Canning

My past canning experiences have included peaches (fair success), cherries (fair success), and grape jam (tastes like grape jam sort of but is brown...doesn't look appealing). So today I tried my hand at canning strawberry jam as strawberries were on sale at Bashas. It turned out pretty good. I spent $12 on strawberries and made 8 pint jars, so that is $1.50 per jar, which is pretty good. Plus the pectin and sugar so probably closer to $2.00, but for fresh tasting jam I'd say that is pretty good.


My second canning expedition was chicken. My friend Pate came over and taught me how to do chicken. I only did 4 pint size jars because another sister in the ward came to learn too and we each did 4 jars. The chicken was canned using a pressure cooker/canner. Darrell and I are making that our next purchase for our food storage supplies. It looks funny in the jar but I tasted some of hers that looks just as funny and it tasted far superior to canned chicken you buy at the store. So after a long day we have a few yummy things to add to our storage...actually one jar of chicken will probably be used in the next two day because it didn't seal:)

Sweet 16

So...Darrell just had to have some Rhode Island Reds. They are the classic chicken and when he bought our first batch of chickens they were all sold out. People snatch them up quickly when they are in stock. So now we have 16 chickens! Of course 1 or 2 of our previous batch we may be selling back because they are roosters. When you buy baby chicks you have a chance of getting a rooster. We won't know for sure for a couple more months if they are roosters but Darrell and John have seen 2 of them fighting and trying to crow.


Derek and Emily absolutely LOVE the baby chicks. Derek will spend hours in the garage holding them if we let them. They are living separately from the rest of the hens until they are big enough.

The Completed Chicken Mansion

It is finished! This is the completed chicken house with doors and windows. You can't tell from the picture, but it is a very ingenious contraption designed and built by Darrell, with tons of help from his brother John. The top of the roof can be lifted up and held open by a couple pieces of wood that swing down automatically. The Whole front then swings open on hinges giving him easy access for cleaning out the house when needed. The top 3 windows open up to the nests where the eggs will be collected. The bottom 2 windows open up to the feeders, and the door opens to the watering container.



The side of the house has an opening leading out into the chicken run. The chickens would devour our garden if allowed to roam free so they have a little outside lounge area all to themselves...of course in the last week they have gotten big enough to fly/jump out and so this weekend Darrell will have to clip their wings or put a top on the run. Of course the house and run are very pleasing to the eye as Darrell would not allow something to disrupt the eye appeal of our yard...I have definitely come to appreciate that. I love going outside on nice days and it looks wonderful.

Here is another picture of the chickens enjoying the outdoors.

Cheese Making...A Successful First Attempt

While scanning through a gardening book of all places, Darrell came across a recipe for cheese that was very simple. That planted a seed:) He began looking for other simple recipes and found one online for "Queso Blanco." (White cheese). Milk was on sale for $1.58 a gallon and so the other night he decided to try the recipe. The ingredients are simple...1 gallon of milk, 1/4c. of vinegar, and salt. This first picture is of the milk curdling after the vinegar has been added. He is stirring as the mixture heats up.

After cooking, he strained it through some cheese cloth and pressed out the excess liquid. This resulted in the next picture, a coarse, dry cheese. After in this form he mixed in the salt using his hands to work it into the cheese. Then for the first taste...it was good! It tasted very close to Montery Jack and was really very tasty.

Darrell then used a measuring device of ours to form into cute little cylinders. To the one on the left he added some red pepper flakes for a little variety. After forming he placed in ziplock bags and boiled. This helps to keep the cheese good for several weeks. The total weight was 1.2 pounds of cheese. That was only 1.58, plus whatever 1/4 c. of vinegar costs, for a pound+ of cheese. What an awesome price! It doesn't melt, but it is a tasty snack to eat.

After this success, Darrell went to the store to purchase 3 more gallons of milk:) So stay tuned...he will be trying more recipes in the next week.

It's a Girl!

Well after leaving the house at 2pm we finally finished with the ultrasound at 4:30pm. It was the longest wait and ultrasound we have had. It was also the least fulfilling ultrasound. Usually the person doing the ultrasound is happy and telling you what he/she is looking at, but this one hardly said anything unless Darrell asked something. I couldn't see the screen unless I strained my head and it took soooooo long. But after it was all over we found out we are having a girl:) So we are excited. We would have been happy with a boy too, but it is fun knowing what this one will be.