Blackberry Cream Pie

Two or three weeks ago, when we were out picking up some of the peaches we got, we stopped to see if any of our Amish neighbor's wanted us to pick some up for them. DH got out and went to talk to them, while my Mom and I stayed in the car. As it happens, two of the places we stopped at, had a pie ready to give him...how it ended up that he got two pies in the same day I don't know, but Mom and I chuckled about that...and sampled the blackberry pie later that day at lunch (the other was custard, which I'm not fond of...but hubby loves them). The blackberry was so good I had DH get the recipe for it, and finally managed to make one myself this weekend.

It seems super easy to make, although the lady who gave us the recipe said she sometimes has trouble with it...so who knows, maybe it was a fluke that it turned out for me! LOL I do think next time I'll wait to add the fruit till after I have it mixed well, so I don't have to mix it to much and turn the cream purple...it's prettier if it's white, but other than that it turned out well and was really yummy!

I'll have to try a peach one too one of these days...and on that one I will probably add the cinnamon on top...I didn't use the cinnamon on the blackberry one.

Hope you enjoy the recipe, it's been a while since I shared one.  It's not the prettiest pie I've ever made...but it sure was yummy!

Blackberry Cream Pie
Printable recipe

1 1/2 cups blackberries (or other berry or fruit like peaches)
1 cup sugar
1 cup cream
1 heaping tablespoon flour
1/4 tsp. salt
cinnamon on top (optional...would be good for peach cream pie!)

Mix sugar, flour & salt in a bowl. Add cream and stir together. Add fruit and stir just till mixed in.

Pour into an unbaked pastry shell and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minuets then reduce heat to 350 and bake until juice looks syrupy or until it seems set.

*Note: I baked until it was bubbling all the way into the middle, not just around the outside. I also mixed my berries in to soon...so it turned the cream more purple, instead of leaving it white, so next time I will not mix the fruit in till I have everything else mixed together well.

I got this recipe from one of our Amish neighbor's after they gave us a pie and we loved it so much I had to have the recipe! :-))

Enjoy!

A new chicken dish.

I'm always on the lookout for new recipes I can try, especially if they are super easy and use ingredients that I've been learning to make from scratch myself like the chicken broth and cream cheese that is used in the following recipe.

When I saw this recipe I saw that it looked easy and used two of the ingredients I've been enjoying making lately, so thought I'd give it a try. It was an instant hit, both for me AND my hubby and is now my favorite chicken dish...least till I get tired of it. LOL

Hope you like it too!

Chicken & Rice with pan sauce
Printable recipe

Two Chicken Breasts
Oil for cooking the chicken
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
8 oz cream cheese
1 tab chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Cut up chicken and fry it in ghee (or your favorite oil) till browned and cooked through.

Add the broth and cream cheese and cook, stirring till sauce reduces and thickens.

Add parsley if you have it, and stir in. Serve over brown rice.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it would be yummy with some vegetables in it too...or just serve them on the side like I did. :)

A super easy yet tasty way to use up that homemade chicken or turkey broth you made, as well as the homemade cream cheese. :-))

Adapted from a recipe I found from Kraft.

Post links to: Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesday

Homemade Ice Cream

With winter here (even if it doesn't actually feel like it much lately...with all the nice warm temps!) the cream we have been getting takes forever to churn into butter it seems like. So...instead of making it all into butter, I've been playing with it some, and turning it into different things like cream cheese, sour cream and...homemade Ice Cream!! It's an odd time of the year to be making so much ice cream...but the spring and summer is the best time to churn butter, so I have to play when I can with the cream. LOL

I've never really been a fan of homemade ice cream...yes I know, that's totally strange, but mostly we had vanilla growing up, and I'm not a big fan of vanilla, least not as the main flavor of something (although do like the plain store bought vanilla ice cream). But I've been playing with making other flavors and really like it now...as long as it's not Vanilla. LOL

I've made chocolate (which so far is my favorite I think), strawberry (LOVE that one too...which is strange, cause I never usually like strawberry ice cream from the store that well for some reason) and Vanilla bean. I can do without the vanilla, but it's really neat looking with those tiny black seeds dotted throughout it and DH loves it. I've actually never used Vanilla beans before, but purchased a bunch to make my own Vanilla extract with, and had to save a couple to try in ice cream.

I've got ideas for some other flavors, but haven't had time to try them out yet. LOL I love how easy this recipe is, and how I can use the same basic recipe, for all the flavors, just adding the different ingredients to make it taste different. One of these days I'm going to make my favorite kind...when I make sure DH has plenty that he likes, since he doesn't like my favorite, mint chocolate chip...course who knows if I'll like it in the homemade variety, but it's sure worth a try! :-))

Every time I start making something else with the wonderful raw milk we get from our cows, I fall in love with them just a little more. *giggle* Gotta love them when they give us so much...those giggle moments & lots of milk to turn into yummy food!

This is an easy yet yummy recipe.

Homemade Ice Cream
Printable recipe

3 cups raw cream

2 whole "free range" eggs

1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar

1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla

Add eggs and sugar to a blender and blend till well blended. Add the Vanilla and cream and run the blender just till it's mixed well.

Cool in the refrigerator several hours or overnight. Freeze in your ice cream maker and enjoy your homemade ice cream!

You can add other ingredients to make different kinds of ice cream. 1/3 cup cocoa powder for Chocolate ice cream. Strawberries added, (some thawed and puréed with the mix…some chopped still frozen, and added at the end of the time in the ice cream maker) make a wonderful fruity treat. Other fruits, nuts or flavors are just waiting to make you fall in love with homemade ice cream all over again!

Recipe Notes:

You can use a cup of kefir or yogurt in place of one of the cups of cream if you would like to, they would add some good probiotics to the ice cream.

Because the eggs are eaten raw in this recipe, I can only recommend using fresh from the farm free range eggs, not store bought eggs. If you use store bought eggs, do so at your own risk...in fact you really have to do that with any egg. It's best to KNOW your egg farmer and how his chickens are cared for.

With the sugar, less is of course best, you just have to go with what you like there. Using an unprocessed sugar would be better than white, but you gotta do, what you gotta do. Just make sure if you use white sugar, that you use white cane sugar to try and stay away from those nasty GMO's in the sugar beets!

Use the seeds of a Vanilla bean, instead of Vanilla extract for an extra yummy Vanilla ice cream. I love seeing the seed specks in the finished ice cream.

Adapted from a recipe found at gnowfglins.com

Chili

I meant to post this before now, cause I had a request from a friend for it...but time slipped away and I didn't get it done. So...here is the recipe I've been using for chili. I based it on one I found at famouschilirecipes.com. I may not make the BEST chili, or most interesting chili, but we like it so guess that's all that matters. I hope someone can get some use out of it. :-))

Chili
Printable recipe

2 lbs ground beef
4 pints beans*
1 small onion chopped
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 (scant) tsp red pepper
2-3 tablespoon minced garlic
1 quart tomato sauce**
1/2 cup (more or less) oatmeal (optional)***

Brown the hamburger. Add chopped onion and cook till soft.

Add beans and spices and cook till heated through. Add the oatmeal if you want the chili thicker and simmer for another 5-10 minuets.

Cooking this ahead of time so it has time to sit before being eaten helps get the spices more integrated in the dish.

You can also make use of some of those dried tomatoes you have left from Summer, and crush them up (I crush them as fine as possible, but you can do it in bigger chunks if you prefer) and add them to your chilli. It imparts added tomato flavor and thickens the sauce a little bit (may need to add a little water with them too, if it thickens to much).

*I use my homemade canned beans, but you can use store bought, just make sure they don't have spices on them already.

**I'm kinda boring, and don't like chunks of tomato in my chili (or any soup) so that is why I use tomato sauce...but you could always use some sauce AND some chunky tomatoes if you prefer.

***The oatmeal helps make a thicker chili. I've never liked my chili thin, so DH taught me to use the oatmeal in it, shortly after we got married. It helped prevent there being lots of juice leftover, with little or no beans and meat. LOL You can leave it out if you prefer a soupy chili. :-))

We love to add grated cheese on top!

Pizza Burgers

In the summer time, if I buy some hamburger buns, and don't get them used up quick enough, they will get moldy and then get dumped out for the chickens (they love it when that happens! LOL).

However, in the winter, they don't mold as fast, yet do get kinda stale and dried out, so instead of tossing them, sometimes I'll make pizza burgers. They aren't hard to make, especially since I have canned pizza sauce I canned up the summer before, and make for an easy lunch that freezes well, and can be pulled out when I need something extra easy and quick.

Print Pizza Burger Recipe

First I lay the buns open faced on a baking sheet.



Then I brown some hamburger, dump some pizza sauce into it, and when it's good and warm spoon it onto each half bun. If I have extra pizza sauce, I'll spoon a little extra over the hamburger for added flavor.



Top with grated cheese of your choice. (I like cheddar...although might use some homemade mozzarella, but haven't made any yet this week, so didn't.) Bake at 425 for 10 minutes (or so) till cheese is melted and bun is toasted to your liking.



Enjoy a simple lunch in the midst of your busy life, that tastes yummy yet is oh so easy to make!

Freeze any leftovers for future lunches, on those days you just don't have time to cook something, so you can easily have something good to eat, with little effort.

I pop mine into the toaster oven for a short time, to warm them up, and "re-toast" the bread, and it works really well! :)

If you don't have any old hamburger buns sitting around...new ones will work too. LOL One of these days I'm going to learn to make my own, but that is one thing I haven't found a recipe I really like yet...I prefer hamburger buns that aren't to heavy, and any I've tried to make turn out heaver than I want for a sandwich.

I do have an idea to try for another attempt at making my own hamburger buns(although I don't have high hopes that it will actually work)...just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. *sigh* So many things I want to do...so LITTLE time! :-))

I would think you could also do this kinda thing with sloppy joe's...or any other sauce you like with ground beef. I've not tried it with others, cause we love pizza burgers...but may have to one of these days. If you have any ideas, let me know...maybe I'll break out of the rut I'm in, and try something new!! *giggle*

Enchilada sauce....chicken instead of hamburger with hubbies wonderful Alfredo sauce....hmmm the possibilities are endless...going to have to dig my way out of the rut I'm in one of these days!! :)

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We were gone all day yesterday between a doc appointment for hubby and doing shopping so we didn't have to make another trip to the city right away. Gotta love that THAT is over for another month already!! :-)) I gotta run though, it's nice (as in over 50 F. !!!) outside, and I'd really like to spend a little time outside enjoying it. :-))

Canning Dried Beans

I've been wanting to find a way to use dry beans because I want to get away from as much store bought canned products as I can. If I can things myself I know what goes into that jar of food, it doesn't have strange additives, and also doesn't have the coating on the cans, leaching chemicals into my food...except for the lids that is.

I know I won't be able to get away from all of it, but the more I can, the better off we will be. One of these days I hope I can afford to use the reusable canning lids from tattler because they are suppose to be BPA free. They are on my list of things to try, as soon as I can get the money to do so.

Anyway...back to the point of this post. *giggle*

Dried beans are fairly cheap, but knowing me and how disorganized I can be, I know I won't get around to using them all that much, if I don't have them "ready to eat" in a can (or jar) because I never remember to get them soaked and cooked so I can use them.

So when I had a little free time this summer, I googled to see if you could can dried beans. I looked at several different sites, and found several different ideas, but the one that jumped out at me, that I had to try, was the easiest one. (Big DUH I know, I always have to choose the easiest/fastest way to do something. LOL)

Sadly, when I found how to do it, I didn't have time to try it. It was a busy summer around here after all. :)

Last week however, I finally got around to trying it out! I canned up 8 pints, then turned around the next day and used four of them in a big batch of chili and it really worked well!!

Now, as soon as I get time to (probably after Thanksgiving) I'm going to try canning some with spices in them for chili, so all I have to do is add tomato sauce and hamburger for an even easier/faster meal, although I will probably want to still have some plain ones too...so I have them for other dishes if I want them. :)

If you have a pressure canner, you will have to try this, because it sure beats soaking and cooking them every time you want to use them. Least it does to me! :)

To Can Dry Beans:
Printable Recipe*
Wash your jars and sort your beans. You can use most any kind of bean, but this time I used pinto because that's what I had on hand.

Put a half cup (may try a rounded half cup next time cause there looked like there was room for a few more beans in my jars) of beans in your pint jar, (or a cup in quarts) and fill the jar the rest of the way with water.

Let soak overnight, and in the morning dump the water out of the jar, and fill the jar with fresh water, dumping it off and filling it again three times to make sure the beans are rinsed really well.

Once the beans are rinsed, fill the jar with water again (leave a little head space of course), add 1/2 teaspoon salt for pints or 1 teaspoon for quarts. You can add a little onion or spices at this time too if you like. (I've heard adding tomato to beans, before they are cooked will make them not get soft, so I would avoid tomato unless you try it on one jar first...so as not to waste the whole canner full if it does actually stop the beans from getting soft.)

Put the lids on and process the canner at 10 lbs pressure. 75 minute for pints, 90 minutes for quarts.

Enjoy the convenience of having them ready for your recipe's!! :-))

* I hope the printable recipe link worked...if someone would try it and leave a comment to let me know I'd sure appreciate it. Hopefully it prints out ok too. This is my first time trying to give a link to a printable recipe, and I'm not sure I have the site I put the recipe on figured out...so if you have trouble just let me know, and I'll see if I can figure out what I did wrong. LOL

Canned pumpkin

I finally got around to canning some pumpkin yesterday. I've had two of them sitting in my kitchen for over a month now, waiting to be cut up and canned. Thankfully they will keep better than most produce, since I just now got around to doing it.

I actually did three, and have to say it was an experience. I've never messed with pumpkins, cutting them up or anything, and those things are HARD! Thankfully hubby was in here when I started, so he helped cut them up cause I can be kinda dangerous with a knife, and didn't want to hurt myself. *giggle*

I put the pieces in a couple of roasting pans, with a little water (probably to much water...did 2-3 cups, and probably could have managed with just one) and put them into the oven. Boy was I excited when they BOTH fit in the oven, so I didn't have to do one, then the other. :-))

An hour later, I took them out and put them through my sauce maker (with the pumpkin screen), to get the skin (most of it anyway) and stringy stuff out. I was really wondering why anyone would want to do pumpkin when I got that step done, cause it looked like it was mostly water. Thought I'd be lucky to end up with 7 pints once I cooked the water off. Out of three pumpkins, that wouldn't be enough to make it worth while I didn't think. LOL

I put the stock pot full of pumpkin (soup) on the stove and started cooking it down, cause I knew it wouldn't work with that much liquid on it, least not for what I wanted it for. It didn't take all that long (compared to tomato's) to cook down so it was more like tomato sauce...or probably a little thicker. I was actually impressed at how fast that happened...and how much there was still in the pot. I ended up with lots more than I thought I was going to there for a little while. LOL

Once it was thicker (somewhere between tomato sauce and tomato paste), I decided to turn the stove off, cause I didn't want it to burn. I might have been able to get it a little thicker without burning it, but decided to stop this time. If we do more another year, I can always try to get it thicker, if I think I need to. I put it in pint jars, and into the pressure canner for an hour at 10 pounds pressure, to be used for pumpkin pie...and maybe some pumpkin bread, if I ever get around to making any.

***Please Note - from things I've read online, it's been said you shouldn't try to can pureed pumpkin anymore, cause it could spoil. However, since it's actually been done for years (and my Mom has done it with no problem) I decided to go ahead and try. It was really hot when I put it into jars and into the canner, so I'm sure that helps make sure it does get up to the right temp while its in the canner for an hour (or longer if it's quarts). If you try it....try it at your own risk!

I got 16 pints, and had probably 4-6 pints left over, that I put in the freezer, cause I didn't want to do just a few in the canner. I figured that was plenty, since I don't usually make more than one or two pumpkin pies a year...and so far haven't done pumpkin bread to often. We may have enough to last several years if I don't pick up on how much I use in a year. LOL

It was interesting to see how something new turned out, even though I was disgusted there for a little bit, thinking I had done all that work for not much return. Thankfully it had just fooled me, and turned out to be around what I was hoping to get out of it. I even called up my Mom, and asked her WHY anyone would WANT to do pumpkin, if that's all they were going to get out of it, but then had to call her back and tell her it turned out better than I thought it would. *giggle*

Course, I never did taste it, so who knows if it will make a very good pie...guess I'll have to be checking that out one of these days. :-))

Making Ghee

I made my 2nd batch of Ghee yesterday, and managed to get a few photos of the process. I thought I'd share them here, for those of you who may be interested in how it's done. I'm no expert, remember this is only my 2nd time, so things may change as I do it more, but I do think I'm getting the correct finished product, even if I am doing it wrong. LOL (Course I've never had anything BUT what I've made...so I wouldn't know for sure on that either. *giggle*)


I started out with 8 pounds of home churned butter! No I didn't churn all 8 pounds in one day...I had to accumulate it over several days, since we don't get THAT much cream in a day. LOL

I put it in a bowl, that was set in a big stockpot of boiling water...like a double boiler. This way it can melt and cook for a little while without me having to constantly stir it and watch it closely. (I had cheese to make that morning too...as you can see in some of these photos it's in the other stockpot beside the one with the ghee in it...so needed to be able to do that while the ghee was cooking...as well as doing other things around the kitchen.)


I started out with to small of a bowl, because it was just big enough to rest on the lip of the pan...but when everything heated up, it started sinking down in a little. Oops! LOL


DH had to come save the day, and help me get it out of the pan, before we totally lost it, and the butter mixed with the boiling water under the pan. Thankfully between the two of us, we managed to grab the bowl and get it out of the pan. I poured it into a bigger stainless steel bowl and set it back on the stockpot to cook.


The butter finally all melted, and foam started rising to the top. I spooned the foam off, although I don't know for sure if I was suppose to or not. I wanted to be able to see the oil...so I did. LOL


Once it cooked a while, the foam actually got easier to remove, and eventually I got almost all of it off the top of the oil.


I cooked it like this for several hours, while I made butter, did dishes, cleaned here and there in the kitchen, made and ate lunch and churned the days butter. It cleared up pretty good, so I could see the bottom of the pot, so I finally turned the burner off and decided to see if I could filter it and have it be really clear in the jars.


It turned out it wasn't as clear as it should have been, so I decided to pour it into my dutch oven, and cook it over direct heat for a little while to finish it off. I didn't have to cook it all that long before it cleared up, and the milk solids on the bottom turned brown, which meant it was finished!


That's when I could bottle it in earnest. I tried our old milk filter, but it didn't want to let the oil through to well, so ended up using some of the coffee filters that I keep around to filter stuff through (we don't drink coffee around here LOL). The coffee filter wanted to slid right on through the one funnel thing I used...so put some cheese cloth over the funnel first, to hold it in place better.

The filtering took a while though, cause while it would go through the coffee filter, it wasn't real fast at it, but least I got the little particles filtered out, and ended up with 3 and 3/4 quarts of ghee, (see three of them in the top photo) and the bowl of foam, which we will use in cooking till it's used up.

From what I've read, my ghee is darker than some you buy in the store, because our cows are grass fed. There are more vitamins in it, than some you buy has....or than it would have, if I made it in the winter, when the cows are eating more hay.


By this morning the ghee had cooled enough that most of it had turned to a semi solid, and is more yellow...like the butter. I can still pour it though, least my last batch that look like this I can, not sure what the winter will do to it, since the house is cooler then, but for now I can still pour it like other oils I've used in the past.

I do think I want to try it sometime from start to finish in my dutch oven...to see if it's any faster. Since I'll have to stir it more, and watch it closely, I wouldn't want it to take as long as it does the way I did it today...but if it's not to long I may do it the other way, just so it's not an all day affair.

I'm hoping to stock up on ghee now that I'm stocked up on butter in the freezer, that way we have it to use in the winter too, if the cows slow down on how much butter they give us. Ghee can be stored at room temperature for long periods of time (I've read anywhere from one year to many MANY years), without it going bad on you, so it's a better oil to have for long term storage, with the added benefit of being healthier than some. (Least from what I've read online...I may or may not be right, so study up on it on your own, if you are interested in ghee!!)

Praise God for the wonderful bounty of butter, ghee, cream, cheese & milk he is giving us! It's enough to make me fall in love with our cows, if I wasn't pretty much there already! :-))

Fruit Tart & Berry Parfait

I'm hot and tired right now, so think I'll just post this recipe post I had put together last week, and never got around to posting. I just came in from working outside, and got a little to hot. I grabbed my laptop and headed for the cool bedroom so I could relax a little bit before bed. Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

This month is all about Deserts in the Blush ~n~ Dusty Yahoo Group's Recipe Exchange, so I thought I'd share a favorite springtime desert of mine here on my blog. (This isn't the desert I'm going to be scrapping for the exchange.)

I actually haven't made this for quite a while...I'd kinda gotten away from doing to many "dairy" products, because of the store bought stuff not agreeing with me, and so haven't really gotten back to making some of them. Well with needing to do my favorite dishes so I can get photos (such as they are...I'm NOT a food photographer! *giggle*)for the cookbook I'm scrapping, I decided I had to do this fruit tart again, when the berries went on sale this spring. I finally managed to get some, so decided I better play with this recipe. Besides we are getting plenty of cream right now so playing with a little bit of it is no hardship. :)

Since it's been a while since I made it, and I actually had gotten a new pan since I made it last (this one is ceramic, the last one I had got rusty from not using it LOL) I didn't realize how much bigger my last pan must have been from what I have now. I also didn't remember the bottom crust should have been thinner. Oops. LOL Oh well, it's still really good!

I had leftovers of the filling and berries so I use them to make a berry parfait. Don't you just LOVE leftovers! These were sure yummy. I just scooped the filling into the glass, and layered some chopped berries with the glaze poured over them between layers of the filling. Yummmmm, it was SO good!!

Anyway, if you love fruit like we do, I'm sure you will love either of these deserts, and may even manage to make the fruit tart prettier than mine was, especially if the pan is larger, so you have more room. You could use any fruit you like on this, I'm just partial to berries.



Fruit Tart
Printable Recipe

Crust:
1/4 cup Butter, Softened
1/2 cup Sugar
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1/4 teaspoon Lemon Extract
1 1/4 cups Flour
1/4 teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
1/4 teaspoon Salt

Filling:
4 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered Sugar
1 cup Whipped Cream

Glaze:
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup Water
2 teaspoons Cornstarch

Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in egg and extracts. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and add to creamed mixture. Beat well. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Press dough into a greased 12 inch tart pan. Bake at 350 for 12-14 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely.

For filling: Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Add whipped cream and mix well. Spread over cooled crust.

Arrange whatever fruit you like over the top.

For Glaze: Combine glaze ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for two minutes or until thickened. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Brush over the fruit on the tart.

Store in the refrigerator.

Note: If you want extra filling for the parfaits double the filling recipe! :)

This recipe is adapted from one I found years ago in a magazine...just not for sure which one it was since I didn't seem to keep the magazine. I'm thinking it was "Taste of Home" but can't be for sure. Sorry I can't really give credit!

Butterscotch Brownies

Since I can't seem to find time to think of anything to chat about on here this week, I thought I'd share a recipe instead! Hopefully next week things will calm down and I can share more than that. With being gone way to much for doctor appointments, I just haven't had time to do everything I need to do. Hope everyone is having a wonderful week! :)

This recipe was given to me by one of my SIL's. When she was staying with us, she came home from a weekend away with this recipe she was excited about. She isn't a chocolate lover, but does love butterscotch, so was thrilled with these brownies. I wasn't sure I'd like them as much as I do chocolate brownies, because I'm in love with chocolate so much...but I do have to admit, these rival chocolate brownies!! Ya gotta try them, if you haven't already!! :)

Butterscotch Brownies
Printable Recipe

1/2 cup butter (I melt mine...makes it easier LOL)
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans (chopped)
1 bag butterscotch chips

Cream together butter and brown sugar, add the eggs and mix well. Mix in the flour, baking powder, salt and vanilla and then add the nuts and butterscotch chips. Make sure all the ingredients are mixed well, then spread out into a greased and floured 9X13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes, or till tooth pick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

We like our brownies a little underdone, so I try not to overdo the baking of them.

In love with Ranch...

From the first time I remember tasting something with "Ranch" flavoring on it, I've been in love with Ranch! I was going to the cabin in Minnesota with my Uncle one summer, and he had several different kinds of snacks along so we didn't have to stop to eat...we usually always had grapes, and some kind of chip along with other things. This time he bought a bag of Doritos that were ranch flavored...which I'd never had before. (I didn't get out much, even then. *giggle*)

When we opened that bag of chips, and I tasted the wonderful mix of flavors that make up "Ranch flavor" I knew I had found a new love. Course, I didn't always get ranch chips, or dip or anything after that, it's just not something we have a lot of.

Now that I've been able to play with milk a lot, I've been trying to come up with my own ranch dip...and/or dressing. It's so fun being able to play, and not worry about wasting the stuff, if it doesn't turn out...we have plenty of milk coming in, and the chickens will eat it if we won't...it's not like we are out much money if we toss it, since the cows give us most of what I'm playing with.

First I tried it in my homemade sour cream...yummmmm, that was pretty darn good. However, the major problem with that was, it used up our precious cream, so then I didn't have it for butter...and since we aren't swimming in butter, I'm not ready to give it up to have sour cream a lot...some...just not a lot. :)

Then since the culture I got to make sour cream with, said we could make it with milk...I tried that. That was ok, but wasn't near as thick or creamy (duh...no cream!) so I decided that wasn't going to work either.

It was shoved to the back burner, till a couple days ago I remembered I had some homemade Chevre cheese in the freezer...and maybe I could somehow use THAT for dip! I got the cheese out to thaw, and set to work, trying this and that to see what would work, and what wouldn't. What should I mix the Chevre with to thin it down some...Cream, (no that uses to much cream)...kefir....maybe....milk...maybe. After trying several different ways, I think I have it narrowed down to Chevre with...Kefir (for the tang & good probiotics) & Milk (so it's not TO tangy and a little thinner).

How much you thin it down, depends on what you are going to use it for...dip...or dressing. The following recipe is what I've come up with so far...we really like it, but if you think of some improvements feel free to tell me, I'd love to try them out! :)

Ranch Dip &/or Dressing

Base:

1 1/2 to 2 cups Sour Cream

OR

1 cup Chevre Cheese
1/2 cup Kefir
1/2 cup milk (more if you are making dressing)

Spices:

2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (more or less depending on how you like it)
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I made my own.)
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon dill
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put the base ingredient(s) in a bowl, add the spices on top and mix well. Refrigerate for several hours, so the flavors mix together then serve with your favorite vegetables...or however you usually serve Ranch Dip.

Please note: I added that last little bit of salt, because I used homemade seasoned salt, that was made with salt with minerals in it...which means it wasn't as salty, and it seemed to need a little more.

Unleavened Bread

We've been celebrating Unleavened Bread here on Hillbilly Hill farm this week. I think it figured out a little earlier for us, than what I've heard some celebrate it, but who's to say who is right or wrong. Either way it's celebrating when the Israelites came out of Egypt.

(Just so you know, we aren't Jewish. The "Jew's" aren't the only ones who may, or may not, celebrate this Holy Day...just saying, cause I know in the past some people we have met, have wondered.) :-))

Anyway, I thought I'd share one of my favorite "crackers" (or unleavened bread) that is "traditional" unleavened bread fare around here...well actually it's from my growing up years, the cracker my Mom always made. I've tried one or two other recipe's for a wheat cracker, and didn't like them NEAR as well as this one!!

Even if you don't celebrate Unleavened Bread, this is a yummy "cracker" to have for snacks or whenever. It goes well with any number of dishes. We will be having them with a hardy beef stew tonight, when a friend comes over for supper.

Unleavened Bread

4 cups sifted flour (I use half whole wheat, half white)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter
2 egg yolks
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup warm water

Put flour & salt into a bowl and mix. Cut in butter with a pastry blender as when making pastry. (Note: I just melt the butter and stir it in...it's WAY easier that way, and seems to work just fine.)

In another bowl beat the egg yolks until lemon colored. Add the oil slowly to the egg yolks, continuing to beat as it is added. Add the water to the mixture, adding only about one fourth of it at first, then the remainder.

Pour the liquid mixture into the flour and butter mixture and stir until it forms a ball of dough. Knead lightly on a floured board for about a minute to shape the dough into a smooth ball.

Lightly flour the board, and pinch off a section of dough and roll it out on the floured board. You may need to turn the dough over several times while rolling it out. Roll the dough thin, so it just holds together without breaking when handled.

Place the rolled dough on a un-greased baking sheet, and score (don't cut all the way through) the dough into squares whatever size you want them.

Bake at 390 degrees for 8 to 12 minutes or until puffed and very lightly brown.

We like ours soft, so I don't let them get brown, but if you like them a little more chrispy then let them start to turn brown. I don't think I roll mine as thin as I could...but then again, it helps keep them a little softer. :)

I think my Mom usually did all whole wheat flour, and it's good, but I usually do half and half, cause it makes the dough a little easier to work with in my experience. Try it both ways, and see which you prefer!!

Orange Scones

Ever since I was young, and read the books by Essie Summers I've wondered what Scones were like. I've been meaning to go looking for a recipe for some, and try them, but just never got around to it.

Finally this last week, I saw a recipe for Lemon Scones on a website I watch, and just had to try them because they sounded so good. They were really good...but I thought Orange Scones would be even better, so tried some of them and DH and I loved them even more!!

Thankfully we have a good source of fresh raw Jersey cream, so I can make them whenever I want to as long as I have an orange handy! :)

Orange Scones:

2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup cold butter
2 teaspoons grated Orange peel
2 teaspoons Orange Juice
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 egg

Icing Ingredients:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated Orange peel
Orange Juice as needed

Instructions

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together, then cut in the butter. In a separate bowl whisk together the cream, egg, Orange Peel and Orange Juice. Stir cream mixture into flour mixture and mix just till it forms a dough. Kneed it a few times to get the dough to hold together, but don't over mix or kneed.

Put dough on lightly floured surface, and pat into a round 1 inch thick circle. Cut into 8 pie shaped pieces and bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.

Remove from oven, and let rest for 5 minutes.

Mix the icing up using as much Orange Juice as needed to make it thin enough to drizzle onto the scones.

Place scones on wire rack, and drizzle with icing.

I have no idea, if these are "authentic" scones, but they sure are good...even if they aren't. :)

Homemade Pizza!

I finally snapped a photo of one of my homemade pizza's...not the best photo I could have taken, but it will work. LOL We are loving having pizza more often, since I got a pizza stone for my birthday. The pizza stone makes the crust more crispy, which we love.

I used to use the crust my Mom made, and it's good, but I wanted a crust that was thicker, and a little chewy, so when I got the stone, I went looking for a recipe to try. I found this recipe and tried it, then played around with it a little, till I got it to where I liked it, with a little whole wheat flour and a tad bit of honey in it, because I like the flavor the whole wheat gives, and the honey feeds the yeast a little, which is helpful with the whole wheat flour. Here is the crust recipe I've been making lately.

Pizza Crust

1 cup warm water
1 Tab. dry yeast
1-2 tea. honey
1 tea. salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour

Put warm water and yeast in a bowl, stir it around till dissolved. Add honey, stir. Add salt and flour and stir till mixed as much as you can...then knead at least till all the flour is well incorporated into the dough...do not add more flour.

Let rise, then roll out and place on a pizza peal that's been sprinkled with cornmeal (or oiled metal pan, if that's what you are using). Make sure it moves around freely on it, and fold up a crust if you want one...then let rise again as you preheat your pizza stone. Spread your favorite pizza sauce on, then put on your favorite toppings. If using a pan, you may need to prebake the crust a little, before adding your toppings.

On my preheated pizza stone (heated in 450 degree oven for at least a half hour...and yes it seems like a long time, and probably uses more propane, but it's worth it to me! LOL) I cook my pizza for 10 minutes. In a pan, I'd probably follow the recipe I linked to (above) on Tammy's recipes, and precook the dough at 375 for 7-10 minutes, then add toppings and bake for another 20 minutes...but I've not done it that way, so have no idea how it would work.

I use homemade pizza sauce on mine, recipe to follow, and also put 2-3 kinds of cheese on it. Homemade Mozzarella, homemade feta or homemade dry cottage cheese & a little bit of store bought cheddar...because I haven't made my own cheddar so far. I also use our ground venison, and grind my own whole wheat flour...so really the only thing I had to buy was the white flour and the spices in the sauce, and cheddar cheese, which makes it pretty cheap to make too, course you can add other toppings too...I just am not real fond of lots of toppings. :)


Homemade Pizza Sauce

2 Tab. butter (or olive oil)
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or can use 2 tea. of the bottled minced garlic)
1/2 green pepper finely chopped (optional)
2 - 16 oz cans tomato sauce (or 1 qt homemade tomato sauce)
1 tab honey
1 tea. salt
1/4 tea. pepper
2 tab. oregano
1 tea. basil
1/4 cup parsley

Heat a large sauce pan on medium heat. Add the butter, onions, garlic and green pepper and saute until soft.

Add the tomato sauce, and all the other ingredients. Simmer, uncovered, over a low heat until thick.

I just made my first pizza sauce from homemade tomato sauce...started with homegrown tomatoes (not my own, but given to us by a friend). It's canned up, ready and waiting for me to finish using the stuff I already had made up and in the freezer, which is where I put the excess so I can just pull it out and have it ready for pizza whenever we want some.

I also cook more meat than I want, and put it in little bags in the freezer, and freeze my cheese...so basically I just have to pull things out, let it thaw, and make the pizzas. I sometimes make extra dough, and freeze it in a ball...so it's easy to pull out, and let thaw, if I'm to busy to make fresh pizza dough. That way we have a yummy pizza for lunch, even if I'm to busy to make everything fresh that day, that tastes just as good as if I had made everything fresh!

We usually have some leftover pizza for the next day this way too, that I put in my toaster oven to heat up...so we get two lunches out of one pizza...although usually not quite as many pieces the 2nd day. :)

I'd love to hear if anyone makes their own pizza...and what kind of toppings everyone likes on their pizza...maybe it would get me to try something new on our pizza...once in a while...MAYBE. LOL

Green Tomato Mincemeat (Mock Mincemeat)

I made my first Green Tomato Mincemeat today, after wishing I could for several years. It's something my Grandma and Mom used to make, when I was growing up, and I always loved it. Mine doesn't look quite the same, cause I didn't chop the apples up quite as much...although if I make it again, I probably will. I didn't actually taste it, before I canned it, so I don't know if it tastes right or not either...now I kinda wish I had, but what can I say, I don't think of doing that usually. LOL

Mincemeat is something I wouldn't want to make much of because of the time it takes...not to mention buying all the ingredients, and really I can't imagine eating it a LOT, I just wanted some since it has been YEARS since I had any. It has WAY to much sugar in it, to want to have it much. LOL It's for special times...like we always made a pie for thanksgiving...and maybe a few other times through the year. Here though, it won't be to often, as DH prefers the "real" mincemeat and I'm not to sure I could eat a whole pie myself, before it spoiled. DH did say he would eat some of it...but we will see when it comes down to it, if he will like it enough to eat it. *giggle*

I got this recipe from my mom, but...we were talking and we aren't sure if it's the one she made or not, because she got it from my Grandma years ago, and we think it should have been a handwritten recipe...and the one I have is a scan of part of a page from a book (with color on it...so it couldn't have been a photocopy from that many years ago). Who knows if it's going to turn out how I remember...but I'm hoping it is close. :)

If anyone is interested in using some of their green tomatoes and trying it I'll post the recipe below. It's not the cheapest thing to make and takes a little while to get it done, but....if it's like I remember, it's yummy. I'll try to remember to let you know if it's any good in a month or so, when I make a pie from it. (It should sit for a while so all the spices and flavors can merge with each other.)

I made two recipes and came up with 6 qt. (Please note the edit at the end of the post...as I edited the recipe, so you may get that with just one recipe if you follow the recipe.)



Green Tomato Mincemeat (Mock Mincemeat)

1 peck green tomatoes chopped (from what I could find, a peck is about 13 pounds...least that's what I used)
2 tablespoons salt

1 cup suet (I left this out, because Mom said she did when she discovered that Grandma's would developed an odd rancid taste over time)
1/2 cup water

3 pounds brown sugar

2 pounds raisins
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons nutmeg
Grated rind of 1 orange
6 qts of ground up apples
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (raw is best) OR 3 lemons, pulp and juice

Chop the tomatoes into tiny pieces (food processor is easiest), sprinkle salt over them and allow to stand for 1 hour. Drain and discard juice.

Cover with cold water. Place over fire and boil for 5 minutes.

Drain off liquid, add suet (if you are using it) and 1/2 cup water, return to fire and simmer 20 minutes.

Stir in sugar and boil until dissolved.

Add other ingredients, heat stirring often. Simmer 10 min.

Pack into clean Hot Ball Jars and seal immediately. Let sit for at least a month before using, so the flavors merge.

***Edited***

Mom just sent me another recipe...and she thinks it's what she made. The only thing different is the amount of apples is WAY higher (instead of the 3 cups in the one I did), which would make way more qts in one recipe (it says it does 7 qts...and I only got 3 qt per recipe out of the other). Making more with one recipe, mean there is less sugar per qt...which is a good thing!! LOL So I would put more apples in it, like the 2nd recipe she sent me does if I were doing it again. I changed the amount above, to go with the new recipe!

I may have to cut up some more apples and open the jars and add it too them...just so I don't have so much sugar in each pie. LOL

Keeping busy & a funny.

Well yesterday DH started cutting our hay for the first time this year! He only got a few times around the field, when a belt broke, so we had to go get another one...which effectively filled up the rest of the afternoon, and he didn't get back to cutting hay till this morning. It's all down now, so hopefully tomorrow he can start baling it. Then the hard part starts...picking them up out of the field and getting them into the barn. That's when I get to help...and yes I love having the hay for our animals, but no I can't say I enjoy the process of actually getting it. LOL *sigh* Oh well it's worth it, since we have animals. As always, there are more photos on flicker, which you can get to by clicking on the photo of the cat at the top of the left column! :)

The breakdown yesterday was aggravating, but actually it turned out to be a good thing...because it gave us a couple laughs, that we wouldn't have had...and you know how much I LOVE to laugh! It had been a little to serious around here over the weekend, so the laugh loosened us up, and brought the sunshine back...figuratively speaking of course, since it has been here for several days. (Yippee for several days of no rain!!! Thank you Yahweh!!) :)

Funny:

About that funny...this time it wasn't ME!! *grin* We stopped by wally to get a few things, since we were fairly close to it, and splurged on something I almost never buy anymore. We got some glazed doughnuts. DH's Mom had a bakery when he was little so he was addicted to those little balls of carbs...but over the years we've managed to cut down on the buying of them to just a few times a year. I'm not for sure, but this is probably only the first or 2nd time this year. Anyway...when we left the store, we each had one for an afternoon snack, and then naturally had to stop at a convenience store to get something to wash it down with. DH goes in to get it, and I stay in the car...so didn't actually see it happen, but he told me about it when he got back out to the car.

When he came out, he grinned, and sheepishly started telling me how he embarrassed himself. He got the drinks, and walked up to the register, and stood waiting for the checker to finish with the guy ahead of him. He licked his lips, and felt some glaze from the doughnut, so (not thinking) he put his tongue out the side of his mouth, trying to see how far it went over onto his cheek...normally I'd lift my hand, if I discovered I had something on my face...but like I said, he wasn't thinking about where he was. *giggle* He then noticed that the checker was looking at him strangely, so he stopped, but not before she got the idea that he was a little odd...or ummm... worse. *snicker* After she finished with the man ahead of DH, she had another checker come and she left, and went into the back...it may have just been bad timing, but he got the distinct impression that she didn't want to be there with him. ROFL

Poor Man, I guess finally getting a doughnut must have blown his mind or something, because he is usually a little more refined than that. He said she probably thought he was a pervert or something, when all he was wanting to do, was enjoy ALL of the doughnut, including that, that was stuck on his face. *giggle*

Needless to say I had a good laugh at his expense, and was thankful that this time it wasn't ME who had done something embarrassing when we were out and about. I think neither of us should be allowed off the farm at this rate! *snicker*

Cherries:
Printable Recipe

When we got home, a friend stopped by with three gallon buckets of cherries! Yes, I know, I thought I was done with cherries, but when they get dropped into our lap, what can you do. I cleaned them and sorted them, while DH put the belt on and then we ran up to the neighbor's house and used their pitter on them, so I could can them for pies. The neighbor lady told me how she cans cherries for pies, since I'd never done it before...and since it sounded way easier than what I'd read about, I did it her way...we will see when I use them how it worked out.

She said she does it the easy way...I think she said her Mom told her how, but maybe it was a friend, I can't remember that part. Anyway, she said instead of making a syrup to go on them, she puts the cherries in a qt jar, puts the sugar in the jar adds water if it's needed and then the lid and ring. She then shakes them up so the sugar is mixed real good, and puts them in the canner and cans them. I asked how much sugar and almost had a cow...but I guess they are sour cherries...so it's not REALLY surprising. I didn't add any water, as they seemed to be quite juicy, but added a cup of sugar. She also said when I am ready to use them, I heat them on the stove, add a half cup sugar with a 1/4 cup of cornstarch or flour to thicken it.

Sorry, I just wanted to get how to do it down, for my future reference. :) I'm so glad I asked her how she did hers...cause I really didn't want to make a syrup, after all it was getting late and I wanted to be able to go to bed sometime that night. LOL I got them into the canner, then grabbed my laptop and sat in the kitchen catching up on e-mails while it did it's thing. That is the biggest reason I wanted a laptop...cause canning season is SO boring, if I don't have something to do while the canner is going. *giggle* I love canning, just don't love the waiting so much.

Cheese:

While DH was out finishing cutting the hay today, I decided to use the milk we had for cheese, instead of sending it out for the hay field. I wanted to try a new Mozzarella recipe I'd found...because the last one was just to tangy, it was good for pizza, but we didn't really enjoy eating it for a snack...and we do like having cheese for snacks. I used this one here (same blog I got my cottage cheese recipe from) and DH informed me that it's the BEST I've ever made! :)) I have to agree with him...it was easy to do, and didn't take all that long really, although probably more than 30 min...but then I'm slow...and it was my first time. LOL

I didn't do the microwave method, I heated the whey up and used that to heat the cheese up. I do wish I could get my hands toughened up though, cause even though I had on extra heavy rubber gloves, that whey gets HOT and my hands were red for a while, after I was finished. I had to get a bowl of cool water to plunge my hands into every little bit, so I could cool them off and go back to pulling the cheese. It's sure worth it though, cause ohhhhh it's SO good! I'm not sure I'll have enough left for pizza at the rate it's being eaten...unless I make pizza tomorrow. *giggle*

I've got to go have a talk with Daisy, and tell her to get a move on with having that baby...cause we REALLY need more milk, so I can make more cheese and still have some for the hay field and other plants. I did go over and see her when I was done weeding my beets this evening, and her bag sure looks like it's getting a lot bigger, so maybe she is getting close...she will have to hurry to have it by the 4th of July though, which is when DH said (last month) he thought she would have it by...not that he's been to good this year at predicting. Usually he is better at it. LOL

Anyway, guess that's enough rambling on about different things...I should have posted the funny yesterday, so this was a shorter post, but I ran out of time. Hope everyone is having a great week! Thankfully it's not quite as hot here this week...still gets up in the 80's, but that's better than the 90's or hotter! Praise God for the break in the rain!! :)

I love this time of year!

Spring has always been my favorite time of the year...till fall arrives anyway, then I think it rivals spring in my affections. *giggle* However for the most part...spring is my favorite, because I just love seeing things starting to green up, and the flowers to come up, and the temps warming up...and hearing the frogs singing in the creek.

I also love that I can go outside more, without freezing or the fear of falling and breaking something on the ice, and visit our animals more. Tractor Buddy has been neglected by my camera over the winter months, since I didn't venture out much, but I caught her with it a couple days ago, when I went outside. She is up to her usual tricks...begging for attention anyway she can get it. This time she climbed up a wooden post and looked pretty for the camera. LOL

The cows are enjoying the fact that the grass is turning green, although I'm sure they can't wait till it starts growing faster. They still like a little hay to supplement the grass, but hopefully it won't be to much longer before the grass is growing fast enough to provide them with enough to eat...mostly I say that cause we are almost out of hay. LOL

I also love this time of year, because we celebrate Passover and Unleavened bread which means I do extra baking, of some yummy treats, that I only make this time of year. I could make them other times of the year...but am not really all that fond of cooking (well my love for cooking is an on again off again kinda thing actually...mostly off), and some of these yummy treats are kinda a pain to make. Especially the Swiss Butterhorns, but they are a tradition that I've made every year...and we both love them, so I force myself to make at least one batch. Course if I made these things other times of the year, they wouldn't be as special for unleavened bread, so maybe it's a good thing I don't.

One thing I remember my Mom made a few times when I was growing up, were some cheese crackers. It wasn't an every year thing, but I remember loving them when she did make them. So when I was over there this last time, I got a copy of the recipe, so I could make them myself, and see if they were as good as I remembered. Don't ask me why it took me THIS long to decide to make them...after all we have been married 18 years...and this is the first time I've made them. LOL I'll blame it on the not wanting to cook a lot. LOL They really weren't that hard to make though...so maybe I'll have to make them again next year. Recipe is below in case you would like to try them too. :)


Cheese Crackers

1 C. Cornmeal
1/2 C. Flour
1 tsp. Salt
1/3 to 1/2 C. Melted Butter
2/3 C Grated Cheese
1/4 C. Milk
Garlic Salt

Mix Dry Ingredients together, stir in melted butter, cheese & milk. Stir until dry ingredients are damp, and sticks together when pressed with your fingers. Turn out on to lightly floured board, knead gently for a few seconds.

Roll out to 1/8th inch thick, cut with biscuit cutter and sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake on greased cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 12-15 minuets or until delicately brown.

**Note** Mom's recipe called for 1/3 cup oil, however since we have fresh homemade butter, I try to use it for as much as possible...saves on money that way LOL...so I melted a 1/3 cup of it and used it in place of the oil. I had to add a little more to make the dough stick together, which is why I put 1/3 to 1/2 cup in the ingredient list, I'm not sure just how much to use since I've only made this once...so you decide.

I also used garlic powder instead of salt...since I don't usually have garlic salt around. You could always salt each cracker too, but we liked them with just the garlic powder on them. :)

Well, I hope everyone had a great weekend! Ours was nice and quiet here. Hopefully....if all goes well....I can get some scrapping done this week. Even just one or two pages would be better than I've been doing. Guess it depends on if I have to do to much more baking, or anything else comes up. LOL Only time will tell.

Have a great week! :)

Making Homemade Butter

Call my crazy if you want to...really go ahead, I don't mind, I do LOVE being different! LOL...

...but I am SO EXCITED!!! *giggle* I finally got to make my first butter today! As a lot of you know, if you have actually read my posts lately, I've really been looking forward to making it instead of buying it all the time. For one thing it could save us some money. (well except for the fact that yes we had to buy the cow...so in the long run it will be a while before we actually start saving money but...) I've also been reading how much better fresh homemade butter made from milk from grass fed cows is for you, kinda like grass fed beef is lots better for you than the grain fed feed lot beef. So anyway today was the day....and the above photo shows some of the end product in my butter keeper. That beautiful homemade fresh butter!!


The first thing I had to do was get all the cream into my Daisy Style butter churn and let it set for a little while to warm up, as you can see here I had a 1/2 to 2/3 of a gallon of cream (some of which was the really heavy duty spreadable cream). It was really suppose to be room temperature but I don't think it was before I got to impatient and started churning it around noon. LOL I'm really going to have to come up with a plan once I start doing this more, so it's at the right temperature at the time I want to do it...so I've got to see when the best time of the day it is for me to add churning butter into my daily (or every 2 or 3 days) tasks. I guess that will come as I get more used to doing it.


Once I couldn't wait any longer I started churning and eventually noticed that it was not liquid anymore so stopped and got a photo of the whipped cream stage. Then kept churning and churning some more. It eventually got stiff turning the crank, but then all of a sudden it was back to a liquid...which is when I was expecting to start feeling chunks of butter hitting the paddle. I cranked some more and was really starting to get worried. (Mostly because of the fiasco with the goat cream not turning to butter after hours of cranking...and then finally giving up on making goat butter...for this year anyway. LOL) FINALLY it changed again, into a more solid state and then not long after that I could start feeling chunks of butter!


After I decided that it was all turned to butter I stopped and opened the churn again...and of course had to get a photo of what I saw, that wonderful fresh butter!


I strained out the buttermilk and put the butter in a bowl so I could rinse it and get as much of the buttermilk out of it as possible. The above photo shows it before it was rinsed.


Here it is after it was rinsed...doesn't look like quite as much as it did before, but still more than I thought we might get for that amount of cream. We got about 3 1/2 cups of butter (almost 1 3/4 of a pound) although I do have to wonder what it will be when we don't use that extra heavy duty cream. However even if it were just a pound of butter several times a week....we will eventually have butter coming out our ears! *giggle* I plan on freezing a bunch, for the times when we won't be getting milk because Mabel has to be dried up or is feeding a new calf.

All in all I'm a happy camper today, we had fresh homemade butter on some of my homemade rolls at supper. It was Yummy! :)

I know a lot of people still say that we shouldn't use butter, but to my way of thinking anything that God made (which butter basically is) has to be way better than something that Man made, which is what all the "fake butters" are out there. So give me butter any day over margarine!

Well I need to get off here and get a few more things done. Hopefully I can get back to scrapping a little next week...but we will see how next week goes. Hope I haven't bored you to much with my ramble about making butter. *giggle*

Have a great weekend!