Places to Party

Monday, April 20, 2015

The Chicklets

For years I've wanted chickens.



Not so much for the normal reasons people have chickens, rather because I'm a gardener. I raise tons of tomatoes every year and various fruits and veggies that I preserve for my family's use through the winter.

Unfortunately my soil is heavy clay.

I mean I could probably throw pots out of this soil it's so heavy.

Isn't this one of the funniest things you every seen?
My chicks came home in a Timbits like box!

A box of little chirpers!


If I was back in Michigan where my family lives, I would have all the fertilizer I needed to make my soil more arable in the form of cow manure, but alas, I do not and buying that much manure is very cost prohibited.

So, in come the chickens. Chicken manure is very hot but once mixed with their bedding, it becomes something your plants can use without burning them. Add in the benefit of eggs and it's a win/win.

When I lived on our farm, we had chickens but with water, food and an entire barn to sleep in, they pretty much fended for themselves. We never really did anything with them, they just were kind of there.

So this weekend I took the plunge. After debating and debating about getting them, I did it.
I mean, if you are constantly waiting for an ideal time to do something, it will never come will it?










So here are the girls. And needless to say, I think we are all in love with them.






I don't think it's mutual though. I think to them we are just a big scary hand but they'll get used to it.



Each of us got to name two chicks. Here are their names.









Of course they all look a like at this stage so these names
aren't really attached to any of them.


 

Dixon's Chicks:

Chica
Toy Chica





 



Steve's Chicks


Marrianne
Ginger
 
 

Stacey's Chicks
Holly
Quinn

 

 

 

Yeah, we are big on cartoons in our family.







The chicks are set up with a big heat lamp and their water and food. In about a month and a half they should be all set to go out to their permanent home, a chicken tractor. They already are scratching for non-existent bugs so look out Japanese Beetles your days are numbered this year!

The Chicklets are coming!
 
 

 

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Chicken Sauced Noodles

My mother may have found this on the back of a package or can of soup, I'm not sure. All I know is that this was one of those favorite comfort foods of my youth.

It's one of those crazy four ingredient recipes that is perfect for a lunch or great for a side dish and you can have it done in the time it takes you to boil the noodles.




Ingredients:

So good!

  • 1 package wide egg noodles
  • 1 can of cream of chicken soup
  • milk to thin
  • salt and pepper to taste











First boil your noodles to the package direction and drain. Rinse to remove excess starch.
Put back in the pot and add chicken soup. Thin with milk and add salt and pepper. Stir to combine and warm.

So good and so easy. This would be great side with chicken and tastes a lot better than some packaged side dish.

Enjoy!