The World's Best Mouse Trap

Living in the mountains away from society means that nature doesn't stay outside the door!  In fact it comes right in through the walls, cabinets, floor, windows and yes, even the door!

Before I moved into this cabin in the woods there was evidence that a mouse had made its home here.  There were acorns hidden under the kitchen sink and a nest in the garbage in the basement.  No problem!  I have 5 cats.  3 of my cats are proven mousers.  The other 2 are as dumb as bricks!  Or so I thought...

My flame point siamese tomcat just proved himself as a fast and smart mouse killer!  He found the little mouse that has been lurking in my cabin.  This mouse has stayed away from commonly used/lived-in areas and remained under the basement stairs til tonight.  With food nowhere to be found in the basement the mouse came up to raid the kitchen.  Death was swift.

Here is my handsome boy taking a well deserved rest with his mini kicker stick.

Now I have 4 proven mousers and 1 cat who is as dumb as bricks...

Hey Grill, you rub me the right way!

I love barbeque.

Let me correct myself.

I love GOOD barbeque.

For this reason I am always looking for good recipes for rubs and trying them out.  Here is my most recent experiment...


I got a good deal on tri tip and wanted to grill it.  I am sick of bottled sauces so I wanted to try my hand at a rub.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried chipotle chile powder
• 2 tablespoons peppercorns (fresh ground pepper should be fine)
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin 
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder 
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro 

Preparation

Grind peppercorns in the spice mill; transfer to bowl with chiles. Stir in brown sugar, cumin salt, and mustard powder.

Spread on tri tip to coat and let the meat rest in the fridge for at least an hour. 

Grill to your taste.

I know tri tip is suppose to be pink in the middle but while I was grilling we had a "visitor" come up to the house and we had to go inside til he left.

 

I used the leftover rub with a little olive oil to coat the veggies and grilled those too.  Everything was spicy and yummy! 

Tomatoes, Potatoes and Peas... Oh My!

The garden is coming along as to be expected.  We have only been living up here for a few months but I tried to start most of my seeds and veggies before the move.  My pepper, beans and corn starts didn't make it but the tomatoes, peas and squash seem to be taking off.

The tomatoes are starting to flower so hopefully that means I'll have tomatoes.  The Brandywine plants seem to love it up here and are blossoming like mad!  One little tomato so far but lots of flowers!  The Marvel Stripe also like the mountains but not as many flowers as the Brandywine.  The Green Zebras just are not happy here.  Only half of the plants have flowers but none are pollinating.  I could do it by hand but this season is more for experimenting than full scale farming.

Everyone told me raspberry plants would grow just fine up here on the mountain but they would not fruit. Well, my plants seem to think otherwise!  I have small buds forming that will flower soon.

Even my potato plants seem to be thriving here on the mountain!

Freezer Meals- Just thaw cook and serve!

I hate cooking.

That's not quite right.  I hate the mess prep makes when I cook.  All the cutting boards and utensils you use to get your food to the point of cooking it.  Ugh!  I hate those heat and serve meals they sell at Costco but they seem to find their way into my freezer.  They don't create the same amount of mess as cooking from scratch.  The other common fix is to run for take out or fast food.  YUCK!

Here is how I combat the urge for an easy meal.   I figured that if I am making the mess when cooking from scratch I might as well double the recipe and freeze half for another night.  Makes great sense to me.  It creates less mess for 2 meals!

Now, I don't just throw it all in a container in the freezer to get frost bitten.  I use my Food Saver to seal it all nice and tight before tossing in the freezer.  This way if it gets forgotten for a month or more (read year) it is still edible!  When cooked of course.

I want to try my hand at a few of our other favorite meals.  If I did this every time I cooked I could have a freezer stocked with meals.  Think of all the money and time saved!

Some of my favorite Freezer Meals are chicken fajitas and calzones.  Here is the recipe for the fajitas...

Chicken Fajitas

1 tsp. minced garlic (fresh or dried)
1 tsp. minced onions (fresh or dried)
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. cilantro (finely minced if fresh)
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice (substitute lemon juice if you prefer)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless chicken (breast or thighs), cut into strips
1-2 sweet bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
8 or so tortillas

Mix the juices, oil and spices.  Add chicken.  (if you are making this to eat now, marinade the chicken in the mixture for one hour in the refrigerator.)  Place chicken and mixture in a freezer bag and seal.  Also place the peppers and onion in a freezer bag.  Freeze for later use.

To cook, place chicken and mixture in a skillet and brown.  Add the peppers and onion till tender.

Spoon chicken and veggies onto a tortilla.  Serve.  Eat.

Alone on a mountain

Its hard to believe why anyone would choose to live on a mountain alone.  You are so far away from everything but again you are so close to everything.

Yes, I live on a mountain alone.  Well, not really alone.  I share the cabin with my dog, Winter, and a few cats.  Then there is Roo.  She is the light of my life- my daughter.  So, in truth I am not alone on a mountain but then what kind of conversation can a toddler offer?!

This is our adventures alone on a mountain.  Our life trying to make something from nothing.

Penny saved is a penny earned

I have been in need of new cookware for some time now.  About a year ago one of my frying pans lost its handle.  The weld that held the handle in place came off.  I'm sure I could have had it re-welded but the handle was chipped and missing a rivet to boot.  I cleaned the pan part and put it in with the camping gear.  I'm sure I can use it as a dish or to make campfire cornbread.  So I have been one pan short for a while.  It makes cooking our usual big Saturday breakfast a long and tedious process.  First you have to cook the bacon, then the eggs and finally the pancakes or french toast.

Coming up with the money for new cookware has been a hassle!  We live on a very tight budget.  I did the math ten ways from Sunday to come up with the extra funds.  I was going to have to sell some thing.  I also looked into Ebates.com.  I figured if it was worth a try if it was 100% free to sign up.  Just for signing up when I did I qualified for a free $10 giftcard to the store of my choice.  I made a few purchases online for things we needed and saw the cash back add up.  It was in no way the thousands they claim in the commercials but the check for $60 was a nice surprise.  Plus it would help get me closer to the new cookware I wanted.

I have been shopping around for new cookware trying to get the best deal on a good quality item.  I had my heart set on an expensive stainless steel set that was going to cost me over $300 for just the basic pieces.  Then my budget savvy side smacked me up side the head and I did the smart thing- I replaced the missing frying pan.  My cookware is my Grandma's Revere Ware set.  Not hard to replace one piece since they still make it.  (I had checked to see if Revere Ware would repair the pan but they don't do that anymore.)  Well, I found a fab deal on ebay for two 10 inch pans for less than one 10 inch pan brand new! 

In short I saved over $275 just by replacing the broken pan!  If you factor the $60 check from Ebates.com I made $35 and still got two "new to me" frying pans!