Some Random Happenings Around The Farmhouse (And A Recipe)

I thought I'd share some random things that go on around here...

The weather lately has been beautiful, and as long as it's still above 30 degrees, the kids and I get out there!!!

This is our daily "Nature Walk" and it is delightful!

(The boys like to run on ahead.)

We know these trails by heart...

It is home sweet home! 

Off in the distance we can spot this darling, old, country church. 

It's just a stone's throw down the road from us.

It no longer holds services but is now a wedding chapel, and they ring the bells at every wedding.

When we hear the church bells ring, we stop what we're doing, call for one another, and rush to step out onto the porch so that we can hear it better.

It is our family tradition.

It's very exciting because we all know, when we hear the bells, that someone's getting married!!!

"Going to the chapel and we're...

Going to get ma~a~a~rried..."

(Remember that song? Haha...)

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The weather has actually been so warm lately, that my rose bushes were still blooming! Even in late October!

So, I did what any sane person in my position would do...

;)

I made sure my kitchen window sill was dressed with fresh blooms!

(Pink in the kitchen is such a treat!)

I've also been making sure the atmosphere feels fall-ish.

I pulled out my lighted branches the other day, and put together this arrangement for my mantle:

Branches, (whether they're lighted or not) pine sprigs, berry sprigs, dried hydrangea's, and turkey feathers make a great fall arrangement! 

While we're talking about arrangements... My front porch mums died, so re-doing my planters was in order.

My daughters came with me on the four-wheeler to look for branches and collect the trimmings.

(You can see the elements for my planters in the back! :)

When we got back to the house, I laid the baby down for her nap. The big kids rode their bikes around, and I took advantage of a warm afternoon to freshen up my planters.

This is what they looked like when I was finished. (And after I swept about a thousand dead bugs off the porch... *eye roll...)

I like how they turned out!

Since the planters sit in front of windows, it's important to me that the arrangement looks good from inside the house, too! 

(This is the view walking up to the front of the house from the kitchen.)

My days are low-key, yet meaningful... 

Homeschool, baby care, laundry, meals, etc...

The perfect life for me!

When I was a teenager, all of my friends were talking about future career goals and about the colleges they dreamed of going to. I never desired any of that! All I wanted was a home that I could enjoy. My friends thought I was nuts, but I didn't care! I didn't understand why they all wanted to be held hostages to student loans, burdensome studying, and ultimately a boss and an office.

I wanted to be free!!!

God has been faithful and good to me, and has given me the life I've always wanted.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 

I've never spent a minute of my life regretting my decision!

My days are not spent in traffic, hurrying about...

"Busyness produces barrenness." ~ Maryann Loveing 

...but at home, 

"playing house" and enjoying my life.

Just the kind of life our grandmothers had.

:) :)

"I love the nostalgic myself. I hope we never lose some of the things of the past." ~ Walt Disney

This doesn't mean that I sometimes don't get overwhelmed or discouraged. In fact, one area of my homemaking that I often feel uninspired about is our dinner menu.

I feel like I make the same dinners over and over again. And there's always at least one child who tells me that what I've made looks gross and would rather go to bed hungry than eat my cooking! 

Sigh....

Sometimes I'll turn to Google images (a tool our grandmothers' never had) to get inspired about cooking. The other day I did this and found an image of a skillet chicken dinner that looked appealing. It had tomatoes, basil, and shredded cheese.

I decided to give it a try!

I hope you're ok with the fact that I don't have measurements. I am very much a "dump" cook and almost never use them. I snapped pictures as I went, though, so that I could show you!

Since this was the first time I tried this, there were things I wished I had done differently. I will mention those as I go...

I assembled a few ingredients together to get started...

A small amount of minced garlic, about a teaspoon of basil flakes, and a half of a stick of butter...

Then I rinsed and sliced in half, two cartons of cherry tomatoes...

 I set all of this aside and got out a package of chicken tenders. (If you're new to cooking, it's important to get all of your prep work done first before moving on to the hot stuff.) I was feeling "farmhouse-y" so I decided to use my cast iron skillet.

:) :)

The chicken, along with salt, pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil, went in to sear...

After I flipped them I added my tomatoes, garlic, basil, and butter...

It was at this point that I realized two things: First, I had used way too many tomatoes! (*eye roll...) And, I wished I had used fresh basil instead of dried basil. (Sheesh! What is wrong with me?!)

I pressed on however, and if I make this again, (which I think that I will) I will make those adjustments!

Anyway, I let this cook for a few minutes while stirring every so often, then adding parmesan cheese...

I cut each chicken tender in half to make sure that it was done, then I scooped out a bite to sample it.

Remember to taste what you've made first, before serving it to your family!

I decided that it was good, and the chicken was done, but I felt like the meal was missing something...

I transferred it to a Corning Ware dish, (and added more cheese)...

then made the last-minute decision to boil some egg noodles to go with it...

It was the right decision!

Leftover in the bottom of the skillet was the garlic/butter drippings from cooking the chicken, and that paired nicely as a sauce over the noodles.

Dinner was a hit! Everyone liked it! There were no leftovers!

Yes, I will make this again!

It's good to branch out and try new things! Because you never know when you'll hit upon something that you can add to your rotation of go-to meals!

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I hope you enjoyed today's post about random things!

Remember to leave a comment! You all mean so much to me!

xo,

~ Courtney ~