Farewell Niblets and whats cookin'

Wow what a day! Monday was great here on the farm and we have a lot to be thankful for.

First, we were thrilled and M and her family came and got the two Niblet doelings. They are going to a great home and we are very glad they are in such good hands.

Little Guinness will be going to his new home later this week. Until then I put him back with the rest of the goaties and he ran right back to his momma, Nibbles. And later he was hanging out with Sunny... and then running around with Dahlia. It was extremely cute.

So we are moving the new kids along and will be back to a "reasonable" number of goats soon. Our milking gals will really kick into gear once the weather warms up and we get the first fresh alfalfa hay of the season.

In the kitchen, the cheese I started the other day is now in the "let it set at 50* for a week stage." The gouda from last fall turned out really well and altho the cheddar wasn't very cheddary.... it works like a Parmesan. I don't know if you've noticed but ever since Rachel Ray started hyping Parmesan the price has gone thru the roof. So I was glad to have a homemade substitute. Tomorrow I'll start another gouda and I'm getting the culture for a provolone next. Once we get out from under our dependence on foreign (store bought) cheese we'll really be making savings!

Also, today I made that blackberry coffee cake again - its just so darn good.

And as far as my rant about cooking goes... here are a few more examples of how all my canning and freezing paid off in saving - both financially and in time saved:

* I made the bacon and two goat cheese pasta again. Actually it was THREE goat cheese pasta.
* Today I made enchiladas for lunch with our canned turkey, our frozen peppers, our salsa verde, goat cheese, and a few other things. Easy peasy and it took just a few minutes. I think the cost was about $1, if that.
* The other nite I actually surprised myself. I set a turkey breast out to thaw in the afternoon. When we came in from evening chores The Big Man started unloading the dishwasher. By the time he finished putting the last fork away I had prepared and put in the oven a dish of turkey breast draped in bacon and savory bread pudding. Cost of goods.... not even $1. And that was  for enough food for us to have dinner, one lunch, and a snack!

Even if you didn't raise your own "free" turkey like we did  - if you took advantage of the $4 on sale turkeys from the store you'd be having Thanksgiving in March too!

All that canning and freezing was a lot of work at the time, but now is when it really pays off. If you are facing the prospect of starting from absolute zero and making a whole supper after a long day - it might seem overwhelming and just easier to run out and get fast food. But if you planned ahead its a snap and only takes minutes.

Here's how I did it:
1. You know all that bread I make? If we don't use up the loaf by the time it gets stale I cut it up into small pieces and put it in a bag in the freezer.
2. I keep a supply of 10 for $10 one pound bags of "mirepoix" mix - frozen, diced onions, carrots, and celery on hand.
3. Who are we kidding? I always have bacon available.

So, saute the frozen veggies in a little butter. Put the bread cubes in a big bowl and season with poultry seasoning (or sage, thyme, or whatever you like). Separately mix up 2 or 3 eggs and a cup and a half of milk. Pour the eggs and milk over the bread, add the veggies.

Butter a dish and add the dressing. Plop the turkey breast on top of the dressing. Cover with bacon. Bake in 350* oven for a little over an hour.

And that's it. Really. How easy is that?

I made the green beans after I took the turkey and dressing out of the oven to rest.. and heck.. there is always pie around here. This time it was The Worlds Best Pie. So that's how you make a super fast supper.

This is also an example of how we use what we have. Sure I could have been hungry for lasagna.... but we had all the ingredients for turkey and stuffing and pie so thats what we had. We weren't suffering, believe me.

Happy Tuesday everyone! Now what are you making for supper?