Country Apple Pie ......... and other uses for oatmeal

Somehow I inherited a tall canister of "quick" Quaker oatmeal. Oh yes, it was when dear daughter decided to go on an extended vacation and didnt want food to go to waste. I already had a 5# bag of the "old-fashioned" kind I bought at the bulk food store. Okay, how many ways can I use extra oatmeal?



My first choice was this Country Apple Pie. I decided to use oatmeal in my piecrust, which I have done on occasion before, but this time I used half oatmeal and half flour. (I love to experiment) Even with the extra oatmeal the crust held together well and made it into the piepan. I loved Rachel Ray's way of making a pie! Just make the bottom crust extra big and fold it over the filling (made with brown sugar and plenty of cinnamon). No need to bother rolling out a "lid". Walla! This was a hit with dear husband!

I also made a meat loaf, and so combined 2 cups oatmeal in the mix in place of seasoned bread crumbs or breading. It turned out real tasty! We have been eating it several days now.

Granola is next on my list. I love it for cereal in the morning . That will be an early Saturday morning project. There are numerous other ways uses for oatmeal. The Quaker Oats box used to carry a cookbook offer on the back. I have mis-placed mine and don't know if they still offer it, but it has many useful recipes in it. Oatmeal is so good for you ..... a natural grain, low in fat, and supposedly helps lower your cholesterol (if you eat it :) )

Homemade soap with oatmeal, for a gentle exfoliator, is a good project for wintertime. We have made goatmilk soaps using oatmeal and it is a very nice soap.
If any of you have favorite ways of using oatmeal please post them. We would love to hear.

Sunday afternoon Surprise!

Late afternoon I walked to the hen house just to talk to the chickens. I heard a little "peep-peep" from the floor. One little yellow fluff ball making that big noise! I had thought they weren't due for another week (somehow I lost a week!) I scooped her up and put in with the hen on the nest and got a good hard pecking and scolding for my troubles!



This morning she was off her nest and had 3 little peeps with her. I love diversity in color, so of course I commended her with doing a great job!



I took the water unit off the hanger and set it on bricks on the floor with a ramp so they could reach it, and threw a handful of feed into their corner. She is teaching them to eat ....



.... while standing guard. Not another hen dares go near!

Got to Make Hay while the Sun Shines!

Hubby had a good start on making hay 2 weeks ago .....





Then the rain came for several days ......



When the sun came out, a few rounds of the field were made ...... and the old mower flung its last blade and died ..... actually, where it had been welded twice before was again broken, this time too bad to be fixed. There was danger of doing damage to the tractor if we tried to continue using it. And there were 55 acres yet to mow.



Fortunately our calf sale three weeks ago had reaped the funds for a new mower.......



Our old Zetor tractor needs worked on once in a while but it does a good job. I hope it keeps doing just that because by next year the rickety old rake will be the nessessary replacement.



(The swallows follow after the hay is cut to get their fill of bugs)



We are glad the rain held off .....



until he could get this hay field rolled .....



Hubby enjoys what he is doing... being a farmer.... and I enjoy him being happy. It makes me smile!

Summer is for Sandwiches!

I don't know about you, but around here the busy summer time means sandwiches appear on the menu more than at any other time of year. Sometimes my hubby has to jump on the tractor first thing in the morning, especially at haying time; no time for a sit-down breakfast, and later I run a sandwich out to him at noon. Here are some of our favorites combinations .....

Breakfast sandwiches
1.Peanut butter, honey and raisins on cinnamon-raisin bread (mine)

2. Ham, bacon, or sausage and egg scramble, topped with shredded cheese in a skillet-heated tortilla wrap (his)

3.Fried egg and sausage patty or bacon, cheese slice and mayo on w/w toast (his)

Lunch on the run

1. Tuna salad with chopped celery and onions on w/w bread or wrapped in a tortilla shell with lettuce

2. Tomato and onion slices (thick sliced) with mayo on w/w or oatmeal bread

3. Swiss cheese and dill pickle stackers, mustard and mayo on multi-grain bread

Now for the meat lovers .....

4. Cold left-over roast rabbit or chicken, lettuce, cheese (any kind), tomato, onion, mayo and mustard on whole wheat or oatmeal bread (any choices of the above)

5. Sloppy-joe (with home-grown beef burger and home-made sauce) and cheese on whole-wheat buns, add pickle if you like

6. Shredded home-canned venison in bbq sauce, cheese and pickle in buns

To any of these meat sandwiches, a layer of potato chips under the top "lid" of the sandwich gives an extra interesting crunch, for those that eat them. And thats about as far as my time and imagination will take me.

Do you have favorites that you would like to share?

Memorial Day week-end .......

Hubby had to work Saturday so I busied myself with things I needed to get done....



... made fresh strawberry freezer jam



... cleaned the chicken coop ... and they just didn't know what to think of that ....



Then Monday afternoon hubby surprised me by building us a new raised bed for the rhubarb! just in back of the future greenhouse ....

Mini Vacation....

My internet was down the other day, and because we live soooo far out in the country, the maintenance guy would not be coming till the next day. I took a little jaunt to "trade days" looking for a couple more blueberry bushes. None were available, but what I did find was....

This beautiful wisteria vine for planting next to the future trellis near the herb garden, and it was at a bargain price! I also found some grape tomato plants, several varieties of sweet peppers, and a hen and chicks plant. On the way home I passed a place where the lady grows beautiful hollyhocks and many varieties of irises, all along a stretch of sloping bank along her property. I had been going to stop sometime (for the last 3 years) so today I did. We had a nice talk about all kinds of perennials, and she willingly dug several varieties of irises for me.

She said we should go around back where she had several more. This is what I saw as we rounded the corner behind her garage.....

oh .... my....! a pvc frame for a greenhouse!!! Just about the size I wanted to build! Now, I am a sight learner, so to see this and how it was put together, and listen to her instruction was like eating a big piece of cake! only better.... Our Father knows the desires of our hearts, and delights in giving us good things. I felt double blessed!

Sun Tea

My back deck is where I make "sun tea".

I use a regular gallon jug, 3 family-size tea bags, or 2 bags and some mint leaves in a large tea ball. The sun draws the tea without excess heat, thereby reducing the amount of tannins in the tea, producing a clearer tea and better for you health-wise.

The tea gets darker that this, as this jug has just started. I make sun tea all winter long as well as in the summer. It really does not have to be a sunny day to "make" tea. I change flavors by adding mint, or lemon or lime concemtrate, or peach or raspberry tea bags. You can sweeten to your taste. Sometmes water just does not quench my thirst, so this is a great way to keep up with needed fluid intake in the hot summer. It is more inviting to me than the old time vinegar-tea used by farmers in the field in the old days. I will have a glass and sit to relax after cleaning my hen-house :)