Ruffled Feathers

At the end of last summer my husband and I decided to add to our chicken family! By the time all the searching and asking was over we ended up with four new chickens, two of which are roosters. I was a little hesitant on having roosters due to the noise and yes, we receive a grand wake up call each and every morning! But I have found a reason to love my roosters.
After most of the cold weather past I approached my husband about adding to our chicken family again. This time however, I wanted to acquire the chickens in a more natural way, the old fashioned way! Well needless to say this ruffled his feathers a bit. He was not very keen on the idea of raising babies! He had many concerns due to the fact we know nothing about having baby chicks and that we live in the country and, there are many predators around. Well, after a little research and a lot of convincing he agreed to give it a try.
Shortly after Easter one of the hens started laying on her nest! My children were very excited about the idea of having babies and, myself being a labor and delivery nurse, I was too!  They would go inspect the hen and her nest everyday. Well, it happened! No incubators or anything else synthetic! We had two happy healthy baby chicks!

Now comes the question of what to do with these sweet chirping babies! Do we let them stay with their mother or, do we separate them and keep them warm with a heat lamp?
Well we have done it all natural so far and things are turning out great! We decided to let their mother take care of them. After all, she did all that work of sitting on the eggs, she should be able to mother them right? We did however separate her and the babies from the rest of the chickens. At some point we will have to work on integrating the babies with the other chickens but, for now we are enjoying watching them grow!

Alfredo Pizza

Alfredo Pizza

I wasn't really sure how this meal was going to go over with the rest of the family because I have never made this before. They can be picky when it comes to new meals. In fact my youngest complained about the ingredients as I was preparing the food.

However, I made two pizza's and I'm happy to say every bite was eaten by my children and husband!!

I tried to make this as easy on myself as possible and used pre-made and pre-cooked products. 

Brush the pizza dough with olive oil.

Mix remaining ingredients in a bowel.

On one of my pizza's I added chopped fresh mushrooms.

Spread mixture on pizza dough. Bake in the oven according to package directions or until brown.

When pizza is almost done add shredded cheese of your choice. I used cheddar because that is what I had on hand but next time I will try monetary jack.

Slice and enjoy!

Alfredo Pizza

recipe is enough for two medium to large pizzas

1 package of pizza crust of your choice or, your favorite homemade dough recipe.

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 1/2 cups of  cooked chicken - chopped

3/4 cup of spinach - chopped

4-6 slices of bacon - cooked and crumbled

1 jar of alfredo sauce

1/2 cup of mushrooms - chopped (optional)

1 cup of shredded cheese of your choice (optional)

Preheat oven  according to your pizza dough package directions. I set my oven to 425 degrees.

Brush pizza dough with olive oil. Mix all remaining ingredients in a bowel. Spread ingredients on pizza dough and place in oven until brown. If wanted, add shredded cheese to pizza and remain cooking just until cheese is melted. Let cool for a couple of minutes, slice, serve and enjoy all the compliments. (and a great pizza) 

This recipe is super easy for busy nights yet will taste like you spent all day make your family a gourmet pizza!

I hope you love this pizza as much as we did :)

Baked Cristo Sandwich

Baked Monte Cristo Sandwich

The Monte Cristo sandwich is probably one of my favorite sandwiches of all time. This fantastic recipe is a great alternative to the original fried sandwich!

Ingredients

crescent rolls, honey, muenster cheese, sliced turkey and ham, raspberry jam, butter

separate crescent rolls into eight squares and pinch seams together

I had to use two baking sheets 

brush tops with melted butter and honey

bake in 375 degree oven until lightly golden brown

place in a greased baking dish and top each side evenly with turkey

place another layer of crescent rolls on top of the turkey

top with cheese and...

ham, evenly on both sides

place another layer of crescent rolls and spread raspberry jam

place the final layer of crescent rolls and brush with any remaining butter and honey (this step is optional)

bake in a 375 degree oven for approximately 10 min until golden brown

ENJOY!

Monte Cristo Sandwich

Ingredients

2 (8oz) cans of crescent dinner rolls

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp honey

6 oz thinly sliced turkey

6 oz thinly sliced ham

6 oz muenster or gouda cheese

1/3 to 1/2 cup of raspberry jam (I used seedless)

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Separate dough into eight squares on two ungreased baking sheets. Pinch perforations together to seal. In small bowel combine butter and honey. Mix well and brush over dough. Bake in the oven until lightly golden brown. Cool for 5 min.

Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Carefully place one layer of crescent roll in the baking dish. Top evenly with sliced turkey. Place second layer of crescent roll over turkey. Top evenly with cheese and ham. Place third layer of crescent roll over ham. Spread raspberry jam evenly over rolls. Place fourth and final layer of crescent roll on top. If you have any butter mixture left over you can brush the top of the final layer before placing in the oven. 

Bake at 375 for approximately 10 min until golden brown. Let stand 5 min. Slice and enjoy! Yields: 6 slices.

Texas Roses

I have found that the easiest roses to grow are knockout roses. I love them because they are very low maintenance and they are so beautiful!

I recommend pruning them twice a year. Once in the early spring and then again toward the end of August. In the spring you can cut them back as much as you want and they will grow tall and full but, in August only cut them about a third of the way back. Once they are cut they will quickly grow new leaves and lots and lots of blooms!

These are by far my favorite landscaping flower!

Taco Soup......

Yummy!!

It is going to be rainy tonight and turn cooler here in Texas, so I thought it would be a good soup night.

And of course I will add a glass of wine with my meal and hope I don't get any whine from the kids :)

Hope ya'll enjoy!

Ingredients:
1lb lean ground beef
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
2-1/2 cups low fat milk, divided
salt & pepper
1 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for topping
1 package taco seasoning
10oz can Rotel, undrained
15oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
Crushed tortilla chips

Directions:

1. Brown ground beef in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, seasoning with salt and pepper, until no longer pink. Drain and return to pot.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat then whisk in flour and cook for one minute. Slowly whisk in 1 cup milk, season with salt and pepper, continue to stir mixture until thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat then stir in shredded cheese until smooth. Set aside.
3. Add taco seasoning, rotel, black beans, cheese sauce, and remaining 1-1/2 cups milk into cooked ground beef then stir well to combine. Bring to a heavy simmer then turn heat down to medium and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with crushed tortilla chips and more shredded cheese, if desired.

Been A Long Time....

I'm Back.....

It has been a long time since I've blogged anything. I was sick :(

I am feeling much better now though :)

My chickens are doing great!! I am getting alot of eggs.

And now that they are familiar with their new home, I let them out during the day to scavenge for bugs and such. They really like being able to run about. They also have been nice enough to help clean out my flower beds!

New chickens

The Chickens Are Here!!

My chickens are finally in their new home!

They seem happy. We have only had them a couple of days and already have eggs! The whole family is every exited about our new feathery friends. They are a nice addition to our home.