Tag: Eggs

Pet Food

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Pet food has become more expensive, along with other food. Here is a suggestion for cutting costs and at the same time giving your pet an even better quality food. Feed your dog or cat the parts of the pasture raised chicken that you get from us that you can’t eat – the carcass. The savings on pet food will reduce the real cost of your chicken. Dogs will readily eat raw chicken bones and they need the calcium and minerals in the bones. When a fox kills and eats one of our chickens, all that is left is a pile of feathers. Raw chicken bones are not brittle, and a dog can eat them and readily digest them. There is a growing trend of feeding pets a BARF diet (Bones and Raw Food). You can do a Google search to find out more information.

Many pets are getting the same degenerative diseases as human beings. They are eating the wrong foods and poor quality foods, just like most people are. Your pet has a shorter lifespan than what you do which means that degenerative diseases show up sooner than they do in people. If your pet eats a similar diet to your own, and they get a degenerative disease, it may be a warning sign to you that your diet is not what it should be. While the diet needs of humans and animals are not totally the same, we can learn a lot about human health and nutrition by observing our animals and learning from them what makes them healthy.

How to prepare the chicken carcass for your pet food.
When you take the fresh chicken home, it is relatively simple (after you do it a once or twice) to cut off the leg and thigh on each side of the chicken. Using a large sharp knife, cut the skin separating the thigh and the carcass. Then bend the leg to give access to the hip joint and cut through the joint in the hip. Cut off the wings in a similar manner. Then slice off the breast meat starting along the breast bone, and carve the meat off following the rib cage. If you didn’t cut it up quite right, that’s alright. There is no real loss. It just means you get a little less meat and your pet gets a little more. You can cut the carcass into smaller pieces using a knife to cut and break the backbone at a joint, or you could use a clean hacksaw to cut through the bones. The carcass pieces that you don’t feed the first week you can put in small packages and put in the freezer.

Another suggestion for cutting pet food costs is to feed a raw egg to your dog or cat. A dozen large eggs weighs one and a half pounds. Eggs are a cheaper source of protein for both you and your pet when compared to meat. We feed some of the cracked eggs to our cats. They love eggs and it puts a shine to their fur. However, if we feed them too many eggs they get tired of them. They need more variety than just eggs. Spice up their life and give them some variety of good healthy foods.

The Importance of a BIG Breakfast

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Several months ago we shared with you the account of the gigantic old-fashioned mountain breakfast of 75 years ago. I asked a number of questions: Should we change the order of the size of our meals with the largest meal at breakfast and the smallest meal in the evening? Does our body work best if it is operating off of the energy from the meal that we just ate, or does it work best refilling the body reserves with a big meal in the evening? Does eating a big meal in the evening and a small breakfast program our body to store the food we eat as fat for a reserve rather than flushing out the surplus?

We decided to try eating a big breakfast. Our whole family was pleased with the results. We found that we do not get as hungry the rest of the day, even when we do a lot of physical work like splitting firewood. We have more energy. We do not feel as much of a need for a mid-morning snack. Cathy was pleased to find she lost a little weight as well.

In researching about breakfast, I found that breakfast is an important meal of the day. Most of the food we eat passes through the stomach in about three hours and starts giving us the energy for the tasks at hand. It gives our brain energy to be able to think and function. Eating a big breakfast can help in weight control because it helps you eat fewer calories the rest of the day. When we eat a large meal in the evening and then do not exercise much, our bodies tend to store the excess food energy as fat.

Eggs are one of the best protein sources and are an important breakfast food for growing children who need protein to build strong bones and bodies. Eggs are an excellent quick breakfast food for adults as well. They have found that eggs do not contribute to cholesterol in adults like they used to say that they did. The best eggs are those from hens that are fed organic grains, have free access to the out of doors, sunlight, and can eat plenty of fresh greens. Our pasture raised eggs help you start your day right.

By the way, did you ever see how little grain is actually in a box of store bought cereal? I weighed out some wheat that was the same amount as the weight of a box of bran flakes. It only filled 1 1/2 inches in the bottom of the box! At $9.50 a bushel for wheat, the farmer would have received only about 17 cents for the food in a box of cereal! The box probably costs more than the grain.

Recipes for November – Big Breakfast Ideas

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Eggs must be one of the easiest foods to fix. We eat them almost every morning. So, of course, my family likes some variation on how they are cooked.

Eggs With Salsa

Melt some butter in your skillet. Crack your eggs into the skillet as you would to fry them. Spoon salsa over the eggs and let them cook for one to two minutes. Flip the eggs and cook till they are done as you like them. If you desire, top with some shredded cheese.

Flipped Omelet

8 eggs
1 Tbsp mustard
1/4 tsp. salt

Toppings such as cheese, leftover meat, chopped onion and bell pepper, shredded zucchini, mushrooms, avocado slices, etc.

Beat the eggs, mustard and salt together. In a medium-sized skillet on medium heat, melt 2 tsp. butter. Add 1/4 of the eggs. Immediately add desired toppings. When the underside is deliciously browned, flip the omelet. It will immediately puff. Finish cooking to your liking. Repeat with remaining eggs. Makes 4 servings. Keep your eyes on these eggs. They cook quickly.

Panfried Potates

4 large potatoes
2 tbsp. butter
salt to taste

Wash or peel the potatoes. Slice them thinly. Melt the butter in your skillet. Add the raw potatoes. Stir to distribute the butter. Sprinkle with salt. Cover. When the undersides are browned, turn the potatoes. Cover. Continue this until the potatoes are soft. Because these potatoes are covered, they not only fry, but they also steam. This causes them to soften quickly, even though they’re raw. Our family loves these.

Beef Sausage

1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sage
A pinch of thyme, garlic powder and cloves
(Or add whatever spices you want)
1/2 cup water

Mix together. Shape into 8 small patties and fry. Makes 4 servings.

Quick and Easy Pizza

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If you want pizza, but don’t have the time or desire to put together a yeast dough crust, here’s a recipe you can try. My family loves pizza, but they don’t think they get it often enough (especially my husband 🙂 ). So not long ago I began using this recipe. It was an instant hit and it is quicker and easier to make.

Crazy Crust Pizza

1 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground oregano
1/8 tsp. black pepper

       Combine in bowl.

2 eggs, beaten
2/3 cups milk

       Combine and stir into flour mixture. Pour batter into greased pizza pan.

1/3 cup chopped onions
Mushrooms if desired

    Sprinkle over dough. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and spread on meat, pizza sauce and toppings below:

1 lb. hamburger

    Brown and drain. To have a sausage flavor, add Wright’s hickory smoke or 1 tsp. ground sage to the meat. You can also use chicken or lamb, cut up.

1 cup pizza sauce
3/4 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella or cheddar cheese

    After putting toppings on pizza, return to oven 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.