Making Broth

On Mondays I make broth. It's similar to "on Wednesdays we wear pink" but tastier. Usually, I make chicken broth but sometimes ham and occasionally beef. Broth is the most amazing food because, one, it's crazy healthy for you and, two, it's essentially free food.

I am by no means a health nut but our family has had soup at least once per week for two decades. I consider this one small feather in my healthfulness cap which has very few feathers. I attribute the fact that none of the twelve of us has ever had a real broken bone to our use of broth. (By "real" I mean Luke had his pinky toe smashed by a piano and Ben had a sliver of a bone chip off when he jammed his finger playing basketball, neither were really bone breaks. They were more like bone smooshes and bone slivers.)

Anywho, here is what I do:

First, save all scraps from vegetables including things like the peels and ends from carrots, onions, celery, garlic, green beans, spinach, kale, turnips, asparagus ... you get the idea. I also include egg shells. Keep them in a bin or bag in your freezer.

Second, save all bones from meat. We don't eat a lot of beef with bones so I buy a bag of beef bones and add the few we do have. I also save ham and chicken bones for this purpose. Don't be afraid to save skin and fat, they give broth flavor and our bodies need a little fat. When I make chicken broth I add chicken pieces or even an entire chicken so that I have shredded chicken for meals as well. But, if I don't have any I just make broth with bones. When making beef broth roast the raw bones first to bring out the deliciousness.

Finally, add all the bones and veggie scraps to a giant pot. Cover with water then add a few bay leaves, a tablespoon of coarse salt and a teaspoon of coarse pepper (Montreal Steak Seasoning is good to add, too!) Then simmer all day! At the end of the day strain out the broth and remove any meat that is salvageable. Taste the broth and, if necessary, add more salt or pepper.

I use broth for soups, sauces and in place of water when I cook rice, potatoes or pasta. It adds flavor and nutrition. Yum!

Happy Brothing!

Menu Plans for the Week of March 30th through April 5th, 2020

What's for dinner?

Here's my  menu plan for the week:

Monday -       Cajun Calico Beans and Rice with Cornbread
Tuesday -       Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls
Wednesday -  Burgers and Potato Wedges
Thursday -     Leftovers or Breakfast for Dinner
Friday -          Pizza
Saturday -      Date Night - Kids eat Quesadillas and Parents eat Take-Out
Sunday -        Nachos or Baked Potato Skins and Wedge Salads

I'm assuming you all know how to make nachos, burgers and quesadillas so I'll just post the recipes for Monday and Tuesday.

Cajun Calico Beans

1 bag 15 Bean Soup Mix CAJUN (I buy this at Walmart. It's on the top shelf with the dried beans and comes in plain or Cajun.)

2 quarts broth or water (I use homemade broth. Ham broth is the best for this but chicken or beef would work fine. Water is fine, if you don't have broth.)

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small bag frozen okra

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 pound sliced kielbasa or andouille sausage (optional, but tasty)

Simmer beans for one hour or soak overnight. Rinse beans. Put beans, onions, garlic, sausage and seasoning packet from the beans in the crockpot. Cover with broth. You want just enough broth to cover the beans. If you don't have enough broth add water and if 2 quarts is too much, use less. Turn crockpot on low and cook all day. Occasionally check and if the beans start to soak up too much liquid add more. You want them cooked with some broth but not too "soupy" ... unless, of course, you want to make actual soup. About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat stir in the okra and tomatoes.

Serve over rice and with cornbread. If you like it spicier sprinkle cajun/creole seasoning over top. We like these kinds:

The reason the liquid quantity varies is that we live in an extremely dry climate so the beans are drier and soak up more broth. Altitude might have something to do with it also.

Instant Pot Burrito Bowls

https://damndelicious.net/2018/02/26/instant-pot-20-minute-chicken-burrito-bowls/

We LOVE this recipe. I double this by waiting to add the corn and black beans until after it cooks. The Instant Pot doesn't really hold enough for our entire family.

A Day In The Life - Quarantined Edition

The moon setting over the Snowy Range as seen from our porch first thing in the morning. 

As promised, here is a day in the life during this strange time. Oddly enough, since we homeschool some of the kids and homeschooled all of them for years, these days are very familiar. Actually, I have missed these kinds of days and am thankful to have them again for this brief splash of time. Not that I'm thankful for Covid 19, of course not, but thankful for an opportunity to stop, to rest, to regroup, to read, to think and to just be with some of those I love so dearly.

I keep thinking about the Bible verse in Malachi 4:6 which says, "And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers ..." As I imagine all of these neighbors very suddenly cooped up with their kids night and day, I pray we all will use this time to build relationships. Relationships that may have gone stale from busyness or have been broken due to poor choices or maybe simply need more Jesus in them. I'm certainly guilty of busyness and poor choices and losing focus on what is most important in my life. So, thank you God for this time and may we use it for His glory!

Mike and I wake up early. We have for as long as I can remember. Nursing babies, early flights, the appeal of quiet before the troops arise has conditioned us. When Mike is in town we sit on the couch in front of the fireplace and read our Bibles then pray. When he is out of town I sit alone waiting for his text, "Morning! Talk?" I love this time of day and for the foreseeable future, he is home!!!! Yay! 

After about an hour of quiet, we hear "thunk ... thunk, thunk ... thump, thump, thump" as Eli hops out of his bunkbed scurrying down the hall to our bed. He cuddles down waiting for us to find him when we're done praying. Eli is a delight to us especially as we get older. While many friends our age are empty-nesters or even retiring, here we are raising a 9-year-old son! He keeps us young and with all of his God-given quirks and idiosyncrasies he makes us laugh.  

Deviled Eggs in the morning - Breakfast of Champions

After everyone eats we all do some sort of work out from pilates to weights to fun YouTube videos. This has been a surprisingly fun family activity. Not that we always do the same thing at the same time every day but Mike lifting weights with Eli or Lizzy (the world's most flexible human) doing pilates with me can be pretty hilarious. 

Next, we read the Bible, pray and read a chapter of God's Smuggler. This precious time of reading and praying is something I have missed as my bunnies grow into rabbits and leave the warren. Even with the older bunnies, who still live at home, I usually have just enough time to share a verse or a passage before praying and sending them off to work or class. 

Rachel came dressed for the occasion

After devotions, we do some school work. Everyone has a little something to work on from their outside courses and, of course, the kids already homeschooling have their daily work. Eli is learning math using real money because I got tired of him saying, "That doesn't look like a nickel (or dime or whatever.)" Eli is a realist. There's no showing him approximations or substitutes or shabby drawings of a real thing. 

On most days we go for a hike or walk after school but on this day it was snowing so we stayed in. 

Finally, it's lunchtime! I make lunch for myself, Mike and Eli but everyone else fends for themselves. Which means they can make what they want as long as they clean up after themselves.  Tim made a pizza, burned it and then paid Lizzy $4 to do his dishes. He even offered Mike some of his blackened pizza! What a guy!

Yum?

Then, as is our habit, we have "rest and read" time. Or, if you are nice to me and don't hassle me while I "rest and read" I'll let you have a Fortnite turn. 

Rachel and Tim - FORTNITE!

Late in the afternoon, I visited my parents. They are stir crazy and bored. So, after lots of hand sanitizer, I stopped by to drop off groceries and left-overs. My Dad, in particular, is ready to get out and play! Keeping him isolated has been a lot like keeping a 4-year-old out of the mud. 

Finally, the day and week have come to an end. It's Friday night and you know what that means! Pizza Night! I normally make pizza but tonight we splurged with Domino's and watched a movie. Because the older boys are home, we will let them choose the movie. Spiderman 2 was the movie of choice.

A boy and his dog.

Even the cat can't resist dinner and a movie!

Rachel, perched.

Anna has no idea I took this picture. She's terribly camera shy. It was either snap a shot while she was watching a movie or get a picture of her sleeping. This seemed funnier. 

So, that's a day. Nighty Night! 

QUARANTINED!

Here we are, along with you, stuck in the house with no place to go!

I got online to find a recipe on my old blog for a friend and thought, "Hmmmm, I should post!" 

So much has changed since I last posted. SOOOO much! 

Here's the rundown:

Josiah is married to amazing Michaela (a/k/a best daughter-in-law a gal could ask for) and has two perfect children, Teddy and Gabriel. Josiah just joined the Army National Guard and works for US Foods while Michaela is a teacher at a local charter school.

Mary is married to quintessential Quincy and is expecting baby Desmond, due to arrive in May. Quincy graduated from Calvin College last May and is now working in IT. Mary is a personal trainer and housewife extraordinaire! 

Luke is engaged to beautiful Niqui and they plan to marry in September. They are both seniors at Colorado State University. Luke was due to graduate in May but the graduation has been postponed due to the virus. Niqui graduates in December so maybe they will just graduate together!

Ben is working hard for Murdoch's and living on his own a few miles away. Ben was born to live in Wyoming.  He loves it here and has embraced our college youth group as well as many outdoor activities. 

 

Jacob is a sophomore at the University of Wyoming and working full time at a local grocery store. He also does stand-up comedy for fun! 

Tim is a senior at Laramie High School and also works at the local grocery store. He loves golf and his girlfriend, not necessarily in that order.

Anna just started as a sophomore at Laramie High School after being homeschooled at the beginning of the year. She is still her sweet, quiet, level-headed self. Oh how much I appreciate this in a house full of so many teens. 

Rachel just started as a freshman at Laramie High School after being homeschooled at the beginning of the year. Rachel is loving her history and literature classes as well as obsessing about Patagonia, hydro-flasks, and Instagram.

Lizzy is in 7th grade and continues to be homeschooled. She is our resident gymnast and rarely stops jumping, hopping, bending, leaping and dancing.

And, last, but certainly never least, is Eli. Eli is a quirky, hilarious, gentle-hearted 2nd grader. How would we live without our sweet Eli.

If you noticed where our kids attend school, you'll see we aren't in Colorado anymore. Last summer we moved to Laramie, Wyoming a/k/a Laradise. We had dreamed of moving to Wyoming for years and God finally opened the door for us to do so! It has been an adjustment for all of us, after 13 years in Fort Collins, but overall we love our life here in Laramie. 

Tomorrow I plan to post "A Day In The Life - Quarantine Edition" but for now here are a few pictures of what we did today!

We've been trying to exercise every day either by the kids doing my pilates video with me or by them doing a kids P.E. workout on YouTube or by lifting weights with Mike. It's actually been really fun. I make the kids workout behind me so I don't have to see how much stronger and flexible they are and so they HAVE to see how old and inflexible I am. 

We've also been going for long walks every day! We've found some cool places in the fields around our house! For example, the stone table from Narnia!!! I bet you didn't know Narnia was set in Wyoming!

We love this cool space we found! So much so that the older kids (who are normally way too "swagger" or "thicc" or "cool" to hang out with Eli and me) have gone on these walks with us! Ok, so some days I do have to force them with threats of loss of screen time but most of the time they want to join us! Today they made castle walls on a fort that we've named Fort Covid. 

Until tomorrow ... blessings upon blessings to you and yours ...