This fall has given my family some good apples! I love apple pie, but rarely have the time to make and roll out crusts. So, I have found another way to enjoy my "apples in a pan!" This recipe is from the cookbook my church put out when I was younger. I have modified it over the years to fit my preferences. Enjoy!

APPLE CRUMBLE 

3 cups apples, sliced thin (about 3 large apples)

1 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

Place thinly sliced apples in large bowl. Add rest of ingredients and mix thoroughly. Set aside.

Topping:

1 cup quick cooking oatmeal

1 cup flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix all dry ingredients together, then add melted butter. Stir until thoroughly incorporated. Mixture will be crumbly. 

Pour apples into buttered 9x13 pan and spread evenly over bottom of pan.

Pour topping mixture onto apples and press down with hands. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 min.
 

Enjoy!! I love this recipe over any other "apple crisp" type recipes because the apple mixture creates almost a caramel glaze and the topping is like a warm oatmeal cookie. Put a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it and WOW!! Yummers! I also like to make it in a smaller pan, making a thicker dessert. Just adjust baking time and watch it closely. If overbaked,the edges will be hard.

Mexican food is one of my family’s favorites. It’s one of my favorites because it is usually easy to prepare, full of flavor, and easily re-heated for leftovers. Another good point is the relatively low cost of Mexican foods. We are always (especially now!) looking for ways to stretch our grocery budget!

I thought I would share one of our favorite recipes for Beef and Rice Enchiladas. This is easy to prepare and is full of flavor. Since it utilizes a rice mix for part of the filling, it makes it more economical since you don’t need to use as much beef. You could stretch it even farther by adding a can of black beans! 

This recipe makes a big batch. I put generous amounts of filling in each tortilla and easily fill a 9x13 inch pan with still quite a bit of filling mixture left over to use later. So, this could easily make two 9x13 inch pans if you use a bit less filling in each tortilla.

Here’s the recipe:

1 package Spanish rice and vermicelli mix (such as Rice-a-Roni)
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 can Ro-Tel diced tomatoes and chilies
2 cups water
1 pound ground beef
1/3 cup PLUS 2 Tablespoons Enchilada Sauce Mix (see recipe in a previous post) OR use your favorite enchilada sauce mix, prepare following package directions
2 cups tomato juice
Large flour tortillas
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream and shredded lettuce for garnish, if desired.

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare rice mix according to package directions (NOTE: if you use a brand other than Rice-a-Roni, the additional ingredients – the butter, Ro-Tel, and water - may be different. I use Ro-Tel in place of plain diced tomatoes.) 

While rice is simmering, brown ground beef in large skillet. Once all pink is gone, drain fat off if needed.

Mix Enchilada Sauce Mix and tomato juice together in a bowl. Mix this into the ground beef and heat to simmering. Add rice mixture to hamburger mixture. Stir well and heat through. NOTE: if you are using a different sauce mix, reserve about 2/3 cup for putting over the top of enchiladas in last step.

Place about ½ cup (more or less to your taste) hamburger/rice mixture in tortilla. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top. Roll up and place seam-side down in a 9x13 inch baking pan. Continue until pan is full or you run out of filling.

Mix 2 tablespoons Enchilada Sauce Mix with 1 cup tomato juice. Ladle this onto the rolled enchiladas in the pan (or ladle reserved 2/3 cup sauce over enchiladas). Sprinkle additional cheese on top. Place in 350 degree oven and bake 8-10 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream and shredded lettuce if desired. YUM! 

I enjoy being creative and I also like the idea of being able to control what goes into my family’s food. Case in point: Last night I planned to make Beef and Rice Enchiladas (I’ll post the recipe and instructions in another post…stay tuned!). However, I was out of the dry enchilada mix I usually use, and so was the grocery store. So, I turned to my friend the internet and found a recipe I had all the ingredients for and that looked pretty good.

The original recipe had a few things I didn’t like (too much salt, for example…) and so I changed it to my liking. Here is the resulting recipe: 

3– 4 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon onion powder
¼ cup garlic powder 
¼ cup chicken bouillon granules 
¼ cup beef bouillon granules 
1/3 cup cumin
1 cup chili powder
½ teaspoon dried chipotle pepper (opt)
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (opt) 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or container with a tight-fitting lid. I re-purposed (my favorite thing to do!) a plastic salsa container, which worked fabulously for mixing AND storing! Bonus! This is what mine looked like before mixing:
   

And after:

It smells wonderful! To use as an enchilada sauce, add about 1/3 cup mix to 2 cups liquid, such as water, tomato juice, or a combination of water and tomato sauce. You can adjust the amount of mix to suit your taste. This mix can be used in a wide variety of foods such as chili and tacos.  

Do you have some homemade dry mixes that you use for your family? What has worked for you? I’d love to hear more, even try them out! Enjoy!

What's better than sweet ruby red strawberries in the summertime? WILD STRAWBERRIES!

Here in the Flint Hills of Kansas, wild strawberries thrive amongst the native grasses. We happen to have some inordinately large patches of these sweet berry producing plants on our property. Wild strawberries are much smaller than the domesticated species we are familiar with today. But, they are 100 percent organic (without trying!), super sweet, and require zero effort to cultivate!

We spent about 20 minutes in one patch and were rewarded with approximately 2 pints of the fragrant berries. Might have been more, but it's hard not to eat as many as you pick!

Our 2-year-old daughter, Kate, just sat down and picked strawberries as fast as she could eat them ... and only moved once! She was so proud of what she picked in her little pail!

I brought all the strawberries in the house, rinsed them in cold water and hulled them (removed the stems).

Kate helped place them in pretty dessert dishes. With a dollop of whipped cream, they made a wonderful summer evening dessert!

We have lots more to pick. I hope to make a wild strawberry pie, and maybe even some wild strawberry wine! Yum!

Ever heard of the Wild Women of the Frontier? If not, you gotta read on!

Formed in 1996 by a group of friends looking for a way to mix their love for horses, history and fun, it was initially a parade troupe. Over the years, the Wild Women of the Frontier grew and evolved into a facinating and entertaining group of women who share their love for horses and history all over the country!

Members must first try out for the group. Not only are they judged on their horsemanship skills, but their horses are judged as well. Not just any horse can be a Wild Woman horse. Crowds, gunfire, flags, sirens, and scampering children are but a few of the obstacles they are exposed to every time they enter the public eye for a performance or parade. Even after initial acceptance of passing the tryout is only the beginning. Horses must go through desensitization classes and Wild Woman “wannabes” are expected to attend meetings, contribute to the group, ride in parades, and attend performances during their “probation” year. Then, they must present their chosen female historical figure in a researched paper, first hand reenactment, and full period style costume. This is voted on for acceptability by the current Wild Women membership. Only if they pass this final inspection will the “wannabe” become a full-fledged, whoopin’ and hollerin’ Wild Woman of the Frontier! It’s an honor I hope to achieve!

Becoming a Wild Woman has been something I have wanted to do for some time, but life and other responsibilities kept me from dedicating myself. I know the group is time-consuming. In fact, my love for horseback riding has been pushed to the back of my list of “to do’s” for some time. I grew up riding, love horses, and live to ride. This was a huge part of myself that had been missing, and I felt it tugging ... hard. So, when I got the invitation to try out this year ... I DID IT!

I have the privilege of having a good friend who took the challenge with me. Kris is a nurse I worked with in the past, and when she heard I was trying out for the Wild Women, her horse-loving past also bubbled to the surface. She has not ridden since she was a kid and did not even own a horse ... but since I have more than enough warm and fuzzy hooved children populating my farm, I enthusiastically encouraged her to come with me! Kris rides Lakota, and I ride Cheyenne. Both are paint horses, and both seemed to me to be well suited to Wild Woman work.

So, the day of the tryouts came. Since neither of us knew quite what was going to be thrown at us (or our horses ... most likely literally), Kris and I mustered up our courage, loaded up the horses and headed to the arena to try out. We tacked assigned participant numbers to ourselves and our horses.

I started the day out with a nice Charlie Brown move by trying to use the side of the horse trailer to mount my horse (I was riding bareback). The early morning chill had left a thin layer of dew on the trailer wheelwells, and as I flamingo-balanced on one leg to drape the other over the back of my very patient horse, I slipped and landed WHOP! flat on my back at Cheyenne’s surprised feet! Ow. I giggled, as I was sure I had a large and grinning audience of “tsk, tsk” onlookers, but after jumping up and brushing myself off (nope, nothing broken), I found the whole embarrassing incident was unwitnessed. Whew. Even Kris hadn’t seen it, engrossed with getting Lakota tacked up as she was. I did tell her about it though. She was sympathetic. Probably because she knows one day it will happen to her, too!

We had our pictures taken, borrowed a step ladder from another tryout participant (how embarrassing) and rode into the arena. It was a day filled with obstacles and games on horseback. Our horses bravely trotted over tarps on the ground, wove through poles bearing a waving flag, stood their ground when a loud pipe filled with stones was shaken around them, kicked a ball playing horsey soccer, and didn’t freak out when guns were fired. They endured even more throughout the day, and Kris and I were so proud of them (and ourselves) as we passed each test with flying colors! The end of the day put us in small groups with a Wild Woman member coming up with an improptu skit to act out on horseback. We also had to choose a personality and present it to the group to see if they could guess who we were.

At the end of the day, we packed our gear back into my little trailer, loaded up the horses, and headed home. Both of us chatted about the day and wondered nervously if we made it into the group ... what if only one of us made it? What if neither of us made it? Our fears were relieved when we got the word from the Wild Women that we had both made it into the Wild Women of the Frontier! So, now we are researching historical female figures, collecting costumeage and training for our Wild Woman futures!

We have already ridden in the Ottawa, Kansas, Veterans Day Parade:

In the Topeka, Kansas, Christmas Parade:

And in the Lawrence, Kansas, Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade! Fun, fun! Can’t wait til we get to go to a performance! Stay posted, and each adventure will be chronicled here!

Goats are quickly becoming a common sight along roadsides and on small farms all over the United States. Since we raise goats, and raise them for meat, we often are asked why. Beef, chicken, and pork are more widely consumed at the American family dinner table, but goat is actually the world’s most popular meat.

Approximately 75 percent of the world’s population eats goat meat. With America’s rising population of ethnic groups, demand for goat meat has risen sharply. American producers are struggling to keep up with the growing demand for a product that was virtually unheard of 15 years ago. In addition to the ethnic population that regularly consumes goat meat (also known as cabrito or chevon), many Americans are discovering the benefits of eating goat meat.

It has a good flavor and is very healthy. It is low in fat, cholesterol, calories, and saturated fat. In fact, goat meat is over 50% lower in fat than our American beef and is about 40% lower in saturated fat than chicken, even chicken cooked with the skin off!  The following meat comparison (per 3 oz. roasted meat) table is from the USDA Handbook:

            Calories            Fat (g)               Sat. Fat (g)      Protein (g)       Iron (g)

GOAT    122                2.58                     0.79                 23                   3.2          

Beef        245                16.0                      6.8                  23                   2.0

Pork        310                24.0                      8.7                  21                   2.7

Lamb      235                16.0                      7.3                  22                   1.4

Chicken  120                  3.5                       1.1                  21                   1.5

Since goat meat is so low in fat, this makes cooking more of a challenge. Goat meat must be cooked slowly and at low temperatures, or it will dry out and become tough. The best ways to cook goat are roasting (in the oven, in a smoker, or on the grill) or braising (cooking with added liquid such as water, wine, or milk). Marinating will help retain moisture and tenderness as well. Old-fashioned smoking has, in our opinion, produced the best-tasting goat meat of all. What I have had was even better than smoked beef or pork! Of course, most of us do not have the time required to smoke our meats daily, so I am including a few less time-consuming recipes for you to try. Enjoy!

Goat Meat Loaf

2 lb ground goat meat
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 envelope Dry Onion Soup/Dip Mix
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup water or milk

Directions: Mix 1/2 mushroom soup, goat meat, onion soup mix, bread crumbs and egg. Place in 8 inch x 4 inch loaf pan and shape firmly into loaf. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 min or until done. Mix remaining mushroom soup, 1/4 cup water or milk, and 2 tablespoons drippings from loaf in bowl. Heat in microwave 2 min or until heated through. Spoon over slices of meatloaf.

Jamaican Curried Goat

3 lbs goat meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 limes
1 large onion, sliced
5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp thyme
2 Tblsp canola oil
1 tsp sugar
5 green onions, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Directions: Squeeze limes over goat meat and let stand for 10-15 min. Rinse with cold water. Place meat in sealable container. Add onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme. Rub spices into meat. Cover and let marinate in refrigerator for 2 hours.

Next, in large pot over medium heat, heat the oil and sugar. Stir until sugar is brown. Add goat meat with marinade, green onions, and curry. Stir. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally until meat is nearly tender, about 40 min. Add potatoes and 1/4 cup water and stir. Cover and simmer for another 15 min until potatoes are cooked but not soft. Crush potatoes to thicken sauce if desired. To make more sauce you may add a little water and cook for 10 minutes more.

I can't believe how the summer has flown by! Earlier this summer, as the days turned warmer, we planted our garden. We broke brand-new ground this year, utilizing the rich soil close to the goats' dry lot. Kate was facinated by the whole process and was a big help! She was quite thrilled at having her very own new garden tools (a stellar garage sale buy, I might add!!), and put them right to work!

She helped me plant our cucumbers. We are enjoying them at this time and are worth all the hard work!

As I look back on how busy our summer has already been, I am thankful for my hard-working goats! I have been on the lawn mower only twice this year. Granted, our yard is a far cry from "manicured," but it is passable, especially when we live way out where we do!

Our goats appreciate the delicate lawn forage, leaves from over-grown young trees, and scrubby bushes. The last two years we have only used our lawn mower a handful of times. The goats are most happy to help with the yard work. Goats have lots of uses for those of us trying to "Go Green" by saving some money in these hard times, as well as the additional benefit of doing something good for the environment by not using our lawnmower, among other things. Here is a quick list of how goats can help anyone GO GREEN!!

1. Lawn mowers. We utilize a portable electric fence and move our goats around the property, rotating them from place to place as the grass and other brush is consumed. A solar charger provides portable (and inexpensive) electricity.

2. Free fertilizer. We have never fertilized our lawns or the pastures the goats are on. They do it for us with their wonderful little natural fertilizer pellets! During kidding season, we keep the goats in a lot and feed them hay. The hay and manure that piles up in the area can then be scooped up at leisure and spread on gardens, flowerbeds, given to friends, or sold at the Farmers' Market.

3. Herbicide-free noxious weed control. We have lots of nasty weeds around, including seresia lespedisia, poison ivy, cockelburrs, and ragweed. Goats will eat these and eventually can kill them out by keeping them eaten down to where they will not be able to reproduce. Seresia lespedisia needs a little more management, as the weed can be spread through feces. It is recommended that goats be placed on a dry lot after consuming the plant during its seeding phase. An additional plus to using goats to help control seresia lespedisia is that this plant appears to help control internal parasites (think all-natural wormer).

4. Pasture "clean-up." Goats prefer weeds and brush to grass, so they are ideal for improving pastures. They are easy on the turf as well, so a large number of goats can be put on an area to clean it up quickly if that is the need. A pasture rotation system where goats are rotated in and out with other livestock such as cattle or horses is a great way to balance out your pasture and get rid of weeds without having to use herbicides.

5. Control ticks. Since goats clean up tall weeds, brush, and other scrub greenery, they can greatly reduce the tick population. We generally do not see ticks on our goats, so they seem to have a natural resistance to them. And, since utilizing the goats in our yard, we have noticed the tick population dwindle to next to nothing. However, a trek across areas where we do not allow the goats at this time almost always ends with the ritual "tick burning." The most entertaining way to kill a tick is to hold a flame to it and watch it explode!

6. Tree trimming. Goats LOVE trees. That being said, they are great tree trimmers, but be sure to keep them away from young trees you actually want to keep around because they WILL eat them. We keep cattle panels around to fence off small areas we don’t want our goats into like flower beds and small trees. Goats will also skirt (eat the bark of) a larger tree, leading to it's demise, so put fence around the trunk and they will just eat the branches and leaves that they can reach. As you can see in this picture, the low-hanging branches of this tree have been stripped clean, making it much easier to trim.

7. Inexpensive entertainment. I always love to watch the goats work. Especially when they are trying to reach that elusive leafy morsel waaaaay up high! They stand on their hind legs and pirouette like a clumsy ballerina, waving their front legs in front of them as if trying to use the air itself to climb higher. And, a word of caution … if you are standing under the tree of which they are so trying to get to, they WILL use YOU to get to their target! Think "human ladder." Try explaining THOSE bruises to your spouse.  For even more entertainment, put out old kids' playsets, slipper-slides, swings, etc.

Young goat kids especially find these irresistable, but I find the biggest laughs come on those unexpected cool snaps in the fall when the older does feel compelled to catapult off the toys!

So, as you can see, goats are a great way to "Go Green" and save some green! And you don't need a whole herd! A couple will do the trick for most yards! Let them do the hard work, and you can sit back with your glass of iced lemonade in your lounge chair under a shade tree. Ahhhhh….summer!