Urban Homesteading

Yummy Fun!

Posted on December 22, 2008 by Anisa

cookie-exchange-20081This weekend was the third annual Girl’s Cookie exchange… what fun!  We had a few newbies this year: Michelle, Emily and Terri; as well as old friends: Rach, Genny, and Jenn.  It was a really great time. 

Jenn hosted this year, and made home made eggnog and hot chocolate with all the trimmings, from marshmellows to schnapps and Bailey’s to spike it with.  She had A Christmas Story playing in the background while we all chatted the night away. 

I love this event… a fun tradition.  But after heading to the car at 12:30am, we’ve all decided we need more excuses to get together during the year to catch up!  I really enjoyed the discussion, and gettig to know my friends better and deeper.  It’s a cool, important thing. I love how we were all so comfortable being real and honest and able to share. 

Not to mention the loot I brought home.  In exchange for the pizzelles, I got gingerbread cookies, oatmeal white chocolate chip cookies, peppermint bark, banana bread, friendship tea and tons more.  Delish! 

Then last night, we headed to the Springs to spend time with our close friends, Mark & Kali.  I love getting to hang out with them, and I wish we did it more… I wish we didn’t live an hour apart!  They spoiled us with a gorgeous dinner and we played an early game of canasta… we quit at 11:30pm.  Not bad, considering we’re usually there until the wee hours of the morning. 

Now for the week ahead… CHRISTMAS is upon us!  I have an interview today… I’m nervous and excited.  My in-laws are watching Henry for the day though, so I’ll be able to get a little last minute shopping done fairly quickly too.  Then come the big day.  And yes, I’m going to try to still get that Thrifty Thursday tip up… though it might be a day late or early.  🙂 

Cheers!

Categories: Community, Food | 5 Comments

Thrifty Thursday: Local Freebies

Posted on December 18, 2008 by Anisa

Well, I thought I’d start my first “Thrifty Thursday” post off with a bang.  All the freebies I could find around the Denver-metro area for 2009.  These are great for dates, when guests come into town, a way to get out of the house, or just for the heck of it.  Also, if you really hate crowds, it’s good to know when these days are, so you can avoid them.  😉

2009 Free Days

spider-monkeyDenver Zoo
2300 Steele Street, Denver, CO 80205, 303-376-4800
• January 10
• January 19
• February 14
• February 24
• October 7
• October 25
• November 8
• November 11

Denver Art Museum
100 West 14th Avenue Parkway, Denver, 720-865-5000
• The art museum is free the first Saturday of every month

The Children’s Museum of Denver
2121 Children’s Museum Drive, Denver, 303-433-7444
• Free the first Tuesday night of every month from 4-8pm

big-horn-sheep.jpgDenver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Blvd., Denver, Colorado 80205, 303-322-7009
A fee still applies to IMAX films, and Planetarium shows.
• Sunday, January 11
• Monday, February 2
• Wednesday, March 18
• Sunday, April 19
• Sunday, May 31
• Wednesday, June 10
• Monday, July 13
• Wednesday, August 12
• Sunday, September 13
• Sunday, October 4
• Monday, November 2
• Sunday, November 22

Denver Botanic Gardens
1005 York St., Denver, 720-865-3500
• January 19
• February 16
• March 16
• April 25
• July 20
• September 19
• October 23

Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield
8500 Deer Creek Canyon Rd., Littleton, 303-973-3705
• January 2
• February 6
• March 6
• April 3
• May 1
• June 5
• August 7
• November 6
• December 4

Denver Center for the Performing Arts
1101 13th St., Denver, 303-893-4000
• Inana– Thur, Jan 15, Ricketson Theatre
• Dusty & the Big Bad World – Thur, Jan 22, Space Theatre
• Richard III – Thur, Jan 29, Stage Theatre
• August Wilson’s Radio Golf – Thur, March 19, Space Theatre
• A Prayer for Owen Meany – Thur, March 26, Stage Theatre
• Sunsets and Margaritas– Thur, April 2, Ricketson Theatre
• Quilters – Thur, May 21, Stage Theatre

 

Be sure to check Genny’s Blog, as well as with Katie Jean at  The Little Blue Bungalow and Tracy from T’s World, for their Thrifty Thursday Tips!

Categories: Thrift | 3 Comments

Good Friends, Good Ideas

Posted on December 15, 2008 by Anisa

snowballLast week, while reading through my friends’ blogs, I came across this post by Genny, that was so clever, so ingenious, I simply couldn’t believe that no one I knew has thought of this before!  The idea is called “Thrifty Thursday Tips,” and Genny got the idea from her sister, who was doing this, inspired by an old school mate. 

These women all have two kids (or one with one more on the way), and are trying to make it in this day and age on only one income.  So, like our family, they are always looking for more ways to be frugal, and stretch their family dollars.  After a phone call to Genny to rave about her idea, she told me she wouldn’t mind if I shared the idea of Thrifty Thursdays on my blog too. 

Genny’s first Thrifty Thursday Tip was on making your own liquid laundry detergent.  The cost of making your own deterent is something like $0.007 cents per load.  That means if you typically buy a container that washes 64 loads, you could wash the same amount of clothes for only $0.45.  That’s right, 45 CENTS!  You can bet, I’m going to try the recipe.

I know so many families like ours, trying to cut it on one income, always looking for ways to get just a little more bang for our precious few bucks.  And in this economy, I think all of us, kids or not, married or single, could use a few new ideas to save some cash. 

I started thinking, why not put it out there… what Tips do you have to share?  What does your family do to cut costs?  I will be brainstorming some ideas to share weekly too, but I would LOVE to hear what YOU do to save!

Categories: Community, Recommended Reading, Thrift | 1 Comment

Giving Thanks and Growing Too

Posted on December 5, 2008 by Anisa

Oh the holidays are upon us!  The Schell family had a great Thanksgiving.  I was inspired by my best buddy, Jenny, to start a new tradition… homemade cinnamon rolls.  I’m not much of a baker, but the night before Turkey Day, I made the dough, let it rise, did the kneading, rolled them out and filled them.  It was so neat to wake up on Thursday morning and have them ready to pop in the oven after their quick 30 minutes at room temperature.  And they were pretty tasty, though I may make a few modifications in the future.

So, while the cinnamon rolls were baking, we sat down to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.  I’ve missed this the last couple of years, so I was really excited to see all the balloons and floats, and envy the Rockette’s perfect legs.  🙂

As the parade finished up, and after the rolls were thoroughly enjoyed, I started to work on the side dishes I was bringing to Rick’s mom’s house for the big dinner.  I made a traditional green bean cassarole (the one with the condensed soup & french-fried onions), and this awesome Brussels sprout recipe that I got from Better Homes & Gardens:

Creamy Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

  • 4  slices peppered bacon
  • 2  lb. Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved through stem end
  • 3/4  cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2  tsp. kosher salt
  • 1/4  tsp. black pepper
  • 3/4  cup whipping cream
  • Cracked Black Pepper

Directions

1. In 12-inch skillet cook bacon over medium heat until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet.

2. In skillet add Brussels sprouts to drippings; cook and stir over medium heat 4 minutes. Add broth, salt, and pepper. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 5 minutes. Uncover; cook 2 to 4 minutes or until liquid is nearly evaporated. Add cream. Cook 4 minutes more or until thickened.

3. Transfer sprouts to serving dish. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and cracked pepper. Serves 8.

The sprouts were a hit.  All the normally-non-sprout-eaters, seemed to like them, I received lots of complements.  And Rick insisted that I make them a part of our regular meals.  So I’d say they were a success.  Everything really is better with bacon, I guess.  🙂

We ate ourselves silly at Kris’ house, and her turkey turned out very well… very moist.  One of the best turkey’s I’ve ever had actually.  But when it was time for dessert, I began to wish I had rice pudding.  Kris’ homemade cheesecake is delicious, but there’s nothing like my mom’s rice pudding. 

So we went down to my mom’s on the way home.  I had a couple of cold, but perfectly rare pieces of the left over prime rib she made, and, of course, finished off what little rice pudding she had left. 

Rick and I also took the opportunity to tell both of our families the big news:  we are going to add another little Schell to the family!  That’s right.  I’m about 9 weeks pregnant, and yes, sadly, I’m just as sick as I was last time.  But, it’s worth it, as they say, so in July, Henry will be a big brother. 

That about sums up our Thanksgiving festivities.  We are excited for Christmas this year, and have already got some pretty fun things on the docket for the month!  Will share and post pictures as I can! 

Categories: Food, Recipes | 2 Comments

Vendetta…

Posted on November 5, 2008 by Rob

Ven-det-ta

–noun

1. a private feud in which the members of the family of a murdered person seek to avenge the murder by killing the slayer or one of the slayer’s relatives, esp. such vengeance as once practiced in Corsica and parts of Italy.
2. any prolonged and bitter feud, rivalry, contention, or the like. 

Foxes of the world, you are now officially on “the list”.  Also on this ‘list’ are elk, squirrels, and that fuzzy little mink-like animal that dropped a stick on my head. 

I LIKED that stupid yellow chicken.  Even if she was an absolute moron with no brain and a strong desire to run across the street into the neighbor’s yard.  This is probably the same fox that injured the red chicken.  Either way, in the words of Sideshow Bob’s italian baby boy, “Vendetta!  VENDETTA!!!” (pantomime the large kitchen knife moving in a stabbing motion, or in this case, a .22 bullet with the word ‘Foxy’ etched into it).

Categories: Chickens | 2 Comments

Sad Day…

Posted on November 5, 2008 by Anisa

daisyI regret to post that yesterday morning at about 3:45am, Daisy the chicken lost her life.  We had another fox attack, and we were not so lucky this time.  We heard the fox in time to chase it away before it could get away with it’s meal, but alas, “Yellow Chicken” didn’t make it.  She is survived by Mayzie, Lavender, and Poppy (aka “Green Chicken,” “Gray Chicken” and “Red Chicken”).  Though her eggs will be missed, Her friends and family will carry on.  She will be remembered as the fat, fluffy one.  The one who was smart until Josie jumped on her once.  The broody one and the instigator.  Rest In Peace, Daisy, the Yellow Chicken. 

We did not eat her.  Rick still seeks revenge on the fox.

Categories: Chickens | 2 Comments

Vegetarians…

Posted on October 28, 2008 by Anisa

vegetarian veg·e·tar·i·an: noun, old Indian meaning lousy hunter.
At least that’s what my dad always said. 😉

We spent the last ten days up in Kremmling.  Rick was hunting for elk.  Alas, he was unsuccessful.  But, we had a good time, and we didn’t get skunked completely!  Rick’s trophy for the week:  a squirrel tail.

No really, we did have a nice time.  We arrived last Friday afternoon.  The first few days it was Rick, H, Josie & me; Rick’s brother, Scott; Rick’s Uncle, Alan; and Rick’s grandpa, Lyle.  Monday night, Alan and Rick’s grandpa left, and Rick and Scott continued the pursuit of elk (and deer) on their own.  Meanwhile, I played camp cook.

Scott & Rick did bring home some blue grouse (Rick got four), and they took the afternoon off one day to go fishing with H and I.  We headed up to a lake near Alan’s cabin, and I fished for the first time in who-knows-how-long.  The lake is well stocked (it’s a private lake, so yes, we cheated), and we were getting strikes left and right!

I think overall we caught eight to ten fish, but we only kept four.  Scott reeled in the largest.  A real beauty.. probably at least 18″!  But it was on Rick’s line.  Thus began the great debate over who’s fish it was.  But I think the pictures speak for themselves:

    

I caught and released a “little” one (probably about 10″, small for the lake), and then, right before I left, I landed this guy using my dad’s fishing rod.  I think Rick was having trouble with the camera, or, more likely, I was having trouble with the fish, but here is what we have to show:

Here’s a better view of his size… not counting is head of course.  Over all he was probably about 15-16″ before he was cleaned:

The other two keepers were in the 12-13″ range.  My fish and one of the smaller ones fed the four of us for dinner.  The other two (including the biggie), fed Rick, Scott, Alan, and Rick’s 13 year old cousin, Preston for lunch a few days later.  With some left over.

A good time was had in the cabin as well.  I couldn’t believe that the guys didn’t pull practical jokes or anything, but they did take turns cooking, and we enjoyed all kinds of good food up there.  Scott made spaghetti with Italian elk sausage, and Alan make pheasant-noodle soup.  Yum!

H and Josie enjoyed their time running around too, and it even snowed halfway through the week.  H didn’t like getting snow on his shoes, but he did enjoy tending the fire with Uncle Scott.

    

You can tell we’ve emphasized staying away from the hot stove though!

Wednesday night, Alan and Preston came back up to the cabin to continue hunting.  Scott shot at a couple of animals and missed.  Preston missed a cow as well.  Alan saw some cow elk up there, but he only had a tag for a bull.

Lucky me though… I dropped the guys off on top of a mountain and then drove down to the bottom to wait for them.  I saw three cows run from the trees and jump a fence into private land.  More than Rick saw all week.  Rick, unfortunately didn’t even see an animal that he could shoot.  Only a moose, some does, and a buck.

But we enjoyed our time in the great outdoors anyway (especially the fishing).  And after the grouse are gone, I’ll see if I can find another definition for the word vegetarian.

Categories: Food, Hunting | 1 Comment

Everything in Moderation. Including Moderation.

Posted on October 15, 2008 by Anisa

My friend Genny always has her fingers on the pulse of the natural vs. artificial debate.  Check out her blog here for a couple of commercials put out by the Corn Refiners Association promoting High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), along with a spoof on the commercials promoting the Nazi political party.  Pretty funny, and at the same time, not at all funny. 

The commercials at the end say “Get the Facts” at SweetSurprise.com.  Please do.  You can connect to that website and another one called HFCSfacts.com through the Corn Refiners Association web link provided above. 

There is a lot of controversy surrounding HFCS.  There is debate over whether it is a “natural” sweetener or not.  It comes form corn, yet has to be incredibly processed to make it into HFCS. 

There is controversy over the environmental impacts of the corn industry and over the government’s involvement in the industry both politically and economically (the farm bill, in particular). 

The results of the most recent studies (as stated on any of the Corn websites) is that HFCS is safe to consume in moderation, just like table sugar.  Yet, there is controversy over it being addictive, contributing to the surge of obesity, diabetes and high cholesterol in America since the 1980’s.

Here are a few articles (not studies, mind you) that I found interesting on the subject.  They address the health issues, economic controversy and the environmental impacts of the High-Fructose Corn Syrup industry. 

     Washington Post      New York Times      Mayo Clinic      Advanced Health Institute

Happy reading.

Categories: Food, Recommended Reading, Urban Homesteading | 4 Comments

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