Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day!  I am so thankful to live in America.  Even with all of our governmental problems, this is a great country, made great by the Constitution and our wonderful citizens.  This evening PH cooked on the grill.  I had planned a simple meal for us, since we were staying home, with no company coming over.  Due to the burn ban we were unable to do our annual firework get together, and there weren't any displays allowed in the state as a whole from what I gathered from the news.  Kind of sad really, but safer, fire wise.  Today's menu looked like this:

Grilled Chicken
Hamburgers with homemade buns (lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup)
homemade bread
homemade dill pickles
home grown watermelon fresh from the garden
Blue Bell Ice Cream (It's a TEXAS thang!)

I didn't have to go stand in long lines for any of our meal items, other than ice cream, we had everything on hand to make.  The buns took the longest as I had to let them rise TWICE!

This weekend was a great weekend, very relaxing for our family.  PH was off from work today, but was still up early to mow the front field.  Yes, we could actually mow!  We've been a drought since like forever, but received 2 inches of rain two weeks ago (about that), and the pastures are looking great.  PH and I had been watering like crazy people, and our electrical bill shows it.  I am thankful we don't have to pay a water bill, because our electric bill was high enough  I am trying to save my pennies for a solar jack pump, but it seems like I need more and more pennies lately, and I need to divide them among a lot of projects.  (sigh)

Project 1:  House
Project 2: Fencing
Project 3: Well/Pump
Project 4:  Pond Expansion
Project 5:  Water Catchment
Project 6:  think up new projects

I have been on a kick to only cook from my food stores.  It makes it very difficult when PH and the Prairie Kids (PKs) are fast food junkies.  I can no longer eat fast food as I get sick every time.  I wonder if it comes from eating healthier, organic food?  My body just can't process the "yuck" anymore.  Oh, it's a good thing (for me) but it makes it difficult when my spendthrift Prairie Family wants to eat out.  This normally amounts to once a week, when PH gets paid. 

Anyway...this weekend I have been trying new bread recipes.  I am on the never ending quest for "the" perfect sandwich bread recipe.  I've also made homemade doughnuts for breakfast, drop biscuits and canadian bacon, made hamburger buns for our lunch today along with a small mini loaf of bread.  I only made six buns because the PKs don't eat (or won't eat) hamburger, and one PK has to eat gluten free.  So, I had PH take the bone saw and cut an organic, pasture raised, locally grown, roasting chicken in half.  I rubbed each side with Olive Oil and PH cooked them on the grill.  I made 4 hamburgers with 1 lb of organic beef.

In case I haven't shared about our new eating habits.  We have been working on our long term storage pantry since 2006, but recently due to health, financial, political, religious (okay really ALL kinds) concerns we have switched to eating healthier.  We buy local from friends and area farmers for our beef, honey, and poultry.  I purchase raw milk from the local dairy and we make our own butter from the cream.  This tired PW has been canning up our harvest.  It has proven difficult to get all the vegetables we wanted canned due to the drought, but every little bit helps.  In the past, we stored up using store bought canned goods, though I did make wild mustang grape jelly every year, as well as, strawberry jam.  This year I canned up 2 dozen quarts of a seasoned tomato sauce, 2 dozen jars of dill pickles and 2 dozen jars of sweet pickles.  I also canned about 5 quarts of jalapeno salsa, and put a bushel of corn in the freezer.  All in all, I have far short of the number of quarts I wanted to put up from the garden.  Our green beans did NOTHING.  We are getting ready to plant our second garden, so we will see how it turns out.  Next on the agenda is to begin canning meats. 

**WARNING BUTCHERING PICTURES COMING UP**



We butchered our first buckling this weekend.  He was a little young (4 months) but one of our dogs attacked him and damaged his mouth beyond fixing, so we didn't want him to go to waste.  PH followed a YouTube video to get the job done.  We are such high tech, red necks! Ha, ha, ha...
After hacking the carcass into 8 different pieces, I wrapped up each piece in white butcher paper in placed in the freezer.  I'd like to make some stew from the meat and can it, but I am still working on the logistics. 

Our little prairie cabin isn't getting any bigger, and large canning processes will need to take place out of doors.  PH helped get me started on my outdoor kitchen today by moving one of the HEAVY metal picnic tables behind the cabin/container, arranging the gas and wood grills plus additional prep tables in the shade. 

More later!