Just One Gallon of Raw Cows Milk

I bought a gallon of raw cows milk and this is what I ended up with :)

I put the gallon in two 1/2 gallon, large mouth mason jars and let it sit for two days.

I skimmed the cream off and I churned it and got almost a pound of fresh butter - the buttermilk that I poured off was a little over a cup and this is what I made from the buttermilk:

And of course what was left was our drinking milk for the week YUM!!!!!

Buttermilk Pie

1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
3 eggs, beaten

1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 deep dish pie shell (either your own recipe or storebought)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light.
3. Add the eggs and beat; then beat in vanilla.
4. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the batter alternatively with the buttermilk; beat until smooth.
5. Pour into a deep dish pie shell and bake at 400F for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350F and bake for 50-60 additional minutes.
6. Pie should turn a nice golden brown and a knife inserted should come out clean.

Crazy Day

Well it been a crazy day around here, starting to think maybe its just our normal - had more snow over night and all water buckets are froze solid - twenty trips or so with hot water did the trick and the Farrier just pulled into the driveway (Hmmmmmm) Half hour later Little Philly can go dancing now. Now what should we have for dinner, Welllllll this was believe it or not quick and also very yummy


Chicken and Rice in one skillet

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes

1 3/4 cups  Chicken Broth

1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves, crushed

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1 package (16 ounces) frozen vegetable combination (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)

• Cook the chicken in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until it's well browned, stirring often. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
• Stir the stock, basil and garlic powder in the skillet and heat to a boil. Stir in the rice. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
• Stir in the vegetables. Return the chicken to the skillet. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender.
• Also I tried these rolls from Mommy's Kitchen - You will not be disappointed - Very Easy
• http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2010/12/quick-fluffy-dinner-rolls-potluck.html
• Enjoy!!!!!

Let's use that cooked down pumpkin

Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients
About 30oz's pumpkin puree
3/4 cup apple juice
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
1.Combine pumpkin, apple juice, spices, and sugar in a large saucepan, stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently.
2.Now what I would do is hot water bath 5 1/2 pint jars or you can place pumpkin butter in jars and store in fridge for about a week.
Yields about 5 - 1/2 pint jars

What to do with all that Zucchini? Zucchini Cake!!

This freezes well :) Easy
Zucchini Cake

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups grated zucchini
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour 13x9 cake pan.
2.In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, white sugar, and salt. Mix well.
3.In another bowl beat eggs, vegetable oil, and 1 teaspoon vanilla together. Pour into egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix well. Stir in the shredded zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4.Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes. Allow cakes to cool in pans. Stack and frost into a 3 layer cake using Cream Cheese Frosting.
5.To Make Frosting: Cream together the cream cheese, butter or margarine. Add the confectioner's sugar, a little at a time. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla and mix well. Spread on cool cake.

Crock Pot Apple Butter

Crock Pot Apple Butter Recipe
2- 3 lb (50 oz) jars unsweetened apple sauce
3 lbs granny smith apples
4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups apple juice
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
Peel and cut apples into small chips. Place all ingredients in the crock pot and stir. Cover and cook on low overnight. Remove cover, stir and taste. Add more spices or sugar if desired ( I Love cinnamon). Continue cooking for a few more hours, uncovered, until some of the liquid has gone and butter has cooked down a bit. Pour into jars and refrigerate (Or make sure its canned properly).

Well it's Monday

Mondays always seem to be a very busy day - Time to stock up on wood for the week and also to plan weekly meals. We have our own hens that have been very good to us as you can see so what I'm going to do is for Dessert, is to make some Baked Egg Custard. This recipe is easy and can be doubled.

6 Eggs Beaten

3/4 C Sugar

1/2 t Salt

2 t Nutmeg

1 t Vanilla

4 C Milk

1. Bring milk just to a boil and add beaten eggs and remaining ingredients.

2. Whisk well.

3. Pour into a buttered baking dish and bake in a 350* preheated oven for about 30 minutes. Some ovens may vary so after 30 minutes use a toothpick in the center and continue baking until toothpick comes out clean - Enjoy!

It's that kind of day here in Maine

Apple Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

8 To 9 pieces white or cinnamon bread
4 tb Butter
3 Apples, assorted
2 tb Lemon juice
1 tb Grated lemon rind
1/2 cup To 1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 cup Apple juice
1/2 cup raisins
Instructions:
Spread bread with butter
Cut bread into chunks.
Place all ingredients in the slow cooker
Set slow cooker on low and allow to cook for 5 to 6 hours.
Gently stir halfway through cooking process.