Friday, December 29, 2017

Easy Healing Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

 
The chicken noodle soup is super easy and very nourishing for the body and with all the collagen in the bone broth it helps to heal the body and here lately with cold season all the help one can get to stay cold free is a plus in my book. This recipe is super easy and all my boys like it since its not over spicy or so called "weird" stuff in it. Where as Dusty is picky and not so much into things that aren't familiar. Where as Cooper is willing to try anything and actually loves collards and kale. So this is a kid friendly recipe.
 
 
I use one of those large roasters to make our bone broth, you see the congealed (when it is congealed that is good as it means the gelatin is good in it) shape in the center that is the broth I did with the chicken we had the other night. I use farm raised chickens for the bone broth. You use the bones the necks, the livers, etc. Waste nothing. If you see I use the onion peelings, the whole celery and the carrots even the green parts of the carrot I buy the whole carrots and cut them myself. We run out of our homegrown carrots fast and I buy them at the market from other farmers but that is a seasonal thing. We especially love the tri colored ones. I use garlic too if I have it on hand....which mostly we do. Lydia Bastianich whom we love shows you how to make it on the show for certain broths or bases. She says waste nothing.
 
This is a large pot of the bone broth with the fat on top which you skim off once cooled. I put it in the refrigerator and then skim off. I have canned the bone broth in the past but since it uses the pressure canner and takes a lot of time...Bruce always just wants to put it in the gallon baggies and freeze it. Then when we want to make a soup or chicken and rice or anything calling for a broth or a soup base. It's perfect all you have to do is thaw it in your slow cooker or a pan, or however you thaw something for use when frozen.
 
Here I have started skimming it off the fat.
 

Here most of the fat is gone and ready for bagging the bone broth or pressure canning it...but follow safe methods for that. I have pressure canned it many times and to me it is a whole lot easier but Bruce always wants to make excuses to pressure can it.......lol.
 
I started making bone broth when Megan my friend told me about this website Tiffany has wonderful ideas and recipes plus uses ideas and money saving techniques which I am all about.
 
 
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
I cook chicken first then allow to cool to shred
use your broth
carrots,
celery
parsley (fresh or dried)
simmer all together then once carrots are soft place in the noodles I usually just use the egg noodles you buy in a bag once they are soft its ready to eat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and its done. You can't mess it up I am not really a measurer but its mostly to your liking.
 
 
 
I wanted to show you how fast Dusty's little terrarium is growing. You can see the post about it here.
You can buy them here at Amazon it really is a great little project for kids. Plus its educational and exciting.
 
My daughter Alexis and our sweet adorable grandson Ledger. I took this picture when we were in Florida at the Thanksgiving week.
 
Flashback Friday 2013 #FBF
 
 
Our cat Stormy and our doggie Julie sitting here with me at the house while typing the blog up.
 
Remember it is getting close to the end of the year and you need to be thinking about your New Years plans, resolutions, goals......I had found a list of things I wanted to complete last year as goals and never thought again about it and low and behold I completed I actually completed all of them Which was pretty awesome!!!
also don't forget you can do things like the 52 Lists Project
or just any creative thing that helps you to release that creative energy and learn new things along the way.
Looking forward to the New Year,
Dawn Gallop
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Nature Hike and the Recipe for a Butternut Squash SCD Dessert I made.

We as a family and/or just me and Bruce love to go hiking. On the Saturday before Christmas Eve Colten wanted to go on a hike and explore right around our house. It's always an adventure when you can discover nature finds everywhere you look. It not only sparks the imagination but you wonder in amazement how the feather got here, how the bones of a animal arrived there....was it old age or nature taking back or was it only perhaps the link in the food chain for something much larger. Feathers have meaning and Dusty and I have talked about this many times and he reminds me to not get the black ones....but the love of feathers takes over and color is forgotten.

 We found an a turtle shell that once had a living turtle in it. More feathers.

A beautiful fall leaf in the middle of the quiet, brown, wintery woods.
 
A bright red holly leaf  a reminder of the time of year.
 
Dusty had found the skull of a possum once again a reminder of life of the past.
 
The holly leaves in the background. Note the wintery feel of the woods. So quite and peaceful you can hear any snap or pop under your feet. The wind blows up high in the trees where the pine trees sway back and forth.....you then again hear the cracks of limbs swaying in the winds.
 
 
. I love seeing the moss and fungus growing and you can just feel the texture by looking at it. Makes you want to be able to paint the feel and the light that comes from the picture.
 
 
Another view of the log. A site of where a tree once stood and its branches flowing in the wind and the rain falling upon its leaves or fronds. The seasons that it has seen the years it endured all the changes of time. Reminds me of the book that is really one of my most favorite books of them all The Giving Tree By Shel Silverstein. I have read that to all my children and we have had the same copy for many years.
 
It was so wonderful seeing the two brothers enjoy the day out on adventure. It was actually almost 70 degrees on this day. Which was nice for a discover day.
 
We crossed over many waterways which was incredible enjoyment for Dusty nothing like being a kid and enjoying Nature. I saw a book actually today at Barnes and Nobles called Vitamin N by Richard Louv which seemed very interesting while I was looking at it I thought of this day since it was recent in my memory. However we frequent nature hikes as it clears the mind and awakens the soul. In fact I was reading how nature actually makes you more creative, relieves tension, anxiety, stress and is good for your health in that your body gets exercise.
 
Dusty coming across the waterway with all his nature finds and big brother helping pull him out of the water (which by the way Dusty loved it) Dusty now has that piece of drifted swamp wood in his room. For the love of nature.
 
at places the water was moving fast and I watched as the leaves floated by.
 
Dusty squatting down just looking into the water........
 
 
I always love the reflections of the trees.
 
Dusty and I found this little cardinal feather which is really tiny. This color of feather is not one you usually find. Dusty wanted to know right away what this color meant as we don't find a red very often here. I looked it up for him...this is the site we use.
 
I love when we find mushrooms just plain makes me happy
 
Dusty found a turkey feather which we find these quite often they are large and very beautiful.
 
We spotted a lot of beaver works and deer rubbings.
 
Several of these we saw looked like faces
 
more tree growths
 
Haha what a face again carrying his finds.
 
I saw these in the old logs I told Dusty next time we would bring some paper and some coloring crayons. We could do leaf rubbings and other nature rubbings.
 
This one looked like a wind blown tree....of course I saw a painting or a water coloring.
 
 
 
Today I had another appointment with my gastroenterologist today which is over an 90 mile hike for us of course I want to at least go somewhere our money is so tight you can barely buy anything extra...basically if it is not needed you don't buy it.....no matter how cute it is or how much want it you just can't buy it....and trust me it can be extremely hard. I mostly only buy used books but I do love browse Barnes and Nobles and dream or make mental notes of books you want and books you need and books that speak to you and why they speak to you and you don't know why. I am always fascinated with local authors and the books they have wrote. I know my next book is going to be If The Creek Don't Rise by Leah Weiss I am almost finished with Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate which has been an absolutely amazing book I have cried, laughed, and just could not hardly put it down. Life doesn't always allow you to continue non stop reading the best books by these authors. I saw several new books today by some authors I had already read their other books.
I also am always reading art books at the same time as novels or educational books such as bee books or farming books.
Right now I am reading an amazing book by Tamara Laporte
 
She has an absolutely awesome art study called Life Book see her name above for link. I was able to take the classes before in Life Book 2012 but life is so different now but if you could take her classes you will learn so much and be amazed at how talented she is and the artist that also are In the Life Book Year 2018.
 
Now for the RECIPE

 

Butternut Squash Dessert

 

I have to live on a SCD diet so not many things I can eat or that are “easy” at times but I made this butternut squash (which we grow) dessert for myself and it was delicious. I bake the butternut squash at 400 degrees. I slice it in half then scrape the seeds from the squash. My chickens love them so win win. Then I turn the flesh side down on a baking dish and bake it for approximately 1 hour at the 400 degrees. Remember each oven varies. So times and temperatures on each oven are different. When done the center is soft by poking and usually the skin in the butternut squash is starting to brown with splotches. Meanwhile I use a cast iron skillet and brown “toast” the pecans in tad of butter you will see the pecans start to toast they are done then. I also use the same cast iron skillet and wipe out any butter and toast the coconut I used unsweetened coconut flakes. Then once the butternut is ready remove from oven and cut into thirds place in a bowl and add homemade yogurt I had cow milk yogurt this time (it is always thicker but I love my goat milk yogurt the best) then pile on the toasted pecans and the toasted coconut flakes. Now drizzle with honey of course I used our fall honey and it was one with the comb in it but oh my it’s AMAZING. Now you have a healthy dessert. Enjoy 
#recipe #dessert #butternutsquash #squash #cucurbit #yummy 
 
 
Oh this makes me really want this right now. It was soooooo yummy.
 
This is one thing I love about winter is your inside more to be able to blog and cook more recipes. When I make jams and breads or pies for others I don't exactly want to cook a huge fancy meal at night after working hard in the garden or canning etc....not alone write a blog post too....I am just tired but I am so glad I am able to right now it makes me happy to be able to share and inspire others. Remember to be thinking of your word for the New Year.
Happy Wednesday,
Dawn Gallop
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



Monday, December 25, 2017

Happy Holidays 2017 Keeping it Simple

Happy Holidays from The Gallop's  we are so THANKFUL for everyone who supported our dream this year and without each and everyone of you we would not have our dream.
 
Julie our Pit Bull Mix doggie watches me put every decorations on. We have had her more than a year now actually 18 months and we were able to rescue her from The Paws of Hertford County. Although she rescued me I always tell her. I had had my should surgery when Colten showed me the website and I saw her and I wrote a long story of why we wanted her and come to find out she had been there since February of 2016 and it was August at the time of 2016 and she was still there. I told the boys she was just waiting for us!!! We all love her dearly!
 
Tomorrow we get to open this to test if it is ready......so exciting!!
 
 
These are the BEST OF NINE from Instagram. These are the picture that got the most likes throughout the year. I was glad to see the soap made one of them of the drying rack. Of course the honey in the comb. When Ledger was born. Amanda's beautiful cake for Aubrey's 1st Birthday. The one of the boys running on the beach in the OBX. Some of our nature walks. Aubrey's first birthday pics. Skylar and I together one of our last pics before she went back home.
 
 Skylar and Dusty running on the beach for the warmer times of the year. We have been cold here and I do not care for the cold...already looking forward to summer.
As I was think too this should be a week you need to reflect on your word for the year coming up. Are you going to do daily journal entries. Are you going to post daily to Instagram. Are you going to do a 52 lists project or maybe a index card a day? Or even the Tiny Buddha's 365 Tiny Love Challenges. These are some ideas to be thinking about this upcoming week. As you look forward into the New Year,  
 
Hiking 
OBX
Bruce and I have been married for 32 years now This was a little video my phone put together of us. All mostly with in the last two years except one was FROM LIKE 8 YEARS ago.

We had a wonderful holiday and mostly I'm just so thankful I have been able to rest and catch up on some house work, paper work, cleaning, and life in general when you run a farm this size and its basically just Bruce, Colten and me doing all the work. Its very hard and exhausting. We really never have much down time or movie time or just relaxing. Example last night 2:30 am one of the hens was making noises which never happens and Bruce and I had to go outside in the cold on Christmas Eve and see what was going on. As I tell everyone we never close.  
 
 
The YouTube Video of the Pics
 
Some of my favorites of Skylar.
 
Look at this beautiful gift our daughter Crystal sent us.

 
The boys got a Battleship game as a Christmas Eve gift and have been playing over and over.
Simple fun!
I got them one of those Ugly Sweater Cookie Kits and they had such a  great time with it.
 
You can see the laughs on the boys faces
 
Dusty and his cookie frosting got all over his face and his looked like he had seriously ate a lot of sugar. #FUN
 
This was our Christmas Eve Supper of Zaycon shrimp which you could get your order here zayconfresh.com/refer/zf484673 and let me tell you its the BEST!!!! I meet the truck when I have orders and pick up some of the best meats available. So if you are interested check it out.
 
This was the turkey we cooked. Cooper said it looked like a VIKING Turkey, lol! I guess because it was going to be a feast.
I soaked it in a brine and then cooked it. It turned out wonderfully.
 
My handmade potato salad.
Has our pickles on it.
See below for recipe. I really never measure it but I am sure you can make it just start small you can always add more but you cant always take away.
 
 
 
My potato salad recipe I usually use one medium sized onion chopped in the food processor, approx.. 3 celery stalks. Ranch dressing powder I use approx. 1-2 Tablespoons, 1/2 cup of my pickles chopped and approx.. 1/4 cup of juice. 2 tsps. of celery salt. You can add celery seeds too approx. 1-2 tsps. that is optional I do not add them because the boys don't like them. Paprika and salt and pepper to your taste. I do the peel the potatoes if others are going to eat it but if we are at home
 I don't peel them. Mix all ingredients in bowl and chill or eat hot the boys like it both ways.


Bruce got the gag gift from Alexis. A blow up beard of bees. Everyone has laughed.

This is the terrarium kit that Dusty got he loves plants and planting which of course makes me so proud.
The kit is from here AMAZON 
He had a blast making it and I can see more to come his Ideas were flowing.
 
This is what it looked like in the dark.
 
This is was Christmas Morning we didn't have many gifts but the boys got what they needed and a few requests. We kept it real simple and everyone was able to enjoy what they did get and Dusty was sad that Bruce and I had no gifts o unwrap then they saw Alexis had sent us a box of goodies. I told Dusty we didn't need anything we were happy to see them get a few things and that was all that mattered. We had gave to the Salvation Army every chance we could and that made us much more happy than any materialist items. We certainly enjoyed a simple Christmas.
#KEEPINGITSIMPLE  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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