The South is not Made for Snow (and Neither are its Inhabitants)

A couple of weeks ago, we had a 3-inch snow in South Carolina. If you're from the Northeast or Midwest, please stop snickering now. The South shuts down when it snows. We like it that way. No work. No school. No snowplows. Get the picture?

Happy really loved the beautiful snowfall. Can you see her?

It's a good thing her tongue is pink.

One snowfall per winter is a tremendous accomplishment for South Carolina. We actually only achieve it every 8.2 years. Or something like that.

Two weeks later, the sky is at it again.

This was yesterday. A layer of ice, overlaid with a couple of inches of snow.

But today - Let's just say we are quaking in our boots around this house. We're preparing for a full onslaught of ice, "The biggest ice storm in a decade," the meteorologists say. I say, bring on the flashlights, generator, and bathtub full of water. I was in this very house a decade ago when the last ice storm hit. Even I was disgusted by my 4-day-old yoga pants and showerless aroma. Ever slept in mittens, a ski jacket, and a wool ski hat?

This year, I have a full-fledged Boy Scout living under my roof. No, he won't save me from power outages, but I have been rooting through his footlocker of heavy duty sleeping bags, headlamps, lanterns, and MREs.

Happy is exhausted just thinking about it.

(What? Never seen a dog play with a rubber chicken?)

Fingers crossed. Power on.

See you soon.
Love,
TCB

Dogs Love Snow Ice Cream, Too

A snow day in the South is something special. We had one a week ago. It was our first snow in three years.

The little man in our house enjoyed snow ice cream.

Happy did, too.

But apparently only slightly less than she enjoyed running in the weird, cold, white stuff.

She slept for hours later.

It's all gone now. Only took 2 days - the beauty of the South. Now we are looking forward to spring planting! We're crazy that way.

Love,
TCB

Country Squash Casserole

Vegetables are usually the healthiest addition to the supper menu at our house. Roasted or steamed and seasoned, they help balance out a Southern meal. Sometimes, I like to get a little crazy with our vegetable sides and make them into a casserole like the main course. It's a trick most Southern mama-cooks have developed.

Here's a recipe to get you started. Squash is delicious homegrown in the summer, but what you can buy in the store now tastes just as delicious in this easy casserole side dish.

Country Squash Casserole

Ingredients:
2 c. cooked yellow squash
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 c. butter, melted
2 eggs
1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 c. evaporated milk
1 c. bread crumbs
1 tsp. sea salt
pepper to taste

This one is simple, y'all. Wash, slice, and boil the squash in a small boiler until tender, about 10-15 minutes.

Drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Mash the squash with a potato masher.

Add all the remaining ingredients.

Mix well and pour into a greased 2-quart casserole dish.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until the casserole begins to brown around the edges and slightly on top.

This is one way you may be able to convince your little ones (or larger, picky ones) to give squash a try.

Happy day!
TCB

Keeping Chickens Warm

Even though we live in the South, there is occasionally a stretch of winter days where the weather is unseasonably cold. When it falls to the 20s and below, I turn on the heat lamp in the chicken coop. If you have added backyard chickens to your home site and you live in the South, you may not have given much thought about how to keep chickens warm. After all, it's rarely cold enough to worry about the lower temps. In the spirit of sharing information, I've rounded up some good articles on maintaining chickens in the colder days of winter. I hope you learn something new from them.

Caring for Chickens in Winter

Keeping Chickens Healthy in Cold Weather

Winter Care for Chickens

Happy Roosting during this cold snap!

Love,
TCB

Related Articles:
A Real Organic Egg
Double-Yolk Egg
Strangers in my Backyard

Cookie Time

When you want a cookie, you are willing to do whatever it takes to score the reward.

Hug it out.

Perform tricks for treats.

Happy Hump Day!

Love,
TCB

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

I just quickly peeked at the page views on The Country Belle blog, and I see you all like to learn about new recipes as much as I like cooking them. My recipes veer 180 degrees from each other. They either fall into the delectable Southern put-some-meat-on-my-bones dishes or healthy remove-the-fat-from-my-rumpus recipes. The following recipe falls into the first category, but when you taste it, you'll want to slap your mama. (Not really. DO NOT tell your mama The Country Belle said to slap her.)

This recipe came from my mother-in-law, which she posted in a church cookbook. Do you own a Southern church ladies' cookbook? I think maybe I own 30 by now. If you don't have one, go get yourself one immediately. They contain some of the finest Southern cooking around.

I've just put together a progressive photo montage of the recipe. See how better it looks with each photo?

Baked Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients:
2 onions, chopped
1 med green bell pepper, chopped
2 1/2 lbs. of ground beef
2 cans tomato soup
1 jar stuffed olives
1 lb. extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. thin spaghetti, cooked
2 cans cream of mushroom soup

Brown the onions and pepper in olive oil in a medium-hot, large non-stick skillet. Add ground beef, salt, and pepper and cook until meat is browned. Drain. Add tomato soup, 2 soup cans of water, and olive juice to the skillet. (If you enjoy olives, you can slice them and add to the sauce at this point. My family is totally adverse to olives, but adding the juice is a necessity for great flavor). Simmer until the mixture thickens, about 30-35 minutes. In the meantime, cook the spaghetti according to package directions and drain. Put it in the bottom of two greased 13x9 inch casserole dishes (or one larger casserole dish). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Next, turn off the heat under the skillet and add the Worcestershire sauce and cheese. Stir until it melts. Divide the meat sauce evenly between the two casserole dishes, layering it over the spaghetti. Top each casserole with a can of cream of mushroom soup. (Hint: Stir the soup in the can until it is easily spreadable over the meat sauce). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

If you want to save a casserole for the future, you can freeze or refrigerate it before you add the mushroom soup. Bring it to room temperature and add the mushroom soup right before baking.

Baked spaghetti casserole is great for the holidays when you have a big crowd coming to your house to eat.

Merry Christmas!
TCB

Double-Yolk Egg

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about how large my hens' organic eggs are compared to those I've purchased in the store labeled "large." But sometimes the size changes.

Recently, we added three new hens to the flock. They were only 4 months old when we brought them back to our coop from the breeder, so we knew it would be a few weeks before they could lay eggs. Most hens start laying about 6 months old, and we prefer to purchase them when they are close to that age instead of when they are still in the fragile chick stage of life. This week was the first time any of them laid an egg, and as you can see, it sometimes takes a while for their systems to kick into production mode.

See how little one of the new chicken's eggs is on the left? The one on the right is a little larger, but not nearly as big as the older hens' eggs. That will change in time, I feel sure, as it did with the original hens' production.

Most mornings, I eat eggs for breakfast. I thought I'd crack open both of these this morning since one was so tiny. But no need. See what I found in the larger egg?

Twins!

First time I have ever seen this. Have you?

Happy Day!
TCB