The contents of a boy's pocket

I am a girl. I grew up as a girl doing all of the regular girl type things. I read books, played with barbies, and attended sleepovers. I talked on the phone too much, wore Dr. Pepper lip gloss, and played in the band. When I rolled into teenager-land, I kept my room slightly messy and carried a fabulous purse.

Now I am grown and raising a boy. A boy who loves to hunt and hike in the woods. A boy who would wear camoflage everyday of the week, if I would let him. A boy who would sleep with a hound dog under his bed covers and grow his hair long and shaggy. A boy who is a sharpshooter and a collector of pocket knives.

He is also a boy who keeps quite an assortment of items in his pant's pocket.

For instance, let's examine this menagerie of items that I found just the other day while I was sorting the laundry. I don't think I can identify all of these items, but I shall try.


I spy with my little eye a dollar bill, a rubber band, a rock, some change, and an A&W bottle cap.

Hmmmm.....I think that pointy thing might be part of a screwdriver and do I see two shotgun items? I think I see some string and what that black cylindrical thing is, I have no idea. Anyone have a guess? Anyone?

Boys....they are a bit of a mystery to me.

Being a former young girl myself, you would think I have my daughter all figured out. Alas, that would be a lie.

This parenthood gig is turning out to be a bit tougher than I thought.

Thoughtless Thursday

Hungry hunters and some Chicken No Peek

Today a motley crew of people converged upon my house for dinner....lunch for those of you not residing in the south. This would include the following:

1 Southern Fried Momma
1 Farmchick (me)
4 kids
and 7 hungry hunters

Needles to say we went through some food. Our menu included, Chicken No Peek, tossed salad, Whipping Cream Biscuits, and for dessert, Ski Cake and Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie. I have the recipe for the biscuits on my blog and will be sharing the two dessert recipes in the days to come. Today I will give you the recipe for Chicken No Peek. This is a one dish kind of meal full of vegetables. I found this recipe in one of my "church lady" cookbooks and changed it around a bit to suit the needs/tastes of my family. You know....church ladies are all knowing when it comes to feeding a crowd....or anybody for that matter.


Chicken No Peek

1 cup water
3 teaspoons of chicken base (instead of chicken bouillon)
5 skinless/boneless chicken breasts
5 potatoes, peeled, washed and quartered
1 small package of baby carrots
1 large onion, peeled, washed, and sliced
4 stalks of celery
1/2 medium head of cabbage, cut into 8 sections
1 small can of mushrooms
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Mrs. Dash, original blend

In a large casserole dish, place water and chicken base. Stir around the chicken base until well blended. Place chicken in bottom of casserole and vegetables on top of chicken. Cover vegetables with mushroom pieces. Place spoonfuls of soup around the top of the vegetables. Sprinkle entire casserole with Mrs. Dash. Cover the pan with foil and bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 1&1/2 hours.

This is what the dish looked like right before I placed it in the oven. Chicken on the bottom with the vegetables loaded on top. I like to spray my foil (the side that will touch the vegetables) with some non-stick spray, so that the cabbage will not stick.




This is the dish after cooking. The cabbage and veggies cook down making a nice soup/gravy.





If you have never used chicken base instead of bouillon, it is worth trying. It can be found in the grocery next to the bouillon. It comes in a jar and is the consistency of paste. It is used in recipes, soups, stews, etc.... It imparts a much richer flavor than regular bouillon. If you are reading this and you live in my area, please note that I cannot find it at Kroger....only at Wal-Mart.

I hope you take the time to try this recipe. Enjoy!

Warm fall days...

Today was a wonderful day in Smalltownland. Temperatures hovered around 70, with no wind. A gorgeous, mild fall day. Today also happens to be the opening day of modern gun season for deer. Secret Agent Man and The Deerslayer have been hard at it since early this morning. Toots and I, however, slept in and then attended her end of the season soccer party.

Toots and I also did some grocery shopping as I will be cooking for several hunters tomorrow. Stay tuned this week, as recipes will be forthcoming.

I have to say that I have no news to report. No king sized deer was slayed, but Toots and I sure enjoyed the warm weather outside. And, sometimes, that is just a great day in itself. Hoping that wherever you might be, you are enjoying some warm fall days.

Thoughtless Thursday

Veteran's Day

Today.....



I hope you took a small moment....





to thank a veteran.....






for all of the freedoms we enjoy in our country.

An old house and a better explanation

Last Thursday I posted a picture of this house that is located down the road from my farm. Still in the original family, it sits in a deteriorated state on small rise, in a field. This house looks like many older farmhouses in our county. Built in the typical I-House style, it is two rooms wide and one room deep, with a central passage in the middle. This type of house is a type of British folk form and they were common in the pre-railroad era. After the arrival of the railroad this type of house continued in its popularity, although porches, rear extensions, some gingerbread trim, and additional chimneys became new additions.




This house, although I have only been lucky enough to look at it from afar, seems to be in the pre-railroad style. Simple in plan, yet very useful for the family for which it was intended. The chimney is composed of local creek rock with a brick extension.





Gaston Studio commented that this would be a wonderful home to renovate and wasn't it a pity that someone hadn't done that already. Unfortunately, there is some family dispute over this house and the land. So, it is likely that this house will remain in this state. In our area it is very common for an older house, located on quality farmland, to be allowed to deteriorate. The family will build a smaller/newer house on a new section of the farm, instead of trying to salvage an older home, even though it may be loaded with character and family history. And, I do realize cost is a huge factor in this equation.





A few years ago an older gentlemen arrived to deliver some furniture to my old/renovated farmhouse. He remarked at how excellent the house was looking. Then he let me know that he helped re-wire my house and at that time raccoons were living in it.

I am a true lover of old houses, but I could have gone forever without knowing that.