Still Having Fun

It is a little warmer today.

But still cold.

It's 2 in the afternoon and a whopping

65 on the patio.

Ugh.

Yesterday I made a nice big pot of chili.

In the Instant Pot, of course.

This morning I decided I needed to warm

up the house. So I picked a couple of things

to bake in my toaster oven.

Started with foccossia bread topped with that

yummy "everything bagel" seasoning.

Just had a little square with a bowl of chili.

I actually broke it into chunks and stirred it in.

Only because I was sitting on my couch

and it was too hard to eat it separate.

It was YUMMY!

As soon as that came out of the oven,

I put in a delicious cinnamon spice cake.

I made it last week and used my green eggs.

My "little girls" are still laying smaller eggs.

The recipe called for 2 large.

These weren't large enough.

The cake was dry.

Like powder, crumble dry.

The icing was out of this world though!

Today I used 3 eggs and upped the other

liquids just a bit and it's PERFECT!

I haven't iced it yet,

still waiting for my cream cheese to soften.

(Smells amazing though!)

  

Not sure how I broke the chunk out of my pan,
but it's been like that for a couple years...

So instead of a piece of cake for desert,

I had one of the little dough balls I made yesterday.

It was just the right amount of sweet

at the end of a very savory lunch.

No.

This is not going to become a food blog.

But this is what I'm doing in my life right now.

That and talking on the phone to Soni.

(While I was making the bread...)

I also bought a good hand mixer.

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE???

I'm going to toss all my stupid whisks!

(They get rusty anyway... hello humid Florida...)

SO easy!

This one is a Hamilton Beach.

$19 at WalMart.

It comes with a whisk and 2 regular beaters.

And a snap on thingie that corrals the chord

and beaters while it's being stored.

Brilliant!

Kind of looks like an iron!
It's not though.

And so much easier than pulling out my

Sunbeam stand mixer.

(Thanks M&D! I've had this for YEARS and

it still works like new... but recently its not

getting much love... grin)

Anyhow.

That's what I'm doing today,

That, and figuring out what T-Tapp workout

I want to focus on.

Tomorrow we start the annual 60 Day Challenge.

I've been doing a 15 minute walking workout

for the month of January,

and while it's quick and fun and helping my stamina,

it's not doing much in terms of shaping and sculpting.

So I'm evaluating my options.

Selling Beef 2.0

We had so much fun last time, 

we decided to do it all again.

Bought 2 little girls on 6/26/17

for $950.00 and fed them well.

And then we drove them up to our new butcher's

on 1/6/19. They were good cows, nice to have

around, but it was time for them to go.

#53

      

#55

The butcher was really impressed with their condition.

Said it was obvious we fed them well.

(ignoring the fact that they are eating

palmetto fronds in these pictures... they got a 

big ol' helping of grain with double molasses twice every day!)

#53 ended up being 520 pounds "hanging weight"

#55 ended up being 665 pounds!

(Hanging weight is the first weight after they are hung...

it's original weight minus head, skin, innards, feet, etc...)

You typically lose about 15 - 20% while they are hanging

and the meat is aging and drying.

But it makes the meat SO much more tender and flavorful.

It was really interesting talking to these folks.

This place has been in business for 44 years.

The Dad passed away last year and Mom has

just moved to assisted living.

Allison - the sister is the front line.

I was SOOO impressed with her!

She called and we talked to her - she went over

the entire carcass and let us chose what cuts of

meat we wanted.

(ie: I'm not a fan of cube steak, so we did London Broil

and ground beef instead.)

We chose to cut each brisket in half so each 1/4 share

got a brisket. Most people LOVE the brisket so I

always feel bad charging that much $ and they don't get one,

 that was such a GREAT idea!

Clearly this wasn't her first rodeo.

Monday the 28th we drove back up again with Linda's

horse trailer and picked up all the meat.

Our last butcher just had us dump it all into coolers

and when we got home we had to sort it all and

figure out who got what.

WHAT A NIGHTMARE!

These people were so awesome!

Audie (the brother) was the butcher.

And they had an "adopted" sister and 2 more "brothers"

working with them. 

They were BUSY!

When we pulled in, one truck and trailer was just leaving

and another truck and trailer was dropping off 2 pigs!

After they loaded us up, Audie stood and talked to us

for a couple of minutes (he was on his lunch break)

and told us he could tell we fed the cows well.

Said there is NO comparison between grass fed and

grain fed. Grass fed is dry and not really well marbled.

Grain fed tastes so much better, is more tender, and has 

GREAT fat marble (which is where the flavor is).

He talked about their family business philosophy.

USDA keeps trying to urge them to expand, but 

they are happy with the size they are.

Still able to meet and talk with customers,

customize orders, answer questions...

Rod told him about our shop and running it the same way.

They are a good Christian family and you can

see it in the way they do business.

It was hard to know what I loved best about them,

but this is WAAAY up there...

The back row was the brown/white cow.

Each stack of 3 boxes was an equal quarter.

Identical cuts in each box.

Marked A. B. C. D.

$1246.85 for 3 boxes.

The middle row was the black/white cow.

Each stack of 2 boxes made up a quarter.

Marked E. F. G. H.

$942.50 for 2 boxes.

(She was smaller...)

And then front row was two boxes (left) of 

"dog bones" but when we opened them they are

BIG and MEATY!

And the box on the right was full of things

like liver, heart, tongue and oxtail.

For those who want that stuff.

(The little box on the top was more bones...)

We drove home again (2 hours) and had just 

enough time to unload all the boxes before

people started showing up.

It was organized bedlam.

(hahahaha)

A gazillion times better than last time,

but still a production.

Rod was in the garage, manning the table,

helping guys who were splitting a quarter

and another who discovered his freezer wasn't

big enough for his entire quarter, so he took half

now and is coming back for the other half later.

(Luckily, we have LOTS of freezer space...)

Meanwhile, I was doing the "farm tour" thing,

entertaining all the little kids they brought

and keeping them out of the adult's way while

commerce was being done.

(And Kyle was inside keeping Beau entertained

so he didn't lose his mind looking for "The Lady".)

We were EXHAUSTED by the time the last group

left just as the sun was going down.

We still had to run into town to Tractor Supply

to get some feed (I taught over the weekend and

Rod and Kyle ended up spending 10 hours on Saturday

doing a couple of tractor jobs for Kyle's company...)

We stopped at Chick Fil A to pick up a couple

of sandwiches for dinner.

Despite having a million pounds of delicious beef

in the freezer.

(But it was frozen SOLID and required cooking.)

Beyond my mental capability at that point.

So yesterday Kyle and I thawed a Sirloin Steak

and cooked that baby up for dinner.

It was big enough to feed all 3 of us!

And it was DELICIOUS!

(I usually only eat about 1/4 of a steak,

but this was so yummy, next thing you know

I'd eaten an entire third! Rod took his share

to work with him to eat tonight for dinner...)

We are starting to get calls and texts from customers.

Everyone is VERY happy.

Whew!

We'll give it a couple of weeks 

(while Kyle finishes the cattle working facility

at the ranch) and then we will pick up our two

new little boys and it will be time to start all over again.

I think we are in the cattle business.

Ranch Trip

Yesterday Linda and I took a road trip.

The day started EARLY.

The dogs thought it was strange we were all up and

eating breakfast at 7 in the morning!

(about 2 hours earlier than normal...)

It's good to be retired!

Got everybody fed and then just as I was letting

the horses out of the barn, a rain squall 

came through. They were TOTALLY 

unimpressed and not interested at all in

getting out of their stalls.

But I was on a time table.

So out they went.

And I headed to Linda's.

We got into her little car and headed out.

And, of course, as soon as we got on the highway,

the HUGE storm they had been predicting hit.

We averaged about 40 mph on the highway.

It took FOREVER to get to the highway that

takes us west to Orlando.

But finally the rain cleared up and we were

able to get up to speed.

Normally it's a little over an hour to the temple.

We took almost 2.

We had about 4 minutes to change and make it

to the 10:00 session.

It's amazing though, how quickly you calm and

relax and all the cares are gone.

We had a GREAT visit on the drive.

She has been out of town,

visiting her kids and sister.

We had a lot to catch up on.

We had a really nice temple session.

Then changed our clothes again and headed

up to the ranch. It's another 2.5 hours from there.

The weather was beautiful, the traffic was

medium/light, and the drive was really enjoyable.

Once we got to the ranch, we headed out to the

new cattle working facility Kyle is building.

The white house in the back is actually across the street.
Kyle has a neighbor!

My camera doesn't like to zoom.

But the facility is so big you can't really see it all

unless you go WAY out into the pasture.

 

He has done a LOT of work.

He has lots left, but it is coming along.

Then we headed out into the pasture to 

check out the cows.

Kyle told us there was a calf born that morning.

In the middle of the HUGE rain storm.

I'm only a couple of hours old.

Checking out one of my older cousins.

This little guys is adorable.

Little white legs, a white tip on his tail

and a white stripe on his belly.

His mom was pretty protective though.

They've had frost a couple of times already this "winter"

so the grass is pretty much dead.

They are enjoying their hay!

There are now a total of 23 calves.

Only 3 cows left to give birth.

And then we are bringing in a vet and rebreeding (AI)

all the cows, shooting for a late fall calving.

Linda was really pleased with how they are all looking.

And I think I found 2 little guys for Rod and I to buy.

Once Kyle gets the facility finished and the new

scales installed, we'll run everybody through the new

squeeze chute, check them all, weigh them,

and most of the older calves will head to market.

Fancy new squeeze chute designed to be safely operated by one person!
PERFECT!

Our two little boys will lose a body part and then

we'll trailer them to our house.

The ladies will all get bred, and then Kyle can relax.

For a couple of minutes.

Til the next project begins.

Even in the dead of winter, this is still my

favorite spot on the ranch.

Linda had her big fancy camera, so I drove the ATV

and she took a million pictures.

And then I took her for a ride around the ranch.

The wind mill was spinning, that was fun to see.

We checked out the "grand canyon" a deep crevice

over by the hay barn that Kyle has been using

to dump all the dead trees, etc he has been cleaning up.

The property is looking better and better all the time.

Then it was time to say goodbye,

head into town to "Julie's Diner" for a quick late lunch

(Linda had a big bowl of chili and a grilled cheese,

I had a bunless cheeseburger with stewed okra and tomato)

and then we headed south.

We made it home about 8:30.

A LONG but fun and productive day.

More Kitchen Fun

I'm finally getting this kitchen stuff figured out.

I worked at Town Hall yesterday until 4.

And then I came home and made a cheesecake.

In my pressure cooker, of course.

I haven't taken it out of the fridge yet.

Otherwise I would have eaten a piece for breakfast.

(which would be ok, but I really wanted my

fried eggs and okra. I'm a little addicted...)

Bet you can't guess what's for lunch!

However.

Last week in the midst of all the other

busy busy stuff I was doing...

I made rolls.

REAL rolls.

With yeast.

Using some sprouted wheat flour.

So they are ON PLAN!

(And yummy!)

These are called 30 minute rolls.

And they literally take 30 minutes.

Including BAKING!

Like, in 30 minutes you have rolls!

Terrible picture.

But you use your bench knife to cut the ball

into 12 equal pieces.

Like that.

I baked them on parchment paper.

They were DELICIOUS!

The recipe calls for honey to bloom the yeast

and the honey I had is really really strong flavored

so my rolls are really honey flavored.

I'm going to get some more mild honey

before I make them again.

They were fun, easy, and I felt SO accomplished!

Not Excited At ALL

Nancy called me last night.

She blesses me each year with a plane ticket

to fly out and visit everybody.

This year we decided on early April.

I get to fly out April 2 and back April 11.

Which means a good 9 days!

YEA!!!!!!!

And then Sondra called and said she is

going to fly in on either the 3rd or the 4th!

Family Reunion Time!

(Gary????? Feel like an AZ trip?)

We had such a great visit last year.

Can't wait to do it again!!!

Thanks Nancy!

*I'm planning a Pressure Cooker 101 event

in Nancy's kitchen one day while I'm there...

I think it would be FUN to all learn from each other!

Be thinking of things you want to learn

and things you want to share!

Pressure Cooker 101

It was a SUCCESS!

I didn't take any pictures.

And I forgot to count, but I think we had

between 15 and 20 people. There were

women in nearly all the chairs...

We started the evening by putting 

all the ingredients into my Instant Pot

for a big ol' thing of chili and getting

that started. Then I went through more

of the actual steps and talked about 

features using my other (Oster brand)

electric pressure cooker and we did

a dozen hard boiled eggs.

Naturally when I turned the 2nd pot on,

we blew the breaker on my power strip.

(I was kind afraid that might happen,

so I brought a strip so we didn't blow

a breaker in the church and then not

know how to fix it...)

Ended up putting the chili in the kitchen.

But that was ok.

I brought all my "toys" / accessories

and we went through and talked about

each one and what you might use them for.

Like my vegetable steamer that I use

when I do eggs. 

I also have a mesh basket with little feet

that wasn't really for the IP, but it fits,

once I broke the handles off.

I use it when I'm cooking meat that I don't

want sitting in liquid or if I'm doing

more than a dozen eggs at a time.

I also have a little silicone baby pan thing

that I use to make Faux Sous Vide Egg Bites.

BIG with the Starbucks crowd.

And me.

They're tasty!

-Silicone-Steamer-

I actually bought it for the rack with 

HANDLES! I have a trivet, but this one is BETTER!

The egg bites are good too...

And a nifty little "pot in pot" thingie that I

bought, convinced I would use it LOTS,

but haven't ever used.

But I AM going to use it!

Pot in Pot

This one is nicer than the one I bought.

This one has different lids!

That's cool!

And, of course, my little spring form pan

for making cheesecake!

Spring Form Pan

Pretty, eh?

Please notice, NO CRACKS!

This one is the sugar free version.

I also made one with white sugar.

Kyle loved it.

Anyhow...

When the eggs were done, we took them

out and put them in some ice water.

Oh, which reminds me.

When we got there, there were signs

everywhere letting us know that the water

pipes in the building were being worked on

and please do not use the water for drinking,

cooking, washing hands, or washing dishes.

GREAT.

Luckily I always have a couple of bottles

of water in my car.

Saved the day.

We talked about the handout and I answered

a gazillion questions and told stories

and kept them laughing and talking until

the chili was done.

(Only takes 15 minutes once it comes to pressure...)

Then we served the chili with sour cream

and cheese, tortilla chips and sour dough bread.

(And bottled water)

Once everyone had their chili, I broke out the

cheesecake. For everyone who turned up their

nose at the sugar free version, I gave them a slice

of regular but made them take a "taste" of the

sugar free one.

THEY ATE THE WHOLE THING!

Oh, I also tossed some frozen blueberries, a handful

of frozen sliced strawberries, 2 T(ish) of lemon juice,

and a couple tablespoons of stevia in a saucepan

and simmered it for about 10 minutes for a topping

for the cheesecake.

They loved that too.

I didn't tell them until later that it was also

sugar free.

I came home with nothing.

No chili, no eggs, no cheesecake.

They LOVED it all.

Which was great!

I also got several requests for the

cheesecake recipe. BOTH versions.

HA!

Anyhow.

I think it was a smashing success.

And I'm glad it's done.

On to the next thing.

(Which is working at town hall for the rest

of the week, but also feeding the sister missionaries

tonight at 5:00... so I'm going to leave here

a little early to get home and make... SOMETHING.)

I think we are having blackened chicken with mango.

And salad.

But we'll see.

I have no ideas for desert at this point.

Cheesecake

Who IS this woman????

I'm teaching a pressure cooker demo class

Tuesday night for Relief Society.

I'm going to start with chili.

I'll get everything in the pot and get it started,

and then move on to hard boiled eggs.

They are quick.

And impressive.

And WAY better than traditionally boiled eggs.

(The whites are creamy instead of plastic.)

Then while the chili is finishing cooking,

we'll do some general information sharing

and questions and answers.

I have a hand out so people don't have 

to take notes.

Once the chili is done, we'll serve it up

with some rolls and cheesecake for desert.

I made two different cheesecakes.

One with sugar and one without.

I have a little bitty springform pan that fits

right in my 6 qt pressure cooker.

This is my sugar free one.

Just cut out two little slices so Rod and I could

give it a try.

Have to make sure it's good... 

And it IS!

Also, while I was making it, I was thinking...

why have I not made this before?

This is SOOO easy!

And quick!

The hardest part is letting it chill in the fridge

overnight.

AGONY.

My crust is just crunched up walnuts, but of course

you COULD use a traditional graham cracker crust.

I just haven't made any.

(although I saw a recipe for "on plan" graham crackers today...)

I really liked the walnut crust.

The cheesecake part is just cream cheese,

a little bit of sour cream, 2 eggs, sweetener and a pinch of salt.

Used my little hand held mixer.

And 35 minutes in the Instant Pot.

I can see these in our future...

(Kyle just came and swiped another piece of the

regular one...)

Food Prep

I did a little grocery shopping.

I know everybody does this,

but I always feel awesome when I do...

LOL

Bought a big bag of fancy shredded cheese.

Put it into 8 smaller zippie bags.

Stuck 7 of them in the freezer.

LOTS of butter and some possibly freezer burned bread.... lol

I hate opening a bag of cheese in the fridge

and finding it has gone bad.

This takes care of that issue.

I also buy a box of breakfast sausage from Sams.

They are individual patties, separated by a waxed paper.

But when I put them in the freezer they turn into a block

that is nearly impossible to use.

The last time I bought a box, I had a brilliant idea.

I generally use 2 patties at a time.

Usually I brown them and then add half a bag

of coleslaw mix (also from Sams - $1.98/bag).

It's DELICIOUS!

I have now discovered you can make this in

the Pressure Cooker in a fraction of the time

and it's actually tastier!

Anyhow.

Since I usually use them 2 at a time,

I individually packaged them.

Used those super cheap fold top sandwich bags

and put two patties in each bag. Then folded them in half

so they stack well.

Back in the box they go and all I need to do

is grab one little package.

30 seconds in the microwave and they are ready to go!

The box just goes into the freezer.

This time I pulled out some extras before I froze them.

I'll show you later what I did with them!

The State of the Freezers

Kyle's home.

He has been building a cattle working area.

But the wood he needs won't be ready

until Monday.

So he came home.

It's always fun when he is here.

We went to Sam's this morning to get some

groceries and then to his favorite store.

Lucky's Market.

He gets all his cleaning supplies there.

Like Mrs. Meyers, aluminum free deodorant,

that sort of stuff.

I bought a loaf of sprouted flour bread,

a bag of sprouted flour,

and a pineapple.

I spent $10.88.

He bought a bunch of cleaning stuff,

two magazines with recipes in them,

and some apple juice.

He spent $75.

Hahahahaha.

It was fun, though!

(Now he's gone to get some lunch because he didn't

want to make any of the recipes in his new books.)

They sounded good, but were more like "dinner" stuff.

And he needs to buy groceries.

We might try a recipe he found for flank steak.

I took one out of the freezer.

Speaking of taking meat out of the freezer,

I'm only buying perishables at the store these days.

We are eating down the freezer so we will have

room for all the meat we should be getting

in a couple of weeks.

The chest freezer is empty and open.

The stand up freezer is probably 1/3 full.

I have it all spread out so I can easily see what we have.

But if I shoved it all in there tight, it's less 

than half full.

On the top shelf there are 4 packages of ground beef.

But I am doing a Pressure Cooker demo at

Night Relief Society on Tuesday and I'm going

to make chili, so I'll need one of those...

There is also the last of the ground rabbit.

Most of the packages on the right are bones.

I'm going to take a couple of packages

down to the town and give them to the

girl who works there. She loves to make soup

and I'm getting a whole bunch of NEW bones soon.

There's a GIANT bag of blueberries, and a 

bunch of frozen cauliflower.

I love to use cauliflower in lots of things.

So I buy a bunch when they have it.

*WalMart is ALWAYS out...

A couple more packages of short ribs,

not my favorite cut of meat,

and a bunch of London Broils.

I didn't know what to do with them,

so I never cooked them.

I finally figured it out, but you can

only eat so much meat... 

And of course there is always random stuff.

A bunch of flour I use once a year in

Christmas baking. Left over from 2 years

ago since I didn't do any "off plan" baking

this year. I need 1/4 cup for the cheesecake

I'm going to make this afternoon in my

pressure cooker though.

I need to make a "regular" one to take to my demo

so people can see what is possible.

And Kyle LOVES cheesecake.

So this will be trial run.
And of course a couple of shelves of
frozen fruits and vegetables.

The freezer drawer in the kitchen freezer is

maybe half full.

(Mostly frozen okra, but considering I eat 

half a bag every day, that doesn't last long...)

And the top freezer on the pantry fridge is full,

but it's all nuts and baking supplies.

(almond flour, chia seeds, coconut flour,

ground golden flax, oat fiber, that sort of stuff...

I think we are good.

Oops - Butterflies

Trim Healthy Mama uses a butterfly as

a logo / mascot. Because we are ALL

on the journey of becoming our best selves.

Anyhow.

I was wandering around on Amazon and

found a super cute little kit where they send

you caterpillars, they grow, make their cocoons

and then become butterflies.

All in this nifty little "house" so you can watch.

I thought it would be a perfect gift for Sabrina.

Something to enjoy while she was off school

for the winter break.

However, they sent it a week early.

It was supposed to arrive 12/24.

But it showed up 12/17!

They said, don't worry about it, just put

the caterpillars in the coolest room in your

house and they will be fine for Christmas.

Ok, except this is Florida.

And we were in a heat wave.

Like 85+.

There aren't any cool rooms in my house.

I put them in the back bedroom.

The windows have black-out curtains because

that was the room Scott was staying in and since

he worked until midnight, I didn't want the sun

streaming into his eyeballs early in the morning.

It keeps the room a little cooler, too.

So....

I put them back there.

And forgot about them.

Until this past Sunday when we were taking

down the Christmas decorations.

I had some extra stuff in that room, stuff I got

out but ended up not using.

(We went SUPER minimalist - I loved it!)

And THERE were my little caterpillar cups!

Full of cocoons!

Looked up the instructions and it said they

would be butterflies in about 7 - 10 days.

Which was going to be Monday.

Sure enough!

Monday rolled around and we had a BUNCH

of pretty little butterflies!

They stood around on my hands until

their wings dried.

And then they unceremoniously flew away.

It was kind of fun!

I even saw one later, hanging out on the roof.

So.....

I'm going to order another batch of caterpillars

and give it to Sabrina.

I still think she will enjoy it!

(And it will be WAY more fun if they aren't 

hiding in the back bedroom in a tiny cup...)

Cows. Another Ending.

Happy 2019!

I'm going to try to get back to blogging every day.

We'll see how that goes.

My life isn't ALWAYS that exciting!

Hahahaha.

But I DID blog yesterday.

So this makes day 2.

Anyhow.

June of 2017 we bought these two little girls.

  

At the time, there weren't any little boys available.

We would have preferred to have boys.

But you take what you can get.

(Actually, we were going to pick up two boys and the

lady sold them out from under us... this is what she had

and after driving HOURS to get there, we just took them.)

They provided us with plenty of entertainment.

They were good cows.

We didn't name them, they just went by the collective

"Cows".

Or if being specific, Brown Cow and Black Cow.

But mostly... Cows. (Or girls...)

They helped keep the pastures clean.

Trimming palm trees they were always right there

hoping we would toss the fronds over the fence to them.

Yum! Especially if there were berries!

One of the MANY projects Kyle and Rod tackled this year

was building a new "cattle working area".

Hahahaha.

Yes, that's the technical name.

A cowboy and his dog.

Do NOT take my picture!

Is this tall enough, do you think?

Ok, FINE.

It has been useful for lots of things.

Like pouring fly repellent on the cows last summer.

Then last Sunday we lined up the horse trailer with

the end of the chute, walked the cows down the chute

and straight into the trailer.

SOOOO easy!

Rod bought a "hot shot" cattle prod and we didn't

even get to use it!

Which is good.

But kind of a bummer. Kyle is the only one, so far,

who has ever had a hot shot used on him.

And he did it to himself.

At the store.

When he was... 12? 8? I don't remember.

But HE does... lol.

Anyhow.

Loaded those girls right on up.

And headed on up the road to our new butcher.

SUPER nice facility.

There was an older gentleman already there,

unloading his young bull.

Rod (as always) helped him unload and chatted

with him for a bit. He said the family that runs

it is SUPER friendly, easy and pleasant to work with,

and he has been very happy with their work.

Our last butcher did an "ok" job.

So we were looking for someone better...

This family owned place has been in business since 1968

and had FANTASTIC reviews from everyone we checked with.

The facility was Super Clean and looked like it is

efficiently run. They have all the right licenses, insurance, etc.

So we were comfortable bringing the girls here.

Goodbye ladies!

We thank you for being good cows.