Llama Poo!

In the Yard:

Yesterday, my Grandpa Bob gave me six varieties of potatoes!

1-Russet Burbank
2-All Blue
3-Dark Red-Norland
4-Yukon Gold
5-Cal Red
6-Red Pontiac

On the way back home (Baby Owen and I had walked over to visit Bob), we met up with a realtor friend of ours in town who happily offered us as much llama and horse poo we could want for our compost pile and veggie garden!  I realize that not everyone gets as excited as me about compost......but for me, this was like winning the lottery!!  I practically skipped home and called Dad to borrow his truck. 
Today, my wonderful husband stripped an area of the lawn for our new potato patch and dug two trenches about 6ft long each. 
Here's what we (I mean, "he" with my supervision because I was watching Owen AND Terry's pug, Marcel...) did:


Firstly, a sprinkler head needed to be replaced.  Also, we needed to figure out where the water line ran so we didn't hit it with our shovels.  Marcel is helping. 

Here, you can see where the pipe is.  We decided this was going to be a gravel path between two vegetable garden beds. 

Here's the stripped sod and the beginnings of the tilling.  Notice the pick ax?  Yeah...this soil is sooo extremely ROCKY.  Blech!

Check out this rock!  It's kind of redish (basalt?...Melinda?) 

Next came the llama poo!! 

Her name is Mama Llama Ding Dong.  Isn't she CUTE?!  Here's a cool llama fact:  Llamas pick one corner of their pasture to poop in.  It is very convenient. 

Finished trenches! 

After planting and labeling our potatoes with extra shingles from our residing project, we have our very own potato "graveyard"!! 

In the House:

Okay, here's PROOF that we've been busy.  This is the shed that Steve is building on Mom and Dad's property: 

Looking East....

Looking West....Bob is posing. 

View from the inside....

Isn't Steve talented?!

In the Kitchen:

First of all, I have to mention the cookbook Mom got for me!!!  She drove four hours to the West Side, waited in line for five hours and got to meet Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond!  If you haven't been before, I strongly recommend her website/blog:  www.thepioneerwoman.com.  She was the biggest inspiration for me to start my own home and garden blog.  She's just adorable...and her food is making it truly hard for me to loose my babyweight.  Lol...

Mom even got it signed for me!!  AWWWWW!!

Instead of providing a recipe this week, I thought I'd post my Kitchen Essentials grocery list.  These are the ingredients that I try to keep always in the house.  From this list, I could throw together tons of quick meals.  The "Top Ten" list is adapted from one of my favorite 'go-to' cookbooks:  'What to Cook When You Think There's Nothing in the House to Eat', (Arthur Schwartz).  This book got me through a few broke in college years...five years, actually. 


Top Ten:

1. Spaghetti or Macaroni
2. Milk (fresh) *I also keep a box of dry milk powder in the pantry to add to baked goods...it adds creaminess and protein to pancakes!
3. Eggs
4. Onions/Garlic/Carrots (aromatics)
5. Tuna
6. Olive oil (and butter!)
7. Vinegar (balsamic, rice, white, apple cider...whatever you like)
8. Flour
9. Cheese (of some kind...I usually keep cheddar, feta, parm, cream cheese, and mozzarella)
10. Rice (*basmati, brown, wild rice pilafs...)

Other Pantry/Fridge Staples (my own additions):

1. Herbs, Spices, Extracts: my dry herb essentials are basil, cinnamon, curry, rosemary, red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and mrs dash no salt season mix. I have more, but those are the ones I use most often, besides salt and pepper.
2. Cream of mushroom/chicken soup...don't know how I get on without it. Weird.
3. Honey, Jams, preserves...to use on everything from toast to chicken breasts as a glaze.
4. leavening: baking powder, baking soda, dry yeast
5. Maple Syrup: for pancakes, glazes, baking and beyond!
6. Mustard: not my fav...but I have a small jar in the fridge for my sister (who cannot exist without it...) and a small container of dry mustard for my mother-in-law's 'Chicken Diablo'. Umm...YUM!!!!!!!
7. Condiments: prob goes without saying...most people have tons in their fridge; they last forEVER. My essentials are: ketchup, soy sauce, salad dressings, mayo (I make my own), chocolate sauce, and pickled jalapenos (a carryover from pregnancy!).
8. Sugar: also probably goes without saying...lol.
9. Canned or boxed chicken broth (or bouillon cubes) I use in sauces, rice, soup, casseroles, EVERYTHING. I am lost without it!
10. Apples...I try to buy organic galas or braeburns.  And they last for months in the fridge. Even old bruised apples make GREAT applesauce to go with pork or breakfast oatmeal...or sauteed in butter and cinnamon/sugar for over pancakes!!
11. Bacon: to use as a flavoring in soups and meats
12. Bananas
13. Tortillas
14. Nuts (kept in freezer)
15. Canned beans/dry lentils: for soups or on salads
16 Oatmeal (I buy in bulk..)
17. Chocolate..in any form.
18. Popcorn kernels
19. Potatoes
20. Canned tomatoes (I am going to try and can them myself next summer!)

**Then, I just buy whatever meat is on sale and in-season produce...and build menus around that and what I have on hand.

Anyways...the main thing is to have fun with cooking. As soon as I start getting bored or resent the monotony, I try experimenting...other than that, I pretty much stick to simple, cheap weekday meals.
Anyone have suggestions for additional pantry staples?