Marinated Smoked Chicken or Beef Recipe

Lady Rooster's Marinate

2/3 cup Vegetable oil
1/2 cup Soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. Brown sugar
1 tsp. chopped garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. yellow mustard
1/4 cup vinegar or lemon juice


Tenderize beef than marinate for at least 6 hours, over night for more flavor.
Pour marinate over beef in a Ziplock bag, turning a few times.  Great on Kabobs also.

Place chicken breast/pieces in Ziplock bag pour marinate over.  Same amount
of marinating time as with beef.

Do not re-use marinate.

May Days On the Farm!!!

You can tell it is almost summer time on the farm, time to mow down for the first haying. Thank you Gary Minter for using one of your few days off to mow for your mother-in-law!!!!

One of the horses, Chico was bitten by a snake last week.  He has been pinned up recieving treatment since.

He is happy now to be out of the bull barn (Isolation) and back into the pasture with his girls!

A Golden Tail Hawk was watching for baby bunnies, I closed my eyes each time he dove into the hay!!!

Family Favorite Recipes

Chicken Spinach Lasagna 1 Pkg (box) lasagna noodles, cooked per pkg directions 1 box frozen spinach, cooked per pkg directions 2 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces Sauce: 1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese 1 can mushroom soup 1 container sour cream ( can used fat free) 1 can sliced mushrooms 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Mix sauce ingredients together. Add chicken pieces. Then add spinach. Layer sauce and noodles, beginning with noodles and ending with sauce. Sprinkle with extra grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 min., covered with foil, and then 10 more minutes uncovered. Let stand 10 minutes. Cut into sections.

 

Gilbert's Dry BBQ Rub

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 (2.5 oz) chili powder (less is okay more is better)

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash ground clove

1 pkg dry lime powdered drink mix (Margarita, Kool-Aid)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. cayenne power

 Mix above ingredients together, can be stored for months in dry location.

Cover rare meat with dry rub just before smoking.

Good on turkey, chicken, brisket, etc.

As meat smokes the sugar hardens and holds in the liquids.

Wet Sauce to serve with smoked meats:

1/2 cup dry mix

1 1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup wine/water

Enjoy

Barn Cats and Other Animals on the Farm

 Charlie

 Pudge

 Tommy's cat ChatterBox

 How many barns cats are coming for breakfast??

Cindy Lou Who watching over the farm at night. 

Tommy playing with his cats. 

 Koko dressed for winter 2012

Charlie:  birdfeeder and a birdhouse....surely I can catch lunch!

Where are my sunflower seeds??

Tommy and Scary Eyes.

Started a Winter Quilt

Mother enjoys watching me quilt in the front bedroom in the afternoons.  While living on the farm she always had a quilt in this room so when her lady friends dropped in they'd sit around the quilt and gossip.  

 I found this 9 patch quilt in the attic among about 8 other mom had bought over the years.  I like the bright yellow color and the old linen material in the 9 patch.  In the large yellow squares I traced a Rooster with a heart around it.  So far I am really loving this quilt.

I'm just about ready for the first roll of the quilt.  If I get serious about quilting again I am going to invest in a better frame because this one is missing 2 legs, the latch doesn't hold as tight as I like.

Christmas on the Farm

Mom and I got the Christmas tree up and started decorating the house and yard.  Our first family Christmas on the farm in 15 years.

We had a wonderful visit with the Smesny family from Georgia.  Here is mom with her grandsons, Jason and Steve.

Here 7 of mom's 9 grandchild, their first visit since 2004.

Moving Day!

Rooster and I are moving in the morning back into my parents old farmhouse.  I am very excited to be back in the country with the animals, yards, garden and birds. 

It is very hot here, 109 degrees today and for the past 37 day it has been over 100.  Thank heavens for AC. 

May Brings Many Changes to the West Balcony

May has been a very busy month for Mr. Rooster and me.  Our grand-peep started playing T-Ball with Rooster as the coach.  Yesterday was his last day of kindergarten.  We're so proud of him finishing school two weeks early because he has passed all his test to have early release.

My west balcony has grown so much over the past month.  My Morning Glories are now climbing the fishing line above the balcony rails and each morning I have purple flowers.  I have tomatoes on my patio plants, lots of blooms for future tomatoes. 

My upside down tomato plant is doing great, about 15 blooms so hopeful the warmer weather of June will bring lots of tomatoes.  I soak this basket every other day for about 30 minutes in a large cooler I fill with water.  Because of the Dusty Miller, Petunias and other plants that share this basket I feed it twice a week with bloom and tomato fertilizer.  Soaking wet this basket weights about 50 pounds!!!

 A Sunflower peeks out of the Morning Glories. 

West balcony hanging baskets with Sweet Potato vines, annual flowers that need a little more heat to start flowering. Morning Glories climbing up the fishing line, they give us a living privacy fence.  We've enjoyed waking up each morning to the pretty flowers.                           

This week I hope to see my third Gerber Daisy flower bloom.  The first two blooms have been yellow and pink.  What color will this bloom be??!!

I started this young tomato in January from seed.  My only tomato seedling that made it through the weird spring weather. 

Morning Glories climbing higher, I added the fishing line last week, this week they've grown another foot taller. 

 My daughter gave me a start of what my mom called Hen and Chicken.

 I planted this patio tomato plant in February, I've harvested a few tomatoes each month and now that the weather is warming up it has grown another foot and added lots of cherry tomotoes. 

My largest hanging basket with my upside down tomato plant, Dusty Miller and annual flowers. 



June should bring more flowers and veggies to my west balcony with the warmer weather in Texas.

Dallas Zoo Raised Gardens

My little peep grandson, Tommy had a field trip with his class to the Dallas Zoo.  I loved their raised garden with herbs and vegetables. 

I had Tommy touch the chocolate mint basil then smells his fingers...he thought if he licked them they would taste like chocolate!!!

Fun day with him and my daughter. 

My New Plants and Planters

New tin Rooster planter with a "rescue" Gerber Daisy, Begonia, some seedlings and a Sweet Potato vine.  Drained holes for drainage.

 Close-up of the pink Gerber Daisy.  Bought a Lowes after the storm for $2.50. 

 My first tomato from a patio tomato. 

Begonias from Lowes, 44 cents a 6 pack.  Poor babies needed a new home on my east balcony. 

 Africa Daisy in a Rooster planter.  Another "rescue" plant from Lowes. 

 My new basket (garage sale find) pink Geranium & Sweet Potato vine.  It is lined with newspaper and moss then soil.  Makes a wonderful welcome to my front door.

East balcony. 

 East balcony.  I only have to water this balcony every other day.

Vintage pitcher that I drained 4 holes in for drainage, Pink Geranium.   One of my friends gave me one of her babies from her Airplane plant it is in it new home a vintage green ceramic pot that I drained holes in for drainage. 





This evening while watering my plants I saw a big worm come up for water.  Last week Mr. Rooster when fishing and brought home not only fish but is left over worms.  I sprinkle a little cornmeal and coffee grounds to feed it and he lives in my plants.  I feed him and his other friends he works my soil.  We both win!