Backyard Farmgals

Goodbye 2013. Helloooo 2014.  You're a beautiful sight! Happy New Year to y'all.  I am hoping that 2014 is fantastic, I am feeling that it will be... deep down in my farmgal bones.  2013 looked like this: we made some major progress on the farm, we added two goats and a sheep to our party (and let me tell you how I love those goats and that sweet sheep - I can now say that my life is complete), I learned a ton, made some big cowgirl strides in a few areas I needed to work on, we made some new friends, lost a few too, we lost a few people in our family and I am still missing them, we gained strength and knowledge, and opened our hearts to light and love. I am not one for a whole lot of resolution making, I think I set myself up for failure every time.  I have had some goals for myself that I have been working on: reaching out to those around me that need a little extra love, yelling in my pillow instead of yelling at my house-destroying-tornado-like-never-stop-t...

'Tis the season for a good book and being curled up in front of the fire.  It is also the season for soup and lots of it.  It gets quite cold in Utah, and soup somehow makes me think it's not so bitter outside!  What can I say, I am easy to fool... This is a pretty simple way to put together a great meal.  I use homemade chicken stock, but you could easily buy a quart and no one would know the difference.  I made croutons quickly with a few slices of challah bread and a little butter and sautéed some bacon to top it all off.  According to my 8-year-old farmhand, bacon makes everything better.  I think he might be right... Hearty Chicken, Lentil, and Butternut Soup backyard farmgals 2 chicken breasts (bone in, skin on gives you more flavor) Olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 quart chicken stock 1 1/2 cups uncooked green lentils 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1/2-inch cubes 2 parsnips, peeled and sliced 2 carrots, peeled...

I made the cutest little sets of hand warmers for our neighbors this year, I had to share.  These are super easy to make, I can bust out about 60 in a day of sewing, and I am NOT fast! I went to the fabric store and got pre-cut fabric squares that were 5-inches by 5-inches.  I sewed them, wrong sides together with a 1-inch seam, leaving a small opening on one end.   I then used a small funnel to fill the bags nearly full of rice, pinned the opening and then went back to the sewing machine and sewed the opening shut.  Easy-peesy! I took a pair of pinking shears and trimmed 1/2-inch off the edges all the way around, so the finished bag was 4-inches square (there should be 1/2-inch between the fabric edge and the seam).  Then, stacked them in piles of four warmers and tied them with twine.  I attached a little note on the top with heating instructions: To warm: heat in microwave for 30 seconds, drop in mittens to stay toasty-warm ...

We have a local chocolate shop near us that makes the most delicious caramel popcorn.  Gooey and sweet, it's hard to stop once you start into the pile of caramel goodness.  I set out to somewhat mimic their recipe, not exact, but it is still marvelously addictive.  The secret is not letting the caramel get too hot, just below soft-ball stage is where you want to be.  I admit, it took me a few trial runs to discover this, and a garbage can full of popcorn.  Some things have to be done right. This is so far from my normal Christmas cookie madness.  I have found I have to be in the right mood to make them well.  A very dear friend of mine tragically died on Thanksgiving afternoon and it has thrown me for a loop.  I have had a hard time making my way back to my crazed cookie-baking self.  It will come back with time.  For now, it's caramel popcorn finding it's way out my door (thank heaven it is going out... too tempting) with a sm...