Canning.........New Adventure

Y'all know by now that I am a farm girl and I love to try new things.  Well, I tried something new for me but something my mom and dad used to do all the time but haven't done for a couple of years.

Last weekend we canned some green beans, tomato juice, and salsa.  About a month ago they did a HUGE batch of lime pickles (they are AMAZBALLS by the way) and some green beans and decided since they had so many tomatoes ready at once, why not make salsa!

Well we LOVE black bean and corn salsa so why not try to make that!?  Where else do you find a starting point for a recipe than good old Google!  I am telling y'all...........there are a MILLION and one ways to make this stuff and it is all the same thing!!!

So we started the process of canning, first with the green beans.  12 quart was what we finished with and those are really the quickest to can.  Pressure cooker for 20 minutes and you are good to go. 

Now, when it comes to making salsa you first have to get a mix.  So we started with Mrs. Wages.  It is a medium blend that already has some of the spices and things in it that you need for canning salsa.  Then we just decided what we were going to put in the salsa itself.  We opted to used sweet corn on the cob so we had to cook it first.

Let me tell y'all................deciding to do this when it is about 97 degrees outside wasn't one of our brighter moves!!  It gets pretty hot in the kitchen when you have ALL 4 BURNERS going!!!

I got this sweet new slicer/cutter that my parents bought me at the fair so we decided to try it out for our canning adventure!  It is called the Miracle Kitchen Plus and it works like a CHAMP!!

My mom wanted to try to make some corn relish.  This is the stuff you usually find on the salad bar at a restaurant. I LOVE it and so does my dad so we thought SURE!  So........to GOOGLE we go and found a simple recipe to try.  Again this one called for corn on the cob so it was going to use some of he same ingredients.  So I started getting all the veggies going, my mom started blanching the tomatoes, and my dad started cutting the corn off the cob to get everything going!

We had quite the assembly line y'all and all I can say is thank goodness B wasn't there to help us! We were pretty good at making our own mess!!!   

So first on the list was the corn relish.  It called for some onion, red pepper, green pepper, cucumber, corn and of course tomatoes. Get all those cut up and mixed together then there is a mix that you put over it while it cooks down for an hour to thicken up.

With the corn already cooked we started in on the black bean and salsa side.  This is the one that has the package of Mrs. Wages medium salsa and the tomatoes.  In goes the other ingredients and onto the stove it goes!

Remember y'all we have two things cook'n AND beans canning!! It was a hot mamma jamma in the kitchen!!

The beans were done and out of the pressure cooker they came to cool.  The corn and black bean salsa (cbb for short) was cooked down and thickened up by now so we could put it in pint jars and hot water bath it!  This is when you just put it in a BIG pot with LOTS of water for 40 minutes or so to let the jar seal and VIOLA you are DONE!!

Two batches later the CBB is done and the corn relish is ready to jar up and go!  Now this didn't turn out like we thought it would.  It doesn't look anything like it does on the salad bar but let me tell you, there truly are such things as a HAPPY ACCIDENT!!! This stuff is AMAZBALLS!!!

Both batches of corn relish are done and we think........What the heck, all the stuff is out, why not just keep going! SO, we decided to make some tomato juice for this winter for chili while we were at it!

Once we were finished we had 14 quarts 2 pints of tomato juice and 10 of each of the corn salsa's. 

  It was a blast and I can't wait to do it again!! We are trying to change up our corn relish recipe and will be doing a little different recipe for the CBB this next time!! We also decided to try taking it to the State Fair and see how we do next year! So to make sure it is good.......we are going to keep making it until we run out of tomatoes!!

Happy canning y'all!!

Piece and Chicken Grease Y'all!!

B's Hair Cut!!!

Well we did it y'all. B got his first hair cut EVER!!!  Man did my little boy age in about 10 minutes flat!!

I must say............that was one of the WORST 10 minutes of my life!!  Now, B has had some rough times in his life but it just breaks my heart to hear him cry, ever!  I know what y'all are going to say.  Kids cry that is just part of being a mom, but when it is one of those SCREAMING cries.............this mama doesn't deal well!!

A HUGE thank you to my friend Bridgette for cutting his hair for us!!  She did an amazing job of trying to make it fun and not scary for him but he just wasn't having it!  She had cartoons on for him when we got there and a cute little cape for him and everything.  B didn't think ANY of it was fun from the beginning!  She cut while he screamed and threw his head around and I was impressed she could do that while he was moving so much!!

Once he got sorta used to the whole cutting of the hair thing, she got out the trimmers and that totally freaked him out again!!  So then it was back to the screaming again!  Let me tell ya 10 minutes seems like FOREVER y'all when your son is screaming and crying!!

Good news, he got his first hair cut out of the way and it is done.  Bad news, mommy misses his curls and his hair will NEVER be that way again!! I never used to like my curly hair but now that I am older I love it!!  My daddy has curly hair, I have it and that was always something B had of mine!  Now it is gone!!!

I must tell y'all I cried almost the whole way home but I know it is just hair and there are worse things in life, right?  So I got it out of my system and I am fine now.  I just can't believe how fast my baby boy is growing up!!  He does have a little bit of wave and curl to his hair still but I would doubt there will ever be a day that his hair will be long enough to see it!

So here y'all go.............the new ADORABLE B!!

Not the best pictures but he was DONE with everyone by the time we were finished!

Weddings!!

Summer is usually a busy time of the year for me! Seems like there is never enough time to do everything!

There are always County Fairs and State Fair, and there are usually a wedding or two thrown in there too.  Well this year one of my "baby" cousins got married!  She really isn't a baby but most of  my cousins are younger than I am and I was always the baby sitter for most of them.  I can't believe she is all grown up and married now!!

The wedding was small and very laid back and absolutely PERFECT!! It is just exactly how I would have pictured her wedding being and I couldn't be happier for her!! She was a STUNNING bride and I know she will be very happy!

I am always one of those people that when I attend a wedding, I think............why didn't I do that when I got married! Or, Oh that would have been cute when I got married!

The truth is, I got married 5 years ago and those things were either not cute back then or I had in my head having a HUGE wedding was so much better!!!  LOL  Not that my wedding wasn't AMAZBALLS but there is something to be said about small intimate weddings too!

~~Squirrel~~ These allergies are KILLING me y'all!!!  I don't know about y'all but I can barely breath right now!!!  Sorry I just had to throw that out there!!!

Anyway, tomorrow will be an interesting post for y'all!  My baby boy will be getting his FIRST EVER haircut tonight and this momma is not dealing well AT ALL y'all!!!

So stay tuned to see how it all goes down!!

Piece and Chicken Grease Y'all!!

The Fair Quick & Dirty!!!

So I thought I could do this for each day but things just keep coming up and it gets farther from the days of the fair and that means it is harder for me to remember what I did each of those days!

I am going to do a recap for y'all the days 4-11!! I know I am being a slacker but I just have so much other stuff to talk to y'all about, I can't be trying to remember EVERYTHING!! :)

Here are the high-lights!!

My little steer jock! Uncle Erik is SO Proud!

B was having a blast in the cattle barn learning all the ways to be a steer jock! His cousin L LOVES showing him around the barn and pushing him in the stroller.  B looks up to him so much and had a blast with all the kids in the barn!!

Look Mom, this is where the steer goes!

One night while we were waiting on Papa to be done in the pig barn, we sat out on one of the benches and watch the "BIG" horses get hitched up on the street!  B thought this was pretty cool!!

Here we are watching the big horses!

I did work at my office's booth some during the fair, and since most of my family camps out there I had visitors stop by now and then! It was nice to break up the day and I got to see ALL my babies that way!! I didn't get a picture with me and my princess though! (Sorry K) :(

Here is my peanut and I at my office's booth

The food at the fair is just AMAZING!! I wanted to try things I hadn't tried before, were new and or had tried in the past and maybe would like them now.  Well, I found out that I STILL DO NOT like turkey legs! YUCK! But I tried to eat most of it because if I am going to pay $8 for the stupid thing y'all I damn sure am going to eat it!!  I tried the new Graham Champion Square......DELICIOUS!!! I ate my usual, footlong corndog, corn brat and funnel cake, but this year I tried three new things the MAYBE I shouldn't have because now I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!  First off would be the Dutch letter, I talked about that already, the salted nut roll..........AMAZBALLS!!!  And last but not least.....................THE SHRIMP CORNDOG!!!!!!

Now y'all, I will eat just about anything that has corn dog batter on it, but SHRIMP!?!?!?!?  Does it get any better?!?!?!?  Oh My Goodness!!!  It was SO YUMMY!!!! 

The Shrimp Corn Dog!!

Keep in mind y'all, I did have 11 days to eat all these things.....................but still, not the best for a dieter!!! :(

Back to the recap! We went to some free concerts but my favorite was Jana Kramer! She was pretty good and I loved her on One Tree Hill!

Jana Kramer

One night I went walking with my nephew L and we had a blast!! They have the cutest cutouts around the fair that you can take pictures in!! We went to town on these!!!

And finally, the last day of the fair was all about B!  He got to start the day with his favorite breakfast.....PANCAKES!!  Then it was up to Little Hands on the Farm for some farming!  He had a blast and it was VERY hard to get him off the tractors!!

I am a very proud mommy as he took his hard earned money (they get a "$1" for their crops they sell) and bought a banana!  He does love his nanas!

Next we were off to the Ag Building to do some Combining!  They had a set up there with tv screens so it looked like you were in a field combining.  It was for actual farmers to see how the machine worked but they let kids to it too!  He had a great time driving!!

B driving the Combine!

Off to the pig barn to watch some of the pig show and let mommy have some down time!!  I LOVE watching the pig show but to a 20 month old..........this is less than exciting! HOWEVER, if your Papa is in the show ring........it gets a lot more exciting!! :) I don't know who was more excited.........mommy that he wanted to be out there, Papa that he wanted to be in the ring, or B that he was with his Papa!!

B and Papa at the pig show!

When you do all this you need to be able to get your rest! So here is B, getting his rest at the fair!!! It was few and far between as he is a pretty busy little boy!! But you have to catch some ZZZZ's when you can when there is that much to do at the Iowa State Fair!!

B catching a nap at the fair!

Well y'all that is a quick and dirty of the 4-11 days of the fair! Sorry I couldn't do each day but I just have so much other stuff going on that I want to get to!!!  Mama Nellie is busy these days!!!

Piece and Chicken Grease Y'all!!

The Great State Fair.....Day 3

Before I start today's blog I have to tell y'all something!  For the past 5 years (give or take) I have had polish on my toes SOLID and it is a HUGE pet peeve of mine (I have talked about it on here before) about people wearing sandals and not having their toe nails painted.

WELL, today I do NOT have mine painted!!!  With the fair going on and being out there I didn't get in for my usual bi-weekly appointment so I have went over a month without getting my pedicure.  Now to some this might not be that big of a deal..............But to me.............THIS IS HUGE!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a FREAK when it comes to not having them painted and then to have sandals on today on top of that!! I am almost in a FULL ON PANIC ATTACK!!!!!

Calm down everyone, I am going STRAIGHT after work for a pedi and polish.  I just keep my feet covered and not let anyone look at them!!!

Alright y'all now that I am done with that lets get back to the fair review!!

Day three was a Saturday and I worked Farmers Market that morning for my GREAT friends at Breakfast Delights.  If you are ever at market you should stop by and see us and get some amazing food!!

My nephew showed feeder babies (these are baby calves that are just getting broke to lead and show) and he did an AMAZING job.  I wasn't there but Grandma saved the day by videoing the whole thing for me!!! I am such a proud AUNT!!

After getting back from market and showering off all the grease I headed down to the fair for the day. The first thing I did was.................You guessed it!! Got some food!!!  So many choices, what should I eat?!?!?!  My choice that day was a delicious Dutch letter and Gold Peak Tea from the Wooden Shoe!! Those Dutch Letters are SO GOOD!!!!!

Then it was time to do some walking around!  Headed for under the grandstand to do a little shopping and see if there was anything I couldn't life without.  NOPE didn't find anything but did get some great Christmas gift ideas!!

Off to the Walnut center do continue with my shopping of the fairgrounds. Didn't really find anything there either but it was nice to have air conditioning for a little bit.  Across the street is the horse barn, but better yet is the western wear stores.  Some of the best shopping can be done on the fair grounds!!!  They have really good "Fair Specials" on a lot of things and I usually try to get my "cowgirl" attire during the fair.  I had a pair of boots picked out before going and I knew what I wanted.   Just needed to find the right size.

Here is where the problem comes in............I don't have "girly" sized feet.  I have my mother's feet, which means they are very long and narrow.  Not as narrow as hers but I do have long feet.  So just like anything else that us "fluffy girls" like, they don't make them in our size!!!  The boots that I LOVED and wanted to get and was willing to spend $300 on...................OH they don't come in your size!!!!!  If they can make them in the one size smaller.........why can't they make them just the next size bigger?!?!?!?!

Next comes the bling belt I wanted to get!  My niece has one and she always tells me I need to get this or that.  So I was so excited to get something to be like her........WRONG!!!!  Again, fluffy girls don't get to wear things like that!!!!

So as you might imagine, I was DONE shopping for the day!!

The fair grounds had started to get pretty full by this time of the day with the weather being really nice so we decided to just make it an early night and head to the camper for some "home cooking".

We ate some grilled loan, fresh tomatoes, fresh cucumbers, and just relaxed on the deck.  Yes we build a deck for the camper at the fair.  Some year I am going to get a picture of it for y'all to see!! Now keep in mind this is my parents spot, if in the next oh 10 years of being on the waiting list my name comes up and I get my own spot......I might or might not have a deck of my own!!  LOL

Since I had been up pretty early that morning it was an early to bed night for me but it sure was nice to relax and sit on the deck and enjoy some family time!

Piece and Chicken Grease Y'all!!

Day two of the Fair!

I took a vacation day to enjoy the fair.  I ended up sleeping in and not going down to the fair very early but that is a nice thing about camping at the fair.  You get to do what you want when you want!!

I headed down to see what was going on in the cattle barn and have a couple of beers with everyone. This is one of the great things about knowing people that show cattle or livestock in general at the fair.  They get to have coolers in the barns.  So they can have beer in the coolers and you don't have to go spend $11 on a glass of beer and be broke in no time!!!

So I hung out in the barn for a while and took my favorite nephew out for some ice cream and to walk around for a little bit.  We checked out the dairy barn (our least favorite cattle) and looked at some boots he was wanting to get.  Then headed back to the barn. 

Tonight was the Cowgirl Queen Contest in the Jacobson Building.  I am not usually one to sit and watch a horse show but this is totally different.  I was once (back in the day) a Rodeo princess (or something like that) and I have been around livestock my whole life.  We aren't much with horses but my Aunt and Uncle and cousins are.  My one cousin was privileged enough to be a Queen candidate for the Cowgirl Queen Contest this year so I HAD to go watch!!

They have two divisions, Juniors & Seniors.  My cousin was in the Senior division and in the LAST class!!!  So getting in there early, wasn't a big concern! 

My sister-in-law and I decided to walk around a little before hand and check out some of the other girls.  They really go all out for this thing.  Some of them had their our "glam team" there doing their hair, makeup, and getting them dressed.  Then there was the horse to get ready too!!  What a big to do!!!!

My Cousin is in the black hat.  She did a great job!

She didn't win but I thought she did amazing and there were A LOT of girls there! 

After the contest was over, we headed for the shuttle to take us back up to the camp ground.  But first we had to make a pit stop.  I needed a little bit of sweetness to get me to the top of the hill.  So I stopped off for a funnel cake to enjoy on the way up.  It wasn't the best one I had had but it was early in the fair and I was sure they would only get better!

As most of you know, the first Friday night at the fair is known as East Side night.  Well you see all kinds while making your way to the shuttle and going by the Bud Tent.  It wasn't even 11 o'clock at night yet and there were plenty of people on the other side of drunk!!!  I am telling y'all................if I knew there was going to be that many law enforcement officers there, and that many more waiting for me when I left..........I would think twice about drinking that much at the fair! Plus remember those $11 beers I was telling y'all about...............well those don't get any cheaper if you drink more!!!!  I don't know how people can afford to drink that much!!! 

I will just stick to my cans of beer in the cattle barn from the color the redneck way!!! 

So we made our way through the drunks and crazies to the shuttle and back to the camper safe and sound.  It was a semi-early night to bed as I was working farmers market in the morning bright and early at 5:45am!!!

Piece and Chicken Grease Y'all!!!

Day one at the Fair

Well I wasn't sure how I was going to do this for the fair.  Since there are 11 days for the GREAT Iowa State Fair, I guess I will be doing 11 posts.  I know this is very late but I am a very busy lady these days!!! 

This year was a first for me as I spend the entire fair in the camper up on the hill.  16 nights in a camper sounded great in the beginning, but by the end of the fair.............I was READY to be in my own bed!!!  It was a great time however!

I had to work this day at my office's booth down on the fairgrounds.  You see a lot of very interesting people while sitting at a booth for 6 hours.  I am a HUGE people watcher so this is great fun for me.  The fashion seen at the fair is priceless to say the least!

After my shift at the booth I went to pick up B for his first "big boy" experience at the fair! He went last year but he was so little and didn't really interact with much.  This year was a totally different experience!

On our way down the hill, while walking with the stroller we saw a lady giving another lady a hair cut outside her camper. She was completely prepared with the cape and all.  I am guessing this wasn't the first time it had happened and it won't be the last!!  What a site to see at the fair!! 

We headed to the cattle barn to see some of  B's favorite people! His cousins Lukas, Krista, and Brelynn were there waiting to see him! He gets so excited when he sees them he almost jumps out of the stroller!  I spent most of my life in the cattle, sheep, and hog barns so it melts my heart to see B enjoy himself in there. 

 

 

B is learning the tricks of the trade from Lukas

On our way to meet the shuttle I saw something I have never seen at the fair in all my 32 years of attending.  I have seen little kids running around the barn bare footed but that is "normal" where I come from.  But to see a grown women, walking around up by the main area of the fair WITHOUT ANY SHOES ON.................that was DISGUSTING!!! She looked like she had been doing it for a while too.

If you have ever been to the fair and stayed in the campers or been to the campers on the hill, it is a pretty good walk up the hill.  So we usually take the shuttle at least to the stop that is closest to our camper and then walk from there.  So the shuttle consists of a tractor and 5-6 bench seating wagon that they pull behind.  It works great except when you have a stroller with a child that is sound asleep and you are by yourself.  Trying to load it isn't exactly easy!!!  

Thank god I live in the Great State of Iowa where people are friendly (for the most part) and willing to help out a stranger! So I had a very nice gentleman help me load the stroller and up the hill we went.  The same nice gentleman helped me off the shuttle at our stop and we walked back to the camper. 

I can't remember all the amazing foods we ate every day but I can tell you this day we ate at the Dinner Bell with my brother and his family.  I had a very good roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes.  There are so many great things to eat at the fair but the Dinner Bell is a must have at least once!

Well this concludes our day one at the fair!! I can't wait to tell you about the rest of my fun...............

Piece and Chicken Grease Y'all!