INDIANA BYC'ers HERE!

[Faraday40]

We finally pulled all the bell peppers (about a half bushel) that I've neglected to attend to before now due to busyness.

We stuffed all of them last night (I just do seasoned ground meat and cheese...if we want grains we could do them on the side) and all are in the freezer ready to pull out for a handy meal.

That's such a relief as I was afraid they were going to go to waste from lack of time for them.

Now...
On a project for work (new website to build) so I'm working on that this afternoon.

Sounds yummy & a great idea for future meals.

 

[Leahs Mom]

Back when I had young kids at home we would do "once a month cooking". I had gotten a book by that name. The idea was to plan out a month's worth of meals, then make them all at one time and freeze them. [Didn't have to be a whole month...even just 2 weeks helps a lot. But it's nice not to have to cook again for a whole month!]

So, for example, if you had 10 meals that each needed 1 lb. of ground beef browned with salt and onions, you would brown it all at once. (Think lasagna, spaghetti sauce, various casseroles, etc.) You'd look at each meal and find the common things then do them in one big batch, then use the components to make the meals.

Even though we listed out a meal for 5 days for each week, it always lasted much longer due to leftovers, etc. I'd list what we had made on a calendar, but we'd just pick a meal (no matter what day it was listed on) and have what we were in the mood for that day, crossing it off. That was the list of what was in the freezer.

Anyhow, that was a great for that time in my life. I home schooled for several years and the kids could help as part of "home ec" projects, learning how to measure, etc.

I haven't done that in a long time but I told my husband that whenever I cook anything from now on, I'm going to make a double or triple batch and put one or 2 in the freezer to begin building up a stock again.

I work outside the home and it's so nice to just go to a list in the morning and pull something out that can just cook when I get home. And KNOW that it has healthy ingredients as opposed to "junk food packaged meals" from the grocery.


It actually took us about 4 hours to do it on a Saturday morning.

 

[Faraday40]

I do a similar idea. Basically, this time of year we have a lot of extra produce. So Swiss chard, green beans, shredded zucc, tomatoes, etc. go in the freezer. Besides that, I make a lot of BIG pots of soup with garden veggies. I call it "backyard stew." We eat 1 meal for dinner the day it's cooked & then freeze the remaining 2-3 dinner portions. I do it 1-2 times per week, so we can pull it out when needed. (I teach sci for a home school co-op, one day a week. It's a long day, K-10th, a 40 min commute in Chicago traffic....+35 min back home. I'm pretty worthless by the time I'm home. The day before is spent planning & gathering supplies.) On those days, I often want a simple heat & serve meal.

Our house is used to much of the meal coming from the backyard, but the rest of the family gets a big kick out of it. Therefore, a jar of pickles, loaf of zucc bread, cherry pie filling, or frozen bag of backyard stew make great gifts.

My sister did the once a month cooking. For her big family of 9 & home schooling it was a necessity. For me, it's just a way to enjoy garden produce year round and reduce the grocery bill.

 

[#Chicken-whisperer]

Franklin Indiana area... getting ready to start winterizing the coop... anyone got off grid type tips?? Always looking for great ideas.

 

[Faraday40]

Franklin Indiana area... getting ready to start winterizing the coop... anyone got off grid type tips?? Always looking for great ideas.

We made "storm windows" to turn our covered run into a sort of green house. Thick clear sheets of vinyl (like shower curtains) were stapled to wood frames & then attached to the run. Blocks, snow, wind, rain, & kept the sand nice & dry. Sun helps keep things warm too. We reuse the same ones every winter.
* The 1st year we used plastic sheeting & tarps & had all sorts of tearing. I like the storm windows much better. This will be our 4th winter using them.

I also use a 5 gal bucket with horiz chicken nipples & a submerged heater too keep the water liquid. We get several -20'F nights & below zero days. I do not heat my coop, but the water stays liquid even on the coldest nights! If you have no electricity near your coop, then using a black rubber tire around your waterer may help keep it liquid longer.

 

[kanina]

We made "storm windows" to turn our covered run into a sort of green house. Thick clear sheets of vinyl (like shower curtains) were stapled to wood frames & then attached to the run. Blocks, snow, wind, rain, & kept the sand nice & dry. Sun helps keep things warm too. We reuse the same ones every winter.
* The 1st year we used plastic sheeting & tarps & had all sorts of tearing. I like the storm windows much better. This will be our 4th winter using them.

I also use a 5 gal bucket with horiz chicken nipples & a submerged heater too keep the water liquid. We get several -20'F nights & below zero days. I do not heat my coop, but the water stays liquid even on the coldest nights! If you have no electricity near your coop, then using a black rubber tire around your waterer may help keep it liquid longer.

Can we get a picture of these windows? I've thought about mounting plexiglas along my run walls, but we'll probably use plastic sheeting again this year (need to use it up so its not in my garage for another two years).

 

[Faraday40]

The red barn style coop is the orig. It came with a tiny run which we made into a tractor. The neighbors donated a door, fiberglass roof panels from a demolished shed, & some cedar lumber from a fence, so the tall run was built. At 1st it was like a screened room, then I added wood around the bottom to keep snow out & give some shade in summer. When I added more chickens, I put on a run extension with flip up roof for cleaning. Some chickens sleep in the tall run & some inside the red coop.

I put up the storm windows in late Oct & take them off in March. When daytime temps drop to about 35'F, I stop using the open the waterers and put the heating ring into the nipple drinker.

The storm windows do not make a perfect seal on purpose. The side of the tall run facing the red coop is open for ventilation as well as a few triangular places in the run extension. In the winter they like to sunbathe & take dust-baths in the run extension. My chickens are sort or spoiled & choose not to walk outside when it snows.

Inside the tall run, I have a shelf with a roosting bar to increase space.

 

[Nyla]

This search for Lavender Muscovy's is really bumming me out! So far I found a fellow BYC member but she only does first come first served. She refuses to let me buy them. She said I have to check her FB page and its first come first served... Why tell me about it then?
And now I found a person 2 hours away from me but they are the same way.... I don't use facebook.... So depressed over this! Lavender Muscovy's is the only color I don't have and have been searching for over 2 years now..

 

[JanetMarie]

Some of my pretty cockerels. They are bred from a mixed buff Orpington rooster and Dominique hens.

These boys are so soft.

 

[JanetMarie]

A chick of the same breeding.