Ranchin Recipes

From time-to-time a recipe has been born here on the ranch just because of the environment with its cactus pears, quail eggs, and mustang grapes, or sometimes because of us simply needing something substantial to eat when working outside all day.Some friends have asked for the recipes, so those are what I will share here occasionally. Enjoy! 

Burn Your Bum Chili

2 lbs. lean hamburger meat
2 onions (yellow for sweetness or white for spunk)
1 very large jalapeno, chopped
1 fresh tomato, chopped
1 small, green bell pepper, chopped (and to mess with your consumers as to which bite has the hot pepper)
Directions part 1: Brown meat and add all other ingredients - heating on medium, stirring often until browned and sauteed while getting together the spices for the next step.

Note: All spices are to be dumped in "to taste" or using your best "guesstimate"- it's hard for some not to measure, but just go with the flow and live a little!
chili powder - a good bit
cumin - a good bit
garlic powder - a bit
cayenne pepper - a bit
jalapeno salt - a bit
salt - a small bit
coarse ground black pepper - a bit
Directions part 2: Add all spices with about 1/2 cup of water, stir and continue to softly boil while you do the next steps.


1 reg. can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 reg. can tomato sauce
2 reg. cans white kidney beans
Directions part 3: Add all of the above, stirring gently and put the heat on low for about an hour. If you want to thicken the chili, either keep it uncovered or separately mix 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch into a couple tablespoons of cold water and stir it into the chili.

It's best if it sits, chills overnight in the fridge and is reheated the next day. Add cheese for less burn to your bum!

Hope

Much has happened since I last wrote. As with everyone's life - some things were challenging, some were uplifting, and some neutral - all blended into these seconds and times we call "life". 

Here is a glass half empty/half full synopsis of our recent past:

The Glass is Half Empty Version

-Robert's phantom pains returned. 
-Robert's leg shrank to the point that his prosthesis was too big for him to walk some days.
-Our daughter-in-law was hospitalized with HELLP Syndrome.
-Our grandchild was born prematurely, had a collapsed lung, jaundice, and her system was borderline septic.
-I sprained my ankle badly enough to be on crutches during the last week of school.
-Robert had a fall.
-I was stung by a scorpion.
-We are exhausted.

The Glass is Half Full Version

-Robert controls the phantom pains better now with massage, meds, and realizing he may just need his second and better fitting prosthesis for them to disappear again.
-Robert's second prosthesis is a way-cool vacuum one and his insurance company approved it, so the  gaping fit of his old one is just temporarily crippling.
-Our daughter-in-law caught it in time, survived AND had no complications.
-Our granddaughter, although born prematurely, escaped dying from HELLP Syndrome and is already home and gaining weight every day.
-My sprained ankle sat me still long enough to make some major life decisions, taught me to ask for help more, and showed me what Robert felt like riding through H.E.B. in an electric wheelchair, among a thousand other things that only crutches and limitations can teach you.
-Although Robert fell on our hard, tile floor with his residual limb exposed, he landed on his right butt cheek and with the bed breaking part of his fall; some do not fare as well.
-Although it was a bark scorpion, it must have eaten recently because it wasn't that painful; then again, it stung me on the right butt cheek- so maybe that's a help. What is it with our right butt cheeks lately?
-We have sons, parents, family, and friends who support us, and we have HOPE. 

The point?
When we mortals endure trials, we no longer have hope that is frail; we have this hyper-hope that is chiseled by character-building exercises in the gym of life and designed by God to produce "a harvest of righteousness." 

The take-away?
When we suffer trials, which we all have and will, if we remember to surrender to God as we squirm and scream, He will turn our gaze to the central point of this life- and nothing else will matter. They say God's office is at the bottom of the rope AND that He's a last-minute God. That is when He works things for His glory - when we long to despair the most, the potential for hope is the greatest.

"Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my help and my God." Psalm 43:56

All Hail Breaks Loose

And he STILL KEEPS cleaning the pool . . . Word of the day - focused.

Walking Again in Only Two Months!

Things don't always go this smoothly in life, BUT sometimes one discovers that . . . TIMETABLES ARE FOR MEN AND NOT FOR GOD. 

Most amputees walk within 3-6 months, but when you combine prayer, a faith-filled man, and add -

new padding and counsel from our great prosthetist, 

Robby Schiff (and staff) at Care Prosthetics and Orthotics +

good socks +

an adjustment to your "foot" while you wait +

a little tweaking of your "ankle" screws

='s success and big thanks to God!

It CAN happen.

Today's Lesson

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

    his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning. 

Great is Your faithfulness." 

~Lamentations 3:22-23

#BKA 

#belowthekneeamputee

#prosthesis

#Godisgood

Surrounded by History

Good article: Brief History of Barbed Wire

The ranch we work on is 3,500 acres and is surrounded by historical evidence that it is one of the oldest in the area. While mending fences, we came across this stretch of barbed wire:

Split Diamond barbed wire 

Patented by H.N. Fentress, December 14, 1875

Rattlesnake Dilemma

Spring is mating season for snakes, so it is no surprise that we often see them on the ranch this time of year - lots and lots of them. Plus, with its creeks and rocky terrain, Cedar Creek is known for being home to many types of rattlesnakes - as the one pictured here. Because we see snakes so often and because they serve a valuable purpose (mice control), "live and let live" is the usual policy. However, this evening, as I was driving home and humming some sweet tune I spied this giant thing cruising toward our resident deputy's house through the yard where his two young children play. From a distance, a snake is just a snake, so I sped forward to identify it. If it was a rat snake, then it would live - if not, well - you see the picture. As I sped closer, its tail and head, both suspended slightly, were a dead giveaway to me that it was likely a rattler (pun intended). If it were heading the opposite direction I would have ignored it, but all I could think of were the children that play in that same grassy stretch - and this type of rattler is aggressive; some aren't. 

With about one second to decide what to do to kill it before it was unreachable, I floored it and ran over it in my Nissan Sentra, not exactly a ranch vehicle, but it'll do. That only made it mad. It struck at my car as I wheeled around and ran over it a second time, with me now well into their front yard and doing donuts. Well, that only wounded it's mid-section, so it kept cruising toward the house-side bushes. 

Preparing for a third attempt, the resident deputy unknowingly came running outside and toward the angry rattler to see what I was doing. Motioning violently through my windshield and toward the snake to warn him to stop walking - he finally saw it and ran to grab a weapon.

 Meanwhile, I got out of the car so as not to lose sight of our prey. Being aggressive and protecting itself, it prepared to strike me - even after being run over TWICE. This is often the case with these, by the way. I hate to kill snakes, but when we do - you should know, rattlers die hard. If you ever come across one - be careful. We've had one strike with half its head severed. 

Anyway - the deputy shot it several times before it finally died. It was about 4 1/2 feet long and looks to me like a Diamondback Rattlesnake, one of the most common in these parts. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, please. 

Today's lessons: "There's a time to die" - "Don't mess with the children" AND "Never let your guard down." Happy spring. 

How to Make a Water Trough Garden

1. Fetch a couple of water troughs.

2. Make your husband wear your pink ear muffs before he shoots draining holes in the bottom of the troughs with his .22.

3. Rest the trough against a brush pile as a backstop.

4. Find a spot with full sunlight and position them by something for climbing plants. We found an old gate.

5. Fill the troughs with soil and position your plants with the climbers and tall ones at the back so you can tie them off - tomatoes, string beans, etc.

 6. Remove all plastic and add more soil to secure the plants.

 7. Add water. 

 8. Tie a foil pan to dangle in the wind and chase away hungry birds.

 9. Tie string around the old gate, or whatever you use, so plants can climb it.

10. Thank your sweet husband for putting together a compost bin that has 56 screws and bad directions.