Welcome to the country.....

Want to go on walk...pant, pant......come on, you know your want too.....

PPLEAASSEE!!!!!

Great....lets go!

Oh wow....check this out!  

Sorry, back to business ~ our walk ~ lets go see the barn......

Here we are...

 Its "feeding time"....I will just wait over here....

You really don't want to get between them and their feed buckets!

See what I mean.....

A little puppy like me would be pulverized....

Crushed to smithereens...

Yeah....I know....food ~ its awesome!

Now that everybody is eating.....

Lets GO!!!!!! Next job is to close up a pasture so these grass eating critters wont

graze it to death!

This way.....

Confused????  Just follow the signs!

Yep, this pasture is pretty bare....lock those grass eating monsters OUT ~ what next?

I am really HOT and TIRED and THIRSTY (whine, whine)....please can we go home???? We have done enough work around here.....

Yes...Yes...this rocks.....a pond!  OK....we can stay a bit longer......

Just one more time and I promise I will come out...I PROMIIISSEEE!!!!!

Now...that i am all cooled off ~ on to the next adventure.....

TO THE BARN!!!!

Destination in sight...

You may call this horse poo.....

Thank you horses

I call it dinner!

I am ready to finish our walk....but first ~ I have to play in this mud!!!!

And I would love to investigate this junk pile.....but

I know, I know....you are ready to go home...

Happy now.....what, we are not stopping here?

Oh, yes.....that sounds like fun....lets go to Gran-E's

Over the hills, and through the woods ~ to Grandmother's house we go!!!!

Always stop to smell the flowers!

EXCUSE ME....CAN A GIRL HAVE A BIT OF PRIVACY?????

We are here....can't you walk any faster?

Hey Gran - E.....can you come out to play?

Will you let me drive the golf cart???? Please, Please ~ Pant Pant, whine, whine -

 I am really tired of all this walking!

Every party has a pooper - OK....I will come upstairs and listen to you TALK to
Gran-E and Charlie on their new deck!

Quite an impressive view from up here.

Talk...Talk....Talk.....Yawn......

Hey...new cushions....if I could just get them to turn their backs ~ I could have some real puppy fun!

Hmmmm.....what the heck is that?  I think it is a humming bird feeder....Gran-E LOVES Hummingbirds.

Yep - she loves those humming birds...no fair - why aren't there dog feeders every where?

Really - even a humming bird wind chime?

And a .....hmmmm that would be a ???????? what??????

Do they think all this talking is fun?  - this boring TALK...TALK...TALK is soooo fascinating.....I will check in soon but for now
I gotta take a little nap....nite nite!

Chicken Soup for the soul....how to clean out your refrigerator

Today you are going to learn how to make a fabulous ~ home-made, healthy and EASY

CHICKEN SOUP!

Ingredients:

Old vegetables in refrigerator

Half eaten carcass of a Rotisserie chicken

Favorite pasta

TIP:  Walmart has the best Rotisserie chickens and if you get "family size" (basically the size of a small turkey) it will be plenty...if you get the smaller chickens you may need two if you like a lot of chicken in your soup.  The whole secret to this recipe is to buy Rotisserie chicken because you are going to boil the whole chicken - skin and all - to make your stock! You can make home-made stock super easy this way. I buy the "garlic buttery" flavor at Walmart. 

You will also clean out your fridge in the process of making this recipe - Its a two for one good deal!

Now, how on earth does an onion grow in a cold, dark drawer of a refrigerator.  I think of all the plants and vegetables that I painstakingly water, fertilize and fret over, and this dang onion grows in the worst of conditions...well it will now grow in my chicken stock! Remember - it doesn't have to look good to taste good.  This is about utilizing everything that is on its last leg (or onion shoot).

Brown celery works too!

This is in my secret arsenal of kitchen weapons ~ in every flavor ~ beef, chicken, vegetable and ham!  I use it in EVERY soup or stew that I make to enhance flavors.  Today, I just used a tablespoon as the Rotisserie chicken is already so flavored (thank you nice grocery store for doing my work for me) that you will not to add enhancement.

Another good tip  - peeled garlic cloves packaged six to an individually wrapped package.  Unlike the jars of peeled garlic cloves that don't that long once you open the jar, you can open the bags as you need them and they last forever! I put several cloves in (use a garlic press).

Carrots!  When using the vegetables for your stock - use some of them to flavor the stock and save some to put back in the soup when you add the pasta.  The ones that are used to make the stock will be strained and next batch will be cooked about twenty minutes so they will be fresh and flavorful - not boiled to death!

"Pot O Herbs" - Herbs keep forever this way - Just add a few drops of water ever few days to it and keep covered with Saran wrap.  I use them to flavor the stock so you can throw in a handful (rosemary, thyme and sage)  use whatever you have on hand.  Since we will be straining the stock, there is no need to chop unless you want to!

Always ~ in every dish that is prepared ~ "Only in Louisiana"

A few shakes are mandatory for any dish!

To make this amazing stock - Cover your carcass with water.  Do you have some leftover white wine hanging around in that fridge of yours.....pour it in too!  Cut some of your veggies - large chucks are fine and throw in all the ingredients we just talked about.....boil for about 45 minutes or until chicken is falling off bone.  Oh, make sure you leave the skin of the chicken ON as that has all the yummy flavoring in it.  If you are worried about fat, you can let your broth cool and then skim the fat off but you need that skin in the broth!

Now it is time to STRAIN and PICK the chicken off the bone.  

YUM.....dark, rich, robust mouth watering broth

And now for the final stage  ~ told you this was easy ~ Pour your strained broth back into the pot you made it in, Add more chopped vegetables, garlic and pasta. I had 1/2 a bag of shells left so I used this but my preference is egg noodles for Chicken Noodle Soup.  Bring to a boil and cook until noodles and vegetables are done 

When you finish, your masterpiece will look like this.  I have been reading on my favorite blogs about the freak Spring snow storm that occurred this week.....so maybe this will warm you up if you are dealing with the last of the snow.

Toast a bit of bread with some cheddar cheese  have a bowl 

of some Chicken Soup for the Soul!

What a poet I am......