Monday, April 7, 2014

Monday, January 13, 2014

Farm Life Prescriptions...

I realize how blessed our family is to enjoy our home the way we do. Our area enjoyed a bit of warmer weather this weekend; muddy as it was. The kids go up, did their chores, and commenced to getting as muddy as they possibly could. Their 4-wheeler is disgusting and thankfully they kept most of their riding to the back fields. No watching tv and playing video games all day here. They love to be outside and in the woods as much as possible. Of course they don't realize the health benefits of such a lifestyle. However, we do!  Thankfully, we don't deal with much in the way of illnesses on the Hill Farm. Don't get me wrong, they could both come home sick as can be today. If they do, they do. Our family thoroughly believes in the health benefits of sunshine, dirt, running, climbing, homemade food, and thanking our God for every bit of it!  I encourage everyone to partake in that prescription. 

Keeping a busy household on course is preparing as much as you can ahead of time. When I'm making our sausage or ground venison; I go ahead and portion everything out to make it easier to store in the freezer. Buying a bulk of aluminum pans with their lids makes it easier to prepare a couple of casseroles to store for "fast food" nights. One of our favorites would be Breakfast Burritos. 
Breakfast Burritos
2 lbs of cooked sausage 
1 dozen eggs scrambeled
16 tortillas 

I like to use the fiesta Rudi's tortillas, but paleo tortillas and even crepes work well. I build the tortillas and add fresh spinach to some, cheese, or salsa. Wrap them up in freezer paper and label your burritos for easy access. I store them in an open aluminum storage pan on a shelf in my freezer. These are great because they are easy, healthy, and allow you to be as creative as you'd like. Enjoy and Eat Well!

Monday, January 6, 2014

Food Allergies Equals Food Snobs...

Our family has discovered over the years that we have turned into "food snobs". We don't eat out at restaurants a whole lot due to food safety and tend to eat at the same restaurants when we do go out. However, the Restaurants we do tend to frequent are of higher quality. As everyone can attest; it is more expensive to eat healthy. We are extremely lucky to be able to lead the lifestyle that we do. Our sustainability allows us to enjoy healthier meats such as the pork and chicken that we have raised ourselves, the fresh eggs that we gather. A lot of our fruits and vegetables were grown by us on our farm. When you eat as natural and healthy as we do, it can be difficult to enjoy the new burger place everyone is bragging about. It's not as enjoyable to eat the movie theatre popcorn when my husband makes ours on the stove top and cover it with ghee. In a way this is great because we really don't eat out much at all. It also makes the visits to bigger cities such as St. Louis and Nashville much more enjoyable. We research and look forward to trying those locally owned, organic restaurants that can safely serve us. Yes, they are much more expensive than the fast food restaurants. However, you truly do get what you pay for... In all things in my experience.  I've had quite a few requests for ghee. It's really easy to make and has a long shelf life. Start with a good amount of grass fed butter. 
Place in your stove top in a pot to melt down. 
You are essentially cooking off the milk fat and water. 
The dairy will float to the top as it separates. You are going to cook until the butter takes in a golden look. You can use a spoon to move fats off the top to get a good look at the bottom of your pot. 
Use a coffee filter and a funnel to strain ghee. This part takes the longest. 
But you are left with a flavorful fat to use as you wish. Melt to pour into popcorn. Use to cook your meat or veggies. Scrambled eggs with ghee is unbelievable. Have fun and enjoy!!