The Chicken Mansion

Took a day off from canning today to play “catch up” in the garden. I underestimated and just took my small harvest basket….. had to make another trip to finish the harvest! God is so good! 🙌🏻 Now to decide what recipe to use to can these things up!!

If you love organic non-gmo foods, products and buying in bulk, let me introduce you to a company we’ve been using for the past several years. The company name is Azure Standard. They are really a “community” company. To purchase from them you will go to their website and put in your zip code to locate what they call a “drop location”. This will help you locate the closest one for you to pick up your goods. Once you’ve set up your online account, start shopping! After you’ve completed your purchase you will get an email (typically next day) to let you know what day and time your food/products will arrive. On the day of the delivery you will meet at the “drop location” where an 18 wheeler will show up with all the orders. There is a “drop coordinator” who will be there as well, to assist in making sure you receive everything that you ordered. It’s really very simple process. Yes, they can sometimes be more expensive than your neighborhood grocer, but if you want organic bulk they are great! I am not affiliated with them in any way, just wanted to share in case it’s a source you could use! AND they have AMAZING canning jars!! 😊

Azure Standard For 30+ years, family-owned selling natural, non-GMO and organic foods and products. Bulk sizes, too. Orders delivered to your doorstep or to one of 3,000 community pickup locations across the USA.

We LOVE pineapple in our family and I ran across a recipe that combined fresh pineapple with candied jalapenos.. aka “Cowboy Candy”. So we decided to can some of this goodness up!

Spent some time in the garden yesterday to see what goodness there was that may need to be canned. We’ve been blessed with lots of rain recently which is such a far cry from last year. 🙌🏻❤️ Okra doing great, lots of assorted peppers and eggplant! Tomatoes are starting to slow down, but lots of green ones ready to ripen. I’ve got a few canning projects planned for tomorrow so stay tuned!

Ready to take your favorite sandwich to the next level? Try “sweet and sour pickled onions”! Not only are they beautiful in the jar, they are delicious! Just the perfect mix of sweet and spicy! Special shout out to Carol- Thrifty Chic Housewife for sharing this recipe on her YouTube channel!

Finally labeling all the goodness we canned last week! Am super excited about the Puttanesca sauce we made. Not only is it beautiful in the jar, it tastes fantastic! Highly recommend this canning book and recipe!

This time of year gardening can be challenging…. BUT it’s always nice to come back with some goodies to put in the freezer!

Well that’s a wrap for the week! Today Mom and I finished our “bean” week out with yummy Black Eyed Peas with ham; and just for fun, decided to can up some Bolognese sauce as well. ❤️ Have a blessed weekend!

Huge basil harvest today!! I think some pesto is in order!! 😋

Today was such a lovely day to continue canning! “15 Bean Soup with Italian Sausage” and “Garden Marinara” were on the docket today. The house smelled amazing! Now what will we make tomorrow!

Music to our ears!! All American canners 930 “the Beast” can double stack and has 14 quarts going right now. All America 925 “Big Bertha” is handling 7 quarts and All American 915 “Little Bertha” is keeping up with her big sister. First time needing all three at one time, but SO happy to have! Thanks honey! ❤️🥰

Eight pounds of dried pinto beans about to get ready for the canner! Nothing beats being able to open a jar of beans to use in so many wonderful recipes…. Especially on a cold winter’s day! 😋

Pickling Day!! Sixteen pounds of pickling cucumbers on their way to greatness! Spicy Bread and Butter is the flavor of the day! 🥒

Great start to a very productive canning week! Today’s star is potatoes!! 30 pounds of Yukon Gold turned into 14 quarts and 16 pints of goodness!! So many ways to use! YUM!! ❤️

So blessed with such a beautiful harvest ❤️Looks like some canning is in my future!

So here’s what happens when you miss ONE day going out to the garden!! A tomato “haul” and more zucchini!! Even though the squash bugs have gotten some of my plants, others are still thriving!! God is good!!

Such a surprisingly busy day in the garden! Beets were ready, and garlic was screaming “pick me”!! After inspection, had a good amount of onions that were ready to pull as well as a few squash. Overall this gal is pretty happy….just need to decide what to do with the beets! Maybe a canning session is in order Mom!! ❤️

I’m speechless! Mom wasn’t kidding when she said the garden “exploded”!! 😂 First little harvest of spring! 🙌🏻 …. And more work to do tomorrow!

With Mom looking after the garden while I’m away, I’d say it’s really taking off!

Garden time again today tweaking and checking on everything. Ollie is always up for some love!!

Our Spring garden is coming along so nicely! Fall garden harvested and beds amended allowing for lots of wonderful goodness to be planted. Even our bees were excited by all the activity! 🐝 Totally a full day of work and a nice reward at the end. 🥂

So much to do in a garden especially when all the soil levels in your beds need to be adjusted. It’s just nature taking its course even tho soil is amended each year. Thank you love for making this happen! ❤️

Growing carrots have always been an epic fail for me…. BUT I don’t like to give up. These may not be pretty, but at least they grew! 😂 Wish I could have let them go longer, but I planted them where my zucchini needs to go. Next season I’ll put them somewhere they can get bigger! Nevertheless, super happy and they are definitely snack worthy!! 🙌🏻❤️

Well that’s done!! Cleaned, blanched and into the freezer it will go. Next time I want to make my Italian White Bean Kale soup, I’m ready!!

Hoping to get some things planted and whole garden fertilized before some forecasted rain today!

Busy weekend! What started off to a slow start getting the greenhouse going, has turned into an almost complete project in one weekend. Special thank you to my husband Jeff, my sweet Daddy and our good friend Jon Greenwood! Appreciate y’all more than I can express! More photos to come once totally completed.🙌🏻❤️

So fun visiting our new HEB today!! Mom and I visited this new BEAUTIFUL store in Fair Oaks Ranch! lLoved the layout and oh my gosh!!….the meat, deli and seafood counters were so beautifully done!! Thank you HEB for just getting better and better! 🙌🏻❤️

So many jars removed already, but what a haul….work…and passion. Can’t wait to let things sit and enjoy!

Love our garden gate…. It’s where dreams and realities begin!!