Pinecone Bird Feeders

http://myblessedlife.net/2011/11/make-bird-feeder.html
Photograph by ‘my blessed life’

Pinecone Bird Feeders – one of my weekend projects!

These steps came from ‘My Kids Adventures‘ and has many photographs of this project which can be fun to do with kids.  Below is the condensed version.  I used old stale peanut butter and an assortment of expired nuts instead of store bought bird seed.  The cute photograph is from ‘My Blessed Life‘ website which also has a similar recipe for Pinecone Bird Feeders which uses Chex Cereal.

You Will Need

  • Several large pinecones (bought, or better yet, found on an outside adventure)
  • Peanut butter (vegetable shortening for people with nut allergies)
  • Birdseed
  • String, pipe cleaners or wire
  • Scissors (if using string)
  • Butter knife
  • 2 or more plates
  • A place to hang your bird feeder (a tree or bird feeder hanger work nicely)

Preparation Time

  • 5 minutes to gather materials from around the house
  • You may need to visit a park or forest to gather some pinecones

Activity Time

  • 10 minutes to hang your bird feeder
  • Plus time to watch and observe the birds

Steps

  1. Gather Pinecones
  2. Tie either a pipe cleaner or string to the top of the Pineconecone
  3. Spread Peanut Butter onto Pinecones with a butter knife
  4. Roll it in Birdseed, press it onto the pinecone and roll again
  5. Hang the Pinecone Birdfeeders outside

Sharon’s Roast

Sharon’s Roast

With a few added touches I followed this recipe to the letter. My extras are in bold
print. (Original recipe from cooks.com)

I put the meat (partially wrapped in tin foil) in my cast iron cooker and added a
half cup of water in the bottom of the cast iron pot, added the other
ingredients, covered the meat with some sliced up garlic, pulled the foil up
around the roast as much as possible, covered the pot and it it go. One hour
before it was done I added cut up potatoes, you can do carrots too. It
was so tender and juicy – and oh so easy – yummm.

CHUCK ROAST WINNER DINNER
3 lbs. chuck roast (about 2 inches thick)
2 tbsp. A-1 Steak Sauce
1 env. onion soup mix
1 (10 1/2 oz.) can mushroom soup

Place the chuck in the center of extra wide, heavy foil in a roasting pan. Brush the
meat with A-1 Steak Sauce and sprinkle the onion soup mix over it. Then spread
with the mushroom soup. Wrap loosely in foil and bake at 350 degrees for 2 1/2
to 3 hours. Makes 6 servings.

Basil Pesto (Martha Stewart)

Basil Pesto (Martha Stewart)

I grow my own Basil plants and love this recipe from Martha Stewart for Basil Pesto.  I always make mine with Pine Nuts and Garlic Infused Olive Oil instead of adding the garlic gloves.

Photograph from Martha Stewart's Website
Photograph from Martha Stewart’s Website

Ingredients

  • 1 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper
  • 8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
  • 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil  (I use a little less)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread nuts evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until golden and fragrant, tossing once, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
  2. Meanwhile, bring 4 cups salted water to a boil; add basil, and submerge with a spoon. Immediately drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water until cool, then pat basil completely dry in paper towels.
  3. In a food processor, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Use immediately, or freeze.

There are some great how-to videos on Martha Stewarts Website on the Basil Pesto Recipe (lower right hand side).

California Rice – Calrose

I bought this huge bag of rice and it did not have any directions with it so I found it online:

Sun Valley Rice | Cooking Instructions from eHow

  • Rinse lightly (I use a metal coffee filter since too much rice falls through regular strainers)
  • 2 Cups of Rice
  • 2 ½ cups of water
  • Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add salt
  • Reduce the heat and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid. Allow the rice to simmer (covered) until all of the water has been absorbed. Remove the pan from the heating element and let the rice sit for five minutes.
  • Fluff the cooked rice with a fork and drizzle a bit of sesame oil, if desired. You can also season it with a few turns of fresh cracked black pepper. Margarine or butter can be added as the rice is boiling if you prefer a buttery flavor.
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