Pigs In a Blanket

Do you have fantastic friends like I do?  These wonderful women who share their great recipes and ideas when you say "My kids are soooo sick of sandwiches in their lunchs at school!" are such a blessing to me (and my kids!).  I'm so thankful for them!
I had coffee with one of these ladies this morning and although she didn't have the actual recipe memorized, she gave me the low down on how to make these ... without hotdog wieners.  I'm not a fan of hotdog wieners, and I'd love to give my kids something a little more nutritious in their lunches.  Farmer Sausage, you're asking? For the sake of that last statement, lets pretend it's better.

So, after she left, I had some grocery shopping to do, and picked up the sausage I needed.  The rest is pretty much staples I have in the house anyway.

I googled a dough recipe and from what she told me, and what I saw online, it seems to be a standard biscuit recipe ... but the one I used called for butter instead of lard (which I have in the house ... lard, not as often.)

25 minutes after starting ... I'm pulling these babies out of the oven.  Mmmmm, just in time for supper!  I think they'll  be great in the kids lunches cold too .... if there are any left!

Dough:

2 cups flour

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 Tbsp cold butter (from sticks work best)

3/4 cup milk

-Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter until it's crumbly.  Add milk and stir to moisten.

-Roll out half the dough on a floured surface. Quarter the sausage and lay the 4 quarters on the dough, length-wise.  Slice though dough with enough to roll each quarter in.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 min, or until the dough is golden and the meat is cooked. (turn the rolls halfway through if it looks like the bottoms are getting too dark). 

Cool and slice into desired sizes.
*I also added a tsp of Epricure Herb and Garlic dip mix to the dough.  YUMMY!

Although those meat buns are absolutely amazing, 4 hours in the kitchen making them is a big commitment, so these may get made more often.  Meat Buns will remain a treat and rationed as such! ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

Did you have a great Mother's Day?  I sure did!
I woke up to three gentle voices saying "Happy Mother's Day!", then had breakfast all prepared on the table with coffee just the way I like it.
A big bag of Peanut M&Ms, an itunes gift card, and a gift certificate to a local Green House was also on the table.  Boy, do those guys know this Mom well! :)

Over the years, I've found that there really aren't that many photos of me with our boys.... I'm always the one behind the camera!  So a tradition was started a few years ago (actually, about 8, it was on Zach's first Mother's Day that we started), and although I think we've missed a year here or there, most years we do a little photo shoot.
I prepped my studio, set the camera the way I wanted it, and either Dustin or Brad took the pictures (Brad is quite the little photog already!), and since it was for Mother's Day, the complaining was kept to a minimum.  Lol.

Have a look .... for me, this keepsake is the best gift they ever could give me. :)

Sir Vival

Yesterday was the spring play for the school that my kids attend.  This spring, the grades 5 & 6 were the the ones to put it on.  It's nice that they get to go out with a "bang" like this, since next year the Middle Schools will be in place and grades 5 & 6 will not be part of the Elementary schools anymore.

Brad's part was 'Sir Vival'.  I had heard the songs, watched the dances, and laughed at his lines in the weeks before while he practiced at home .... but it was nothing like seeing the play!  In that costume and with the makeup, he seemed to age about 10 years (literally, it was a beard!!) and I couldn't help but think how handsome he was, and yet again, how fast he's growing up!  Dustin and I were both SUPER proud of him and the hard work he, and the rest of the cast, put into this production! They did a GREAT job!

 

 

Perisky

AKA Meat buns!

A friend of mine gave me this FABULOUS recipe for meat buns ... I admit, I am a terrible baker when it comes to yeast doughs (cookies, cakes and muffins?  No problem, but add yeast and something always seems to go wrong!) so I was over the moon happy when this recipe turned out AWESOME! 
I'm going to try doing a pizza filling yet too.


Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try:)

PERISKY
Meat Filling -
3 lbs lean ground beef
1 cup cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp garlic salt


1) Fry meat & drain fat.
2) Add other ingredients & blend well cooking over low-med heat.
3) Let meat mixture cool.

Bun Dough -
2 cups water
2 cups milk
1 cup melted lard
1 egg (well beaten)
1-1/2 tbsp salt
1-1/2 tbsp yeast
12 cups flour

1) In a large bowl melt lard (microwave). Add milk, water, salt and egg. Whisk together and microwave until hot.
2) Put 8 cups of flour in a large bowl and stir in yeast. Pour the whole liquid mixture over the flour and stir until the flour is moist. Continue to add flour while kneading. You will need to add at least 2-4 more cups of flour. Add about 1/2 cup at a time. You will begin to get a nice soft, but not sticky dough that kneads smoothly. Knead for 10-12 min.
3) Form the bun dough into a large ball and coat lightly with oil. Cover and place away from draft until double.
4) Make a golf-sized ball with a piece of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand.  Fill with cooled meat (a tablespoon's worth at least.  Dont be stingy, there's lots!) and pinch shut.
5) Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet.
6) Bake at 400F for 18 min.  (my oven is very hot so I did 375 for 10 minutes!)

How To Build a Chicken Coop

Well, there are 2 ways really, and I'll explain both ...

The first way ... marry someone like Dustin who knows exactly what he's doing and sit back with an ice tea.  TA-DAH!!! Done!

The second, tell him you actually want to help and this is what you'll get. ....

Once we picked the spot, we worked until we ran out of material.  We joked that Abby was our site supervisor, since she ran back and forth with us from our material pile to the area we built it, and only lay down while we worked.
I got to try out the gas powered air nailer (not that i was too eager, Dustin definitely encouraged it, and then hid a smile when it kicked back the first time and I freaked out was a little startled).

I'd love to tell you it's totally finished, but alas, it is not.  We're hoping to get the chickens by the end of the month, so we have a few weeks to get it finished yet.  It just seems the projects are piling up and whatever seems to be needed the most in that moment is what gets priority.  I have no doubt that our little coop will be ready in time though.