Sweet & Sour Chicken Meatballs

Do you ever get bored with eating the same old food.  I have a good handful of recipes that we eat a lot in our house that we like but I also get bored with eating them over and over again.

 

So for now I have decided to try at least 1 new recipe a week.  These recipes will be usually for dinner.  I'm gonna try cooking and tasting them first so I can give you my honest opinion on the recipe.

 

The first new recipe we tried was Sweet & Sour Chicken Meatballs.

 

Sweet & Sour Chicken Meatballs simmering

 

The first thing I love about this recipe is I pretty much had everything on hand that the recipe calls for, which was nice.  Helps save on my budget.

 

The next thing I liked about the meatballs was this recipe is basically made in 1 bowl and 1 pan, which is always nice for clean up.

 

I thought the Sweet & Sour Chicken Meatballs dish was yummy.  The recipe calls for you to cook the rice right in the sauce but I think next time I would cook the rice separate since it sucked up all the sauce and I didn't have any extra sauce to put on my meatballs once I cut them with my fork.

 

Everyone in the family liked it too.  Drew, our picky one, thought it was good as long as he picked out the peppers.

 

This recipe was in my opinion better the second time around.  I had some leftovers that I ate for lunch the following day and I thought it tasted much better the next day.

 

All in all a great recipe. Fast, easy and tasty.  We will be making it again I'm sure.

 

Sweet & Sour Chicken Meatballs with steamed zucchini

 

If your interested, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice

1/4 cup ketchup

1 slice white bread

2 tablespoons milk

3/4 pound ground chicken

1/2 zucchini, shredded

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 cups instant rice

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion, green pepper, and carrot. Cook for 5 minutes, until onion is softened. Stir in broth, tomato sauce, brown sugar, white vinegar, pineapple with juice, and ketchup. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
2. Meanwhile, soak bread in milk in a large bowl until milk is absorbed. Mix together with ground chicken, shredded zucchini, egg, salt, black pepper, and garlic powder. Shape into 12 meatballs, about 2 tablespoons each.
3. Drop meatballs into simmering sauce. Cook 15 minutes, or until cooked through, turn over once during cooking.
4. Remove skillet from heat. Stir in rice. Cover, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff rice with fork before serving

Amazin Dream of Mine

We have added a new little buckling to our herd.

 

Amazin Dream of Mine

 

I am super excited to be adding him as he comes from excellent blood and milking lines.

 

Here are all of the lines that I have researched so far.  I still have 1 more generation to do.

 

Sire: *B Kastdemur's Ain't He Amazin'

Sire's Sire: +*B Kastdemur's King of the Hill

Sire's Sire's Sire: ++*B Brown Sugar's Crown Ambassador

Sire's Sire's Dam: GCH Lassenwood Miller Kiona 1*M

Sire's Dam: SGCH Kastdemur's Audacity 4*M

Dam's Sire: SG ++*B Kastdemur's LH Full Service

Dam's Dam: GCH Kastdemur's Aubree 3*M

 

Dam: Hoanbu KFE All That Glitters

Dam's Sire: *B CH Kastdemur's Free & Easy

Dam's Sire's Sire: ++*B Kastdemur's Full Disclosure

Dam's Sire's Dam: Kastdemur's Breeze 4*M

Dam's Dam: GCH Hoanbu Exod Summer Glitz *5M

Dam's Dam's Sire: +*B SG Lakeshore Summer Exodus

Dam's Dam's Dam: SG Hoanbu Status Geminia Gretchen 4*M

 

Now if your not from the goat world, your probably thinking what in the world does all this mean.

 

Here is an explanation of all of the abbreviations found before and after each name.

 

*B - Stars on bucks are earned by virtue of parents with production records meeting ADGA minimums of milk production.

+B - Plusses on bucks are earned by virtue of offspring meeting ADGA requirements of milk production.

#*M - The # stands for successive generation of a doe line that has earned a star based on minimums set forth by ADGA for milk production.

 

CH(ampion) - Show Wins

GCH G(rand) CH(ampion) - Show wins and a milk star earned from Advanced Registry or Star Volume minimum.

SG/CH - Superior Genetics

Dream's Sire: Kastdemur's Ain't He Amazin' along with his sire: Kastdemur's King of the Hill and his sire: Brown Sugar's Crown Ambassador was listed on the ADGA Elite Buck List on Nov 2012.

 

As you can see now from reading the abbreviation descriptions and looking over Dream's lines.  He truly is amazing!!!  We are really hoping he will pass on his excellent genetics onto his future kids he will have here at Russell's Ridge Nubians.

 

Dream's Sire: Kastdemur's Ain't He Amazin'

Photo Courtesy of Davis Run Nubians

Dream's Dam: Hoanbu KFE All That Glitters

Photo Courtesy of Davis Run Nubians

 

Dream's Sire's Dam: SGCH Kastdemur's Audacity 4*M

Photo Courtesy of Kastdemur's Dairy Goats

 

Dream's Dam's Dam: GCH Hoanbu Exod Summer Glitz 5*M

Photo Courtesy of Hoanbu Dairy Goats

 

Dream's Dam's Sire: *B CH Kastdemur's Free & Easy

Photo Courtesy of Hoanbu Dairy Goats

 

His full name is Davis Run Amazin Dream of Mine. Davis Run in the breeder we got him from and I added Amazin in his name since that is in his sire's name. Dream of Mine is self explanatory. He was definitely a dream of mine that has come true.

 

I have also decided to call him either Dream or most times we will be calling him Bruadar. It is pronounced Brew-dar and it means dream in Gaelic.  Most of the time I call him baby right now. :)

 

He is doing well. He is now 5 weeks old and still eating his bottle full of fresh goats milk 3 times a day.  He is also eating hay and grain with all the other babies we have here.

 

Bruadar (Dream) will be staying with the other babies and older does until he is 3 months old and then he will be moved over in with the bucks.  The reason for this is because they are sexually mature at 3 months old and can easily get a doe pregnant.  We prefer to do hand breeding, which is specific chosen breeding's done as certain times which help us know when the doe is exactly due so we may be present for the birthing to make sure everything goes smoothly.

 

We are excited to watch Dream mature and grow into a magnificent buck that I know he will be.

 

Here are some other pictures I have taken of him:

 

Me with Dream the day I got him

 

Davis with Dream & Jenny of Davis Run Nubians

 

Dream relaxing on his ride home

 

Dream -Right Side

Dream - Left Side

 

Dream & Juliet meeting for the first time

Dream - Isn't he handsome :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Double Digits!!!

Hailey is now 10!!!

 

Hailey with her birthday cake.

 

I can't believe my baby girl is now 10.  She is growing up into a beautiful girl inside and out.  Hailey wanted to have a small party and sleepover this year with just some of her girlfriends.

 

Hailey had 4 friends over.  Nikki, Lilly, Olivia & Eve came over Saturday night and the girls just had fun being girls.  Hanging out in her bedroom, listening to music and just having fun.

 

The next morning, Sunday the 10th, her actual birthday.  I got up early and surprised Hailey with decorating the the living room and dining room with hot pink and black streamers and balloons.  We also had a hot pink table cloth and zebra striped plates, cups and napkins for cake time.

 

Dining room decorated for Hailey's birthday

 

The girls took the rest of the streamers and thought it would be fun to wrap Hailey up.

 

Nikki, Hailey, Eve, Lilly & Olivia

 

The girls had fun hanging out in the morning and then we had pancakes, fruit and smoothies for breakfast.  Then they all went outside to play and visit with the animals. 

 

They all made their own pizza's for lunch and then we sang Happy Birthday to Hailey and had cake.

 

I decided to make Hailey's birthday this year. I think it came out pretty good and it tasted delicious.

 

Hailey's cake, the inside is chocolate, yummy.

 

Hailey blowing out her candles.

 

Once cake was done Hailey finally got to open her gifts.

 

Hailey with her friends, opening her gifts.

 

She got mostly money from her friends and other family.  Drew got her some new t-shirts and Jamie & I got her a charm bracelet, which she has been wanting for a long time.

 

We are so proud of Hailey.  She is a wonderful daughter.  I love how she makes us laugh when she is acting silly and I love how she always thinks of others, not just herself.

 

Happy Birthday Haileybales!!! We love you!!