The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

No.487: Homemaking Notes on a Monday // Vol.07

The weather outside is //

As I look outside my window // Good morning from our winter wonderland…kinda!  Yesterday, we woke up to really heavy snow fall, which didn’t let up until around noon.  It was perfect snowball consistency!  Then, the snow stopped, the sun came out and promptly melted about half of it!  So weird.

As I look around the house // I’m mentally making a to-do list for projects to start in the next few months.  Most of our tax return this year will be going toward our financial goals, but I’m hoping to squirrel a little away for a laundry room revamp.  For the amount of time I spend in there, I definitely need more storage and a better flow.

On this week’s to-do list //

– finalize early spring planting schedule
– deep clean the laundry room
– mail Valentine’s Day cards to my favorite little people (nephews and cousins)
– finish taxes 
– finalize plans for Lent

Reflecting on // how much I can get accomplished when I’m not chained to my phone.  This is a goal I’ve been intentionally working on since the beginning of the year and I’m making progress!

Currently reading // a bunch of books, per usual!  My non-fiction book is Wendell Berry’s The Art of Loading Brush.  I just started Diaries of the Chinese Martyrs: Stories of Heroic Catholics Living in Mao’s China.  I’m also reading The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows for Historathon. (affiliate links)

On the menu this week //
Monday: garlic-parmesan veggies and sausage with rice
Tuesday: turkey taco rice skillet
Wednesday: pasta with Bolognese sauce and garlic bread
Thursday: Sicilian chicken soup
Friday: meatless six layer dip and chips

No.486: A Year of Vintage Recipes // Cheese & Bacon Pie

Last year, I bought a vintage cookbook from 1959 (and then revised in 1972) called Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook. I originally chose it for décor purposes – the green cover is beautiful! – but after a peek at the recipes inside, I decided that this could be a really useful item too. In 2021, I’m hoping to work my way through many of the recipes and share with you along the way.

P.S. If you want a Country Cookbook of your own, I found this one and this one and this one for sale over on etsy! (affiliate links)

My first choice was a “breakfast for dinner” option: Cheese/Bacon Pie.  The cookbook describes this recipe as “very rich and very delicious” and we all agreed! I’d consider this one a very creamy quiche.  (I also used the crust recipe from the book, using my food processor to make the process even easier, but even a store-bought version would do.)  

Print Recipe

Cheese & Bacon Pie

taken from Farm Journal's Country Cookbook

Ingredients

  • unbaked 9" pie shell
  • 10 slices crisp cooked bacon crumbled
  • ⅓ cup onion minced
  • 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese about 4oz.
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups milk or heavy cream
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ⅛ tsp pepper

Instructions

  • Sprinkle bacon, onion and cheese in the bottom of an unbaked pie shell.
  • Beat eggs slightly. Beat in remaining ingredients, then pour into the pie shell.
  • Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 300° and bake an additional 30 minutes or until a knife inserted 1" from the edge comes out clean.
  • Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Notes

Tip from the cookbook: "To cut down on time, cook enough extra bacon while getting breakfast, for this main dish."

No.485: Five Reasons to Send a Letter in February

This post contains affiliate links.

If you’ve read here for any length of time, you know that I am a passionate supporter of keeping snail mail alive!  This is a monthly series that I hope will inspire you to start putting thoughts on paper.  There’s nothing like finding a handwritten note among the piles of bills and junk mail.   

February 4 // National Thank A Mail Carrier Day 

I don’t know about you, but my mail carrier has been working SO hard since last March.  If it’s been awhile since you’ve thanked yours, now may be the perfect time to do so.
A few cards created by small businesses:

February 14 // Valentine’s Day

Regardless of how you feel about this sometimes silly and materialistic holiday, I’m sure there are many people out there who could use a little love and encouragement.  This past year has been hard for so many.  Letting someone know that they are seen and loved would be a welcomed and appreciated action.
A few cards created by small businesses:

February 19 // National Caregivers Day

Caregivers have the important job of caring for loved ones who have chronic illness, disabilities, disease, or old age.  They are unsung heroes!  This month is a great time to say thank you for their hard work.  There are a ton of great options at the shop, Senior Shower Project.

February 23 // National Banana Bread Day

Do you make a delicious banana bread?  Today might be a good excuse to drop one off on a neighbor’s doorstep or someone who may need a little pick-me-up.
A few cards created by small businesses:

February 26 // Tell a Fairy Tale Day

Let’s end with a fun one to round out the month!  Write a story of your own (the more imaginative, the better!) or maybe mail a beautiful anthology to a friend?  This would be a fun one to add to your homeschool day too.
A few cards created by small businesses:

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No.484: February Readathons and More Literary Fun

This post contains affiliate links.

I’ve been watching a lot of “Booktube” lately while I fold laundry or wash dishes because it’s a happy escape and most importantly, non-stressful and non-political!  There are so many interesting people out there with such a wide range of favorite genres.  Not only do these channels gush about books, but they also share lots of unique ways to read books.  For February, I’m joining in on the fun!

Historathon

Historathon is a month-long readathon featuring historical fiction.  The hosts created a Bingo board with nine different prompts and I was able to find five that fit out of the books I already own.  (I did splurge and buy the group read book.)  Here’s what I’ve got:

The Booktube Spin

Another fun one that I couldn’t resist!  With this challenge, you pick 20 books from your TBR and list them by number.  I tried to pick my list with books that have been on my shelves for awhile:

  1. Better Off: Flipping the Switch on Technology by Eric Brende
  2. The Barefoot Bandit by Bob Friel
  3. My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith
  4. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
  5. He Leadeth Me by Walter J. Ciszek
  6. Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo
  7. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
  8. Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande
  9. The Privilege of Being a Woman by Alice von Hildebrand
  10. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
  11. The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman
  12. Fatherless by Brian J. Gail
  13. What She Knew by Gilly MacMillan
  14. Can’t Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins
  15. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
  16. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  17. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
  18. Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
  19. Moloka’i by Alan Brennert
  20. An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler

The creator of the challenge spun a wheel and the arrow landed on…number 15!  The challenge is to read this one book by March 31.

Buzzword Reading Challenge

The prompt for February in the Buzzword Reading Challenge is “a color” and I’m planning to use Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan (mentioned above) for this.  Win/win!

24in48 Readathon

So the question remains: how can I make the time to get to all of these great novels?  The 24in48 Readathon may be helpful!  This is a two-day reading “sprint” where you aim to read 24 out of 48 hours.  There is no way I’ll be able to read anywhere near that number, but I do think it would be fun to put the screens away for the weekend and dig into a pile of books.

Linking up again with Rosie!

Less Materialism, More Intentional Living

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