Making a Change

Last June we moved into the house and all the space was amazing......then winter arrived and we froze. The furnace does not heat the whole house and the propane bill was almost four times what we paid at the old house. With all that in mind hubby has decided he wants to move...where?  That is yet to be seen, since the place he wants needs some major rehab. He has purchased an old barn and about four acres of land. The barn is amazing, yet needs much work. I can close my eyes and see a big country kitchen and all the bedroom space, a loft for the grandkids to come stay and the thought of not a neighbor in sight. The question is, where to stay until the barn is livable. That to be would mean the roof fixed, wall closed and water and electric run with my number one must have ...a bathroom! Hubby claims to have a plan that he will hopefully share with me. If there werent so many of us I would say get a camper , park it and live there while you work. The rest of the family is not so keen on that idea. There is an artesian well and beautiful views from all four sides. I am ready for a change.....sounds of chicken and the morning rooster wake up call. A goat of two grazing in the pasture and maybe I can grow something!  That part is questionable LOL.

All this said I went outside yesterday to find the boys busy. making a chicken tractor.....WHY...because they bought three chicken and a duck! Jumped the gun, I think, but they are here. The dogs enjoy them , the cats were curious and oh how I hoped whatever got BINGO did not come down the hill for a late night snack.


I woke this morning to find them all fine, thank goodness. I did not want to explain to two little boys about missing chickens.

 JJ and his chicken Batman ( we don't know boy or girl chicken, but he names everything Batman )



Carsen being brave to let Batman sit on his shoulder

Carsen chicken "DORA"

Dad's girlfriend and Mandy checking out the chickens

The BOYS getting Daddy to hold DORA.

Now let me say when I dreamed of chicken I thought big fluffy hens who lay eggs each day....I will need to be patient I guess. They say be careful what you wish for....In this case I totally agree. All this could have been mush worse, where they bought the chicken there were horses for sale. They could have brought one of those home.

Now between packing to move, college courses,crocheting for the shop...I will be watching two boys, four dogs, cat and three kittens, three chicken and a duck! 

Before all this amazing fun arrived I had just finished this cute catepiller set, all it needs is antennaes and it is ready to go.

With chicken on our minds I went to an old favorite for dinner tonight.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/chicken-and-dumplings/

 Chicken and Dumplings

Prep Time: 15 Minutes  |  Cook Time: 30 Minutes  |  Difficulty: Easy  |  Servings: 8

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1 whole Chicken, Cut Into Pieces (cut Up Fryer)
• Salt And Pepper
• 1/2 cup Finely Diced Carrots
• 1/2 cup Finely Diced Celery
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon Turmeric
• 6 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• Dumplings:
• 1-1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Yellow Cornmeal
• 1 Tablespoon (heaping) Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 1-1/2 cup Half-and-half
• 2 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Parsley (optional)
• Salt As Needed

Preparation Instructions

Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then dredge both sides in flour.

Melt butter in a pot over medium-high heat. In two batches, brown chicken on both sides and remove to a clean plate.

In the same pot, add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Stir and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in ground thyme and turmeric, then pour in chicken broth and apple cider. Stir to combine, then add browned chicken. Cover pot and simmer for 20 minutes.

While chicken is simmering, make the dough for the dumplings: sift together all dry ingredients, then add half-and-half, stirring gently to combine. Set aside.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside on a plate. Use two forks to remove chicken from the bone. Shred, then add chicken to the pot. Pour heavy cream into the pot and stir to combine.

Drop tablespoons of dumpling dough into the simmering pot. Add minced parsley if using. Cover pot halfway and continue to simmer for 15 minutes. Check seasonings; add salt if needed. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

*Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

Try this and enjoy your day!

I don't Do Well With Changes

For as long as I can remember I do not take change well. I realize that as life goes on things must change, but that doesn't make it any easier for me to adjust to. So much has happened since my last post I am at a loss as to where I should start.

    Probably the biggest change is last week we lost our favorite UNCLE. Uncle Eddie was , perfect. Kind, sweet and as good a guy as you will ever find. The perfect son, brother and uncle. In the past seven years since my Gram has passed away he has been with us for holidays to keep the family going. He is probably best remembered for the line of kids waiting to kiss him goodbye before he left. Some of us got in line more than once, he never minded that! I am handling this much better than I thought because he is with my Gram now and both can chat the days away. In heaven I bet he's bowling again. I will think of thunder in a whole new way from now on. The saddest part is the little ones in the family did not have nearly enough time to get to know him. He will be greatly missed at our house.
   Luckily for me I have a wonderful friend who is more like a sister, Jean for the Teapot Quilt Cottage and Garden Center in Montello. In good times and those awful times she is always there to lend a shoulder and help talk me through the tears.
    I started taking college courses online!  Will I run off and get a career? Maybe, if not I will still show the kids if Gramma can do it so can YOU.
   We are getting ready for a move.  That means packing and unpacking. I did mention I hate change and this will surely add to the stress in the house. On a good not the kids will be out of school and can help. Can help, should help!

  I have also added some new items to the shop and hopefully after catching up on orders can get a few more done.

A holiday weekend ahead with a birthday party and BBQ ( speaking of BBQ, here is a great take along salad recipe from Pioneer Woman ), two small boys 2 puppies, 3 kittens 2 dogs and a cat, it should be a piece of cake! Have a safe weekend!

Wednesday Already

  Time seems to fly when the two little men in my life are gone to their Moms. Before you know it they will be back and the noise and business will fill the house. Awwww I love it. Right now though I am enjoying another cup of coffee while I ponder over my choice to give up chocolate for Lent. I usually don't give up anything but this year I decided to join in.

Chocolate is one of my downfalls and seems like a good thing to give up. So, no more in my morning creamer, or a bite when the day has gone crazy. I have a money bet with my daughter, she will lose I am sure of it!

The snow is really coming down now as I sit and watch out the dining room window.  Hubby and #1 grandson are trying to get the car unstuck from the middle of the road. No plow so far. Of course it is supposed to be almost 50 by the weekend so it will all melt. The car can't sit that long so they are out there shoveling and pushing.

This is the time of day when I need to decide what to make for dinner. Cold, snowy, the little guys back. Feels like chicken and dumplings.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/chicken-and-dumplings/

This is my favorite recipe for them. The family was crazy about the dumplings. I just can't say enough about them. You need to try this one for yourself. Easy , but tastes like you slaved away all day over a hot stove. I can put it on and crochet the afternoon away while it cooks, then right before five get the dumplkings in and the family will be thrilled. Maybe if the day goes well even add a batch of Pioneer Womans dinner rolls. Another easy and delicious recipe.

The photos on Pioneer Womans sight are also amazing, you can almost smell the food! I ordered her books from Walmart online.

So, off to take a chicken out of the freezer, refill my coffee cup and get busy on some duck hats for the Etsy shop. There is a tan bunny hat on order that needs doing and I really need to stock pile for upcoming shows. Maybe I should have given up sleep for lent.

Have a great Day and try the chicken and dumplings!

Thinking of Cherry Pie

   Being home full time now has its up and downs.  As much as I love being able to work in my pajamas and sipping coffee while working here on the computer I do miss a few things from being downtown. Now I don't want to mislead anyone when I say downtown. I live just outside of Montello, Wisconsin so, downtown consists of a few main streets and a handful of shops, a few taverns, beauty shops and gas stations. We do have a pharmacy and a grocery store.



View Larger Map
One of my favorite shops in town I have mentioned before is the Teapot Quilt Cottage and after looking over the February class schedule noticed that on Saturday February 20th they are having Cherry Pie Day.  Seeing that I just had to ask what was going on.  In the past we have had chocolate tastings, a pumpkin pie bakeoff, christmas cookie and others all in the Cottage. People would enter their tasty dishes for a chance to win a gift cerftificate or small prize, bu the real winners were those who stopped in and tasted, then voted on their favorites. So much fun.  This time Jean is giving out Cherry Pie slices on this day. What a nice treat when you stop in and see alll the great things she has. From quilting supplies and yarn to produce in season and plants. You could make an afternoon of it, just in her shop. 
     Jean and I also started the Easter Bunny Parade in town, over the past few years it has grown into quite a fun tradition for the families in town and those visiting Grandmas on that weekend. Since we started the New Montello Group, about four years ago,  we have worked very hard to get visitors to stop in their journey through Montello and see what there is to offer.
   As of late it seems some things have changed and maybe not for the better.   Promoting a small town is an ongoing project, as each small town is working to attract visitors to keep it alive and growing.  Montello has so many great natural resources and such nice people it just needs to say " HEY, look at me" and get some good attention. Just about one hour north of Madison and about four hours from Chicago it is a great place to visit with the family or maybe a girls weekend.  All that said back to cherry pie
  Since reading about the cherry lices, I went to one of my favorite websitres to look for a recipe to try .
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/cherry-cake-pudding/
Over the past few weeks I have made about a dozen recipes from this site and all were raved about.
Cherry Cake Pudding

Ingredients
■Cake
■1 cup Sugar
■2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
■1 whole Egg
■1 cup All-purpose Flour
■1 teaspoon Baking Powder
■⅛ teaspoons Salt
■½ cups Whole Milk
■1 can (15 Ounces) Cherries In Syrup (NOT Cherry Pie Filling) Drained, Juice Reserved
■½ cups Pecans, Finely Chopped
■Sauce:
■1 cup Juice From Cherries (add Water To Make 1 Cup If Necessary)
■1 cup Sugar
■1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
■1 Tablespoon Butter
■½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
■Unsweetened Freshly Whipped Cream

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter a square 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
Cream sugar and butter. Add egg and mix well. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt then add to mixing bowl alternatively with milk. Add cherries and chopped nuts and mix gently. Pour batter into buttered pan and smooth out the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden brown on the surface and no longer jiggly.
While cake is baking, make the sauce by combining cherry juice, sugar, and flour in a small saucepan. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thick. Turn off heat and stir in 1 tablespoon butter and vanilla extract.
Drizzle 1/3 of the sauce on the cake as soon as you remove it from the oven. Spread to distribute over the surface and wait ten minutes before serving so the sauce will seep into the top of the cake a bit.

Spoon out pieces of warm, sticky cake and top with unsweetened whipped cream

I can't wait for hubby to get back from the store so I can get this in the oven.

by the way Walmart carries The Pioneer Woman new cookbook, a must have!  I ordered mine online from Walmart as our store was out of them.

All of this cooking has cut into my "hooking " time. I am trying to get a good amount of bunny and spring hats done. I have some of them destined for Josephines in Watertown and the others for Grammas Gifts the Etsy shop. I also just signed on for a show on April 8th in Fitchburg so I will need to get busy.

A Quiet Cup of Coffee

  It is a bright sunny morning here in Wisconsin.  With the two little guys back at their moms for a few days, I have a minute or two to myslef this morning. With a house of teenagers there is not a chance one of them will be up at this time on their own.
     Yesterday was busy, we took Mom to her new Doctors visit, I made a stop at the Walmart in Berlin for buttons and yarn then I came home and did those everyday chores that just always need to be redone. With no kids home I set off to work on site photos and finish a few hats.

  Off ,to the computer I went, quiet time to crop photos and list some new items......maybe!  We have three dogs, a rescued bordie collie Trixie, a Bichon, Mandy and Liz got a lab puppy Daisy for Christmas. Well, it is like having a house of sugared up two year olds when they get started. There is running and barking, chasing and even some ottoman jumping before they finally tire out the puppy and I can hear myself think again. Was it too quiet here?  Is that even possible, to have too much quiet?

  I am working on some duck and chick hats along with diaper covers for the tiny ones. Today I can sew buttons on  because my littlest helper , Carsen is not here trying to taste each button. He does make a lovely model and is the perfect size 3-4, but it is much easier when I get some alone time. I have a couple of the ducks already done and Liz was nice enough to model the teen duck hat for me. She added her own touch with some sunglasses.

I did get some work done but so enjoyed the silence while all three dogs napped.  With teens off and busy, hubby out I had a chance to warm up some leftover chicken and dumplings from Pioneer Women Cooks site, amazing even as a leftover and so easy to make. This is a must try recipe.  There were even a few of the dinner rolls from her site so I treated myself to one of those.  JJ and I had alot of fun making the rolls the other day. He is my cooking buddy and we are really enjoying trying recipes from this site.  So far we have made amazing and easy white bread, cinnamon rolls that were to die for, chicken and dumplings, drip beef and a pasta.   All very easy and delicious.  Of course while I am typing this I am thinking what can I find there to try for this weekend!   Cinnamon rolls will get made tonight so I can pop them in the oven in the morning, with a few pans to keep in the freezer for another day. This is a must see site if you like to cook or bake. Now that I have made myself hungry I had better get to work on getting the house up and running, maybe some oatmeal to get us started then on tho my etsy pages and a busy Saturday, Keep warm and have a great day whereever you are!

Hibernation

Hibernation, need not be just for bears.  With all the recent snow and cold, I feel the need to curl up and just stay put.  This is not something new for me.  I find myself in this spot every winter.  Maybe not enough light, I am not sure, but one thing I do know is it makes me want to stay in and cook.  For this my family is very grateful. Recently after finding the Pioneer Womans blog I have baked bread, cinnamon rolls and now yesterday made what she calls drip beef. Being from Chicago and now in the middle of Wisconsin this recipe was the closest thing we have had to a good Italian Beef sandwich since moving. Easy and delicious. The diresctions were easy to follow and the end reseult got rave reviews.  So, today I am off to try her chicken and dumplings , now if this doesnt say warm and comfy, what does. We also have my two favorite little guys back and both are sick. Chicken and dumplings is just as good as chicken soup, I would think. Just the idea has had me wanting to hurry into the kitchen and get started. I will also mix up a batch of the white bread. The house will smell wonderful and be warm and just perfect for the bear in me and the guys. So let those flakes fly outdoors today, I am stocked up and ready to cook and bake. During nap time, ( theirs not mine ) I will finish a few new orders that came in over the weekend from the Etsy shop . I have a box ready for the trip to Josephines in Watertown, hopefully tommorrow. As I type this I am beginning to feel a little less like crawling back into bed and hiding until spring. Is it the second cup of coffee or.......the thought of chicken and dumplings? I will have to let you know how it comes out, if only we had smell on theseblogs