Early Spring Garden~April

I planted half of a pound of Contender green beans in early April before a lovely spring rain. They germinated well and are growing nicely except in the spots where our little dog has dug. I'm not sure if he is smelling something or just being an animal. I'm not particularly a pet fan unless they produce something...I suppose he keep wild critters away and certainly alerts us of visitors down the lane!

Our lone tulip that bloomed this year of a dozen bulbs planted 2 years ago. There is still hope they will show a lovely display eventually!

The barrenish garden behind the patio. I'm loving my small burst of color in the outdoor pillow!

Horseradish is growing around the birdbath. It is spreading with vigor.

 radishes

 spinach

 cilantro

baby sugar snap pea row

pineapple mint 

raspberries 

salvia 

I dug up some of the wildly sprouting horseradish and blended it, jarred it, and covered with vinegar. It is quite tasty! I've never really eaten it much, but since it grows so well and is great for you, we are nibbling on it now and then...it's almost addictive! The girls were giggling to see who could eat enough to burn up their noses. They would roll up a teaspoon in a horseradish leaf and chomp it down; it really opened up our nasal passages! The leaves even have zingy qualities!

April's garden harvest was a slim 1 pound of horseradish, cilantro, and chives, but oh so yummy to be eating fresh again!

Stovetop Casseroles, Baked Goodies, & Soup (New Recipes of the Week~16)

No recipes, just pictures.

Here's part of what we tasted new in February.

Cheesy, spicy, juicy

No-Tortilla Enchiladas

More cheesy, saucy goodness in

Stovetop Lasagna

Another Baking Day

Big & little cakes along with puffy quick hamburger buns.

Soup and sourdough bread.

Those mini cupcakes got iced for a party!

Soup, Casseroles, & Snacks (New Recipes of the Week~15)

These are new foods we ate in December and January and I honestly do not know what recipes they are.

Yes, lacking on my record-keeping skills! I quit writing down our daily menu on the calendar and am now making a list of dishes for the week on scrap paper, choosing day by day, instead of planning specific days. I always erased and rearranged that old way, however it was good for reference!

I'm pretty sure we liked these enchilada-looking burritos. We rarely have a complaint about Mexican meals. Chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin are the seasonings I replenish in my pantry the most! plus cinnamon. We have come to prefer freshly made wraps to the soggy, casserole, baked kinds. Texture issues.

I like to mix assorted bagged salties then put them in ice cream buckets to take along. This mix was for an overnight basketball tournament...lunches or snacks or traveling nibbles.

Popcorn, spicy cheetos, corn chips, pretzels, and bugles. Oh my!

Soup, Casserole, & Freezer Crockpot Meals (New Recipes of the Week~14)

Italian White Bean & Spinach Soup

We liked the flavor of this soup and it used up frozen garden squash. Double bonus!

Find the original recipe that I tried by clicking on the recipe title.

Nana's Chili Rellenos

1 can (27 oz.) whole green chilies, drained

4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

4 eggs

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1/4 c. flour

1 can (29 oz.) tomato sauce

1 envelope taco seasoning

8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese cubes

Slice chilies in half and remove seeds. Arrange in a 9 x 13. Sprinkle with cheese. Beat eggs, milk, and flour, until smooth; pour over cheese. Bake 350* for 30 minutes. Whisk tomato sauce and taco seasoning until blended; pour over casserole. Place cheese cubes on top. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until top is set. 

I used fresh chilies, homemade taco seasoning blend, left off the sharp cheddar, and cooked it on the stove rather than baking this dish. It was tasty.

Grilled Sweet Potato Salad

With avocado, cilantro, and lime juice this sounded yummy, but was just too strange of a combination added to sweet potatoes.

Freezer Crockpot Meal preparation. 

Our local homeschool group planned an afternoon of assembling freezer meals. We each brought our own ingredients & recipes from various blog posts, and chopped away. Annie helped me make 10 meals in about 2 hours...All.New.Recipes. We liked the Pineapple Chicken Burritos, Creamy Italian Pasta Soup, Honey Chicken, and Southwest Chicken Soup.

I had several gallon bags of frozen garden tomatoes I'd never canned, that were used up in these meals. I also used some of the chickens we butchered this spring and deer roasts that were in our freezer too. It was a good learning experience and I hope to try again with some different recipes.

Hunting

If you don't like looking at dead animals, this is not the post for you!

A few snapshots of this year's hunting days...

Riley sighting in his gun.

The field-dressed doe hanging until we're ready to butcher. 

We put 16 pounds of meat in the freezer from this yearling.

Bucket of parts saved for luring traps.

Jerky in the making. Thinly sliced meat in a pan ready to be coated with marinade in the bowl.

Deer Jerky

3 lb deer roast or loin, sliced 1/4"

1/2 c soy sauce

2 Tbsp liquid smoke

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

several dashes of hot pepper sauce

Mix marinade ingredients and pour over meat. Soak at least 8 hours. (I have left it in the fridge, covered, up to 48 hours.) Lay meat pieces on cooling racks placed in jellyroll pans. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bake 10 hours at 180*. Jerky should bend, not snap apart. I have also put the strips in a dehydrator, but the jerky had a slightly different flavor our family didn't like as well.

Little sister gets to take a turn sitting, waiting, watching, reading, and possibly videoing.

Two turkeys, just in time for Christmas dinner.

The second doe, shot in January, was the last chance for meat this season. We kept 30 pounds from this one, mostly canned chunks for soups and casseroles.  

Casseroles and Breads (New Recipes of the week~13)

 Crock Barbacoa Beef 

Very simple (if you plan several hours ahead to slow-cook the roast) and very good flavor! I used venison and it was juicy and mildly spicy. 

Click on the title to take you to the recipe.

Baking Day

French bread Loaves, sour dough rounds, and pie crust in the bowl.

Loaded Spaghetti Squash Casserole

With butter, sour cream, and cheese, this dish was satisfyingly warm & gooey. However, my kiddos can pick out even the tiniest hint of squash, no matter how dressed up it is, and turn up their noses. Too bad!

Venison Garlic Stir fry

I could eat stir fried veggies with or without meat, with or without sauce, (but always with rice), three times a week. My people just are not that fond of it, even with sweet chili sauce, so I try to limit this to a couple times a month.

Cranberry Apple Muffins

2 cups shredded apples

1 cup sugar

1 cup cranberries

1 cup shredded carrots

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

2 eggs

1/2 cup oil

2 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Combine apples and sugar; let stand for 10 minutes. Add cranberries, carrots, eggs, and oil. Mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and salt; stir into apple mixture just until moistened. Fill muffin cups or tins 2/3 full. Bake at 375* for 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pans. Yield: 11/2 dozen.

My daughter mixed these up with red Kansas wheat flour and left out the nuts. They were quickly gobbled up!

Mystery Chicken Dish

This is a type of chicken casserole with Mexican flair...peppers, onions, olives, cheese, and salsa. I must have already tossed the recipe, because though it was good, it was not spectacular.

Those are some of the new foods we've been eating lately...