A Walk Around The Farm

I went for a walk around the farm this afternoon. Just as you step outside the garage door, you're greeted with the sight of six little kittens and a very protective mother (for an example of how protective she is, just ask our dog what happens when he gets within ten feet of her babies!)

 I was sitting right beside the kittens when all of a sudden, a horrendous racket started right behind me. Guess who it was? The turkey toms that have nothing better to do than quietly sneak up on poor unsuspecting people and cats.

 I wasn't the only one that jumped! The noise brought up quite a few little heads.

 Everywhere I went, the turkey boys had to follow and cackle along right behind me.

 We made a pit-stop in the garden and checked out the plants. The mint is loving the rain we've been getting! 

After that, I went out to check on the turkey hen maternity ward. Can you find the babes?

 Sadly, there are only two left out of the original four in this brood. But they're happy and healthy!

 Tom was getting rather fed up with my ignoring him and his howling, so he decided to start putting on a show.

 (Side note - The peaches are growing!)

I finally sat down and gave Tom the attention he thought he deserved…

After a bit, he decided he'd had enough of me and went to sleep.

Hope you have a wonderful evening!

Ashleigh

A Field of Green Wheat

 Earlier this afternoon, I went for a quick ride up to the pasture along with a couple of tag-alongs. We stopped and took just a moment to enjoy the scene of a green wheat field with a storm in the background. I happened to have my camera (Yep, I see that face. At this point, you would almost expect me to take my camera everywhere, wouldn't you?!) so I snapped a couple of pictures.

First, the green wheat with a storm rolling this way in the background.

And then I had to show the five year old how to pop the wheat berries out of the wheat heads. He was pretty happy with the yummy little green berries!

Ashleigh

Flowers of the Pasture and Prairie

All but this first picture were taken today in our pasture/prairie. I was in a shutterbug mood, it wasn't terrible muddy from the rain, and there were flowers popping up everywhere!

Ashleigh

One Little Mistake...

     All it took was the little mistake of forgetting we had bags of sourdough starter that needed given to friends, and BOOM!! The day to make it all has arrived and the starters have still not left our kitchen. So, as of this moment I've made 11 loaves of "Amish Friendship Bread" and have at least three starters left. I ended up cleaning out every loaf pan between my mom and grandma; in other words, I'm sick of bread! Thankfully, I wasn't alone in making the bread; I was accompanied by my trusty cat "Hoss".

This is what it looks like when we forget about those sourdough starters… The entire kitchen looked like this! 

 Every once in awhile, I would pop my head out the front door to grab a breath of semi-cool air. Here's what I would see… Strange how they just stared at me...

As I just stated, Hoss never left my side (I wonder if it had anything to do with the large bowls of milk he would receive?) After I finished cleaning off the bar, I went to wash dishes and he seemed to think it was his job to sleep on, around, under, or beside my feet. Strange cat.

Ugg… My being in the kitchen has rarely ever ended up perfect. This is definitely not one of those perfect moments! (I'm referring to the ponds that made themselves at home in several of the loaves.)

Just one of those things that I felt like sharing! 

Ashleigh

Pico de Gallo

This post was originally featured on KansasWomenBloggers.com 

    With Memorial Weekend almost here, who isn’t looking for a fun recipe to whip up and feed the crew? What makes this recipe even better is that you can make it “lakeside-style”. 

Simply put, Pico de Gallo is easy and quick enough that you can make it with just a few fresh veggies, a knife, and a bowl. Pico de Gallo is basically an uncooked Mexican style salad full of tomatoes, onions, peppers, and cilantro. 

Don’t let it sit for hours in the refrigerator or it will just get gooey and gross; make it right before serving so it’s fresh, crisp, and bursting with summer flavor! 

You'll need:

5 firm Roma tomatoes

1/4 of a large red onion

1 Jalapeño pepper

1/2 cup Cilantro

1/2 a lime

Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

 Start by washing the tomatoes, cilantro, lime, and pepper. 

Then, finely dice the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Place in a bowl. Squeeze the lime juice over the diced veggies. Add a little freshly cracked pepper and a dash of salt. (You'll want to adjust the amount of salt according to how salty you like it and how salty your chips are.) Stir together and serve right away! 

Variations - 

- You can change the amounts of veggies to fit your personal likes and dislikes. Make it yours!

- Add some Pico de Gallo to raw beef burgers before grilling to give the burgers some extra juice and a little pop!

Enjoy!

Ashleigh

Copy, Paste, and Print for the recipe below:

Pico de Gallo

(prairiegalcookin.blogspot.com)

With Memorial Weekend almost here, who isn’t looking for a fun recipe to whip up and feed the crew? What makes this recipe even better is that you can make it “lakeside-style”. 

Simply put, Pico de Gallo is easy and quick enough that you can make it with just a few fresh veggies, a knife, and a bowl. Pico de Gallo is basically a uncooked Mexican style salad full of tomatoes, onion, peppers, and cilantro. 

Don’t let it sit for hours in the refrigerator or it will just get gooey and gross; make it right before serving so it’s fresh, crisp, and bursting with summer flavor! Sounds good to me. Let’s get started!

You'll need:

5 firm Roma tomatoes

1/4 of a large red onion

1 Jalapeño pepper

1/2 cup Cilantro

1/2 a lime

Salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

- To start, gently wash the tomatoes, pepper, lime, and cilantro under cool water.

- Then, finely dice the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. Place in a bowl.

- Squeeze out the lime juice over the diced veggies.

- Add some freshly cracked pepper and a dash of salt. (You’ll want to adjust the amount of salt you add according to how salty you like it and how salty your chips are.)

- Stir all of the ingredients together gently and serve right away!

Variations - 

-You can change the amounts of veggies to fit your personal likes and dislikes. Make it yours!

- Add some Pico de Gallo to raw beef burgers before grilling to give the burgers some extra juice and a little pop!

Enjoy!

Rain!!

 It rained!!! Now it wasn't much (for us, it was less than half an inch) but it settled the dust. I'm looking at the bright side here! We got all the potatoes in the ground right before it broke loose and most of the other portion of the garden got weeded. So we're feeling pretty good! While it was raining, I was so excited I went out and snapped a few pictures.

 This was after it quit; the five year old was headed out to the shop when he spotted mud puddles. Needless to say, he didn't make it to the shop!

 Oh boy, I hear him coming inside now… Better run! 

Ashleigh

A Play On Colors

This post has been one of the most fun to create in awhile! On these pictures, I edited colors, lighting, exposure, etc. Here's how a few of the pictures turned out:

Ashleigh

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Mmm… These cookies are amazing! They rank up there close to my very favorite cookie ever. No joke. They're crisp on the outer edges, but still soft and chewy on the inside; the peanut butter flavor is subtle, not overwhelming as too many cookies tend to be, while the oatmeal adds a bit of texture. Trust me, you'll be glad you tried them!

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup oatmeal (It really doesn't matter if you use old-fashioned or quick oats; I just like old-fashioned!)

2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 (24 ounce) bag chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet.)

Start by combining the sugars in a large bowl. 

Melt the butter.

And add it to the sugars. Mix well!

Stir in the peanut butter…

Eggs…

And vanilla. Mix this all together well!

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt.

Once it's all mixed, add it to the wet mixture.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop cookie balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Grab a glass and flatten the cookies until they're 2/3 of an inch thick. Bake at 350* for 8 - 12 minutes. Watch them closely, you want them golden brown and a little too soft in the center. Pull them out and let sit on the cookie sheet for a few minutes to finish cooking in the center.

Enjoy!

Ashleigh

Copy, Paste, and Print for the recipe below:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

(prairiegalcookin.blogspot.com)

Mmm… These cookies are amazing! They rank up there close to my very favorite cookie ever. No joke. They're crisp on the outer edges, but still soft and chewy on the inside; the peanut butter flavor is subtle, not overwhelming as too many cookies tend to be, while the oatmeal adds a bit of texture. Trust me, you'll be glad you tried them!

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup peanut butter

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 cups flour

1 cup oatmeal (It really doesn't matter if you use old-fashioned or quick oats; I just like old-fashioned!)

2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 (24 ounce) bag chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet.)

- Preheat the oven to 350*

- In a large bowl, combine the sugars and butter.

- Once it's well mixed, stir in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla. Mix really well!

- In another bowl, combine the flour, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt. 

- Combine the wet and dry mixtures and then stir in the chocolate chips.

- Place balls of cookie dough on an ungreased cookie sheet and use a glass to flatten until they're around 2/3 inch thick. 

- Bake for 8 - 12 minutes or until the edges are golden. You'll want the centers to be gooey still. Just pull them out and let the cookies sit on the pan for a few minutes afterwards to finish cooking in the center. 

Enjoy!