Chili Hot Beans

I've been wanting to can some Chili Hot Beans for a while now since we eat a lot of chili during the winter. I have finally found the time and a decent recipe that works for me. I wanted to use something along the lines of "Ben's Beans" which is using dried beans without soaking them as I don't have a lot of time on my hands these days. So here's what I have came up with and it works out really great.

Chili Hot Beans

Ingredients per pint jar:
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 teaspoon onion, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon jalpenos, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch of crushed red peppers
dash of hot pepper sauce (Louisiana)
1/2 cup small red beans (Pinto Beans), rinsed

In prepared sterilized jars add tomato sauce, vegetables and spices, add rinsed beans. Then add boiling water leaving 1 inch head space.

 I give my jars a nice stir to keep the seasonings from clumping up. Clean rims of jars with wet paper towel: affix two piece caps. Process in pressure caner 10 lbs. for (pints) 75 minutes.

If you want to do quarts you will need to double the recipe and process at 10 lbs. pressure for 90 minutes.

Happy Canning

~ FarmgirlPin It

Operation Duck and Chicken Run

A few days ago I bartered a few jars of jelly for two ducks. I'm staring to get a hang of this bartering as I have done it a few times here lately to get things I needed or wanted for the farm and such. We got the ducks but didn't have any place to keep them. I couldn't turn them loose because my neighbors dogs would have them for an appetizer and I'm sure my two cats would chase them around and may even harm them. So we had them cooped up in travel kennel till we could get them something more fitting. 

It's been raining here for  a few days. The husband and I got up early and used the early morning hours to build a makeshift run for them from items we had already here on the farm. I found a few ideas on pintrest that would work great! I'm loving that site.

So we took the old swing set I got for FREE a few years ago. Borrowed the timbers from my blueberry bed. Purchased the netting and used some leftover rabbit wire for their door. Hubby also borrowed a tarp that wasn't being used from his parents to make them a shaded and dry area for when it starts to rain hard again. I think we have a total of $12 in the whole thing so far. I want to paint the swing set just to help protect it from more rust. 

Over all we are very pleased with how it came out and I know the ducks; Quackers and Cheese are very thankful for a large area to roam in.

Quackers and Cheese in the dog kennel

Enjoying some fresh water.

I'll take more pictures as I get the finishing touches on the run in the next few weeks.

Have a wonderful day!!

~ Farm Girl

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Operation Pig Pen

The past two days have been extremely busy here on the farm. We finally located a few pigs for my son's FFA fair project. We didn't think that we were going to be able to get his project underway but with the help of a few friends and unsuspecting souls it got underway and completed in just two days.

The prime location for the hog pen would of been up in the tree line but that wasn't possible as it stays to wet there and we couldn't have them to far from a water source. The only choice we really had was to remove part of the falling down barn and locate them there. Okay this is probably a blessing in disguise.

Day One:

BEFORE picture. At least 120 year old barn crumbling. 

After picture. 

We couldn't clean up the whole building as behind it is pasture and is holding in one bull that will be going to the butcher shop soon. The building is acting as a fence. Sometime next week we will have to build new fence so that we can remove the rest for more expansion. 

We had to move all the debris from the barn across the creek and to our burn pile. It don't seem like much but, really it was. I know I had a good chunk of it all cleaned up before my son and husband made it back from Farmer Bob's. 

This will be burned. Hopefully very soon.

After having a cleared lot to work with they drilled holes for the posts which was a fallen down yellow locust tree, thanks to storm Drencho last end of June early July. 

Drilling post holes

Measuring for the next hole

All posts set 

It seemed like it took forever to get to this stage of the build. There was a lot of father and son bonding going on too. I hope that our son learned a lot from this build. And now we are ready to start putting up the side boards. The lumber used for the sides is lumber that was timbered off the farm back in 1991 and 1992. It had been piled up in the old shed since then. 

Saw mill lumber from the farm. At least 24 years old.

Add the side boards.

And like any other off the cuff builder some of the plans changed and the bedding area of the pen was moved to a different location. It was suppose to be off to the right but it got put on the back. 

Added bedding area

Thankfully my sons friend showed up after school to help them. It made my work a little easier as I was pulled away to go and work my sons mowing job. I do this from time to time when he has track meets, football practice or camp. Building the pig pen was really important so I tackled the mowing. 

Getting the roof done

They wanted to get the roof done before the extra help was gone. I don't blame them. There was no way I was getting up there to tack the roofing on. 

This scared the ba jibbies out of me. But, boys will be boys.
I think they were having a good time, anyhow.

Last thing few nails before we called it a night.
Not much more light to work in.

This was the finish of day one! We were so thankful to have the Son's buddy to help. My son helped him build his pig pen so it was payback time for him. 

Day Two:

Moved along pretty fast as much of the work was done. We only had to finish putting up the walls and make the door. On this day it was only our Daughter, Myself and Daddy working. Our son has a job at the local stock market with his buddy and they had to go to work. 

We spent the first part of the morning going to the stock market to pick up the piggies. This was our meeting place of choice, plus we had some paper work to do. 

Piggies in the stock trailer. Ready to go to their new home.

So we made it home around lunch time and got straight to work. It was rather warm yesterday and we didn't want them to stay in the trailer too long. We finished up the hut and put the door together and on the cage then turned the piggies loose in the pen while we were finishing up the sides. 

Now that's a door!

Completed hut!

Sissy helping out too!

Completed Pig Pen

Now that we have arrived at the completed Pig Pen. The only thing we have left to do is finish the watering system. Which will probably be completed early this week. We only need an elbow to install the self water. 

This whole pen cost us roughly around 25 dollars. When pulling the old barn down we found some door hinges from the old barn. Our only expense was the gas to run the chainsaw, diesel to run the tractor to drill holes and retrieve the fallen locust tree, and the two partial boxes of nails. Everything else came off the farm. 

This pig pen was probably an over kill but we shouldn't have to replace it anytime soon.

We took a page right out of Eustace Conway book. If you don't know who I'm talking about he is a naturalist. Living on Turtle Island Preserve in North Carolina. He's fighting hard to keep his land and to build and live as natural as possible. I first heard about him on television on a show called Mountain Men on the History Channel. Very, very interesting  man. 

But, back to what my real story is about. 

Meet Forest on the left and Bubba on the right.

One last photo of the happy piggies.

I learned a lot during my time out there with my husband and children. WE all worked together to complete a project that will give us many years of use.

Have a great rest of the weekend my friends.

~ Farm Girl

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Au Gratin Potatoes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup SOS Mix
1 3/4 cups water
1 cup lowfat sour cream
4 medium potatoes
1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional)
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup cheese, grated (optional)

Directions:
Combine SOS Mix (you can find the recipe for the mix here) and water in a small sauce pan and cook and stir until thick. (Optional - 1 cup lowfat sour cream can be stirred into the sauce before it is added to the potatoes.) Thinly slice the potatoes and layer half in a 2 quart oven safe baking dish. Pour half of the sauce over the potatoes, half of the green onions, mushrooms and cheese. Layer the rest of the potatoes on top. Add the remaining of the sauce, onion, mushrooms, and cheese.

Cover and baked at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for an additional 55 minutes or until potatoes are soft.

Yield: 8 Servings

Finally, I got those scalloped potatoes I have been craving for so long and they were so yummy. I'm very thankful for the internet and for the other bloggers out there to help people just like me.

~ Farm GirlPin It

SOS Mix - Soup or Sauce

Have you ever had the hankering for something and the only reason you can't make it is because you didn't have a can of cream of mushroom soup? Well, let me tell you, that has been me for the last week in half or so. All I wanted was some scalloped potatoes. Scalloped potatoes how hard could that be to make, right? Well let me tell you this, the last time this happened, I tried to improvise and it didn't work out so well.

Night before last I was looking through my pinterest pins and ran across the SOS mix. I got very excited for a few moments, then realized I don't keep minced onion on hand, my excitement turned into disappointment. Then a light bulb popped on, hmm... there must be a substitution for it, right? Ah ha, I googled for it and low and behold I found my answer! I'm back in business now! Yeah Me! So off I go getting everything together, and what do you know, this girl is also out of italian seasoning. I'm thinking that this recipe may just turn out to be a disaster. Should I or shouldn't I do this? So, here I go again, I googled and now we are back on track.

Finally all the ingredients

SOS MIX - Soup or Sauce

2 cups powdered non-fat dry milk

3/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup instant chicken bouillon (regular or low sodium)

2 Tablespoon dried minced onion OR 2 teaspoon onion powder

2 tsp italian seasoning (optional)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a recloseable plastic bag, mixing well.

Yield: 

Equal to 9 (10.5 oz.) cans of cream soup.

Store in chinese take-out container works perfect.

To substitute for 1 can of cream soup

1. Combine 1/3 cup of dry mix with 1 and 1/4 cups of cold water. Whisk until well blended.

2. Cook and stir on stove until thickened. 

3. Add thickened mixture to casseroles as you would a can of soup.

Storage:

Store in a closed plastic bag or air-tight container until ready to use. It does not have to be refrigerated.

Things you may want to know about the SOS Mix.

1. Gluten FREE!! 

2. Can be used in many recipes such as gravies, soups, creamed veggies, casseroles and skillet meals.

3. Saves money and time!

If you would like to know more about this SOS mix please feel free to visit here and here for more info.

This post was to be about those scalloped potatoes I've had a hankering for lately. So I'm going to continue this on another post so it will be easily found later.

Check out this Mix, I think you will be very happy that you did!

~ Farm Girl

I thought I nice to add recipes that I made with the SOS mix to this post as they will be easily found.

Au Gratin Potatoes
Hamburger Stroganoff

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Gardening & Recycling all-in-one

I've been searching for great gardening ideas, trying to maximize my space and recycle where I can. So I came across some neat ideas and as I gain the items that I need I have been implementing them in my landscape and gardening experience.

I've searched most of the morning, trying to figure out where I found this idea and finally this afternoon I found it. Click Here if you wish to see it where I saw it. I really think I saw it on Pinterest but for the life of me can't find it there.

Hanging Herb Garden using Recycled Soda Bottles

My beginning attempt

The only items you need are:

2 liter pop bottles

Sharp knife

Scissors

Twine (baler or poultry string)

Soil

Seeds

Basically, you just cut a hole in the top starting it with a knife then finishing it with scissors. On the bottom I cut a few small slits to let excess water drain out. 

To hang it I took the sharp tip of the knife and made a circular hole to poke the twine through and tied enough knots to make it big enough so it wouldn't pull through under the weight of the soil and water. I did the same thing to hang the second bottle to the top bottle. On the small neck part I just tied the string around the small area instead of worrying about cutting a hole. 

Fill with soil, add seeds of choice and water. 

Hang where ever you have space. For now mine is hanging on the outside light of the front door. I will move it when I find a wall or put up privacy fence. I plan on adding more bottles as I get them.

If you would like to make it look nice you could paint them. I just may do that later also if I find time.

Happy Herb Gardening

~ Farm Girl

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Organic Dandelion Jelly

A few years ago I got the canning bug something bad so I was trying all kinds of new recipes. I remembered hearing about dandelion jelly, so I scouted out a few recipes. I remember my Granny making jellies. Mainly apple jelly and grape jelly are the ones I remember most. I wouldn't think that my Granny would pass up making dandelion jelly since they are free and in most every ones yards every spring. So I talked myself into trying to make jelly. I personally welcome this time of the year when they start popping up, because all I can see is the yummy goodness that will fill my jars and the smiles it puts on my children's faces.

This is where it all begins

Find a good supply of dandelions. You will need a lot. To make it easier the big ones are the best because they yield more petals, but what ever you can find will do. We normally fill up a gallon ice cream bucket full.

I say "We" because she's lower to the ground and she's got a good strong back! This is my DD and she mainly picked all the ones I needed this time because my back has been hurting. But, no worries I had the camera documenting every move she made and sent here in the right direction every time for the best ones. Not like she couldn't see them because they are everywhere here. 

Now, this don't look like much but it really is. The bowl she was using is actually a huge flower pot. And actually she picked a few too many but you'll have that.You will want to make sure that all the dandelion heads are free and clear of bugs. Usually found are small ants, knats and sometimes snails. We found two baby snails just last night in our bowl. There was an extreme amount of pollen which is what makes the flavor so if you have allergies I would suggest find your allergy meds. 

Next step is getting all those petals off the heads. The first time I did this I made sure there was none of the green flower part. I have since learned that a little of the leafy part is fine its the milky part from the stem you want no part of, it will make the jelly very bitter. 

The easiest way is to use scissors

Cut right behind the head

Discard this part

This is what your left with

You need enough of those petals to fill a quart jar. I cut mine over the quart jar so I'm not guessing. Do not pack them in just fill to the top with the petals. This is the most time consuming part of the whole process.

RECIPE:

1 quart of lightly packed fresh organic bright dandelion flowers

2 quarts of spring water

Additional items:

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 zest of one lemon, optional

5 1/2 cups sugar

1 vanilla bean, optional

1 (1 3/4 ounce) package of dry pectin (Jel Ease purchased at save a lot)

Directions:

1. Using stainless steel pan, boil the flowers in 2 quarts of spring water for 10 minutes, cool and strain, pressing the liquid out of the flowers gently, then restrain through a coffee filter.

2. Measure 3 cups of the liquid, add the lemon juice, zest and pectin. Optional add 1 split vanilla bean.

3. Put into a deep jelly kettle and bring to a rolling boil, then add sugar and stir to mix well. (when you bring the sugar and mixture to a rapid boil it will  look foamy. Just stir quickly during the whole process.)

4. Stir and boil hard for 1 1/2 minutes, or until mixture sheets from a wooden spoon, skim, carefully remove vanilla pod, add a few drops of yellow food coloring if the color is not bright.

5. Ladle into sterilized jelly jars. Wipe rim with a damp cloth, affix prepared lids and secure with ring.

6. Process in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.

Note: You have will more liquid than 3 cups. In all the times I have made this its just been shy of 6 cups of liquid. I then add the additional water (for me its been approx. 1/4 cup if that) to make the 6 cups and you will have enough to make 2 batches of jelly.

This is the first round of straining. Squeezing the liquid from the petals.

Straining for a second time. Catches any stray petals and the pollen.

Deep golden color that resembles honey.

In order to get what you see in this picture you will need 6 cups of dandelion liquid, 2 boxes of dry pectin, 11 cups of sugar, and 4 tablespoons of lemon juice. DO NOT double in the pan. Make each batch separate. 

These are most of the items that I used in making the dandelion jelly. There's a few items missing like a wooden spoon and wisk. I'm sure you get the idea of what you need to have. 

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions. This jelly is very simple to make and I hope that my  pictures help you out. My batteries went dead in the process and I missed getting some vital pictures. But, I intend to make one more batch before all the dandelions are gone for the season and I will be sure to add those pictures as soon as I can.

An additional note. If you don't have time to make your jelly right now. You can always freeze the boiled dandelion juice and thaw out in the fridge when your ready. 

Hope you enjoyed this tourtial on how to make organic dandelion jelly.

~ Farm Girl

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FREE Photos / 25 FREE Prints with Promo Code

Free Photos from Walgreens.

Walgreens Photo is offering yet another great deal on photos! You get 25 Free  4x6 prints when you use promo code PRINTNOW at check out. You can choose in-store pick up, making your purchase absolutely FREE or have them shipped instead of picking them up shipping cost $1.97 depending where your located. One code per transaction and valid through 12/31/11.

Get a few of your holiday favorites for absolutely nothing. 

* Note: This is not a coupon site. It however is a site to for me to share my recipes, thoughts and anything I so freely feel that needs sharing. Photography is a passion of  mine and the memories are even better when I can hold them in my hands. Therefore anytime I find a great deal on photos you will see the links/ads here. Enjoy!

~ FarmGirl

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