicago, IL


Craig Miller

Steven Wagner
President, QEV Analytics

Thomas N. Peters
American Papist Blog


Gregory K. Popcak, Ph.D., LISW
Executive Director: Pastoral Solutions Institute
Host: Fully Alive!—The Catholic Channel, Sirius 159/XM 117
Host: Heart Mind & Strength—Ave Maria Radio

Dr. Pia de Solenni



Dr. Stephen M. Krason
Political Science Program
Society of Catholic Social Scientists
Franciscan University of Steubenville

Click here to sign

Small Successes

1. Got my intermittent FMLA paperwork filed and faxed to the doctor.
2. Applied for funding for my class
3. Rescheduled my appointment with the new doctor

I only needed 3 but . . .

4. Got actual work done and cleaned my desk :)

The new starting line up

Meet Wendy and Dusty - otherwise known as the Mouse Patrol


Head of Security: Sammy - can catch anything bigger than a mouse but smaller than him :)


Next up is Blackjack, AKA Head Boar (or at least he will be)



This seasons butcher hogs are: Pinky and Missy


Studs: Quinn and Lot



Herd Sire in training, AKA Future Stud: Judd


Last year's baby and this year's hottie: Sweetiepie



Calving Consultant: Marian


Dairy Foreman: Treva


The Chicks : AKA Layers/Breeders and Meat birds


This kid will rule the world, one cow at a time :) The cow pictured is Zella, Treva's old pal, residing at our friend's farm.


The only member of this year's line up that is currently not pictured is Christmas in July as she was being camera shy and is yet to show up for the re-shoot :)

All kinds of good stuff :)

We dropped the kids off the night before at a dear friend's so that we could take SL to the hospital for 8am. The check-in didn't take as long as they'd planned and the OR was running behind on the surgery scheduled before us. My little guy was a real trooper through it all though. I was really proud of him, he never cried or got scared. They didn't allow us to go with him for the anestesia, nor were we allowed to be there when he woke up :( I am not sure what was going through his 3year old mind at those times but he was brave through it all. They told us that he should wake within 30-45 minutes but after an hour has passed with no word we started to ask for some update. The volunteer informed us that typically it takes closer to 2 hours. At 1.5 hours in the nurse called to let the volunteer know that he was sleeping so peacefully that they didn't want to wake him, it was a relief to hear something. 30 minutes later he was awake and we went back to the ped unit, where he had to consume 8oz of liquid to be released. When we got to the hospital SL had seen a blue piggy bank in the gift shop window and asked if he could have it, I naturally said yes. Dh and I picked it up while he was in surgery and a large Dora balloon. He really likes the blue pig as he calls it, it has a musical component that we hadn't expected so now we always have to keep pennies on hand. :sigh: Anyway, we took lots of pics so here they are: