Birds

I admit I have a problem watching our birds at the feeder.  It does cut into my laundry, cleaning and chore time.  I enjoy watching their antics, ways of communicating, colors and freedom they exhibit.  Here is a collection of some of the birds at the feeder.

 

Traditions

Recently someone asked me why we have a family Facebook page and a blog.  The answer was quick to me.  My blog is a place where I can share more in depth my thoughts and feelings of why we work so hard to carry on our lifestyle as well as share a bit about our family history.  Facebook users (myself included) are normally scanning quick in their spare time to possibly learn or see something new, share in the pages they follow, and keep a brief running of their life happenings.

As an example, on our facebook page today I posted a few pictures of things we will have on our Easter table.  All of the items are homegrown, hand picked, or made by our family.  To me they signify a tradition passed down from my family starting from my great grandmother, grandparents, mother and aunts.

Our ancestors were “doers”.  They had no other choice but to provide for themselves.  Today’s world is more about “consumers”.  Not many take the time to even think about where their food comes from much less contribute, except monetarily, to their own existence.  I am not implying this is a wrong way to live, but it’s important to me for my children to know how their ancestors lived and to be able to provide a bit for themselves.  Maybe I was born in the wrong era 🙂

Our Easter lunch table will be filled with food and decor our family has grown or made.

It’s a tradition and one I hope my children will carry on into their futures!

 

 

 

 

Easter Ham Leftovers

Here are some of my favorite leftover ham recipes.  You can always freeze the left over ham and ham bone until you are ready to whip one of these up!!

Chunky Potato Soup

Super Simple Split Pea Soup

Simple Scalloped Potatoes

Ham Salad

Navy Bean Soup

Egg Muffins

NOTE:  ***If you open the facebook link and it comes up to a picture you can click the “x” to close the picture and the album and recipe will come up.***

School Treats (Vanilla Cake Recipe)

These make the perfect Easter treat for your dessert table!

chase n chance ranch

My daughter wanted to make ice cream cone cupcakes to take into school for her birthday treat.  I have a great recipe for vanilla cake so we ran to the store and bought the ice cream cones and then made our batter.  I had store bought vanilla icing and we dyed it blue and added a few fish sprinkles as that’s what she wanted…(can you tell which one is hers?)

Here is our vanilla cake recipe.  It’s as easy as making a boxed cake mix but has no preservatives or unwanted ingredients.

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup milk (you can use almond or rice milk if you choose)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the…

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Pork Rollups

These pork rollups are delicious and so easy to make.  Kids love them as it’s a change from pork chops.

This is the same way we do chicken rollups substituting the pork for the chicken.

If you buy a pork roast you can slice it yourself or ask the meat department of the store (or butcher) to slice it thin for you.

Pork
1 box stuffing mix mixed with 1 1/4 cup water
1 can cream of chicken soup mixed with 1/2 cup water

Pound out the meat slightly, place a tablespoon of the stuffing mix in the center and spread it. Roll up the pork and secure with a toothpick.

Layer a little of the soup mix on the bottom of the casserole dish. Lay the rolls on top and cover with the remaining soup mix.

Cover and bake at 350 approximately 40 minutes or until the meat is cooked through and no longer pink.

Serve with some homemade cranberry sauce and a veggie! YUM

You can see more pictures of how we make ours on my Facebook page here:  Pork Rollups

Beaver Dam

Rohan looking for the beaver

This is a creek that eventually meets up with the Niagara River.  Last summer a beaver made this little area his home.  Every few days the kids would go down and check his progress on building his dam.  Yesterday we took our little nephew there as he wanted to check for the beaver and collect more of the chewed wood for his collection.

pile of sticks that were once the beaver dam

The town got sight of the dam in the fall and came and removed the dam with a backhoe.  This is all that is left of the dam today.  The kids were very sad but understand the importance of keeping this creek flowing.

It’s amazing to see how hard this little beaver worked even taking down quite large trees all along this area. These are things you can’t teach in a classroom and so valuable to share with the kids in my mind.

He is missed but the kids will keep looking for signs of him throughout the next few months to see if he returns.

 

Egg Muffins

I know these are all the “rage” now. In our world, they are a perfect breakfast for our busy mornings. The kids can microwave them themselves for a change from cereal, I take one to work in the morning, and the Teen will usually heat one up for a snack if we have them.

I make them many different ways and today was ham, onion, kale and cheddar cheese. I use a jumbo size muffin tin and it’s the perfect serving.

I used 6 eggs, 1/4 cup of skim milk, and as much of the fillings as you like.

Spray your muffin tins well, layer the ingredients in, scramble the eggs and milk and pour over the filling. Sprinkle on the cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes or until cooked through. Let cool slightly and tip onto a plate and cool completely before placing in bags and freezing or refrigerating.

Spring around the Farm

Looks like spring around the farm this morning!  The snow is melting, the ice pond still has a thin layer but is probably done for the season, the trees are tapped and the sap is starting to flow….

Lemon Lush Cake

With Easter and spring coming, this is the perfect dessert!

This is light and delicious!  The buttery crust compliments the rich cream cheese and light lemon pudding perfectly!

CRUST- 2 cups flour/1 cup butter softened

Blend with pastry cutter, press into a cake pan (13×9) that is lightly greased with the butter left on the wrapper. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for approximately 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool completely

CREAM CHEESE LAYER –

2 8oz cream cheese bricks softened

1 cup sugar

Using a paddle, blend the softened cream cheese and sugar until smooth and spreadable.

Spread over the cooled crust

PUDDING LAYER:

2- 3.4 oz boxes instant lemon pudding mix

3 1/2 cups milk

2 TBSP Lemon Juice (fresh squeezed is best or you can use store bought)

Using a mixer or whisk for 4 minutes

Spread over cream cheese layer

 

Chill the entire cake for 2-3 hours

Spread on whipped cream (or coolwhip)

Keep leftovers refrigerated with plastic wrap to keep it fresh (if it lasts long enough)!!

 

Romano Buns

If you are looking for a quick sandwich type dinner, this is it!  These are perfect baked in the oven and even better cooked on the grill or right on the side of a bonfire.  These are a must for our camping trips and as a dinner when we are cooking on the bonfire.

They are like a melted ham and cheese with a buttery rich mustard flavor.

I don’t really measure anything but it’s simple ingredients:

Sliced deli ham (use a good one)
Swiss Cheese
Mustard (any kind you like)
Butter softened
Chopped Onion
Poppy Seeds
Sandwich or Hamburger rolls

Mix mustard, softened butter, and onion in a bowl
Place 2 slices of ham and a slice and 1/2 of swiss cheese on the roll
Place a tablespoon of the mustard mixture on the inside of the roll
Close the roll and spread a little extra mustard mixture on top and sprinkle with poppy seeds
Wrap loosely in tent style in aluminum foil

If baking bake at 350 for 10 minutes to let the cheese melt and the roll get crusty.
If cooking in the fire set on hot coals for about 8 minutes

The roll gets crusty, the cheese and buttery mixture melt into the roll and you have a delicious quick lunch or dinner!