Gingerbread House 2011

All in the family, a great Gingerbread House!

14 years ago I was a Pampered Chef lady and I sold enough to earn a stoneware mold for a gingerbread house.  Technically is is a schoolhouse, but no one really cares.  That Christmas we made our first gingerbread house, Cheyenne was four and Savannah was two.  We had so much fun.  Cheyenne was intent on putting on the candy and Savannah was intent on eating the candy.  All the while Cheyenne worked Savannah sat back stuffing her little mouth with her chubby fingers saying "It's bruful mommy, bruful." She couldn't speak clearly for all the candy in her mouth and had colored spit running down both of her sides of her chin.

Well, 14 houses later and Savannah still likes to eat candy, but then so does Cheyenne- particularly the hot tamales.  We have added 2 more children, Sierra and Jonathan.  They have grown up making the houses and last year we invited my nieces to build a house with us.  Katie and Rylie came back again this year and added to the fun.

Jonathan is by my side whenever I am in the kitchen.

That makes my heart happy!

Our Masterpiece

Chicken & Dumplins + Girls Night Out= Good Eats & Great Times

One of our family traditions at Christmas Times is to have Girls Night Out.  Girls in our bunch is defined by 13 years and older.  Now, the young ladies in our families really look forward to turning 13.  My daughter, Sierra, turns 13 on January 30th, so close but so far.  Her aunts wanted to make an exception, but her two older sisters said absolutely NOT.  The had to wait and they made her wait.

Each year the agenda varies, but there are a few things that always happen- an ornament exchange, great food, lots of laughs, and great fun.  For the past couple of years, my Aunt Sherri and her daughter, Stephanie, have hosted us at there home.  We all come together for a sleepover and movies or whatever strikes our fancy.

A favorite food of the whole family is chicken and dumplins.  No matter the size of the pots, the pot will be empty.  So, below is a recipe that is our family favorite.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
1 tsp Poultry seasoning
2 tsp Fresh Sage (dried is fine if you do not have fresh, reduce to 1 tsp)
Salt and pepper to taste
Biscuit dough (recipe below)

Place chicken in a large stock pot or dutch oven.  Cover with water to about 3 inches above the bird.
Boil until chicken easily pulls of the bone- about 1hr- 1 1/2 hrs.
Remove chicken from pot and let cool.  Pull chicken from bone and discard the skin and bones.
These steps can be done in advance and let cool in the refrigerator or freeze the shredded chicken and broth in freezer until you are ready to cook.




Once the chickens is shredded return to the pot and bring to a rolling boil on high heat.  Once boiling rapidly, drop the biscuit dough in by the spoonfuls, how large of dumplins depends on your family preference.  After adding the dough, dump the contents left in the bowl of dough into the pot.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Boil for 10 minutes, do not lift the lid and remove from heat after 10 minutes.

Serve once cool enough to handle.

Biscuit Dough:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp of baking powder
5 tbsp of butter or Crisco
1 cup of buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients. Cut in butter until there are small pea-size bits of butter.  Stir in milk.  If you don't have buttermilk, you can add 1 tsp of vinegar to one cup milk.
The dough will be very wet.  Now for dumplins, sprinkle a liberal amount of flour over the top- not more.  Now pinch off pieces about the size of a large marble.  The extra flour keeps the dough from sticking to your fingers and adds lose flour to the broth that will thicken it.

Simple and Beautiful Christmas Ornaments

I love sparkle, especially when it comes to Christmas Decorations.  One of the easiest and most beautiful decorations we have had were pine cones that we decorated ourselves.

Each year we make a few more.  Not only do they look good in our home, but it is a great way to make family memories.  Once the pine cones have glitter, I use them on trays or buffet tops and I hang some from the ceiling on pretty ribbons.

The first step is to collect pine cones.  This step is a great time to get outdoors and enjoy nature.  If it has been raining, the pine cones will be closed up tight, but after you bring them in the house for a couple of days they will dry out and open up.

The pine cone on top is completely dry and the one below is still wet.

The easiest way we have found to put glue on the pine cones is with a craft paint brush.  I pour the Elmer's glue in to a bowl and the kids brush it on.

My nieces, Rylie and Katie, are brushing on the glue.

Once the glue is on, we put the pine cones into a plastic bag with the glitter and shake, rattle, and roll.  Once the shaking is done the pine cones are set on a paper plate to dry.  After they are dry you can set them out or tie ribbon to the top and hang them from the tree or ceiling.

 

 

Add some pine clippings and lights, and these pine cones make a classy display.

A hanging display of at least 5 pine cones is really pretty.  Here I only have one because I haven't got the other out yet.  My children love to get out all the decorations and they always talk about when they make what.  These are the things that they will remember when they are grown, very few gifts are remembered for a lifetime.

Rylie Grace is 5!

My youngest niece, Rylie, turns five on December 18th and this weekend we celebrated her birthday.  Rylie has quite the personality and she was loving all the fun.  My sister and Rylie's mom, Windy, always does a great job on the birthday parties and this was no exception.

Hot chocolate was served and that really made the outdoor party nice.  All though chilly, the weather was great.  Pizza was yummy.  After the bonfire got going, the roasted marshmallows and smores were a hit with the kiddos.  There were LOTS of Kiddos there.  Squeals and screams were heard all night.  Given that my brother-in-law, Ryan, lit the bonfire with gasoline, we are really glad the screams were only the happy kind!  Ryan is a great dad and built a really good fire.

Minnie Mouse was the theme.  Aunt Peggy made a great cake and Windy made and awesome banner!

Gift Time!

J's favorite part was the bonfire!  Papa Dennis watches on.

Cheyenne looking pretty.

Mmmm, roasted marshmallows coming up!

Christmas Outing 2011

The Ross Family 2011

Each year we take a little excursion to do some Christmas "event".  For several years when the older two were little we would go to Marshall, TX.  Then, we did some other events like ICE at the Gaylord Texan or the Polar Express in Grapevine.  Some were more fun than others, but all our outings have been fun.

This year we went back to Marshall.  As best I can remember without getting out the scrapbooks, we haven't been there since Sierra was 18 months old and I was pregnant with Jonathan.  Well, Jonathan is now 10 years old!  My, My, time really can get away from you.  Sierra and Jonathan were very excited about their first ice skating experience.

I have to say, when we were hitting Marshall before it was neat, the courthouse was always a sight to see, but that was about it.  They would put up the ice skating rink and a few other odds and ends but not much more.  That was then.  Now, there is a lot of things for the kids to see.  The lights around the courthouse were set to music and that was awesome!  I really recommend taking the family to Marshall for Christmas fun.  Tonight was cold!  It really felt like Christmas ought to feel.

As for the ice skating.... We had so much fun.  We probably all looked like wounded ducks, but we laughed and laughed.  Savannah took to it pretty quick.  Of course Tony acted as if he did it all the time.  Cheyenne was going great until she busted her knees and called it a night,. I am sure the knot on her knee will heal soon!  Sierra did get it, she said she would do better in a bigger rink since she didn't know how to turn.  As for Jonathan he stuck to it.  By the end, he had it down.  Thankfully he didn't mind all the ice and snow stuck all over him.  I busted with grace twice, its kind of hard to have a complete wipeout when you don't get more than 12 inches away from the wall.  All in all, we did pretty good.  Most everyone looked like we did.  It was easy to pick out those that did not grow up here.

If you get to Marshall, there is a really good Mexican place on the square.  Casa Tamasa was quite good and priced great. 

Garden Boxes Rock

For everyone who has thought of growing their own vegetables, flower gardening, or raising herbs, the garden box is a great way to go. With the garden box the soil is easy to amend, the plants are easy to care for and the beds are defined clearly.

There are several ways to build a garden box. My favorite way is to use 2X12 untreated lumber. Many publications say that if you use lumber it must be cedar or cypress. Although these two materials are extremely long-lived they are also very expensive. I simply used pine available at our local lumber yard. My first boxes were build 4 years ago and are still in great shape. I live in a very humid area with lots of insects including termites and those first boxes are showing very little decay.

Sizes of garden boxes depend much in part to the size of the area you have available. I did find that my five foot wide beds are just a little too wide to reach the middle without stepping in the beds. I really like my beds that are 2′ X 10′. These are a really great size and hold plenty of veggies. The width of the beds is the major consideration, the length is totally at your discretion simply based on your space available. The depth of 12 inches is a great depth. I grow carrots every spring and fall and those orange roots come out beautiful.

Now comes the filling. There are so many great options that your choice really depends on what is readily available in your area. I filled mine with aged horse manure that came from a friend’s stable. To this, I apply compost to the boxes every fall and spring. The results I am getting from this recipe are really great. By replenishing with compost twice a year keeps the boxes really fertile.

The ease of weeding, planting, and rotating crops have made me a total fan of the garden box. I will be using this boxes for the rest of my gardening days.

The Leading Lady

When I think of the Christmas story I am amazed at the strength of character in these simple people. Thinking about Mary- she was only around the age of 14 when God asked her to carry his son. She said “yes”. What would have happened if she had said “no”? Then I ask myself what kind of young lady was she to have said yes so readily and then see the task through to its very end- the cross. Those around her probably would have described her as spunky, maybe strong willed. (So take heart those of you who have strong-willed kids, God has a purpose for it) Think about it- a mousy, compliant person would not have had the gumption to take the leading role in God’s plan for getting Jesus to earth to save our souls. She also had amazing strength to endure the scorn and the scoffers who did not believe her claims of angels and the Holy Spirit. She was something.

Then if you look at her interaction with Jesus at the wedding feast you still see spunk. The hosts of the wedding had run out of wine- a social no-no. So she tells Jesus to fix it. He replies to her “Woman, my time has not yet come.” As a child I wondered how he could be so rude with the use of “woman.” Now I understand the love and mischief with which it was said. I am sure there was a twinkle in his eye and a crooked grin on his face.

Then what did he do? He turned water into wine. I guess either he couldn’t resist her charm or he knew there was no arguing with her- probably both. She must have been loving and charming as well. Look at how secure Jesus was in his calling- you don’t get that kind of kid without loving and supporting them. One day we will meet the mother of our Saviour and will know what she was really like and I am certain we will see a woman of great strength.

The rest of us won’t get the role of leading lady in the salvation story- its already taken; however, God does have a role for us to play that no one else can play. When He asks you to take the role I pray you say “yes”. The world needs you and when you fulfill your role history will never be the same.

Mary, Did You Know?

During the Christmas season when we focus on celebrating the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, I can’t help but think of the crucifiction as well. They are inseparable, without either one there would be no salvation and redemption.

For many years I pondered on Mary, what it must have been like for her. The joy of bringing the Son of God into this world. The bitter saddnes of bringing the Son of God into this world. Being the jewish girl that she was, she knew the prophecies, she knew what lay ahead, she knew the sacrifices she and Joseph had already made to get this baby here. This was her son, too. She loved him as any mama loves her baby. Given all of that, I always wondered why she didn’t get more credit. She gave her son as well as God.

God gave his Only son, Mary of course had more children, but did that really mean it was no big deal that she gave Jesus? Then it came to me- when all of the events of Jesus’ death began to happen and as she stood there and watched him die on the cross- as a human, she could do nothing. It was out of her control. She certainly sacrificed, felt the greif, and was probably so angry she could have spit nails, but all said and done she had no control. Jesus was a grown man and he made his choice to follow God’s path and set us all free from eternal death and restore us to our Creator.

Now God, on the other hand, He was almighty God. He could have stopped the pain with a thought. He could have said “enough” and Jesus’ suffering would have been over. As God, he was in control and he had the power. But, He did not. He gave his only son. How much must He love me and you. He could have stopped his child’s suffering, but He saw the big picture- our redemption- and He restrained himself and let Jesus die. What a sacrifice, what hurt. God felt the same pain, grief, and anger as Mary. We are made in His image, we have feelings and emotions so does He.

God gave his only son…. So Celebrate this Christmas- Our Redeemer Lives!

Gardening in December

I am not above letting the animals work for me in the composting department!

It may seem like an odd time to be gardening, but now is the time to prep the beds for next year among other things. Not to mention that there are greens to be growing that aren't bothered much by the winter weather.

With all the leaves falling, now is the time for building the compost piles.  I have never shredded mine and have never had a problem with them breaking down.  However, if you want to speed things up, you can run over them with the lawn mower.  If you have a bag to catch the clippings, it will make things even easier.  I basically pile the leaves up along with horse manure, that we ALWAYS have plenty of,  and let that break down over the winter and early spring.  Usually by April or so, it is ready to use.  If I have an area where I plan to make a new bed or garden, I pile it up in that spot and then I don't have to move it come spring.  I don't even till in spring, I just dig and plant.  The earthworms will do a pretty good job of mixing it up.

If you have small livestock, you can compost even easier.  In our barn stalls, we use the deep bedding method.  I bed the stalls with at least 6 inches of wood shavings, old hay, and leaves.  The deep bedding absorbs all the urine and poop ( not large animal poop like cows or horses) and the heat generated by the bedding decomposing helps keep the animals warm.  Then in the spring when its time to clean out the stalls, all of that bedding goes straight to the garden and flower beds.  Same with the chicken house.  Load after load of leaves goes into the hen house and all winter they scratch and poop making for some very fine compost by spring.

As for what to grow, Swiss chard, kale, arugula, and turnip greens do very well.  If the greens are young and a deep freeze is coming, a simple row cover has worked for me.  Once they are up and about 8 inches tall, they haven't even needed that cover.  Experiment some and find what works for you.  A package of seed is only a $1.00. so if you mess up, you haven't lost much.  But, if you succeed you will have your own produce in the middle of winter!

Good Chili for Chasing Away the Chills

Daingerfield State Park

Around the Ross household, we like chili just about any time of the year, but it is certainly a favorite when the weather turns cold.  The recipe below is our favorite.  The original recipe came from Southern Living magazine, I tweaked it a bit- something I do to just about every recipe.

The first time I made this chili was on a camping trip to Daingerfield State Park.  The chili was a hit and so we call it Daingerfield chili.  If you are looking for a great place to take the family camping, I highly recommend this state park.  We had a wonderful time.  The lake is very clear and while we were canoeing along the shallows, we could see the bottom along with the waterlilies.  If you don't have a canoe, you can rent them there.  The wooded acres has several really nice trails.

Tony & I knew each time we heard cackles and screams that Lady, the 85 lb Lab, had changed sides of the canoe

Our good friends, the Lafluers, were camping with us.  Playing cards in the light of a lantern, cooking over the fire, swimming in the lake- all these good memories come back easily when we eat our Daingerfield Chili.

Sierra's poker face!

Daingerfield Chili:


1 lb beef chuck roast, cubed
1 lb pork loin or shoulder roast, cubed
1 lg onion chopped
1 lg green pepper chopped (you can substitute any pepper you have in your garden like banana)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 TB Sp olive oil
2 cans (4.5 oz) green chillies
2 cups water or red wine
1 cup salsa
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 TB Sp brown sugar
3 tbsp lemon juice


Combine the first 5 ingredients, cook half the mixture in 2 tbsp olive oil in a lg dutch oven over medium-high heat until browned.  Remove and set aside and repeat with the remaining half of mixture in the other 2 tbsp olive oil.
Combine meat mixture, tomatoes, and next 7 ingredients. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until meat is tender.

A Messy Morning

These ladies thought this one box was the best one!

When doing farm chores, especially the morning chores I have a particular pair of green, cordorory overalls that I love to wear in the winter.  They are warm and comfortable with plenty of pockets.  Of course, they are not pretty and I have no idea of where they came from, but they are my favorites!  I call them my nerd clothes and my children agree.

My morning chores usually consist of milking and feeding the goats and pig in the barn.  Every now and then, I beat Savannah to the chicken house and get to collect eggs.  Again, I love the overalls, plenty of pockets to stash the eggs to carry them inside.

The chickens are constantly scratching around in the hen house looking for goodies. Invariably, they pile bedding up around the door.  When you shut it, you have to push in to get the door to latch.  As I leaned on the door this morning, I heard/felt a "pop" and realized that I had just cracked the egg in my pocket!  Words cannot describe what it feels like to reach into your pocket and feel the warm gooey egg oozing around.  I quickly grabbed all that I could scoop and tossed it on the ground for the dog to clean up.  Then I walked briskly to the house as the warm egg quickly changed to cold egg spreading on my thigh!  Always something to laugh about!

Trimmin The Tree

I am really excited about this year's tree.  I have wanted a Nobel Fir for a long time.

As you may have noticed, we don't grow those around here.  Because of this, I have been out-voted for years as to what kind of tree to get.  Each year we take a vote to decide if we will go to a tree farm, cut one down from Grandmother's land, or buy one from a tree lot. 

I do enjoy going to a tree farm to cut one down.  The kids all scurry around looking for the best tree to cut down.  Of course we always think that a tree we saw "right over there" would be the best and then have a dickens of a time finding it again.  Once we have located the tree that will have the privilege of decorating our home for the Christmas season, Tony cuts it down.  The atmosphere at the tree farms is always so great, it's kind of hard to be a grump surrounded by all the trees, decorations, smiles and Santa.

As far as cutting them down from the field....  The event is fun, roaming the field with the kids is definitely  a memory making time.  But, I never like how the tree looks once it is home.  It is either to round, too fat, to tall or too thin.  Maybe I shouldn't put so much emphasis on that part, but it matters to me.

This year, the drought worked in my favor.  Due to how quickly a local tree would dry out, we thought a "foreign" tree would be better.  I love this tree, it is so beautiful!

Say Hello, George

Meet George, the Nubian Buck.  George is going to be busy over the next few weeks.  He has been chosen to be the sire of our next crop of goats.  We are very excited about his great coloring.

Our friends, the Burks, have allowed George to come stay at our place.  The gestation period in goats is 5 months.  In one week from getting George, all of our does have come into heat.  If you are wondering how I know... Mostly I know because I know how my goats behave and its easy to tell the difference.  Just picture a classy mature lady who suddenly begins to act like a teenager with no raising letting her hormones get the best of her trying desperately to get the attention of the star football player.  Now to be certain we will keep George in with the does for another 21 days, the time it takes for does to come into heat again.  So, if the goats are bred the first week in December, the babies will be born the first week in May.  

I usually like for the kids to arrive in January or February, but this year I didn't get all my business together so we are just now getting a buck.  Really, it is not a big deal, I have a Nubian, Julia, in milk now and she will take care of us through the spring.  Then we will have 4 does in milk come May. 

Because of our doelings that were born last spring, we will breed again in April.  This will give us kids in September and 3 more does in milk for the winter.  I like this plan because then I will never have down time waiting on babies to be born.  We will have fresh milk year round!

I thought that milking every day would be a real drag, but to my surprise I really like it.  There is something so grounding about being in the barn early in the morning.  When I first get in there, all the animals are talking and reminding me that they are hungry.  So, I feed the kids their Alfalfa, the pig his pig grower and the show goats their show feed.  Next, I put the oats in the feeder and get Julia.  She hops up on the stand all by herself and goes to eating.  As I am milking, all is quiet and I can get to milking.  While I am milking, I can hear all the barn residents munching away.  That, my friend, is a very soothing sound.  For a few moments there is peace.  Add to the munching the milk squirting into the pail, and all is right.  It is very rewarding and I have come to look forward to my "chores".

See what I mean about color?  George is awesome.

Summer's End

One think I love about Texas gardening, is the fact that our first freeze usually comes pretty late.  This gives us the ability to keep harvesting veggies a long time after most of the country has said good-bye to fresh Basil.  But, all good things must come to an end and the weathermen said that our end was coming Saturday night.

So, Saturday found us moving the plants that were sensitive to the greenhouse and harvesting all the herbs that were left. Now, there are a lot of herbs that are perennials and do not mind the cold in winter.  These herbs are not herbaceous- weird, huh?  Herbaceous means that the plant's aerial parts die back in the winter and return come spring.  But, I cut them anyway.

Most of the herbs will be made into Salt Scrubs, scented oils, Bath soak teas.  I love hand-crafted bath items the quality and potency are unmatched.  A few of the herbs will become tinctures.  Tinctures are made by taking medicinal herbs and soaking them in an alcohol like Brandi or Vodka.  The great parts of the herbs are absorbed by the alcohol.  Then the alcohol is strained and the alcohol stored in a dark bottle and used  when someone is in need.  The tincture I like best is made with dandelion, it is great for any kind of winter illness and works great for Tony when he is having trouble with allergies.  We ran out this summer because of the heat and drought the dandelions said good-bye.  Finally we got some wonderful rain and cooler temps and out popped the dandelions. 

Well, the weathermen were off by one day- the first freeze came Sunday night.  I am so glad I harvested the last of the herbs.  Of course, the kitchen looks a little funny with the bundles of herbs hanging around- but it smells great!

A land that flows with milk.....

There is a lot of excitement around the farm.  Given the time of the year, you might think it has to do with Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And all though the holidays to bring lots of cheer, the excitement right centers around a creamy white liquid….

We have raw milk again!

Since the summer was so hot, I stopped milking in August.  This means we have been buying store bought milk for a couple of months.  No one has been really crazy about this fact.  The kids have been making a lot of noise about the obvious deficiencies of the processed milk.  So, while my current milk does are with a buck so that they will kid in the spring and give milk again, I have been looking for a goat in milk to purchase to give us milk today!

How can you not LOVE a face like that?

Although I love my Saanen milk goats, I have been fazing them out.  You see, Saanens are an Alpine breed- as in the Swiss Alps.  So while they come with a genetic disposition to tolerate very cold winters and all that comes with it, they do not have a genetic disposition to handle a Texas summer.  It was a hard choice, Saanens have these cute ears that poke out from their heads like airplane wings, they have been a very sweet tempered breed, and their babies are CUTE!  I am a little surprised at how much I like their look given they are solid white.  Usually I am not a girl who goes for solid white.  You won’t find a white wall in my home- yellow, blue, green, - but no white.  But I love those goats.  I have kept one, Sapphire.  My birthday is in September and my kids bought me the little goat for my birthday a few years back.  I simply won’t milk her in the summer.

Happily, I found a new milk goat last weekend.  A lovely lady had her Nubian doe and her 3 doe babies up for sale.  After Third Monday McKinney, we picked her and the girls up on our way home.  I love, love, love this goat.  She milks so easy and is so sweet.  The only problem is that her name is Windy and given that my sister’s name is also Windy this could create some confusion in future blog posts.  I love roses and am leaning towards Julia Child.  The rose of this name is gorgeous and yellow and I love watching “The French Chef”, so this seems to be a good choice.

My new milker!

 

I am so happy to be milking again!