One of My Favorite Recipes

Jarrod and I tried to mimic a soup we loved a couple years ago and nailed it! We've been eating it in the regular rotation of meals since then. It doesn't hurt that it's pretty healthy too! I don't know about gluten free or dairy free, but calorie wise, it's pretty good (about 226 per serving).

A lot of people ask me for the recipe but I don't really measure things when I cook so it always tastes a bit different every time, which we enjoy. I'll give you a pretty good guesstimation of what we put in it.

Ingredients:
1 can 12 oz canned chicken
1 onion (or half if you prefer) diced
1 (or 2) green bell pepper diced
1 (or half) chopped jalapeno (depending on the season, they may be hotter than you think)
1 can rotel
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 cup chicken broth
1 can green enchilada sauce
2 cans cream of mushroom
1 handful of cheese
Salt, pepper
Cilantro

You can throw all this into a crock pot and heat for a couple hours and call it good, but we really like it better when we cook the chicken with some salt and pepper in a black skillet, add the diced onion, bell pepper and jalapeno and saute them with the chicken.

• Once your chicken and cut vegetables are heated:
• Add rotel, drained corn, drained and rinsed black beans, and chicken broth.
• Salt and pepper as wanted (we like a lot but the more pepper means the spicier it will be)
• Heat to a boil and let settle
• Add enchilada sauce, 2 cans of cream of mushroom, cheese, and S&P (as needed)
• Heat to slow boil
• Let cool and heat back up again for the flavors to blend.
• Garnish with rinsed cilantro (I like A LOT of it).

We love this soup every single time and we usually eat it over steamed white rice. There might be a healthier option out there but I'm not interested in it right now. ;) I hope you enjoy it and please let me know if you add anything that makes it even better!

Sergeant Got a Troop!

Sergeant got a new puppy! Ok...so maybe Sergeant didn't really want a puppy at all but we hoped he would enjoy a playmate. Jarrod has continued on with his mob grazing and spends lots of time moving cows, filling up water buckets, and making sure everyone is doing well. Because of all the time he spends out there alone (I usually have to go teach or keep up with housework) I really wanted him to have a companion to keep him company. I figured a perfect companion for him would be an Australian shepherd so that not only would he have a companion but maybe he could have a working companion. 

Wish granted! My parents' aussies had puppies and we quickly fell in love with a red tri-color aussie. He has an easy going, joyful, playful personality with the sweetest face and dopiest little amber colored eyes. We named him Troop.

We've watched countless videos and done endless research on how to train this dog so we couldn't be more pleased to find how smart he is! He's 9 weeks old and can sit, stay, and lay down. "Come" is a bit of a challenge but we're working on it and Sergeant is really helping in that area because he is so militant about following commands. Whenever we can't get Troop back, we tell Sergeant to go get his brother and in about 30 seconds they are both back at the door waiting for treats. 

We've been trying to train him with treats and without treats so that he doesn't depend on them. He does well without them but does better with them. His attention span is short at this age but we are amazed at how much he soaks in during the short training periods. After training sessions, we give him lots of love, reinforce good behavior and let him nap so he can ponder all he's been taught. Like I said earlier, Sergeant makes it easier because if Troop doesn't understand, he watches Sergeant and picks it up almost immediately. He is motivated by affirmation and truly enjoys hot dogs. He's such a good boy and continues to fit right into our family.

Sergeant gets a little grumpy some days and we are quickly learning to separate them and remove any territorial inducing items on those days. We've also re-enlisted his leash to control fights and remind him who is boss. We are trying desperately to stay away from frustration and anger and lean towards joy and affirmation but his stubbornness continues to test us in those areas. He's a brilliant dog and we know he will reform but the vet says it will take about 6 weeks so we just have to be kind and patient in the meantime. We keep telling him to chill because in about 2 weeks, "little brother" will become "large brother" and will be able to eat Sgt as a snack but he thinks he can take him. LOL. Aggression usually comes from a place of fear so for now we try to reassure and show him that Troop is safe and with us he will always be protected. 

I LOVE having 2 dogs and can't wait to see what Troop can learn. I'll try to keep y'all updated on the Sergeant-Troop dynamic and post tips on how to ease aggressive behavior in dogs. Catch ya later!

Free Lawn Care

As Spring arrives, the flowers begin to bloom, the bees begin to buzz, and the grass begins to grow. We love all these things as they are part of the cycle of life. Most of the land around our house is pretty untamed and we like it that way; however, we like our front yard to stay somewhat trimmed so we can do normal front yard things and to keep the snake population down. Mowing the lawn isn't that hard but we always find it takes double the time we think it will because issues always arise with the lawn mower. If you've ever owned a machine you totally understand. SO, I decided we could use the mini goats to mow the lawn. It's a win win, right? My lawn gets mowed and they get a nice little snack outside the confines of their fenced in home.

In my mind I had this picture that I would go get the goats and they would joyfully follow me to the front yard and willingly go on their leashes and eat happily in harmony in the front yard, enjoying the green grass and freedom. THAT picture did NOT happen! At least not at first. My experience was hilarious and probably a lot like wrangling twins.

I got the stake and twisted into the ground and hit rock (we live on a giant rock). I moved two feet over and twisted again and hit pay dirt. I packed the dirt in around it and set off for the goats. I leashed both goats (they're leash trained and wear collars all the time so I can grab them easily) and DRAGGED them to the front yard (we haven't practiced the leash in a while). I attached each of them to the same stake and sat on the front porch to make sure they did ok.

Tank (my billy goat) is ENAMORED with Fancy Pants right now (breeding season) so he took advantage of the fact the she was on a leash and couldn't get away. It was a nightmare for her and I was reprimanding him for taking advantage of her. He finally stops and finds that he can reach the front porch. So he jumps up joyfully to the front porch and poops EVERYWHERE. He's so happy and starts tap dancing and pooping all over the porch. I pushed him off the porch and swore that if he didn't start behaving that he was going home (they hate to be separated). He didn't care one bit and called my bluff on that one. He went over the the stake in the ground and started head butting it from each side to loosen it and pull it up from the ground. Then he head butted the water bowl and dumped it out so Fancy couldn't get any. I got tired of fighting with him so I took Fancy's leash (which is actually like a 20 foot rope type thing) and attached her farther away from the stake, took up the stake, replanted the stake FAR FAR away and leashed Tank off by himself. They had just enough leash to touch noses and both reach the water but that was it.

Fancy went on with her day enjoying the snack and gratefully grazing her area. Tank tested the radius of his leash for like an hour before he gave up and started eating, rolling in the dirt, and sunning.

They mowed my lawn to a perfect length and I took them back before dark. Instead of walking them back on the leashes, I grabbed a bucket of food and started running. They followed me in hot pursuit in hopes for what was in the food bucket. They were rewarded with the feed when they safely entered their fenced in home.

Next time, I'll separate them to start with and get a different water bowl for Tank because all he does is head butt it and knock it over. I also won't leash them to walk them to the yard but use the bucket of food approach instead. They did a great job at being goats and I learned a lot as their human. I can't wait to try it again without all the mayhem.

Disclaimer: We were home all day and left the window open so we could keep an eye and ear on them in case something went wrong. I would not feel comfortable leaving those two hooligans unattended. Also, goats regulate their temperature with water so we made sure they had hydration the whole day. They eat anything that fits in their mouths so remember to remove any yard ornaments you don't want eaten. They will eat your entire flower bed so keep them away from that.

Rory Caught a Mouse!

Disclaimer:
If you're partial to mice, please do not continue reading this post.

I mentioned in my previous post about the mini lions pay rent by catching rodents. I also mentioned that rent was due pretty soon or they'd start getting evicted. (We'd never actually do that but I have to use empty threats to get action.)

Well! Rory caught a mouse! I don't usually know which cat caught a mouse but I always have my suspicions as to which one is actually the hunter. This time is was clearly Rory. (Pictured to the left)

It was late at night and my husband and I were chatting with my brother in the living room. Our front door is all window so that Sergeant can see what's happening outside (he can't reach the windows so we adapted our front door to meet his needs). Suddenly, I see Rory prancing back and forth and she starts "meowing" also. She's not a very verbal cat, or easily excitable for the matter so I was immediately alerted to her behavior. I figured she'd been hurt or something. So I go to the door and there she sits, proudly displaying her kill. She looked at me with such happiness in her eyes and I told her immediately what a good kitty she is. I wish I had captured the look on her face but she was pretty camera shy. She continued to ask for attention so I opened the door, stepped out onto the front mat (after demanding Sergeant stay inside - I didn't want to start any fights...Rory is a tough one), and stroked her head telling her I was SO proud of her. She was beaming. I also congratulated her on paying rent for the whole family and suggested she rub it in the other cats' faces. I think she replied that she was never gonna tell them about it so she could eat the whole thing...and I don't blame her - those mooches.

Some people ask me how to make a cat hunt mice. I haven't completely figured that out other than the personality of the cat and something I read in a book. It said that if a cat never learned to hunt as a kitten that it never would. However, we found Rory on the streets as a baby and I never taught her so it might just be instinct.

The only cats I've had that are good hunters are savage, independent, socially awkward but still enjoy minimum human interaction. This is not an end-all-be-all formula for "mousers" but just my personal experience with hunters. If you're wanting to teach your kitten to hunt, I'd suggest getting him/her a toy to play and fight with. Play with her/him by mimicking a running mouse. It's literally a "cat and mouse" routine where the mouse plays dead and then tries to run away. If you've ever seen it in person, you realize how cruel and sad it is but I try not to judge since my house is mouse free. Kittens also enjoy shoe laces, fluff balls, and tiny stuffed animals. Encourage playful behavior with the toy but NOT with your hands. You'll give them the wrong idea and forever being sporting kitty scratches on your hands, wrists, and ankles. Painful and not cute. Good luck with your mini lions and let me know if you have any questions.

Yay for Free TV!

For the past two years, we've chosen not to have cable or satellite. It no longer fit our budget and it seemed like a vortex for laziness. We also had a slight falling out with the company over a bill and cut our ties immediately...which ended up being a blessing because we really needed a break from it any way. We also don't have internet for budget reasons but decided we wanted it when we moved into the cabin. After countless calls to countless companies we found our attempts were futile...apparently too many people are using up space on the satellites and no company will provide us service. Needless to say, it has been a VERY quiet and peaceful, sometimes boring year at the cabin.

We actually were able to receive satellite TV signal (go figure) but still didn't want to fork over the $100+ a month for the 3 channels we actually watch. So we've been making great use of bargain movies and old series on DVD to curve our boredom (the sun goes down at 5:30 so we can only work outside for so long). For Jarrod's birthday, his mom got him an antenna (which looks nothing like the bunny ears I grew up with), we attached it to our TV with RG6 coax cable and BOOM! We've got like 30 channels and connection to the outside world we've been without for years! We really don't want to fall into the laziness vortex we used to live in but I have to admit that it's pretty nice to vegetate in front of the TV for an hour or two at night after dinner. We finally get to be in on the news when it happens and check the weather in the morning which is awesome! We've been so disconnected for the last year that it almost felt like we lived in a different world than everyone else...totally shocked to hear about shootings that happened the previous week or a state of the union address that we missed. We were VERY grateful for the quiet, news-less bubble we lived in but are glad to be back in the know.

ANY WAY, we used RG6 coax cable so that it could go outside but if you live closer to the TV stations, you could probably keep the antenna inside. The instructions say it doesn't matter where you point it because it has 360 degrees of signal but we live far enough away from the stations that I think it matters. We also used those little cable hook things to attach it along the wall and beams of the porch. We get all the local channels except one that is kind of spotty (which happens to be the one with our favorite shows so at least it'll keep us from getting too addicted). It's kind of ugly up there on our roof but I know we'll get used to it and we had to put it where the mini lions couldn't fight it. Plus, the cost of the "antenna" is about as much as a month and a half of satellite TV (and we didn't even pay that because it was a gift!). That alone makes it worth it to me...save that money! It doesn't have recording capabilities but for an added price you can get a DVR or Tivo that gets the job done. Some recording devices require a monthly fee but some are just an upfront cost. A lot of them connect to wifi for streaming capabilities but since WE DON'T HAVE INTERNET, we don't have to worry about that! We haven't ordered one yet but if we do, I'll let you know how that goes. :)

We are so excited to get these local channels and even more excited that it's free! One step closer to becoming self sustained and off the grid.