Thursday - Free Kindle Books

Well as I drank my morning coffee today these are the free Kindle books I found -



Household Hacks



   How to Make Amazing Sandwiches



Vegetable Garden

Thursday Thoughts - Budget

Today is the last day of January and that means tomorrow is the beginning of a new budget cycle.  We ended January within budget with $12.46 remaining.  We did it!  I am so happy that the whole family got on board and worked hard to stick to the plan.

For February, once again we need to try to spend only $250 on groceries.  We will have some additional expenses this month as both vehicles need to be serviced and Christopher will need shoes.  Not to mention, Valentine's Day will bring more purchases for the kids.  And I am a little anxious about heating this month.  We have already blown through half our tank of gas since it was filled in December.  We need to make it last as long as possible as this is an over $500 expense.

Here are some preliminary plans -
1.  Make my own laundry detergent this month.
2.  Continue making granola bars to go in our lunches.
3.  Try to purchase only one or two meats per week and make them stretch through several meals.
4.  Make a big soup each weekend.
5.  My husband is going to start turning peoples' home videos into digital format to earn some extra money.
6.  I am checking at the YMCA where we are members to see if they have a part time job opening which would allow me to get our membership fee reduced.
7.  I need to fill out and send in our Tax Returns.

How to Make Mozarella Cheese

For Christmas this year, my husband and children gave me a cheesemaking kit.  I enjoy trying new things.  So I was very pleased when on Christmas morning I unwrapped my present, Ricki's Cheesemaking Kit.

During winter vacation we made two loaves of mozzarella. We made our very own pizza using this cheese as a topping and OH MY! The taste was great.  It was a really neat experience and one that we enjoyed.  My daughter was a little grossed out before the curds joined together.

Supposedly it should only take 30 minutes to make, but honestly, we have never done it in less than an hour.  AND we have made it two more times since.  I still think it was fun!  Here is what we did -

  Dissolve 1/4 of a rennet tablet in 1/4 cup of water and in a separate bowl dissolve 1.5 teaspoons of citric acid into 1 cup of water.

Pour the dissolved citric acid into a pan and a whole gallon of milk.  Heat while stirring constantly until the milk measures 90 degrees F. Then turn off the heat and pour the rennet mixture over.  Slowly stir for 30 seconds. and then cover and let the milk sit for 5 to 7 minutes.

This is what the mixture looks like after waiting.  Using a knife cut the curd into a grid pattern being sure the knife reaches the bottom of the pan.

Reheat the curds to 105 degrees F or as close as you can.

Using a slotted spoon remove the curd from the pan leaving as much of the whey (yellow liquid) as possible into a microwaveable bowl.

Heat the curd in the microwave for 1 minute.  Then pour off the whey.   Add 1 teaspoon of cheese salt  to the curd and fold the curd over itself.  Continue to heat the curd for 30 minutes at a time until it reaches 135 degrees (the temperature at which it can be stretched.)  Be sure to wear thick rubber gloves so you don't burn your hands. Stretch the cheese and form into a log.  The more you stretch the cheese the firmer it becomes.

 

Submerge the log into an ice bath for 15 minutes.

This is what the final product will look like.  I wrapped mine in plastic wrap and refrigerated.  The kit says it will last 2 weeks in the fridge, but mine was gone within two days.

Wednesday - Temperature Change

It is hard to believe that just this past weekend I was carrying water to the chickens, rabbits, and goat.  Everything was frozen and snow covered the ground.  I had turned a heat light on the chickens.  The goat was bedded down in straw.  Our smallest but oldest rabbit, Winnie, stayed in a cardboard box filled with hay and inside her cage.  She kept pulling the feed and water into the box with her. 

Today temperatures are expected to hit 69 degrees F.  I didn't have to carry water last night because the garden hose was thawed.  I didn't have to turn the heat lamp on; the low last night was 50 degrees F.   Of course now instead of snow on the ground we have mud and I do believe there will be rain today.  Weird weather!

Free Kindle Books - Monday Morning

 
Yard Sale Tips


19 Lessons on Tea


Couponing for the Beginner

This morning, while drinking coffee, I checked the Kindle Free section and picked up these books.  I am not really certain that I will keep these but you never know until you try.  Since they don't take up physical space and cost me $0 today, why not?  Now I have to get ready for work, I teach fifth grade, and since my son no longer has the flu, it is back to work I go.

Banana Bread Recipe

Well, yesterday my father gave me three bananas for the goat to have.  They were definitely past ripe but I decided to eat them instead.  So today I have made two loaves of banana bread.  Here is the recipe I used for two loaves -

Banana Bread
6 Tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 mashed overripe bananas
1 cup of buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1.  Heat over to 300 degrees F.  Grease two loaf pans and line with wax paper.
2.  Using mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Mix in eggs, mashed banana, buttermilk, vanilla, and cinnamon.
3.  Sift together salt, baking soda, and flour in a small bowl.  Then mix into butter mixture.
4.  Pour into pans and bake for 1 hour until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Turn out to cool and remove the wax paper from the bottom while still warm.

I think we will eat one loaf today and freeze the other for later.  Best banana bread ever!!!

Crocheted Hats for Chickens

Ok, ok! I know it seems silly but this morning I was busily crocheting hats to keep the combs of my chickens from freezing.  Back in Aunt Nancy's day you did what you had to do.  Well, I just had to make these hats!

Out to the chicken pen we went with the first hat to see how it worked.  We tried it on Spot and she immediately took it off with one sweep of her foot.  Well, we tried it on Pig Pen.  It was a rerun of the first attempt.  But Pig Pen grabbed the hat as if it were a ball and took off running through the pen!

What appeared to be a game of keep away ensued.  The hat was taken from one chicken and then passed to the next until Pig Pen had it back and this time she was not giving it up.  She would swerve to the right, swerve to the left, dart behind the tote, duck under the post, and then rush back out into the middle as if to say, "Nana-nana-boo-boo, it is still mine!"

Well, so much for this hat.  But it certainly was an entertaining toy for awhile.  My daughter took it away in the end just to be sure they wouldn't eat the hat.  However, with supervision, perhaps we have stumbled upon the perfect chicken toy.

As far as hats go, it is back to the drawing boards.

This is Pig Pen with the hat (toy).