Hard Boiled Farm Fresh Eggs

You wouldn't think there would be any difference in hard boiling a store bought egg verses a farm fresh egg. If you have ever tried to hard boil a farm fresh egg, I know your frustration first hand when you "attempted" to peel it. They don't peel easily at all and in your frustration you lose most of the white leaving you with a yoke with a thin covering of white over it.

Through research and trial and error, I have found the best way to make a perfectly hard boiled farm fresh egg that will actually peel easily!! I even tried a new way of peeling the eggs that worked amazingly!!

I like to rinse my eggs in a little warm water first to get rid of any dirt that may be on the outside of them. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully set the eggs in the boiling water using a serving spoon.

Allow to boil for 12 minutes. Do NOT turn off or turn down the heat!

After the 12 minutes of boiling, carefully spoon the eggs from the boiling water into an ice water bath. Leave the eggs in the ice water bath for about 10-15min.

Pat dry the eggs before placing in the egg carton. Keep refrigerated for up to a week. You now have perfectly hard boiled farm fresh eggs that will actually peel!

One thing I wanted to add was a simple way of peeling a hard boiled egg. Grab a plastic container with a lid. Add just a small amount of water into the container and place your egg in there. 

Put the lid on and shake the container (about 10 seconds) until you feel the shell coming off. You can feel the difference when the egg hits the side of the container. The shell will slide right off in almost 1 piece! Super easy!!

Enjoy!

"What's for supper?"

This is a question that I am asked on a daily basis. I often find myself rummaging through the fridge, pantry and freezers to come up with an idea for supper that will be quick and easy, yet taste good. Thankfully my husband and child are not picky eaters. The other night I was asked that question and had a few of the "standard/go-to" meals I make in the back of my mind, but I wanted to make something different instead of the same old meals. I defrosted a pound of ground beef and began to brown that up in my cast iron skillet. All the while, still not knowing exactly what I was going to make. I had a small can of biscuits in my fridge that needed to be used soon so I knew I wanted to incorporate that somehow. Hmm, what could I make with ground beef and biscuits? Since its summer time and grilling usually takes place, I thought hamburgers sounded good, but I had already started browning the ground beef. I then decided to make a cheeseburger casserole type dish with the biscuits on top as the bun. As I browned the ground beef I added diced white onion, minced garlic and pepper. I then drained and added a can of diced tomatoes. Once that was all incorporated, I added shredded Colby jack cheese to the top along with a few more diced onions and diced dill pickles. I then placed the biscuit dough on top and placed the entire skillet into the oven and baked the biscuits according to their directions.

It was delicious!! When I make this again, I would like to add some crumbled bacon. I think that would really add to the dish and just give it that extra element and "pop" to take it from a" delicious meal to make again" to "an amazing meal that my family requests." 

The great thing about this meal is that I was able to make it out of ingredients that I always have on hand. It was very simple to make and was a 1 skillet meal so there weren't a ton of dishes to do. This recipe can easily be adjusted and changed to fit what your family likes. 

Enjoy!

Chicken Feeder

We wanted to make a chicken feeder that would automatically drop food when the container was getting low. We were also hoping to lessen the amount of food the chickens were wasting and pecking out of the container onto the ground. A lot of research was done to decide what would work best for our coop. We didn't want to have to get under the coop to give the chickens more food so we were looking into options that would allow us to fill the feeder from outside of the coop. The design we went with was using PVC pipe and making an "L" and attaching it to the outside of the coop. We initially used 4" PVC for the vertical pipe and used a 4" to 2" elbow with 2" PVC for the horizontal feeder pipe. On the 2" pipe, holes were drilled so the chickens would stick their head in the pipe so there would be less chance of them wasting food on the ground. At the time, we were using chicken food crumbles and it was staying in the 4" pipe and not flowing into the 2". We then got the chicken food pellets to see if they would flow into the 2" better. That still didn't help the food flow into the 2" pipe. We then used 3" PVC for the entire feeder so there would not be a place for the food to bottle neck at. We attached the feeder to the side of the coop and had the horizontal pipe go into the coop. With changing the PVC's to the same size and switching to the pellet food, it helps to allow the food to flow a bit better. It has been a lot easier to feed the chickens every couple of days instead of every day with this feeder. It has also saved a lot of food from being wasted on the ground. It is so much easier to fill the food from the outside of the coop instead of the hanging feeder that was under their coop. All we have to do it pull the cap off the top of the feeder and pour the pellets into the pipe. Having that cap on the top keeps the food dry and bug free.

Here is the finished project attached and in use on our coop. We tilted the pipe and put it over the front of our coop to allow the pellets to flow easier through the elbow to the feeder pipe. It allowed us to have the horizontal feeder pipe at a slight downward angle to help the pellets fall.

As you can see from the dirt on the feeder tube, we have been using this feeder for a little while now and it has been working well. We occasionally have to shake or kick the pipe to get more food to fall, but enough pellets fall to allow the chickens to eat for a few days. 

Enjoy!

We have eggs!!

Our chickens are just over 4 months old now and have finally started producing eggs! We are averaging about 2 eggs per day right now and almost have our first dozen eggs! I can't wait to make some fresh eggs for breakfast. Yummy!!

Now that we have eggs, I have been doing some research on the best way to care/store them. The nice thing is that fresh eggs are obviously going to last much longer than any store bought eggs. I learned that producers of store bought eggs have 30 days from the time the eggs are laid to get them into the stores. From there, they store has another 30 days to sell the eggs. After that, the USDA recommends the consumer only keep them for 5 weeks in the refrigerator before throwing them out.  That's a really long time! One source of information put it this way, you can be eating an egg in April that was laid on Christmas! That's crazy to think it could last that long! Long story short, in the proper conditions, eggs can last a really long time.

To wash or not to wash? Many people want to wash the fresh eggs since they may be a little dirty if the nesting box is dirty. Eggs have a protective, anti-bacterial coating on them called the "bloom". If you wash the eggs, you will also be washing this away which can lead to bacteria getting into your egg as well as moisture loss. If you do prefer to wash your eggs, a dry method of brushing with a dry sponge/cloth is best. If you still prefer to use water to wash them, rinsing them in warm water is better than cold water. Washing them in cold water will cause the inside of the egg to shrink, which can then cause a suction and draw bacteria in through the shell. (Yes, egg shells are porous!) If you wash them in warm water, it can cause it to expand which can then make the contents to swell and will apply pressure then to the shell and help keep bacteria out. Many people like to keep their fresh eggs on the counter and that is perfectly fine! They will be fine on the counter for a month. Just know, that the quality will drop after 2 weeks. If your family is able to eat the eggs soon after they are laid, keeping them on the counter is perfectly fine. If you would like them to last longer, storing eggs in egg cartons in the refrigerator will help them to keep for the longest. Please note, that if you have washed your eggs, it is best to then keep them in the refrigerator since they do not have that "bloom" protection on them. You can also rinse them in warm water right before using them. Eggs that have not been washed can last in the refrigerator for about 3 months. If you washed your eggs, they can last in the refrigerator for about 2 months. If they have been washed, the quality will decrease faster than an unwashed egg.

Another thing I learned when researching, was that you are to store your eggs with the pointy end down. That then puts the little air sac at the top and is an additional step to take to help reduce moisture loss.

1 Minute Mom Workout

I quickly noticed that after delivery, my stomach and posture muscles were not used to working "normally" again after the weight of your belly is gone. You can now stand and walk and move about normally again, but your muscles are definitely not ready for it.

I have made a workout for moms that only takes 1 minute of your precious time. As a new mom, time to yourself is unheard of. If you aren't caring for your newborn, you are sleeping! Well, hopefully you are. Between feedings, diaper changes, rocking them to sleep, playing and talking with them while they're awake and pumping, there is little to no time left in your day to do dishes and laundry let alone do a workout! This quick workout is designed to help you take the stomach muscles you just took 9 months stretching and re-strengthen them. It will also help strengthen back muscles that are used for posture.

This workout was not designed to give you a 6-pack or make you lose a bunch of weight. If you are breast feeding, please be sure you are watching that you do not lose weight too quickly. You may want to lose weight, but that will also strip your baby of important nutrients. This workout was simply designed to help your stomach and back muscles strengthen to your ever changing body after delivery.

Whenever you have a spare minute, do this workout. Feel free to do this once a day, twice a day, or whatever works for you. It's only 1 minute long, you can do this!

Now, since this is only 1 minute of your time be sure to do the routine properly. If you halfheartedly do this, it is basically just a waste of a minute of your time. Give this your all and be sure that you have proper form. You would hate to waste time!

1 Minute Mom Workout

• 15 seconds of jumping jacks
• 15 seconds of criss-cross sit ups (touch your elbow to the opposite knee)
• 15 seconds of push ups
• 15 seconds of lunges

And that's it!!

The jumping jacks will get your heart pumping so you have good blood flow to your muscles for the next 45 seconds. The sit ups will strengthen your stomach muscles while the push ups will strengthen your back, stomach, legs and arms. Feel free to start off doing regular sit ups. Maybe set a goal to do the criss-cross sit ups for the full 15 seconds.Now, if you can't do regular push ups, feel free to do them on your knees. It's ok!! Maybe try to work your way up to regular push ups. You could also just plank if you prefer to do that. The push ups and lunges both use your posture muscles and will strengthen them. Your stomach muscles are a huge part of your posture, so be sure to always keep them engaged while doing your jumping jacks and lunges.

Remember, you don't have to do any certain number of these. It's ok if it takes you 15 seconds to do 2 sit ups. Just keep it up and as you strengthen your muscles you will be able to do more. Just be sure to keep a good form on those 2! Make them count!

I will hopefully be adding a video demonstrating the moves shortly! Enjoy!

Microwave Cleaning

I cleaned my microwave the other day using a little dish of water with a few drops of Lemon essential oil. It was SO easy to clean! I just had to wipe it out... no scrubbing!! By adding the Lemon essential oil to the water, it helps to disinfect and sanitize at the same time. As well as adding a nice, refreshing smell to your kitchen!

My microwave was getting pretty gross with splatter and cooked on gunk. Posting a picture of my disgusting microwave is a bit embarrassing, but the end result is awesome!

DIY Nursing Bra

Finding a good, supportive nursing bra can be a big challenge. That's why I decided to make my own. I never felt supported in any of the nursing bras I had gotten and did not want to get one with an underwire since those can often cause blocked milk ducts... Ouch! I found a bra several months back that I liked and fit well during pregnancy. To make it into a nursing bra,  I removed the underwire (which surprisingly made it a lot more comfortable without losing support!) by making a small slit in the fabric and pulling the wire out. (Don't toss the wire, it can be used as boning when making your nursing cover!!) 

I then ordered some nursing bra clasps from this website and decided to try my hand and converting the bra I liked into a nursing bra. The first step was to cut the strap of the bra about an inch above where it meets the cup. Believe me, it was not easy taking that first step and cutting apart a perfectly good bra!

Be sure to look at the backside of the bra strap. I made sure to cut about an inch above where the seam is. I then took the bottom part of the clip, put the fabric through the slot and stitched the clip in place. 

Next I attached the top clip the same way. When doing this step, be sure that you attach the top clip in the correct direction since there are 2 slots for fabric. You'll see why in just a little bit. 

Now that you have the clasp in place you think you'd be done, right? Nope! Unless you want your bra strap to fall back over your shoulder, there is one more step. Take a piece of elastic and sew it on the other slot on the top clip then to the bottom of the bra. If you stitch it a little more off to the side on the bottom of the bra the elastic will just slide to the side when preparing to nurse. I opted to stitch it just underneath the cup to avoid irritation and rubbing. During this step, it's very important to make sure that your strap and the elastic are not twisted. Feel free to claps the bra in back as well as the nursing clasp to make sure everything is in line. 

The elastic I used was very narrow since that is what I had on hand from making my maternity shirts. You can use a wider piece of elastic if you prefer. It really won't make a big difference. You basically just need something there to keep your strap from falling back when you un-clasp to nurse. I wouldn't use anything too thick though, you still want to be comfortable. Once that is done, just repeat everything on the other side. 

With just a few simple steps and about 20 minutes of your time, you can easily turn a regular bra into a nursing bra! 

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