Sunday, February 26, 2012

Making something new for dinner...

Last night I decided I was sooooo boooorrrred with everything we had been eating that I would make something different for dinner so here is what I made:

I sauted onions and peppers in a bit of coconut oil until soft, added one pound of ground beef and cooked it until done.  I added a little cumen, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Then I had these frozen wrappers I got at the grocery store.  They said that they were for empada? sorry I didnt write down the word but basically Mexican beef turnovers.  I had thawed them out and put a little bit of the beef mixture in each one and hubby folded them over and used a fork to press together the edges.  He also poked a hole in the top of them to keep them from exploding in the oven.  I put them in a baking dish and put a little olive oil over top of them and popped them into the oven.  Baked them at 350 for about half an hour. 

Of course after we had them in the oven hubby mentioned that I had forgotten the cheese...grrr.  Hate when I leave out an ingredient but anyway we just put that on top of the hot turnovers and they were wonderful.  I will definitely be making these again with other ingredients.  We ate all 10 without any leftovers.  They would be great for a take to work lunch that you can eat with your fingers.  I can see them with mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese and Italian seasonings or even bacon, eggs and peppers for a breakfast.  And the wrappers only had a few ingredients: flour, eggs and water.  We might even try to make our own wrappers with whole wheat the next time.  Just have to use our dough roller to get it thin enough and use a small plate to get the size right. 

Hubby decided that he wanted to make bread yesterday so I let him LOL.  Actually he did the initial dough and let it rise and I punched it down and put it in the bread pan.  The recipe was for two loaves so I used the rest of the dough to make a pizza and some cinnamon rolls (very tiny ones ;)  My mind was not really in the cooking mood yesterday not only did I forget the cheese in the turnovers but I forgot that you have to bake the pizza crust for 10 or so minutes before you put on the toppings.  Needless to say by the time the crust was done the cheese was a little brown...Ok, Ok it was burnt but it tasted good.  And hubby finished it off so it must not have been so bad right? 

One thing about whole wheat it really fills you up.  I even made two more loaves of bread and have decided that the recipe is wrong.  It doesnt make two loaves of bread (unless you like very small loaves) so the next time I make this recipe it will all go in one loaf pan and maybe we'll be able to actually have slices you can use for sandwiches instead of for bruschetta.  The loaves taste good just kinda flat.  Told hubby we could slice them the other way and make hoagies out of them but we dont eat hoagies anymore because of the processed meats (I cant eat them and he shouldnt).  He said he would just have short sandwiches (funny guy) and if there are any leftovers I know some little feathered friends that live outside that loooove bread so it wont go to waste.  I also got to use my dough bowl again and this time the dough didnt stick.  Guess I finally got enough oil on the sucker.  I think I used a whole bottle of olive oil on it.  It just kept drinking it up.  If you dont have a dough bowl I highly recommend it.  It keeps the dough warm so it rises better. 

Hubby found out how much the girls love bread the other day.  He took out a couple of slices torn apart of course and they mobbed him LOL.  They do that to me anytime I go out with my little yellow bowl.  They love bread, greens and grapes.  They go crazy for grapes.  I dont give them many of them cause I dont want them to get sick and have the runs if you know what I mean. 

So yesterday was a baking day and we just took it easy the rest of the day.  Back to work today for hubby and I'm working too so I can take off some time on Tuesday.  We are looking for some small acreage with a house to start our farm.  We've picked out three to look at on Tuesday.  Hope we find something soon before the gas rises up any more. 

Wish us luck!

Talk to ya later,

Denise

FDA to regulate stem cells

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is attempting to regulate stem cell procedures at a Colorado clinic, stating that stem cells are “drugs” that fall under FDA jurisdiction


The FDA is making this claim even though the stem cells being used in the procedure come from the patient’s own body, which means they are essentially claiming that they can regulate a part of your body

In court documents, the FDA also stated that the procedure would adversely affect the market for out-of-state drugs that are approved by FDA

The FDA has a sordid history of attacking natural products and procedures that threaten to interfere with big business; knowledge is power -- the more you know the better you’ll be able to make informed health care decisions

Read more here:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/25/fda-states-stem-cells-are-body-regulator.aspx?e_cid=20120225_DNL_art_3

Friday, February 24, 2012

Scrapbooking Freebie Friday



http://mymemories.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=2db59f577e9668b002ca5c0af&id=0143b62c66&e=aaa5ac808b


Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Please note that all of these are .png files only, not MyMemories Suite Templates. They are usable in any software. The elements and QuickPages are.png and the papers are .jpg format. These Quick Pages will not autoinstall into the software itself, but are used by adding to your project as you would a photo, and then layering your photo behind the open box. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created! Remember you dont have to have the My Memories Suite to use these templates.


All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount: STMMMS94069

TIP: Create smaller projects or add elements to a larger layout! These are 4" x 6" Photocards. Use them to create photos for printing, create postcards, or add to a larger layout and use as a photomat!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

A little wind with your walk...

Hubby and I got a really big laugh the other day when it was so windy.  I went to leave the cats outside and the only one that really wanted to go out was Penny.  I opened the door (keeping a firm grip on it) and she started out.  The wind hit her and she crouched down belly walking with her ears laid back like that was going to help LOL.  Doesnt take much to amuse us ;)

If it's really windy and our old cat goes out not only does he lay his ears back but the wind almost knocks him down, poor old thing.  Not much to him but skin and bones.  He still eats and drinks but he's not gaining any weight.  And he cant hear as well so no matter how much you tell him something he just doesnt pay attention (I think all the parents with kids could relate to this LOL). 

It's really windy again today so I'll have to watch when I take the chickens their treat.  Dont want all of it to blow away.  Chickens dont seem to be bothered by the wind.  It just ruffles their feathers.  I cant believe it is up to 75 today.   Strange, strange weather.  Yesterday we had storm warnings out and there was a storm with some slight rotation with 70 mph winds.  Hope that didnt do anyone any damage. 

I'll try to take some pics here so you can see how our little plantlets are doing and I have gotten some projects done as well and want to show those to you too.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

New cushions for the couch

I got this fabric at the thrift store.  Dont you love it?  I need to take a pic after the cushions are done.  It might only be one but a big cushion I'll just have to see how it goes.

I think she loves me

I really do!

and I wonder why I have so much trouble getting my work done during the day...

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Canned goods done

I canned celery a couple of months ago.  I had never heard of doing this until I got Jackie Clay's canning book (you can get it at BackwoodsHome.com).  What do you do with canned celery?  Well you put in soups and stews and casseroles.  And I dont have to worry about celery going bad in my fridge before I can use it all either.  I have dehydrated celery too but I think the canned is much better cause you can throw in all that yummy celery liquid in the soup and add some flavor.  It will last longer than the dehydrated celery too.

Here are the carrots (regular and candied) that I did a few months ago.  Hubby hates candied carrots and canned regular carrots but I like them so there (raspberry) ;).  Besides the regular carrots will be used in soups and stews and he will eat them that way just not by themselves - go figure.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Making lard

Picture of the lard I made a couple of months ago.  If you have never made lard it is very easy.  The only hard part is finding the fat to make it.  When we ordered our 1/2 of a beef I also ordered 5 lbs of pig fat.  It wasnt very expensive at all and actually the bag was heavier than 5 lbs.  To make the lard all I did was put it in a pot on the stove and melt it down.  My pan wasnt very big so as it melted I added more and when I got about 2 inches of fat on the bottom I just poured it in the canning jar.  I used a funnel so I wouldnt drip any on my stove.  The little bits of meat and gristle ends up on the bottom of your pan.  I threw them away but some people like to eat them.  I ended up with what you see above about 1 3/4 quarts of lard. 

Cant beat biscuits made with lard!

Some people really dont like the smell of the melting fat but the fat I had did not smell.  The pigs were pasture raised so that might have made a difference.  Would I do this again?  Yep sure would.   Have I convinced you it's easy?  Hope so because it was.




Laura Williams' Musings

Friday, February 17, 2012

Scrapbooking Freebie Friday



http://mymemories.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2db59f577e9668b002ca5c0af&id=b65650de19&e=aaa5ac808b


Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Please note that all of these are .png files only, not MyMemories Suite Templates. They are usable in any software.  The elements and QuickPages are.png and the papers are .jpg format. These Quick Pages will not autoinstall into the software itself, but are used by adding to your project as you would a photo, and then layering your photo behind the open box.  Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created! Remember you dont have to have the My Memories Suite to use these templates.


All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount: STMMMS94069

TIP: Create smaller projects or add elements to a larger layout! These are 4" x 6" Photocards. Use them to create photos for printing, create postcards, or add to a larger layout and use as a photomat!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

I'm awake, really

Another bad night of insomnia.  After I laid there until 2:30 in the morning and still not gotten to sleep, I got up and turned on the computer and started working.  Worked up until about 10:30 and then I thought I was going to pass out I was so tired.  Laid down and fell asleep.  Next thing I know hubby is waking me up saying he went to the store and got lunch for us both.  It was 1:30.  I got up and ate and boy was that good.  He's a sweetheart and I think I'll keep him :)  I'm starting to drag again but I am staying up until at least 8 or 9 and then going to bed.  Please let me sleep through the night tonight...

Monday, February 13, 2012

It got a little cold...

we lost electric for two hours.  Just four of the houses on our street...weird.  But they had to turn off the whole neighborhood in order to fix the problem so no lights anywhere.  It's really strange but whenever the lights go out here it gets really, really quiet.  Kinda nice actually.  We had our lamps and fireplace ready though.  DH said we were the only ones with lamps on.  We only have those little fake logs to use so it doesnt get really warm in here but the fire makes you feel warmer I think.  Gotta love looking at the fire.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

More on store bought lettuce

Jane over at Hardwork Homestead had an interesting post on her chickens not eating leftover lettuce.  Check it out for yourself: 

http://hardworkhomestead.blogspot.com/2012/02/now-for-something-really-scary.html

And check out the comments she has gotten too.

RIP Karen

  This is a pic of my sister in law Karen and her husband Mike.  She passed away this morning from transplant rejection complications.  She had suffered with Crohn's since she was a teenager.  She is in a much happier pain free place now living it up with her grandmother, mother and aunts. 

Friday, February 10, 2012

I wondered what was up...

when I heard on the news about the birth control thing requiring insurance companies to give out free birth control.  Now Obama is backpedaling cause he's got the Churches upset...hmmm. 

On the latest video I saw he was saying that this policy wasnt supposed to come out until next year but he told them to do it in a week but this wasnt politcal yea right...seems there's an election coming up wonder why he thinks we might think it is political...hmmm. 

Anywho - here is an article by the New American that I found on Article 21 put out by the UN last October.  I found it very interesting, I think you will too.  Now I dont normally think there are any conspiracies going on but this one, well read it for yourself and see what you think.



According to the United Nations, the earth’s population will reach seven billion by October 31. For the world body, however, that is not something to celebrate. In fact, the UN Population Fund is focused on ways to decrease the world’s population, and has selected October 31, “7 Billion Day,” as a day to raise awareness about “sustainable development.”


The United Nations has openly proclaimed that the world’s increasing population is a cause for concern. Likewise, the UN has advocated for its Agenda 21 program that seeks to bring about “sustainable development.”

On February 10, The New American’s William Jasper wrote of Agenda 21:

The UN’s Agenda 21 is definitely comprehensive and global — breathtakingly so. Agenda 21 proposes a global regime that will monitor, oversee, and strictly regulate our planet’s oceans, lakes, streams, rivers, aquifers, sea beds, coastlands, wetlands, forests, jungles, grasslands, farmland, deserts, tundra, and mountains. It even has a whole section on regulating and “protecting” the atmosphere. It proposes plans for cities, towns, suburbs, villages, and rural areas. It envisions a global scheme for healthcare, education, nutrition, agriculture, labor, production, and consumption — in short, everything; there is nothing on, in, over, or under the Earth that doesn’t fall within the purview of some part of Agenda 21.

Agenda 21 is yet another means to achieve ultimate control. Additionally, as noted by LewRockwell.com, a key component of Agenda 21’s sustainable development is population control, since Agenda 21 seeks to achieve reduced consumption, social equity and the preservation and restoration of biodiversity. Proponents of Agenda 21 and sustainable development believe every societal decision should be based on environmental impact, including land use, education, and population control.

A United Nations resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly specifically designed to implement Agenda 21 reads:

….population growth rates have been declining globally, largely as a result of expanded basic education and health care. That trend is projected to lead to a stable world population in the middle of the twenty-first century… The current decline in population growth rates must be further promoted through national and international policies that promote economic development, social development, environmental protection, and poverty eradication, particularly the further expansion of basic education, with full and equal access for girls and women, and health care, including reproductive health care, including both family planning and sexual health, consistent with the report of the International Conference on Population and Development.

Likewise, the March 2009 U.N. Population Division Policy brief began with the statement, “What would it take to accelerate fertility decline in the least developed countries?”

The same theme was prevalent in the 2009 World Population Report released by the United Nations Population Fund entitled “Facing a Changing World: Women, Population and Climate.” That document made a number of frightening assertions:

•"Each birth results not only in the emissions attributable to that person in his or her lifetime, but also the emissions of all his or her descendants. Hence, the emissions savings from intended or planned births multiply with time."

•"No human is genuinely "carbon neutral," especially when all greenhouse gases are figured into the equation. Therefore, everyone is part of the problem, so everyone must be part of the solution in some way."

•"Strong family planning programmes are in the interests of all countries for greenhouse-gas concerns as well as for broader welfare concerns."

Many of our own lawmakers and members of the Obama administration have openly called for population control. Former vice president Al Gore, for example, made the following statement regarding population control:

"One of the things we could do about it is to change the technologies, to put out less of this pollution, to stabilize the population, and one of the principle ways of doing that is to empower and educate girls and women. You have to have ubiquitous availability of fertility management so women can choose how many children have, the spacing of the children.

You have to lift child survival rates so that parents feel comfortable having small families and most important – you have to educate girls and empower women. And that’s the most powerful leveraging factor, and when that happens, then the population begins to stabilize and societies begin to make better choices and more balanced choices."

Maurice Strong, head of the United Nations Environmental Program, alluded to population control and more when he stated in 1990, “What if a small group of these world leaders were to conclude that the principle risk to the earth comes from the actions of the rich countries? In order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring this about?”

President Obama’s Science Adviser John Holdren wrote a book in 1977 called Ecoscience in which he indicated support for forced abortions, sterilization through infertility drugs or through the nation’s drinking water or food, having babies seized from single mothers or teen mothers and given away to couples, requiring that “people who contribute to social deterioration…be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility” (i.e. more forced abortions or sterilizations), and creating a transnational “Planetary Regime” that controls the global economy and dictates the details of American lives by use of an armed international police force.

Holdren went so far as to say that the United States Constitution permits population control, “Indeed, it has been concluded that compulsory population-control laws, even including laws requiring compulsory abortion, could be sustained under the existing Constitution if the population crisis became sufficiently severe to endanger the society.”

Population control has also found support amongst other prominent Americans, including Microsoft’s Bill Gates, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sierra Club Director David Brower, Planned Parenthood Founder Margaret Sanger, and David Rockefeller.

Given the United Nation Population Fund’s push for decreased population, and the surprising level of support it has received within our own federal government, groups like the John Birch Society are pushing to defund the UNPF. According to the JBS:

The propaganda from the UNFPA (known as the United Nations Fund for Population Activities from 1969 to 1987) indicates that its programs do nothing more than “reduce poverty and ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.” And how does the UNFPA accomplish such lofty-sounding goals? By promoting “family planning,” access to abortions, and instituting sex-ed programs, especially for youth.…
So, instead of promoting policies that would delay marriage and childbearing for the poverty-stricken of many countries, the UNFPA encourages promiscuity. Instead of abstinence training, a sexual revolution is advanced. And, instead of telling teens the truth about free sex, they hype the glories of condom use that afford little or no protection from sexually transmitted diseases rampant in many third world countries. Shockingly, the UN’sanswer to gender discrimination and sex selection brought about by the one-child policy is “safe” abortions.
Fortunately, the U.S. House of Representatives Relations Committee has introduced HR 2059, which defunds the United Nations Population Fund. The legislation has 83 cosponsors and is said to save taxpayers $400 million.

What’s clear is that the American people must act quickly as civilized nations are beginning to act in accordance with the UN’s drive for population control. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Daily Mail reports that thousands of “abnormal babies” are being selectively aborted each year. This is expected behavior in a world where population control takes center stage.

 
 
 
P.S.-
By the way I dont have any problem with population control as long as it is in the hands of the couples or women and NOT the government. Hey you want to have 16 kids go for it as long as you can support that many kids and dont expect the tax payers to pay for them. If you have too many and cant take care of them, please give them up for adoption. I am so angry and upset at these mothers that have children and end up abusing them or killing them because they cant cope. There are many couples out there just waiting for a child.

Scrapbooking Freebie Friday



http://mymemories.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=2db59f577e9668b002ca5c0af&id=ca8f63bd41&e=aaa5ac808b

Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created! Remember you dont have to have the My Memories Suite to use these templates.


All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount:  STMMMS94069

Friday, February 3, 2012

Scrapbooking Freebie Friday

Here's a tutorial on using the freebies!

http://forum.3scrapateers.com/freebies/UsingtheCard.pdf



http://www.mymemories.com/store/share_the_memories_kit_1

Every Friday I'll be posting a free scrapbooking kit you can use. Just click the above link and download it to your computer. Play around with it and come back here and show and tell...Cant wait to see what you have created! Remember you dont have to have the My Memories Suite to use these templates.


All my readers/friends get $10 off if you decide to purchase My Memories Suite V3 (http://www.mymemories.com/digital_scrapbooking_software) and $10 coupon for any purchases from My Memories store.

Cut and paste this code at checkout to get your discount STMMMS94069