Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Pickling Eggs...



Boil or steam some eggs...


This is Stella, a 13 year old young pup that I was taking care of while her owner was away. I had lots of company while I was cooking and peeling the eggs.  

Have you ever wondered what to do with your left over dill pickle juice?

More company...


Peel your boiled or steamed eggs...

Add cooked and peeled eggs to your left over dill pickle juice. Make sure the eggs are fully covered with juice.

I also made pickled eggs using left over pickled beet juice. I used the same technique that I used with the left over dill pickle juice. I made a spicy version of pickled eggs using 2/3 c apple cider vinegar, 2/3 c water  and 2 oz of hot sauce for 1/ 2 dozen eggs. Let the eggs marinate in the fridge for at least two weeks before eating. The pickled eggs should last  up to 3 months or longer if stored properly.  

 
This is Evander, a hungry abandoned Llama that was also looking for a hand out. We have had amazing snow drifts this year that have covered up the grass most of the winter. Evander has never once come into our yard until this year. We picked him up some hay, so he wouldn't starve.



Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Homemade Egg Noodles



Egg noodles cost about $1 a pound or more to buy at the store and they have unidentifiable ingredients that are probably not good for you. Homemade egg noodles only cost pennies and are very simple to make. It only takes 2 ingredients to make homemade egg noodles, flour and eggs, that's it.



Here is a good rule of thumb, two eggs for each cup of flour and a little for rolling out the dough. Just add 1 cup of flour to your shallow mixing bowl. Make a little well in the center. Crack two eggs into the well.



Mix and then knead until it looks like this. Just takes a few minutes. I couldn't take a picture since I had dough all over my hands. My camera still had flour on it, but it wipes off easily enough.



Cover and let rest for 20 minutes. While the dough is resting, bring salted water or soup base to a boil. I used turkey stock out of a turkey that I had roasted the day before yesterday. I had purchased a couple of turkeys that were on sale for .57 a pound a little while back. Wow, that was a bargain considering you can't get any kind of meat for under $2 a pound anymore. The cost of food is ridiculous....




Roll it out pretty thin. It plumps up when it cooks. My dough is a beautiful rich color due to my home grown eggs. Thank you Chickie birds...




I used my pizza cutter to cut the noodles. I also cut them into shorter pieces, so they would fit on my spoon when I ate the soup. If using in other dishes cut into whatever size and length you need.



I dusted the cut noodles with a little more flour to keep the noodles from sticking together as they cooked. I also added the left over flour to my soup to make it a little thicker. Waste not, want not...





Add the noodles to your salted boiling liquid of your choice. Do not skip the salt. Boil for at least three minutes.






You can use these noodles in any dish that you want. Just use your imagination. Enjoy...

First Signs Of Spring...