French bread and sort of, but not really, Lasagna

I haven't been too exciting on baking day lately.  It's all I can do to get some bread baked for the week, but since I had made some lasagna for dinner, I thought something different would be nice to go with it.  It's my first time trying french bread and I think it turned out pretty well.  The kids loved it, especially with nutella spread on it.  We ate the first loaf before it was completely cooled, and the second loaf disappeared with our dinner.  There have been a few requests for more already.

It is a slightly more complicated process than regular bread due to the egg, or I should say, the separation of the egg.  Once that's done though, it's pretty simple.  Although, with the yolk mixed into the dry ingredients, it looked kind of strange when I dumped the water in.  Suddenly, the bits of yolk showed up so well, that I was afraid the water was too hot and had cooked it!  But, as it turned out, everything was fine and there were no cooked egg yolk chunks in our bread. 

Our lasagna wasn't really lasagna in the traditional sense, in fact, it probably has a name that I'm not aware of.  I'm hesitant to ever make lasagna, because I never have actual lasagna noodles around, or ricotta cheese for that matter, but spaghetti was getting a bit repetitive, so I decided to use what I had on hand to make a pasta casserole of sorts.  I have lots and lots of macaroni style noodles and a container of cottage cheese that needed used.  Not knowing how much pasta to cook, (I always cook too much or too little, never just right) I made way too many macaroni noodles.  No worries though.  The kids love plain noodles.  I'm set for lunches for the rest of the week.  The family loved my lasagna creation, so I thought I'd share my recipe here.

Use whatever you have Lasagna
Ingredients:
Some kind of pasta (maybe 8 oz?)
Jar of pasta sauce (I used my home canned stuff)
Cottage cheese that is coming close to the expiration date (of course if you actually have ricotta, use that)
Parmesan cheese
Lots of shredded cheese (I used a mix of mozzarella and monterey jack)
Dried parsley

Directions:
Cook the pasta until al dente.  Mix cottage cheese, parmesan and some parsley flakes. (I totally forgot the parsley till the end, so I just sprinkled some on top.)  Put a little sauce on the bottom of the pan and put a layer of noodles on top.  Then layer on the cottage cheese mixture, followed by shredded cheese, and then sauce.  Repeat as many times as possible.  The macaroni noodles take up more space than lasagna noodles, so I was only able to do two layers.  Top the whole thing with more shredded cheese and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.  Let cool a bit and serve with some fresh french bread. 

*Food Storage application:  While the noodles, sauce and parsley all came from my year's supply of food, this meal can't technically be a "food storage" meal because of all the cheeses.  Someday, when I have my own milk cow and I am making and storing cheeses, I'll be able to do it without any dependence on the grocery store.

I'm too sick to cook chicken noodle soup recipe

Wow.  This cold has smacked me down hard.  Picture a cartoon character after being hit by a hammer, or anvil... That's how I've been feeling.  It came fast too.  Usually, I can keep these colds off a little, but not this one.  Saturday, I had just enough energy to throw the remains of a rotisserie chicken and some veggies into the crockpot for some chicken soup.  My first time actually making home made chicken noodle soup.  For some reason, I had it in my head that you had to actually make the noodles from scratch in order to make chicken noodle, or I probably would have done it a long time ago.    It tasted really good.  We ate it again Sunday and probably will again today.

Just in case anyone else suffers from a misunderstanding of how easy home made chicken noodle soup is, here's my "I'm too sick to cook Chicken Noodle Soup recipe"
  

1 leftover rotisserie chicken, or some chicken stock, I suppose would work
2 chunks of frozen chicken because there really wasn't that much on the leftovers
Carrots.  I didn't even chop them
Celery -I had some frozen
Onion - chopped
Salt and Pepper
Parsley
Basil
Put all ingredients in the slow cooker.  Cover the chicken bones with water and cook on low all day.  About an hour before dinner time, during a burst of energy, I sorted out all those little bones, chopped up the chicken and carrots, added a bunch of dry noodles and turned the crockpot to high.  This was really brothy.  Add more chicken and veggies and less water if you want a chunkier soup. 

Other than the soup, I have my morning and nightly ritual of some tea and the netti pot.  Have you ever used one?  It took me a long time to actually try it.  I didn't think I would actually be able to because I have a little fear of water and a fear of things touching my nose, so pouring water up my nose seemed quite impossible.  It took a really bad head cold about a year ago to make me try it.  When I got to the point that cutting the top of my head off seemed like a nice thought, I figured the water in the nose thing couldn't be any worse.  It's really gross, and not all that pleasant, but it does give some relief.  My husband still is afraid to try it.  Chicken.

I woke up from a long Sunday nap to find dinner almost ready.  At least I'm sick on the weekend when my husband can help out so much.  The house is amazingly clean.  What a guy... a nap, dinner and a clean house?  Too bad I'm not feeling better to enjoy it.

I also woke up to some strange project in the works.  He has filled a few old 2 liter pop bottles with water.  They are sitting on the counter.   I asked why, but he was too embarrassed to tell me.  That's okay.  Usually it's him trying to figure out what on earth I'm up to with all my shenanigans and half finished projects.  I'm dying of curiosity though...

Hope you have a lovely, healthy day.

I'm back!

 Our long weekend became even longer because of the snow.  I got my wish I guess, even though we weren't really snowed in.  The roads were just too nasty for us to go anywhere.  I kind of took a break from the internet while I was gone, and that was nice, although I felt like I was forgetting something and I wondered how everyone's Thanksgiving went.  I've been trying to get caught up this morning, but my house is also in dire need of help.  Our landlady had the kitchen redone while we were away, so we had moved everything out of the kitchen and into any available space, then my children sprinkled toys and books on top of all that.  They are somewhat motivated to help, since I informed them that Christmas decorations will not go up until the house is clean. 

I think my baking day will have to be postponed, although I have some recipes that I'm very excited to try.  Cookies may happen later today, but I'm really planning on making up some "fat-burning" soup, as my mom calls it.  After eating with total abandon this past week, I'm feeling the need to do something that resembles healthy eating. 

Oh what feasts we had.  There was the typical turkey, dressing, potatoes, stuffing, yams and a great big salad that I ate two helpings of simply because there were raspberries in there.  Then leftovers for a few days, with those almonds that I have fallen in love with and some stuffed mushrooms to make things fun.  Sunday, there was another gathering with family members that missed the Thanksgiving gathering and we ate an entire pan of brisket, more stuffed mushrooms, more potatoes and gravy, and then we finished off the remnants of the pies.  As if that wasn't enough, I made a pan of brownies to snack on while we played games, and that also disappeared.  I now have a miss piggy nose, I think.

I did go for walks, so that counts for something, right?  Here's some wintery pictures for your viewing pleasure...

This is how much snow we found at the ranch.

 Obviously, sledding had to happen.

 I kept sneaking out of the house to take pictures.  This is a stack-yard full of hay, with some horses begging next to it.

 Then it snowed, and snowed some more and we decided to wait for the storm to pass before driving home again.

 

I took more pictures, trying to catch just how red the willows turn during winter.

This is how much snow was on the swing when we left.

And then the sun came out and I tried to catch how red the rose-hips look with the white snow and aspen trees behind.   I need to learn how to take better pictures.  I'll just jot that one down for a new year's resolution.

Making healthy foods unhealthy

 What do you do when you have tons of apples that are quickly getting mushy, and the kids are tired of eating apples for every snack?  Make caramel, of course!

For some reason I got a huge sweet tooth this week.  I'm really not big on sweets- they make my teeth hurt, but caramel apples just seem to fit this time of year.  We tried the apple on a stick thing last year, but little mouths and hands had a tough time with it.  This year, we sliced a bunch of apples and made caramel for dipping.  Yum.  As a person that doesn't like sweets that much, I could drink this caramel, but I forced myself to use the apple slices to get it to my mouth.  And I had a stomach ache for a while.

Here's the recipe, taken from a caramel popcorn recipe I got from my mother-in-law.
Best Ever Popcorn Balls!
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cream or canned milk
1/2 cup white Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

For popcorn balls, heat to 250 degrees, that's soft ball stage, then pour over 4-5 quarts popped corn.
We wanted a dip, so we heated to about 225-230 and as it cooled, it was just right. Not too runny, not too thick.

As if that wasn't unhealthy enough, I ran across a recipe for sugared cinnamon almonds made in a crock pot.  I'm a sucker for those nuts you see and smell at workshops and such.  I know my husband loves them, and since his birthday is next week, I made them for him.  I don't think they'll still be around at birthday time, so we'll probably have to make more.  I think these will be gifts for neighbors this year.  You can find the recipe at A Year of Slow Cooking, one of my favorite blogs for recipes.

And now, off to eat some rice cakes and carrot sticks... too many almonds today.

Oh, and ignore this little thing.  I have to post this code to be verified for something, so here it is...
22NGB8GRHK7H

What a week

Whew! I made it! We held our annual branding last week. Preparations took most of the week before and we're still trying to get things put back together. It's exhausting, but so much fun too. Around here branding season is something everyone looks forward to. It's a time to get together with neighbors and friends and show off buckaroo skills. Cattle rustling is still alive and well in the west, and actually increasing lately, so branding is still a necessity to ensure that we find all our cattle in the fall. My dad is as cowboy as they come and insists on doing things the old fashioned way. We don't have any ATV's on the ranch, and we do nearly everything on horse-back. Branding is no different. We still rope the calves from our horses and dad insists on things being done well. No crashing around, no racing. He likes to see the cowboys using good horsemanship and good loops to ensure that the calves aren't overly stressed. All five girls in the family learned to rope and our branding has become a place where other women feel welcome to work with the men. Cowboy traditions are important to my family. We feel strongly about preserving this way of life. That's why we also started a kid's roping pen- to teach the next generation the cowboy way. We sort off the smaller calves and let the little guys have a go at roping. This picture is my little man, setting off to catch a calf. The parents are right there to help out and give instruction.

The bigger kids also get a chance to rope from horse-back, learning and practicing until they feel comfortable roping with the adults. I wish we would have done this when I was a kid.

My role during the branding has changed. Where I used to be one of the hands, now I'm the cook and nanny. Since I'm the one with the youngest child, I sit out from roping and make sure lunch is ready and that the kids are okay. It's been a hard transition for me, going from ranch hand to baby sitter. I've had to realize that I just can't do everything, and that my job now is just as important as any other. We put on a big spread of food for everyone, since that's the only pay they get for their help. It's a big job, preparing in advance and then getting everything heated and ready. It feels good to be the one that makes sure everyone gets enough to eat and I do enjoy cooking.
Getting the kitchen back under control has been a battle though. Things are still a mess from the flood we had as well. We are in the process of moving off the ranch for hubby to finish up school, and this week was when we had to move our stuff, so add the craziness of moving to the general mayhem, and you have my week. I'm looking forward to getting things back in order this week. The dishes are finally tackled and I made it to the grocery store today. Laundry tomorrow...