Busy Weekend = Sweet Results

Not only did we make our own laundry detergent this weekend, we did ALOT of canning! Its getting closer to spring time and we needed to get our freezers cleared out of all the berries and juice we had prepared last year that wasnt made into jams & jellies then. Since it was an unusually cold weekend here in South Louisiana, we decided this was a perfect weekend to do some canning.

First up was Mayhaw Jelly: This weekend we put up 48 1/2 pint jars of Mayhaw Jelly which is one of our favorites!

This is the shelf in my sunroom where the jelly did its final cooling before being moved to the overflow pantry area in the laundry room.

Second up was Strawberry Jam: This weekend resulted in 72 1/2 pint jars of Strawberry Jam which is BY FAR my children's favorite. We usually go through 1 or 2 jars a week at our house.

Dont those strawberries look delicious!

Of course.... using a burner on the front porch sure does make that water bath boil faster than on the stove and we dont heat the house up as much either!

And you simply CAN NOT spend a day of cooking during Mardi Gras season without eating King Cake while you cook! lol

I even had my hubby in the kitchen cooking. He was stirring the jelly here, but see that pot in the back? That was his delicious vegetable beef soup simmering to perfection!

The BEST part about cold weather is hot food!

Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did!

CLICK HERE

Welcome New Follower - Lisa, Lisa Lynn & Clint

Good Morning & Happy Valentine's Day!

I would like to welcome & thank my newest followers Lisa at Two Bears Farm,  Lisa Lynn at Little Homestead on the Hill and Clint at The Redeemed Gardner.

If you get a moment, please stop by and visit  them and don't forget to tell them that Strawberry Adventures sent you over!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day

Yes... We DID Make Our Own Laundry Detergent

I have been reading more and more about people making their own laundry detergent, cleaning products, etc. After looking over many different articles, blogs and posts I decided it was something I wanted to try myself.

Lets face it: we ALL want to save money! That was my main reason for trying it. With six people in our house, there are always clothes waiting to be washed. One of my favorite things about my house is the 14' x 14' laundry room. Its nearly as big as my bedroom (or is it bigger? hmmm). Anyway.... its a huge laundry room, one of the most used spaces in our home and I love it. I have a table to fold clothes on, shelves to put the folded clothes on, and a hanging bar to hung clothes up immediately.

We also have an upright freezer in there and one whole wall is lined in shelves that we use as our overflow pantry. Above the washer and dryer are more shelves used for "utility" type things and extras like oil lamps, foot baths, Igloo water cooler, etc. Needless to say, our laundry room is a well used room.

But back to the laundry detergent: I decided to try it out. So, one of my (many) projects over this past weekend was to make laundry detergent. Now mind you, my darling husband thinks I am crazy, and my ex-husband thinks I have totally gone off my rocker. But oh well.... when I have saved my little family some cold hard $$ that when I get to laugh at all of THEM!

The total start up cost of this "project" was about $20. I purchased the following things:

1 Box of Borax
1 Box of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
2 Bars of Octagon Soap
1 Bottle Essential Oils
1 5 Gal bucket with lid

Now, I didn't use NEARLY all of that for my first batch, but I couldn't see explaining to Walmart that I only wanted 1 cup of Borax & 1 cup of Washing Soda, so I went ahead and bought the whole box they sold it in! :)

Recipe:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 bar Octagon Soap
15-30 drops Essential Oil


I have seen many recipes using Fels-Naptha soap, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I saw the "spot" for it in two stores, but they were out so I went with the Octagon soap instead. From what I have seen, any all-purpose bar soap will work: Fels-Naptha, Octagon, Zote, Ivory.

Step 1: Grate 1 whole bar of Octagon Soap

It kind of looks like cheese huh?

Step 2: Mix the grated soap in a pot with 4-5 cups hot water  on medium heat until the soap melts down completely. DO NOT let it get to a boil. Stir in continuously.

Just keep stirring the pot!

Step 3: Once the soap is dissolved, pour it into a 5 gal bucket. Then add: 1 cup Borax & 1 cup Washing Soda. Mix until mostly dissolved.

Add Soap mixture, Borax & Washing Soda to bucket

Step 4: Fill bucket 1/2 full with HOT water. Add 10-15 drops of essential oil for every 2 gals of water. (I used about 25 drops total even though I used more than 4 gals of water.) Mix until well blended.

Yes, I brought the bucket onto the porch and used a drill with a mixer attachment on it!

Step 5: Fill the bucket the rest of the way up with hot water and mix well.

Step 6: Cover and let set over night. Once it has set, it may appear clumped up or like gel or may be watery. (Mine was a mixture of gel and watery.) NO BIG DEAL! Just stir it up and then put into containers (I am using emptied liquid Tide containers).

USE: 1/2 cup per load of laundry

Now I am sure you want to know the COST of this right? Here is my breakdown:
(1 - 5-gal bucket not included in price below)

1 Bottle Essential Oil - $3.60 (Reg Price $5.99 but I got it on sale)
1 Box Borax - $3.38  - 76 oz = .04 cents/ oz
1 Box Washing Soda - $3.24 - 55 oz = .06 cents/ oz
1 Bar Octagon Soap - $0.97

Recipe:
8 oz Borax - $0.32
8 oz Washing Soda - $0.48
1 Bar Octagon Soap - $0.97
Essential Oil (approx 1/5 of bottle) - $0.75
Water - FREE

Total Cost of 5 gals (approx 150 loads)

$2.52 or $0.02 a load

Tide: $19.98 for 170 "loads" = $0.12 a load

When doing JUST 2 loads of laundry a day I am saving:

$0.20 a day

$1.40 a week

$6.00 a month

$72.00 a year

And that is if I only wash 2 loads a day.... I WISH!!!

MAN I LOVE SAVING $$$

Not just that we will save $ but that we are being more self-sustaining!

Please join in the fun of a blog hop and see what all our friends have to say at

White Wolf Summit Farmgirl

Succulent Sunday Recipe 1 - Chicken Pillows

I have become a Pinterest addict like so many others I know. But one of my favorite thing to pin is recipes. Anyone who knows me, and has been in my kitchen, know the love I have for cookbooks. I have 100s of them. I pull recipes out of magazines, I have more recipes saved in my Favorites online.... I just love to try new recipes. My two favorite things to cook: chicken and any sort of dessert.

Chicken! Go figure... We raise them and its my favorite thing to eat. (Although our girls aren't for eating anything but their eggs!)

Recently, while on Pinterest, I stumbled across this amazing chicken recipe from this amazing cook named Nikki at Chef In Training. Nikki has many recipes on her site that I just cant WAIT to try.

So I tried her Chicken Pillow recipe.

This Photo is not mine.
I assume it is a photo taken by Nikki herself at Chef In Training.
Mine did not turn out NEARLY as pretty and I wanted to make sure that the
photo I gave you was a appetizing at the meal itself!

To say the least I was pleased with the recipe! My family had mixed reviews but all in all, this is definitely something we will be trying again (with some minor modifications).

Here is the recipe from Nikki:

CHICKEN PILLOWS:

1 can of 8 Pillsbury crescents
8 oz. block of cream cheese
1/4 cup butter
2-3 cups shredded chicken, cooked (I usually just buy a Rotisserie chicken and shred it up to make it even easier)
1 egg
saltine crackers, crushed

TOPPING:1 can cream of chicken
sour cream (a couple spoon fulls worth)
milk
shredded cheese


Preheat oven to 400 F

Soften 1/4 cup butter and 8oz. block of cream cheese. Then stir to a smooth consistency. Add cooked shredded chicken to the bowl.

Lay out the 8 crescents on a cookie sheet.

Stretch the crescent out. Place a couple spoon fulls of the creamy chicken mixture into the center of the crescent to fill it. Then fold the crescent around the mixture so that none of it is showing. I'll call this the "pillow"

In a separate smaller bowl, put the egg and a little bit of water, maybe a couple Tablespoons worth and beat together.

Dip the "pillow" into the blended egg.

After dipping into the blended egg, proceed to dip it into the crushed saltine crackers and place on cookie sheet. Repeat for the remaining 7 crescents.

Cook the pillows at 400 F for 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them your oven might cook them quicker.

For the sauce topping:

Put can of cream of chicken and milk into a sauce pan. Add as much milk as you want to get it to the consistency you want i.e. thicker or runnier. When hot enough add 2 spoon fulls of sour cream and cheese to your liking.

My MINOR modifications:

1. I will be taking out the sour cream and using more milk (or maybe some cream) from the sauce next time. With the sour cream it made the sauce too rich for my liking.

2. I added salt & pepper to the pillow stuffing concoction.

THAT'S IT!! I served it with fresh mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. This was an AMAZING recipe & I cant wait to try it again! Please visit Chef in Training for more recipes that I am sure you will enjoy!

Make Sure to Join the Barn Hop!

Make Your "Girls" Happy

I love to make our "girls" happy! They all come running to us fast and surround us with glee! Chickens really are interesting little things when you watch them. Honestly... they do have personalities of their own.

I remember the very first time we gave them treats. They were little things. Still in the brooder. We gave them yogurt. Oh my goodness! I laughed so hard watching them. First they were scared to death of it.... Wouldn't go near the strange new glass object with weird white stuff on it (umm, glass saucer with yogurt in a big heap). I finally had to reach in and gently show one of them what it was but putting her beak in it a couple times.

That started the frenzy! Once she decided it was safe and GOOD it was like a Blue Light Special at Kmart! They all went running! And oh the mess they made...... but I loved every second of watching them.

Some things the girls like more than others now days. I would say that their favorites would be frozen grapes, cucumbers & strawberries. There are also things that you shouldn't feed them. (I didnt know that before reading up on it!)

Want more information on what to "treat" your girls with and what not to? BYC has an excellent page on this with graphs.... you should head on over and check it out.

Happy Girls with Yogurt

Youngest Daughter Feeding the Chickens Grapes

My DH just had to tease them with the cucumber before giving it to them.

Have a great weekend!

I "CAN" Knit (Kinda)

I have long wanted to learn to knit. I can do a few basic things with crocheting (nothing to brag about, mind you), but the whole two needle thing with knitting has defeated me repeatedly. Of course, I am not the most patient person in the world so I am not a good learner of this beautiful craft.

Now....

It is MY understanding that needlework is supposed to be relaxing. Well I am here to tell you that me & two knitting needles was far from relaxing! Until I found the Knitting Board! While aimlessly wondering around our local Hobby Lobby I stumbled upon it. Hmmmm, could this be my way to knit?

Knitting boards are the neatest little contraption that really do make a novice like myself appear to be a pro. My first purchase was a 10"small gauge board. It wasn't too small, but wasn't so big that it was scary.

www.knittingboard.com

With my new board and yarn in hand, I made my purchase and headed home excited to try it out. It came with a video tutorial as well as written instructions. I popped the DVD into the player and sat back on the sofa eager to learn. Can we say EASY? Seriously folks.... this is one of the simplest things I have ever done in my life!

This is what it looks like when you are wrapping the yarn on the board

All you are basically doing is wrapping the yarn around the pegs twice, back and forth, then you take the yarn from underneath and loop it over. Again, the video and written instructions are very easy to follow.

This is showing a section of the unfinished project where I changed colors

I have no idea why, but I cant get this photo to post in landscape. Anyway, this is the finished scarf I made.
(I apologize for the horrible picture. It was taken with a cell phone & laying on lime green sheets in my daugther's room)

My first attempt at knitting was a success! In less than 24 hours I had knitted a lovely hunter green and white (my daugther's high school colors) scarf that was SIX FEET LONG! Yes you heard me.... less than 24 hours and 6 feet long! Whoot Whoot!

Really want to know how easy it is to use a knitting board?....... Our family now owns 1- 10" board, 1- 38" board (for sweaters & afghans), and 2- 6" Tadpole boards. My 16 yr old daughter & 10 year old son are both working on knitting projects of their own!

I have also purchased round knitting hoops, but I haven't tried those yet. I will let you know how I do with those once I finish the scarf I am currently working on.

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook

FARMHOUSE FRIDAY @ THE RENEGADE FARMER

FARMGIRL FRIDAY BLOG HOP

.

Have a Blessed Day!

Garden Give Away!!

Our wonderful friends over at Ozark Mountain Family are having one Ah-Maz-In giveaway that you all need to go check out!

Do you just love to garden? Well this is the PERFECT giveaway then! Not only does it come with the bag, but you get the 9 seed packs as well! Exciting Right?

Please.... while you are there, dont forget to comment and let them know that Julie @ Strawberry Adventures sent you over! I would greatly appreciate it!

Ozark Mountain Family

While you are there, take the time to read their blog! It is "most insightful"!


Have a Wonderfully Blessed Day!

Where Do YOU Get Your Chicken Information?

As a "newbie" to the chicken world, I have searched high and low for all the information I can find about raising chickens. Call me an "information junkie" if you will, but I am just like that. Not just about chickens but about everything. I read, I surf the net, I listen, and I read some more. I currently have almost 300 books on my Kindle with over 1/2 of those being what I deem "reference material". So yes, Information Junkie Julie... that's me!

Where have I found the majority of my information on raising chickens? Well, two places actually. The first place I stumbled upon that had any "meat" to it, was BackYardChickens.com. This neat website & their forum has given me information for everything from choosing our breeds, building our coop/run, to picking out feed and more. Now I am sure that all of you that are in the chicken world have heard of BYC, but this site is just awesome to me! Of course, as with anything or any site, there is going to be bad advice or misinformation, but if you use your brain and don't go on just one person's advice you pretty much cant go TOO wrong. Right?

The second place I get the majority of my information, I actually learned about from the people on the BYC forum: The book Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow. I bought my copies from Amazon (see the link) but I have also seen it in our local Tractor Supply Co and our local bookstore. Like BYC it is a wealth of GOOD information and "must know" things about having chickens. Not only do I have a paperback version, I have the Kindle version as well **insert** Information Junkie Julie **here**! Yes, I want my information at my fingertips!

To me, raising our chickens is just like raising children or taking out a second mortgage..... Not something to be taken lightly. We (I) spent months researching what it would require, cost involved, longevity, breeds, etc. I needed to know what I was getting myself into.

It's been almost a year since we got our "girls" and so far so good. We haven't lost one yet **knock on wood**. We have had a few bumps along the way, but with referring back to BYC and Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens we have managed to hold our own.

There have been other blogs I have found wonderful information on too. As well as the help of some of our local farmers. I never realized how many people had "back yard chickens" until we decided to get some of our own. And oh brother, when people hear you have fresh yard eggs to sell.... well, 30 chickens doesn't seem nearly enough to meet the supply & demand we face here locally. However, for now, we are going to stick to what we have and enjoy them.

Enjoy them? Yes! Enjoy them! More on that another time!

Hope you all have a Wonderfully Blessed Day!

Trash or Treasure? Chicken Eggs Galore!

We have all heard the saying, right? "One man's trash is another man's treasurer." I don't know about you, but I believe it to be true.

I mean, think about it: Garage sales, thrift shops, eBay, Craigslist... the list goes on and on of places for you to buy someone else's "trash". Or perhaps you didn't buy it at all. Perhaps it was given to you. I consider it to be a true blessing from God when my family is in need (or even want) of something and somehow or another we receive it. A True Blessing Indeed!

Almost a year ago, our family decided to start raising chickens to sell the eggs. Wait. Let me back up.

Our daughter Alyssa is an active member of the FFA (Future Farmers of America) and a second year Agriscience (AG) student at her high school. Part of their grade in AG is what is called a Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE). Students are required to do this. Alyssa's first year in high school she did her SAE on Small Animal Care. Basically, she took something she was already familiar with doing, taking care of our dog, and made it into a grade. But after completing that project and spending almost a full year in her AG class, she wanted to tackle a bigger project. She decided she wanted to RAISE CHICKENS!

Oh boy! This momma was NOT prepared for that. My husband on the other hand, was much more receptive. He had raised chickens in the past. True free ranging chickens. I thought, "You mean you want chickens to just run around our yard? I don't THINK so mister!" I was quickly assured that we: 1. Live too close to neighbors, 2. Have too many hawks flying above & 3. "No dear, they will be in an enclosed yard."

Whew! OK, I can breath!

Yes, once my daughter and husband convinced me that it was "OK" to own chickens, we got down to researching on the different kinds we wanted. Me personally, got excited with all the different types and would have 100 chickens just to see all the pretty variations.

Fast forward to a few months ago.... MAN! These chickens make a lot of eggs! Why do we have so many eggs? Oh wait.... its because we have 30 chickens! LOL Anyway, we have these 30 chickens (well, 29 hens and 1 rooster) producing eggs. At their peak, we have gotten over 2 dozen eggs a day. Two dozen, times 7 days a week is a minimum of 14 dozen eggs. There is no way we could eat all that! Thank Heaven's part of this project is to actually SELL the eggs. But where do you store 14+ dozen eggs until you sell them?

This is where our "trash and treasure" comes in. (No, I didn't forget the point of my story, I just had to get to it.) We have been saying for MONTHS we needed to get another refrigerator to keep just the selling eggs in. Our poor fridge in the house was jammed full of our normal groceries and then all these eggs. So much so, that on more than one occasion a dozen has fallen out when the door was opened and eggs went SPLAT! on the floor.

So we have been watching the classifieds, listening to the "swap-shop" on the radio, been to a few thrift stores, etc.... all in the hopes of finding a good used fridge. On more than one occasion, while trying to jam something into the fridge, I have lifted up a silent prayer to God "Please let us find a cheap fridge so I can have mine back".

Then it happened! A few days ago, my husband was discussing our dilemma with a friend of his a low and behold HE had a spare fridge that he needed to get rid of and offered it to us! The best part...... we got it for FREE!

HOUSTON! WE HAVE LIFT OFF!!!

Currently, this "not so pretty" little baby is welcoming sight on my carport and I couldn't be happier about it if she was a stainless steel side-by-side with automatic water dispenser that gave me Sonic Drive-In quality crushed ice! REALLY! I am THAT excited! A Blessing Indeed!

Tell me. What do YOU think about the old saying "One man's trash is another man's treasure"?

How Random, Right?

Do you ever just have "random" things you like? I do. Could it be that I am ADD? I don't think I have the "H" to be ADHD like my children but ADD is surely a possibilty. I am random in all areas. My thoughts, my interests, my wardrobe.... yeah, everything.

I have so many incompleted "projects" because I get bored so fast. My current list includes (but I dont think this is all of it):
1. 2 quilts
2. 3 counted cross stitch
3. A knit scarf for Maison
4. A knit scaft for me
5. Some sewing projects
6. I am reading 4 different books
7. More "home improvement projects" than I care to think about

Oh well..... I will finish it all one day MAYBE

Oh guess what happened to us recently! We (Alyssa & I) had our first ever T1P (type1parents.org) meet-up. We got to meet some WONDERFUL people from North Carolina. Jennifer & her daughter Brenna. They were visiting family in the Biloxi, MS area so they drove into LA and we met up. The girls instantly bonded... well so did Jen & I. We could all be twins I think, well except for the fact that Jen is like skinny and I am ummm, not-so pleasantly plump. LOL Maybe just twins of the mind! Right?

(Instant Best Friend)

(Two Peas In A Pod)

They are so cute and are already planning how to get Brenna moved down here or at the very least the cost of Alyssa going to North Carolina this summer.

 

Time Always Escapes Us, So I Will Catch Up Quick

Nothings changed, life remains the same. Kids are growing up and I am growing older.

Chickens..... yes, we have chickens now. 30 to be exact - 1 rooster and 29 hens. All part of Alyssa's Agriscience project for high school.

2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Alyssa is a FRESHMAN at PHS

Ryan, Maison & Jada-Grace are at

Champ Cooper again this year!!

Ryan is in 4th Grade

Maison is in 3rd Grade

Jada-Grace is in 1st Grade

I pray that all of my children

have a fabulous year!

Where did the time go?

I just recently spent some time with my beautiful Godchild Kristin and she reminded me that I was "slacking" on my blogging! Kristin, who is the QUEEN of blogging IMO, posts something nearly everyday. She is dedicated to her blogging.... I however am not! :) I promise I will try to do a better job Kristin! Is once a week better for you? LOL

So lets update the past two months, shall we?:

JUNE 2010

Me & my long time buddy Jodi Dorsa (Whooten now) reconnected on FB and got to spend time together. She has a daughter, Destini, that is a little older than Alyssa and a son, Karl, that is Maison's age. It has amazed us both how fast our children have become best of friends just like she and I had always been. I am so happy she is back in my life! :))

Maison & Karl

Also, in June.... Alyssa's many 8th Grade Graduation Parties to Attend:

JULY 2010

July brought even more fun to our household!

I decided on the 4th of July, I needed to be a RED HEAD!

My Kids got to enjoy a week of VBS at church with their little brother Rhody.

And the little princess in the family turned 7. We got to celebrate her birthday at Yogi Bear with a great cake, swimming and lots of fun, family & friends thanks to Nanny Missy & Uncle Gene!