The Old Folks Home

[pennyJo1960]

I enjoy cooking here at home the guys are reals good at asking I make something again

 

[Alaskan]

My husband spent quite some time tracing his "roots;" a DNA test on him might show how many of the family stories are accurate. One version is that a family name is Irish, another holds that it is actually a bastardized version of a French name. Another family group did quite a bit of migrating around in Europe before some of 'em crossed the ocean, so there's quite a bit of diversity possible there.

I have uncles on both sides of my family that did the family genealogy thingy; not experiencing a need to reinvent the wheel, I'm taking their respective words for it.

@getaclue quite a cluster of birthdays you have there! Hope y'all have a great time; a pool party sounds like a lot of fun.

Personally, I'm celebrating not having a pool - or rather, a pond, in my pasture anymore. We've had a couple of weeks of dry weather, and the water is now gone.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean the hazards of water have entirely disappeared. There's a lot of peat in my soil, and the torrential downpours we experienced washed a lot of it from the higher areas and into the lowest ones out there. Most of it is firm enough to walk on, but not all . . . what's that they say about goats being born looking for a way to kill themselves?

I looked out my kitchen window, and I saw my old goat Daisy lying down near the back fence. After a while, I realized she wasn't lying down, she was stuck. She had found one of the few spots of muck that were soft and deep enough that it wouldn't support her weight, and had sunk in up to her belly. I fetched a lead rope from the shed and gingerly made my way out to her. The ground supported me (barely), but I guess goat feet are just a little too small. By digging in the muck, I managed to get my hands under her, and passed the rope under her rib cage. By pulling up on the rope, I managed to free her front legs, but she couldn't get any purchase so she just folded her legs and lay down again. I hunted up some pieces of deck board and managed to work a couple of them under her front end, then I dug down on each of her back legs until I could get hold of the hock and pull the leg free. With all of her legs free, she still just lay there. I pulled her over until she was entirely on the boards, and still, she lay there. With my sweat dripping on her, I pulled up on the rope, and yelled in frustration, "come on, you stupid beast, stand up!" Finally, she did, and ambled off as if nothing had happened. Evidently, it really was just that spot.

Crazy day! Crazy goat!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Now I know why we did not have them

 

[ronott1]

I made lasagna in my pressure cooker--I used a spring form pan on a trivet. When it was done in the cooker, It went under a broiler to brown.

It was very good!

 

[Beer can]

I made lasagna in my pressure cooker--I used a spring form pan one a trivet. When it was done in the cooker, It went under a broiler to brown.

It was very good!

 

[ronott1]

Instant Pot Ground Beef and Sausage Lasagna
Jul 12, 2018 | 11:33 am
By
David Kaplan
This effortless approach to making lasagna is a game changer
Perfect for when you’re craving oven-baked lasagna but don’t want to turn on the oven to cook, our Instant Pot recipe is a delicious take on this Italian classic. This version is layered with a quick and simple homemade ragù, which combines ground beef and sausage, making it easy on your wallet. Building the dish in a springform pan helps to release and serve the final product, and setting it on a trivet over water in the Instant Pot cooks it nice and gently

Notes
If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can make this sish with any slow cooker.

Total Time
1 1/2 h
8
Servings
492
Calories Per Serving
Ingredients
For the beef and sausage ragù:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Pound ground beef
• 1/2 bulk Italian sausage
• 1 Cup onion, diced
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 Cup white wine
• 1 28-ounce can good-quality Italian tomatoes with juices, tomatoes crushed well with your hands
• 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 Teaspoon crushed red pepper flake
• Salt, to taste

For the lasagna:

• 4 Cups beef and sausage ragù
• 10-12 oven-ready lasagna sheets
• 1 1/2 Cup mozzarella, grated
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan, grated
• Fresh basil, optional for garnish

Directions
For the beef and sausage ragù:
Preheat the Instant Pot to Saute and adjust to More/High heat. Add oil to the pot and just before it starts to smoke, add the ground beef, sausage, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon until browned, about 5-10 minutes.

Add the tomato paste and continue to cook until it turns a deep rusty color, about 2 minutes. Add white wine and deglaze, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Stir in the canned tomatoes, oregano, red pepper, and season with salt to taste. Lock the lid into place, select Pressure Cook, and adjust the pressure to High. Cook for 10 minutes, and let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Before unlocking the lid, quick-release any remaining pressure. Carefully transfer the ragù to a bowl and set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.

Rinse and wipe out the pot with a paper towel and add 1 1/2 cups of water to the pot.

For the lasagna:
Spray an 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray and ladle a little of the ragù onto the bottom of the pan to create a thin, even layer (this prevents the lasagna from sticking to the pan).

Next, place 2-3 lasagna sheets in an even layer on top, breaking them to fit if needed., then another layer of ragù, then a layer of mozzarella, then noodle, then ragù, and so on until the pan is full. Finally, top with the Parmesan.

Cover the pan tightly with foil and place it on a trivet with handles. Lower the lasagna into the pot. Lock the lid, select Pressure Cook, adjust to High, and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the steam valve is in the Sealing position and that the Keep Warm button is off.

When the cooking time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Before unlocking the lid, quick-release any remaining pressure. Remove the lid and carefully remove the lasagna out of the Instant Pot, and uncover. If you want the top of the lasagna to be browned and crispy, place on a baking sheet and broil for 5 minutes in the oven. Place the pan on a large plate, unlock the springform, and remove the sides of the pan. Cut into wedges, garnish with basil, and serve.

 

[Beer can]

Have a neighbor problem . New Jersey neighbor's are now permanent not just weekend warriors. And they have chickens now...
DW about on the 'warpath'... they've hollard at our kids for chasing their chickens out of our garden and away from our blueberry bushes, dw sent them out to do this... The wife told them to just shoe, shu? Wave your hands and they'll move, don't chase them with sticks... They chased them with "weapons"...
DW wants me to confront them, tell them to keep their damn chickens on their own property...and leave our kids alone.
I can't. I wish they would, I no longer free range cause I don't like my birds helping themselves to our garden.
BUT, when we moved here several yrs ago now, we had chickens AND guineas free ranged, and they trespassed on their property quite often, they didn't have a problem with that, thought they were awesome and said some day they would have their own. We had tons, TONS of ducks back then, and we have a small pond but they have a huge pond, our ducks spent more time in their pond then ours, and they were ok with that...
How the F' do I tell these 'city folk' we do not want your chickens on our side, when we did the same yrs ago?

 

[CapricornFarm]

Very good and professional looking. Makes my mouth water.

All i have had since we moved here is frozen pizza. I hate it, especially since it usually has small bits of peppers and i have to pick them off. They kill my guts. Maybe next time i go to Danville i will order Papa Johns.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Have a neighbor problem . New Jersey neighbor's are now permanent not just weekend warriors. And they have chickens now...
DW about on the 'warpath'... they've hollard at our kids for chasing their chickens out of our garden and away from our blueberry bushes, dw sent them out to do this... The wife told them to just shoe, shu? Wave your hands and they'll move, don't chase them with sticks... They chased them with "weapons"...
DW wants me to confront them, tell them to keep their damn chickens on their own property...and leave our kids alone.
I can't. I wish they would, I no longer free range cause I don't like my birds helping themselves to our garden.
BUT, when we moved here several yrs ago now, we had chickens AND guineas free ranged, and they trespassed on their property quite often, they didn't have a problem with that, thought they were awesome and said some day they would have their own. We had tons, TONS of ducks back then, and we have a small pond but they have a huge pond, our ducks spent more time in their pond then ours, and they were ok with that...
How the F' do I tell these 'city folk' we do not want your chickens on our side, when we did the same yrs ago?

Sounds like you need some good fencing.

 

[pertnear09]

All i have had since we moved here is frozen pizza. I hate it, especially since it usually has small bits of peppers and i have to pick them off. They kill my guts. Maybe next time i go to Danville i will order Papa Johns.

Yea I try to avoid frozen pizzas but sometimes it can't be helped.